Manner Beans Chopsticks Game

Can you use chopsticks? Many of my western friends can not use chopstick cause it's eastern style not western. I don't remember how I start using chopsticks. Anyway I remember that it's not easy for my western friends to use chopsticks. I have an idea for you to practice your chopsticks skills!

Learning to use chopsticks properly takes a lot of practice, but it pay off when you can deftly grab even the tiniest bean from your plate and look like a natural. It CAN be done! The Manner Beans Chopsticks Game lets you practice anytime and hone your skills before off to Asia or your local sushi bar. Or, just play for fun!

The game includes lots of littles beans, sorted between "male" and "female" beans so you can sort them while you practice. There's no better way to get kids up to speed as well! Plus, the included instruction booklet visually shows you exactly how to hold chopsticks properly and grab your food without offending your dining companions.

You can buy this idea game from Japan Trend Shop 

images and content credit : Japan Trend Shop

Holiday Card Contest

Get in the holiday spirit and enter the 5th Annual Paper Source Holiday Card Contest! Show them your best holiday card made from Paper Source materials and your creativity. All ages welcome and winners receive Paper Source gift cards!

Winners: Each store location and our corporate office will select 2 winning submissions - one from the adult category and one from the child category.

Prizes: Each adult winner will receive a $50 Paper Source gift card; each child winner will receive a $25 Paper Source gift card. Winners will be notified via email or phone during the first 2 weeks in January.

Deadline: You may submit holiday card entries beginning October 7, 2010. All entries must be received by December 22, 2010 via mail or in person at a store.

Click here for more detail.

Enjoy & Good Luck!

Christmas Gift Tags



I'm now enjoying with finding and wrapping many gifts for Christmas and Happy New Year Festival!!! I create many gifttags which are 'Christmas' and 'Happy New Year' theme. They're so cute. So, I'd like to share my idea with you all. Let's enjoy making your own gift decorating.

Have fun!!! Santa Claus is comming to town.

What American’s Love & Hate About The U.S.A

click on the image to see bigger size

 
A new Harris Poll measures what Americans think about the United States, or, more specifically, how they rate 16 elements of American life.

Words Matter
The contrast between the 70 percent of the adults who give the Constitution positive marks, the 23 percent who give the political system a positive rating and the 43 percent who give the system of government good marks is very striking.
Differences by Political Party
Civil rights gets better marks from Republicans (70 percent) than from Democrats (53 percent). Equality of opportunity also gets more positive marks from Republicans (65 percent) than from Democrats (47 percent). The environment gets much better marks from Republicans (61 percent) than from Democrats (37 percent). On the other hand, the political system is viewed less favorably by Republicans (19 percent) than by Democrats (33 percent).
Differences by Education
On almost all of the 16 items, the level of satisfaction is correlated with the level of education. For example, those giving the system of government positive ratings increases from 31 percent of those with no more than a high school education to 45 percent of those with some college, 58 percent of those with a college degree and 61 percent of those with post-graduate education. This same gradient, or correlation with education, is true of satisfaction with the Constitution, quality of life, colleges and universities, standard of living, the legal system and the political system.

image & content credit : visualeconomics

PAC-MAN Cookies Cutter

Have you remembered the PAC-MAN game? I started playing computer game with this one. I really love them, both Pac Man and ghosts, they're so cute.  

SUCK UK wow you with their design by bringing out cookies cutters in the shape of characters from a 30 year old video game.

After so many years watching the big yellow circle eat the slightly smaller yellow circles, They've come over all hungry! They can only assume the people at Bandai's plan was to subliminally instruct SUCK UK to wait a quarter of a century, then leap into action and combine the Pac Man characters with the tastiest food they could find. So they did!

Pack of 4 (one Pac Man and three ghosts) officially licensed plastic cookie cutters,
shaped like the characters you've known for so long.

PAC MAN COOKIE CUTTERS

£12.00

images & content credit : SUCK UK

Loi Kratong Festival

image credit : www.google.com

I'm so glad today to see Google logo shown like above. Some foreigners like you might be wonder and thought 'What is this?' These are Krathongs (in Thai), which we float in Loi Krathong & Candle Festival.

image credit : Loi Kratong Festival

     Loi Krathong festival is a Thai tradition which has been conducted for a long time ago. Loi Krathong has been held since the middle of the eleventh to the middle of the twelfth lunar month, which is a great flood season- especially on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month. When the moon shines at night, it makes rivers clear. It is very beautiful scenery which is suitable for floating krathong.

The reasons for Loi Krathong in Thailand can be concluded that:-

     
    1. To ask for forgiveness Pra Mae Khongkha because we use and drink water. Moreover, we often throw rubbishes and excrete wasted things in the water.
     2. To worship the foot-print of the Buddha on Nammathanati River beach in India.
     3. To fly away misfortune and bad things like floating sin- Bhrama ceremony.
     4. To pay respect to Uppakhud whom mostly northern villagers show their gratitude for. According to legend, he was a monk who had supernatural to kill Mara. 








Krathong could be made from anything else such as banana leaves, banana trunks, coconut barks, paper, and etc. Stuck with incense stick and candle to make a wish and float it in the river.










more information about Thailand & Loi Kratong Festival

• Tourism of Thailand
• Tourism of Thailand Los Angeles
• Travel & Leisure Southeast Asia Blog
• Discover Thailand
• Web Sawasdee
• Loi Krathong Festival

content credit : http://www.loikrathong.net/

Christmas Wallpaper 4 iPhone

Christmas is just around, it’s time to change to Christmas wallpaper for your Apple iPhone. Check out this one by Moopf, come in a set of six and you can get it downloaded for free!!!. Download link after the jump.



This one has a decidedly Christmassy feel, with 6 wallpapers in total.

All wallpapers are the correct size (320 x 480). Click download to get the zip file containing them all.

Click here to download



image & content credit : deviantART

 

Cupcake Lip Gloss Party Favors

Here's a sweet choice as Sweet Sixteen favors, birthday party favors, bridal shower favors or baby shower favors. Thank your guests with these cupcake lip gloss party favors. Suitable for any cupcake theme party or shower.

Priced individually but sold in three assorted styles and flavors, each cupcake lip gloss favor measures 1 1/4" x 1" and resembles either a chocolate, strawberry or vanilla (almost good enough to eat) cupcake with a hinged opening that reveals the matching flavor lip gloss inside.

Each cupcake lip gloss favor comes in a clear acetate box with delightful additional pink, blue, brown and green packaging inside in the shape of a cheerfully wrapped gift with the lip gloss nestled in the base which reads "Cupcake Lipgloss" and has a flower shaped "For You" tag included


Price: $ 1.55 each
http://www.accenttheparty.com/ click --> cupcake wrappers



image & content credit : www.accenttheparty.com

Going West Animation

The New Zealand Book Council promoted book and reading with this interesting animation idea. The animation was created by using the concept of "Bring books to life" with around 3,000 still images which uses an excerpt from Maurice Gee's novel, "Going West" .


This short film (2.10 mins.) was designed and animated by the Andersen M studio in London and photographed by her brother, Martin.


The animation is driven by paper cut-outs and pop-ups made from the book itself. It has won two Film Craft Lions awards for ad agency Colenso BBDO at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival (www.canneslions.com).


It has won several awards in addition to the Cannes Lions, including two New Zealand Axis Gold awards (www.caanz.co.nz), and an international animation prize awarded by New York’s Museum of Art and Design (www.movingpaper.org). Earlier this month it also reached the shortlist of another international award, the “Pencil” award for animation at the D&AD creative awards in London (http://awards.dandad.org/2010/categories).

The Christmas Card Art of Roy Doty

image credit : Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonist's Index

Even though I'm not Christian, I love Christmas time. I love to celebrate Christmas. It's time of joy and giving. I remember that when I was young my father made their children a Christmas tree!!!. I thought I was the only one among my friends who have Christmas tree, wow..w..w..

When I grow up I don't have a big Christmas tree any more cause my father is too old to do that, ha, ha,... Anyway I like to decorate my home in the Christmas theme. I always hang Christmas wreath on my house door and listen to Christmas songs. It's a happy time ^.^

I love Santa and like Christmas card art of Roy Doty. He's a freelance cartoonist and illustrator since 1946. He draw a Christmas card one each year. Click to see a collection of the Christmas card art of Roy Doty.

Also visit his own website 

  

IPhone5 App.

Image credit : bizzarocomic

Nowsaday so many people use smart phone like IPhone, BB, etc. I guess you're the one, right. Although all smart phones are very useful I've never had one. For me, a smart phone is over my requirements. There're too many applications which I might need only few of them. Anyway I'm not an 'anti-technology' person. I'm just choose the one which's suitable for me :)  

There's an IPhone5 app. shown in Bizzaro blog. It's so funny. I love many app. there like 'Pie on demand', 'Washes your car', 'Makes brocolli taste like chocolate', 'Predicts future, changes past', and so on.

For an IPhone lover, Bizzaro has an app. that feeds your phone a new cartoon every day, the same one that is in newspapers worldwide. It also has a year's worth of searchable archive and links to his website and blog. All this for about $2 or $3 a year!!!

Free Blog Button

Do you need a blog button (in a variety of sizes)? Jennifer from The Days of a SAHM is offering to make free blog buttons for anyone interested.


Just shoot her an e-mail (thedaysofasahm@hotmail.com) telling her you are interested!  You can also include an attachment with the image you are wanting to use.  She will do the best to give you what you are looking for.


For the one who're looking to advertise your blog?  She is currently offering free advertisements on her blog!  Just inquire about this in your e-mail.  :D 


She's so generous, right? I just told her I'd love to get a blog button also. Hope she'll make a pretty one for me soon.

Deep Thougts by WinnE-the-Pooh and Friends

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

- Piglet

"Rivers know this : there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."

- Winnie the Pooh

"You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes."

-Piglet

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."

- Eeyore

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."

- Winnie the Pooh

image credit : E.H. Shepard
content credit : A.A. Milne

More fun with Winne-the-Pooh & Friends
- Just Pooh
- Pooh the bear
- The complete tales of Winne-the-Pooh

- The many Adventures of winnie the Pooh (25th Anniversary Edition)
- Winne-the-Pooh and Pals
- Disney winne-the Pooh

Hatsune Miku, Japan's 3D Hologram Rock Star

Do you believe that the newest rockstar in Japan is a hologram! Her name is 'Hatsune Miku'. She is a 3D animated hologram whose voice is power by a singing synthesizer application.

Miku has a long blue-green hair and likes to wear in pigtail. Her costume matches the school girl. She is a sining, digital avator created by the Japanese technology firm, Crypton Future Media that consumers can purchase and then program to perform any song on a computer.

She is a Vocaloid's voice syntesizer (a software that generates sounding sining by simply typing in the lyrics and music notes) The vocaloidism blog has more details about the software.

She performed her first 'live' concert in 2009 and has also traveled to Singapore on tour.

Hatsune Miku is a rising star in japan and across East asia. A few months ago, a 3D projection of Miku pranced around several stadium stages as part of a concert tour. Around 25,000 fans who fill stadium to watch her don't care that she isn't flesh and blood. Clazed fans have been buying all the tickets to her live concerts, which are presented with a 3D holographic technology.

The video of Hatsune Miku's live concert in Japan is proof of how far technology has come.

The performances are from the recently released Blu-Ray/DVD collection of Hatsune Miku's latest sold out concert in Japan : 39 Giving Day.

image & content credit : Singularity hub

House Key Hider

How do you hide your house key? I've seen on the western movies that they hid their house key under the doormat, above the doorframe, in/under flowerpot, etc.

I've just found a cool idea. It's a simple project with a very practical purpose. It's so easy. You have to prepare a rock (pick one from your garden :D) and a prescription bottle. To make the key hider just glue a rock to a bottle. The rest of the directions are as below.

images & content credit : zakkalife

It's very easy, right! Try to make yours ^.^ Hope the thief don't know this idea, ha,...ha :D

Thai Papaya Salad

Click on the image to see the bigger size

Have you ever eat this delicious menu (Thai Papaya Salad or Som-Tam) before? Actually it isn't Salad. We call 'Som-Tam' in Thai. I'm sure that you can find 'Som-Tam' at every Thai restaurant in your country. In Thailand you can find Som-Tam everywhre from any street to the 5-star Hotel. Every Thai people love Som-Tam. It's the most favorite for someone so they eat Som-tam everyday.

Som-Tam is not specified to be breakfast, brach, lanch or dinner. We can eat Som-Tam every time we'd like, even though evening!!!

It's very wonderful. It's also a yummy diet menu for the diet one. There're variety of Som-Tam. The picture above shows the basic ingredients. When salted duck egg is added it's turn to be 'Som-Tam-Khai-Khem'. When Pla-Ra is added it's turn to be 'Som-Tam-Pla-Ra'. When fruits (any kind you like such as apple, rose apple, etc) are added it's turn to be 'Som-Tam-Pon-La-Mai' (Pon-La-Mai = fruit). So when anything you like is added it's turn to be 'Som-Tam- .....'. You see!!! it's so wonderful menu.




image credit : tarnberry.bloggang.com