Too many times American Companies grab shows from other cultures that are gaining popularity and then "Americanize" them removing what made them great.
I can't stand XMC but love Takeshi's Castle (and Beat Takeshi for that matter). Loved Iron Chef, and loathe Iron Chef America except for Alton Brown.
I don't know if I laugh for the same reasons as the native audience but I am sick of American revamps of foreign shows.

This is a cool convergence of some of my favorite sites. IO9 is on my daily website links I check out just after Boing Boing and Tokyo Mango is on my Japan culture links. Looking forward to more posts on all 3 sites.

This is a movie I will certainly double dip for extended footage. I remember first seeing Metropolis with the colored frames and rock score. I finally got a torrent of the laser disc of that. I have the Kino Video Restored Authorized Version on DVD. Can't wait to get the next restoration.

What's a good resource for identifying the hallmarks of steampunk fashion?

Even though they are "correcting" the problem, (I would like to know if the staff was hired back on at their previous rate)I'm more and more getting major purchases elsewhere. I've been looking at a camera for several weeks and I'll probably get it from Dell since CC just took away the sale price. There's no in store pick up to save on shipping so why bother with CC.
Their Stock is in decline but I hope they stay in business. I'll still go grab loss leaders without picking up other stuff, and it will keep competition with BB.

At first I thought this was a joke and you were going to say that this describes the current cell phone market in the USA.

This is a nice DIY/Craft Project. I took a Paper Lantern, plain white, and glued the cocktail umbrellas to it without the toothpicks in them. Turned out great and is great at the tiki party.