Because I Require Stimulation

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Only in Japan, my friends. Only in Japan. NOW WHERE CAN I GET ONE?

Cyber Figure Alice (ARis) is a 2008 product by Geisha Tokyo (Jp), featuring an interactive virtual anime figurine created with augmented reality technology [wiki] which combines virtual reality and real world elements.

Check out the Japanese promotional video below (minor NSFW)…

Read the rest of this post »

Cyber Figure Alice (ARis) - interactive virtual figurine by YeinJee

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Ohhhhhhh man. All the people who worked with me were ramped up to see Twilight while I couldn't have given a damn about the movie. But I really want to see THIS.

The long-delayed Spike Jonze adapation of “Where the Wild Things Are” has a new trailer.  You can check it out below.

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I am all FOR this.

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard could direct “The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft” according to Variety.

Based on the Image Comics series, book borrows elements from Lovecraft’s life, such as his family’s struggle with mental illness and his own bouts with writer’s block, and transforms the young writer’s darkest nightmares into reality when he comes across a book that puts a curse on him and lets the evils he conjures up loose on the world.

The film will be co-produced by Universal and Imagine.   Universal was interseted in the project based on their history with some of the related monsters in the project including Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man.

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Oh SHIT! I tripped balls to this one when it first came out. Helluva fun game.

Continue reading European PSN releases for March 26

European PSN releases for March 26 originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And cue the Barry White music!

Pfft, that ain't no fail. That, my friends, is a win. A big 'ol Geekologie Writer win. Now who wants to drive me to the toy store? Packaging Fail [failblog] Thanks to junkyard dog, who knows quality children's toys when he sees them.

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Wow... people have a lotta things to think about, don't they?

There are debates running on some Singapore forums lately about the revealing dress of actress Joanne Peh on a cooking show [more on Divaasia]

The actress was dressed in a low-cut halter-neck print dress on the TV show, which at first glance kinda looked like a bikini (because of the apron)…

While some netizens were criticising her outfit as distracting and too revealing; there are others who cheered it on, saying that Singaporeans are being too conservative.

Personally I think it’s not a matter of sexy or revealing, but appropriateness. I wonder if she would wear similar outfit if she’s cooking at home… and that’s probably the answer to whether the dress was appropriate for a cooking show or not.

I know there are lots of cooking shows where celebrity guests would donned in revealing outfits on consistent basis, especially in some cheapskate Japanese and Taiwanese variety shows. But when it comes to a genuine culinary show, I would rather have the guests focusing on their cooking skills (or no-skills) instead.

Am I being too conservative? Hmmm…

Joanne Peh… too sexy to cook? by YeinJee

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Designs for real flying saucers beg the question about which inspired what. Did tales of flying saucers inspire the design or did the design inspire the tales?

Concept cars, dream machines and technology-packed prototypes give us hints of what the future holds for bikers, drivers, sailors and flyers - many have even gone into production little changed from their showpiece status. Here are 15 that have not, though they live on in our imaginations.

Buick’s Y-Job: Pre-war Predicter

(image via: Edmunds)

Arguably one of the first concept cars worthy of the name, the 1938 Buick Y-Job was a ray of bright sunshine beaming through the gathering clouds of war. Longer, lower and wider than anything the US automakers had ever sold before, the Y-Job also boasted advanced technology that, along with its swoopy good looks, would appear on many of GM’s most memorable post-war offerings. Only one Y-Job was made… to which we have to ask, Y?

The Big E: Ford’s Better Idea?

(images via: Blue Oval Forums and How Stuff Works)

The 1958 Edsel is the poster child for corporate failure. After tantalizing the public with a massive marketing campaign over many months, Ford finally delivered an over-achieving understatement. The Edsel wasn’t really that bad, it just wasn’t what people were led to believe. Perhaps if Ford’s designers hadn’t surrendered to the bean counters things would have worked out differently.

(image via: GM Insider News)

Then again, perhaps it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie; Ford has enough troubles as it is.

Highways of the Mind

(images via: Arutha and Special-Classics)

Early concept cars were much wilder than those of today yet still created a real sense of possibilities for the future. Above are just a few of these magnificent dream machines that flew off designers’ drawing boards and into our collective imaginations. The red cruiser topmost, it should be noted, is the Ford Nucleon… which was to be powered by an on-board nuclear reactor! Not quite “Mr. Fusion” but can you imagine the high-speed crashes?

We’re All Auto-Pilots

(image via: Primary Sources / Newsvine)

Back in the Fabulous Fifties, anything seemed possible and with production cars looking more and more like 4-wheeled jets, the next step was obvious: actual flying cars! No need to worry about traffic issues, all that mundane stuff will be worked out in due time… one would hope.

It’ll Go Over Like a Lead Zeppelin

(image via: Fiddler’s Green)

Band name brainstorming and Mythbusters lead foil balloon-making aside, the Personal Airship was once everyman’s dream ride. One man in particular, Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, actually built a working model he used as his very own airborne “car” in brass-age Paris.

Don’t Be a Wimp, Fly in a Blimp!

(image via: Paleo-Future)

A German chocolate company named Hildebrands of Santos-Dumont’s time was so sure airships were going to be the minivans of the future, they issued a series of turn-of-the-century postcards illustrating the brave new world of 2000!

The Future: It’s a Gas!

(images via: Dark Roasted Blend and Soviet Poster)

After the Zeppelin concept had proved itself and notwithstanding the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, visionary designers foresaw all things bright and beautiful for bigger and better airships. Others pushed the envelope past bombastic into the realm of the bizarre.

Snow Fooling

(images via: The Propeller-Driven Sleigh and Oobject)

Snowmobiles have a little-known history that goes back nearly a century. Canada and Russia (naturally) pioneered what later would be known as the Ski-Doo, with the Soviets crafting a number of different armed aerosleds that were used in the 1939-40 Winter War with Finland.

Killer Cycle, Qu’est-ce Que C’est??

(images via: AllPosters and Steam Punk)

Bicycles are coming back into style, partially as a reaction to the hype about Global Warming, and some very futuristic models have attracted attention. Flash back to a time when bikes pretty much had the roads (such as they were) to themselves and you’ll also find some very forward-thinking designs. One of the most interesting is the Monocycle, basically a big wheel one sat inside. Wonder why it didn’t catch on? It most definitely works - monocycles (not unicycles) can be bought at several retail stores.

Here’s a short video of a motorized monocycle in action:

watch?v=CWmeTWPN5o4

Tanks for the Memories

(images via: Armchair General and Dark Roasted Blend)

In the interwar era (1919-1939) a number of odd designs were penned that seeked to amalgamate the two most promising military technologies: the airplane and the tank. The results were what might expect for a flying tank - and definitely looked much better on paper.

Saucerful of Secrets

(images via: Kaptain Kobold and Nazi Flying Saucers Part II)

Flying saucers that fly through airspace - not outer space - go back more than 60 years to secret research conducted in Nazi Germany. Today, fan-powered saucers are indeed practical though news stories announcing home versions always seem to be labeled “coming soon”.

(images via: WW2Aircraft and Nazi UFOs)

Here are a few more Nazi saucers, an integral component of an odd mythos that includes a secret U-boat base in Antarctica. An actual American mission led by Admiral Byrd, Operation Highjump, was conducted in 1946 with the stated purpose of mapping the Antarctic coastline. According to conspiracy theorists, however, it was an unsuccessful effort to eliminate the Nazi sub & saucer base at “New Berlin”.

As unusual as these retrofuturistic vehicles seem, it’s likely their designers would be even more amazed by today’s real modes of transportation… well, not counting the flying saucers.

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Good lord I wanna play this damned game!

Finally, almost two years after the game was unveiled at GDC 2007, Sony has revealed details about inFamous' Karma system -- a key part of the game which we've often intimated could either make or break it. Thankfully, it's looking pretty decent, as you can see from the two videos we have showcasing the feature. The first, which can be found above, gives a few examples of the moral choices you have to make throughout the game.

These choices will affect "the way pedestrians react to Cole, the powers he can use and upgrade, Cole's appearance, and even the story." As in Fable, any decision you make will award you either good or bad karma. There are six karmic levels: three bad (Thug, Outlaw and Infamous) and three good (Guardian, Champion and Hero). Each of these levels will contain different skills which can be bought with experience points. Placing points in a Champion skill and then lowering your karma level to Guardian means you will no longer have access to that skill.

Cole will change his appearance according to his karma level (again, much like Fable) and depending on whether he's a goody or baddy, his electricity will appear either red or blue. Upgrading your powers in either a good or evil direction will directly affect how they work. Good powers use electrons and are more likely to stun or restrain enemies while bad powers utilize positrons and will kill, maim and destroy. The second video, seen after the break, shows examples of this.

Seeing this system in action raises our hopes for inFamous. The game was starting to look very samey, but this added ingredient may be just the spice we've been looking for.

Continue reading inFamous' Karma system revealed

inFamous' Karma system revealed originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey! If you live in the Southeast Valley area, you should check this out. It's gonna be pretty cool I think.

I just wanted to let you all know that I was picked by the Chandler Public Library to teach an intro to blogging class! I wanted to get the info out there just in case you, your friends, your family members, or acquaintances have wanted to get into blogging but didn’t know where to start.

If you or someone you know would be interested in attending the class, simply refer to the class info below for all the details. Also, the class is free but the Chandler Public Library requires attendees to register which can be done at the link below:

• Class Registration: http://is.gd/mNvm
• Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
• Time: 7pm - 8:30pm
• Location: Chandler Public Library Downtown
• Map: http://is.gd/mNBE

Please feel free to forward this information out to anyone else who may be
interested, and let me know if you have any questions!

Sincerely,
~Tomas

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With Linux, xkill is one of the handiest things ever. Programme crash? App not working? KILL IT. No fuss, no muss, no CTRL-ALT-DEL. Simply point, click, kill.

Windows only: Linux fans will instantly recognize Kill as a clone of the handy xkill utility, because both of them let you instantly kill off a process by clicking on one of its windows.

Kill is an effective little application written in AutoHotKey. When you run the application it turns your regular mouse cursor into a cursor with a skull and crossbones, as seen in the screen shot to the left. If you left click on an application, Windows attempts to close it, as though you'd shut it down through normal methods and prompting you to save unsaved work. Holding down CTRL while you left click, and you kill the process behind the application, as though you had gone into the task manager and terminated the process. If you activate the Jolly Roger icon accidentally, pressing the ESC key returns your cursor to a less destructive clicker. For a tool with more diverse process killing options, like the ability to terminate based on the window name, check out Kill Tools, but for simple problem-enders, Kill is only 205k in size and is only loaded into the memory during actual use. Kill is freeware, Windows only.

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Anyone who claims geeks and nerds are only good for computer work, keep this in mind. We figured out ways to hack booze, dammit.

The work week's (finally) over—now's your chance to get really creative and industrious. Skim through our ten tips for enjoying a cheaper, tastier, and intriguingly fun night out or party at your pad.

Photo by Joe Shlabotnik.

10. Find great beer to drink

Leaving the house doesn't mean having to leave behind all prospects of decent brew. Find a watering hole with a wider selection of craft, micro, or foreign brews with web finders like BeerMenus.com. Wondering if you'll like that other Belgian ale they've got in bottles, since they didn't have the Duvel you crave? Beer Suggest can help you find complementary levels of hoppiness, strength, darkness, and other elements to pair you up with a great ale, lager, stout, or whatever (delicious) poison you prefer.

9. Bust out your custom-flavored vodka

Flavored vodkas can make for fun mixed drinks and (totally non-traditional) martinis, but the store-bought stuff often tastes artificial and hurts your wallet. Sneer at corporate liquor Prohibition-style and brew your own infused vodkas for parties, gifts, or to liven up your liquor cabinet. You don't have to spend a lot on the flavorless, odorless hooch you start with, and it's up to you whether you stick to vanilla, fruits, and other gourmand staples or venture into the fluorescent-hued realm of Skittles-flavored vodka.

8. Start a fire with chocolate and a Coke

This one's more for an outdoor beach gathering than a happy hour, but, hey, summer's just around the corner, and we'd like to think you can pull this off anywhere there's a vending machine and chocolate bars—so that's most city corners of the world. You're basically using the chocolate bar to polish the can into a light-focusing firestarter, placing a piece of kindling just a few inches off the shiny bottom. Work it into a bet about starting a fire without matches, or light someone's cigarette the ornate, impressive way—just make sure it's not in their mouth, of course.

7. Fix that funky wine

It stinks to open up a bottle of a distinctly deep and aged wine and find that it tastes like vinegar you wouldn't bother cooking with. That can be the result of the wine being "corked," or infected with an agent that grew in the crevices of the cork. Sometimes, though, by simply pouring the wine into a bowl lined with plastic wrap, you can remove the terrible taint of whatever is ruining your wine by enticing the destoyer's molecules to stick to polyethylene plastic. And when the guests complement the top notes in your bottle, you can tell them they caught everything but 2,4,6-trichloroanisole.

6. Cheap, quick entertainment with bar tricks

If you're hard up for common conversational ground at a social gathering or during a bar lean, few topics are easier launched into than the flaming whiskey shot you just picked up with the palm of your hand. Or the beer you open with a dollar bill. Any of Wired's bar tricks can work a small crowd pretty well, but, being of the "Bet you I can ...." variety, you'll want to use them in moderation, and not fire them all off at once. Still, a little low-rent illusion goes a long way to killing the silence.

5. Chill your drinks lickety-split

MetaFilter is one of those great places on the internet where asking, say, a question about the fastest possible way to chill a can of soda (or anything, really) actually gets you an answer from Adam Savage of Mythbusters. Rather than waiting 20-25 minutes on a freezer to do the work, Savage notes that you want a bucket filled with ice, and just enough water to fill the cracks in that ice. Then you're adding salt to the mixture (to lower its freezing point and let it become super-cold water), and rotating the can in the freezing blend until, two minutes or so later, you've got really cold Coke, beer, bottled water, or white wine. Photo by nattu.

4. Find cheap or free bar nights

It's 4:48pm on Friday, and your friends are non-stop texting about where to share drinks and gripes. You could hit the same old spot, or pull off a few quick searches to find a new spot with a one-off deal running, or even a free drink or two. We've pointed to MyOpenBar (for NYC revelers, mostly) and Dethroner's list of nine bar deal mapping sites as ways to find brand promotions and one-off specials; let's hear about any other bar night finders you know of in the comments.

3. Work conversations like a wizard

If having a drink and talking to a friend was all you wanted, a night at home with your cell phone would do just fine. But the barscene is all about holding court with those you know, those you're kinda familiar with, and sometimes complete strangers. Try on a few of our conversational hacks for size and see if you can't get a little better at chatting up folks from a cold start.

2. Keep hangovers at bay

If somebody really knew a works-every-time hangover prevention and cure technique, you'd probably be over reading his blog at JournalOfTheRichestMan.org. What we can offer you here at Lifehacker, though, are a few remedies and strategies that have worked for some over-indulgers. Try loading up on carbs and certain vitamins before and during your night out, and/or mix in some gingseng, too. Drink plenty of water whenever you can, eat mild foods, and check out what our readers do to stave off a terrible morning. The one sure cure involves not drinking too much and staying hydrated—but if that's just not gonna happen, well, dig around and you'll find that even little hacks like lemon juice in your coffee could get you on your way. Photo by Cia de Foto.

1. Never say you can't open that bottle

Good beer often doesn't come with twist-off caps, but you should never be defeated by a lack of bottle openers. If you've got a wedding ring, another bottle of beer, a piece of paper, or pretty much anything you can get hand leverage with, you can get to what's inside. At a slightly more refined type of shindig but still need to be the MacGyver of the night? Use a hammer and screw to open wine without a corkscrew and a plastic bag to remove a trapped cork.

Think back on your best nights out—we're talking quality, not quantity—and spill your memorable ways of saving money, showing off, or truly enjoying some great drinks and company in the comments.