Naomi Yotsumoto is currently one of the most talk-about Japanese ping-pong players, not just for her skills, but mainly for her fashion and style during the games…
Malaysia International Fireworks Competition (MIFC) 2008 is held in the month of August in conjunction with the independence day celebration.
I was planning to go for a show on Wednesday, but the weather was not permitting; will try my luck again on Sunday. Meanwhile, catch a video below, produced by an official media partner of MIFC with the Malaysian team performing on August 12.
Besides the Malaysian team, other teams that are competing in the event this year are from China, Spain, Canada and Australia.
A sushi wedding cake, some hot chillies, a few bulls running, a knighted penguin and a crime fighting turtle…
Sushi wedding cake
The Old Quarter of Hanoi, as its name indicates, is one of the oldest area in the city. The Old Quarter is famous for its streets that are packed with century-old shophouses specialising in a particular trade, such as shoes, bags, toys, medicines, metals, bamboos etc. The speciality of each street is reflected by the road names.
A shop selling kites and other paper crafts at Old Quarter
A bunch of premium grapes were auctioned for 100,000 yen (~US$920) in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on Monday (August 11). The bunch weighed around 700g and had 35 grapes, which converts to about $26 per grape.
These expensive grapes are a new variety called the Ruby Roman; nurtured by the Kaga Fruit Land in Ishikawa. It’s said to be the largest grapes in Japan, about 3cm in diameter. The average price for the Ruby Romans at Monday’s auction was about 27,000 yen ($248) per bunch. [via Nikkei]
Check out some other expensive Japanese fruits… the Yubari cantaloupes and the Densuke watermelons.
Researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have developed a material that can bend light around 3D objects making them ‘disappear’.
The materials do not occur naturally but have been created on a nano scale, measured in billionths of a metre. The team says the principles could one day be scaled up to make invisibility cloaks large enough to hide people. [more on BBC]
Harry Potter’s fans must be so excited about the news. I am a bit worried on contrary, sometimes I just feel that the technology developments are a bit overwhelming to handle… I think I am getting old.
Some random stuff about Beijing Olympics…
Bush is happy
US president George W Bush visited the US women’s beach volleyball team on August 9 during their training session. It was a happy visit obviously…
Day 2 of Beijing Olympics; some random news and information…
First gold medals
Katerina Emmons from Czech
The Chinese didn’t get the first gold medal of the 2008 Olympic Games as hoped… the honour belongs to Kateřina Emmons of Czech Republic in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
The Chinese’s disappointment didn’t stand long as weightlifter Chen Xiexia captured the first gold for the country in the women’s 48kg class weightlifting event moments later.
LEGO Sport City
An exhibition is currently running at Grand Century Place in Hong Kong with the major Beijing Olympics venues being recreated in LEGO.