In what looks to be the greatest graduation pic ever, a group of college students in Northeastern China toss their mortarboards in the air. In the background, their school dormitory is engulfed in flames.
In the city of Dalian, a warehouse near the Dalian University of Technology caught on fire and then spread to the school's dormitory. Knowing a photo op when they saw one, the students didn't pass up the chance to pose with the smoking complex.
The photo is apparently not Photoshopped; online in China, there are more pictures (and even video) of the incident.
Thankfully, the students were not injured, and those residing in the dorms were evacuated to a nearby hotel.
In Japan, there are numerous illustrated field guides (図鑑 or "zukan" in Japanese). Many of them are for kids and provide illustrated looks at things like dinosaurs, bugs, or trains. Then, there are zukan that are drawings guides—drawing guides for adults.
These adult zukan feature women (or men) in various nude poses. Many of them claim to be artist desk references and not all of them feature nudity (check this gun zukan with improper weapon handling).
A newly released one, Multi-Angle Pose Collection: A Nude Field Guide for Anime, features ladies dressed as game characters like the girls from Konami's Love Plus games or a Mami Tomoe from anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Did I just say dressed? Ha, silly me. They're not really dressed. But there are multiple angles.
A couple of the models—Kokomi Naruse and Ayumu Sena—are actually adult video actresses. So while these books claim to be photo guides, they often seem more like collections of adult pictures. But that's probably the the point.
The photos in the above gallery have some of the more adult elements taken out. However, they still might not be work safe.
With E3 just around the corner, already there are rumors and predictions abound of what game developer is going to announce what. Some seem more reliable than others. One rumor currently circulating Japan's message boards is that Nintendo will be releasing a new model of 3DS. So far the rumor does not seem to be completely off base.
Nintendo has recently dropped the price of the DSi (from $149.99 to $99.99) and DSi LL ($169.99 to $129.99), something console developers regularly do before announcing a new model. This added with the fact that Amazon.co.jp (the Japanese Amazon.com) has mysteriously run out of stock of all models of the 3DS simultaneously has led some people to believe that Nintendo may be planning something... Amazon.co.jp are expected to restock all models on June 4th, 1 day before E3.
Of course, the timing of these events may be simple coincidence. The 3DS is still selling strong and with recent colorvariation releases, Nintendo doesn't have any obvious reasons to release a new model. Still, that has not kept people from voicing their opinions and speculations.
Personally, I hope they hurry up and release a damned "mega battery" model.
Good news! The PC version of hard-as-nails Dark Souls is, oh yes, Steam bound. What's more, the console versions will be getting PC exclusive content as paid DLC this winter.
Dubbed Artorias of the Abyss, the downloadable content be out this winter on the PS3 (US$14.99) and the Xbox 360 (1200 MS Points).
Artorias of the Abyss will have more bosses, more enemies, more armor, more weapons, and more areas to explore. In one word: more.
Consider this a master class in font picking. When selecting a font, you should choose something that is easy to read, but is still striking. The latest thing you want to do is confuse people, or worse, lead them on about butt lovin'.
Love in the Buff is a new Hong Kong romantic comedy. It's the sequel to Love in a Puff, which was about smokers who bonded over the Hong Kong smoking ban. Misleading font or not, Love in the Buff does not appear to be about butts, cigarette or human.
For models, posing is important. It can really sell the clothes—make them look cool. But bad posing can have the opposite effect and make the threads look anything but cool.
In Japan, Capcom is rolling out a Premium Edition for survival horror game Resident Evil 6 that comes with, along other items, a leather jacket modeled after one that appears in-game. The price for this? Over US$1,200.
That's a lot of money. And these pics on Capcom's online retail site do not exactly inspire one to shell out one grand to look like RE6 protagonist Leon. Dudes in survival horror leather don't put their hands on their hips!
While Diablo III might be a big hit in South Korea, the country's Fair Trade Commission is looking into allegations that Blizzard refused to refund Koreans who purchased the game and were frustrated with overloaded game servers.
Unable to play, these unhappy gamers demanded refunds, which Blizzard apparently refused.
In South Korea, the servers have been hit hard by Korean gamers as well as gamers in Mainland China, where the game hasn't been released officially. (Though, you can find it on Chinese internet retail sites a "big pineapple".)
According to The Korea Times, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether Blizzard broke Korean law regarding electronic commerce and commercial contracts.
"We have received many complaints from Diablo III users," Kim Hyung-bae, a spokesman for the FTC, told The Korea Times. The FTC is investigating whether Blizzard's contract with players was "unfair" and designed such that players could not get refunds after discovering issues with the game.
Moreover, the FTC is looking into whether Blizzard can be held responsible for being "ill-preparation" in light of the onslaught of server traffic.
According to The Korea Times, some investigators expect the FTC to demand a full refund for unhappy Korean players.
If you've been on the internet in the past five years, you've seen a trio of Japanese ladies doing aerobics, while chanting, "I have a bad case of diarrhea." The clip, and the other Zuiikin' English footage, are infamous. Those three ladies have earned their place in internet meme history.
Two of them seem to have left show business. But, if you play fighting games, like The Power Rangers or surf nudie pictures, you might be familiar with one of them.
One of actress Rei Saito's first gigs was Zuiikin' English, which debuted on Japan's Fuji TV in 1992. The show aired early in the morning before the morning talk shows kicked into high gear, which is probably why it went largely unnoticed by the entire country. On Japanese television, there are numerous language learning programs (especially English ones) that come and go. What made Zuiikin' English different was that it centered on the concept of connecting language acquisition via voluntary muscle (随意筋 or "zuiikin" in Japanese) movement.
It was an interesting concept, but the whole thing came off as slightly goofy. For Japanese people who rediscover the show now, it reeks of the country's Bubble Economy excess, with its exercise crazes and tight fitting "body con" fashion. Because people doing aerobics to phrases like "I have a bad case of diarrhea" is so unusual, the show inevitably spawned countless internet chuckles.
One of those Zuiikin' Gals, Rei Saito, became far more famous in her native Japan a decade later after appearing in Power Rangers series Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger as the evil Duchess Org Tsuetsue, who was able to turn the evil Orgs into giants. With their color coordinated aerobics outfits, the Zuiikin' Gals were somewhat like early more, English teaching Power Rangers. Her appearance in the mid 1990s Sailor Moon stage shows also provided her with some super sentai cred.
But after Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger ended, Saito released a "full nude" photo book, which was very surprising at the time. These days, it's not uncommon for bikini pin-ups or even well known celebrities to do "hair nude" photo books. Full nude photos still somewhat of a rebellious taboo for mainstream models, and since Power Rangers is a kiddy show, there were raised eyebrows. The book was titled Biyaku (媚薬) or "Aphrodisiac".
Around that same time, Saito started doing voice work for video games, namely SNK games. In 1999, she brought the character of B. Jenet to life in 1999's Garou: Mark of the Wolves and later in The King of Fighters games. She still voices the character, who most recently appeared in The King of Fighters XI and KOF Maximum Impact Regulation "A".
Now in her mid-40s and with her Zuiikin' days long behind her, Saito continues to act, appearing in TV dramas, musicals, and stage plays. Everybody has to start somewhere, and Saito started with a bad case of diarrhea.
Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesome—game related and beyond.
In what looks to be the greatest graduation pic ever, a group of college students in Northeastern China toss their mortarboards in the air. In the background, their school dormitory is engulfed in flames.
In Japan, there are numerous illustrated field guides (図鑑 or "zukan" in Japanese). Many of them are for kids and provide illustrated looks at things like dinosaurs, bugs, or trains. Then, there are zukan that are drawings guides—drawing guides for adults.
While Diablo III might be a 
If you've been on the internet in the past five years, you've seen a trio of Japanese ladies doing aerobics, while chanting, "I have a bad case of diarrhea." The clip, and the other Zuiikin' English footage, are infamous. Those three ladies have earned their place in internet meme history.
