sangsara.net

Category: Links

Link posts, mostly old and imported from my other sites over the years (e.g. Tumblr)

  • ➟ Last photo of Hachiko on display

    Most will have heard the story of Hachiko, the loyal dog who showed up at Tokyo’s Shibuya station every day for years, waiting for his master who’d passed away at work. If not through a visit to the statue of him erected near the station — where the exit is named after it — then through the Richard Gere movie set in America that someone greenlit one night after more than a few drinks.

    I’d never seen a photo of Hachiko before this one, taken after his death. I’m glad to hear he was fed during those years; for some reason I’d always assumed he lived as a mysterious stray, in keeping with the sadness of his story.

    Photo of Hachiko at death, from asahi.com


    Link

  • View from Tokyo Sky Tree

    Media_httpmdnmainichi_giqsh
    via mdn.mainichi.jp

    As @tokyoreporter noted on Twitter, the view from the Tokyo Sky Tree has been unveiled, only to be blocked by mascots. It’s supposedly going to be ready by February 2012, but I’m sure a visit will be impossible until the crowds subside. Might be worth delaying my trip for.

  • ➟ This music video for Justice’s "Civilization" is spectacular

    via youtube.com

    The soundtrack to Adidas’ recent “All-in” advertisement. Essentially, the decline of civilization is marked by the presence of Katy Perry in a campaign designed to celebrate athletes.

  • ➟ One week’s worth of food by various cultures, in pictures

    via homelessnation.org

    The top spenders: this family from Germany, at $500.07 a week. From the book “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats”. So much about people and countries comes through in a display of their food — the colors, recognizable brands (or lack of them), amount of processed vs. fresh food, the proportions of meat vs. grains vs. vegetables — I wonder what mine would look like, or if it was even possible to build one of these since there’s so much eating out.

  • → Thought of You, a beautiful animated dance short by the guy who did Google’s Martha Graham logo


    This contemporary dance stuff can actually be beautiful! See the Making Of video through the link on Vimeo. (via yjsoon)

    Posted via email from sangsara’s posterous

  • Getting goosebumps to music = creativity, openness to experiences

    Science Daily:

    Most people feel chills and shivers in response to music that thrills them, but some people feel these chills often and others feel them hardly at all. People who are particularly open to new experiences are most likely to have chills in response to music, according to a study in the current Social Psychological and Personality Science.

    I never knew that some people don’t get goosebumps or chills listening to music they like, whether from some sublime melodic passage or brilliant lyric. Talking about it last night reminded me of this article, which I wanted to find and share.

    Link

  • ➟ Pure Reader theme for Google Reader

    I’ve tried a few of these extensions that reskin Google Reader to look a little better or more usable, but always go back to the old vanilla theme. This is the first that really succeeds in bringing a modern application feel to it. In some ways, it reminds me of Reeder for iOS (yes, I’ve tried the desktop version, and I didn’t like it). One of the problems with Google Reader’s list view – they might argue it’s a feature – is the lack of white space between lines, making it hard to skim efficiently. Pure Reader has an abundance of white space which makes for more scrolling, but coherent scrolling. Available for Safari and Chrome.

    Na’Design | Safari Extensions

    Update: Guess I spoke too soon; my Reeder for Mac just updated with a brand new UI, featuring a 3-pane browser/viewer and more desktop-like conventions. Very nice. Get it here.

  • ➟ Martina Topley Bird – Baby Blue

    via youtube.com

    Still one of my favourite female vocalists after more than a decade.