I spotted ‘BrainyHand” — a fun, engrish-named start-up (and not the Japanese robot-handjob device on the left that I have reported on back in 2006) in the photo of friends attending the Infinity Ventures Summit in Sapporo today (techcrunch.com).
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As you can figure out from the photo, the BrainyHand is an ear-worn hand gesture interaction device created by Emi Tamaki, Takashi Miyaki and Jun Rekimoto (CHI Abstracts, ACM, 2009).
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As fun as BrainyHand sounds, the best of show went to the Sony-backed startup, MotionPortrait, that generates a 3D faces based on a just one 2D picture as you can view in the creepy demo below.
“Rumbling of the sea drives me mad….The second attempt of the “ama” pearl diver series showed her healthy limbs which were dazzling. I took advantage of my hidden location and enjoyed the real thrill of it all.”
—translation of random scrap of Japanese DVD I found hidden behind my kitchen cabinets by the prevous owner
Yaoi Divers
This reminds me thematically of ama topless Japanese pearl divers…
Imagine this as coffee-to-eat…A cold drink with the texture of chopped jello and iced coffee.
It was not a bad choice on hot day in traffic like today—30 degrees C (86 F).
According to a wacky machine translation of the official Glico website..
Dororich Coffee Jelly Sweets with cream
Dessert to take that the texture is delicious.
Speaking of the dessert drink which can enjoy a texture, tea with milk with smoothie and tapioca is familiar. Glico “Dororich” is the dessert drink which realized a more mysterious texture by crushed coffee gelatin mixed with cream. It “is cafe sweets to take” of Glico valuing a taste and a feeling of “Waku Waku.“
“Muscle Koushinkyaku” (Muscle March) for the wii by Namco Bandai…
There’s even rainbow road as part of the gameplay for the muscle men and polar bear in a thong.
According to GameSpot the player must: “chase down a thief in possession of their prized protein supplements…Players will have to match the poses with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk if they want to follow cleanly through the walls and catch up to the protein-pilfering perpetrator.” Ri-i-i-ight.
Art Imitating Life— This is a photo of a Tokyo policewomen (aka the “Miniskirt Police”) helping conduct a bicycle safety program for children during Traffic Safety Week in the springtime.
The reason why I say that this is “Art Imitating Life” is that the more famous “Miniskirt Police” started as a late-night TV sketch in the mid 90s in Japan. The “joke” was fake police girls in miniskirts arrested men who were guilty of heinous crimes such as illegal bicycle parking as a pubic service (yonaoshi, “social improvement”). I touched on this topic in my post in 2006: Japanese Girls ‘n’ Guns
The Empress of Japan is the embodiment of Japanese values. She helps in the nation’s Shinto ceremonies and praying to the ancestral spirits. Today in one of her most important State functions, Empress Michiko is the bearer of wormfood. In the Imperial Cocoonery (don’t ya love that word) on the grounds of the Imperial Palace the Empress personally feeds the the silkworms mulberry leaves. The final product produced at this Imperial sericulture center, silk, is used for a revival of silk textiles of ceremonial and historical value (Wikipedia).
Top- Tokyo’s 2x-speed escalators are the fastest
moving in the world, so this is quite a stunt.
Bottom– Homeless guys are referred to as “reggae ojisan”
in Japanese because of their similar hair syle.
Like every weekend at Tokyo’s shopping centers, the mall management sponsor small performances to amuse the crowds.
What do you think is amusing these families on this Saturday afternoon?
Not this Pink-Heart guy—he’s watching the performance too.
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