As promised in the post about PauseTalk Vol. 56, there’s now a Facebook gallery of photos from the event, all taken as usual by Michael Holmes. Big thanks as always to Michael for attending and sharing these photos.

Let me start by thanking everyone who came out this past Monday for PauseTalk Vol. 56, the last one for the year. We were a larger group than in the past few months, and it was a really nice way to share some thoughts on the year that was, covering how various projects fared, and what our hopes are for 2012. As with recent PauseTalks, Michael Holmes — who is also taking photos for our PechaKucha Nights in Tokyo now — was there and snapping away, and so I’ll share those photos once they pop up (probably on Facebook, so join the PauseTalk FB page why don’t you).

Below, a partial (but pretty much complete) list of those who attended. Please note that January is a skip month, and so the next PauseTalk (Vol. 47) will happen on February 6.

• Anna Jasinski (Illustrator/Graphic Designer)
• Christopher Lindstrom (Grad Student/Voiceover Performer)
• David Steinberg (Game Developer/Musician)
• Don Kratzer (Creative Director)
• Haruna Tsuda (Graphic Designer)
• Jean Snow (PauseTalker Emeritus)
• Lachlan McTaggart (Designer/Architecture Student)
• Megumi Nishikura (Filmmaker)
• Michael Holmes (Photographer)
• Mio Toyoda (Web/Graphic Designer)
• Niko Lanzuisi (Film Director)
• Raymond Ellis (Gallery Director/Artist)
• Said Karlsson (Journalist/Photographer/Game Producer)
• Seiko Yoshida (Hair Color Specialist)
• Shunya Sugawata (Product Designer)
• Taylor Cass Stevenson (Visual Artist)
• Tom Coombs (User Experience Consultant)
• Walter Gethrey Peach (Video Artist/Creative Director)
• Weaw J. (Peace Studies)

Just a reminder that this coming Monday (December 5) sees PauseTalk Vol. 56 at Cafe Pause (from 20:00, although people usually start showing up from 19:30). It will be the last one of the year, since I always skip January because of the holidays, and so hope to see many of you there — consider it a creative bonnenkai (year-end party).

Big thanks to everyone who made it to tonight’s PauseTalk Vol. 55. As has been the norm over the past few months, we had some really nice discussions, and this time it felt like a continuous one — starting from thoughts on Tokyo Design Week, which lead to a general discussion on the state of design and then events in Tokyo.

Below, the participants who signed the attendance list. For quite a while now I’ve been wanting to develop a better — and more useful — way of sharing details on those who attend, and I hope to have something to share in the coming weeks, maybe by the time the next PauseTalk comes around.

That next edition (Vol. 56) will be held on December 5, and please note that not only will it be the final PT of the year, but it will also be the last one until February, since January is always a skip month (because of the New Year’s holiday).

• Asako Koide (PR)
• Christopher Butcher (Writer/Festival Organizer)
• David Steinberg (Game Developer/Musician)
• Don Kratzer (Designer)
• Ed Thompson (Marketing Consulting)
• Jean Snow (PauseTalk Emeritus)
• Kyoko Bowskill (Webshop Owner)
• Mark McFarlane (iPhone Developer)
• Michael [tm] Smith (Political Operative)
• Niko Lanzuisi (Director/Illustrator)
• Said Karlsson (Journalist/Photographer/Game Producer)
• Samuel Cockedey (Photographer)
• Tom Coombs (User Experience Consultant)

Just a reminder that this month’s edition of PauseTalk (Vol. 55) happens this coming Monday (November 7) at Cafe Pause, with the regular start time of 20:00 (feel free to come earlier and hang out though). Hope to see many of you there!

I know I’m terribly late with this, but here’s a partial list of those who attended this past month’s PauseTalk Vol. 54 (those who signed up the attendance sheet). It was an interesting evening, with the talk this time often revolving around game development and design, since we had a few developers as part of the group. I posted the link the other day, but again, here’s a fun gallery of photos taken by Michael Holmes. The next PauseTalk (Vol. 55) is set for November 7.

• Anna-Maria Montonen (Product Designer)
• Colin Northway (Game Developer)
• Derek Arnwine (Photographer)
• Jean Snow (Executive PauseTalker)
• Jeffrey Chiedo (Photographer/Gallerist)
• Mark McFarlane (App Making Mercenary)
• Matt Date (Actor/Management)
• Michael Holmes (Photographer)
• Niko Gaetano Lanzuisi (Film Director)
• Said Karlsson (Journalist/Photographer/Game Developer)
• Sarah Northway (Game Developer)
• Scott Popular (CEO Final Round Japan)
• Seiko (Hair Color Specialist)
• Shota Kubono (Photographer)

I know I’m late sharing the list of participants from last week’s PauseTalk Vol. 54 — another great one, by the way — and I’ll get to that soon, but here’s a gallery of photos from the evening courtesy of Michael Holmes. If you’re wondering how he gets that effect, it’s done through the use of a reverse fisheye lens — he also put up a gallery following Vol. 50.

So yes, time again to remind everyone that the next PauseTalk (Vol. 54) is coming up, set for this coming Monday (October 3) at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro, with the usual start time of 20:00. As I wrote for Vol. 53, we had a terrific night, so hoping this next one will be just as good.

Also, PechaKucha Night in Tokyo Vol. 85 is happening tomorrow (September 28) — following our annual summer break — at SuperDeluxe in Roppongi. Doors open at 19:00, presentations start at 20:20, and entry is 1000 yen. You’ll find the list of presenters on the official event page, but we’re also expecting a few extras, courtesy of this week’s World Congress of Architecture.

You’ll find PauseTalk on Facebook here, and there’s a Twitter feed too.

After taking a break in August, we were back with PauseTalk Vol. 53 this past Monday, and what a terrific evening it was. We kicked things off with a talk on the topic of “creatives” (the term itself), which evolved into a general discussion of the titles we use or give ourselves, and then elsewhere (as it always does). It was also a bittersweet night as it marked the last PauseTalk for regular attendee Josh McKible, who has been coming for close to 5 years (he’s leaving Japan next month). As I posted the other day, Don Kratzer enlisted us in a round of tequila shots to mark the occasion.

Also, the lovely photo in this post — taken from outside the cafe — is by Gueorgui Tcherednitchenko.

Below is a partial (but almost complete) list of attendees — the ones who signed the attendance sheet — and please note that PauseTalk Vol. 54 will be held on Monday, October 3. And to stay updated, you can now follow PauseTalk on Twitter.

• Ayako Harrison (Flower Artist)
• Don Kratzer (Creative Director)
• Gueorgui Tcherednitchenko (UI Engineer)
• Jean Snow (Executive PauseTalker)
• Josh McKible (Illustrator)
• Kumi Nishimura (Interior Designer)
• Mark McFarlane (iPhone Developer)
• Megumi Nishikura (Filmmaker)
• Michael Smith (Political Operative)
• Riki Watanabe (Designer)
• Said Karlsson (Journalist/Photographer/Game Producer)
• Stephan Schmidt (Web Content Producer)
• Victor Kelemen (Engineer)
• Vincent Bui (CG Designer)

Following a summer break, PauseTalk is back this coming Monday (September 5) at Cafe Pause for a 53rd edition. The official session will start at 20:00, as always, but feel free to come earlier — I usually get there around 19:30 or so. I will be creating a Facebook event page — here is the PauseTalk page on Facebook — but because the notifications don’t seem to work as well with fan pages as they did with groups, I’ll also be creating a newsletter, for those of you who want to make sure they get the reminders each month.