Dennis-in-Japan

How to peel a banana japanese style

2009-05-14T10:52:20Z

Tsutaya and Gackt CM

2009-04-28T22:24:04Z

Just saw it for the first time a few days ago

A japanese Slotgame for PS3

2009-01-25T15:34:22Z

Hm, geen mogelijk heid om het fotooke te draaien?
lijkt de mannelijke speler niet op Gackt?

Wamono

2008-09-29T11:01:56Z

Beat junkies Hifana play two determined fisherman who set sail in hopes of a huge catch in this folkloric Japanese tale of man and his beats against the raging waves and stormy seas. Hifana The Tokyo-based Hifana is the break-beat duo of KEIZO machine! and Juicy. Heavy programming and sequencing has created the unique Hifana sound, but these techniques are stripped away during live performances, when the team relies only on a sampler pad and scratching. Hifana is the third artist signed to W+K Tokyo Lab. Weiden+Kennedy Tokyo Lab is a music label launched in 2003. Embracing the concept of Hybrid , our mission is to bring new experiences that can only be created in Tokyo through a unique global mix of music, visuals and other forms of creative expression through a dvd and cd. W+K Tokyo Lab is all about being in Tokyo now, using the power of the city to attract the most innovative creative collaborators rmo around the world. We are passionate about the development of new ideas with our creators and connecting them to a new audience. Simply, it is about good music, fresh visuals and new concepts of creative expression.

Hello Kitty antiVirus program

2008-07-09T12:04:21Z

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/07/hello_kitty_branches_into_antivirus_software.html

Office worker goes berserk

2008-06-11T11:10:14Z

</lj-embed>

Temp worker stabs 7 to death, injures 10 in Akihabara

2008-06-08T22:50:49Z

i saw this on TV yesterday

NTV footage shows a police officer with a gun and baton facing the suspect in Akihabara.

Monday 09th June, 06:11 AM JST

TOKYO —

Seven people died and 10 others were injured after a man hit pedestrians with a truck and then stabbed passersby Sunday in broad daylight on a street in Tokyo’s busy Akihabara district, a popular electronics area and a magnet for comic and animation fans.

Police arrested the man, Tomohiro Kato from Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, on the street and seized a survival knife he was carrying. The 25-year-old temp staffer at an auto component factory in the prefecture admitted to stabbing people with the knife, which had a 13 centimeter blade, from around 12:30 p.m., police said.

‘‘I came alone to Akihabara to kill people,’’ investigative sources quoted Kato as telling police. ‘‘I am tired of the world. Anyone was OK.’’

According to police and hospital officials, six of the seven who died were males and aged from 19 to 74. The other was a 21-year-old female.

Of the seven, at least six had been stabbed and two had been hit by the truck, which was rented in Shizuoka Prefecture.

In addition to the seven, 11 people were taken to hospital after the stabbing rampage. Of these, eight were men, including a 53-year-old traffic police officer who was stabbed in the back while helping people hit by the truck, and two women. The remaining male had sustained no injuries but had blood on his clothing.

According to eyewitnesses, a police officer at a nearby police box who noticed the incident hurried to the scene and found Kato wielding the knife.

The officer initially failed to get hold of the suspect after hitting him with a baton a few times. But Kato put the knife down after the officer drew a handgun and issued a warning, leading to his arrest, the eyewitnesses said.

The Akihabara area was crowded with shoppers as Chuo-dori was vehicle-free for pedestrians. The scene was near the intersection of Chuo-dori and Kanda Myojin-dori streets, only a stone’s throw from JR Akihabara Station.

A 19-year-old man from Tokyo’s Ota Ward said, ‘‘The man (Kato) jumped on top of a man he had hit with his vehicle and stabbed him with a knife many times. Then he started moving toward Akihabara Station, slashing nearby people at random.’’

Shunichi Jingu, a 26-year-old self-employed man from Gunma Prefecture, who witnessed the incident, said, ‘‘It seemed that a traffic accident had happened. Then a man got out of a vehicle and began to brandish a knife.’’

Akihabara is a district of Tokyo known for its electronics shops and as a center of modern culture, including ‘‘manga’’ comic books and animations, and attracts many visitors from both Japan and abroad. It is also know for its ‘‘Maid Cafes’’ where waitresses wear pinafore dresses and behave like maids in serving beverages and food.

There were similar street stabbing rampages earlier this year.

In January, a 16-year-old boy attacked five people and injured two of them with kitchen knives on a shopping street in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward. A man wanted by police on suspicion of murder stabbed passersby with a knife at an entrance to a shopping mall in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, in March, leaving eight people injured, one of whom died later in hospital.

The Akihabara rampage also occurred on the seventh anniversary of a stabbing spree by a man at Ikeda Elementary School in Osaka Prefecture on June 8, 2001.

The attacker, Mamoru Takuma, was executed for killing eight children and injuring 15 others in that case.

Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu

2008-06-06T09:22:51Z

Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu

By Philippa Fogarty
BBC News

The Ainu have lived in Hokkaido for centuries (Image: Ainu Museum)

In the 19th Century, Japanese people called the northern island of Hokkaido "Ezochi".

It meant "Land of the Ainu", a reference to the fair-skinned, long-haired people who had lived there for hundreds of years.

The Ainu were hunters and fishermen with animist beliefs.

But their communities and traditions were eroded by waves of Japanese settlement and subsequent assimilation policies.

Today only small numbers of Ainu remain, and they constitute one of Japan's most marginalised groups.

On Friday they will have something to celebrate.

Japan's parliament is to adopt a resolution that, for the first time, formally recognises the Ainu as "an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture".

In a nation that has always preferred to perceive itself as ethnically homogenous, it is a highly significant move.

"This resolution has great meaning," says Tadashi Kato, director of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido. "It has taken the Japanese government 140 years to recognise us as an indigenous people."

Language banned

There is no definitive theory as to where the Ainu came from.

What is clear is that they have lived in Hokkaido and parts of the Russian Far East - the disputed Kurile Islands and southern Sakhalin Island - for hundreds of years.

Traditionally they lived off the land, worshipping natural landmarks and animals, especially bears.

Japanese settlers started moving into Hokkaido in the 15th Century and gradually pushed the Ainu north.

They brought infectious diseases and so Ainu populations fell. Then, when the Meiji government came to power in 1868, the pace of Japanese settlement increased.

Ainu land was redistributed to Japanese farmers. Ainu language was banned and children put into Japanese schools. Japanese names became compulsory.

Finally, in 1899, the Japanese government passed an act which labelled the Ainu "former Aborigines". The idea was that, henceforth, they would assimilate.

This act stood for almost 100 years. Successive governments held that there was no "Ainu issue" and insisted that Japan did not have any ethnic minority groups.

Ainu lived off the land, and suffered when Japanese farmers moved in

Ainu culture was not seen as something to be celebrated or preserved, so many grew up ignorant or ashamed of their cultural heritage.

Discrimination was and still is a problem - in schools, in the workplace and for marriage - with some Ainu choosing not to reveal their background.

Today, there is still a gap in terms of standards of living and levels of education between the Ainu and their compatriots.

Events in 1997, however, signalled the start of a shift.

After a legal challenge, the Sapporo district court ruled the government had illegally taken Ainu land to build a dam and failed to consider "the unique culture of the indigenous Ainu minority".

It was the first official acknowledgment of any kind of separate Ainu identity.

Four months later, the government replaced the act of 1899 with a law that allocated government funds to promote Ainu culture.

Efforts to revive language, traditional dances and music gathered steam, contributing to a more positive appreciation of Ainu culture.

But the government still did not recognise the Ainu as an indigenous people or offer substantive proposals to support them on a day to day basis.

'Symbolic value'

Now it is taking another step.

The parliamentary resolution will give the Ainu formal recognition. It will also call on the government to establish an expert panel to advise on Ainu policy.

Ainu activism has gathered strength in recent decades

Teruki Tsunemoto, director of Hokkaido University's Centre for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, says the move will put the issue on the national agenda.

"It will help the government formulate comprehensive general policies towards Ainu people that will improve their economic and social position," he said.

It will also have a more long-term effect of bolstering Ainu ethnic pride, he believes.

"People felt they were discriminated against because they were Ainu, so being Ainu used to be a minus. Now maybe this resolution will help people to feel pride," he said.

Immediate concrete benefits of the resolution are less clear.

Dr Richard Siddle, author of Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japan, says the resolution's significance is primarily symbolic.

"This admission puts no obligations on the government," he says. "Very little will change for the Ainu because of this. It's a step forward, but not an epoch-making step as some people are portraying."

As to the timing of the resolution, there are several factors.

International focus on the issue of indigenous rights has increased in recent years, putting more pressure on the government.

There is also the issue of the Kurile Islands - both Russia and Japan claim them but the Ainu were their original inhabitants.

It could be that the Japanese government has come to perceive the Ainu as a potential asset in the negotiations on this issue, Dr Siddle says.

A third factor is the upcoming G8 summit in Hokkaido in July.

"The Ainu want to be involved in the summit and want to do a ceremony to open it," he says. "Involvement in the summit has given them some leverage."

Whatever the reason, Japan is finally going to acknowledge that it is host to an indigenous people.

After more than a century of being told they do not exist, it is a big day for the Ainu.

America discovers Bicycle Paths!

2008-06-04T09:20:57Z

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-28049

Arthur C Clarke dies at 90

2008-03-19T01:33:23Z

Lots of people know 2001 a space odessy with Hal500(0?)
I read some of his books,

By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 30 minutes ago

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote "2001: A Space Odyssey" and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died at 1:30 a.m. in his adopted home of Sri Lanka after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey," Clarke was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer.

He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits.

He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as commentator on the U.S. Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s.

Clarke's non-fiction volumes on space travel and his explorations of the Great Barrier Reef and Indian Ocean earned him respect in the world of science, and in 1976 he became an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

But it was his writing that shot him to his greatest fame and that gave him the greatest fulfillment.

"Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered," Clarke said recently. "I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these I would like to be remembered as a writer."

From 1950, he began a prolific output of both fiction and non-fiction, sometimes publishing three books in a year. He published his best-selling "3001: The Final Odyssey" when he was 79.

Some of his best-known books are "Childhood's End," 1953; "The City and The Stars," 1956, "The Nine Billion Names of God," 1967; "Rendezvous with Rama," 1973; "Imperial Earth," 1975; and "The Songs of Distant Earth," 1986.

When Clarke and Kubrick got together to develop a movie about space, they used as basic ideas several of Clarke's shorter pieces, including "The Sentinel," written in 1948, and "Encounter in the Dawn." As work progressed on the screenplay, Clarke also wrote a novel of the story. He followed it up with "2010," "2061," and "3001: The Final Odyssey."

In 1989, two decades after the Apollo 11 moon landings, Clarke wrote: "2001 was written in an age which now lies beyond one of the great divides in human history; we are sundered from it forever by the moment when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out on to the Sea of Tranquility. Now history and fiction have become inexorably intertwined."

Clarke won the Nebula Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979; the Hugo Award of the World Science Fiction Convention in 1974 and 1980, and in 1986 became Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He was awarded the CBE in 1989.

Born in Minehead, western England, on Dec. 16, 1917, the son of a farmer, Arthur Charles Clark became addicted to science fiction after buying his first copies of the pulp magazine "Amazing Stories" at Woolworth's. He read English writers H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon and began writing for his school magazine in his teens.

Clarke went to work as a clerk in Her Majesty's Exchequer and Audit Department in London, where he joined the British Interplanetary Society and wrote his first short stories and scientific articles on space travel.

It was not until after the World War II that Clarke received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from King's College in London.

In the wartime Royal Air Force, he was put in charge of a new radar blind-landing system.

But it was an RAF memo he wrote in 1945 about the future of communications that led him to fame. It was about the possibility of using satellites to revolutionize communications — an idea whose time had decidedly not come.

Clarke later sent it to a publication called Wireless World, which almost rejected it as too far-fetched.

Clarke married in 1953, and was divorced in 1964. He had no children.

He moved to the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka in 1956 after embarking on a study of the Great Barrier Reef.

Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, discovered that scuba-diving approximated the feeling of weightlessness that astronauts experience in space. He remained a diving enthusiast, running his own scuba venture into old age.

"I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said.

Clarke was linked by his computer with friends and fans around the world, spending each morning answering e-mails and browsing the Internet.

At a 90th birthday party thrown for Clarke in December, the author said he had three wishes: for Sri Lanka's raging civil war to end, for the world to embrace cleaner sources of energy and for evidence of extraterrestrial beings to be discovered.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Clarke once said he did not regret having never followed his novels into space, adding that he had arranged to have DNA from strands of his hair sent into orbit.

"One day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time," he said. "Move over, Stephen King."

___

On the Net:

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation: http://www.clarkefoundation.org

Miike's new TV series

2008-03-17T12:33:17Z

Miike’s Cell Phone Investigator 7 Airs Soon

March 15, 2008 | Claytonian | Filed Under Japanese TV | 7 Comments

On April 2nd, Takashi Miike’s latest quirky project will come to the small screen on Terebi Tokyo. It stars a number of cell phone robots. Here is a promo:

[via ryugannji]

Kill japanese people for research puposes

2008-03-17T12:28:17Z

A segment from an Australian TV show [The Chaser’s War On Everything] in which a comedian goes around trying to kill Japanese people for research:

Cool teacher!

2008-03-14T00:50:23Z

I wish there were more teachers like this

http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/63302/high-wire-act

Ride the Bitchcruiser Bike, But Wear Protection (NSFW)

2008-03-12T08:42:15Z

I wonder who would buy this

Once in a while we come across an invention that's so ludicrously chauvinist, even our testosterone-fueled rants sputter to speechlessness. Just check out the NSFW photos (and plenty of 'em) after the jump.

Bid for your own bitchcruiser on eBay. You have until March 16th to open the auction for $2,303.81...you know, if your fantasy is riding around on the most tacky bicycles ever invented before being pulled to the ground and kicked in the testicles, repeatedly.

Bitchcruiser

[ebay via randomgoodstuff]

One reason why i do not buy a Xbox 360

2008-03-09T05:46:43Z

Red Ring of Failure

Is your Xbox 360 still working? You must be one of the lucky ones.

By Mike Smith

Over 18 million Xbox 360s have sold through since the console's launch in November 2005, but just how many of those are still working? Squaretrade, a company that specializes in providing warranty support to purchasers of electronic goods from various manufacturers, claims 16% of Xbox 360s experience a hardware failure within six to ten months after a warranty purchase. Three out of every five failures were for the infamous "Red Ring of Death" general hardware failure error, a problem often linked to overheating.

The Xbox's figures compare poorly to competing consoles, which have a failure rate of around 3% -- and if anything, the Squaretrade figure underestimates the scale of the Xbox 360's reliability issues. It's a good bet that some buyers of Squaretrade warranties went straight to Microsoft after experiencing hardware issues and don't factor into the 16% number. On its company blog, Squaretrade pointed out that failure rates are "certain to go up" as the machines in their study group grow older.

Microsoft is cagey about coughing up official failure rate figures, which has lead some commentators to speculate about the actual severity of the problem. Luke Plunkett, a blogger on respected games news site Kotaku, said in a recent post that if the real failure rate wasn't in the 30-40% range, he'd "wolf down humble pie until his sides split."

Plunkett's sides are likely safe. Stories of 360 owners making their way through eight or nine consoles aren't hard to find, but to its credit, Microsoft has been working with the affected individual in at least one of those cases to lessen the impact of the constant failures.

16 Percent of Xbox 360s Are Likely to Break, Report Claims

Even so, there's a surprise lurking for consumers who return their 360s for repair. When you purchase content -- arcade games, extra tracks, etc. -- over Xbox Live, it's playable by any user on the console you used to make the transaction. If you go to a different console and sign in with your gamertag, you can download the content and play it only for as long as you're signed in. Once you move back to your main machine, it will no longer be playable. Sounds like a handy system to let you take the content you own from place to place, right?

But the trick with this system is that once a broken machine returns from its little vacation, it generally has sufficient internal changes to make it look, to Xbox Live, like a different console. So all your downloaded content -- which, if you're a heavy user, could amount to hundreds of dollars worth of purchases -- are only accessible to one gamertag, and only when the console has a live internet connection.

Getting this situation resolved can be difficult. Affected users have reported having to make repeated calls to the Xbox support line, often to no avail. Some fortunate individuals were able to eventually convince the MS reps to refund all the points they'd spent so they could repurchase all the affected content, although they had to do it using a different gamertag.

How to Avoid Hardware Problems

Air it out. Many failures are attributed to the inadequate cooling system of early-model 360s, so anything you can do to give it an easier time will pay off. Make sure you put the console in a place with cool, steady airflow.
Move it and lose it. Don't change the orientation of the console when it's running. The DVD drive's running gear isn't as well secured as it could be, so knocking over a vertically-standing console can cause the machinery to collide with the disc surface. Characteristic circular scratches are the result and are generally fatal for the game.
Think new. Thanks to a well-publicized cooling system redesign, newer machines are less likely to suffer problems. Any console bought in the last six months or so should have much better chances of surviving.

Red Ring of Death: What to do

Is it a "real" red ring of death? Somewhat confusingly, the true red ring error only has three of the four quarters of the ring illuminated. If all four are lit up, you have a much simpler problem: your A/V cable is loose!

Enterprising 360 owners have discovered a homebrewed way to fix the problem, although it only works for a short period of time. It involves turning on your console, wrapping it tightly in a towel, and leaving it on for 20-25 minutes. This might void your warranty from Microsoft, so consider yourself warned.

If all else fails, hit up the Xbox web site to request a warranty repair. They'll send you a cardboard "coffin" for you to return your console and send back a fixed machine in a few weeks. The official warranty was extended to three years for this specific problem, so even launch-day 360s are technically still covered.

D&D co-creator Gary Gygax dies

2008-03-06T00:48:15Z

I never played D&D itself but things like warhammer fantasy role playing and a lot of RPG games that spawned after D&D got popular.

By EMILY FREDRIX, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 4, 3:39 PM ET

MILWAUKEE - Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gail Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

Born Ernest Gary Gygax, he grew up in Chicago and moved to Lake Geneva at the age of 8. Gygax's father, a Swiss immigrant who played violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, read fantasy books to his only son and hooked him on the genre, Gail Gygax said.

Gygax dropped out of high school but took anthropology classes at the University of Chicago for a while, she said. He was working as an insurance underwriter in the 1960s, when he began playing war-themed board games.

But Gygax wanted to create a game that involved more fantasy. To free up time to work on that, he left the insurance business and became a shoe repairman, she said.

Gygax also was a prolific writer and wrote dozens of fantasy books, including the Greyhawk series of adventure novels.

Gary Sandelin, 32, a Manhattan attorney, said his weekly Dungeons & Dragons game will be a bit sadder on Wednesday night because of Gygax's passing. The beauty of the game is that it's never quite the same, he said.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Another wacky Japanese brand name. Not witty, it's . . .

2008-03-05T08:36:01Z

Once again, a Japanese company launches a new brand without checking what the name means in other languages. . .(or perhaps they simply don't care).

Bringing its very first apparel collection to Japanese women this Spring 2008 season, introducing Titty & Co.!

Cyber Goggles: High-tech memory aid

2008-03-05T07:32:59Z

Very handy for those panties photo shooting japanese perverts on the train :p

04 Mar 2008

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a smart video goggle system that records everything the wearer looks at, recognizes and assigns names to objects that appear in the video, and creates an easily searchable database of the recorded footage. Designed to function as a high-tech memory aid, these “Cyber Goggles” promise to make the act of losing your keys a thing of the past, according to head researcher professor Tatsuya Harada.

Cyber Goggles are equipped with a compact camera that feeds video to a computer worn on the user’s back. The computer records the footage and relies on ultrahigh-speed image recognition processing software to analyze, name and file the objects that appear in the video. Later, when the user types in a keyword to search for a particular item, the corresponding video plays on a tiny LCD screen attached to the right-side lens, helping the user remember the location of the item in question.

In a demonstration at the University of Tokyo last week, 60 everyday items — including a potted begonia, CD, hammer and cellphone — were programmed into the Cyber Goggle memory. As the demonstrator walked around the room viewing and recording the various objects, the names of the items appeared on the goggle screen. The demonstrator was then able to do a search for the various items and retrieve the corresponding video.

In addition to functioning as a memory aid for the elderly, Cyber Goggles have a number of other potential uses, says professor Harada. For example, the image recognition processing technology can be used to sift through enormous amounts of video in search of specific images. It might also help in the development of robots with human-like abilities, he says.

[Sources: Asahi, Sankei]

THE NEW NINE INC NAILS IS OUT!

2008-03-03T12:15:11Z

get it here!
http://ghosts.nin.com/

Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality

2008-03-03T00:09:10Z

Each item was purchased, taken home, and photographed immediately. Nothing
was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort. It is an accurate
representation in every case. Shiny, neon-orange, liquefied pump-cheese, and all.

Wendy's Chicken Club

McDonald's Sausage Breakfast Burrito

Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich

Arby's Beef 'n' Cheddar

KFC Famous Bowl

Subway six-inch turkey breast and ham sub

Wendy's Southwest Taco Salad

Burger King sausage, egg, and cheese croissant

McDonald's Big Mac

Taco Bell Nachos Bell Grande

McDonald's Filet O Fish Sandwich

Burger King Whopper

McDonald's Sausage McMuffin

This is an ongoing Pulitzer-caliber project. Check back for updates!

Other Items Of Interest
Review: Wendy's Baconator burger
Alli Side Effects In Layman's Terms
Review: KFC Famous Bowl
People in Newspaper Ads Who Look Like They're Farting
16 Ugliest Men In Rock n Roll

Boyd coddington Dies

2008-02-28T03:47:23Z

I always liked to watch the show on the discovery chanel although his people skills were not so great

By JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 1 minute ago

LOS ANGELES - Car-building legend Boyd Coddington, whose testosterone-injected cable TV reality show "American Hot Rod" introduced the nation to the West Coast hot rod guru, has died. He was 63.

Coddington died at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in suburban Whittier at 6:20 a.m. Wednesday. His La Habra office spokeswoman Amanda Curry wouldn't disclose the cause of death.

Coddington, who started building cars when he was 13 and once operated a gas station in Utah, set a standard for his workmanship and creativity, with his popular "Cadzilla" creation considered a design masterpiece. The customized car based on a 1950s Cadillac was built for rocker Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.

"That was a groundbreaking car. Very cool," said Dick Messer, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

"This was your modern era George Barris," Messer said. "He did things to hot rods and customs that weren't being done by anyone else. But the main thing is he designed cars that were drivable."

Coddington was a machinist by trade, working at Disneyland during the day and tinkering with cars in his home garage at night and on weekends. His rolling creations captured the imagination of car-crazy Southern Californians and soon he was building custom cars and making money.

Most often, he customized 1932 Ford "little deuce coupes."

"It was one of those things when a hobby turned into business," Messer said, noting Coddington was also "one of the first guys to get into the custom wheel business."

Wheels by Boyd were fetching $2,000 apiece, which was unheard of two decades ago.

Coddington also surrounded himself with talent. Alumni from his shop include Jesse James and Chip Foose, who went on to open their own shops and star in reality TV shows.

Coddington twice won the Daimler-Chrysler Design Excellence Award and he was inducted into the Grand National Roadster Show Hall of Fame, the National Rod & Custom Museum Hall of Fame and the Route 66 Wall of Fame.

Always dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, Coddington said he loved his "American Hot Rod" Discovery Channel show, which featured ground-up construction of $500,000 hot rods.

"The viewers are ... people who lived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and loved these cars. Now, they have money," Coddington told The Associated Press in a 2004 interview.

___

On The Net:

http://www.boydcoddington.com

Man in girl's uniform arrested for sneaking into Saitama school

2008-02-22T07:36:57Z

Funny and disturbing

Friday, February 22, 2008 at 10:23 EST

SAITAMA — Police on Thursday arrested a man for sneaking into a high school in Niiza City, Saitama Prefecture, while wearing a schoolgirl's uniform. Tetsunori Nanpei, 39, was caught by a teacher and handed over to police.

According to police investigations, the suspect was showing himself to students from inside his car outside the school. After he entered the school building, some students reported him to school officials. When he tried to flee, a teacher caught him.

The suspect was quoted by police as saying, "I bought the Niiza schoolgirl uniform at an online auction. I thought I could camouflage myself at school." Police said Nanpei was wearing make-up and a pink bra but no other underwear.

not like this i guess;

American 'B-boy' sings the soul of Japan

2008-02-22T07:01:12Z

Jero

Enka, traditional Japanese ballads, are songs that inspire the soul of not only the Japanese but a B-boy. Jero, apparently the first black enka singer in Japan, performed his smash hit debut single "Umiyuki" at a HMV store in Tokyo's Shibuya-ku on Wednesday.

Born in Pittsburgh in the United States, the 26-year-old singer was brought up listening to enka from a young age inspired by his Japanese grandmother. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003, he moved to Japan to become an enka singer.

Only two months later, Jero did well in NHK's amateur singing contest, showed successful results at local karaoke contests around the nation, and was scouted by a record label. Fluent in everyday Japanese, which he had learned in high school and college, Jero developed his vocal skills for enka during a two-year voice training period.

Jero, who appeared in a red hip-hop outfit at Wednesday's event, also displayed a "dance version" performance of his hit enka song. "I don't think I would look great in a kimono. I hope more young people will like enka after listening to my song," he said.

He also showed his gratitude to his grandmother, who died three years ago. "I will never forget my grandmother who always supported me. I think she is watching over me somewhere now."

The record company has shipped about 83,000 copies of the single, which is an extraordinary number for a new enka singer.

my future according the tarot

2008-02-18T05:42:18Z

my future

	The Celtic Cross spread is one of the most popular Tarot spreads, providing varied insight into many aspects of a complex situation and your role in it. The Lovecraft Tarot is a tribute to the gothic writings of the visionary H.P. Lovecraft. It is the deck of choice for explorers of the macabre, and for posing questions that should never be asked. If you would like your own copy of the Lovecraft Tarot, you can buy it now!
	The card not shown but at the center of the cross, represents the atmosphere surrounding the central issue. Great Race of Yith, when reversed: Detachment based on fear, irresponsibility or naivet・ Self-imposed isolation from friends and loved ones. Listening to the wrong advice or ignoring good counsel. Concealment, disguise, and unreasoned caution.
	The card visible at the center of the cross represents the obstacle that stands in your way - it may even be something that sounds good but is not actually to your benefit. Four of Tomes (The R'lyeh Texts): A chance to rest and rejoice, having successfully resolved a matter of great import. The initial success of a business venture or creative project. The blossoming of a friendship or romantic relationship. Conclusions drawn based on hard won experience. Spiritual, material, or emotional rewards for diligent effort. May suggest marriage, childbirth, or a victory celebration.
	The card at the top of the cross represents your goal, or the best you can achieve without a dramatic change of priorities. Nine of Artifacts (Pickman's Model): Debilitating mental anguish or ill health. Being dragged down by the dishonor of others. Participation in a shameful or regrettable act. Inescapable guilt, mistrust, and doubt. May indicate a death or other catastrophic loss.
	The card at the bottom of the cross represents the foundation on which the situation is based. Knight of Man (Crawford Tillinghast): The essence of water behaving as fire, such as a rushing river: A passionate romantic, full of charm and beauty, but prone to extremes. Forceful idealism blended with gentle kindness. An eager and intense person, forward with their emotions and tender in their support of others.
	The card at the left of the cross represents a passing influence or something to be released. Ithaqua, when reversed: Ineffective use of force. Might turned against the weak or the righteous. Senseless violence and warmongering. Lack of discipline and poor direction fan the flames of a situation already out of control. Advance without consideration of the consequences for others.
	The card at the right of the cross represents an approaching influence or something to be embraced. The Crawling Chaos: Completeness and intricacy of design. A great work. Achievement, reward, and well-earned recognition. A time of success, prosperity, security and joy. May also indicate travel or a change in residence.
	The card at the base of the staff represents your role or attitude. Six of Sites (The Mountains of Madness), when reversed: Insolence and conceit with material things. Overconfidence, bad investments, and imprudent handing of acquired wealth. Contempt for those less fortunate. Deception and petty disputes driven by greed and envy.
	The card second from the bottom of the staff represents your environment and the people you are interacting with. Cthulhu Awakens: A swift and conclusive decision. The resolution of a matter long unanswered. A change in point of view, most frequently towards greater enlightenment. Final balancing of karma.
	The card second from the top of the staff represents your hopes, fears, or an unexpected element that will come into play. Mi-Go, when reversed: Lack of balance, harmony and integrity. The suspension of action until a decision is made. Lawsuits and prosecutions. Unjust decisions and the consequences of those decisions. A turn for the worse in legal matters.
	The card at the top of the staff represents the ultimate outcome should you continue on this course. King of Tomes (The Black Book): The essence of fire behaving as air, such as lightning: A great and daring leader who inspires others to rise to challenges alongside him. An artist who can take hold of an idea and make it a reality through bold action. One who is forceful, charismatic, and honest, leading by example, but unafraid to invest authority in others. A dashing and magnetic personality, carrying authority naturally, and striking at the world with swiftness and grace.

This doesn't look to good taken from www.facade.com/tarot

New screen shots Tomb Raider Underworld

2008-02-06T06:00:10Z

(i hope better than the ps2 version that was no fun than the original games)

door Dries op februari 4th, 2008

Er zijn vandaag wat nieuwe screenshots vrijgegeven van Tomb Raider: Underworld, het nieuwe avontuur van Lara Croft. Underworld zal in 2008 verschijnen voor PC, PS3 en Xbox 360.

Tomb Raider: Underworld speelt zich af op locaties over de hele wereld. Lara Croft is bezig met het onderzoeken van de oude Maya-beschaving. De locaties zijn vaak afgelegen en er zijn dan ook alerlei duistere wezens die het gemunt hebben op Lara (geef ze eens ongelijk!). Underworld staat garant voor flink wat actie, maar ook denkwerk is vereist om het avontuur tot een goed einde te brengen.

Bron: Http://www.gamequarter.be

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Once again, a Japanese company launches a new brand without checking what the name means in other languages. . .(or perhaps they simply don't care).

Cyber Goggles: High-tech memory aid

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Friday, February 22, 2008 at 10:23 EST

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my future according the tarot

my future

New screen shots Tomb Raider Underworld