the bed scene

I'm late on this (no, really late), but finally watched "Lost in Translation" the other day. I thought it was a great movie, delicate and nuanced, Bill Murray is excellent (besides, the guy sings - no, really sings), and Tokyo looks mesmerizing and mysterious as it really is.
There's one scene though that keeps coming to my mind - the bed scene. Well, it's not exactly what you were thinking.
Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) lie in bed, talking about life. It's a very chaste scene (as chaste as any scene with Scarlett Johanson in bed could be), and yet you couldn't get a more intimate, tender and delicate scene between two people.

"Bob Harris: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids.
Charlotte: Yeah. It's scary.
Bob: It's the most terrifying day of your life... the day the first one is born.
Charlotte: Yeah. Nobody ever tells you that.
Bob: Your life, as you know it... is gone. Never to return.
But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk, and...
... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people... you will ever meet in your life.

Watch the entire scene below on YouTube (gotta love YouTube).

tokyo's limousine bus lady

While in Tokyo, the best way to and from Narita International Airport is the Limousine Bus. Thousands of passengers make that trip every day and they're always greeted by Kaoru Kubo, who has been the voice of the Airport Limousine for the last 23 years.
Who could forget her "gentle" reminder?
"...mobile phones should not be used on this bus as they annoy the neighbors!".
Listen to her voice on monocle.com.

200m in 19.62s

American sprinter Tyson Gay ran the second fastest 200m in history, at the U.S. Championship held in Indianapolis, behind only Michael Johnson's phenomenal 19.32s world record from the 1996 Olympics.
That in itself would've been a fantastic performance but given the wet conditions and a 0.3m/s headwind, we can only be left to wonder what Gay (photo below) would've done were conditions optimal.
But I have to say I can't help to be kind of wary now, given all the doping cases that sprung recently in the sport, and it's really sad that we get suspicious every time an athlete comes up with a world-class performance. Hopefully this is not the case. But I'm an incorrigible 'track nut' and can't wait for the Osaka World Championship.

soldiers, go make babies!

When it comes to army enlistment, some have it much easier than others. Take Brazilians, for instance. Sure, we're all required to enlist, but the percentage of people who actually serve the full year is very low. Most people are dismissed without ever putting on a pair of boots. You can be dismissed for a myriad of reasons, e.g. simply because you are shortsighted.
Compared to that, some countries in Asia seem much more strict.
Despite the economic growth, regional instabilities and some demographic trends translate to a more rigorous recruitment system.
First, they're faced with regional uncertainties, such as North Korea, the Taiwan Strait issue, and the lingering Sino-Japanese tension over WWII atrocities.
Second, some countries face a shortage of able-bodied men. Singapore, for instance, has a total population of only 4.5 million (of which about half is male). South Korea is bigger, with a population of 49 million, but they also have a much bigger worry across their North border. What makes matters worse for young men in these countries is that both countries present declining birth rates.
These factors force Singapore and South Korea to extend their military service to a 2-year compulsory program. No excuses. In Singapore, even if you're heading to college you have to postpone it for when you finish the National Service, as it is called here.
But you can't keep young men out of the workforce much longer than that. That's too damaging to their careers and to the countries' economies as well.
Faced with this tricky situation, the South Korean government has just announced that starting next year, married soldiers will be allowed to sleep at home, instead of at the barracks as they currently do. The order is clear: protect the nation during the day, make babies at night. (via iol)

cellphone symphony

Avant-garde musician Bora Yoon has been called "a one-woman orchestra". Watch this video recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where she creates a song by incorporating the sounds of her cell phone keys, and understand why. Forget about those annoying ring tones. This is quite nice!(via wsj)

pantone pattern recognition

Softbank Mobile: choose from 20 colors

Shinsei Bank Visa Cards: choose from 32 colors
Pantone Folders (via Eddie Wong)iPod Nano (okay, that's only 5 colors)
Have you seen other brands offering multiple color choices?

we are what we eat

I was struck by the humanity in the photographs of this Time photo essay, "What the World Eats". Taken from Peter Menzel's book "Hungry Earth", the essay shows what's on family dinner tables around the world. It evoked all sorts of thoughts about globalization, inequality, and culture. Judge for yourself.
Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
See the entire photo essay here.
(via infosthetics - I'm an avid reader of this blog, in case you haven't noticed)

and while at ad age...

A couple of other interesting articles in Advertising Age:
- CNN the TV channel is no match for CNN the website (the chart below tells the whole story)- McDonald's recruits moms to be the ultimate influencers: gatekeepers to go on field trips and hopefully return as evangelists.

lee clow - the ad age interview

Lee Clow in Advertising Age, interviewed by Bob Garfield, discuss his views on the evolution of the industry. Great stuff, by the man who gave us this (among other things).

jane jetson's dress

Shape-changing dresses by Hussein Chalayan.Watch the YouTube video here.They remind me of Jane Jetson's dresses. Really cool.(via infosthetics)

iphone ads

Just feeding the hype. The latest iPhone ads, on Apple's website.

for all rock & rollin' grandpas

Now that baby-boomers are fast approaching their mature years, gadgets such as the new TEAC bone-conduction headphone are set to become very popular.
Like Docomo's Sound Leaf, the TEAC headphone works by sending the sound's vibrations through the bones. As the diagram below shows, the TEAC is to be used over the temporal bone, instead of the usual ear-covering headphones, so that people with hearing impairment can keep enjoying music (and banging their heads). (via Japan Today)

give me whatever...

"Whatever"... the typical "couldn't care less" expression of today's youth, has become a beverage brand in Singapore. Coupled with "Anything" they form an interesting concept: a surprise in every can. You order Whatever or Anything and you'll never know for sure what exactly you'll drink. Whatever comes in 6 different non-carbonated juices flavors, and Anything comes in 6 different carbonated flavors. Only after you open the can you'll find out which flavor you got.
Below, one of the TV ads (watch it on YouTube here)

jobs and gates share the stage

Only adulations and jokes between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, when they were interviewed at the "D5: All Things Digital Conference" in Carlsbad. Among some priceless stuff though: the awkwardness when they were asked about the Mac vs. PC ads, and Jobs saying that "...most things in life are either a Dylan or a Beatles song". Watch the video here.

design for the other 90%

This is one of the objects that are on display at the "Design For The Other 90%" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, in New York City. It's a 20-gallon rolling drum, designed to carry water over long distances. In many places, people live kilometers from clean water sources. This drum makes life much easier (the usual way is to carry large containers of water on top of the head).Reference:
MACNEIL JR., DONALD G. "Design That Solves Problems for the World's Poor", The New York Times, May 29, 2007. (here)

psfk 2

My second contribution to psfk. See the previous post about Docomo's vision of the future here.

a peek into the future

From time to time, NTT Docomo, Japan's largest mobile carrier, releases a video depicting its vision of the future. Docomo's latest video shows how mobile technology will make life safer, more convenient, and more comfortable. In their vision, among other things, people will wear glasses with GPS, tracking systems will prevent children from getting lost, security robots will take care of your house, and you will buy your veggie using your mobile (they seem obsessed with this idea).
Although all this could be quickly dismissed as corporate PR or an overly optimistic view of the future, I remember seeing one of these videos some years ago and saying 'yeah, right'. It was a video showing the use of video calls. Today video calls are pretty common over 3G networks, so don't dismiss this vision just yet as some of these features might very well become reality in the future. Who knows, one day you will even buy your veggie using your mobile. See the video here.P.S.: If you happen to be in Japan, you can arrange a tour to Docomo's R&D Center, in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. I haven't been there myself but they have an exhibit called WHARF (Wealth, Human Activity and Revolution for the Future) that looks interesting. I guess the name says it all.

it's ok to have a messy desk

Al Gore in his home office (in the May 28th issue of Time magazine)

stunning

This has got to be one of those earth-shifting moments in history: China announced it will invest US$ 3 billion in private equity firm Blackstone Group. That will represent about 8% of the firm that, according to the New York Times, "owns companies that have 375,000 employees and $ 83 billion in annual sales".
China is sitting on a huge war chest estimated at $ 1.2 trillion in foreign reserves and they've been looking for options on how to invest it. One of their models is Singapore's Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singaporean government, which holds stakes in several companies, ranging from financial institutions to telcos, based in Singapore and abroad. Keep an eye for more moves like this.
Who could've told this a few years ago?

the mao suit

This is slightly embarrassing to admit but when I went to Beijing a couple of years ago, I was expecting to see everybody in Mao suits, the traditional communist outfit (O.K., you can laugh at me now). It wasn't utter ignorance (at least that's what I like to think). I had read all about the economic boom there, and had seen many TV reports as well, but despite all this I still had the image of the old communist country in my mind. Tell about the power of a symbol. Or was it because Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor"? Well, maybe both. Either way, all I can say is 'boy, was I wrong!'. Modern skyscrapers, malls, fashionable people everywhere, and most of all the stark contrast of BMWs and Mercs side by side with thousands of bike riders, that's what struck me the most. Not a single person wearing a Mao suit though.
According to this great article about the symbolism of old Chinese communist outfits, "...popular mythology assigned a revolutionary and patriotic significance to the Sun Yat-sen (the suit's designer) suit, even though it was essentially a foreign-style garment. The four pockets were said to represent the Four Cardinal Principles cited in the classic Book of changes and understood by the Chinese as fundamental principles of conduct: propriety, justice, honesty, and a sense of shame. The five centre-front buttons were said to represent the five powers of the constitution of the Republic and the three cuff-buttons to symbolise the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood".
Like Che t-shirts and Adidas CCCP Originals however, the Mao suit is no longer a symbol of the communist revolution, it has become a design icon, as demonstrated by the work of Chinese artist Sui Jianguo. See below this series of bright colored Mao suits.More of this artist's work here.
(via "I see what you mean". By the way, doesn't it sound like a cousin of "Just Trying to Understand"? Funny.)