Archives for December, 2002
2002.12.30 (Mon)
Chinese characters on the lid of a wooden box.
Tolkein’s Fingerprint
22:32 | Comments (4)
The newly discovered translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkein would make a great literary hoax.
2002.12.29 (Sun)
Traditional Fire Warning Rhythm
22:32 | Comments (9)
Recordings of the traditional Japanese woodblock fire warning rhythm, heard through the winter nights in neighbourhoods across the land.
2002.12.27 (Fri)
Accessorize Your iPod
22:32 | Comments (56)
Stopped by Sakuraya in Shinjuku this afternoon and saw this, um… accessory.
The Return of the Scapbook?
22:32 | Comments (4)
Will NetNewsWire bring back the Scrapbook?
Bullet Phone
22:32 | Comments (7)
Clever print campaign for Hitachi’s new flip phone, Shinjuku station this afternoon.
2002.12.25 (Wed)
Happy 25th
22:32 | Comments (6)
Happy 25th, everyone!
I’m Glad Eric Exists
22:32 | Comments (0)
Boy, am I ever glad Eric exists. What a part of my life! (Nobody bought me nothin’ either…)…
2002.12.23 (Mon)
Joe Strummer Dies
22:32 | Comments (2)
The BBC is reporting that Joe Strummer is dead.
Yes, We Have No Sopranos
22:32 | Comments (10)
Well, I’ve exhausted the local video store’s supply of The Sopranos. Now what do I do?
2002.12.22 (Sun)
Spammers Harvesting RSS
22:32 | Comments (14)
This was only a matter of time of course, but I’ve received the first piece of spam sent to an address that only appears in my RSS feeds.
Night Fever
22:32 | Comments (0)
Gimme that night fever, night fever…. Muzak® is evil.
NetNewsWire 1.0b1
22:32 | Comments (1)
Apparently it’s not enough that Brent Simmons has changed the way I read the web. Now he’s going to change…
Kyoto Journal
22:32 | Comments (0)
Congratulations to “Kyoto Journal” magazine, nominated for Utne Reader’s awards (yet again!) in the design and general excellence categories.
U.S. Blocks Cheap Drugs Agreement
22:32 | Comments (6)
BBC: U.S. Blocks Cheap Drugs Agreement. “This means millions of poor people will still not have access to medicines for diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.”
Taiwanese ‘Architecture’
22:32 | Comments (11)
James Boyden, a friend living in Taiwan, has sent along these photographs of some truly hideous local architecture – if it can be called that – and abandoned highrise.
2002.12.19 (Thu)
Zacharek on “Adaptation”
22:32 | Comments (3)
A no-holds-barred trashing of “Adaptation” from Stephanie Zacharek in Salon.
2002.12.18 (Wed)
Jurisdiction: A Shot Across the Bow
22:32 | Comments (5)
Via dangerousmeta, a link to a ZDNet story on 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that challenges the recent Australian High Court’s libel jurisdiction decision.
2002.12.16 (Mon)
Why Phone Cameras Make a Noise
22:32 | Comments (16)
A new and sadly predictable use for cell phones with cameras: ‘up-skirt’ porn.
2002.12.14 (Sat)
Afros and Pink Teddy Bears
22:32 | Comments (22)
Does anyone else find this advertisement for a local DSL service somewhat surreal?
Kissinger Quits Panel
22:32 | Comments (2)
Kissinger quits as chairman of the 9/11 inquiry. Could the disclosure requirements have had anything to do with it?
Rocky VI
22:32 | Comments (79)
Just shoot me now. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Sylvester Stallone has been hired to do “Rocky VI.”…
2002.12.13 (Fri)
WordLookup
22:32 | Comments (4)
Looking for that special kanji for the tattoo you’re about to get? Use WordLookup, a free multilingual dictionary application for OS X from Lindesay Electric.
Eco-friendly Japan
22:32 | Comments (3)
The BBC reports on the recent Eco-Products Expo in Tokyo. Now if we can just get rid of those floating televisions in the Japan Sea….
Signal vs. Noise
22:32 | Comments (4)
37 Signals have redesigned Signal vs. Noise.
2002.12.11 (Wed)
Big Deal for QT in Japan
22:32 | Comments (0)
From CNet: Apple’s QuickTime is poised to make headway as an audio and video delivery platform for mobile phones in Japan, with new standards-compatible software on its way and a fresh endorsement by leading wireless carrier NTT DoCoMo.
2002.12.10 (Tue)
Jurisdiction
22:32 | Comments (4)
From the BBC: Australia’s high court has ruled that the financial publishers Dow Jones can be sued in the Australian state of Victoria over an article that appeared on their website.
2002.12.09 (Mon)
Questionning Tanaka’s Nobel Prize
22:32 | Comments (3)
The ABC reports on a “bitter dispute” over the worthiness of the Japanese recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Woke up to a nice surprise this morning: snow!
2002.12.07 (Sat)
Don’t Steal Music?
22:32 | Comments (5)
You can rent audio CDs from Tsutaya, the largest chain of video stores in Japan. They’ll also sell you an astonishing array of blank media to on which to record them.
A TV Confession
22:32 | Comments (11)
I may be about to enter an extended bout of television watching. My video store is stocking “The Sopranos.”
Glyphs: “Shin”
22:32 | Comments (17)
In response to a comment on a previous post about kanji tattoos, here are some glyphs for the character “shin” – core, heart, marrow.
Raising Eyebrows
22:32 | Comments (17)
Plucked redux: after extensive research and field observation, Antipixel presents “Notes Towards a Taxonomy of Eyebrow Morphology in Adolescent Japanese Males”
“Sen to Chihiro” Lawsuit
22:32 | Comments (5)
Got this off Slashdot so forgive me posting it here, but it seems that people in Kyõto and Hyõgo prefectures…
2002.12.06 (Fri)
Unprecedented numbers of Japanese men are plucking or shaving their eyebrows, and I’m beginning to identify patterns….
Takahashi Soba-ya
22:32 | Comments (3)
A not-bad shot of the Takahashi noodle shop out by Mt. Takao. Best damned noodles I’ve ever had.
2002.12.05 (Thu)
MacWorld Tokyo Cancelled!
22:32 | Comments (2)
MacWorld Tokyo 2003 cancelled!?
Kanji Months
22:32 | Comments (18)
Someone did a search here recently for the names of the months in Japanese (kanji). Here they are, along with the days of the week.
Adaptation Review
22:32 | Comments (0)
Matt Zoller Seitz has a review of “Adaptation”, the new feature from Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, on nypress.com….
Eclipse Photos
22:32 | Comments (0)
The Sydney Morning Herald has a page of photographs of yesterday’s eclipse.
2002.12.03 (Tue)
The Kitty-chan Sandwich Maker
22:32 | Comments (9)
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Kitty-chan sandwich maker, octopus ball cooker, and hotcake iron.
Free Financial Advice
22:32 | Comments (1)
Free financial advice from Supafamous. I do believe I’ll take it.
Hitchens on Latest Kissinger Debacle
22:32 | Comments (2)
Christopher Hitchens neatly summarises the proven and alleged evils of Henry Kissinger in this Slate.com article.
2002.12.01 (Sun)
Plush Toy Gulag
22:32 | Comments (3)
Life as a stuffed toy in this house is like life under Stalin during the Soviet era.
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