Good news, my darklings… Basil Farrow’s not going to starve, and the Tokyo pop culture shenanigans shall continue! I landed a very neat gig as a freelance contributor to CNNGo, a soon-to-be-launched Asia travel/lifestyle website.

† What? Lifestyle content and city guides for Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, and Mumbai, all under the umbrella of CNN. I am writing five or more articles a week for the Explorations section, which is where you’ll land if you visit the site from anywhere other than the six above regions.

†Where? I can submit articles from anywhere in world (that’s the way a job should be!). They’ll appear on www.cnngo.com (the website is not yet up).

†When? CNNGo launches soon, in late September or early October!

How cool is CNNGo and why should you be excited? Because of…

† The subject: I get to pitch and write about the Asian pop culture oddities I adore. Such as Mr. Roboto chefs, pampered pets, overpriced fruit, cute characters, disturbing theme parks…

† The tone: It’s fun, witty writing – quite similar to my voice on this blog. No dry drivel.

† The team: My editor Chris Anderson is a blast to work with and hilarious on Skype which, in my books, counts for a lot. And the Tokyo writing team is a pack of all-stars: W. David Marx, Patrick Macias, Jean Snow, Matt Alt… yup.

† The utility: CNNGo is a resource you will come back to, especially if you live/travel in Asia. We’ll give you the scoop on the food/style/spa/nightlife gems that stud Asia’s metropolises.

I’m having super big fun with the work and the site design is great (and you know I’m picky). When CNNGo launches, I’ll post links to my articles on this blog so you won’t miss a thing. And no, of course this won’t cut into La Carmina’s daily updates. You know my OCD better than that.

I feel tremendously lucky to be able to write about my Asia pop culture fascinations for a cool site with a red-hot team. The photo above sums up the vibe: a maid café in Akihabara I shot for my Theme Restaurant book, with guests Tiffany Godoy (Tokyo fashion expert and author of Japanese Goth) and Nathan Reaven (head of HearJapan music label, which specializes in Visual Kei). May the adventures continue!