Things That Exist (or Thank you, Japan!): Mind-Controlled Cat Ear Headbands

 One thing my friends know about me is I love nearly everything Japanese - the food, the films, the animation, but most of all  I love unnecessary Japanese novelty items.  That's why one of my favorite things to do in Epcot is just wander around Mitsukoshi (read about the original in Tokyo over meah) - clear plastic 3D Unicorn Puzzel? Of course! Speaker system that looks like a mini-jazz band? Brilliant!

I also appreciate the thoughtfulness of this pre-emptive warning.

(No lie - first thing my friend said: "OMG Froggie Body Sponge!")

So, imagine my nerdgasm when I saw these over at Nerdist.com

Now, I don't necessarily want to own these, but I do want to play with them - so, so bad. Much the same way I want make friends with someone who owns a Mind Flex.
Anyway, these mind-controlled Cat Ears - called "Necomimi" - are made by a company called Nerowear  (visit their site  - in Japanese - over meah.) This is what they say about themselves according to their site as translated by Google

"Neurowear" is the name of our project to develop fashion items and gadgets

using brain waves and other biosensor with "Augumented Human Body" as the concept.

Other than the first project "necomimi", we are planning to development other various items. 

  Other various items, you say? What might those be, Neurowear? The obvious next step are tails - you'll make Cosplay and Renn Fair enthusiasts very happy and, lets be honest, Furries will rejoice. . . if they're not already.  But where do you go after that?  I say you update the grabber, Doc Ock Style. 

Come on! Talk about an awesome way to change a lighbulb.

You're bringing me down, Tampa.

  My parents just got a Netflix account and of course I've been the only one using it to death.  So I'm looking around the recommendations on the front page and I come to the "Local Favorites" section for Tampa. . . This is what was in the second set of recommended titles

   Tampa. . . you disappoint me.   Here I am, having a great time, auditioning, working on some films (posting soon), meeting new fun people,  and you go and make Yanni - one of the creepiest mustachioed unexplained-celebrities/pianist of the '90s - so popular so popular that Netflix thinks I might enjoy watching it by association. . .

Now go think long and hard about what you've done.

Things That Exist : The Shirt Plate

  

Gentlemen, have you ever made a sandwich or plate of nachos only to come back to the couch to decide you would rather lay down?  Ordinarily you'd have to choose between relaxation and eating your snacks while watching television.  But not anymore! Introducing - The Original Shirt Plate!

  Yes - no longer will you be forced to sit upright like a human being while you eat your. . .

Plate of non-brand cheese doodles!

Plate of Spaghetti! 

or

Giant Theme Park Turkey Leg!

 All Original Shirt Plates are Dishwasher Safe, come with a leveling attachement (for us ladies *wink*) and can be yours for only   

$14.99

to $28.99

prices vary by size

price does not include shipping and handling

Soon to be available in fancy new styles like: 

The Tux Style Shirt Plate (for cocktail parties)

The Game Day Shirt Plate (with love handle dip bowl belt clip)

and

Fine China Shirt Plate (for special occasions such as Thankgiving Dinner)

So stop on by ThinkGeek to order your Original Shirt Plate today!

any similarities to the Pocket Cup are purely coincidental

"It's polystyrene!" 

My favorite of the Hipster Disney Villian Meme

   Okay, I know this has been done to death - as all memes inevitably are - but I love Disney and especially Disney Villans. And hipsters. So I decided to group together a few of my favorites for what is definitely one of my lazier blog posts.  Enjoy.

More after the jump. . . 

And one for my theatre friends.

 

Hello, interwebs.  Buzzfeed.com alerted me to another unnecessary game this evening. This one, brought to you by and downloadable over at VectorBelly Webcomics, is based on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. And it is jam packed with waiting action!   Here's a video of the compelling gamplay:

 What? No failed self hangings?  No Pozo? No Lucky? Shenanigans.

Alright, I can't say for sure whether those elements are ever brought up during gameplay and I do no intend to find out.  No, I am not going to play this game.  Mostly because I don't feel like downloading it, but secondly because I've read Waiting for Godot. And if you don't know Waiting For Godot, I wouldn't suggest you play it either (though please do go see the play if you get a chance.)  I would, however, suggest that you tell your non-theatre friends to play this game. . . best/cruelest prank ever. . . probably almost as good as telling your friends that Penn and Teller's "Smoke and Mirror's" (specifically Desert Bus) is the most riveting gameplay experience ever.  

8-Bit Great Gastby for NES. Best thing ever?

That's right, Nicole Campos over at Nerdist.com found this little gem online.

  '

It's open source and available to play right over meah. Okay, so first I have to admit I never read The Great Gatsby (its on my Nook reading list. . . at least it is now. . . shut up!) but I don't think that really matters. I love it and its pretty straight forward: find Gatsby. . . I think. . . or whoever that smug douche with the white suit, blonde hair and blindingly shiny teeth over there is. . .

                                                                 Shiny-teeth motherf*****


At least I'm pretty sure that's what's going on and that he'll be at the end of each level.  I think. Again, never read he book and to be honest I spent most of my time trying to get screenshots so I didn't get too far in yet.  Anyway,  you complete the levels by collecting flashing coins and martinis. Also by destroying all enemies with your second boomerang-like fedora I'm assuming you keep in your snappy little vest.

That butler shouldn't be on the bookcase with that martini anyway. Irresponsible, that's what that is. 

And by enemies I mean butlers, flappers, washed-out-white-faced-Uncle-Sams, small malevolent Blue Jays. . . you know, whoever's around.

                         Dancing on slippery brick walls? This whole party is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Oh and if you manage to grab a shiny gold fedora you'll suddenly dress snazzier/more like the mask for a minute. I can't really figure out the purpose of that, but again - does it matter? Not to me it doesn't! This game is nothing but good times. Except for the whole no pausing, no saving thing.  Dammit 8-bit.

Because I really did want to be Judy Funny when I grew up. . .

I found this list of key words/phrases in Beatnikese on good 'ol Tumblr.

Enjoy trying to fit those into your daily vocabulary. I know I will.   You dig?

Remy of FoodOddities.com is my ideal child

Now, all of my friends and even a few of people I vaguely associate with know at least these two things about me: 1) I remember where I've gone by what I've eaten and 2)  I will eat pretty much anything put in front of me.  If I could get a gig as the younger, female version of Anthony Bourdain I'd be the happiest girl in the world. Much like Tony, and his fellow traveling chef Andrew Zimmern,  I believe that food is the best way to experience and get closer to other cultures - not to mention a wonderful bonding experience. 

Another thing you need to know about me - my #1 fear about having a child is that they will be a picky eater. I'm pretty sure I've even had nightmares about it. I have never been a picky eater. Ever. I've been ordering sea snails and chicken feet in black bean sauce at chinese restaurants since I was 5 and using chopsticks on sushi since I was 3.  Waiters freaking love me; I make their day.  Going out to eat with my picky eater friends (you know who you are) and my friends' picky children (fortunately its only a few of them) is like slow torture.  I hate when people close themselves off to new flavors and experiences (don't even get me started on people who cover their food in salt without even tasting it first. What - what - what are you doing?) I imagine that having my own child be a picky eater would be as close to a living hell as I could have. 

So, imagine my joy today when I found 10 year old Remy here on Youtube.  To quote from his bio on his website:

"Remy is a regular 10 year old boy from the Midwest United States who discovered at an early age that he liked a lot foods that regular kids just wouldn't touch.  Like spinach. And asparagus. And Brussels sprouts, and sushi, and practically everything else he could get his hands on.

So he decided to test his limits online, trying food unfamiliar to most Americans and giving his honest opinion."

Here he is, younger, eating one of my favorites - raw oysters - at The Maine Avenue Fish Market is Washington, D.C.

And here he cooking himself some fried pig brains

AND another favorite, as previously mentioned, Chicken Feet

Oh my god, I love this kid!  Seriously! He's he's well spoken, willing to try anything and ADORABLE! I'd like to imagine that if I'd had the resources and Youtube as a child, I would have been motivated enough to do what he's doing. Go over to his channel on Youtube and subscribe, or go to his website. Right now.  DO IT. Seriously, it was hard to narrow it down to just those three videos. 

Bionic Eye is almost a real thing. Blind Mag, Anyone?

So I read this story, last night.  Some German company has designed a camera that can be implanted to help the blind see.


 "The device is designed in such a way so that it  fits under the retina and works like a digital film camera.

Here we have a 3mm sq array of 1,500 light sensors that sends pulsed electrical signals to adjoining nerve cells, which relay the messages to the brain."

Apparently, patients in Germany who have already had the implant are "now able to recognize tables and chairs and have developed the practice of walking." What an oddly depressing way to say the (formerly?) blind people can now walk into a strange room without bumping into something. 

But cameras implanted into eyes? Does that remind anyone of, I don't know, a couple different movies?  My first thought? Repo! The Genetic Opera

Yes, Repo! The Genetic Opera. The only movie I can think of to have Sarah Brightman and Paris Hilton in the same frame AT THE SAME TIME. And also the only "human puppet" scenes I can think of in a musical.

"Want me to do this bit while drinking a glass of water?"