Eclectic junk from the four corners of the ‘Net. And pictures too!
The Wikipedia say on the subject of ‘Maneke Neko’ that:
The Maneki Neko (???, literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money cat or Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese sculpture, often made of porcelain or ceramic, which is believed to give good luck to the owner.
Thats all well and good but they forgot to mention that they can be made of LEGO blocks. Neat!
[Thanks for agent Eugene for this one]
Bill Ward – All – LEGO – Models – Sculpture
Very cool!
The above, is a giant, mechanical, copper and automaton filled clock designed by Mr Miyazaki (he of Laputa, Naussica, Howl’s Moving Castle and other Ghibli anime fame). It sits pride of place outside the NTV building in Tokyo – with mechancial people doing their thing as the clock strikes hours etc. Mr T Indindoli wrote to tell me about it – and I am ever so glad – it’s a giant Steampunk clock if ever there was one, with big gears and funny clawed talon legs holding it up. I’m a big Ghibli fan, so seeing a giant copper clock (very reminiscient of the style of Howls Castle) is delightful. I’m only sorry that the only YouTube video we’ve found so far is taken in the dark. Still, you can read more about it both at Mainichi and the Table of Malcontents – and you can bathe your eyes in the pretty illustrations over at what looks like the official clock site (all Japanese, alas).
I’d post a link to a translated version of the official clock site but it’s a Flash page (Boo! Hiss!)
Here are a few stats about the clock:
The clock, which is 12 meters tall, 18 meters wide and weighs 28 tons, was made from 1,228 copper plates, and displays 32 mechanical trick features. The clock resembles images from Miyazaki’s film "Howl’s Moving Castle," and at fixed intervals blacksmith dolls come out of the clock as music is played.
So if your in the area make sure you go to the Shiodome district and have a look at this marvel.
[via brassgoggles]
Huge mechanical figure clock designed by Oscar-winning anime director unveiled at NTV
Awards have been given out by Japan’s Ministry of Economics and Trade Industry for the top 10 robots in the area of service, industrial, civil, and small to medium sized venture robots.
It’s easy to see why Japan has given out these awards. Japan has a pretty low birth rate and their citizens are living longer and longer so it makes sense to build robots that will assist the elderly. I’m all for it, as the technology advances more and more of it will trickle down to everyday tasks. I for one hope that robotic fueling stations for cars become common. It might force car makers to establish a standard fuel port for cars but I think that would be a small concession for the convenience and environmental benefits such a system would create.
I saw a gob of the contenders at the 2006 NextFest in New York last September, and I can say that the Paro robot seals are going to be a big hit when they come across to the US. From the reactions of the kids that were interacting with them I’m sure that pediatric hospitals will be buying some of them.
KHR-2HV robots are cool just because they walk like humans but they are low enough in price that you could see a few being used in a school setting to teach robotics.
Go follow the link and see who took home the top award.
[via MAKE]
I know it’s just a crazy idea but if there would be a city to build a structure like this in it would have to be Tokyo. Just to mess with the heads of drunk salarymen would be good enough reason for me. However, I think it should be taken farther. Build a Mothra in Yokohama, a Rodan in Sapporo, and a Ebirah in Osaka. Then you could go on a true tour of Monster Island! I visited the ‘Golden Godzilla‘ in Tokyo, I’m sure others have too, but it’s kind of small. This would be more like what you would expect of a city like Tokyo. Anyway, there is an elephant shaped building in Bangkok so there should be one of ‘Zilla in Japan.
[via netorama]
Don’t throw away those used metro cards and business cards! Make your very own fleet of paper airplanes from them. Heck, even post cards are fair game for your air force. Oh yeah, you don’t need to stick to fixed wing aircraft, you can build a helicopter if you have the guts (this one will be hitting the ‘blogs soon I’m sure). Some designs are even powered by rubber bands! Simply amazing.
Celebrate the holidays with your own movable paper Santa!