I despise MSN Video

It acts like it's going to play the video I clicked on, but then it plays something else, and I can't find the video I'm looking for on the page, and when I try to skip past the stupid video I didn't want to watch the player falls into an endless loop of skipping all videos in the playlist.

Naruto Ninja Dome '06

Apparently the Tokyo Dome is currently hosting a month-long celebration of Naruto.

Monday's events opened with the recording of a radio show, starring Naruto voice talents Junko Takeuchi (the voice of Naruto) and Kazuhiko Inoue (who plays Kakashi), who read out messages from fans, discussed the upcoming Naruto film, and previewed the theme tune from the new PS2 game "Naruto: Konoha Spirits," sung by Takeuchi.

[...]

Visitors can try the characters' favourite Ichiraku ramen, practice their dart-throwing skills, watch an exclusive Naruto 3D film and get a chance to try the new PS2 game.

The guy who wrote that article also took the pictures. I guess he was a one-man band at the event. I wonder if he took any more pictures.

The one I featured above is of course notable for the cosplayers, but my favorite part is the huge Gamabunta in the background. I'd like to pose for a picture next to it ;>

My first published photo

Back in May, Daniel Falconer of Weta Limited emailed to ask if the company could license one of my photos for an advertisement for their new fan website. Weta Limited is a creative company based in New Zealand consisting of six brands: Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Weta Tenzan Chainmaille, Weta Collectibles, Weta Publishing, and Weta Productions.

Here's a description of Weta Workshop, which you may have heard of:

Weta Workshop is a four time Academy Award winning company that offers services to all aspects of the creative industry including design, special make-up effects and prosthetics, creatures, armour, weapons, miniatures, prop building, large scale sculpture, display work and costuming.

(Check out their Projects list. This one is pretty interesting.)

You may have seen Weta Collectibles' awesome stuff. They produced exclusive figures for the Lord of the Rings movie marathon, which Sean and I used to have before the fire. They also made the Elven Helm that Magazine Man sent me.

Weta launched its publishing arm, Weta Publishing, in 2005. My photo was used in a print advertisement in a booklet put out by Weta Publishing that was distributed at San Diego Comic Con.

Here's the original photo:

Here's the proof of the ad Daniel sent me:

And here's the ad in all its glory in the booklet:

A different version of the ad will also be used in a forthcoming publication.

Fourth of July 2006

Yes, I am very behind in my photo captioning! Here, finally, are the pictures I took in Kentucky at our Independence Day party.

Rainy Greeneway

Last Monday, it was drizzling, and I was in that strange mood that sometimes overcomes me when the weather's just right. It's a feeling that something is coming, something is changing, something is growing and developing. It's a feeling that I'm peripherally a part of something enormous. When I feel like that I'm always very antsy and impetuous. On Monday, that meant that I drove to the golf course side of the Greeneway and took pictures in the rain.

It was getting dark, so most of them didn't come out properly, but I got some good practice in holding still :>

(For my mom's sake, I will only link to the first photo in the set, and not post it here.)

Here are the two photos I like:

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the photos are out of focus. I consider it a learning experience. Or something.

Augusta Canal Trail waterfall

On June 26, my friend Wes from work and I went for a walk on the Augusta Canal Trail. We could hear the GreenJackets baseball game across the canal :)

We hot-footed it to the pumping station from the parking lot near Lake Olmstead, and then Wes very kindly put up with my photo-taking on our way back.

I've had these photos captioned for awhile, but it appears I never featured them on the blog. So here they are!

Riverwalk in May

Towards the end of May, I went to the Riverwalk twice in one week. I finally got around to captioning the photos from these excursions today.

Monday, May 22:

Thursday, May 25:

This is one of those annoying posts-o-links

I woke up early this morning, and here are some of the things I read:

Face of poverty ages in rapidly graying Japan

What is left after Gosuke Kakizaki's 73 years of life as a magazine typesetter turned failed businessman turned penniless retiree is contained in two small rooms of a gray public housing complex far from the glittery core of this city. A white teakettle, a few stacks of books and a little TV set remain, as do mounted photographs from the hiking trips he stopped taking about three years ago.

[...]

"I can't afford transportation, film for my camera or the photo-developing fees for such trips anymore," said the soft-spoken Kakizaki, who is long divorced and has only sporadic contact with his two adult children. "The photos are all I have left. I can barely afford to feed myself now."

I want to adopt a poor, elderly Japanese person. You know, just get a decent little house over there and have the oldster live in one of the rooms. I'd cook for them and clean and help them indulge in their hobbies. Wouldn't that be sweet? :)

New Babylon 5 episodes, straight to DVD (via Slashdot)

I don't think I really have to say anything about this that isn't already said on AICN. (Except a total side note: when Monica's trying to convince Chandler to invite his father to the wedding in Friends, Chandler mentions that his father "had sex with Mr. Garibaldi". That line always confuses me, whenever I hear it ;>)

ExtremeTech reviews the Zero Tension Mouse (also via Slashdot). Man, that thing looks awesome. I don't think I'd heard of a vertical mouse before, but the idea intrigues me. (I'm also interested in the idea of split keyboards with either side at an angle, or attached to the arms of a chair, or both...)

And, finally...

Dariush had a dream about Magazine Man! XD

Seriously, what's with the crime, Augusta?

A drive-by shooting/murder and an armed robbery in the same day! Isn't that pleasant?

The armed robbery isn't far from where I work. And not long ago there was an armed robbery not far from where I live.

North Augusta and West Augusta are supposed to be the good parts of town!

The Amazing Screw-On Head

I just watched the pilot (thanks, Tycho), and let's just say I'm interested. I'm not really sure what to make of it yet. It's creepy, it's a little gory, it's perversely patriotic, and it stars a screw-on head who works for Abe Lincoln. What more can I really say?

(If you take that survey, try to keep your answers short, and don't use any apostrophes ;P)

Getting the hell out of Dodge

I woke up this morning thinking about asking Mom something, and for some reason I thought I was back home and that all I had to do was get out of bed and walk out to the office. When I realized I couldn't, I was overcome with a need to hug her, and I felt very sad. It was an odd thing to have happen, because I haven't lived at home for three and a half years.

More and more I think about moving back to Kentucky. Since I started working in news, I'm much more aware of all the crime in this area. I'm sure there's crime back home, too, and occasionally I do read about something dangerous happening in Nicholasville or Lexington in my RSS feeds, but the crime here just feels so pervasive, and it seems like nothing can really be done about it. The city is $5 million over budget, so it's not like they can start up a midnight basketball program or something (:>).

Most of the intelligent people I talk to want to move away from Augusta. It's sad. This is a beautiful city. The Riverwalk is gorgeous, and the Canal is wonderful. There are plenty of places to ride a bike. Downtown is being revitalized.

But people are being attacked on the Riverwalk in broad daylight. There's graffiti under the overpass on the Canal. And let's not even start with downtown; crime is practically commonplace in certain sections. Not long after I started my new job, a homeless man was killed and stuffed into a trash can behind one of the businesses on Broad Street. And there have been shootings along a certain stretch of Martin Luther King Boulevard that I happened to drive through unknowingly one time.

I don't want to live someplace that I can't explore.

I guess we're pretty much stuck for now, though. Having just finally gotten a job I love, I'm not willing to leave it. And Sean doesn't want to leave his job yet either. But maybe in a few years...? Maybe we'll do something then.

I hope it's either move to Kentucky, or move to Japan.

Look, another avatar generator

This one doesn't let you tell it how fat you are, though.

Dance! Dance with the camera, freakishly thin Heather!

Via Kirkie.

The Six Million Dollar Car

Okay, maybe not, but it is "bionic":

While the TV show was just make-believe, the bionic car is the real thing. And in this case, the word bionic is condensed from a quite recent field of scientific discipline called "biomimetics," which is derived from the words biology and mimesis (imitation).

Biomimetics is an interdisciplinary subject which combines engineering science, architecture and mathematics. The basic principle is to make nature's problem solutions usable for man. The reason is simple: Nature, through billions of years of trial and error, has produced effective solutions to innumerable complex real-world problems.

The bionic car averages 70 mpg and tops out at 84 on the highway, and it isn't even a hybrid. Its fuel efficiency is largely due to its aerodynamic design, based on the shape of a boxfish. Note that to reduce drag there are no side mirrors; that function is served by rear cameras.

It also apparently has plenty of room inside and puts off few emissions due to a system that converts nitrous oxide to nitrogen and oxygen.

Obviously I am really impressed by this, and I think the design is awesomely cute and weird, but I do wonder why they didn't go for the extra step of adding hybrid technology...just as I wonder why Toyota doesn't offer a Yaris hybrid.

It seems like automakers are focusing on bringing huge cars down to fuel efficiencies that already exist in small cars, and maxing midsize cars only to about 60 mpg. Do they think there's no market for the most fuel efficient vehicle possible? Is there some kind of rule that automakers have to step up the gas mileage gradually, to keep the oil companies from suddenly losing money?

Why, if we have the ability to go further, don't we go as far as we can?

(Maybe the change is coming, and it's just taking too long for my tastes. This article indicates that Toyota executives want to have hybrid versions of all their vehicles.)

I don't know if the bionic car will ever make it to market, but if it does I hope that by that time we are seeing gas mileages well past 100, and I hope that in order to keep up they will add hybrid or some other technology.

If all that comes to pass, maybe the car I buy after the Yaris will be a Mercedes Bionic ;>

I am, of course, interested in alternative fuels, flex fuel vehicles, and fuel cells too. (I'm still waiting for Mr. Fusion.)

Comedy for gaijin

Via Simon, I've discovered a fabulous column in a Japan magazine geared towards foreign nationals. It's satire at its finest, and it's called The Negi.

Get it? :D

Here are a few nuggets:

The Japanese vintage clothes industry is outsourcing labor to China as a means of cutting costs, The Negi can reveal. Traditionally, clothes manufactured in China have been shipped to the USA, worn by Americans and then donated to charities, before being repurchased and sold to Japan at a higher price. However, more and more shirts are now being produced and worn in China, before being sold directly to bulk buyers in Japan for sale at vintage clothing stores.

An industry insider explained that, aside from the obvious cost savings, the system solves another key problem: the increasing scarcity of used American clothing in a size that fits Japanese people. The new Chinese pre-worn clothes are reportedly much closer to Japanese sizes.

[...]

As a steel pole was set in concrete near the Hachiko Crossing this past Sunday, Hisao Saito worried if this might put his long career in advertising to an end.

For the past 10 years, Saito has stood on the corner wearing a sandwich board advertisement for the "Golden Ball!" pachinko parlor. However, recent months have seen signs of a shift in the industry, partly in reaction to Japan's protracted economic slump.

Cost-cutting moves, along with advances in technology, have led to a sharp increase in metal poles replacing low paid, homeless men.

[...]

Last Square Meter of Japanese Wilderness Found, Paved

Construction Ministry officials expressed excitement last Tuesday as they watched the nation's last patch of wilderness get covered in concrete. The day also saw the unveiling of architect Daisuke Mori's nationwide "Let's Enjoy Wild" project, which uses plastic sheets and lights to "convey the peaceful aura of pure nature."
"Some people are worried that this event will end the steady flow of irrelevant construction jobs and cash to rural Japan," said Minister Kenichi Ebisawa; "but much of the concrete that we have already laid has become cracked from plant life desperately trying to push through. A second layer of concrete is obviously required."

Scientists predict that by 2047, the combined weight of concrete will cause Japan to sink into the ocean. Undersea concrete reinforcing pillars are already being planned.

[...]

Morning Musume to Hire Fetus

In its unflagging search for new and younger talent, J-Pop girl band Morning Musume has reached out to an as-yet-unborn demographic for its next member. The still-unnamed prodigy was discovered during ultrasound auditions in Harajuku, where expectant mothers queued for hours in the hope that their progeny would be chosen for the big time.

[...]

Shrapnel-Absorbent Officers in Bid to Thwart Terrorists

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police department is to mobilize shrapnel-absorbent officers on the city's train and subway system. The move comes in response to recent reports warning that Tokyo might be the site of a terrorist attack.

The highly absorbent officers will be deployed throughout the Tokyo transport network, and are intended to shield travelers from shrapnel in the event of a terrorist bombing.

The officers will also act as a deterrent to would-be bombers. Police Chief Kazuo Nobutaka explained that the force's latest weapon against terrorism had been trained in the art of standing on a box while looking around. Officers were apparently instructed to look for people with an expression that said "I have dynamite strapped to my body."

No arrests have been made yet. However, Nobutaka is confident that the scheme will prove a success. "Suicide bombers will think twice about exploding themselves on our trains, for fear that the police will arrest them," he said.

In pure Onion style, each column ends with "News In Brief". Here are a few examples:

Police Crack Down on Wave of Legal Immigrants
Hostess Overcome by Ennui
Timid Couple Visit 'Like' Hotel
Many People Unaware Niigata Is Famous for Rice
Kyoto Retracts Protocol Declaring "Chou Samui Desu Ne!"

It looks like I'm going to have to become a regular reader.

Apparently the author, Kevin Cooney, is affiliated with a comedy troupe called Tokyo Comedy Store. They do acts in Shibuya and at Tokyo bars. It'd be fun to check them out sometime.

My very first spam

For awhile there I thought my blog must be pretty crappy, as it hadn't received a single spam comment.

But today I was riddled with not one, not two, but three spam comments.

My blog is all grown up! *sniffle*

Captchas are now enabled. Apologies for the inconvenience :)