tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-122152152024-03-08T08:59:25.122+05:30Matchstick tester in a dynamite factoryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-32993481629612931032010-04-11T23:43:00.007+05:302010-11-26T14:12:41.773+05:30Jesse Schell: When games invade real life<object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8FSsztwbRW0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8FSsztwbRW0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
My professor/mentor at Carnegie Mellon University - <a href="http://www.ted.com/speakers/jesse_schell.html">Jesse Schell</a> had given this talk<br />
which shakes you and gets you thinking about the future. Its up on <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real_life.html">TED</a> website. A must watch.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-13063780589593373282009-07-30T23:17:00.005+05:302010-11-26T14:13:44.851+05:30Art and Code : VideosHere are the videos of the<a href="http://artandcode.ning.com/"> Art and Code conference</a> and workshop I attended<br />
at Carnegie Mellon University.<br />
<br />
Processing by Ben Fry and Casey Reas :<br />
<br />
<object height="220" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5481063&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5481063&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="220"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/5481063">ART && CODE SYMPOSIUM: Processing, Ben Fry and Casey Reas</a><br />
from <a href="http://vimeo.com/sfci">STUDIO for Creative Inquiry</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
And here is the TED talk from our Carnegie Mellon professor and Art and Code<br />
organizer Golan Levin :<br />
<br />
<object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/GolanLevin_2009-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/GolanLevin-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=606" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/GolanLevin_2009-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/GolanLevin-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=606"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-82519845315322966432009-03-27T22:45:00.006+05:302010-11-26T14:15:31.215+05:30Photo publishedOne of my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikz/2659641527" style="font-weight: bold;">photo</a> that I took of the monorail at the Museum of Science Fiction<br />
in Seattle got published in the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a href="http://www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=seattle&sid=sights_queenannehill&p=320015&i=320015_28" style="font-weight: bold;">Schmap Seattle guide</a> - the online and<br />
the Apple iphone version.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/2659641527_c67c560c55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3007/2659641527_c67c560c55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-2712422485316475142009-03-25T23:16:00.003+05:302010-11-26T14:11:24.108+05:30People and CultureThe best part of living in the US is that it has people from all over the world.<br />
I find it very interesting to interact with people from different countries,<br />
having different cultures and different point of views. Interacting with them really<br />
expands your thinking and alters the way you perceive things. <br />
<br />
Each country has its own uniqueness and its perception of what is crucial. <br />
But the best part is finding out that a lot of things are perceived as sameby all<br />
the different cultures of the world. I want to somehow meet up people from<br />
every country in my lifetime .<br />
<br />
Here are the people I have worked with till now :<br />
<br />
<ul><li>American</li>
<li>Armenian</li>
<li>Italian</li>
<li>Indian</li>
<li>French</li>
<li>Phillippino</li>
<li>Colombian</li>
<li>Spanish</li>
<li>Korean</li>
<li>Japanese</li>
<li>Chinese</li>
<li>Taiwanese</li>
<li>German</li>
<li>English</li>
<li>Singaporean</li>
<li>Russian</li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-40199678535283748692009-02-01T10:36:00.004+05:302010-11-24T15:07:55.736+05:30Culture ContrastsBelow is an Infographic I made to visualize the differences <br />
I found while living in 3 very different countries of the<br />
world - Japan, US and India. <br />
<br />
All these are my personal observations and not based on<br />
any official data. All the visuals are made by me. <br />
<br />
Please feel free to give your opinions and suggestions. <br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">!Click on the image for a larger version :</span></b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kunjel.com/contrast.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.kunjel.com/contrast.png" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 744px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-23853364543958483672008-12-18T11:56:00.003+05:302008-12-18T12:02:03.070+05:30Natto<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwsEdlO8Cj3BhNw8PkCOdLMymb3G_Ca3tyOy-pLpXu4GK3MPoRF8dHXUA3ymPWPK_Aj0w5lCCDAU7uZdkFsTHSOfTt9Td0-otN3GKFZpUjwahp68BeRkPCfGPRgEt43DUZr90BA/s1600-h/IMGP6585.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwsEdlO8Cj3BhNw8PkCOdLMymb3G_Ca3tyOy-pLpXu4GK3MPoRF8dHXUA3ymPWPK_Aj0w5lCCDAU7uZdkFsTHSOfTt9Td0-otN3GKFZpUjwahp68BeRkPCfGPRgEt43DUZr90BA/s400/IMGP6585.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281013986393833794" border="0" /></a><br />Finally got the courage to try some Natto.<br />Natto is according to wikipedia -<span style="font-style:italic;"> its the traditional Japanese food made<br />from fermented soybeans, popular especially for breakfast.<br />For some, nattō can be an acquired taste due to its powerful smell,<br />strong flavor, and sticky consistency.</span><br /><br />Didn't like it one bit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-38534738751580622742008-12-15T08:01:00.007+05:302008-12-15T08:40:24.753+05:30Capsule toysI will admit I am addicted to capsule toys. What are capsule toys ?<br />When you either put in ¥100 coin(s) in a round-shaped vending machine,<br />turn the dial, and out comes a small sphere plastic container,<br />containing a tiny capsule toy. They are basically toys in a various themes,<br />from figurines of anime, video games to weird crazy stuff.<br />They cost 200 to 400 yen depending on the object. Its kind of a gamble too<br />coz you are never sure which character you end up getting and if you go<br />to the same machine, you might end up with the same character again.<br />Here are how the machines look -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KeBM3a2hhVl1MuJDPeHXbz2nsT-4WA9DidPtyQz_THx2wPfR7Hpj-x-fqG0khmoAXgUR3rdiFyDy46Y9KhryIy-iYKwwymsWZ57CpZVgPf9FtzLlnUhi32VtcHphKglS7F0lYQ/s1600-h/yujin19.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2KeBM3a2hhVl1MuJDPeHXbz2nsT-4WA9DidPtyQz_THx2wPfR7Hpj-x-fqG0khmoAXgUR3rdiFyDy46Y9KhryIy-iYKwwymsWZ57CpZVgPf9FtzLlnUhi32VtcHphKglS7F0lYQ/s400/yujin19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279844151585389666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here are some of my toys -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZAvHsFb-25wQhHDAcRMDuZGcfCLi8VzXUYkjKHdXkKbumcTfAB4wKhpdYLBKKBocd12yOevE2xRMTr3Rz89wpMDUadDDEXQpcUUcmNe1JwVhwXAeUbLvuMpsark1GGz2swu-tw/s1600-h/IMGP6544.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZAvHsFb-25wQhHDAcRMDuZGcfCLi8VzXUYkjKHdXkKbumcTfAB4wKhpdYLBKKBocd12yOevE2xRMTr3Rz89wpMDUadDDEXQpcUUcmNe1JwVhwXAeUbLvuMpsark1GGz2swu-tw/s400/IMGP6544.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279843786644292194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rKeIkXjAIQER2VaUHPducacpO5e1emlWr0bHXhMqlTtaGsQKCIKm1XVBLJ8TW2bBWBFVBdWsIrUyhVkFKMnqp4iAd9CADPQ7IdcIjZoME4KZQIxqGf848Vi-W8fuKa0qrYoyPQ/s1600-h/IMGP6541.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rKeIkXjAIQER2VaUHPducacpO5e1emlWr0bHXhMqlTtaGsQKCIKm1XVBLJ8TW2bBWBFVBdWsIrUyhVkFKMnqp4iAd9CADPQ7IdcIjZoME4KZQIxqGf848Vi-W8fuKa0qrYoyPQ/s400/IMGP6541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279843786403948674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ37scPGHOFXnKscDiTpJKL7cIP-4hYat1_ykg2BdFkBGFMa8nTr0A56CYmrr5KNOTUT9dqA6UR-Pu_f810z29YlbD7lG8s_LhSBoJo5VngR71kNuXJPHYGT2bgTmOmbNjQ8XXw/s1600-h/IMGP6502.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ37scPGHOFXnKscDiTpJKL7cIP-4hYat1_ykg2BdFkBGFMa8nTr0A56CYmrr5KNOTUT9dqA6UR-Pu_f810z29YlbD7lG8s_LhSBoJo5VngR71kNuXJPHYGT2bgTmOmbNjQ8XXw/s400/IMGP6502.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279843789923395154" border="0" /></a>My favorite ones -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxX94ahhqIDa3efRPGbGFjhKNPpRp0SLlEgkPZNBcoxzmaZype8Pxzj2SI6vuWAZMoA2q7ZUFC5D4fUrk7BBukE0YuA3e4uCgpOj0zXA1eeETvvF-H0s-W-0AXM1d0Z8fmrSiQg/s1600-h/IMGP6492.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxX94ahhqIDa3efRPGbGFjhKNPpRp0SLlEgkPZNBcoxzmaZype8Pxzj2SI6vuWAZMoA2q7ZUFC5D4fUrk7BBukE0YuA3e4uCgpOj0zXA1eeETvvF-H0s-W-0AXM1d0Z8fmrSiQg/s400/IMGP6492.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279844151437799394" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJL4flL-V4Th6xUGAr7_uyT1RSKpGDtcnF-2yktlzCNZpZQ8xyWKXOrNed4zf4FKS9mlAYB6bCgBM3BKPh3T-ceFUWl4aLG3gstFYOX02WxEmrjQBadLDozMUsBVVC8xm9aeCpQ/s1600-h/IMGP6493.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 390px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJL4flL-V4Th6xUGAr7_uyT1RSKpGDtcnF-2yktlzCNZpZQ8xyWKXOrNed4zf4FKS9mlAYB6bCgBM3BKPh3T-ceFUWl4aLG3gstFYOX02WxEmrjQBadLDozMUsBVVC8xm9aeCpQ/s400/IMGP6493.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279844148500973890" border="0" /></a>This one is from the Miyazaki classic - <span style="font-style: italic;">Lupin III -</span><i style="font-style: italic;">The Castle of Cagliostro</i> <span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4zsWy8YiL6kMFhwPw2ZnEjJKo2aKMVkagxyt0n5YEVn5lqqE9pJKcVfUs8F3VPRNIhgInl3VpSVZ5ori9IC00ihPAL0-F77JjCB3D7DMeYatRFPPTWkBxA6fFvJW9n48mWjMUg/s1600-h/IMGP6543.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4zsWy8YiL6kMFhwPw2ZnEjJKo2aKMVkagxyt0n5YEVn5lqqE9pJKcVfUs8F3VPRNIhgInl3VpSVZ5ori9IC00ihPAL0-F77JjCB3D7DMeYatRFPPTWkBxA6fFvJW9n48mWjMUg/s400/IMGP6543.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279844679424395746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbZt4zrphdknM0AJunh_Mrk109FMSaWZAFPc7ArQ3avhRmpD5dLNAaenSPTixHPKMdmLABNXzz62zJF1ie-NtQdbkIOu0l5yWFc79ehuXFUzGO4vnGjFkktJZ09q79Tg2QaR1FA/s1600-h/IMGP6548.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 378px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbZt4zrphdknM0AJunh_Mrk109FMSaWZAFPc7ArQ3avhRmpD5dLNAaenSPTixHPKMdmLABNXzz62zJF1ie-NtQdbkIOu0l5yWFc79ehuXFUzGO4vnGjFkktJZ09q79Tg2QaR1FA/s400/IMGP6548.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279844668146762338" border="0" /></a>Here is my team mate Ben assembling his collection -<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp33gc2TuQQiaURQWRum1znvXV-Hto_zowSz1F2hzT9xVPBHV8JU6XvFzXzGaLCPoUKXIL-6m3Ppyip185MwtfbX3lACWmcWmD-Vr93YMr2CO8b2CzKU2EA74HyxSGk7KXebd6pg/s1600-h/IMGP6300.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp33gc2TuQQiaURQWRum1znvXV-Hto_zowSz1F2hzT9xVPBHV8JU6XvFzXzGaLCPoUKXIL-6m3Ppyip185MwtfbX3lACWmcWmD-Vr93YMr2CO8b2CzKU2EA74HyxSGk7KXebd6pg/s400/IMGP6300.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279845807186138434" border="0" /></a><br />My teammate Sean has a more "interesting" collection -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs4SroXAVgJzz-pnGfFWAY8tls2pRhEDW0FsVHxBFgl_TGFtUwcPoT_KdZYoNxSbJNs8uP80OdwJ0nyMuCttbgJeO80MlbVXIptWDRyrbQ5LHQhH_rbt9kh9u8KrpO3X00McKdQ/s1600-h/IMGP6550.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 359px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs4SroXAVgJzz-pnGfFWAY8tls2pRhEDW0FsVHxBFgl_TGFtUwcPoT_KdZYoNxSbJNs8uP80OdwJ0nyMuCttbgJeO80MlbVXIptWDRyrbQ5LHQhH_rbt9kh9u8KrpO3X00McKdQ/s400/IMGP6550.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279845812347196098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_4AqQPYtHiKMewAtoRqUDRt0v3gVnMSjhqzI3fsqnLrRLKof0CDRjEi0aXv1l9rSXkfzLLma73HaCLmqETWhBqvHVuqw-TrHtYxdB0iw_BbMSIoQnVloB164wY4i0XdJ1NtEVg/s1600-h/IMGP6549.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_4AqQPYtHiKMewAtoRqUDRt0v3gVnMSjhqzI3fsqnLrRLKof0CDRjEi0aXv1l9rSXkfzLLma73HaCLmqETWhBqvHVuqw-TrHtYxdB0iw_BbMSIoQnVloB164wY4i0XdJ1NtEVg/s400/IMGP6549.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279845806757861010" border="0" /></a><br />But my absolute favorite find, which I must say is very rare and I had<br />very pieces only was - Poop on a stick that... lights up !<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbAYIYmfqJb4xxKBPjHeuQ4gqe7QiX2GawnmzHUfxIM818ojoWxcr5n2RYDFU-6Bdg51CXtfhFrRrbQWSLTUF4m5LPQLK1hYGjBuGyIQoPxlJ28u_7XFEyRvGgQvOkhcroMPuTw/s1600-h/IMGP6505.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbAYIYmfqJb4xxKBPjHeuQ4gqe7QiX2GawnmzHUfxIM818ojoWxcr5n2RYDFU-6Bdg51CXtfhFrRrbQWSLTUF4m5LPQLK1hYGjBuGyIQoPxlJ28u_7XFEyRvGgQvOkhcroMPuTw/s400/IMGP6505.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279847404497237250" border="0" /></a><br />Now if Poop on a stick with a sad face that lights up wasn't weird enough,<br />it also comes with an extensible antennae to hold it up high(?) !<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCaVYghuQeh46TzMz0iUdGRiQPjtBi-5wmvlF7xwzHriNDURMNXBHfgvncOsdIrHQijSl1UBjr3PEw-vcxkX-sm-99rAyggf-1HkNV46uO_5W7rWJFjyKqkpJDnhOhXYO9tdufg/s1600-h/IMGP6506.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCaVYghuQeh46TzMz0iUdGRiQPjtBi-5wmvlF7xwzHriNDURMNXBHfgvncOsdIrHQijSl1UBjr3PEw-vcxkX-sm-99rAyggf-1HkNV46uO_5W7rWJFjyKqkpJDnhOhXYO9tdufg/s400/IMGP6506.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279847409765056626" border="0" /></a><br />Now who would want to buy something like that seriously ?<br />Err..My teammates and I of course bought it as part of "cultural study"<br />but why would anyone sane wanna buy poop on a stick that lights up ??<br /><br />Btw, good article on PingMag about capsule toys <a href="http://pingmag.jp/2008/05/09/yujin/">here.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-69245539947188337282008-12-10T16:23:00.004+05:302010-11-24T15:15:56.765+05:30TEN<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUIudfW337qIviaVWSVkzoIctDxV0uSy5j4tED753n0FPxh8z8Qa07m5yb94Uvxvy1F0Bgog5WTobWzYrJRqEjtjoUyF94QZQECNa5xTY3eMru28sWIqKSfPhT1XdLEgtYr4tNQ/s1600-h/10.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278113009506176322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUIudfW337qIviaVWSVkzoIctDxV0uSy5j4tED753n0FPxh8z8Qa07m5yb94Uvxvy1F0Bgog5WTobWzYrJRqEjtjoUyF94QZQECNa5xTY3eMru28sWIqKSfPhT1XdLEgtYr4tNQ/s400/10.png" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 151px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 197px;" /></a><br />
Last 10 days in Japan...alas.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-47399310182602191972008-12-09T14:12:00.002+05:302008-12-09T14:21:17.071+05:30Where the hell is Matt ?<span style="font-style: italic;">Matt Harding is a 32-year-old videogame designer who quit his job in 2003 to travel around Asia. Along the way, he recorded and posted a short video of himself doing an elbow-intensive jig in Hanoi. That clip got passed from one person to the next and eventually got the attention of Stride Gum, which decided to sponsor two more of his trips. In his latest video, Harding visits 42 countries over 14 months and invites the locals to join in the fun.<br /></span><br />I want his job. I am ready to dance silly.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zlfKdbWwruY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zlfKdbWwruY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/index.shtml?fbid=szHNAoL_kaY">Where the hell is Matt ?</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-53328198203595993552008-12-08T09:52:00.007+05:302008-12-08T12:30:17.190+05:30Maid cafesI mentioned about Maid cafes in my post about my Tokyo trip and finally<br />found time to write about it.<br />So what exactly is a Maid cafe ? Maid cafe is in its core essence a cafe<br />where you can have coffee, tea and etc beverages and snacks like a regular<br />cafe but ...wait for it......you get them served by pretty girls dressed<br />in French maid uniform and they refer you by “My master”.<br />Moreover paying them extra you can get your photograph with your favorite<br />maid or for the desperate people out there, paying them extra you can play<br />card games and have a conversation with your favorite maid.<br />That exactly is how one would describe a Maid cafe.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV_7z1zirjUCZKPrOzulglhEDDu19VQ2VVToSkG3FcEoBO97adEvqX3pcnoCP-fUpmWRj2dl_8fbVC0zD3Jx2oVfSxejl1-TDATMKWHwBpPkRMq__Hp1HU32Ep6fdOVtQVPvwpg/s1600-h/IMGP5288.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV_7z1zirjUCZKPrOzulglhEDDu19VQ2VVToSkG3FcEoBO97adEvqX3pcnoCP-fUpmWRj2dl_8fbVC0zD3Jx2oVfSxejl1-TDATMKWHwBpPkRMq__Hp1HU32Ep6fdOVtQVPvwpg/s400/IMGP5288.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277270646372399010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So when my teammate Ben, who has now being living in Japan since a year,<br />suggested we go out to check a Maid Cafe in Tokyo as a part of<br />our “cultural study”, I was intrigued .<br />So a bunch of us headed to “@home” a very well known Maid cafe.<br />Entry in the cafe is on basis of entry fee per person(around 700 yen,<br />that is about $7 or Rs 350) and a time limit of 1 hour. You get in ,<br />take a table and a maid will be assigned to serve your table for your<br />allocated one hour. The cafe we went into was almost tastefully decorated,<br />more like a cross between modern and Japanese traditional décor.<br />No photography allowed inside. There were quite a few female guests<br />too at the place, unlike what I had imagined. Our menu had a list of<br />beverages and snacks and choices like we would like to have a photograph<br />taken with our favorite maid, or play a game with one. or just chat with<br />them(all for extra cash of course).We ordered our tea and coffee and<br />our “maid” came with the tray, she made the traditional Japanese green<br />tea for my teammate Sean, mixed sugar into my Latte and stirred it well,<br />in short, the services of a maid. After making the beverages, now this is a standard gesture in all maid cafe, the maid made a heart shape sign with<br />both her hands and said something like “moi moi”,the meaning of which I still haven't quiet been able to get, since it doesn't have a direct English meaning,<br />but it's suppose to mean something like-“lots of love/passion/devotion to my master”.But in short thats what a maid says every time she serves you your drink.<br />We had a nice time drinking our beverages and checking out other maids,<br />each of them having their own unique style of dressing and styling.<br />We were of course keeping an eye on the time since its just limited to one hour<br />or we get to pay extra.<br /><br />At the end of our one hour, each of us were given a card, which had<br />our name behind, and after a specific number of visits (in the range of hundreds)<br />we could get free drinks and snacks. As I was wondering who would actually<br />visit this place so many times, it was announced that a guy had just had his<br />200th visit in this maid cafe.Everyone chapped for him and all the maids in<br />the cafe posed for a photo with him. Wow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4m_c9zCTME4bN_RBuO2p-a9rNdtjarskoDhW_XknmAOVVaOGpK0kNiKlB-BR8bs0OSBdqagxckrYKqFrYvppkgSQZvWryDBbnk-jwUe_A4z0caFCSA_XLJAaQI4-xz91DU2-FQ/s1600-h/IMGP6528.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4m_c9zCTME4bN_RBuO2p-a9rNdtjarskoDhW_XknmAOVVaOGpK0kNiKlB-BR8bs0OSBdqagxckrYKqFrYvppkgSQZvWryDBbnk-jwUe_A4z0caFCSA_XLJAaQI4-xz91DU2-FQ/s400/IMGP6528.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277272197647184450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjdX-cNJq5A2BEx-aw57DHYj_ErLG6H-9NAN_qFpArPivnQZmug0MceMjgwrZD6kDr44MT_figFYdEXlc8pJ8GXxXUiTMKZZRIjF7oUdHpvmUlp7RAkr6jFZP731ffvVP2E7QfA/s1600-h/IMGP6529.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjdX-cNJq5A2BEx-aw57DHYj_ErLG6H-9NAN_qFpArPivnQZmug0MceMjgwrZD6kDr44MT_figFYdEXlc8pJ8GXxXUiTMKZZRIjF7oUdHpvmUlp7RAkr6jFZP731ffvVP2E7QfA/s400/IMGP6529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277271647462913570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I also eventually visited another maid cafe in Osaka, this one was more classy and themed like a wizard school, where all the maids were training in magic, on the lines of Harry Potter.<br /><br />My take on maid cafes ? Well again I would say something like this can only<br />exist in Japan. When I first heard the description of a maid cafe before<br />visiting it...well...it sounded not very classy....more like a place for<br />guys to visit. But in Japan, where you have Karaoke and Cos-play as something<br />very common and normal,this too is one of the designed entertainment activity. <br />But to me personally, they were more of like a themed restaurant found in any<br />of the amusement parks, something I would probably visit once or twice just<br />to take in the entire experience. But as a substitution for say a regular<br />cafe place like Starbucks, maybe not, first ,since it turns out to be a bit expensive and secondly, regular visit to the place would not be able to<br />sustain the amusement factor or the charm for me.<br />But on the whole this is one unique experience everyone visiting Japan must go through once at least.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-54822760347969429812008-12-08T09:44:00.004+05:302008-12-08T09:52:07.206+05:30FuguOsaka is of course famous for its Octopus delicacies, but it also known<br />for its “Fugu” or Blow fish.<br />As its known, only licensed restaurants can serve Fugu fish,since<br />there is a specific technique of cutting the fish or else the poison<br />from the body of fish can spread all over and result in the death of the<br />person eating the fish. Most restaurant serving Fugu have huge paper<br />Fugu fish outside there restaurant like this - <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRx-hdoOTW5D-0dPzSWcqjQH4r24Z3SFNvcUMnZo732q059K2wgGpqnwDVxFyDhkzWNENW7_AJpZ0-QN4Bb1xh7GWeqHTw-BMxCzS_oyvPP9s24q2K7W0ZGXNZ5dpZlTRWzb4Yvw/s1600-h/fugu.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRx-hdoOTW5D-0dPzSWcqjQH4r24Z3SFNvcUMnZo732q059K2wgGpqnwDVxFyDhkzWNENW7_AJpZ0-QN4Bb1xh7GWeqHTw-BMxCzS_oyvPP9s24q2K7W0ZGXNZ5dpZlTRWzb4Yvw/s400/fugu.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277268670355095970" border="0" /></a>Now this is one fish who keeps the possibility of revenge open, I must say.<br /><br />On another note, found this picture which will make me more unpopular<br />with my sushi loving friends -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxqOn5fdEOLAg63GRM7BDLgsCNGbkd6zZmEZbuxADS8Cne8VAFgpgpXXmKsrieysb9LYS0paI2iCuRin8qs6nvERQr1WXls2MHeX9k0byLmD3LS2JCThZH9X6NbaPkZvI8JvdKA/s1600-h/2205761555_ca91029ca9_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxqOn5fdEOLAg63GRM7BDLgsCNGbkd6zZmEZbuxADS8Cne8VAFgpgpXXmKsrieysb9LYS0paI2iCuRin8qs6nvERQr1WXls2MHeX9k0byLmD3LS2JCThZH9X6NbaPkZvI8JvdKA/s400/2205761555_ca91029ca9_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277268678843766402" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-89739431406142578882008-12-03T14:54:00.001+05:302008-12-03T14:55:54.376+05:30Gojira<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfORd9WQl8f0vPQKDdAtQYBDToJaroE4ECYjJcxT_DLbyKa8SNLsFwi2e0GXtOsgDwZcQVUz_ox9S4ij-K-KzWHzp5cnbqMm1KJYg0C9LJHG4tYODUU7LspD-If6gaRhlYnTU6w/s1600-h/Tenri+057.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfORd9WQl8f0vPQKDdAtQYBDToJaroE4ECYjJcxT_DLbyKa8SNLsFwi2e0GXtOsgDwZcQVUz_ox9S4ij-K-KzWHzp5cnbqMm1KJYg0C9LJHG4tYODUU7LspD-If6gaRhlYnTU6w/s400/Tenri+057.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div><br />The original poster for the iconic monster's first movie appearance.<br />Unfortunately I have not yet been able to acquire one for my poster collection.<br />This photo is of the poster up at Sharp Corporation HQ in Japan.<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-19802077494276162412008-11-29T16:19:00.002+05:302008-11-29T16:38:12.968+05:30My Apartment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSYus2-uuoxJ745c7XxUl3sEupGWSouxuhZyz7Px-No_3gCRc9o0alQ2Xv1yNEbbmqVMVKhHQkXdAQZpdgIg4ZjEqstgJosQhD_HYsQZkTmNci0ZRb__PcxBvmBDfs1MvjdPjTw/s1600-h/IMGP5490.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSYus2-uuoxJ745c7XxUl3sEupGWSouxuhZyz7Px-No_3gCRc9o0alQ2Xv1yNEbbmqVMVKhHQkXdAQZpdgIg4ZjEqstgJosQhD_HYsQZkTmNci0ZRb__PcxBvmBDfs1MvjdPjTw/s400/IMGP5490.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274030873878172274" border="0" /></a><br />So I have been allocated a great apartment on the 11th floor, all to myself.<br />It has living room, kitchen, bathroom with shower/tub, a separate toilet<br />room,a western style bedroom and a tatami room.<br />Now Japanese apartments are a little bit different in few aspects.<br />First rule, no shoes inside the apartment, change to your slippers<br />when you enter the apartment.<br />Second rule, Japanese bathroom are a bit different, you have the shower<br />and the tub, but you never put bubble bath or any kind of<br />soap into the tub. You take a shower first, clean yourself,<br />go into the tub (which according to Japanese style should have very hot<br />Water), soak in it, then come out and use the soap in the shower.<br />Traditionally, the hot water in the tub should not get dirty since<br />the same water is supposed to be used by other members of your family (!). <br />The toilet is awesome, I will need to do a separate blog entry for it,<br />but for starter let me tell you -it needs to be plugged in.<br />If you want to see the state of the art in toilet systems visit Japan.<br />It has temperature control for the seats, various systems for water<br />sprays and flushing etc. And of course you can do all this using the<br />touch sensitive interface panel on the side.I have 2 bedrooms to choose<br />from – a western style room and a tatami room,which actually is the<br />traditional Japanese room with Bamboo mats on the floor and a sliding<br />screen door.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wEsBNdPQMwkaR3cM-naV_QUk6HsZD6scryrIZKuIdrGumdeF5IkQVL-iak649Y8zOF7dNbDntPYvd3mW0mH8exDE6TpYsJ0j_7owqgDYD5829ehGfkjC62po1J0TiGQt2C4F5g/s1600-h/IMGP5492.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wEsBNdPQMwkaR3cM-naV_QUk6HsZD6scryrIZKuIdrGumdeF5IkQVL-iak649Y8zOF7dNbDntPYvd3mW0mH8exDE6TpYsJ0j_7owqgDYD5829ehGfkjC62po1J0TiGQt2C4F5g/s400/IMGP5492.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274030879739492850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I am using the western style room since the smell of the mats kind of<br />bothers me And also the western style room has a attached balcony .<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BsOVt0bLxiNqFYqyPliGkFsI2XxvHQ4ax_VGZqwkK1mkvix8xyVFPZtTDSPJoBBQ9G-5_MBvOLy__KFajhY4t9IlweFsxAna-62E55W5QEMcwlotIX02iq5RI303nlGmE5Ytxg/s1600-h/IMGP5916.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BsOVt0bLxiNqFYqyPliGkFsI2XxvHQ4ax_VGZqwkK1mkvix8xyVFPZtTDSPJoBBQ9G-5_MBvOLy__KFajhY4t9IlweFsxAna-62E55W5QEMcwlotIX02iq5RI303nlGmE5Ytxg/s400/IMGP5916.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274030879996883058" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Things I can do with the spare Tatami room (things suggest by my friends<br />actually) – meditate for spiritual enlightenment,practice samurai sword<br />fighting, do Yoga (since I am an Indian, and all Indians go Yoga of course).<br />Well....lets just keep it empty for now.<br /><br />Well that's all about my apartment, Oh, and one minute thing, many apartments<br />have good views from their balcony, you know like greenery, parks or the<br />beach.<br /><br />The view from my apartment ?<br /><br />A state of the art artificial speed boat racing arena stadium !!<br />Yes ladies and gentlemen, I can look out of my balcony to see<br />speed boat racing tournaments...absolutely free...great view.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1X96J_nxmo6l-4WCyrTNaXRDCwpeFeze93pfFW5-HXPGUgt6VnextP999DE447ZNVbPhD-K6UpmzNdxPv6USvUtP90s-hhYsp2R_M0OKqNZCSBtXw8IEfCjJqJWnM4qCG7sNTA/s1600-h/IMGP4749.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1X96J_nxmo6l-4WCyrTNaXRDCwpeFeze93pfFW5-HXPGUgt6VnextP999DE447ZNVbPhD-K6UpmzNdxPv6USvUtP90s-hhYsp2R_M0OKqNZCSBtXw8IEfCjJqJWnM4qCG7sNTA/s400/IMGP4749.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274030882986178850" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For example:<br />Hmm I have no movies to watch on my laptop-let me see some Speed boat racing.<br />Hmm...I am eating a banana ..let me watch the speedboat race <span style="font-weight:bold;">and</span> eat the banana.<br />Hmm...I have no work to do-let me watch some speedboat racing.<br />Hmmm...I have lots of work to do - let me watch some speedboat racing anyways.<br />Etc...etc...you all get the point I hope.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-30842441805820659612008-11-26T16:41:00.004+05:302008-11-26T17:03:51.296+05:30Pantone Pups<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckp1IosxsGMQGYLs9umuuu02RNyFMQZvm9OoApgZoI6IElPCApn3jYW6cw_MbR5CBYpuicWaUExrtz28kohQo80xTW4s_UQt3zlFVLAvWi2w-H5ngvMsKTL31BNJuBqjX11ggpw/s1600-h/IMGP6313-2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckp1IosxsGMQGYLs9umuuu02RNyFMQZvm9OoApgZoI6IElPCApn3jYW6cw_MbR5CBYpuicWaUExrtz28kohQo80xTW4s_UQt3zlFVLAvWi2w-H5ngvMsKTL31BNJuBqjX11ggpw/s400/IMGP6313-2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272927112939719714" border="0" /></a><br />This ad for Softbank to feature the range of colors for their mobile handset<br />are all over Japan -sign boards, hoardings, subways.<br /><br />Which pup do you find the freakiest ?<br /><br />I would go for the red one, but on second thoughts, the red pup with the<br />fluorescent green pup racing towards me would be the stuff my nightmares<br />would be made of.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKVAiq5uhryI2DZ8POLQZewruG53a0cqqclayIDZoVIT9GMYJ6oYw66QViqQah9CwIpqPt0Fu4-PPAtsYDYXQcC9OEWwYzONbnwhyphenhyphenGheu32OvhHdmJVlrL_de-m-1HIY5nVVLMA/s1600-h/IMGP4800.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKVAiq5uhryI2DZ8POLQZewruG53a0cqqclayIDZoVIT9GMYJ6oYw66QViqQah9CwIpqPt0Fu4-PPAtsYDYXQcC9OEWwYzONbnwhyphenhyphenGheu32OvhHdmJVlrL_de-m-1HIY5nVVLMA/s400/IMGP4800.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272927023299343922" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-2512114451402532382008-11-19T11:35:00.001+05:302008-11-19T11:36:32.079+05:30Pricey<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSqtCbjrFEFYTTkdq5joPfNj1tkN8aSNIUzYJYyEbK7JyLtRl6YaFZ_sKlfNyPtjGyLfb8Q3UU8HPlkad2LViHeXdCGUwN8E9MFDA3X-0ibwajyH3C_xCgjacZMd9I_tYy_Yh1A/s1600-h/melon.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSqtCbjrFEFYTTkdq5joPfNj1tkN8aSNIUzYJYyEbK7JyLtRl6YaFZ_sKlfNyPtjGyLfb8Q3UU8HPlkad2LViHeXdCGUwN8E9MFDA3X-0ibwajyH3C_xCgjacZMd9I_tYy_Yh1A/s320/melon.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> </div>Yes Musk Melons cost about 10500 yen in Japan or about<br />Rs 5400/- or about $108 US dollars each !<br />Should have got lots of them from the US and sold them<br />here.<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-55138007312576286622008-11-18T13:14:00.001+05:302008-11-18T13:16:14.452+05:30License to liveSo I just realized that I have the permit to live in 3 countries –<br />India, US and Japan(the most awesome countries, of course ). <br />It's just like those movies where the police<br />searches the mysterious guy's hotel room and they find a series <br />of passport of different countries with his fake identity. <br /><br />My case is just as cool but very very legal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-61687891286183752352008-11-18T13:00:00.006+05:302008-11-18T16:05:20.662+05:30AKB48<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvCiuowfgrNMshdQlcz8BeNrx3aGaWAqpBBNqnmScVPAeRVrMtKnIPkTKzrxh6mpCrVId7VdMfUT2Fsd8AcJKtswIFxBYISGPNdlzUrEiOANu7NLJuVj6LSkcj5YHUGabw0hJ3w/s1600-h/akb48.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvCiuowfgrNMshdQlcz8BeNrx3aGaWAqpBBNqnmScVPAeRVrMtKnIPkTKzrxh6mpCrVId7VdMfUT2Fsd8AcJKtswIFxBYISGPNdlzUrEiOANu7NLJuVj6LSkcj5YHUGabw0hJ3w/s320/akb48.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269944230318045474" /></a><br /><br />No I am not discussing about the latest in machine gun technology.<br />AKB48 is one of Japan's popular girl band, having – hold your breath,<br />48 members ! Yes and therefore the name.<br />Although they all don't perform together but in groups of just 12-15.<br />So when we heard that they were performing in Osaka we decided to go<br />for our very first Japanese pop concert.<br />The concert was on a Saturday at 11 am.<br />Why have a concert at 11am ? God knows.<br />So we figured out if we want to get in, we need to get up at 6 am<br />to stand in the line for the tickets ! 6 am ?? me ?<br />The earliest I woke up to stand in line was at 5:30 am<br />to heard Steve Jobs at the Macworld conference this year.<br />Hmm...might as well get up. So I got up at 6 am, we got ready<br />and reached at the place at 8:30am and were greeted by a long line. Nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWcssgUMTuRrZ7jiB_NVXEftTseVqOM4w1saunmcAg7wT8RV5lIxYHJvJxB6TK05TZY91d5gw60toka7v4F-zDTJYXQHUPGAgYQwSu__AFsU9Lad-HHj68PzBYHHDAOglk_yA2g/s1600-h/IMGP5923.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWcssgUMTuRrZ7jiB_NVXEftTseVqOM4w1saunmcAg7wT8RV5lIxYHJvJxB6TK05TZY91d5gw60toka7v4F-zDTJYXQHUPGAgYQwSu__AFsU9Lad-HHj68PzBYHHDAOglk_yA2g/s320/IMGP5923.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269898446615232866" border="0" /></a><br />I was surprised by the audience. I had assumed it was more tweens<br />and teens but I saw a lot of older guys.<br />Its a girl band and its Japan, of course.<br />One guy ahead of me, who must be standing long in the line actually<br />was carrying this bike(cycle), dismantled/folded up in a huge bag<br />on his shoulders. I could see he had Hello Kitty themed stuff on his cycle.<br />And he must be at least 25-27 years. Only in Japan.<br /><br />So after standing 1 1/2 hours in the line, we discovered people<br />who had bought the special sticker from AKB48's latest CD would<br />get preference, and d'oh, apparently everyone in the line owned the<br />latest cd. Ah, well at least we would get in .<br /><br />Photography was prohibited so I'll describe it.The show started 10 mins<br />late which by Japanese standards is horrific late taking in consideration<br />the fact that they measure train efficiency in seconds.<br />The crowd was overall very well behaved and I am tempted to say dull,<br />comparing the audiences in concerts in US and India.<br />There was just one group of crazy fans who had their posters and were<br />dancing in their own little group. This group of AKB48 had 10 members.<br />They came up on stage,looked very pretty and cute, sang very cute, danced<br />around cute in their mini skirt uniform sort of theme dresses.<br />Conclusion : Overall it was nice concert, every 15 year old boys dream concert.<br />And all the 25-30 year old Japanese audience enjoyed it a lot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-16264032908070899112008-11-17T13:32:00.006+05:302008-11-17T13:45:00.049+05:30Grocery shopping<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.roshani.co.uk/livingtoeat/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/raw-octopus-tetacles.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 215px;" src="http://www.roshani.co.uk/livingtoeat/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/raw-octopus-tetacles.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Let it be known that it is very disturbing for a pure vegetarian like<br />me to see Octopus tentacles heaped up at my grocery store.<br />Very very disturbing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-72352791547964255792008-11-14T11:15:00.001+05:302008-11-14T11:15:21.566+05:30Pepsi White<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikz/3028316577/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/3028316577_7305a8de61.jpg" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikz/3028316577/">Pepsi White</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/nikz/">Kunjel _</a>.</span></div><p>Anyone up for Pepsi and Yogurt flavor ?<br />I actually liked it. <br />Only available in Japan of course.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-59237354110661209872008-11-13T14:33:00.001+05:302008-11-13T14:33:51.853+05:30Aboard the bullet train.<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikz/3027221184/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/3027221184_11744f0145.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikz/3027221184/">Aboard the bullet train.</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/nikz/">Kunjel _</a>.</span></div><p>Directions behind each seat on the bullet train.<br />The train had vending machines.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-14314030277728963932008-11-10T16:26:00.004+05:302008-11-10T17:15:40.250+05:30Tea Ceremony and IkebanaSo now its been my second Diwali(Biggest Indian festival) away from<br />home and India. Luckily all my Diwali away from home have co-incidentally<br />been eventful. Last year at Diwali I went Off-road driving in a<br />hummer at a resort and was taking part in a cardboard boat making<br />competition. This year it was no less. I got to attend an Ikebana<br />workshop and take part in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.<br /><br />My Japanese language sensei, Masako Terahara, invited her Master<br />Yonekura sensei to demonstrate and teach the team the traditional<br />arts of Ikebana (flower arranging) and Japanese Tea Ceremony.<br />Yonekura sensei is a very senior and respected teacher and has been<br />studying Ikebana and Japanese Tea Ceremony since she was a teenager.<br />Terahara-san now studies both arts under her tutelage.<br /><br />So we all got dressed into traditional Japanese costumes,I was given<br />an apprentice Kimono to wear,since I was a student under training.<br />I have a wait to qualify to wear a real Kimono as of now.<br /><br />There are many schools and styles, of Ikebana, the first of which<br />was founded by Buddhist priest, Ikenobo Senke in the 15th century<br />as an expression of the beauty of nature.<br /><br />Ikebana is an art that emphasizes the Japanese appreciation of natural<br />beauty following specific rules that uses asymmetrical form and empty<br />space to create a harmonious whole.<br /><br />Yonekura sensei taught the style of Moribana the most basic structure of<br />Ikebana, arranged in a shallow vase secured by a kenzan or metal-pronged<br />holder. The arrangement begins by creating a triangle...the first formed by<br />three branches of different heights and width.Tai is the main and tallest branch<br />and the foundation of the arrangement.<br />The middle branch is called Yo and the third and shortest branch of the triangle<br />is called Fuku. The triangle is again repeated with the main flower,<br />in our case, beautiful chrysanthemums, with the supporting stem completing<br />the arrangement.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfTD1eiZHWgnKGyiBkS8enliGdYxbfGcrkOWf0n_RZ-umciNYDOB2_KmKH5uTxk1zhKZhvxUR-kSaO5SBGTPEPdPuwnKqN3tsODQDttb7FxWtUlz23-uEYFwjTBPIX_3Nnpe5VA/s1600-h/IMG_1058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 364px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFfTD1eiZHWgnKGyiBkS8enliGdYxbfGcrkOWf0n_RZ-umciNYDOB2_KmKH5uTxk1zhKZhvxUR-kSaO5SBGTPEPdPuwnKqN3tsODQDttb7FxWtUlz23-uEYFwjTBPIX_3Nnpe5VA/s400/IMG_1058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266981480569496866" border="0" /></a><br />I was lucky enough to get 5 flowers in my pack of flowers verses<br />the three that everyone got. Wow, the small pleasures of life.<br />Although my arrangement must have not strictly followed Ikebana principles,<br />it didn’t look that bad either (ya, ya I know flowers put any how would<br />look good, but gimme some credit for a change will ya ! )<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplEFpHHZdqijDd4FQk29RMw2AX0g9j0PM6Zyr3rW7hpAHGoAoFn-iagO9Sm2DlNUzRGb9hFF_TS_tpM17F3CQzReS4YfSgS0zxCvcz5swJoMgD9LNtMBbLmls17i662keLdRGlA/s1600-h/IMGP5505.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplEFpHHZdqijDd4FQk29RMw2AX0g9j0PM6Zyr3rW7hpAHGoAoFn-iagO9Sm2DlNUzRGb9hFF_TS_tpM17F3CQzReS4YfSgS0zxCvcz5swJoMgD9LNtMBbLmls17i662keLdRGlA/s400/IMGP5505.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266981488099564338" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tea ceremony</span><br /><br />Next we headed to set up the tea ceremony. Now the Japanese take<br />their tea very seriously. The Japanese emperor had a special tea room<br />all made of gold just for the ceremony.Tea ceremonies have to go in an<br />exact way and there are schools and “Tea Masters” who are well<br />learned in this art. We got a 6 page instructional manual with<br />pictures to make sure we got it right.<br /><br />Japanese Tea Ceremony or sado “the way of tea” is strongly influenced<br />by Zen Buddhism…and is a formalized way of making and serving tea.<br />The host or hostess in this case, wears a kimono and for this event<br />all the ladies dressed accordingly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmObqelvncWX0zBGhdbIK6rbAWvK9km1kg0Ju9r8agoq-oEakkLUonmDz-mJSQmrtLg_cvsPwRf21ayoP90aSQaygS3WmQpySuWhDuBVjUEW5P6V4hTTqQ1Z-z39-aQyPsGhYeHQ/s1600-h/IMGP5532.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmObqelvncWX0zBGhdbIK6rbAWvK9km1kg0Ju9r8agoq-oEakkLUonmDz-mJSQmrtLg_cvsPwRf21ayoP90aSQaygS3WmQpySuWhDuBVjUEW5P6V4hTTqQ1Z-z39-aQyPsGhYeHQ/s400/IMGP5532.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266981491726234770" border="0" /></a>Masoko Sensei preparing Tea for us.<br /><br />Matcha or powdered green tea is scooped into a bowl with a special<br />tea scoop, chashaku and hot water is then ladled into the bowl and<br />the mixture whipped until foamy with a wooden wisk, chasen.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuA-YRq8J2_Nyn5EOOVe2fpP1KLvB27gmc8-Om7Uh30DbuLbcEFtQLd-_qzZDnOwfH77iwQH0M0uNGiHNiktT8NFSF92Ue8BLUtEFNM8rUYyOmKklffhxnTTGhU9FVAaA9DiDxQ/s1600-h/IMGP5543.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuA-YRq8J2_Nyn5EOOVe2fpP1KLvB27gmc8-Om7Uh30DbuLbcEFtQLd-_qzZDnOwfH77iwQH0M0uNGiHNiktT8NFSF92Ue8BLUtEFNM8rUYyOmKklffhxnTTGhU9FVAaA9DiDxQ/s400/IMGP5543.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266981495107938434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The ceremony has many aspects, here are just some instructions for it –<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1.Bow when you receive the cup of tea which is called a chawan.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2.Take the chawan with your right hand and place it in the palm of</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> your left hand.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">3.Turn the chawan clockwise three times before you take a drink.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">4.When the tea is gone, make a loud slurp to tell the host that</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> the tea was truly enjoyed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">5.Wipe the part of the chawan your lips touched with your right hand.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">6.Turn the chawan counterclockwise and return to the host.</span><br /><br />You get the idea how complicated or precise it has to be.<br /><br />Prior to the drinking of the somewhat bitter tea, each guest is given<br />a Japanese sweet to eat. After all have been served, the utensils, bowls<br />and lacquer tea caddies are admired as part of the ceremony as they<br />can be very antique, priceless and irreplaceable.<br /><br />The brave among us decided to sit in seeza position(sitting in the<br />Japanese style), while others sat on benches.<br />Although being an Indian you would think one could manage the<br />Japanese style- no way, it’s really painful after a while !<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qDn87OOm_r9J15SQL0ubU8fUkGO_V6Gd5FbMo7Ywo6_0I-M2I2AQr8kVD7I9tpHJ8cx1gdPyUlQdRfIIp6kDgqdA_G1mxbpJk-ybdf82zbKbnwHfQLYfEw72UhBif-Or_gD1HA/s1600-h/IMG_1080.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qDn87OOm_r9J15SQL0ubU8fUkGO_V6Gd5FbMo7Ywo6_0I-M2I2AQr8kVD7I9tpHJ8cx1gdPyUlQdRfIIp6kDgqdA_G1mxbpJk-ybdf82zbKbnwHfQLYfEw72UhBif-Or_gD1HA/s400/IMG_1080.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266981495048078914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Anyways then I got to try making Japanese tea in the traditional way !<br />And I sucked at it ! Mixing green tea powder with a bamboo brush is<br />not as easy as it looks. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XlvarTsl6E1JbB_H-c46nablNiFZmTVQ6F1NYfTJ_PH13cke_20_0tvM7crB6tUDG_0rHRLKrSFbgmDqs2hEI9d2uWQLheW5e2MOiPDLFtuExrsGSnys0ndE-k_dOyipmg3DA/s1600-h/IMGP5565.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB1XlvarTsl6E1JbB_H-c46nablNiFZmTVQ6F1NYfTJ_PH13cke_20_0tvM7crB6tUDG_0rHRLKrSFbgmDqs2hEI9d2uWQLheW5e2MOiPDLFtuExrsGSnys0ndE-k_dOyipmg3DA/s400/IMGP5565.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266989703817510338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />All in all it was a great Diwali for me !<br />I will always remember my Japanese Diwali !<br />Arigatou Yonekura sensei and Terahara sensei !!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSRsNNr50GVTkTkUwpFtoWrwZEJ92f_zisSsDxbf8fkeg-eNqBaB1c9nXSCJcbtv9WXDrAIq6QN23G8u7jgetNUur2ETIJsgwHprzxcTu_yEMEzTMFoGLbiTrHN9KTterTzty-g/s1600-h/IMGP5575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSRsNNr50GVTkTkUwpFtoWrwZEJ92f_zisSsDxbf8fkeg-eNqBaB1c9nXSCJcbtv9WXDrAIq6QN23G8u7jgetNUur2ETIJsgwHprzxcTu_yEMEzTMFoGLbiTrHN9KTterTzty-g/s400/IMGP5575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266989707186833410" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-59031374538760051182008-11-05T14:36:00.001+05:302008-11-05T14:51:33.784+05:30Sweaty drink<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73DL5LrOl38i9BQYfo9RKr0M6NdP4kioTIaPc0i0G73VAliGpsKpG-CZgXzx47UdmI6qJaAaHseTxpPtUINlxCwWgTFdJi_Fk8pZhGuqWJsA-LHowjMbmhY5RLTVNhGTnl8kMsQ/s1600-h/IMGP5647.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73DL5LrOl38i9BQYfo9RKr0M6NdP4kioTIaPc0i0G73VAliGpsKpG-CZgXzx47UdmI6qJaAaHseTxpPtUINlxCwWgTFdJi_Fk8pZhGuqWJsA-LHowjMbmhY5RLTVNhGTnl8kMsQ/s400/IMGP5647.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned before, Japan is full of vending machines at every corner.<br />I have 5 vending machines just around my apartment.<br />You find vending machines even inside the premise of a Zen temple !<br />Some vending machines give you the drink in a hot or cold option for e.g.<br />if you select hot coffee, it pours hot coffee in a cup and gives you.<br />The same machine dispenses cold coffee or a pack of chips.<br />But what amazes me the most is that every time I see a vending machine it<br />seems to have different brands of drinks all the time !<br />I bet Japan has like hundreds of drink brands.<br /><br />But this vending machine had the well known and popular "Pocari Sweat".<br />Anything with a "sweat" in its name could never appeal to me, even if it<br />gives me all day super energy.<br /></div><br /><br /></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-41264654919004758412008-11-03T09:50:00.001+05:302008-11-03T14:33:06.341+05:30Caution<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQdB6Y6KQ34Nbs3cBKCkyMp4b_83IFnXOnZxUN0K_1c-Oy4TNhAqA93LAbg1DG7Mlm48WOaJptRaLlfGiBV5JZwQkku4JBKJ5aWlr13f_sqnw_wZBs7cnwexjcGuyP5XjZ84xFg/s1600-h/CAUTION_by_skyestarweaver.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQdB6Y6KQ34Nbs3cBKCkyMp4b_83IFnXOnZxUN0K_1c-Oy4TNhAqA93LAbg1DG7Mlm48WOaJptRaLlfGiBV5JZwQkku4JBKJ5aWlr13f_sqnw_wZBs7cnwexjcGuyP5XjZ84xFg/s400/CAUTION_by_skyestarweaver.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264281571978323906" border="0" /></a><br />By http://skyestarweaver.deviantart.com/art/CAUTION-89160652Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-19120918117409223472008-10-23T15:10:00.003+05:302008-10-23T15:17:54.072+05:30Currently reading<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTGekN1UX0jL0WncicR_Xd97klLJGWakUnE_SylFYTadkz5PYeuELRl8tT9JMQZnN7oG__XQt3uTWEtC-tLV1ZvHiGnjGn6OiG2mTKOXJ90CzBJ7vwCDaLhHk9scOdxLYgt6qHg/s1600-h/book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTGekN1UX0jL0WncicR_Xd97klLJGWakUnE_SylFYTadkz5PYeuELRl8tT9JMQZnN7oG__XQt3uTWEtC-tLV1ZvHiGnjGn6OiG2mTKOXJ90CzBJ7vwCDaLhHk9scOdxLYgt6qHg/s400/book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260282188757568050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">From sushi and karaoke to martial arts and technoware, the currency of<br />made-in-Japan cultural goods has skyrocketed in the global marketplace<br />during the past decade. The globalization of Japanese "cool" is led by youth<br />products: video games, manga (comic books), anime (animation), and cute<br />characters that have fostered kid crazes from Hong Kong to Canada.<br />Examining the crossover traffic between Japan and the United States,<br /><br /><i>Millennial Monsters<i> explores the global popularity of Japanese youth<br />goods today while it questions the make-up of the fantasies and the<br />capitalistic conditions of the play involved. Arguing that part of the<br />appeal of such dream worlds is the polymorphous perversity with<br />which they scramble identity and character, the author traces the<br />postindustrial milieux from which such fantasies have arisen in postwar<br />Japan and been popularly received in the United States. </i></i><br /><br />More info at<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Millennial-Monsters-Japanese-Imagination-Studies/dp/0520245652/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224753397&sr=8-1"> amazon</a>.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12215215.post-31626853770514842942008-10-22T16:03:00.002+05:302008-10-22T16:05:48.268+05:30All things cute and nice<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8kdRPBAuu9Fl4bN9aRO-SAzmo6T0JZ73-2ypbpYcZvIgL5JAdVFcywmRnIZFeT8HbhYJUPhfscPyVqRZ6pt4TwrvWvFREx3AW9IgTURgPAWcBls8lpHZJ9DOx28l1YJ6rlDNuQ/s1600-h/IMGP5482.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8kdRPBAuu9Fl4bN9aRO-SAzmo6T0JZ73-2ypbpYcZvIgL5JAdVFcywmRnIZFeT8HbhYJUPhfscPyVqRZ6pt4TwrvWvFREx3AW9IgTURgPAWcBls8lpHZJ9DOx28l1YJ6rlDNuQ/s400/IMGP5482.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Everything in Japan has to be cute. Now it doesn't matter if it is subway<br />tickets or election posters. I have seen 40 year men in business suits<br />carrying mobiles that have soft toys attached to it. It is kind of nice to<br />see that anything being cute is not associated with age or maturity but<br />the fact that anything being cute only makes that thing that much nicer.<br />Here is a dinnerware scrubber that also has to be cute.<br />Yes I got it, will probably never use it. Why ? Its too cute.<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com