FEPY

In attempt to arouse some interest in the upcoming Japanese release of ‘Bee Movie’, the powers that be opted to parade busty beauty Aki Hoshino about in a bee coloured bodysuit.

A move that was something of a master stroke as it immediately had antennae all across the country trained on Hoshino-san’s heaving, erm, hives. Their promise of succulent sweet honey guaranteeing the film at least a certain amount of success.

The 30-year-old pin-up also took the opportunity to wax lyrically about her line of work, as despite being Japan’s oldest active pin-up, she claimed that, “I’d like to keep on working, and since I can’t give orders, I guess I’m a working bee, not a queen bee”.

A comment that presumably produced a blooming enormous buzz of relief.

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Aki Hoshino’s heaving hives

Origin: from Tokyo Times

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On a cold but pleasantly crisp morning, a wander by the water in western Tokyo is especially appealing as, providing one can disregard the detritus, the far from conservative use of concrete is absolutely captivating.

Or at least it is for this couple of old codgers.

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Tantalising Tokyo topography?

Origin: from Tokyo Times

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There’s no denying the fondness for fashion in Japan, with appearance a priority. In fact, it could be argued that a large percentage of people are f*ing obsessed with it.

That said, it’s not necessarily always successful, as the merits of this gamer’s mask for example are somewhat moot to say the least.

(click image for magnified masked man)

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Japanese gaming gear

Origin: from Tokyo Times

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Miss Sparkle Sprinkles Magic

In this photo series called Wonderland (2005), Korean photographer Yeon Doo Jung brings children’s drawings into life - literally - by staging the scene with real people and props.

The whole idea and execution are wonderful: Link [Flash, use the green arrow to navigate]- via metafilter

Turning Children’s Drawings Into Real Life

Origin: from Neatorama

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In his blog, John Mugarian had an epiphany on why the Chinese have a saving rate of 50% whereas America has an essentially zero - ZERO! - saving rate:

I get very frustrated when I watch TV because of all the advertisements. I know, I should get Tivo or a DVR, but thus far I haven’t.

A few weeks ago I decided to do something odd. I actually counted the minutes of ads while watching ABC’s "Boston Legal". After I tallied the numbers I was shocked that 25 minutes of the hour long program were advertisements. This really frustrated me since I pay a fee to a cable company to watch my own TV, and then they waste 25 minutes of my time trying to sell me something during the show. Television is nothing more than a sales tool that has molded and shaped the minds and spending habits of consumers.

Then it hit me. Now I know why America has a zero savings rate, while the Chinese have a savings rate of 50%. Hence, my 4th quarter score above stands, Chinese 50%, the US 0%.

So, what is the American government doing about our dismal national saving rate? Well, for one, they went to China and tell them to save less! Mungarian wrote:

In Barron’s (December 11, 2006, page 30), Al Hubbard, the assistant secretary to the president for economic policy told China’s deputy finance minister, ““the Chinese need to move to a lower savings rate. It would both raise the standard of living and increase the quality of imports into China."

I would have loved to see the face of China’s deputy finance minister after Hubbard made those comments. This is like taking financial advice from a person who (Lending Tree commercial) is "up to their eyeballs in debt".

Link - via Memetician (photo: s2photo [Flickr], edited)

With Chinese Saving Rate at 50% and American at 0%, US Government Tried to … Convince China to Spen More and Save Less!

Origin: from Neatorama

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Here are two great blogs documenting the multitude of FAIL photos that have been circulating round teh Interweb: Shipment of Fail and The Fail Blog - via Laughing Squid

FAIL Blog

Origin: from Neatorama

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Meet Fritz, the cat photographer. Every day, Ramona Markstein lets her cat Fritz wonder the neighborhood while wearing a camera that takes photos every fifteen seconds.

Ramona then posts Fritz’ photos on the Web. Some of them are better than the ones I took!

Link (with video) - via Steatopygous Mathophile (by the way, do you know what steatopygous means?)

Meet Fritz, the Feline Photographer

Origin: from Neatorama

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This novelty ice cube tray is made from soft food-safe synthetic rubber that will allow you to freeze up a batch of Frozen Smiles and drop them into any glass as a gag.

Source: Worldwidefred

Frozen Smiles

Origin: from Neatorama

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Forbes has published their first list of America’s Most Miserable Cities. This survey is based on each city’s crime rate, inflation, unemployment, commute times, toxic waste, weather, and taxes. The top ten are:

1. Detroit, MI
2. Stockton, CA
3. Flint, MI
4. New York City
5. Philadelphia, PA
6. Chicago, IL
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Modesto, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Providence, RI

Link -via J-Walk Blog

America’s Most Miserable Cities

Origin: from Neatorama

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Frito-Lay, makers of Cheetos, Doritos and a variety of other crispy snack foods worldwide, often tailors new products to local tastes. Have they gone too far with their new strawberry flavored Cheetos, just introduced in Japan?
read more »

Strawberry Flavored Cheetos Seduce Sweet-Loving Snackers

Origin: from Inventor Spot - Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us

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