The World in 30 Years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8DsXAZgNM

This idea for this video was made up by Ming Jai, a Hong Kong Youtuber by the user name mingjai14. His idea was to portray the world 30 years from now, with Apple taking over the world with its technology.


Every year, Apple comes up with new and/or improved products. They get bigger in capacity and thinner in dimension. If technology keeps growing at this rate, it would take over the world, like what Ming Jai is trying to display.

Hello Kitty Cafe

Currently there are three Hello Kitty Cafe around the world. One in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Japan, being the creator of Hello Kitty has just opened the latest Hello Kitty Cafe last year. Korea’s Hello Kitty Cafe is located in the capital of Korea, Seoul. Hello Kitty Cafe offers customers a great place which is fully decorated with Hello Kitty theme. 


Personally, I think the Hello Kitty Cafe has the cutest interior and exterior designs. Judging from the pictures, the plating is very cute and unique and I'm impressed that they can make any dish they serve resemble a Hello Kitty. But since this cafe is Hello Kitty themed, it targets females and children instead of the whole population.

Paradise Kiss - Ai Yazawa

Paradise Kiss is a manga written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, who is also the creator of Nana, a really popular manga series in Japan. Paradise Kiss is about a typical high-school student named Yukari who listens to her parents and attends school everyday. As she starts to question her way of life, she encounters a group of fashion design students who has a clothing label known as "Paradise Kiss". The group needs to find a model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show and decides to pick Yukari instead. Initially, she was reluctant to be associated with this seemingly eccentric group, but eventually, she realises that they are really nice people. Furthermore, their passion and enthusiasm to follow their ideals and dreams make Yukari realise that she has not been enjoying her life and this motivated her to pursue her own dreams.



This manga was popular enough to get an anime but now it is getting a live action movie which is coming out in July, 2011.

A few years ago, I watched the first episode of the anime, but it didn't interest me at all. But recently, I read the manga, and I really liked it. I found Paradise Kiss inspiring and motivational, but I was not satisfied with the ending. Maybe because I prefer happy endings in manga and felt like it was too short. The ending was also too sudden.

Interactive Youtube Videos

Not so long ago, there are some Youtubers that started to make interactive videos. When Youtube was first created, it was a site used to upload, share and view videos. But now as everything enhances, you can put links to other videos within a video.

Now you can play instruments, magic tricks, and video games on Youtube. I think this is creative because instead of just watching a video, the viewer can also get involved and interact with the video. It makes it more exiting and fun.

Playing Bass/Piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm90BM8-4Fs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-sSolVDiY

Street Fighter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwFZ8_d7TPU&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_55233

Gintama Season 5

Gintama is a comedic manga/anime written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. The story is set in an Edo which has been conquered by aliens named Amanto. The plot follows a samurai named Gintoki Sakata's point of view, who works as a freelancer alongside Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura in order to pay the monthly rent. Sorachi added the science fiction setting to develop characters to his liking after his editor suggested doing a historical series.


After episode 201, Gintama has been on hiatus. The reason for it has not been confirmed and many fans thought it was cancelled. But it was announced a few months after that it will be airing again on April 4th 2011.


To me, Gintama has been consistently the most funniest series ever. Although it's a comedy/parody, there are also a touch of seriousness which I like about it. It has a cast of minor characters that keeps growing but never overstaying their welcome. I enjoy their parodies and references that they make to poke fun at everything in pop culture.

Circle Contact Lenses

Circle Lenses is a cosmetic contact lens was originally invented in Korea. The purpose of these lenses is to make the eye's iris appear larger. The lenses are popular among Asian teenagers and young adults. The lenses create an illusion of large, doll-like eyes. Many people consider circle lenses as a fashion accessory rather than medical devices. Some companies take advantage of the popularity of these circle lenses and produce them with cheaper material and quality which will affect your health.

When circle lenses first came out, the diameter was 14.0 mm, 2 mm larger than the average pupil. They also have basic colours of blue, violet, brown, green and black. But nowadays, the new lenses are up to 15 mm and have new and unnatural colours such as golden blue and pink.

If the sizes and colours continue to grow and range, beauty may turn into the beast.Teenagers and young adults in today's society care more about their appearances. Some are willingly harming their physical health to an extent to make themselves look better. Sure, it looks cuter and prettier now, but the aftereffect of too much makeup with ruin your looks in the future.

Child Beauty Pageants

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1000/1/

Child beauty pageant is a beauty contest which involves participants of age 18 or younger.

There has been a huge debate on child pageants where people want it to be banned. People think that little girls use artificial means to boost their self esteem which is not a good way to think as a child. It is wrong to teach children that looks are the most important. Other people think that it is a form of child abuse since sometimes the child is not willing to participate.


I find it scary how children's parents can dress up their child to make them look more than ten years of what they are suppose to look like. I understand that some parents think it is cute and fun, but I think it won't have a positive effect to their teenage life.


some examples: (age 7-10)

Be@rbrick

http://www.bearbrick.com/index.html

Be@rbrick is a Japanese brand of collectible figures designed and produced by MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear, and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design. The @ in the place of the letter 'a' is a trademark of MediCom Toy is a part of the Be@rbrick brand. The first figure was released 27 May 2001 as a free gift to visitors of the World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. Since then Bearbricks have been released in several different sizes using a variety of materials, including wood, felt, and glow-in-the-dark plastic.


Here are some of the newest models of 2011:

Mother's Day Edition

Valentine's Day Edition

2011 Birthday Be@rbricks

Be@rbrick is most popular in Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
Bearbricks differ from their predecessor Kubricks, in that each series includes 18 figures in 10 different themes:

• Basic, a solid-color figure with a letter in a second color on its chest; when all nine figures are placed in a row, they spell the word Bearbrick.

• Jellybean, a solid-color figure molded in translucent plastic.

• Pattern, a figure with a patterned deco that may range from polka dots to patterns designed by artist and designer Charles Eames.

• Flag, a figure painted as a nation's flag.

• Horror, a figure with a theme based upon a well-known horror film, or other source in the horror genre.

• SF (science fiction), a figure with a theme based upon a science fiction source, often a film.

• Cute, a figure which visually represents the concept of cuteness.

• Animal, a figure which depicts an actual animal.

• Artist: two figures, each designed by a visual artist.

Like most people who collect figures, even though some collectibles like Be@rbrick are expensive, people still buy these figures because