In this promotional video for a new Takara Tomy toy, a cheesy white guy shows us how to use the "potechi no te", an artificial hand that is designed to pick up potato chips firmly without breaking them and even brushes off its own fingers afterwards.
Product page (Thanks, Kazu Y!)
If you're in Japan this summer, you might have seen this catchy commercial for Delicare M's, a jock itch cream. The lyrics go something like this:
♪ In the summer time our genitals become itchy (itchy)
When they become itchy, use Delicare M’s
[humming humming] it works!
don’t scratch them, use Delicare M’s♪
via Spoon and Tamago
Otamatone, the theremin-like tadpole-shaped instrument created by art collective Maywa Denki, is now available as an iPhone app. Watch this entertaining video by Novmichi Tosa, the president of Maywa Denki, to learn how to use it.
Come over to Boing Boing today to read my special feature about the "birthing" of Estee Longah, a fabulous drag queen who is empowering gay Asian men to be whoever they want to be.
TokyoMango tipster Kazu Y clued me into a new drink on the market (it came out July 13 and is only available to order online): sparkling soy water. Has anyone tried it?
I had a lovely sushi dinner tonight at Kabuto in San Francisco with my friends Lisa and Jordan. One of my favorite things to order there is the 1849 Oyster. It consists of:
an oyster
uni
ikura
caviar
quail egg
scallion
gold flakes
dashi
You shoot it in your mouth and just enjoy the burst of flavors. Delicious!
One of my favorite short films is called Love Hotels, or Anti-Sex, written and directed by Ryotaro Muramatsu. I blogged about it back in 2008. I can't find the film online, but I did find this entertaining trailer for another Muramatsu film from 2008 called Hey Japanese! Do you Believe in Peace, Love, and Understanding? Has anyone seen it?
My brother sent me this photo of a limited edition Coke + Fanta Orange drink that's on sale now in Japan. I used to actually do this mix pretty often when I got fountain sodas at fast food joints. Also, do you guys remember a drink that we called the suicide? I think it was Dr. Pepper + Coke + Fanta Orange + Iced Tea.
I love these super slow motion camera shots of random events, like a slap in the face and a swimsuit model in a champagne fight!
via Pink Tentacle
This dress, made from 1000 origami cranes, is currently on display at the London Science Museum.
via Ecouterre
One more good reason to fly ANA! Starting this month, the airline will be offering draft beer on some domestic routes for $8-10. People always thought draft beer would be impossible to serve at high altitudes, but ANA has created a specialized keg that can do exactly that.
via Born Rich
Over at Boing Boing, I just posted about the upcoming Mori Art Museum exhibit featuring Indonesian art trio Tromarama. They use woodblock prints and lots of buttons to create stop motion videos, like the one above. July-Nov. Definitely worth checking out!
At some Burger Kings in Japan now, you can sit in a personal booth, hook up your iPod, and listen to music. The little shower head thingy keeps the music contained within your booth so nobody will know that you're listening to cheesy pop songs.
via Dvice
Andreas Heikaus created this awesome re-visualization of Super Mario Bros. He writes:
This video was part of my Bachelor thesis at the University of Applied science and art Hannover. The Super Mario Bros. game, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is not longer bound to the television size and get interactive with a new environment. The emphasis of my thesis is on the matchmoving work. It is the process of matching CG elements into live-action footage.
(Thanks, John!)
A company called Linksinternational Inc is releasing a stylus pen for the iPhone on July 17th. It comes in black and white, but the black model will be released first and the white one will come later. Kinda like the iPhone4. $20.
via Tech-On
Check out this silly doggy wind up toy that raises its leg and pees while it walks.
Wow. He spent one night in a NYC jail and was released Monday.
Some unexpected news from Takeru Kobayashi, the ex-Nathan's hot dog eating contest champ, this 4th of July weekend: instead of partaking in the competition, Kobayashi showed up as a spectator but stormed the stage in rage after his nemesis Joey Chestnut took the championship again. He was charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, and obstructing governmental administration. He's won the contest six times in the past, but didn't take part this year because of some snafu with the contest organizers — apparently they wanted him to sign an exclusivity clause that would prevent him from doing other competitive eating contests without their permission, which sounds kind of shitty to me.
As you can tell from the number of previous posts I've done on the topic, competitive eating is a big thing in Japan. There's even a Wii game where you can become a food fighter.
Related stories:
Kobayashi retires from eating
Kogyal food fighter article on Wired.com
Wii game turns you into a food fighter
Woman eats 399 bowls of ramen in 10 minutes
The longest hot dog in the world, and Japan's hot dog obsession
Takeru Kobayashi shows off his belly full of hot dogs
Kogyal food fighter will finish six serving parfait next month
Michael Jackson's movie, Captain EO, has returned to Tokyo Disneyland as a limited attraction. It's a 17-minute film that was part of the regular lineup of attractions from 1986-1994. I think it's also showing at the Epcot Center in Orlando starting today. If you missed it or were too young in the 90s, you should definitely check it out.
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