Black Tokyo Twitter Swag

Arigato to all of the Tweeters that connect and share information. I doubt if BT will ever hit the 1 Millionth follower mark but here’s to showing some Twitter love! Oh! If you don’t tweet, ya betta as’ somebody! Looking forward to Poken some of y’all. Below is a mosaic of Black Tokyo Twitter Followers:

 



Get your twitter mosaic here.

Black Tokyo Blip.fm

Black Tokyo is now broadcasting music to make you groove via Black Tokyo Blip.fm. So what exactly is a blip?

A blip is a combination of 1) a song and 2) a short message that accompanies it. The way you create a blip is to first search for a song that you want to hear (or a song that you want your listeners to hear), then add a short message (under 150 characters), finally you submit it. 

Check out Zurui’s favorite music and if you are  “blipping” be sure to let Black Tokyo know via an @BlackTokyo in your reply! If you like what you hear give Black Tokyo props on Blip.fm. Props are tokens of respect that can be given from one DJ to another – say for blipping a good song or being a good DJ in general. 

If you follow Black Tokyo on Twitter, you can also receive Black Tokyo Blip.fm updates! Be sure to send me your requests!

Sponsered by Kimono Girl.

Kimono Girl

The 963 Group, LLC of Pebble Beach, California brings you one of Japan’s top selling cosmetic gift items, Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissues. Kimono Girl is 100% natural, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free and powder-free! Each Kimono Girl package is an actual hand-drawn Kagayuzen Kimono pattern. No two are the same!

The Kimono Girl concept was developed by Nakahama-san, the co-founder of The 963 Group. She is a veteran of the fashion and cosmetics industry with over 15-years experience in Tokyo’s upscale boutiques and in companies such as Shiseido, Chanel and Za Ginza. She says:

“People should use a quality skin (and lipstick) blotting tissue. Too often I see women and men wiping the oil off their face using their hands, a tissue or handkerchief! This actually spreads the oil and bacteria to other parts of their face. This can also potentially create skin rashes and blackheads, especially if the person’s hands or handkerchief are not clean.

In Kanazawa and other parts of Japan, women and men use a high-quality and affordable blotting tissue to keep the oil off the T-Zone. This really helps prevent breakouts. Additionally, women do not worry about lint or other residue from tissues when they blot their lipstick. Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissue has been pressed the old-fashioned way which means the fibers has been pounded over 10,000 times. This makes our product super-absorbent! Commercially produced blotting tissues do not utilize this old-style Japanese technique and thus are not as absorbent as ours! Actually, the process to make Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissues is the same technique used when we in Kanazawa make the gold leaf paper found on many beautiful Kanazawa products and on the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto, Japan. We get it right the first time! Whether you wear make-up, lipstick, or keep the natural look, Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissue will help keep your skin looking healthy!”

Each $12.00 order includes six (6) Kimono Girl packs. Each pack contains 30-sheets of Kimono Girl Oil Blotting Tissues. In Japan, one (1) pack of Kimono Girl oil-blotting tissue costs 350 Yen (approximately $3.50). As a special introductory offer, we are offering the six (6) package set at a $9.00 discount and with FREE SHIPPING in the Continental USA, Hawaii and Alaska.

We hope this great value will introduce our wonderful product to people around the world. Thank you very much for shopping with The 963 Group, LLC. Be sure to follow Kimono Girl on Twitter. Sayonara!

Manufactured and imported from Japan by The 963 Group, LLC

     

Kimono Girl Gift Set

6 package set (180 sheets) $12.00

Free shipping in the USA

   

Japan Times Blogroll: Black Tokyo

Black Tokyo by RICARDO BILTON:  Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Eric L. Robinson found himself docking in Okinawa in 1981. For the past two decades, Robinson, a Marine Corps veteran, has traveled back and forth between between Japan and the United States, gaining experiences and insights from each culture that he now shares with the readers of the blog Black Tokyo. Currently the sole writer for Black Tokyo, Robinson is dedicated to providing readers with news and information about Japan, much of it undiscussed elsewhere. Frequently controversial and invariably insightful, Robinson discusses in this interview with The Japan Times the experience of being black in Japan, the American military’s role in the country, and things that make you go “hmm.”

 

Eric L. Robinson of Black Tokyo

What is Black Tokyo all about? Why was it created?

What I do everyday is: (1) pass knowledge of my military, professional, civilian and educational experiences; and (2) help minorities discover another world. Black Tokyo was the avenue for me to do that. The site was actually created in January 1999 by Craig Hankerson and he let me come on as a moderator in 2001. I became webmaster in 2003, taking over ownership of the site in 2006. Craig was so busy at the time with what he was doing with his work, and I found myself spending more and more time on the site that I decided that I would love to own Black Tokyo and take it to a different level.

Your blog focuses on, among other things, the experience of black people living in Japan. Do you think that the experience of a black person in Tokyo differs from that of any other group of foreigner?

Yes! Of course, everyone has their take on living in Japan. When I was initially exposed to Japan, it was via the lens of an older white male. I remember telling my mother that I wanted to live in Japan after watching the TV special “Shogun” by James Clavell. While in high school and college, I read numerous books on Japan. None of the books were written by African-Americans.

When I came across the book and later the movie “Bedroom Eyes,” I was finally exposed to an African-American in Japanese literature and on television. I remember how upset I was that the black male was portrayed as a sex fiend, dope addict, U.S. military deserter and thief. The book and the movie, in my opinion, did not do much justice for Japanese women that dated or married African-American men. It just reinforced stereotypes!  Click here  to read the rest of the interview.

Do you tweet? Follow the writer, Ricard Bilton (Rbilton) and the Japan Times (japantimes).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sakura Sakura @ Yoyogi Park

Time: March 28, 2009 from 1pm to 7pm Location: Yoyogi Park Organized By: Henry Seals Event Description: It is that time of the year, time for Cherry Blossoms! Please join yours truly in my vain attempt to enjoy that ephemeral time of the year that only lasts a moment. Cherry Blossoms, that annual excuse to sit, get drunk, and get rowdy and NOT get arrested. Please come, and have a good time. Seriously though, please come and please come ready to have a good time. I will meet everyone at Harajuku Station at 1:00. If you will be late call me and come find us! Event open to all. BYO, Food, Drinks, Blanket

See more details and RSVP on Black Professionals in Tokyo:

http://blackprofessionalstokyo.ning.com/events/event/show?id=778831%3AEvent%3A3926&xgi=fQshGcM

Tokyo CGM Night

Regarding my previous post on Tokyo CGM Night:  this is a private event. My sincere apologies for posting that it was open to the public!

Black Professionals in Tokyo Event: Free Your Mind

Free Your Mind” A Tribute to Black Music

Saturday, February 28th at The Pink Cow in Shibuya @ 7:00pm-12:00am*

Don’t miss out on an incredible night in celebration of Black History Month. Vocal, instrument, dance and spoke word tributes all combine to make this event an unforgettable experience.

Black Professionals in Tokyo Event Report

“Work’s over”   “School’s done”   “It’s about that time”  …“Time to get up”

From all over Tokyo; whether male, female, black, white, office worker, part time cashier, student, or lawyer – people came. After appointments, long days at the office, or after a long nap in the comfort of their own apartment, 7:30 marked the time to arrive at the place to be – Las Chicas in Aoyama.

Rarely in Tokyo do the classes openly mix. Of course you can walk into a bar and find that the clientele come from all parts of the globe and from varied backgrounds, but rarely are they in the same group.

Last Friday, a mixture of all types came together to enjoy a Black Professionals Tokyo Monthly Cocktail Hour.

Black Professionals in Tokyo: First Friday’s Irish Cocktail Hour

Time: March 6, 2009 from 7:30pm to 11pm
Location: The Celt Roppongi – 5-5-1 Roppongi, ROI Bldg B1.
Organized By: Henry Seals, Black Professionals in Tokyo

Event Description:
Please come out to celebrate a special day for our Irish Brethren. You guessed it, next month’s Cocktail hour theme is St. Patrick’s Day. 

We will also be showing a classic film about a group of Irish kids who start a Rhythm and Blues Group called The Commitments. For those of you who have seen it, please tell those who have not just how great it is.

Rev. Joseph E. Lowery Benediction Angers Some

I thought my ears played a trick on me when I heard Rev. Lowery open his benediction with words from the Black (Negro) National Anthem, “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears….” Although many that are not Black may not know the words to James Weldon Johnsons’ song, Lift Every Voice and Sing, it seems that some have misunderstood the meaning of the rhyme at the very last part of Reverand Lowery’s benediction: “We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.” When I was a kid we use to say: 

• If you’re white, you’re right
• If you’re yellow, you’re mellow
• If you’re red, your dead
• If you’re brown, stick around
• And if you’re black, get back.

What Lowery is talking about is institutional racism and the color preferences that existed in America, especially during his time. He is not talking to or about White people per se. To break this down further:

• Blacks getting in back refers to having to sit in the back of the bus and not having equal rights in America.
• Browns sticking around is the solidarity that was forming when Hispanics began to join with Blacks during the “revolution” of Black Power. 
• Reds being dead refers to the slaughter of the Native American and the plight they face in “their” land. 
• Yellow being mellow means that Asians were pacified especially after WWII (internment of Japanese-Americans and other Asians being lumped into the “Jap” category). 
• And finally, white being right refers to the preference and power that whites (as deemed by various Jim Crow laws and US government city, state and certain federal institutions) had/have in America. 

Listen to Big Bill Broonzy‘s song “Black, Brown and White” to hear the origin of Rev. Lowery’s poem. So please, before you slam Reverand Lowery try to understand where he and we (Americans) came from, ask somebody, do some research or just shut the hell up before you start bitching online! You’re messing up my groove! By the way, today’s inaugural speech is the first time a president has ever explicitly acknowledged “Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus” but non-believers as well. If that is not a good path to inclusion, I do not know what is! GOD (or whom/whatever you follow) BLESS US ALL!