Reader Submission: Holding the sun

Thanks JoC

Click for bigger images.

 

Got candles?: Hotwicks.

Hotwicks (US$9) definitely aren’t your typical candles. With scents like beer, campfire, grass (as in lawn), new car, pancake, pigskin, stripper, popcorn, and the rather scrumptious sounding urinal cake, your place can smell exactly how you want it to. Just be careful with combinations. While beer + grass + pigskin = great gameday memories, beer + hippie + stripper + urinal cake + dryer sheet = that time when you and that weird guy at the airport used your layover in Chicago to get plastered at a strip club, passed out in the bathroom, missed your flight, drove 9 hours home, then tried to cover up the incriminating smell with dryer sheets you bought at the 7-Eleven two blocks from home. Good times.

3G iPhone almost ready to go. Brace yourself Australia.

Apple’s 24-hour flagship 5th Avenue retail store in Manhattan is in the process of shutting down for the night. An unusual move for the 24-hour store. Apple’s retail page reflects the temporary shutdown:

Please note we will be temporarily closed Thursday, May 29 at 3:00 p.m. and will reopen Friday, May 30 at 9:00 a.m. During this time, please visit one of our other two Manhattan locations.

Employees are telling passersby that a commercial is being shot at the 5th Avenue Apple store. We’ve been told that Apple’s 5th Avenue store has only been entirely closed twice in its history: the iPhone launch and the Leopard launch.

According to MacRumors sources, Apple is actually filming a commercial for the upcoming 3G-capable iPhone with filming to occur inside and around the 5th Avenue store.

Updated x 5:

TheiLife posts photos of lights are being set up for filming. The site appears to be down, all photos are mirrored here.

Logical explanation for ‘Anonymous 5+4′ boxes (also confirmed by another report that these simply represent walkie talkies). Alternative (humorous) explanation.

shirtmkr posts these new photos in the forums (taken at 9:30pm): For the record, I have actually been inside the 5th Ave NY store and it remains one of the highlights of my retail life.. It’s THAT cool.. josh.

The 11th anniversary of Jeff Buckley’s death.

I know you’ve heard the song before, but you may not have seen this performance, as it was only released by Sony and is quite closely guarded. Do yourself a favour, at least once a year, remind yourself of what an amazing artist (and genuine loss) Jeff Buckley was.

This vid available only because it is intentionally miss-named.

 

Sex in the City movie review: Written by a man. (who hasn’t seen it yet)

Do you hear that? A vortex of suck that hungers for your soul. It can only be one thing, the new Sex and The City movie is coming and your girlfriend is already making plans for the two of you to go in spite of your pleas that you don’t like it, don’t want to see it and want to keep your last shred of dignity. But let’s not be so close-minded about the whole thing.

Of course, it’s going to be a terrible movie; it’s based on THAT tv show. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get anything from the experience. Look at it like this: this show is beloved by millions of women. It appeals to their basest nature in a way even they don’t understand. If you’ve ever watched a group of drunk, 20-something year old women falling down in the street screaming at each other ‘no, I’m the Carrie,’ you know what I’m talking about.

So think of this movie not as 2 hours of material porn for women, but something you can use. A window into a woman’s mind they wouldn’t dare say out loud to us. With that in mind, I present the primer 5 Things You Could Learn About Women from Sex And The City:

10 Japanese Customs You Must Know Before a Trip to Japan

If you know these key Japanese customs, you’ll get closer to the locals and see beneath the surface of Japan.

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1. Addressing Someone, Respect

Bowing is nothing less than an art form in Japan, respect pounded into children’s heads from the moment they enter school. For tourists, a simple inclination of the head or an attempt at a bow at the waist will usually suffice.

The duration and inclination of the bow is proportionate to the elevation of the person you’re addressing.

The duration and inclination of the bow is proportionate to the elevation of the person you’re addressing. For example, a friend might get a lightning-fast 30-degree bow; an office superior might get a slow, extended, 70-degree bow. It’s all about position and circumstance.

In addition to bowing, addressing someone properly is key. Just as a “Dr. Smith” might feel a little insulted if you were to refer to him as “Smith”, so would a Japanese if you do not attach the suffix “san” to their last name, or “sama” if you are trying to be particularly respectful.

Usually children are content with just their first names, but you can add the suffix “chan” for girls and “kun” for boys if you like.

Artist-impersonators cover “We are the World” on Japanese TV

Seriously, this may be the greatest YouTube vid ever seen on J.I.T.C

Boeing goes bonkers

We have mentioned the increased efficiency and lower emissions of blended wing-body aircraft before—like the X-48B, now in its prototype testing phase. Seeing two of them getting ready to take off, however, pushes the concept from the That’s Pretty Cool to the Geezussrollerbladingchrist, We Want These So Badly category. Even if it’s just a synthetic image, they look absolutely stunning.

Click for a full-sized image.

Hot off the Press. Trading Post to take on Ebay in Australia.

eBay aren’t the most popular online auction site in Australia at the moment. They’ve been publicly flogged by every man and his Reserve Bank for their plans to restrict payments to PayPal only in the near future, not to mention disgruntled sellers unhappy with new feedback options.

So it’s probably a very smart time for Sensis to take the Trading Post into the world of online auctions.

Today the Telstra subsidiary announced that they’d be launching auctions on the Trading Post website. And they’ve clearly structured their pricing model at disgruntled ebay sellers: it’s free to list your item, you get the first photo free with every auction, and you only pay when you make a sale. On top of that, sales under $10 will only cost you 50 cents, while the most you’ll pay for an auction is $24.95 on any item over $500.

Not only that, but they support a wide range of payment options including Paymate, bank transfers and credit cards.

I’m no Trading Post fan, to be sure.. but they just might finally be on to something here..

j.