FEPY

Not that many people these days know Japanese traditional dance. So the best way to teach kids so that the art form doesn’t die out is to program a robot to do it and dispatch it to classrooms across the country. From the looks of it, the bot’s a pretty good teacher—even without legs—and the kids look happy to be learning from him.

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Robot Teaches Kids Traditional Dance(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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If you see little white styrofoam robots hanging out in Tokyo this spring, don’t worry—it’s not an apocalyptic bot invasion, it’s the pollen-fighting mercenaries from Weathernews, Inc. These 2.2lb-heavy bots are just a foot tall and have eyes that glow in five different colors that indicate the level of pollen in the air. (In Japan, it’s mostly cedar and cypress that induces allergies.)

200 volunteers will be hanging these bots near their homes. The monitoring units inside the robots will record the pollen levels in the air and send reports, updated by the minute, to HQ, which will consequently zap the info to the pollen map.

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Pollen Bot Army to Help Humans with Hay Fever(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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Hard core gamers might want to consider building their next house out of these meticulously carved Game Boy bricks. Each one costs about $30, but it’s the exact same size as a Game Boy. More pics after the jump.

This is what it looks like before it goes in the oven.

It’s the same size as a Game Boy.

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Real Bricks Shaped Like Game Boys(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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Last week, cops broke up a schoolgirl prostitution ring in Saitama and Tokyo, arresting at least five junior high and high school girls who were selling sex online via their cell phones. One was a sixth grader. About 80% of the customers were pedophiles.

The amazing thing is that everything, including detailed ads soliciting customers, was written in code.

Take this piece of seemingly benign code, for example:

IkebLURV1700Yukichi2JC1

Ikeb = Ikebukuro. The neighborhood that the girl is in.
LURV = "I will have sex with you."
1700 = Time: 5PM
Yukichi2 = Yukichi Fukuzawa, the guy whose face is on the 10,000 yen note x 2 = I cost 20,000 yen
JC = Joshi Chugakusei (Junior high school girl. JS would be elementary school girl, JK would be high school girl)
1 = Grade 1. In Japan, 1st year of junior high = 7th grade.

Parents are being warned to look out for code like this on their kids’ cell phones. It’s a sure sign that they’re involved in the sex trade, too.

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Text Msg Code for "I’m a Japanese School Girl Selling Sex"(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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Did I ever tell you how much Japanese girls like sweets? They really go gaga over desserts. Well here’s something that will probably satiate any sweet tooth—a 2-kg-heavy giant parfait that costs a hefty $35.

If you finish the whole thing, though, it’s free.

Kogyal food-fighter Gal Sone is heading over to Kijima Amusement Park in Beppu (where the parfait is located) to try her hand at it. She’ll finish it, of course, because she can eat enough food for six without skipping a beat. (Too bad the vids of her eating were taken off of YouTube. She’s incredible.)

The dessert consists of 3 kinds of ice cream, pancakes, cream puffs, and fruits. I think I see an ice cream cone in there too, and tons of whipped cream. So far, nobody’s finished the whole thing.

I spent a big part of my childhood at Kijima Amusement Park, btw. Beppu is my dad’s hometown.

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Kogyal Food Fighter Will Finish Six-Serving Parfait Next Month(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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It’s the year of the rat according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and to celebrate, designer Vivienne Tam created these Mickey-Mouse-themed dresses and held a fashion show at Hong Kong Disneyland.. They’re very kitschy-pretty. I like the fourth one from the left and the third one from the right. Image by Reuters.

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Vivienne Tam’s Mickey Mouse Dresses(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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I hung out in Akiba on Monday with some peeps I met and their friends. First, we watched these two very good looking Japanese girls dancing on the street with Stormtrooper, aka Danny Choo. It’s kinda like that cosplayer Haruhi dance that was all over the Internet last year—except this one didn’t end in a police raid. Then we followed the two girls to another location where we took a bunch of pictures with them. Then we sat down for coffee at a large cafeteria that monitors your health. Pics after the jump.

Video: Stormtrooper Cosplayer Dancing With Hot Japanese Girls(title unknown)

Origin: from MiniBOT's shared items in Google Reader

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Hibaritei is a self-described “psychological browser crash” that, in the great Japanese tradition of fetish mashups, combines maid-themed cosplay with cross-dressing.

Though they have yet to open an establishment of their own, the members of Hibaritei have been holding special events at different maid cafes throughout Akihabara since August of last year, in which the men of the group dress up in maid costumes to serve patrons.

Via Akibanana

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Meet the self-maid men of Hibaritei

Origin: from Japundit

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This looks like something we might see in a movie about futuristic space travel (like the film Sunshine), but is actually a real present-day subterranean farm underneath a bank building in Tokyo. The project, with the cool sci-fi sounding name “Pasona O2,” covers an area of 1,000 square meters (about 10,764 square feet). Created as a facility for teaching urban kids about agriculture, the farm grows rice as well as tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables. If I worked above ground in that building, I’d be tempted to take my lunch breaks below ground - to get fresh air.

Take a look at some of the other beautiful photos at pruned. Also via Japundit, by way of Tokyo Mango.

Subterranean farm underneath Tokyo highrise

Origin: from Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

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Whereas most of the new, awe-inspiring hotels and structures are popping up in and around Dubai, the Hareem Architects firm has just announced their plans for the Full Moon Rising and Caspian Plus hotels, which look to be one of the most incredible hotels ever built, but their chosen location is the central Asian republic of Azerbaijan. Watch out Dubai, you could have some competition on your hands.

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An Amazing Hotel That Gives Dubai an Architectural Run for Its Money

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

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