Human-robot standup comedy (where else) in Japan. Zenjiro (human) and PaPaJiro (robot) will perform together. If the robot kills ‘em out there, will that violate the First Law?

Tags: comedy, performance, robot

“We want to express our regret to chickens for having to kill them, while also giving thanks to them for providing us with food”

Doggles – sunglasses for dogs. Of course.

According to this story the SF dump has an artist-in-residence. And has, for a very long time.

My gosh is Faith Popcorn overrated. Check out some of what she has to say in A Post-Privacy Future For Workers

Q: What will the office of the future look like?

A: The changes could start with the office remembering who sits where, what temperature they like, how soft they like the light to be. Also, there will be a lot of virtual reality, so you’ll do almost no traveling but meet virtually: People you are meeting with actually appear in your office.

You’ll also be able to watch your kids at the day-care center and be with them virtually. You’ll be able to [virtually] travel to Paris, London, Rome, to pick out the cuisine you want for your dinner — and it will be delivered to the lobby of your office before you go home.

Q: So it sounds like we’ll be mixing personal and official business more?

A: Yes. We’ll even have employees who will live on campus, supervising different tasks. That will be needed because we’re becoming a global society in which people, in different parts of the world, can work on a project 24 hours a day. So your workplace will become more of a 24-hour kind of a space.

Q: A lot of people think the opposite will happen: That because of mobile communications, employees will work from home more.

A: Well, that will happen. The home will be the office. Or, you’ll live right next to your office. And your employer will be taking care of all your personal and physical needs to increase your productivity. Your kids, your dinner, your clothing needs, your books, your movies — would all be provided through your company.

For instance, your vital signs will be measured at work. If the measurements say you have high cholesterol and too much fat in your diet, you might get prescription menus. And the food would be delivered to your refrigerator at your home nearby.

Q: A lot of people don’t want their companies to know what their cholesterol levels are. Wouldn’t this raise a lot of privacy concerns?

A: I think privacy is an issue of the past — there is no privacy. Already, when you order a book on Amazon.com you give up some of your privacy: Based on your choices, they provide you with other books that you might like to read. They follow your reading pattern. On eBay they compile lists of what you collect. So I think that privacy is a nice idea, but many people see it as something they’ve already lost.

Plus, I think people will get over such concerns when they see the tremendous convenience such technologies and services can offer.

Q: People already don’t use half the functions in their software. Why would employees want all of this new technology you talk about?

A: The problem with technology today is, in many cases, you have to read through instructions to figure out how to use all the features. What we need is voice controls. For instance, you should be able to say, “Bring my car around in front.” Or “I miss my mother. I want to see her.”

An interesting ad campaign for tennis features pop culture figures, including those from other sports.

We just went into 3-Day Blinds and put in an order. Why is it going to take 7 – 10 days???

More than 250 sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scholars who gathered at UC Santa Barbara for a conference on Wal-Mart came looking for more than the company’s vital statistics. Like archaeologists who pick over artifacts to understand an ancient society, the scholars here were examining Wal-Mart for insights into the very nature of American capitalist culture

The ‘1,000 Samurai Parade,’ held in the Japanese city of Nikko (a 1 hour 40 minute train ride north of Tokyo) every May 18 and Oct. 17, commemorates the 1617 enshrinement at Nikko of the remains of Ieyasu Tokugawa, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

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The SF Chron does a critical analysis of the SF Apple Store in terms of design, brand, and architecture.

“…a gleaming package stuffed with such goodies as an all-glass staircase. But it’s not a real building. It’s a 30-foot-high corporate branding concept that could be located anywhere. And it fails the first test of good architecture — to be a good neighbor…The computer chain that for years urged us to “think different” now imposes order from above: its outposts are interchangeable by design, with details repeated from store to store. San Francisco’s glass staircase underneath a narrow skylight replicates the centerpieces of other “flagships.” …Apple prides itself on curvaceous computers. Its iPod Minis come in five colors. I’d love to see the same design flexibility where it would matter most — the world we all share”

Ah. So that’s who likes those robot dogs.

As reported in this story Toronto-based DOP Matthew R. Phillips, winner of three CSC Awards for industrial cinematography, shot a series called Moccasin Flats in Regina. And the key grip was some dude named “Steve Portigal.”

Not I, however.

Hmm!

I’m name-checked in course material for a course on Web Interaction Design.

The New Brand of Story is a concise summary of a FreshMeat piece I did a few months ago. Neat to see the stories being retold!

Another Asian drink tasting site