the best stationery itemsI used in 2010

There are several things in this world that help me release stress.

One of them is buying stationery.

Stationery can be divided into various types…today I would like to focus on paperclips and notebooks.

For work and for my “research” I think I have settled on the Cornell Method Note that can be bought in Japan through Gakken.

(http://www.gakkensf.co.jp/lineup/cornell/index.html).

Kokuyo, the largest stationery/office equipment company

(http://www.kokuyo.co.jp/), has many notebooks that I have been using for my book diaries for the past 10 years or so.

http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/stationery/campus/). 

(By the way, if you understand Japanese, the Kokuyo website currently has videos of Ryuichi Sakamoto talking about Ecology and Creativity. From the second video, Everett Kennedy Brown appears to talk about his experience in Japan etc.  and what people can learn from Nature.  His website is here:

http://www.brownsfield-jp.com/about)

This year, my schedule book is from Muji (http://www.muji.com/) and I just found out that they have apps for the iPad and iPhone too.

The scheduler comes with a canvas type cover that I am thinking about dressing up with iron-ons later.

I added a trim with decorative masking tape as well as ribbon bookmarks.

The checkbook-like notebook on the right is for the months and the notebook on the left is for the weeks.

I think this will be very easy for me to use this year and I am looking forward to filling it up with fun events!

More notebooks that I really liked last year and kept buying for various reasons were:

The one on the left is from Midori (http://www.midori-japan.co.jp/md/).

The pink one in the middle is one that I found in a store in Kyoto called karankoron (http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/karancolon/index.html).  My favorite from last year is on the right.

It is from Tsubame Note and this series comes in all sorts of sizes and shapes (http://thinkbeforesearch.com/) and the pages are perforated but sturdy so they don't fall apart.

Now, for paper clips...

My favorite elephant shaped ones and fruit shaped ones are not here but this is to give you an idea of what is out there and what I actually use. 

I use these kinds of paperclips as often as I can because I read somewhere that the most circulative stationery is the paperclip.  

This means that more than any other stationery, the paper clip is the least likely to stay in one place.  It is reused and passed on to people so you never know where your paperclip is going to end up!  I figure if that is the case, why not send around a bit of happiness and excitement too?!

And last but not least one of my most favorite items carries my paperclips and post-its...

(http://www.samiraboon.com/wawcs0116335/furoshiki_shiki.html)

It is an amazing piece of vinyl that I bought at the Nagasaki Museum a while ago and it is awesome.  I bought a larger one for my receipts too.

Have a nice day!

http://cementdesign.com/index2.html

Japanese songs that topped the charts in 2010

The song that made many people cry last year was "Toile no Kamisama" (The Toilet Goddess).

There are many different gods in Japan and apparently there is one for the restroom! My mother use to tell me that if I cleaned the toilet my children would grow up to be beautiful. This made me think she was lying... o_O

The singer/songwriter of The Toilet Goddess, Kana Uemura was told by her grandmother that SHE would grow up to be beautiful if she made sure that the toilet was clean. So it seems there are different versions of the Toilet Goddess story!

The song is a true story written by Kana who use to live with her grandmother. They were like best friends until Kana started to grow up and grow apart from her family. After she leaves her home to go to Tokyo and become a singer, she gets called back one day because her grandmother is in the hospital. She rushes back to see her grandmother...The songs is a long song (about 8minutes) but it got lots of attention on the radio here in Japan.

Another song that got a lot of attention is "I Wish For You"by the group EXILE. They are a singing and dancing troupe that have doing in very well with CD sales and national tours. They also have their own TV show.

And, the third song that I would like to introduce today is by a trio called IKIMONO GAKARI (those in charge of the animals).

It is a song that doesn't not need any translation, at least the title doesn't (I think)...it is called "Arigato".

(They also have an "interesting" song called "Joyful"...

As for who I look forward to doing well in 2011...?!

I will be rooting for Monkey Majik...they have a new song out called "Sunshine" but for first time listeners, I think the following video will give you a better idea as to "what" they are.

By the way, their Japanese is REALLY good.

Their official is website is here.

I hope you finds lots of great music this year!