Monthly Archives: January 2010

The Legend of Koizumi: Where Mahjong decides key world decisions

by Jayvee Fernandez
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The Legend of Koizumi: Where Mahjong decides key world decisions

“Let the deliberations begin.” In The Legend of Koizumi (Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku), key economic, political and military decisions are settled in the mahjong table. This is no typical anime, because it actually portrays real world political figures fighting for world peace. The satirical anime stars Junichiro Koizumi, the 89th prime minister of Japan who is portrayed as the defender of world peace with the talent of mahjong handed down to him from his father. Typical of Japanese satire in manga as well as in the series, there is a definite exaggeration of the social and cultural backgrounds of the cast. In the first part of the series, George W Bush Read more »

Ookami Kakushi Takes a Page Out of Higurashi

by Nopy
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Ookami Kakushi Takes a Page Out of Higurashi

One of the new anime airing this season is Ookami Kakushi, a horror mystery which seems to involve wolves in some way and supernatural powers. Being a fan of the horror-mystery genre, I couldn’t pass up checking out this anime, but after watching it for a while, it begins to feel strangely familiar. That’s when I started noticing quite a few similarities between Ookami Kakushi and what’s probably the most successful horror-mystery anime in recent years: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Higurashi started off with a young boy (Keiichi) moving to a new town before the start of a local festival which sees someone get murdered or go missing every year. Read more »

Gadgets For The Germophobe

by Noemi Twigg
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Gadgets For The Germophobe

I am no germophobe but I do like washing my hands a lot. I also have a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol (70%) in my bag for when I go out. As it turns out, there are people out there who are more concerned about germs than I am. They’ve actually created gadgets that can help stop the spread of germs. Here’s my favorite: a dishwasher safe Wii controller. You may not think about it much, but that white bar can carry tons of germs in it, especially after Wii night with friends. I try to make it a habit to wipe it clean with alcohol but sanitizing it sound Read more »

Universal Keystroke for Sarcasm at USD $1.99

by Jayvee Fernandez
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Universal Keystroke for Sarcasm at USD $1.99

Based on informal surveys of the written correspondence, a lot of arguments via SMS and email occur because at least one party didn’t quite get the punchline. When IQ levels are at odds, sarcasm can turn to the devil’s worst weapon, insinuating the most heated arguments. So, finally after several years of sarcastic wit, there finally has been a consensus, of some sort, to develop a punctuation for sarcasm. It looks like that thing above, beside the logo of the developer. This new exclamation is suggested to be placed after every sarcastic line or phrase we exchange in SMS or email, or even in handwritten notes. So how does it Read more »

The Third and The Seventh: A journey into architecture awesomeness with a twist

by Jayvee Fernandez
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The Third and The Seventh: A journey into architecture awesomeness with a twist

Above is a screencap from Alex Roman’s The Third and the Seventh. It’s beautiful. That’s for sure. But it’s only a split second of what this man’s talent has to offer in his latest. The Third & The Seventh is a must watch. It inspires on many levels. On one, we see an abstraction of architecture from the point of view of the camera lens. On another level — and this one even more surprising — the whole thing is done in CG. Say what you want about his seemingly overuse of DOF shots .. we love ‘em. And it really just proves the point of his whole presentation of Read more »

Massage Me Jacket Doubles as Playstation Controller

by J. Angelo Racoma
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Massage Me Jacket Doubles as Playstation Controller

Boys will be boys. One big problem if your significant other becomes addicted to console gaming is that he (or she) will hardly have any time for you. Good thing my girlfriend (and now wife) used to be fond of the same games back when we were younger. But for those whose significant others seem to be spending more time in front of the TV playing games than romancing you, the Massage Me jacket could be a good compromise. The Massage Me jacket is actually an interface to control Playstation games. The wearer of the jacket simply lies down or sits, while the player pounds or presses on his or Read more »

bloggie™ Camera

by Darice de Cuba
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bloggie™ Camera

One of Sony’s latest products is a full HD camcorder with funky colors that fits in your pockets, the bloggie™ Camera. I would buy the camera for its name, format and colors only. I never had a gadget specific for video recording, the bloggie seems a nice one to buy for the first time. The bloggie which supports both Memory Stick and SD/SDHC cards is targeted at teenagers and young adults. Bloggie is supplied with Sony’s own app Picture Motion Browser. It automatically compresses the files for upload on sites like Facebook and YouTube. Other nice hardware specs are the lens which can swivel 270 degrees for taking self photos Read more »

WoW Collectible Coin Set!

by Lia
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WoW Collectible Coin Set!

I can’t help but laugh at how definitely geeky I can be. I’m getting married in a few months time (more specifically August, 7 more months to go!) and I guess (as much as I don’t want to admit) I have wedding on the brain. So when I saw this WoW Collectible Coin Set, the first thing that came to mind is “Omigod, wedding arrhae!” According to the dictionary, Arrhae (n.) means: Money or other valuable thing given to evidence a contract; a pledge or earnest.[Webster 1913 Suppl.] In the Philippines (where I live!), during a wedding, the groom presents arrhae to his bride after it has been blessed by Read more »

Helping Haiti: Donating via cellphone one of the quickest ways

by andy
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Helping Haiti: Donating via cellphone one of the quickest ways

In the US, you can text HAITI to 90999 (any carrier) and a $10 donation will be sent to the Red Cross Following the tragedy of the Haiti earthquake, many are looking for efficient ways of donating money to help with international rescue and relief efforts, and one of the quickest ways of doing so is via your mobile phone. In our technological age, gone are the days of having to send checks in the post or visit a bank branch to make a donation. Simply by sending a SMS text message to a short code provided by many mobile phone operators around the globe, a fixed donation can be Read more »