New Links - including cell phone information

A "Travel Information" section has been added to the links at the left. Look for a link to the National Geographic/Cellular Abroad site with information about renting a cell phone for use in Japan.

Pecha Kucha Tuesday March 2

If you missed the benefit for Haiti, there's another chance to see this unique presentation format Tuesday night at Martyr's. Roughly translated from the Japanese as "chit chat," Pecha Kucha was started in Tokyo as a way for architects and designers to share their ideas without overburdening each other with lengthy PowerPoints. The PowerPoint slides are there, but you have to use exactly 20 of them and they have to be timed at 20 seconds each. Bad or good, 400 seconds and its on to the next one. Peter Exley of Architecture is Fun will emcee again and probably reference his obsessions Leeds United (hint: nothing to do with sustainability) and Cheap Trick. See the link at left under Trends Nihon (there's also a new food link for ramen conoisseurs).

Next Pecha Kucha in Chicago - for Haiti

You won't have to wait until March to see this phenomenon live in Chicago again. A special 24-hour global wave of pecha kucha will start and end in Tokyo, crossing time zones and cultures, in a benefit for Haiti. Chicago's will start at 2 pm Saturday February 20, at it usual local venue, Martyr's, at 3855 N. Lincoln. For details see Architecture for Humanity Chicago's website at http://www.afh-chicago.org. If you want more information about this unique presentation format that started in Japan (20 slides, 20 seconds each) and has taken hold among architects and designers worldwide, go to http://www.pecha-kucha.org, where you can also see the next regularly scheduled events in cities around the world, including Chicago.