Just Trying To Understand

Very funny and interesting story in the New York Times . Vending machines being ubiquitous in Japan nothing better than a "vending mach...

Interesting things come out of obsessive behavior (well, sometimes at least). Here's a couple that I came across recently: Documenting t...

Up until the '60s, the Japanese followed the shinto-style wedding ceremony, with the groom and bride wearing traditional kimonos. Then s...

This is one of the top viral campaigns in Japan, according to The Viral Chart . It's a campaign for Yomiko Advertising. It's a bit o...

Garbage collection is serious business in Tokyo. There are many measures that encourage people to produce less garbage, including charging a...

Interesting piece in AdAge about the growing Wii-themed party phenomenon. That is part of a trend where "video gaming is beginning to ...

Couple of notes from the World Athletics Championship that finished yesterday in Osaka: 1. I noticed some people in the stadium watching the...

A sane person wouldn't normally run a fast-paced 10K in a hot, humid evening (30C, 65%). Well, but then again, a sane person wouldn'...

The " World Championship in Athletics " is in full swing at Osaka's Nagai Stadium. Last Monday, in the 100m final, American Ty...

Grant McCracken flew all over to the UK just to tell his "Oprah story" on Interesting 2007. Watch the video here (about 16min lo...

My friend Michell has written a nice post about Tokyo with reflections about his visit here last June. He captures a little bit of the sense...

In all other places where I've been to a movie theater, as soon as the credits start to roll at the end of the movie, lights slowly star...

It's been boiling hot in Tokyo with temperature reaching 36 degrees (that's about 97F) and humidity at 80%. This is a country with f...

It's time to say goodbye to Singapore. Now, off to Tokyo. We're all looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. Blogging will ...

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) will be the first airline to have Toto washlets in its airplanes. They'll be standard equipment i...

I've been hearing more and more about ' buy local ' and ' food miles ' (or 'food kilometers' ). At first I tho...

So far I have resisted to write any post that includes the words '10 things...' or anything similar in the title (pure adolescent re...

Numa iniciativa do Grupo de Planejamento, foi lançado no Brasil o livro " Como Planejar a Propaganda ", tradução do clássico ...

Danny Choo , who has one of the most visited blogs in Japan written in English, puts on a stormtrooper armor and dances in the streets and s...

Take a look at this chart that details the evolution of Apple product design from 1976 to 2007. Follow the link to see a larger image. (lin...

Toto , Japan's maker of hi-tech toilet seats (known as washlets ) is trying to enter the American market. To me, it's a mystery why ...

I'm late on this (no, really late), but finally watched " Lost in Translation " the other day. I thought it was a great movie...

While in Tokyo, the best way to and from Narita International Airport is the Limousine Bus . Thousands of passengers make that trip every da...

American sprinter Tyson Gay ran the second fastest 200m in history , at the U.S. Championship held in Indianapolis, behind only Michael John...

When it comes to army enlistment, some have it much easier than others. Take Brazilians, for instance. Sure, we're all required to enlis...

Avant-garde musician Bora Yoon has been called "a one-woman orchestra". Watch this video recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Mus...

Softbank Mobile : choose from 20 colors Shinsei Bank Visa Cards: choose from 32 colors Pantone Folders (via Eddie Wong) iPod Nano (okay, ...

I was struck by the humanity in the photographs of this Time photo essay, "What the World Eats". Taken from Peter Menzel's bo...