Hot air: One balmy August weekend, a bunch of guys in rural southern Alberta got together with a simple plan: to get high. And not just a little—they were going to get higher than any amateurs had before them. All they needed was a Nikon digital camera, a satellite tracking device, a parachute and a huge helium balloon. How high did they get? In its two-and-a-half-hour flight, their balloon-mounted camera reached 112,500 feet, taking Google Earth-quality photos before parachuting back to Earth. The word is “wow” at www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/sable3.htm.
Big in Japan: The Japanese have some weird cultural fixations. One year, it may be vintage Wranglers and tiramisu, the next Pee-wee’s Playhouse and Nike Dunks. But one thing is consistently true of Japanese trends—you will soon see them here too, whether it’s among hipsters or nerds (as if you can tell them apart.) Get your trend on with the unbiased observers at www.kilian-nakamura.com/blog-english/.
Comments? mikecitrome@yahoo.com
—Michael Citrome |
