But Why an Esports-Themed Hotel…?
On Tuesday, Nina was excited to talk to you all about Thea Porter—a British artist and fashion designer who dressed some of our favorite rock stars. Her influences originated in the middle east, where she grew up, but she would eventually bring this unique look to London, where it would find great success. Porter’s style quickly became a symbol of 60’s and 70’s Bohemian chic, with artists like Elton John and Pink Floyd taking a liking to her designs first, and many more coming in shortly after. For those of you who would like to know more about Porter, you can read Thea Porter’s Scrapbook (2019) to find the autobiography and a rich collection of original sketches.
We recently found out about Hotel E-Zone Cyberspace—Japan’s first eSports-themed hotel—which is set to open in Nipponbashi next April. Some of you may be asking yourself, “Why an eSports-themed hotel?” Well, Vox Groovy looked into Newzoo’s 2019 global eSports market report and found that there is now an audience of 201.2 million eSports Enthusiasts, and 252.6 million occasional viewers. This is the kind of incredible growth that will lead hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs down this road over the next ten years or so.
Lastly, we had to talk about the highly anticipated Totsukuni no Shoujo (2019) OAD. This is Wit Studios’ short exploration of Sensei and Sheeva’s dark and forlorn world, and with a director like Yuutarou Kubo at the helm, there was bound to be some uniquely experimental animation. Luckily, the source material kept him from becoming too self-indulgent, so what we got is a real contender for anime of the year—one where the director’s style is clearly both purposeful and seamless. A big well done to everyone involved!
Thank you all for tuning in, we hope to hear from you all again this Thursday!
Purple Mountains, Dishwalla, Arena, Pink Floyd, Yoko Shimomura, Zuzana Mikulcová, Aerosmith, Dido (and more).
D.H. Lawrence Festival 2019
This year’s D.H. Lawrence Festival made Saturday’s Art Relax very special. The team had to be ready at short notice, but hearing about the event’s 100 musicians—and that they’re playing in and around the local area—made us want to bring something unique to the table. So, we recorded one of the live performances to bring the celebratory atmosphere of this wonderful event straight into the night’s show! Be on the lookout for the reprise if you’re wanting to hear something you won’t get to hear anywhere else!
Next, we had to cover Nintendo Direct (9.4.2019), which is one of the most exciting events in gaming right now. Some of the conference’s highlights include: highly anticipated news about Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020), Pokemon Sword and Shield (2019) and its incredible character customization options, Overwatch (2016) being released on the switch, etc., etc. In summary, we feel that 2019 is a great year to be a Nintendo fan!
In the end, Jana walked us through her experiences at the Jozefa Kollár Gallery in Banska Stiavnica. This exhibition allowed her to learn a lot about the region because it focuses on the social themes and landscapes of the town. The most valued exhibits are the neo-Gothic wooden sculptures of St. Barbara and St. Catherine, both of which were created by an unidentified master. Perhaps they’ll be able to tell us who crafted them sometime soon…?
Thank you for tuning in and we hope to hear from you all again this Monday.
Arena, Purple Mountains, kiama, Whoopie Cat, Nightwish, Cannon (Live!), Shovels & Rope, Jeff Buckley, Mark Knopfler, Big Big Train (and more).
