uncanny valley

wow, hello kitty was named japan's tourism ambassador to china and hong kong. i'm more of a tuxedo sam woman myself, but why not korea?

i have mixed feelings about this video. i thought the whole appeal of hello kitty was her diminutive nature. look at her! she looks like she's going to attack the japanese minister of transportation with her cuteness. btw, is she going to be traveling with her boyfriend, dear daniel? quel scandale! and why does she live in london?

anyway, this news led me to the sanrio website and, more specifically, to their hall of characters of yesteryear. my favorite are doki doki yummychums: Dokidoki Burger is always smiling and is everyone’s favorite! Don’t forget to check out his friends Dokidoki Fries, Dokidoki Shakes (Vanilla, Banana, Strawberry and Chocolate) and Dokidoki Chickenchums.

and also pandapple, who, as beta alex points out, is literally a panda with an apple for its head. creepy, scary!

step to the wu

c4ts, now that you have some free time on your hands, how's about you enter this contest? oh wait, pc-only. too badz. but the rest of you, go for it. and please, diversify your bonds.

sports cap

this "play" magazine that the times sometimes slips into my sunday paper seems to be the print equivalent of a non-sequitur. wtf? i decided to flip through it this morning before i get to the heavy stuff, e.g., sunday styles, the city, coupons.

there was this article fawning over marv albert. now, as i indicated in a previous post, nothing in sports past june 14, 1994 interests me, so of course i read this. ah, i remember those lazy saturday mornings marked by that john tesh-composed nba on nbc theme. marv, you will never be a man in panties who likes to bite women to me.

on a related note, some of you know that i had to make a mad dash to the border last week for no good reason. at the toronto airport i ran into freaking PAT QUINN, aka my childhood idol and two-time coach of the year winner. i sort of gushed, "i am a big fan of yours." he looked a little taken aback and muttered something resembling a thank you. then i came home, googled him and found this. learns me to stop paying attention to sports.

if you've made it this far, here is your reward: i am going to eat your family.