Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
“All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing.” At the link, you’re going to learn more than you ever thought there was to know about creating a wearable bikini manufactured using 3D printing technology. If you have read anything about 3D printing, it is kind of a natural progression, really, from using the technology to create models for architecture and special effects to wearable clothing. The 3D bikini is the creation of a company called Continuum Fashion, which was founded by Mary Huang and Jenna Fizel. The bikini itself is made from a special type of waterproof nylon, and digitally mapped in a computer using body scans of the intended wearer for a very precise and comfortable fit. We can foresee a time in the near future when forgetting your favorite swimsuit at home won’t be too big of an inconvenience, if you can just insert some cash into a booth by the beach and have a perfectly-fitted garment scanned and printed our for you. (Next Big Future – 3D Body Scan Bikini) Continuum calls its bikini the N12, and you can read more about it and the company here: Continuum Fashion
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“The 56-year-old said the project had been delayed until after he finishes the two planned sequels to box-office smash ‘Avatar’.” In case you had not heard, James Cameron is a big fan of Japanese manga series “Battle Angel Alita”. As it was with “Avatar”, Cameron waited to begin planning a live-action film of “Alita” until he felt the technology existed to do the sweeping, post-apocalyptic story justice. Well, the success of “Avatar” has apparently put those plans on hold. On Friday, the blockbuster director announced that he wants to finish the two sequels to “Avatar” before he commits fully to bringing the “Alita” movie to the big screen. When he does start helming the live-action manga movie, it will be based upon the first three volumes, and it will be the first of an “Alita” trilogy if successful. Sure, the “Avatar” sequels are something to look forward to, but we think it will be very exciting to see how Hollywood’s biggest big-budget director and the world of Japanese manga science fiction stories mesh. (Belfast [Ireland] Telegraph – Cameron Delays “Battle Angel Alita”)
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“It is legal to supervise religious affairs, and protect normal religious order. This issue of forced disappearance fundamentally does not exist.” It seems the Chinese government possesses magical powers usually, though incorrectly, associated with Tibetan holy men: It has made over 300 monks from Tibet disappear. In April, Chinese security forces rounded up the monks up from Kirti monastery in the Aba prefecture of Sichuan Province. China’s foreign ministry claims the monks are undergoing government “re-education”, but refuses to divulge the location of the 300 holy men to U.N. human rights investigators. The government in Aba says it decided to give the monks further education on China’s legal system following the actions of a monk who burned himself to death in protest earlier this year. According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, the Kirti monks have also been guilty of hiring prostitutes, gambling, drunkenness, and viewing pornography, adding to the need for their legal re-education. Still, no one with the U.N. knows where the monks are or if they are still alive, and at the very least their disappearance and detention is a violation of international law. (Reuters – 300 Tibetan Monks Disappear) China’s First Aircraft Carrier? “The carrier revelation comes at a complicated time for U.S.-Chinese relations.” What surprised us about this story isn’t the fact that China’s military has an aircraft carrier; it’s that this is apparently their first one. The Chinese government normally holds facts about the country’s military very, very close to the proverbial vest. However, Chinese defense minister Chen Bingde revealed details about the carrier this week to a reporter for Hong Kong Commercial Newspapers. The ship is under construction in Dalian, and is nearly completed. It has taken literally an army of workers to convert the hull, which dates from the Soviet era, to Chinese naval specifications. And until now, the entire project has been kept secret with a cover story which claimed the giant ship was a floating casino being built for use off the shores of Macau. The reason the revelation about China’s carrier worries the U.S. is that it is further evidence that the Chinese are developing military technology in secret, technology which could threaten American military superiority. (ABC News – Chinese Aircraft Carrier)
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“National suicide figures increased the two months following the disaster, the figures show.” Even some survivors of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan didn’t survive. And we are not talking about the Fukushima 50, who many suspect are mere walking dead now following their heroic acts in the highly-irradiated nuclear power plant. No, suicide is once again making the news coming out of Japan. On Wednesday, the Japanese National Police Agency reported that suicides for the month of May rose above 3,000 for the first time in two years. The total number, 3,281, is also a 20 percent increase from May, 2010. In Fukushima, there were 19 more suicides in May of this year than in 2010, for a total of 68. No direct evidence has been offered linking the March 11th disaster and the subsequent nuclear crisis with the increased suicide rates. But taking a moment to make the leap in one’s mind isn’t very hard to do. (CNN World – Japan Suicide Rates Higher)
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“This festival is essentially a tribute to the all mighty soybean, truly one of the most versatile food products in Asian culture, if not the world.” If you are in Northern California this weekend and love soybean products, you are in for a treat. The Nichi Bei Foundation in San Francisco is holding a new event on Saturday in Japantown, called the “Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival: Discover the Joy of Soy”. The festival has been modeled after the LA Tofu Festival held in Little Tokyo for 12 years. The San Francisco version will be in the Japantown Peace Plaza from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will feature vendors such as Kikkoman and San Jose Tofu, and performers from the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. And if you get there early, for 25 bucks you can sign on to be a judge for the Tofu Dessert Competition. Judging tofu desserts sounds like a lot of yummy fun, but here’s hoping there will be lots of fresh natto to sample. (Rafu Shimpo – San Francisco Soy Festival) And you can read the official press release here: Tofu and Natto in Japantown.
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