sangsara.net

  • Since You Asked

    I think I do a good impression.

    Just wanted to mention a great birthday gift I got today, a signed copy of Cary Tennis’ Since You Asked. Cary is Salon.com’s resident advice columnist, and a damned good one. Certainly the best I’ve ever read. The book is a collection of his responses, which are unfailingly thoughtful, inspiring and human, even when they don’t have any solutions to offer.

    Buy the book from Cary’s own site here (he even signed the receipt, adding “Enjoy!”) or from Amazon via the link below.

  • ➟ Super Mario Crossover

    It’s hard to believe you can play a game this awesome for free, in your browser. Programmer Jay Pavlina spent over a year recreating the entire Super Mario Bros. game, with playable characters from other NES-era classics.
    I just powered through World 1-1 as Mega Man, shooting Goombas with my arm cannon, and machine-gunned the hell out of World 1-2 as Bill from Contra. Also available: Samus Aran from Metroid, Simon Belmont from Castlevania, and Link from the Legend of Zelda.

    Link

  • ➟ Canon EOS 550D: Jackie Chan Edition DSLR

    via en.akihabaranews.com

    Exclusively for the Chinese market, with just 2,010 units available. Each camera comes with Jackie Chan’s signature printed on its body, case, and neck strap. There is some serious leaf-smoking going on up there in Canon China.

  • ➟ The Geocities-izer

    Enter a URL and this script will render any modern website in the unforgettable style of Geocities homepages circa 1996. I tried it on this blog and got an eye-searing yellow and white mess of Comic Sans and animated arrow GIFs, complete with an Alanis Morrisette MIDI file. It’s like they’ve actually seen my old Geocities page!

    Link

  • ➟ The History of Libraries Through the Ages

    via zencollegelife.com

    A comprehensive (for a blog post) look at the longstanding correlation between the availability of libraries and the flourishing of human culture. On a related note: check out my friend Peishan’s new biblio-centric blog, Shelf Conscious, which I helped name. The very talented Jussi Edlund of Supershapes barfed out a sweet logo for her in just under ten minutes.

  • ➟ Vertu’s Japanese art phones

    Dubbed the Signature Kissho Collection, these four lacquered cellphones cost about $200,000 USD each, and were handcrafted by Kazumi Murose. I really don’t know why Vertu exists anymore. Most companies would commission a project like this for the publicity, which might then enhance their brand and sell more regular phones. But Vertu’s regular phones aren’t much less crazy or expensive than this. Does Vertu help the Nokia brand in any way?

  • ➟ Jibbigo: bi-directional speech translation iPhone app

    This is a traveler’s dream come true. Speak a sentence in English, and Jibbigo recognizes the words, translates it into the foreign language, and reads it aloud. The other person can then reply, and it will come out in English. It’s featured in Apple’s latest iPhone app demo advertisement, Backpacker.
    The app is completely self-contained and doesn’t require an internet connection. Mandarin, Japanese, and Spanish are the three languages available right now, with more to come. It’s priced a little high by App Store standards ($25USD to $28USD), but I would pay that just as a means of practicing and improving my own language skills, say with the Chinese app, for example.

    Link

  • ➟ Pavilion architecture at the Shanghai World Expo 2010

    Looking at these 15 examples of futuristic architecture on display at the Shanghai World Expo, I’m actually wishing I could be there to jostle and fight for portaloo access with the millions of Chinese and foreign visitors. Just incredible. Check out the UK pavilion with its “needles” that undulate in the wind.

    Link