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Posts tagged with Japanese inventions

February 8, 2010 | Cool Travel | by Zolton Highly recommended by the LAEM team. |

This amazing looking thing can be found wandering the streets of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan, dishing up ample servings of Coca-Cola and gripping the city’s teenagers with a sudden fear of the future.

January 14, 2010 | New Products | by The Uncool Hunter |

In Japan, like in other countries of the world, more people are living alone. So experts on commercialization have created products to satisfy a new demand. One of the most recognised products is the man arm-shaped pillow. It’s an arm that doesn’t include a body, so — for better or for worse — it lacks snores, nasty smells, and human warmth.

November 11, 2009 | New Trends | by The Uncool Hunter |

The first publication of the book 101 Unuseless Japenese Inventions, at the end of the 90s, was centered around Chindogu art. Created by author Kenji Kawakami, this art of unusual and useless inventions, displayed different ways of solving the everyday problems. One of the Chindogus is the Baby Mop, a pair of trousers and a sweatshirt for babies with strips that clean the floor while the baby crawls. Read more

November 9, 2009 | New Fashion | by The Uncool Hunter |

From the depths of functional creativity comes this invention out of Japan: the back scratching t shirt, the fastest and most illogical solution to fight an itch.

October 19, 2009 | New Products | by The Uncool Hunter |

The new Japanese battery — NoPoPo — ensures that you will never run out of energy, even in those unexpected moments. This promise is made possible because you can charge them by inserting either water, urine, blood, apple juice, beer and saliva into their base with a teat pipette which is included in the package. So now you know it! Is this a way of turning drunks into real plants that generate energy? Their operation is possible thanks to the reaction produced by the magnesium and the carbon of the urine. According to the online magazine The Register, these batteries are only being sold in Japanese stores and the date of the arrival to the Western markets is unknown. Unfortunately they can only be charged between two and five times — an ambiguous number — and the price is not cheap at U$15. Read more

September 6, 2008 | New Trends | by Julia Hennock |

From the what will they think of next box comes [drum roll please] Pileus — an umbrella connected to the Internet, ‘to make walking in rainy days fun’. Pileus has a large screen on the top, a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass. And it provides two main functions: social photo-sharing and a 3D map navigation. Yes, indeed, rainy days will never quite seem the same again.

 

Born in a sub-provincial city of China, and raised in the suburbs of Northern California, Brooklyn-based artist Jing Wei attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she ‘developed a great affinity for printmaking, snow, and pizza’.


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Yes, we’ve featured him a lot on Lost At E Minor, but how could we not? New York-based artist Sam Weber’s work is amazing, tapping into dreams, visions, and fantasies from every wayward mind. [more about Sam Weber]

Let them sing it for you is a web widget that allows you to type in a sentence which is then played back using the same words culled from a library of popular songs. For instance if you type the word “I” it will play Chris Isaak singing that word in the song Wicked Games. If a word cannot be found, you can enter a song which contains the missing word and expand the library.

In an over-saturated Swedish music scene, The Tough Alliance have delivered glistening electronic dance pop on their new album, A New Chance. Read more


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Sydney is not as well known for its great bars as other Australian cities. The city centre is dominated by over-priced style bars, while the suburbs are ruled by beer barns overflowing with terrible music, pokies, and sports. Nestled in the back streets of Surry Hills, surprisingly close to the city, The Cricketer’s Arms bucks the trend, with an open fire-place, great contemporary music selection, comfortable couches, a cosy outdoor area, decent food, free board games, and the laidback vibe that’s now all too rare in Sydney. [pic via Time Out Sydney]

The Deal sisters have dropped off the indie-rock radar of late, but this clip of them covering Hank Williams’ I Can’t Help It reminds us why we all loved them so much back in the day. Incidentally, the Breeders are set to release their new album, Mountain Battles, in April.

I’m not much of a jewelry guy, but if bling is in order, it’s ordered from my man Osa at Complete Technique. Originally from Japan, Osa is now based in Dumbo, Brooklyn and makes the finest metal jewelry, on par with any of his ancestor’s samurai swords. From speaker rings to turntable pendants, it’s all fresh and mostly music or hip-hop related. He’s been at it for about ten years and works harder than most people I know. If you need some jewelry, show him some love.

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Armin Rohr

German painter Armin Rohr’s works look like stills from Stan Brakhage films, all acid-washed, scratched out, and ethereal like a sudden flood of memories. Read more

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Kate Banazi’s silkscreen artwork

A three-lettered ‘wow’ explodes in my mind whenever I look at the work of Sydney-based silkscreen artist Kate Banazi. Her latest work is fantastically dynamic, stylistic and abstract, making clever use of colour-bomb palettes. Read more

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Paolo Ventura

Italian-born, New York City-based photographer Paolo Ventura creates fairy-tale like pictures out of amazingly constructed, miniature dioramas that almost trick the eye into thinking he’s a tilt-shift photographer. Read more

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Hipster Puppies

Damn hipster dogs coming in here with their parents’ money, acting like they own the place, not respecting us real dogs who know what real culture and art are. We were here first and we knew about all those bands before they did. Read more

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Man-Tsun’s painterly images

Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more


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Tired of having your food stolen by sticky-fingered coworkers or roommates? Bullies taking your kid’s lunch? Well, worry no more. Anti-Theft Lunch Bags are sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides, making your freshly prepared lunch look spoiled. So don’t suffer the injustice of having your sandwich stolen again! Read more

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