| 03 September 2010
Hamadoun Touré, the Secretary General of the UN's International Telecommunications Union since 1999, says that it's crucial that we start thinking in new terms about cyberspace. If not, he warns, we could face a destructive potential "worse than a tsunami."
| 03 September 2010
On a July trip to Mount Takao, besides the fragrance of the Japanese lily, you can enjoy the beauty of the hydrangea flowers. There are hundreds of hydrangea shrubs along this alley heading to the Takaosan Yakuoin Yukiji Temple. Hydrangea has a strong connection to the Japanese Buddhist traditions, because the Japanese traditional tea ama-cha (sweet tea), used during Buddha’s Birthday (Hana Matsuri) ceremonies, is made from hydrangea leafs…
| 03 September 2010
I'm a fan of both Lucky Star and the Street Fighter video game series. When I found out that a set of Lucky Star nendoroid petit figures dressed as the characters from Street Fighter were coming out, I was excited. After the wait, I got them in the mail yesterday. I will say it, these figures are really nice.
| 03 September 2010
[Found this one on Dvice. I wish my iPhone could do this. Haha.]Once again Japanese schoolgirls are popularizing bleeding-edge technology, this time via Japan's latest photo booths that zap anyone with instant photoshop magic designed to make even the homeliest poser cute as a puppy.
Known as purikura ("print club") machines in Japan, the photo booths are as common as karaoke boxes in the country, but the latest versions widen your eyes and lighten your skin for an effect that looks like the work of a plastic surgeon with an anime fetish. The transformation is so effective one news show tried it on a photo of the Mona Lisa with startlingly effective results (see the "blasphemy in the service of cuteness" in the video above).
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 02 September 2010
When you stick the kanji "Ita" in front of a noun, you get a new word that describes something that is plastered with 2D girls. For example:- "Itasha" (Moe car) > example "Itachari" (Moe Bicycle) > example "Itabeya" (Moe room) > example And now we have Ita Controller as made by Itabeya-san.
| 02 September 2010
It's finally available for preorder! I've been watching for this for months now.KAWAAAIIII~
| 02 September 2010
Gokokusan Tenno-ji Temple was established some 600 years ago (sometimes between 1394 and 1427), in the Muromachi period and it is one of the oldest temples in Tokyo. Right when I was passing by the entrance, a strong rain forced me to take refuge under the gate. It was one of those sublime moments, when peace and tranquility surrounds you…
| 02 September 2010
"Hobby," my ass. As expected, Steve Jobs poked out of his magic turtleneck and presented us more cooler-than-thou iPods. And they are really cool. Regardless, today's big news is for a product Steve Jobs once famously referred to as a hobby: Apple TV. Far from being an afterthought, the new Apple TV is a big deal, and it sets the stage for a future Apple product — an actual TV.
| 01 September 2010
Marketing can be a thankless job. Most people do not want advertisements shoved down their throats. But we know that if there weren't ads then there would be less content and television would consist solely of reality shows and all games would be text based. But there are times when the marketing goes so overboard that we shake our heads and flip our monitor the bird.
| 01 September 2010
Asakusa Shrine is built in the gongen-zukuri style, a complex of three buildings forming an H, with a common roof. This is the Haiden, the “hall of worship” or oratory, a building used for ceremonies and for worshiping the shrine’s kami. Behind the two Zuijin guardians, I caught a glimpse of the Haiden, the main sanctuary, the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine: Click on photo for higher resolution:
| 01 September 2010
Japan's recent Good Design Expo 2010 was the site for the unveiling of a design prototype called the X-Frame Folding vehicle, an innovation in urban mobility that could ultimately replace the common motorcycle.
Designed by researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, the X-Frame's shape, specifically its seating area, actually changes depending on speed, terrain and number of passengers, and when not in use the entire vehicle folds up vertically for storage. Powered by a replaceable electric battery housed in the vehicle's rear wheel, the X-Frame offers the best in eco-friendly city transport with a minimum parking footprint.
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 31 August 2010
Well, it's my first post T_TIt's the virtual diva's 3rd birthday and time to celebrate! From the day she was released her popularity has grown rapidly, with many popular songs and PVs. She has had countless figures made of her as well as other merchandise including T-shirts, straps, key-chains and even 2 popular PSP games. Live concerts were held in Tokyo, with holograms showing Miku and other Vocaloids on the stage. So let's pay tribute to the great idol and wish her many happy returns!I tried putting videos on but it would seem it doesn't work. Help anyone? orz
| 30 August 2010
Just basic pokeballs, rendered in pseudo 3d style in Adobe Illustrator for skills practice...I have been having trouble posting of late, so i decided to try a simple one and see if it works now.This is old vector art practice of mine, rendered as icons you can download here.Other than that, nothing special. Look for more significant posts in the near future.
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 30 August 2010
OLED is a difficult technology to make in large screen sizes, which is why there are only a couple of small-size OLED sets available today. But if this 31-inch prototype set from LG is any indication, when those big screen sizes come, the results will be hot, hot, hot.
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 30 August 2010
Choosing the wrong exit from the Hamamatsucho Station, I discovered this beautiful Inari Shrine, built on a terrace right next to the World Trade Center building. The torii, the fence and the lanterns, everything looked amazing in the sunset light…
| 29 August 2010
Yesterday we looked at a gorgeous way to recycle computer circuit boards, but what about all of the associated wiring? This dress made from computer ribbon wire might provide an answer.
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 28 August 2010
Marquetry is a centuries-old art, but it's almost always created using contrasting strips of fine wood veneer. New York based artist Theo Kamecke puts a beautiful spin on this process, by using the patterns contained in old printed circuit boards as his raw material.
...(Read whole news on source site)
| 28 August 2010
This time around, the DFC Saturday pictures are particularly great, in my opinion. At least I like them a lot and I hope so do you. There's no need for any more blabber; it's time to feast your eyes. Artists captions available on my blog.
| 27 August 2010
Opera-tan is the unofficial mascot for the Opera browser created by illustrator temp_h. According to temp_h's latest blog entry, Hobby Link Japan will be bringing out a garage kit figure of Opera-tan this November and that comrade Modeller-T will be the sculptor.
Is Opera the first browser to get its own figure then?
Used to be a die-hard IE user until about 2003-ish when I switched to Firefox. Me use Chrome on the MacBook Air though as Firefox is resource intensive. Have not been using Safari due to the lack of extensions up until recently. Gave Opera a whirl for a bit but then stopped whirling.
| 27 August 2010
Just saw the post by Yui over at Figure.fm about the new 50cm bodies by Volks entitled Dollfie Dream Sister (DDS). Looks like they've come out with a completely revamped body - dying to get my hands on one ^^; More pics at the official DD Blog.
...(Read whole news on source site)
