Heat Wave = Post Drought
Add comment July 28th, 2006
Archive for July, 2006
Feuerwear - Fire Hose Gear
Feuerwear makes bags and stuff out of old fire hoses. I should start a company that makes bags out of some reclaimed material and it would be instantly popular. Hmmm, bags made out of old moldy shower curtains anyone?
Add comment July 23rd, 2006
Sanrio Puroland
Sanrio Puroland looks insane. I think that even the most hardcore Hello Kitty fan would spontaneously combust from cute oversaturation.
Add comment July 21st, 2006
Space Cosplaying!
Daisuke Enomoto is set to be the world’s next space tourist. Except this trip will be a little bit different - Enomoto wants to float around in space
dressed as Char Aznable from the Gundam franchise. I guess when you’re dishing out the bucks to go into space, you can do pretty much any zany stuff you want s’long as it’s safe! Now this whole space cosplaying drama would be a whole lot more interesting if it was a woman in a cute cosplay outfit.
Add comment July 20th, 2006
Japan GT Girls
Being from Hawaii where there are a whole lot of Asians, and thus a lot of import car racing, I was quite surprised to see a tv news story here in the Bay Area about the “new racing phenomenon” of drifting (Story probably prompted by F&F:Tokyo Drift). Ok, drifting is so a billion years ago! Which lead me to thinking about what other things are different between US & Japanese racing culture. Then I came across the Japan GT Girls page. Asian Import Models. Cue up those Initial-D soundtrack tunes, buckle-in and hit that link!
Add comment July 19th, 2006
Science Facts that People Get Wrong
Science Facts that People Get Wrong. Really interesting how what we sometimes think of as such an easy answer is actually unfounded. What’s more fascinating is how society has somehow managed to burn those answers into our brains!
* Spacecraft heat up on re-entry because of the friction of the atmosphere
* There are seven colours in the rainbow
* Everest is the highest mountain in the world
Add comment July 19th, 2006
Live Action : Space Invaders
This video by artist Guillaume Reymond re-creates the game of Space Invaders using real peeps in an auditorium. Very cool. Check here if the youtube clip gets pulled (mmm, yummy copyright!)
Add comment July 18th, 2006
Anime Glossary
I like to watch anime, but I’m by no means a disciple of the genre. Which means that when I’m trying to figure out what is worth watching, I have to weave my way through a minefield of anime terminology that I don’t understand. Which is where an Anime Glossary comes in handy! Now I know that just because some reviewers are raving about something being yaoi, I may want to steer clear :P More terms
Add comment July 18th, 2006
White Stripes Video Ripoff
I’ve been seeing an ad for Chilis lately on the boob toob that looked like a ripoff of a White Stripes video I’d seen once. I recognized the style and had only seen the White Stripes video maybe twice. Was it produced by the same company? This is again the whole sticky issue of technique / style, and to what degree can does a style belongs to an artist. Lugz sued Apple for the style they used for an ad that was too similar to their own - but it seems to me that the style had already been part of the cultural landscape for quite some time. The Chilis ad however is using the same specific visual technique/trick, as well as the color palette and similar music to the “Seven Nation Army” track. To me, this clearly crosses the line into blatant ripoff-ery.
Add comment July 18th, 2006
Speaker Cone Materials
I recently bought new studio monitors for my rig. Made by KRK, the V6 features a cone made from kevlar. While it doesn’t render the speakers bulletproof, the yellow sure looks nice (and the speakers sound great!) This reminded me of something I’d heard a long time ago about speakers cones made from banana fiber! A quick search on the web found this Treehugger article about cones made from bamboo, and in the comments is a link to the Fostex banana cone speakers. They’re not yellow, but it’s a cool idea! This page has some info on other materials used for cones, such as carbon fibre, paper, plastics and more!
Add comment July 17th, 2006
Hello Kitty Fender Strat
For any aspiring J-pop star (such as my better half who looks the rockstar part once she throws on the feline themed axe), your weapon of choice should be the Hello Kitty Fender Strat. Now I suppose I’ll have to be the dork in the back with keyboards while SHE gets all the fame ;) Of course I expect many fine guitar loops to emit forth soon.
Add comment July 17th, 2006
Duracell - Retro Game Tune Drummer
Duracell is a one-man-band that plays some insanely cool sets - his drum kit triggers audio/midi sequences, so that each time he bashes the drum the next note/sequence in the song will play. The frenetic drumming is used to play awesome retro game tunes like Space Harrier and Turrican. Check out this video and this one. Mentalcakes.
Add comment July 17th, 2006
DIY Camera Crane
Instructables has a diy guide on how to make a 16 foot pan-and-tilt camera crane for $60. Build, then go forth and make awesomely bad movies to post on YouTube.
Add comment July 17th, 2006
The Importance of Understanding your Cables
I’m in the process of configuring up my new studio setup since I moved away from the rock (The rock being Hawaii). Anyone that has put together their own studio has probably spend many a late night figuring out the best way to do it. There are so many decisions: amps, speakers, racks, modules, sound stage, keyboards, etc. One of the most important components of any system is often the most neglected : the cables. I’ll admit that in my last setup I was woefully uneducated about the finer points of cables. For my new rig I’m determined to learn as much as I can, and spend a bit more money to get the cleanest signal path that I can - after all, the sound is the end product - why settle for a dirty track?. One of the key points I’ve picked up is to understand the difference between balanced and unbalanced cables. Read Tweakheadz’ Everything you were Afraid to Ask about Cables and Setting Up Your Equipment from PeachPit
Add comment July 17th, 2006