International

Human Brain Can Control Robot, Even At Great Distances

by T Goodman

What was once science fiction is becoming a reality faster than you might have thought thanks to the work of internationally-supported applied presence and applied cognitive neuroscience research. Just ask Tirosh Shapira who recently, from a laboratory in Israel, commanded a humanoid robot in a French laboratory to walk and pick up objects simply by imagining that he himself was walking and picking up objects.

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Bandai's Magic Pets Populate & Personalize Your Water Bottle

by Steve Levenstein

Strangers won't mess with one's personal portable potables thanks to Bandai's Magic Pets, plastic critters who “live” in your water bottle, personalizing it and keeping owners entertained all the while.

Calling Out Apple: The iPhone 5 is NOT “The World's Thinnest Smartphone"

by China.new

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide marketing, may have wowed the faithful at the iPhone 5 keynote kickoff on September 12th but not all of the stats the suits were trumpeting stand up to scrutiny.

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10 Ig Nobel Prizes For 2012: Recognition Of Funny, Obscure Research

by Myra Per-Lee

You gotta love the Russian company SKN for converting old Russian ammunitions into diamonds, and didn't you always want to know how many steps you'd have to take to create the inevitable splash of coffee on your carpet? But the SpeechJammer in 2012? A machine that delays speech and makes one stutter is decades old, and it actually has the practical application of helping stutterers speak without stuttering.

Scores Dye Horribly in Violet Explosion

by China.new

Purple prose phrased headline aside, a slow leak in a large bag of powdered violet dye brought big trouble to a little Chinese village. The generically dark powder wasn't noticed as it spilled from a truck passing through town but when rain fell, villagers suddenly saw their world through rose-colored glasses.

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Houston Zoo First To Successfully Breed Big-Headed Turtles In Captitivity

by Lady Bee

The Houston Zoo proudly announced the birth of five Madagascan big-headed turtles today, the eighteenth most endangered species of turtle in the world. It was the first birth for zoos worldwide.

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Japanese Gulag For Social Media Activist Michael Q.Todd Spotlights Deportation Practices

by Ron Callari

His bio reads, "I aim to connect and promote great people who will make a difference by collaborating than individually. . . and my goals are eradication of poverty and a sustainable economy by 2015." One of his fervent passions and ongoing initiatives is to help save the Taiji dolphins from captivity and slaughter. Doesn't sound like a candidate for Japan's harsh immigration-and-detention system, does it? Yet Michael Q. Todd found himself taken into custody in the Shingu Jail on September 16h for a lapsed visa.

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Burger King Japan's “Premium KURO Burger” is Back in Black

by Steve Levenstein

Burger King Japan's “Premium KURO Burger” hits the grill on September 28th in celebration of BK's fifth anniversary in Japan. The limited edition black-bunned Whopper features dark ketchup colored and flavored with squid ink.

Jon Stewart vs Bill O'Reilly To Beat The Obama-Romney Debates?

by Ron Callari

He's done it before. Back in 2010 when the Tea Party Republcans helped overtake the majority in the House of Representatives, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart jumped into the debate ring with his co-faux newscaster collaborator, Stephen Colbert. Touted as the "Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear," the event was well attended in DC. This go-around Stewart has targeted Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News talk-show host to help iron out some of the pressing issues of this year's presidential election campaign.

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Social Finance Comes From China To Assist US College Students?

by Ron Callari

Social media has continued to evolve over the course of the last decade. From social networking to social gaming to social commerce, the common belief is that social will continue to bleed into other categories. Social Finance is SM's latest iteration and there are a number of exciting start-ups trying to attack the trillion-dollar student debt problem in the U.S.

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Gulliver's Plate Dish is One Big Lovin' Spoonful

by Steve Levenstein

Yo dawg, I herd you like spoons, so Japan's Village Vanguard made a plate like a spoon so you can spoon your eats from a spoon-shaped plate!

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Love You LONG Time: China's Nettled Netizens Mock the iPhone 5

by China.new

Apple's highly-anticipated iPhone 5 is finally here and what do China's fanatical fanboys & gals get after their long wait? A longer iPhone... Really? Less than impressed with this critical post-Jobs product, China's clever, creative and critical netizens have logged into China's social media matrix to call Apple out.

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Trial By Twitter Over Occupy Wall Street Tweets Could Set Privacy Precedent

by Ron Callari

In a potential landmark case, Twitter was ordered by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino 73 days ago to turn over three month's of tweets from Malcolm Harris. Accounts under contention are related to two of Harris's profiles on the microblogging site are @destructuremal and @getsworse.

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Oh Snap! The $35K, Limited Edition, Japan-Only White Leica M9-P Camera

by Steve Levenstein

Only 50 Limited-Edition White Leica M9-P digital full-frame rangefinder cameras are available for sale, and all 50 are exclusive to the Japanese market. Priced at an astounding 2.625 million yen or around $35,500 each, these white Leica M9-P cameras sell at five times the price of standard Leica M9-P cameras.

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Tech 101: When and Why You Should Buy Refurbished Electronics

by Gadgetry Inc

A lot of people say that refurbished goods aren't for them. The reason for that is they have misconceptions on the quality, durability, and functionality of refurbished items. But the fact of the matter is this: just because it's been 'fixed up' or 'repaired' doesn't mean that it won't last long.

Angry Birds Meat Snacks: A Tastier Way to Crunch Some Pork

by China.new

Gamers playing Angry Birds can really work up an appetite and snack attacks are as common as pig attacks. What to do? Angry Birds' developer Rovio and Chinese pork producer JoyCome have teamed up to create some seriously symbiotic bite-size taste treats: Angry Birds Meat Snacks!

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Folding iPad Stand Puts Your Tablet on Hold

by Steve Levenstein

iPad owners everywhere are raising their voices about raising their iPads. It may be the latest First World Problem but fear not, Apple Fanboys (and Fangirls), Shanghai Donya's got a first-rate solution: the Folding iPad Stand.

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Hold The Mao: 8 Revolutionary Revised Chairman Mao Posters

by China.new

The late Chairman Mao Zedong, founding father of the People's Republic of China and global revolutionary icon, is still revered in China though the country has taken a radical turn down the capitalist road since his passing in 1976. These 8 revised and reimagined Mao posters reference the Great Helmsman's impressive pop culture presence to sell consumer goods and more to today's well-washed & wealthy proletariat.

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Foursquare's Magnetic Marketing Goes Mad Men With Promoted Updates

by Ron Callari

It was inevitable the game-like features of Foursquare's 'mayorships,' 'badges' and 'check-ins' would ultimately pave a path to paid advertising. Yes, that unassuming little geolocation-based app that launched three short years ago at South by Southwest and has amassed over 20 million registered users has decided to monetize. Finally slipping into their big boy pants, Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai's company have launched "Promoted Updates," with clients Madison Avenue ad agencies have been known to court over the years.

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Diagonally Striped Seat Belt T-Shirts Make Chinese Policemen Cross

by China.new

T-shirt designs that ape the look of a buckled seat belt have proved popular sellers in China, a place where widespread ignorance of laws requiring seat belt use makes such avoidance the 3rd-leading cause of traffic accident fatalities.

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