A bra for the nation - nr.4

Six months have passed since the winter Triumph bra has been released (those who follow this blog probably remember my "bra for the nation" series), it is time for the new summer 2008 edition. And this summer, Japanese women are going to save Planet Earth.
Triumph Japan had called this model the “Solar Power Bra”.
It has a small solar panel in front, above the waist, that can be connected to small LCD display as shown or to any electronic devices.
A pair of reusable drink containers are attached to the bra cups, allowing the wearer to reduce consumption of aluminum cans and plastic bottles while increasing bust size. When not in use, the containers can be collapsed and stored in small pockets in the cups.

For those who need a refresher, see here (click) for the 8 best bizarre bras from Triumph Japan.

At Zojoji temple

I first wanted to keep those photos for my photo blog, but I could not resist sharing them with you here.


During golden week I picked a couple of temples downtown Tokyo for a little photo trip.
H. had suggested the Tokyo tower (in another post soon), which is located right beside one of the main temples of the city, the Zojoji temple.
Sadly, they were renovating the facade of the temple, which was completely hidden. But my disapointement was short lived. The alleys around Zojoji harbor the most amazing Jizo (guardian of souls) statues I have seen.
Unlike other Jizos, they were cute and cheeky, with tiny rounded mouths that make them look like angels. I later learned that they were erected for the protection and safety of children.



What made this place very special was that each statue (hundreds) was flanked by a multicolored pinwheel (virevent). There was a soft wind on that day, which would make the wheels turn from time to time. Sometimes all at the same time, sometimes only a few of them.
The sun was piercing through the trees, it was nearly magical.
The association of pinwheels and sacred place was somewhat surprising at first. I did not find any website which would explain the full story behind those Jizo statues.
This temple and surroundings are definitely in my "bookmarks".

Je hais les vélos

D'après mes propres calculs, voici les probabilités que j'ai de mourir en tant que simple citoyen et piéton au Japon. C'est assez simple:

- ecrasée par un vélo: 60%
- ecrasée par une voiture: 30%
- ecrasée par un tremblement de terre: 10%


Pour le tremblement de terre, le risque est bien réel, mais minime comparé au danger que représentent les voitures et surtout les vélos dans ce pays. Les piétons n'ont pas trop intérêt à rêvasser en marchant (ce que je fais souvent) s'ils tiennent à leur peau.
Le code de la route est déjà allègrement ignoré des conducteurs de véhicules, tant sur l'autoroute que dans les agglomérations. Les feux verts pour les piétons, c'est de l'art déco.
Mais ce qui m'énerve encore plus ce sont les cyclistes, majoritairement des bonnes femmes entre 40 et 60 ans, qui roulent tout le temps sur les trottoirs, dans les deux sens, et avec le parapluie ouvert quand il pleut ou qu'il y a trop de soleil. Grrrrrrr....
Il n'y a aucune règle, on peut rouler ou bon nous semble. Sans rire, je manque de me faire écraser au moins une fois par jour. En général je leur lance mon regard-très-méchant, mais bon, c'est pas ça qui va les enlever de mon chemin non plus. Que faire?

Hugh Laurie - This woman is very upset

A little piece of British comedy for today. It features a young Hugh Laurie (now better known as sulky Dr.House) back in the days of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". To celebrate the fact that House season 3 is starting soon, yeeey!