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T3 - Pimp my PSP: Customisable leather case | Skip to navigation | Skip to search | Skip to page contents | Advanced search | Skip to navigation | Skip to page contents | Home News Reviews T3 podcast Competitions Essentials T3 Girls T3 Magazine T3 Newsletter T3 Shopping Compare Prices Contact Us | Back to top of navigation | Skip to page contents | Skip to search | [2005-06-21] Pimp my PSP: Customisable leather case Dress your PSP in a dapper i-volution leather suit, complete with laser embossed personal logo. Nothing’s good enough for today’s pampered gadgets. iPod and PSP are the biggest divas on the scene, each boasting and enormous entourage of luxury accessories. We’ve seen cases from Louis Vuitton and Dior, but now you can pimp your PSP with a custom-made case dubbed i-volution from Vaja . This high-end PSP protector starts at $180 (99) and comes in a solid array of coloured leather variations. But the real sweetener is the fact that for an extra $30 (16) you can have a personal logo laser embossed onto the case – all you have to do is provide the company with a jpeg, tiff or bmp file of your creation. But if you can’t be bothered with the hassle of fashioning a personal insignia, you can have your name laser embossed onto it for just $10 (6). Unsurprisingly, PSP isn’t the only gadget to get such luxury treatment on the Vaja website. You guessed it. The company offers the same service for iPod with its iVod range of leather cases which start at a less wallet-walloping price of $80 (44). Related links PSP theatre system and case combo Posh up your PSP with a designer case PSP: Pampered, protected and professional Latest news A sneak peek at Panasonics HD camcorders Prime Ministers podcast Video iPod and nano officially go radio ga-ga Apple unleashes the mighty MacBook Pro Sky delivers video on demand Nintendo marks its cards Worlds lightest mobile! Apple keynote speech this evening! Is it a phone or is it a mouse? Sony says voila to new VAIOs CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE GALLERY Print | Skip to navigation | Skip to search | Back to beginning of page contents | | Skip to navigation | Skip to search | Back to beginning of page contents | Home | News | Reviews | Competitions | Essentials | T3 Girls | T3 Magazine | T3 Newsletter T3 Shopping | Compare Prices | Contact Us Privacy Policy & cookie information | Terms & conditions | Future Publishing | Future plc More websites from Future Publishing .net Broadband & Internet Advisor MacFormat Microsoft® Windows® XP: The Official Magazine PC Answers PC Format PC Plus What Laptop gamesradar.com computerandvideogames.com Edge® T3 Digital Camera Magazine Digital Home Hi-Fi Choice Total Film SFX Classic Rock Computer Music Future Music Guitarist Metal Hammer 3D World Computer Arts Redline Cycling Plus Mountain Biking UK What Mountain Bike Junior Future Publishing Ltd. Kate Stephanie Victoria | More T3 Girls |
Bling MySpace Editor Zan
www.myspace.com/zanlyons MySpace.com | Home The Web MySpace Help | SignUp Home | Browse | Search | Invite | Rank | Mail | Blog | Favorites | Forum | Groups | Events | Games | Music | Classifieds Videos | Directory | Search | Top Artists | Shows | Music Forums | Music Classifieds | Artist Signup Zan Lyons Alternative / Electronica / Rock , Profile Views: 336 Last Login: 01/11/2006 View more pics Contacting Zan Lyons MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/zanlyons Zan Lyons General Info Member Since October 27, 2005 Band Website zanlyons.com Band Members Zan Lyons: Laptop, Violin, Guitar, Films Influences Joy Division, Shostakovich,Wu Tang Clan, Mogwai, Digital Hardcore, Anime, Sonic Youth, Wong Kar Wai, Philip Glass, Jeff Mills, DJ Scud, Bjork, Prodigy, The Cure, Joni Mitchell, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Mercury Rev Record Label Zan Lyons/Foundry Recordings Zan Lyons's Latest Blog Entry [ Subscribe to this Blog ] Zan Lyons Films ( view more ) [ View All Blog Entries ] About Zan Lyons Bling MySpace Editor Zan Lyons's Friend Space Zan Lyons has 132 friends. Jing « IT'S SAILOR JOEZBOW!!! » steven Nic Endo Sarah Crowder Alec Empire Hecate ebola View All of Zan Lyons's Friends Zan Lyons'sFriends Comments Displaying 27 of 27 comments ( View/Edit All Comments ) Snake Charmer Jan 11, 2006 07:49 AM A bit belated but just thought I would say Happy New Year. Any more info on that London gig yet? stoob0t Jan 3, 2006 08:45 AM Great to see you're still making music! Saw you play at Reading, quite a while back now. Absolutely stunning! xo Jing Jan 1, 2006 02:02 PM happy happy 2006 ZZZZZZZZZan Lyons. from J ZZZZZZZhang Jing Dec 30, 2005 02:17 AM zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaa-aaannn! hows it going? lets shoot some stuff soon. jingle jingle x cloudnein (Davros McBain) Dec 27, 2005 05:37 AM I see that She has added you! heh heh. She plays drums with me & snake charmer in our band called Devil Seven. We're just starting out and trying to get something going... Hopefully we'll have something to show on myspace! Hope you have a good new year dude. Dave (^_^) She Dec 26, 2005 09:50 AM yeah much the same!! ive heard good stuff about you from my good friends and bandmates who u see below cloudnein and snake charmer! carry on enjoying the festive season! speak soon, sarah x She Dec 26, 2005 09:29 AM thanks for the add, hope u had a great xmas ;) cloudnein (Davros McBain) Dec 25, 2005 06:58 AM Yes, merry christmas holidays to you good sir. Hope you have a great new year also. (^_^) Snake Charmer Dec 23, 2005 09:22 AM Have a great Christmas my friend. Hope to see you play live again soon. HL Dec 12, 2005 02:00 AM Thanks for letting me add you. We played a gig together way back in 2000 I was then in a noisy improv band called Know Point, it was Cardiff, with the now defunct Mountain Men Anonymous. dan x Still spine chilling I see.. ebola Dec 10, 2005 07:27 PM ha ha! hey no worries. the sound started to go a bit wack at that point (typical), never mind. good to see you there. looking forward to a zan-assault at wrong in the new year. peace out Pang Dec 5, 2005 07:05 AM Thanks for the add, have seen you a couple of times in London over the years, inspiring stuff. staberind Nov 27, 2005 11:18 AM hey, being a sloff at home, is, grate. i do like doing nothing. haaaaaa, now i need loud music... see ya 'round. Omh Ctih Cire Nov 23, 2005 02:06 AM hey man... i saw you at glade and you were really incredible! i spoke to you after also looking to get a cd! take it well easy and cheers for the ad .. joe Jing Nov 22, 2005 05:35 PM laters to zone 2000! I'll come but only if you get some celebrity therapist to council me... someone like Dr Phil, or that Indian guy off Richard and Judy. Fuck it, i want Richard and Judy too! Loop Hooligan Nov 20, 2005 12:54 PM Tight n harsh as ever... Looking 4ward 2 ur new stuff. Loopy Mochipet Nov 19, 2005 10:30 AM Let your inner Turkey OUt! Look See... Join the Cult of Rice usless information here.... staberind Nov 18, 2005 01:34 PM sounds good, sounds good.. the standalone complex does surely rock, i p2p'd some of the first series from a couple of years ago, along with some weird extra's featuring those lil' tachikoma 'droids (prolly not the 'droids we are looking for...) talking about their addiction to glue or something, i will bung some of the japanese extra stuff i have onto a dvd and mail it to you sometime, thats where the basis of the pic comes from Jing Nov 18, 2005 05:52 AM Nice page Mr Zan, Hows it in London? I will be back on the 23rd so we should film something after then. Barcelona is great, very beautiful. Call u when im back. 37 friends already ..? you big ho you. staberind Nov 17, 2005 08:38 PM Yay, glad to see your noisy self on here, and thanks for the add, i'm in the shires at the moment, but looking forward to getting back to a tractor less area, and hoping i get the chance to see you live again, or for a pint mebbe cloudnein (Davros McBain) Nov 17, 2005 05:15 PM yeh, I've got a few of the plug-ins from these guys. They got some cool stuff... (Thanks to Future Music Mag & Computer Music Mag for supplying their stuff nearly every month on the coverdisc!) Anyways, about Guitar Rig. I did wonder what sort of sound input device you was using onstage. I'll have to find out more about that one... Thanks once again for the messages and link! Take care man cloudnein (Davros McBain) Nov 17, 2005 04:34 PM Glad to hear the soup worked! (^_^) Hope you come up with some good stuff man, nice touch with using a violin on your live show. I'm guessing you're linking it through into Ableton Live. I'm trying stuff with plugging my bass guitar into it and fucking with the different plug-ins that I've acquired from computer-music magazines but I need to get myself a better external soundcard so I can properly record it without all that latency malarky... Anyways, enough with my sonicwaffle. Good luck and I hope to hear some new stuff soon! cloudnein (Davros McBain) Nov 17, 2005 04:08 PM Heh, small world! I'm glad you got yourself on this myspace thing. I've been checking to see if you was on here since me and my friend saw you perform at Alec Empire. Oh and thanks for the invite! :-) Take care! Ps. Hope you got to make some hardcore vegetable soup and made yourself better. (as you mentioned in the reply email I sent to you) Ali Nov 17, 2005 03:09 PM Hey, thanks for the add. I'm loving your music, keep it coming! Is there any new stuff on the way? Frew Nov 17, 2005 09:50 AM Yes Zan, seen you play at Glade this summer and I have to say it was one of the most memorable set's there!! « IT'S SAILOR JOEZBOW!!! » Oct 29, 2005 11:32 AM Zan Lyons is a cool name and has nice music and I'm wired. Joe x Jing Oct 28, 2005 07:56 AM FInally! Getting your baps on Cyber space! Add Comment About | FAQ | Terms | Privacy | Safety Tips | Contact Myspace | Promote! | Advertise ©2003-2006 MySpace.com All Rights Reserved.
myspace skins*) approved in
createBlog.com > Become an official designer! Help - Search - Member List - Calendar Full Version: Become an official designer! createBlog.com > News and Announcements > Announcements micron Jan 17 2005, 9:50 PM Become cB's official designer! It's fun, it's easy, and it's sexy ! All those with at least 7 unique skins (14 for myspace skins*) approved in the cB skin database are eligible! Unique meaning they aren't variations of the same skin. Variations count as one skin. No other requirements, not even minimum posts! Official designers get to strut around cB in the "Official Designer" member group, which is shown in the miniprofile of each post. It's cB's way of saying thank you - for contributing and making this community the best one out there! Official designers recieve the same privileges as official members. To become one, once you have 7 unique skins* approved, reply here and list the skins that have been approved. New members will be added on a weekly basis. *note: since myspace skins take much less time to make (only css edits), they count as 1/2 of the total skins count. micron Jan 17 2005, 10:37 PM No comments please, just applicants! Also, you can only be in one member group. That means if you are already in an other member group, ie Official Member, you'll have to give up one or the other. __________________________ QUOTE([2) Nekked,Jan 21 2005, 7:04 PM]do the skins still go through the queue? or does it go passed it? if so, is the topic title going to automatically change? (skin###) no. skins submitted by official designers are automatically accepted. so it is the responsibility of the official designer to name and format the skin accordingly. by the time someone has 7 skins accepted, they should pretty much be familiar with the format, so i dont forsee any potential problems. and even if a couple slip by that arent properly formated, theres always our talented staff members to fix them. __________________________ QUOTE(angel_roh @ Jan 22 2005, 5:52 AM) btw... does that mean that i have to submit skins like everyday? no, this is just cB's way of saying thank you for a job well done. micron Mar 24 2005, 10:28 PM last update: 03.24 forgot to mention this, the staff team reserves the right to remove any skin thats been accepted. not that theyre going to, they just have the right to. also, official designers are asked not to resubmit skins that were previously rejected before they became one. Just_Dream Oct 14 2005, 9:41 PM ^ It means that your layout doesn't go to the queue.. meaning that any member can view it. If a moderator believes that it is not fitting, then a moderator CAN delete it. It is fair because just by being official designer, it proves that you are the best of the best. BUT, if a skin is rejected, it's okay! Remember that in the long run it will help you. If the skin is rejected, one can always make it better. So, don't take it too personally. :] insomniac Dec 24 2005, 11:44 AM i do have 7 skins (counting the myspace skins as half a skin). im an official member though, so id only like to be an official member if it meant that my layouts wouldnt have to wait in the queue anymore.. http://www.createblog.com/skins/index.php?author_id=79019 edit// my livejournal/website ones have the same images, but had to be coded very differently, so i think they should be counted as separate, "unique" skins. tcunningham1589 Jan 5 2006, 7:53 PM QUOTE(insomniac @ Dec 24 2005, 12:44 PM) i do have 7 skins (counting the myspace skins as half a skin). im an official member though, so id only like to be an official member if it meant that my layouts wouldnt have to wait in the queue anymore.. http://www.createblog.com/skins/index.php?author_id=79019 edit// my livejournal/website ones have the same images, but had to be coded very differently, so i think they should be counted as separate, "unique" skins. The Reese Witherspoon//perfect & Alias, are the same code just diff pics and colors.. Just_Dream Jan 7 2006, 1:57 AM QUOTE(insomniac @ Dec 24 2005, 8:44 AM) i do have 7 skins (counting the myspace skins as half a skin). im an official member though, so id only like to be an official member if it meant that my layouts wouldnt have to wait in the queue anymore.. http://www.createblog.com/skins/index.php?author_id=79019 edit// my livejournal/website ones have the same images, but had to be coded very differently, so i think they should be counted as separate, "unique" skins. You have three myspace skins, so 1 would count as 1/2, thus you'd only have about... 5.5 skins... tcunningham1589 Jan 8 2006, 12:46 AM ^ if each myspace layout was 1/2 of a layout, and each other layout counts as 1, then wouldn't that count up to be "7.5" layouts? incoherent Jan 8 2006, 3:57 PM ^ yeah, i counted up the same amount. insomniac Jan 9 2006, 12:09 AM QUOTE(tcunningham1589 @ Jan 8 2006, 12:46 AM) ^ if each myspace layout was 1/2 of a layout, and each other layout counts as 1, then wouldn't that count up to be "7.5" layouts? thats what i thought it was. eh. ill just submit another layout then. Madame C Jan 9 2006, 12:33 AM QUOTE(insomniac @ Dec 24 2005, 11:44 AM) i do have 7 skins (counting the myspace skins as half a skin). im an official member though, so id only like to be an official member if it meant that my layouts wouldnt have to wait in the queue anymore.. http://www.createblog.com/skins/index.php?author_id=79019 edit// my livejournal/website ones have the same images, but had to be coded very differently, so i think they should be counted as separate, "unique" skins. With the "new" skinning system, official designers can't bypass queue. insomniac Jan 9 2006, 10:03 PM ah. then its not worth it. i was just tired of the wait, especially with website layouts. i hope that changes soon. ill stick with my official member status then. mona lisa Jan 10 2006, 9:37 AM You get the same benefits as an Official Designer as you do for Official Member... And the "wait" really just depends on how fast the moderators can get through the queue. It takes longer if the server is down. As well, there are literally tons of layouts that aren't actual layouts and it would be much faster if people didn't submit layouts with a link rather than codes or if some actually followed the guidelines. There's nothing against website layouts that makes you think they get accepted last or something. The layouts that are submitted first are accepted/rejected first. It's only left there if someone is unsure about it and leaves it to another moderator to choose. It's just that in the recent times, we've been having problems with the server or the uploader. I don't know what you're complaining about... insomniac Jan 10 2006, 11:33 AM im not complaining! ive just noticed that because only a few mods can approve website layouts, they take a lot more time to be accepted compared to xanga layouts. no complaints. mona lisa Jan 10 2006, 8:54 PM :) Well then, okay. Yeah, it's just Design and Head Staff and admins. Although... any mod (except People) can accept them. Anyway, I'll try to get into the queue more often. I'm getting better about remembering to go through the layouts. Really. I just don't want anyone to become discouraged because there isn't a reason to become discouraged. This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here .
MySpace Video Code
Music Video Codes For MySpace, Friendster, Xanga Or Any Website - Over 15,000 Music Video Codes at GetMusicVideoCodes.com Download Your Top 5 Tunes No strings attached. Just sign up for a FREE 14 day trial of Rhapsody and start downloading FREE music. Rude Offensive Tshirts! Sure to shock, offend and possibly get you punched in the face. Whatever, you'll be the coolest looking guy in the ER! Advertise On GetMusicVideoCodes.com Do you want to expose your site/product to 1000's of very hip, young, musically orientated people? advertise here ADVERTISEMENT | home | tell a friend myspace tweaks myspace graphics myspace celebs cavern club forum i am bored ska forum moronland celebrity oops Add Your Link musicvideo codes Welcome to the worlds largest collection of free music video codes updated daily. GetMusicVideoCodes.com provide the largest selection of music video codes online. Find music video codes for over 15,000 music videos live on our website right now. We are proud to say our database of music video codes is far superior to our competitors and we update it daily. If you can't find the video you're looking for please use our forum to drop us a line and let us know. We are happy to find any music video code you may desire. If you'd like to put one of our music video codes on your Website you'll find easy cut-and-paste code to enable you to do so. It couldn't be easier! Add videos to your MySpace, Xanga, Friendster, Live Journal, Migente, Blogger, Asian Avenue, Mindviz , Geocities or Website today. Thanks for looking and be sure to tell your friends , bookmark us and come back often. Have Your Say In The GMVC Poll! Artist: Trent Tomlinson Title: Drunker Than Me search musicvideo Artist Title Quick Search: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z most recent musicvideocodes top 25 musicvideocodes Song Title | Artist rating | added | views » Sweet Jane (LIVE) by The Velvet Underground 01/11/06 | 174 » Minuteman For The Moment by Look What I Did 01/11/06 | 142 » Your Man by Josh Turner 01/10/06 | 709 » Yellin' At The X-Mas Tree by Billy Idol 01/10/06 | 333 » Birdcall by J.R. Writer 01/09/06 | 707 » Birdo by Horse The Band 01/09/06 | 503 » Fall Into Sleep by Mudvayne 01/08/06 | 1084 » Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx 01/07/06 | 3729 » We Belong Together by Gavin DeGraw 01/07/06 | 2180 » These Things by She Wants Revenge 01/05/06 | 1443 » Like That by Black Eyed Peas 01/04/06 | 2680 » Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It by Dem Franchize Boyz 01/03/06 | 4609 » Have A Party by Mobb Deep 01/02/06 | 2690 » Don by Miranda 12/28/05 | 2475 » King Slayer by Grand Magus 12/28/05 | 1666 » What's Up Fatlip? by Fatlip 12/27/05 | 1953 » Tanto Amar by Haydee Milanes 12/27/05 | 1841 » The Fallen by Franz Ferdinand 12/26/05 | 2403 » Un Padacito De Navidad by Voz A Voz 12/26/05 | 1991 » Do Ya Thing by P$C 12/25/05 | 3559 » Drunker Than Me by Trent Tomlinson 12/25/05 | 2444 » John's Song by The Bacon Brothers 12/25/05 | 1850 » Back Again by Dilated Peoples 12/24/05 | 2345 » Little Dead Girl by The Bronx Casket Co. 12/24/05 | 2267 » Give The Jew Girl Toys by Sarah Silverman 12/23/05 | 2545 Song Title | Artist rating | added | views » Grillz by Nelly 11/11/05 | 618955 » Stickwitu by Pussycat Dolls 10/26/05 | 591728 » My Humps by Black Eyed Peas 10/16/05 | 577113 » One Wish by Ray J 09/01/05 | 459427 » Don't Forget About Us by Mariah Carey 11/10/05 | 370855 » Run It - Featuring Julez Santa... by Chris Brown 08/26/05 | 200269 » Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy 10/19/05 | 186618 » Photograph by Nickelback 09/01/05 | 182403 » Luxurious (Remix) by Gwen Stefani 11/14/05 | 181880 » Soul Survivor by Young Jeezy 09/19/05 | 149137 » We Be Burnin' by Sean Paul 09/06/05 | 146374 » I Think They Like Me by Dem Franchise Boyz 09/11/05 | 144727 » Because Of You by Kelly Clarkson 10/17/05 | 139742 » Dirty Little Secrets by The All-American Rejects 08/26/05 | 134178 » I'm Sprung by T-Pain 09/16/05 | 132776 » More Than Words by Frankie J 09/25/05 | 130335 » Fresh Azimiz by Bow Wow 11/19/05 | 123866 » Here We Go by Trina 10/19/05 | 118671 » Boyfriend by Ashlee Simpson 09/20/05 | 111430 » Ghost Of You by My Chemical Romance 09/15/05 | 96739 » Gold Digger by Kanye West 09/01/05 | 94355 » You And Me by Lifehouse 09/06/05 | 90778 » Mayor Que Yo by Baby Ranks 11/16/05 | 86510 » Shake by Ying Yang Twins 10/17/05 | 80059 » Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold 09/06/05 | 78714 free resource directories & cool sites Real Free Site | WaaZoo | College Humor | Dave's Daily | Active Free Stuff All 4 Free | I Am Bored | College Downtime | Link Dumper | Most Popular Sites All Links Directory | Hip Hop GetMusicVideoCodes.com hosting provided by Big Wave Hosting
Whore Train
supernaut ... i whore for art March 15, 2005 roppongi kingyo - performance art at its finest art - asia - transsexual It's not really dance or art, and it's almost a month since I read this, but there's something about the filler piece on 六本木金魚 Roppongi Kingyo in Japan Times that features kamikazi pilots, disfigured transsexual weddings and Japan's wartime past that sounds like high art to me. So if you are a first-timer like me, and if all you know about Kingyo (which means "goldfish") is along the lines of how the Hato Bus brochures describe it -- a venue for new-half (transsexual) shows featuring "the most abnormal oni-chama (guys)" -- you'll definitely be in for a big surprise. That's because all the hype on sexuality is only a tease. In reality, Kingyo's 70-minute program covers such taboo themes as Japan's wartime past, the U.S. military presence in Okinawa and the nation's poor treatment of handicapped people. Where else in the world would the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by U.S. Marines be showcased in such a setting -- every night? Yet that's exactly what Kingyo owner/director Shozo Tanimoto has done for years. — The Japan Times kamikazi pilots transsexual performner yuu maiga Go! Go! Kingyo! By TOMOKO OTAKE Staff writer If you go down to Roppongi tonight, you're sure of a few surprises. Not least, in Tokyo's favorite party zone renowned for its glitz and sleaze, you're guaranteed a world tour of ethnic restaurants, along with enough bars, dance clubs and strip joints to satisfy every taste. Then there's Roppongi Kingyo. Kingyo is a "show pub" tucked away down a back alley a couple of minutes' walk from the station. When you find it, though, you'll never forget the motif on its yellow entrance sign: a coquettish goldfish kissing a penis. To actually enter, you go through an equally memorable door . . . in the shape of a vagina. So if you are a first-timer like me, and if all you know about Kingyo (which means "goldfish") is along the lines of how the Hato Bus brochures describe it -- a venue for new-half (transsexual) shows featuring "the most abnormal oni-chama (guys)" -- you'll definitely be in for a big surprise. That's because all the hype on sexuality is only a tease. In reality, Kingyo's 70-minute program covers such taboo themes as Japan's wartime past, the U.S. military presence in Okinawa and the nation's poor treatment of handicapped people. Where else in the world would the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by U.S. Marines be showcased in such a setting -- every night? Yet that's exactly what Kingyo owner/director Shozo Tanimoto has done for years. Kingyo, now for more than a decade, has always tried to "not only draw out human emotions, but have them multiply in the audience's heads and stay there," as Tanimoto -- sporting a dapper striped suit -- explained one recent night at a dimly lit table facing the stage. A showbiz veteran of 30 years, Tanimoto owns several after-hours establishments across Tokyo, including Lexington Queen, a Roppongi disco famous for its long list of big-name visitors, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Lenny Kravitz and Christian Slater. But at Kingyo, whose decor is made to look like a goldfish bowl, Tanimoto's challenge seems to be selling provocative imagery to the rank-and-file, like groups of middle-aged women on Hato Bus sightseeing tours and aging businessmen entertaining clients. 'Half a step ahead' Getting such regular folks to fork out a 4,000 yen cover charge each -- plus several thousand more yen for a traditional Japanese course dinner and/or drinks -- is no easy task, especially with bubble-era extravagance long since a thing of the past. But Tanimoto says there is always a way to entice people, as long as he stays "half a step ahead of the times." When Kingyo opened in 1994, for instance, he said that the show's message to the audience amounted to a warning. By then, the economic bubble had already burst, but still few people could foresee what Japan would experience a few years down the road -- a series of banking and life-insurance failures that set off fears of a financial meltdown and undermined such key foundations of the society as lifetime employment. "We had two types of customers back in those days," Tanimoto recalls. "There were those who knew the bubble had burst; then there were those who didn't. Some sararimen were still gulping bottles of champagne here. So we were saying, 'Wake up! Don't you know that Japan is over?' To get our message across, we even had more than a dozen dancers end up 'dead' on stage in every show." In contrast, the Kingyo shows these days are full of bittersweet sentimentality. Even the schoolgirl-rape is gently and artistically done, complemented in the background by a mellow rendition of "Hana," a popular song written by Okinawan singer/songwriter Shokichi Kina. Tanimoto says the show's aim today is to "comfort" those businessmen who feel the mounting pressure and insecurity of restructuring despite all their hard work for so long. Changing kind of dancers "Our typical customer today is an office-worker dad who lives about an hour by train from here, and who goes home and tells his daughter to study hard so she can get into a good university," he said. "Then one day, he gets the ax." "Our message [to him] is, 'You don't have to overwork yourself any more; you've done so much.' " Over the years, Kingyo has also changed the kinds of dancers it hires. When it started, new-halfs dominated the cast, but over time the pub has reduced its dependence on transsexuals. Today, only half of the dozen dancers are transsexuals, and the rest are men dressed like men and women dressed like women, according to Tanimoto. Asked why, Tanimoto puts a spin on what might equally be interpreted as a shortage of talented transsexual dancers: "The way we use new-half has changed as the standard of our productions has gone up. We have come to value whoever shines best, whether they are female, male or new-half." Still, Kingyo remains one of the few show pubs in Tokyo where transsexuals can strut their stuff -- and earn credit for their skills rather than just be gawked at. Yuu Maiga says it was only after she started a dancing career at another of Tanimoto's show pubs seven years ago that she really felt at home. The 26-year-old star entertainer, who was born male, says she grew up always feeling like a girl. Until after her high-school graduation, she says she kept her sexuality hidden, behaving like a boy in public while wearing manicure in private. Afterward, she left her hometown in Hyogo Prefecture and came to Tokyo, where she was soon recruited to work at a gay bar as a hostess. Then seven years ago, when visiting Kingyo as a guest, Yuu was mesmerized by the high-speed action on stage. She subsequently auditioned with Tanimoto's company for a part. "In many situations, especially on TV, new-half people are still treated as freaks or perverts," Yuu said backstage one night before showtime, as she put on mascara to make her big eyes look even bigger. Having completed her sex-change operations three years ago, Yuu now looks perfectly like -- or perhaps more perfectly womanly -- than a woman. "Here, we are not treated differently from other [non-transsexual] dancers," she said. "We are not commercially marketable for just being new-half any more. We go through rigorous training, and we share a conviction that our work helps raise the overall status of new-half people." Indeed, regardless of their sexuality, dancers are required to pull off some fairly astonishing feats of acrobatics. During the show, too, they change many times from one elaborate, spangle-studded costume to another, and sometimes jump on and off a conveyer belt and the split-level stage -- which moves up and down through 10 meters between the floor and ceiling. Besides watching their steps so they don't fall both dangerously and unprofessionally, they also dance to a wide range of music from jazz to rock to J-pop. Since the stage floors are made up of dozens of smaller wooden panels -- each able to be turned at right angles or slid together to become stairs in a matter of seconds -- there's no place for anything but perfect timing in the dancers' movements . . . with the dread prospect of trapped toes or worse to focus their concentration in earnest. In fact, Yuu said that once she tripped on the complicated stage, and the painful result was five stitches in her elbow. Yet even today, after four years at Kingyo, her feet are covered in bruises, she confides. Likewise, stage staffers are under enormous pressure to get things right every time. Twenty-seven-year-old Takayuki Kimura, who operates the computer-controlled stage panels, knows that the dancers' lives could literally be at his fingertips. "It's like playing a musical instrument," says Kimura, who majored in stage production. "I can change the stage structure by pushing several buttons in succession. But if I pushed the wrong one, the stage would transform into the completely wrong shape." Unpredictable audiences What's more, the aging machines act weirdly at times. On one occasion recently, the show was suspended for about 10 minutes, as the emergency alarm for one of the stage floors went off due to a computer glitch. So not all is perfect in this Tokyo goldfish bowl which, while glitzy, does not reach the terpsichorean heights of Takarazuka either. Also, audience responses vary from night to night. Once, for example, after a scene that re-enacted Japan's wartime sentiment by having a school-uniformed young boy saluting skyward as he braced himself to go to war -- with his weeping mother beside him -- a group of women giggled, then they started to yell out, "I don't get it!" Yet, during the same scene another night, one person seemed quite overcome and just couldn't stop clapping furiously. But any response is probably better than no response at all for Tanimoto, who says that he himself regards war as "meaningless." But he keeps his messages open-ended. It's his business-savvy. "It's all part of our marketing strategy," Tanimoto says with a grin. "We want people to be disturbed and hooked -- and to come back for more." Technorati Tags: - Japan - Transsexual - Performance