Ankle deep in stagnant water the rancid air magnified the sense of claustrophobia I felt as me and 5 other Indian-Jones wannabes trudged through the 70-year-old tunnels the Japanese Imperial Navy forced locals to dig during WWII (1941-45) on Lamma Island (南丫島) in Hong Kong.
Continuing my series of quirky videos about Japanese culture here’s a beautifully executed infographic introduction to the country created from a foreigners point of view (by Kenichi Tanaka, a Japanese designer):
For the first time in two years since I moved to China I was struck down by a rather nasty case of food poisoning last Friday which scuppered any prior plans for the weekend. It did however leave me with plenty more time to waste surfing the www and I came across this hilarious set of videos about Japanese culture that I felt compelled to share.
I’m not one from playing games usually but I found myself surprisingly addicted to this ingenious little flash puzzle: It works on the principle that you have to work with yourself to be able to reach the top level (floor) by replaying your cursor path each time the clock runs out and hence you help yourself along the way (have a go to see what I mean). How long does it take you to reach the 16th floor?! [via] I’ve also always liked the look of Portal, a rather sophisticated teleportation game, based on the Half-Life engine praised for its unique gameplay and dark, deadpan humor. Somehow these sort of games appeal to me more than the usual killing fields in first-person shooters but…
In the world of ultra-violent Japanese films they don’t come much more insane than this: NOTE: TRAILER NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART Yakuza, Ninjas, Sushi, Chainsaws, Flying Guillotines… it has it all! Where else in the world would you find a movie about a school girl seeking revenge on her brothers killers and the loss of her own arm (conveniently replaced with a gun)?! I’m not saying the film will be any good but it might just be crazy enough to become a cult classic. [via]