Oh, the Humanity
Nothing human is strange.
Jane Jacobs dies
2006.04.26, 08:20 | Comments (0)
Jane Jacobs, author of Death and Life of Great American Cities, has died at the age of 89.
Terrorist Watch List
2006.03.11, 01:08 | Comments (6)
Doing time for telling time.
FluidEffect’s before-and-after celebrity pictures
2006.02.24, 13:09 | Comments (13)
Some pretty darned good Photoshop work from FluidEffect makes celebrities look beautiful.
Japanese scientists identify earwax gene
2006.01.30, 10:31 | Comments (10)
This is not a question on which I spend a lot of time, so I’m probably not the one to walk you through this, but I had to note with interest that there is a gene after all and that it’s probably not quite as simple as a butterfly flaps its wings in the Philippines and a blogger cleans his ears in Tokyo.
The many faces of cosplay
2006.01.28, 12:11 | Comments (0)
Video of people dressing up for anime convention and the magical powers therein conferred.
Court drops case against Pamuk
2006.01.23, 21:49 | Comments (1)
In the BBC feed just now: Court drops Turkish writer’s case
Busted by a parrot
2006.01.17, 21:27 | Comments (3)
From the BBC: A parrot owner was alerted to his girlfriend’s infidelity when his talkative pet let the cat out of the bag by squawking “I love you Gary”.
Nougat centres abound
2005.08.08, 14:50 | Comments (2)
Damn! I could have had a career drawing for the New Yorker! If only I could draw. And was funny.
Supafamous: Cooperative multiitasking
2005.06.25, 16:39 | Comments (4)
I don’t have ‘huge frontal tables’ although I wish I did
Scenic Milwaukee
2005.06.19, 23:06 | Comments (5)
I haven’t been to scenic Milwaukee, but these postcards from ‘Along the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Old Line’ make me feel as if I have. I found a packet of 10 Pictorial Postcards (of which seven remained: the three that were sent must have been breathtaking) in a second-hand bookstore today.
In the old days, postcards like these served as in-flight entertainment. Today they stir a wistful longing to be more easily amused.
Oops. Anti-poverty wristbands produced in sweatshops
2005.05.30, 09:58 | Comments (21)
Scotsman.com – FASHIONABLE wristbands worn by pop stars, actors, top athletes and celebrities to publicise the Make Poverty History campaign are produced in appalling ‘slave labour’ conditions, damning evidence has revealed.
Scotsman.com: Japan’s plan to evict foreign ‘residents’
2005.05.11, 12:23 | Comments (1)
A SCOTTISH diplomat who helped secure a historic treaty between Britain and Japan could be evicted from his resting place in a Tokyo cemetery amid plans to turn the burial ground into a park.
Adobe acquires Macromedia
2005.04.18, 19:27 | Comments (19)
Heavens above.
A chesty lettering problem
2005.03.17, 23:10 | Comments (25)
What do you think this tattoo says across the chest of the person in this photograph Lil took?
Contax ends production of 35mm cameras
2005.03.06, 11:45 | Comments (5)
Via dangerousmeta: Contax is dead! (35mm and digital, at least: the 645s apparently live on.)
The African Cliff
2005.03.04, 18:03 | Comments (2)
A startling graph showing reduced life expectancy in 5 African countries due to AIDS. Via Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution
The evolution of the curmudgeonly spirit
2005.02.28, 13:39 | Comments (4)
Pretentious self-preservation thought of the day: The curmudgeonly spirit evolves to act as a sort of brake on impulses or behaviour that while possibly beneficial in the short-term, are not in our long-term interests. It’s there to keep an eye on the marginalia which are usually subordinate to bald economic concerns.
Hunter S. Thompson dead at 65
2005.02.21, 14:11 | Comments (6)
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of journalism in books like *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,* fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.
Save Aoyama Cemetery
2005.02.19, 22:47 | Comments (8)
There was a story in the Yomiuri the other day about removing graves from Aoyama Cemetery because no one’s paying the upkeep (¥590 per square metre per year) on the plots. Quite a few foreign graves have been marked for removal.
Bird ‘flu: here we go
2005.01.29, 00:19 | Comments (4)
BBC: Professor John Oxford, a leading UK expert, said the virus had broken down the “final door” which prevented it being spread between people.
Oh, the chimpanity
2005.01.27, 07:50 | Comments (1)
BBC: Chimpanzees display a similar sense of fairness to humans, one which is shaped by social relationships, experts claim.
Four more years
2005.01.21, 12:25 | Comments (24)
Dangerousmeta neatly and chillingly sums it up
A winter ritual
2005.01.12, 08:48 | Comments (2)
When it’s cold like this, tucking in the bottom of the futon just so becomes a little nightly ritual.
Auld Lang Syne, mon
2004.12.09, 22:39 | Comments (4)
When stores in Japan want to announce to patrons that it’s closing time, they play “Auld Lang Syne.”
Powered by Nutella
2004.12.08, 16:07 | Comments (17)
I’ve made it through the day so far almost solely on Nutella. I’m a heartbeat away from just digging the rest of it out of the jar with a spoon.
What should I do with my life?
2004.11.19, 18:25 | Comments (9)
This is my list, and here’s the key to the list
Pickup Technique Cram School for Unpopular Men
2004.11.15, 21:36 | Comments (5)
It’s just what you think it is.
Liza with an ‘f’
2004.11.11, 22:38 | Comments (7)
That’s Liza with an f, not Liza with an s, ‘cause Liza with an f spells Pfizer
Eddie Charlton dead at 75
2004.11.08, 15:33 | Comments (2)
The snooker champion dies in New Zealand after an operation.
Japan’s shrinking population
2004.10.30, 13:55 | Comments (6)
Last one to leave turn out the lights.
Republicans for Kerry: Errol Morris ads
2004.10.25, 22:05 | Comments (1)
Election ‘04 is a stunning series of advertisements by Errol Morris featuring people who voted for Bush in 2000 but will be voting for Kerry this time around.
Gods on the hoof
2004.10.23, 23:26 | Comments (7)
You know how there are stray cats and dogs that don’t belong to anyone…
The GG-DV2000
2004.10.18, 00:39 | Comments (0)
“Most vocal removing processors simply aren’t designed to handle the frequencies in Glenn Gould’s vocals.”
Derrida dead at 74
2004.10.10, 00:29 | Comments (1)
Jacques Derrida is dead at the age of 74
Akira Kurosawa action figures
2004.10.02, 12:54 | Comments (8)
Now I’ve seen everything. You can buy Akira Kurosawa action figures (or should that be Lights, camera, action! figures) in convenience stores.
Man claims domestic abuse
2004.09.19, 10:05 | Comments (1)
Reuters is reporting that a Spanish man has tried to have his wife charged with domestic abuse because she refused to have sex with him for 5 consecutive days.
Diary writing bad for health
2004.09.11, 20:44 | Comments (7)
Beware the ruminative cycle…
Cell out
2004.09.10, 22:15 | Comments (9)
But these are just rationalisations. I really just wanted to be cool.
Anna Amalia Library in Weimar burned
2004.09.04, 14:29 | Comments (4)
Many of the books and manuscripts were unique
The Scream stolen
2004.08.22, 21:21 | Comments (3)
Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, has been stolen from its museum in Norway.
Man on the train coming home yesterday
2004.08.20, 15:18 | Comments (0)
Thoughts scudding across his face like clouds
Czeslaw Milosz dead at 93
2004.08.14, 21:37 | Comments (0)
Dies at his home in Krakow surrounded by family.
Turkmen leader orders ice palace
2004.08.11, 21:32 | Comments (2)
Monica Whitlock’s story is a small comic masterpice
Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1908-2004
2004.08.05, 07:44 | Comments (0)
Cartier-Bresson has died in France aged 95.
Fire!
2004.07.19, 11:44 | Comments (0)
Something caught fire in an apartment a block over from our house about half an hour ago.
1°C = 2.5% spending increase
2004.07.05, 21:52 | Comments (2)
The Dai-ichi Life Research Institute has apparently calculated that “a rise in temperature of just 1°C increases spending on summer products by 2.5 percent.”
Prick me
2004.06.18, 21:53 | Comments (18)
I gave blood yesterday for the first time.
What would you do?
2004.06.15, 22:39 | Comments (11)
Here’s the situation: a lion has killed your wife and devoured her legs. You discover her remains. You have probably not much more than a tin of poison. What do you do?
The extent of the looting
2004.04.21, 10:00 | Comments (2)
Via dangerousmeta, a University of Chicago Chronicle story on the extent of the Iraqi archaeological looting.
Sweet transience of life
2004.03.31, 21:31 | Comments (7)
There seems to be so much going on and we’re never quite sure what to pay attention to but when you walk into an office building and a petal falls from your shoulder, a calming sense of perspective suddenly returns.
Woman on the train
2004.03.25, 23:52 | Comments (6)
Her eyebrows arching towards the bridge of her nose like the wings of a raven in flight….
Laugh Track
2004.03.16, 22:24 | Comments (9)
Another thing I thought today was what it would be like to work at a laugh-track production house.
Spalding Gray confirmed dead
2004.03.09, 09:20 | Comments (1)
A tragic end to the disappearance of Spalding Gray. Spalding Gray, 62, Actor and Monologuist, Is Confirmed DeadJesse McKinley, NYTimes…
Weather of Mass Destruction
2004.02.23, 15:11 | Comments (5)
This is a tough one. Who are you supposed to invade when you find out climate change is a greater threat than terrorism?
A 28-gram load, No. 6 shot farewell
2004.02.17, 10:00 | Comments (0)
From the Sydney Morning Herald: “An English widow has honoured the memory of her gun-loving husband by having his ashes loaded into cartridges for use by his close friends in the last shoot of the season.”
Titigation
2004.02.07, 11:04 | Comments (5)
It’s America, so someone has to sue and, like clockwork, here comes the lawsuit.
“Profits Pending” - book on gene patents
2004.02.06, 16:23 | Comments (0)
Matthew Albright’s book on gene patents, Profits Pending
The Gift
2004.02.06, 16:02 | Comments (4)
People are remarkable. You’ve probably seen this: US man fined for shipping himself.
Helmut Newton dies in car crash
2004.01.24, 10:43 | Comments (2)
Just seeing this AP story on NYTimes.com: Photographer Helmut Newton Killed in Car Crash
Bloggies
2004.01.20, 21:07 | Comments (14)
Apparently this site has been nominated in the Best Asian Weblog category of the 2004 Weblog Awards. How these things happen I just don’t know.
Steaming Fuji
2004.01.18, 23:19 | Comments (2)
This news is a bit old now, but did I mention that Fuji may be about to erupt?
Spalding Gray Missing
2004.01.14, 09:24 | Comments (10)
Last seen by his older brother over Christmas.
Shedenfreude
2004.01.11, 21:30 | Comments (15)
For a long time I’ve been wanting to do a series of photographs of men and their sheds.
Wind Farming
2004.01.06, 09:04 | Comments (9)
It’s one of those forgivable little hypocrisies of life that I find high-tension power lines and cell phone antennae heartbreakingly ugly while considering windmills and turbines simply beautiful.
Come In, Beagle 2
2003.12.27, 11:43 | Comments (2)
It seems we’ve had more bad luck than good with Mars over the years.
Merry…
2003.12.24, 23:37 | Comments (10)
…Christmas, everyone, whatever your religious persuasion. Hope you get to have a warm and happy time with family.
Christmas CD Banned for Mentioning Jesus
2003.12.22, 11:45 | Comments (8)
I don’t want to seem insensitive or hostile to the notion of so-called ‘politically correct’ behaviour, but this is pretty funny.
Ed Devereaux Dies
2003.12.18, 22:55 | Comments (12)
Ed Devereaux may not be such a familiar name to non-Australians, but to two generations of viewers he was park ranger Matt Hammond in the television series Skippy.
Why Food Tastes Good in Autumn
2003.12.14, 00:42 | Comments (8)
I’ve decided there has to be a reason why food and eating in general should be so pleasurable this season, and it must be because we’re being given a kind of metabolic cue — winter is coming: eat up!
Ruben Gonzalez Dies
2003.12.09, 18:38 | Comments (4)
The BBC has published a story from their correspondent in Havana that Ruben Gonzalez has died at the age of 84.
Infinite Hotel: The Easiest Solution
2003.12.05, 15:03 | Comments (5)
Mark Pilgrim looks at the old brainteaser of the infinite hotel. He graciously provides a solution, but it involves math. If you’re like me (and I know I am), you’re already looking for an easier solution. Here it is.
Weed Species
2003.11.28, 11:43 | Comments (13)
There are just too many of us — by a factor of 1,000! — and consequently we are doomed. Have a nice day.
Air Stocking Redux
2003.11.23, 10:38 | Comments (15)
So by now I’d say everyone’s heard about Air Stocking, the spray-on stockings in a can.
The Journal of Happiness Studies
2003.11.12, 15:04 | Comments (2)
Yes, there really is a Journal of Happiness Studies — which could either be wonderful news or yet another sign of our imminent demise.
More on Face Transplants
2003.11.11, 23:18 | Comments (0)
The BBC reports that British, French and American teams are on the verge of performing the procedure.
Galoshes
2003.11.05, 23:27 | Comments (18)
I think “galoshes” — perhaps even more so the singular, “galosh” — is my current favourite word.
Watch the Sky
2003.10.29, 00:21 | Comments (5)
If you were a god, would you come up with a universe as interesting as ours? I’m not sure I could.
Half a Fetish
2003.10.27, 16:51 | Comments (2)
OK … here’s a strange one: Left shoe fanatic held in Japan.
Man Bites Shark
2003.10.24, 13:20 | Comments (12)
You and your men are cleaning the catch in the shallow waters by the beach when a large shark approaches. What do you do?
Frank Heine, 1964–2003
2003.10.15, 09:47 | Comments (2)
Saw the sad news on Typographica just now that Frank Heine, the designer of Dalliance and many other typefaces, has died.
Neil Postman Dies
2003.10.10, 08:07 | Comments (2)
Just saw that Neil Postman has died. Notices in The Toronto Star and The New York Times.
More Japanese Choose Non-Traditional Burial
2003.10.01, 11:19 | Comments (4)
I recognised a piece of his right scapula, and the left corner of his jaw. There was a fragment of skull that I thought might have been the upper part of the occipital plate because of the zig-zaggy lines on it.
The Joke and Its Relation to the BBC
2003.09.24, 19:06 | Comments (4)
The BBC, a Bangladeshi policeman, the moon, and Sigmund Freud. I guess you had to be there. Here’s a screen-shot in case you weren’t.
The Trouble With Sex
2003.09.15, 11:03 | Comments (4)
Sam Leith on the difficulties of writing about sex in literary fiction.
Shanghai Sinking
2003.09.14, 22:10 | Comments (1)
According to a report from the BBC, Shanghai is sinking at the rate of 1.5cm a year. The city is to “slash construction” of skyscrapers, responsible for the unbearable weight.
Farewell to the Man in Black
2003.09.12, 22:00 | Comments (6)
The BBC is reporting that Johnny Cash is dead, aged 71.
Infidel Barbie
2003.09.10, 10:54 | Comments (6)
Maybe Mattel should come out with Sharia Barbie.
The Way of the Dinosaurs
2003.09.02, 11:16 | Comments (5)
This would certainly be an interesting way to go, killed by some sort of asteroid-related catastrophe like a huge tidal wave or the blocking out of the sun or the White House collapsing on you (wait, that was hostile aliens).
The Shimada Tunnel Incident
2003.08.31, 16:56 | Comments (0)
From Mainichi Intercative: A train passenger committed suicide by setting his carriage on fire while the train was passing through a tunnel in Nagano Prefecture, police said.
Riceless
2003.08.13, 10:24 | Comments (2)
Looks like another bad year for the rice harvest.
August 6, 1945
2003.08.06, 21:46 | Comments (7)
There’s not much I can say about this that won’t be said by someone else so let me just mark the day with a heartfelt prayer that we can learn the right things from history, because otherwise we are truly doomed.
Goya’s Black Paintings
2003.07.28, 11:24 | Comments (17)
I must have been about 9 or 10 years old when I discovered a book of reproductions of 19th century European paintings belonging to my grandfather. It contained a full-page plate of Goya’s Saturn (giving the title as “Saturn devouring his children”) and this is the only image I can recall from that book. It’s an image that, quite understandably, has never left me, and I’d have to say that my discovery of that picture is one of my more powerful childhood memories.
Meowlingual
2003.07.17, 21:09 | Comments (15)
It had to happen. Now there’s the Meowlingual to follow the Bowlingual.
Philosophies of Life
2003.07.14, 23:43 | Comments (23)
I find that being an atheist, while not exactly diminishing the repertoire of philosophies one can live by, does allow you to cut them from a tangier wheel of cheese than that with which the more pious might top their existential crackers (that said, I’m really just a red cheddar kind of guy).
Sumo Faces
2003.07.12, 13:58 | Comments (6)
The Asahi Shinbun featured these wonderful caricatures of sumo wrestlers in its profile of the starting lineup for the Nagoya tournament last Saturday. Take Al Hirschfield, replace the show business with a bulky pugnacity, and this is what you get.
Spray-On Jockstrap
2003.07.05, 10:54 | Comments (15)
So there are spray-on stockings for women now (a Japanese invention). I got to thinking how men could enjoy the benefits of clothing in a can and am pleased to present to active gentlemen everywhere a revolution in comfort and support: the spray-on jockstrap.
Smoking Kills
2003.07.01, 12:17 | Comments (4)
Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life. — Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti smoking campaign.
Barcode Tattoo
2003.06.30, 09:57 | Comments (93)
At the pool last week I saw a guy (Japanese, early-30s) with a barcode tattoo — only the second or third I’ve ever seen.
The Catalogue of Public Looks
2003.06.28, 10:27 | Comments (10)
There exists waiting to be written The Catalogue of Public Looks wherein all the glances, stares, gazes, and peerings of the public sphere are identified and blessed with taxonomy and their degrees of furtiveness, dartiness, lingerability, longing, lack of focus and hollowed out exhausted zombification (peaking on the trains home after work) are quantified.
Not My Way
2003.06.28, 09:24 | Comments (1)
Sydney Morning Herald: A 25-year-old Filipino man has been stabbed dead for singing a Frank Sinatra classic out of tune during a birthday party.
Britain’s 10 Most Shoplifted Items
2003.06.26, 11:22 | Comments (7)
The Centre for Retail Research in Britain lists the 10 most shoplifted items.
Cornering
2003.06.19, 18:16 | Comments (5)
Women rounding corners with their eyes shut. New developments in cornering strategies.
Literary Detective Agency
2003.06.19, 18:10 | Comments (2)
Find missing words. Follow words around, see what they get up to. Park outside their sentences with cameras.
Swept Away by Balloon
2003.06.09, 21:29 | Comments (8)
Every parent has the occasional nightmarish thought, and Gorey’s book speaks to them like no other. But this?”
Ballroom Bra
2003.06.01, 21:23 | Comments (5)
Talking to a friend the other night about a certain blues musician from the ’30s I said that he’d once killed a man in a ballroom bra.
Daikon Odori
2003.05.24, 17:59 | Comments (35)
One doesn’t just watch the Daikon Odori, one bears witness to it. I witnessed it again today and it never fails to impress as an astonishing example of the utmost dedication in service to the bizarre.
Sunday’s Earthquake
2003.05.14, 00:42 | Comments (13)
During earthquakes you seem to become extremely aware of your thought processes (perhaps it’s the radon seeping up from the ground activating generally unavailable cortices). Here’s 15 seconds from my mental log files of last Sunday night.
Another Buddhist Action Figure
2003.05.13, 13:03 | Comments (8)
Is it time for another Buddhist action figure? Yes, it is. Karma never sleeps.
Teknonymy
2003.05.08, 21:29 | Comments (8)
I knew I had one, and I’ve grown to love it, but I never knew it was a teknonym.
Foot-Tappin’ Fascists
2003.05.03, 16:40 | Comments (1)
Q: So, Jeremy, what made you become a fascist?
A: Oh, the music. Definitely the music.
Dunlop Dancers
2003.05.02, 11:30 | Comments (3)
Shibuya presents certain weirdnesses - here, the Dunlop Dancers
Rogue Satellite Terrorises Earth!
2003.04.29, 22:59 | Comments (5)
Tomorrow should be interesting. 400 kg of burning satellite will crash to earth somewhere along the equator according to New Scientist.
Iraqi Antiquities Summit
2003.04.29, 13:55 | Comments (2)
From the BBC: Representatives from some of the world’s leading museums are meeting at the British Museum in London on Tuesday to discuss how to help museums and archaeologists in Iraq.
Buddhist Action Figures: Collect ‘Em All
2003.04.28, 22:57 | Comments (12)
Is there anywhere else but Japan where you can walk into a convenience store and buy a full-colour collectible Buddhist Action Figure in a box … along with some chocolate-covered almonds?
More on the Ransacking of Baghdad
2003.04.17, 22:01 | Comments (12)
Salon.com has two additional lead stories on the ransacking of Baghdad. Neither of them brings much new to our understanding of the tragedy, but that’s not the point. I think they’ve been posted to help keep the story in the news and make sure it gets the full coverage and accounting it deserves. There are people who would love for this story to just disappear, but that simply cannot happen.
And Now the Library
2003.04.16, 09:57 | Comments (19)
This is just insane. Robert Fisk reports in The Independent that the Koranic Library has been torched. [Updated with additional links from dangerousmeta.]
Our Lost Heritage
2003.04.15, 10:59 | Comments (19)
In no time at all Bush and Hussein will be minor footnotes in history — insiginificant men remembered (with a sense of mild amazement that they could ever have come to power) only for their failures and the destruction they wrought — and their victims will be completely forgotten.
But the looting of Iraq’s National Museum has potentially destroyed vital links in the great chain of human civilisation running back several thousand years.
Lungsta Rap
2003.04.14, 11:07 | Comments (5)
Killing your roommate and eating part of her lung will certainly help cultivate a ‘gangsta’ image all right.
Auctioning the Breton Archives
2003.04.07, 12:44 | Comments (2)
André Breton’s archives of more than 5,000 objects seem set to be auctioned off by his family.
Sakura Manju
2003.04.06, 18:13 | Comments (4)
[Photo] Someone gave us some sakura sweets — little doughy things made up to look like cherry blossoms. T’is the season.
Terry Southern’s Literary Archives
2003.04.03, 11:04 | Comments (4)
Terry Southern’s literary archives go to the New York Public Library
Nude Volleyball
2003.04.01, 19:40 | Comments (6)
Re-rendering game characters so they appear nude when they play volleyball … why does this not excite me?
Sex at 11
2003.03.28, 21:37 | Comments (6)
From the BBC: “Children having sex at 11”
That’s nothing. In my day we had sex at 11 *and* 11:30.
Afloat
2003.03.25, 11:22 | Comments (16)
One couple manage to find a patch of open water in Inokashira Park.
Platypussed
2003.03.22, 14:46 | Comments (12)
Two words for Raging Platypus: Fun-ny!
Face Transplant Soon
2003.03.17, 14:00 | Comments (1)
A very brave sixteen-year-old Irish girl looks set to become the first person to undergo a face transplant operation.
O-jizou Sama
2003.03.08, 22:19 | Comments (7)
Little woolen caps for the boddhisattva.
Of Folds Epicanthic and Sub-gluteal
2003.03.07, 16:19 | Comments (10)
… or why it’s easier to have a cute bum if you’re Japanese
Stacked
2003.03.03, 22:18 | Comments (10)
This is a cut-up of a full-page ad which ran in the paper recently for an apartment complex.
Edomae Nigiri
2003.03.03, 16:27 | Comments (5)
I always wanted to go into space and I always wanted (sick, I know) to eat astronaut food — the intriguing containers of zero g, lots of plastic. Anyway, now I do.
More on Male Eyebrow Plucking
2003.03.01, 13:14 | Comments (0)
Garret links to a frequently-asked questions page on the subject of male eyebrow plucking (The Connery? The Denzel?). See my article “Raising Eyebrows” for the state of the phenomenon in Japan.
Collectibles
2003.02.02, 14:53 | Comments (3)
Columbia collectibles soar on eBay. Predictable.
Final Sequence
2003.02.02, 13:21 | Comments (2)
The trail of smoke describes the ecliptic of the unforeseen.
Kitty-chan Sausages
2003.01.26, 21:36 | Comments (19)
The stomach rumbles as the mind boggles: Kitty-chan sausages (I kid you not).
San Fancisco Bans Segways
2003.01.20, 17:16 | Comments (0)
Like a lot of round pegs trying to fit into square holes, the Segway may have a bit of a battle ahead of it. San Francisco bans the things on its sidewalks.
Giant Squid Attacks Boat
2003.01.17, 11:14 | Comments (29)
A French yacht taking part in the Jules Verne round-the-world sailing trophy has been attacked by a giant squid in the mid-Atlantic. Cool.
Electronic Kindness
2003.01.11, 22:38 | Comments (8)
Building kindness into electronic systems: a little coincidence shows what it could be like.
Less Than Cute
2003.01.11, 12:08 | Comments (5)
Sob! It’s true – I’m not cute!
I’m Glad Eric Exists
2002.12.25, 00:33 | Comments (0)
Boy, am I ever glad Eric exists. What a part of my life! (Nobody bought me nothin’ either…)…
Joe Strummer Dies
2002.12.23, 21:19 | Comments (2)
The BBC is reporting that Joe Strummer is dead.
Why Phone Cameras Make a Noise
2002.12.16, 14:41 | Comments (16)
A new and sadly predictable use for cell phones with cameras: ‘up-skirt’ porn.
A TV Confession
2002.12.07, 22:27 | Comments (11)
I may be about to enter an extended bout of television watching. My video store is stocking “The Sopranos.”
Raising Eyebrows
2002.12.07, 15:25 | 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
2002.12.07, 00:11 | Comments (5)
Got this off Slashdot so forgive me posting it here, but it seems that people in Kyõto and Hyõgo prefectures…
Plush Toy Gulag
2002.12.01, 14:16 | Comments (3)
Life as a stuffed toy in this house is like life under Stalin during the Soviet era.
Giant Penises of the Frozen North
2002.11.29, 14:10 | Comments (6)
Prayerful yearning takes some curious forms in Japan.
Face Transplants
2002.11.28, 10:23 | Comments (11)
According to Peter Butler of the Royal Free Hospital in London the ability to perform transplants is less than a year away. He thinks this may be the only way to improve the quality of life for some severely disfigured patients.
Wheely Excited
2002.11.11, 11:57 | Comments (4)
Off to buy a pair of wheeled sneakers.
Superglue Weirdo
2002.11.10, 21:07 | Comments (0)
A serial supergluer is ruining the hair of women in Fukuoka.
Winona’s Method
2002.10.29, 21:09 | Comments (0)
Winona Ryder’s dedication to her craft knows no bounds.
Datura
2002.10.28, 00:03 | Comments (60)
When it comes to datura, just say no!
Partly to Occasionally Mostly
2002.10.27, 15:09 | Comments (0)
Listening to Armed Forces Radio just now (they’re back on the air here after rebuilding their station) I heard tomorrow’s…
Bombs and Crocodiles
2002.10.26, 17:10 | Comments (9)
I certainly don’t mean to make light of recent tragedies in the world, but this story is just bizarre. Talk…
The Evil of Gene Patents
2002.10.23, 01:28 | Comments (4)
BoingBoing just posted this astonishing story which I’m just cynical enough to take at face value (no one from Myriad…
The Goldberg Family
2002.10.21, 12:03 | Comments (0)
Every year on June 17 Diego Goldberg takes a series of photographs of his family. This page shows them…
The Radius of Human Experience
2002.10.20, 12:44 | Comments (0)
Here’s a little game I sometimes play when I’m bored. Works best in the denser urban environments, but you can…
Moods on the Installment Plan
2002.10.19, 14:23 | Comments (3)
Domesticated moments: My wife: I’m going shopping. Want anything? Me: Well, if the mood strikes– My wife: We can’t afford…
Miracle at Ivolginsk
2002.10.02, 17:45 | Comments (0)
This story of the Buddhist miracle in Siberia reminds me of Zosima from Karamazov. “To me it is the greatest…
Keith Richards’ Face
2002.10.02, 17:15 | Comments (46)
Sweet Jesus, look at Keith Richards. This is a photo by Marc Po Kempner in the New York Times…
Japan’s “Classroom Collapse”
2002.09.24, 09:46 | Comments (1)
The Herald Trib carries a story from Howard French of The NY Times today about growing problems in Japanese elementary…
Gen X Wealth Disparities
2002.09.23, 23:08 | Comments (0)
A story in The Sydney Morning Herald today by Matt Wade: Rich get richer, the young get poorer But before…
Strange Names
2002.09.23, 14:02 | Comments (39)
A few years ago in Japan a couple tried to name their son Akuma. They were, if I remember correctly,…
Haircut
2002.09.22, 18:08 | Comments (3)
As my hairline recedes north as inexorably as the polar ice cap, I find myself increasingly fighting off thoughts of…
Bamboo Rifles
2002.09.22, 12:20 | Comments (0)
This photograph from today’s Asahi Shinbun shows students of a Kobe elementary school learning to sight with bamboo rifles….
Out of Touch
2002.09.21, 09:59 | Comments (0)
It’s terrible that we’re becoming a society afraid of touch. It can get you into trouble, raise suspicions, make you…
The Japan Syndrome
2002.09.18, 00:58 | Comments (4)
Via dangerousmeta and guaranteed to scare the bejeezus out of you, Howard French reports in The New York Times on…
Black Humour for the Modern Age
2002.09.17, 14:43 | Comments (3)
In the don’t-know-whether-to-laugh-or-cry department, ExitToShell() Software has released Homeland Alert X, a Mac OS X menu bar utility which…
Another Moon For Our Sizeable Collection
2002.09.14, 23:08 | Comments (0)
This story from the BBC about the earth’s recent acquisition of a ‘third moon’ reminds me of a thoroughly…
September 11
2002.09.11, 02:30 | Comments (2)
From “The Height of Ambition” by James Glanz and Eric Lipton, New York Times: The destruction of the twin…
Yeti: I Want to Believe
2002.09.11, 01:58 | Comments (0)
This story is popping up everywhere but it’s so intriguing that I have to post a link here for future…
ABC News Smuggles Uranium
2002.09.09, 12:49 | Comments (5)
While the press certainly undoubtedly “plays an important role in testing how well government is protecting its citizens” [Paul Friedman,…
Niggardly Indeed
2002.09.07, 10:45 | Comments (3)
I can’t believe how stupid this is. Parent offended by lesson in vocabularySherry Jones, Willmington Star (via Kuro5hin) Use of…
Clouds Over Shinjuku
2002.08.27, 17:30 | Comments (1)
Summer’s not giving up without a fight and it’s brought in the big cumulus as muscle. They were just…
Mummy Power Redux
2002.08.27, 11:18 | Comments (2)
Back in March I posted an entry called Mummy Power in which I quoted Nicholson Baker from his then recently-released…
Mushrooms May Help Fight Cancer
2002.08.21, 19:54 | Comments (0)
The headline makes it sound like psilocybin is the magic ingredient here, but it’s not. The mushrooms in this story…
Competitive Athlete
2002.08.16, 22:23 | Comments (0)
“Competitive athlete” was never, ever a phrase I thought would apply to me. On Saturday August 24, however, it will…
The Last of the Spam?
2002.08.16, 14:56 | Comments (3)
Hoo, boy. Now that I’ve installed Spam Assassin, I’m really going to miss things like this. One Mr. Rotime Williams…
Thin Pills?
2002.08.13, 10:49 | Comments (6)
Fatproof drug revealedsmh.com.au US researchers have found that suppressing a particular gene allowed mice to eat fatty foods without gaining…
A Friend in Need Indeed
2002.08.08, 11:02 | Comments (0)
Jerry Kindall points to a New York Times article on Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. Just who is C.M. Coolidge? Does the…
Spam Poetry No. 5 (I think)
2002.08.06, 23:22 | Comments (2)
No More Pop-ups! Cloth tags Keep this one extra quiet!!!…
Living Long Beats Living Large
2002.08.01, 10:24 | Comments (4)
Eat fish, tofu, rice and vegetables (and don’t forget the seaweed). Go easy on the starchy carbs, red meat and…
There Really Is an Extinction Movement!
2002.07.29, 11:27 | Comments (1)
Why is it the throwaway lines get the best responses? I introduced a previous post with a line about…
No Medicine for Stupidity
2002.07.27, 13:24 | Comments (2)
There’s a wonderful Japanese saying that states there is no medicine for stupidity. This is universally true, of course, so…
Existential Milk
2002.07.22, 23:04 | Comments (3)
Albert Camus (at least I think it was Camus) said that a man’s life is nothing more than the…
Typhoon No.9
2002.07.16, 11:09 | Comments (1)
Ah, weather. It’s an endlessly entertaining subject. Typhoon No.9 is bringing some big rain today. Tokyo is at 12:00…
A Less-than-sonic Boom
2002.07.15, 00:16 | Comments (5)
A 1:10 scale test version of the supersonic jet under joint development by Mitsubishi and Nissan separated from its…
HIV-Positive Muppet
2002.07.13, 12:33 | Comments (2)
This is just heartbreaking. The Sesame Street Workshop can only be applauded for doing this (assuming they do it right,…
Yet We Do Not Want for Freaks
2002.07.04, 09:49 | Comments (0)
This is like something out of Don DeLillo or George Saunders. “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” can’t find good freaksLos…
Can Silence Be Copyrighted?
2002.06.30, 10:31 | Comments (3)
Now this is funny. A producer who has included a track of a minute’s silence on a CD has drawn…
Spam Poetry No. 3
2002.06.28, 00:43 | Comments (0)
You can live the life of others Let’s $chedule An Interview… Marijuana Difference!…
More Evidence of Music/IQ Connection?
2002.06.27, 09:33 | Comments (6)
You’ve probably already seen this because I got the link off the Daypop Top 40, but it’s worth a mention…
Noble Defeat
2002.06.26, 12:19 | Comments (0)
South Korea’s 0:1 loss to Germany last night was a noble loss. The team played a great game and really…
Humans: Stupid and Greedy
2002.06.25, 23:36 | Comments (0)
Well, this is certainly news. Human Demand Exceeds Earth’s Sustainable SupplyRachel Moeller, Scientific American Humans have typically exercised little or…
World Cup Refereeing Scandals
2002.06.25, 11:07 | Comments (3)
For a tournament that began with an excellent standard of referreing, things have certainly got out of hand. The BBC…
Shibuya Phone Box
2002.06.23, 17:23 | Comments (0)
Every time I go to Shibuya I’m reminded of why I no longer go to Shibuya, at least not…
Ahn Won’t Be Playing in Perugia
2002.06.20, 10:04 | Comments (0)
Well, this is very sporting: Italian club dumps Korean strikersmh.com.au Italian soccer club Perugia has cut its ties with South…
Clearing Jumbos for Takeoff
2002.06.20, 09:29 | Comments (0)
Here’s something I expect to see end up in court. ‘Passengers of Size’ Pay Double on SouthwestJon Herskovitz DALLAS (Reuters)…
Japan 0 : 1 Turkey
2002.06.18, 17:48 | Comments (3)
I wish I could say that Japan deserved to win that game, but the sad fact is they didn’t; the…
Looks Like a Wet Afternoon’s Soccer
2002.06.18, 15:08 | Comments (0)
30 minutes till kickoff in the Japan vs. Turkey game and the rain is still coming down thick and fast….
There is No Disputandum with De Gustibus
2002.06.17, 11:00 | Comments (0)
At dinner with friends a couple of weeks ago the subject of Murakami Haruki came up. I’ve tried to give…
Darling, You Look Positively Bovine
2002.06.14, 23:24 | Comments (3)
I have no idea where my wife finds these things (I never seem to have such luck), but today…
Celebrity Sell-out Index: Yo-Yo Ma
2002.06.09, 19:34 | Comments (1)
I just saw Yo-Yo Ma on TV doing an ad for Suntory whisky. His star may be falling, or maybe…
Buildings Are Only Human
2002.06.08, 00:11 | Comments (0)
When it’s too expensive to demolish the old building – or you just can’t be bothered – it can…
Echo Afros and Leg Bracelets
2002.06.07, 00:28 | Comments (2)
On a quick trip up to the bank this afternoon I noticed a guy with an afro about 2 feet…
Poison Whales
2002.06.06, 09:55 | Comments (0)
I was talking to an American friend recently who said that the best piece of meat he’d ever eaten was…
Suicide Bomber in Perth?
2002.05.27, 09:05 | Comments (0)
Australians generally lack the committment and self-denial necessary to be good suicide bombers, yet one man may have nudged (or…
Leunig’s Imperatives
2002.05.24, 12:30 | Comments (4)
The previous post reminds me of “The Miracle of Parenthood…” by Michael Leunig, probably the best cartoonist ever. Above…
Biological Imperatives
2002.05.23, 11:07 | Comments (0)
Yet another of the thousand little chemical temperings that flesh is heir to. It’s always something of a surprise to…
A Week of Eyes
2002.05.20, 14:17 | Comments (0)
Eyes have been in the news. All the good shots have been of faces and eyes. Was looking again…
Viva Timor leste
2002.05.20, 12:02 | Comments (0)
Congratulations to the nation of East Timor on your independence! God knows you’ve had a rough time of it….
Please Release Me
2002.05.19, 19:43 | Comments (2)
Darklemon introduced me to This Day in Music. The day I was born, Englebert Humperdinck was No. 1 on the…
“What happened here was simply unimaginable.”
2002.05.18, 16:36 | Comments (0)
Also from Caterina.net, this astonishing story by Alan Riding for The New York Times about one man’s theft of works…
The Lions’ Den
2002.05.18, 16:04 | Comments (0)
I just flip for genius. Susan Kare is a judging panelist for this year’s 5k awards. And what a…
39 Moons for Jupiter
2002.05.18, 10:42 | Comments (2)
Astronomer David Jewitt and grad student Scott Shepard have discovered 11 more Jovian moons. 11! Astronomers discover 11 new moons…
Sweet Transience of Life
2002.05.17, 22:01 | Comments (2)
Oh, the humanity, indeed. If you ever discover a bottle, do not fail to secure it! Contact me at…
Japan to Outlaw Magic Mushrooms
2002.05.15, 11:11 | Comments (1)
You may not have known this, but magic mushrooms containing psilocybin are – or at least have been – legal…
Rolling Your Own (Tampons)
2002.05.15, 10:07 | Comments (0)
Boingboing links to a post by Teresa Nielsen Hayden of Making Light about rolling your own tampons. The story reminds…
Oops! Missed Mothers’ Day (again)
2002.05.14, 15:49 | Comments (3)
I knew I’d goofed yet again when I received e-mail from my mum just now, subject line: “Interesting Australian Custom.”…
Ruth Cracknell, 1926 – 2002
2002.05.14, 11:43 | Comments (5)
One of Australia’s greatest actors, Ruth Cracknell, has passed away. I never got to see her on the stage,…
Hooligan Cruise
2002.05.13, 17:45 | Comments (2)
Up for a relaxing cruise down the east coast of Honshu? What’s the bet this boat is trashed to the…
Ancient Animals – Really Ancient
2002.05.10, 20:50 | Comments (1)
Now this is interesting. Fossils have been found in my home state of Western Australia containing what look like tracks…
Cell Phone Pollution
2002.05.08, 17:37 | Comments (0)
It was only a matter of time before we started hearing about this, I suppose. (Yes, I know: it’s another…
Ouch! Zacharek Reviews Woody Allen’s Latest
2002.05.08, 17:19 | Comments (0)
I’m still a huge fan of Woody Allen’s earlier movies, especially “Manhattan,” “Stardust Memories” and of course “Annie Hall” but…
Sometimes It’s the Jerks I Feel Sorry For
2002.05.07, 23:29 | Comments (2)
I seemed to be getting bombed by the Klez worm recently. Then again, who isn’t, so not much to add…
Wine Chauvinism
2002.05.06, 22:16 | Comments (3)
I went to a party a couple of nights ago given by a couple of French friends. It was a…
Leading the World in Violent Crime
2002.05.02, 18:59 | Comments (3)
Here’s a question whose answer may surprise you (it certainly surprised me): Which country has the most violent crime? Answer:…
Barbie Creator Dead
2002.04.29, 12:25 | Comments (0)
From the NYTimes: Handler, Creator of Barbie Doll, Dies Ruth Handler, who created Barbie, the world’s most popular doll and…
Jay Chiat, 1932 – 2002
2002.04.25, 00:26 | Comments (0)
From MacCentral just now (haven’t seen this anywhere else yet): Ad agency exec Jay Chiat dead at 70Peter Cohen Jay…
Pacific Coral Killed By Warmer Oceans
2002.04.13, 00:36 | Comments (4)
A new El Niño developing in the Pacific is expected to produce mild to moderate effects. Combined with global warming,…
More Good News ;-)
2002.04.10, 01:29 | Comments (1)
The good news just keeps on coming… Marijuana does not dent IQ permanentlyNew Scientist Smoking marijuana does not have a…
No End to the Big News This Week
2002.04.08, 00:43 | Comments (4)
It’s been a week for big news alright. I’m now jobless. The company couldn’t afford to make good on…
The Day’s Music
2002.04.03, 23:43 | Comments (0)
A general death, dissolution & despair theme seemed to be the order of the day. I started out with Agnes…
Fizzer of an April 1st
2002.04.01, 21:57 | Comments (2)
Bit of a fizzer as far as April Fool’s tricks go this year. Nothing happened! I’m relying on the internet…
Spring
2002.03.31, 22:48 | Comments (0)
No matter how screwed up things are, and I realise I’m about to sound very corny here, the miracle of…
Lombard
2002.03.27, 16:48 | Comments (2)
Heard something funny the other day. Talking with a fellow about Macintosh code names and where they come from. Wall…
Chewing Gum Improves Memory (!)
2002.03.14, 00:38 | Comments (29)
Priceless! Chewing gum improves memory New Scientist Chewing gum can improve memory, say UK psychologists. They found that people who…
So long, Simon
2002.02.25, 22:04 | Comments (1)
Simon’s last day at work today. Bye, Simon and best o’ luck in the olde countrie. You’ll be missed….
Unravelling the Knitted Sleeve of Care
2002.02.15, 08:57 | Comments (2)
As a sleep expert (although non-practicing recently), I suspect this study is a load of rubbish! Seven hours’ sleep "the…
It’s Only Money
2002.02.11, 22:17 | Comments (3)
Some pieces of information just bring my mind to a complete halt. This is from a recent Thomas Friedman column…