Geek in Heels - Page 28

May 29, 2013 • In Entertainment, Funny, Geek, Movies

The Avengers vs. The Justice League

Immortalize Yourself with a Doll Clone

So apparently, getting a mini-me made of yourself is a thing in Japan.

A company in Akihabara called Clone Factory urges women to preserve that special moment in life (e.g., your wedding day) with your own special Jibun-san [自分さん], which roughly translates to “Me.”

The dolls are modeled after not only your face, but also your makeup, hair, and dress!

The dolls, which cost around ¥138,000 each ($1,350 in USD as of this writing), are created by first obtaining a 3D scan of yourself with the help of a few strategically-placed digital cameras. Blogger Danny Choo was able to get a first-hand experience:

A computer then creates a rendering of your face, and a 3D printer carves out the head.

In Danny’s case, he chose to have his head planted on the body of a Storm Trooper action figure. (A nerd true to my heart!)

Perhaps it is the Star Wars body that makes the doll less creepy? Because while Danny’s Storm Trooper looks pretty kickass, the dolls of the women at the beginning of this post look a bit creepy. Is it the theory of the uncanny valley coming into play?

That being said, I actually wouldn’t mind having my own Jibun-san made — not as a memorabilia or in an act of vanity, but because I believe some people look REALLY different through the eyes of a camera…and I want to know if I am one of those people. Sure, I can just look in a mirror, but a reflection still isn’t completely trustworthy. (Don’t believe me? Try taking a picture of someone you know and flip it horizontally in Photoshop. I guarantee some people will look drastically different!)

So in other words, I want to know how I look to other people. Wouldn’t you?

…But then again, if the pictures below — from Clone Factory’s Facebook page, showcasing the dolls next to their owners — are typical of the Jibun-san service, I’m not sure how accurate the results will be. Sure, the dolls look realistic enough, but they look nothing like their real-life counterparts!

Here’s another image I found via a Google search. I wish I knew some Japanese so I could do a proper web search, because the quality and size of the pictures below aren’t that great. Even so, it’s painfully obvious that the doll looks nothing like the owner.

(image source)

In case you’re wondering, human doll replicas are just one of Clone Factory’s many offerings. Since they have the ability to clone pretty much any solid object, you can bet that the possibilities are endless! Take these, for example…

Heck, they’ll even do your dog!

“Manga Plates” by Mika Tsutai

Who says playing with your food can’t be fun?

Just in Time for Memorial Day: Doodle4Google 2013 Winner

The theme for this year’s Doodle4Google Contest was “My Best Day Ever…” and Sabrina Brady, a 12th-grader from Wisconsin, captured this blogger’s (and the nation’s!) heart with the following illustration:

Happy Memorial Day! A special thanks to all who help keep our country safe!

What if the Family Circus Lived in Park Slope…

And were entitled pricks?

Friday PicDump, 05.24.2013

I haven’t been able to take too much pictures this week because I have a nagging cold. Not the fever-aching-gawd-kill-me-now kind, but the annoying type that makes me cough like I have a 2-pack-a-day habit and go through half a box of tissues a day from all the snot that comes oozing down my nose.

So aside from the first two pictures, these were all dug up from my camera’s memory banks. I think the oldest is about a couple of months old.

Claire has been obsessed with our growth chart lately. Every day, several times a day, she will stand up against it and ask me to measure her. She will then call for Aerin and measure her too.

A couple of days ago, she started to measure her giraffe too. (I’m pretty sure she got the idea from the opening scenes of Toy Story 3.) And since he’s not tall enough to reach the growth chart, she let him cheat a bit. 😛

J and I have a Philips Sonicare we love (a dentist friend gifted us our first rechargeable electric toothbrush with a UV brushhead sanitizer as a wedding gift and we’ve been hooked ever since!), but for the past week I have been using a regular toothbrush instead to teach the girls better brushing habits.

One thing I have noticed lately is that if I am having trouble teaching Aerin certain things (like to use her toothbrush to actually brush her teeth instead of just chewing on it), I ask Claire to come demonstrate and she will pick it up faster. And since Claire learns best when I demonstrate, our life together becomes a mishmash of the games “follow the leader” and “telephone” at times. 🙂 Continue reading »

When Did (Or Will) Your Looks Peak?

I came across an interesting infographic BuzzFeed published yesterday with the title “Men Believe Female Beauty Peaks At Age 29.” The infographic includes interesting age-related beauty factoids and survey results in addition to the obviously-designed-for-bait post title, so I thought it would be worth a mention here.

As mentioned previously on this blog, I probably looked my best when I was 20-21 years of age. However, I probably felt the best about my appearance last summer-fall, when — after having two kids just 13 months apart — I was starting to become more confident in my personhood, my abilities as a mom, and my body (as I was regularly working out). And I was 31 then: EXACTLY the age at which most women believe their beauty peaks, according to this infographic.

Whenever I ask J anything along this line, he automatically replies, “Now. You look your best now.” But I’m not too inclined to believe him because he answers too quickly and I know he’s smart enough to say anything else and potentially open a can of worms. 😛

There are two other things I found interesting about this infographic, and the first is the word most commonly associated with gray hair. I had never even considered this, but it’s so true! (And so unfair!)

The second is the role models each sex chose for aging gracefully. While I agree that both choices are fantastic, I personally would’ve picked Helen Mirren. (Especially after reading this story — she becomes more lovable with each piece I read about her!)

What do you guys think? When do you believe your looks peaked? (Or will peak?) Do you have any other thoughts about the infographic?

My 3 Minute Makeup Routine

Are you one of those people who likes to get decked out when you’re not feeling well (emotionally or physically)?

I know that I am, along with many of my girlfriends. Improving how I look on the outside really helps me feel better, whether I am recovering from a cold, having a woe-is-me moment, or even suffering from a raging hangover. 😉

This past year, being the primary caretaker of two kids — and thus often being afflicted with fatigue, frustration, and weariness — I have found myself putting on makeup more often than not.

And I’ve gotten pretty good at doing it quickly and efficiently, the whole routine within just 3 minutes. What’s more, the products I use have been tested by yours truly to last the entire day, so this routine is ideal for anyone who’s short on time, lazy, or both, like me. 😛

First, the before-and-after shots, so you can see the difference:

Before I start slapping any makeup on my face, I cleanse with Shiseido Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam and moisturize with Philosophy Hope in a Jar. Just recently, I have also started to dab some Philosophy Total Matteness Mattifying Pore Eraser serum on my t-zone after moisturizing, and I love it! It’s been savior for my combination skin as the heat and humidity continues to rise. 🙂

(You will see that most of the products mentioned in this post were listed among my fav beauty products last year. And OOPS! I had forgotten to factor in the cleansing and moisturizing part of the routine in the total time — they would add another minute or two.) Continue reading »

I’m an Aunt!

My nephew Oliver was born last night. I can’t wait to meet him! 😀

I wanted to do something nice in honor of his birth, so I’ve updated my SIL’s blog header to include him:

A big congratulations to A&W! You guys have been waiting for this for so long and I know that you’ll make be fantastic parents!

Please hop on over to Anniegurumi.com and wish them congratulations!

Game of Brands: The Game of Thrones Houses as Modern Corporations

Stock photo website Shutterstock has followed the steps of other brilliant marketing campaigns that have used their products in advertisements to appeal to the geek crowd.

Taking advantage of today’s popularity of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice novels — as well as the Game of Thrones television show! — they have taken six of the Great Houses of Westeros, took into account their strengths and cultures, and transformed them into modern corporations with their own distinct brandings.

What’s more, they did this using stock photographs from its extensive database. 🙂

Take a look below — I’m especially loving Air Targaryen! (But then again, I may be biased because Daenerys is my favorite character from the series.)