There is something unreal, or perhaps hyper-real, about HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. It evens out the lighting, makes everything crisp and colourful, and gives it an artificial, if not computer generated, kind of look. Now combine that with Japan’s often surreal urban landscapes and techno-kitch culture and you have a killer combination.
Wow. How much does it cost to convert an innocent Hello Kitty bike frame into a canvas for 50,000 Swarovski crystals? I don’t think this is going to be used as a training bike any time soon.
If you haven’t seen the work of Space Coyote yet, you probably will soon. The anime renditions of the entire Simpsons clan have started opening a few doors. These are essentially reverse caricatures, or re-caricatures, pulling the main identifying features from one genre to another. Space Coyote is very good at this, and continues to draw Matt Groening characters, as well as other well known and stylistic cartoon icons like Calvin and Hobbes.
Who hasn’t always wanted a miniature pancreas? Mark Frauenfelder’s friend brought these amazingly mini-anatomical toys over from Japan. Would you believe each box comes with a stick of gum? That’s like eating sushi after seeing a Body Worlds exhibit… (via Boingboing)
You won’t find these in the supermarket gumball machines, but you can buy them at Giant Robot in the U.S.
Toysrevil links to this crazy crafting site of paper Lego StarWars characters. The country that brought us origami takes it one step further with 3D modeling software, a printer, paper, and a stick of glue. If I had a few hundred spare hours in my day, I’d be all over this sh*t!
Using software such as PePaKuRa Designer [PC only] from Tama software, it is possible to import and convert 3D polygon models from various sources, making it easier to design and create your own papercraft models.
- Wikipedia entry
Neill Blomkamp is a remarkable film maker. He specialises in making the near future into his latest film project. He also loves robots. And after the Honda fiasco below I thought a little faith restoration was in order. Check out his other work on YouTube (remember that Citroen C4 dancing car? Here’s the warm-up.). He’s apparently the director for the Halo film as well.
Well folks, we are a looooong way off from having these things clean our houses and perform light yard work. Not only is this cute little guy unbearably slow, but he can’t make it up a simple flight of stairs. I like the way the Honda team immediately blocks the view of the robot, like some twisted Japanese version of the restaurant scene in Brazil. Suddenly the lights are dimmed, dividers are unfolded around Asimo, and the young girl just stands by the stage the entire time. It sounds like the robot keeps talking, even after he smashes his head, but I can’t speak Japanese. Can anyone translate? I think my favourite part is when Honda turns off their sign that reads, “Honda: The Power of Dreams”. It’s all kind of sad, but I’ll say it again: I don’t think robots are going to take over the Earth any time soon.
Toysrevil
