I always assumed messing around with your product's barcode for marketing purposes was, like, a violation of the Geneva Convention or something. Like if you tried to turn your packaging's boring rectangular barcode into a zebra, or whatever, you'd start to get late-night phone calls from Brussels: "Nice supply chain you have there. Be a shame if something were to, you know, happen to it." Turns out nobody really cares, so long as it scans, and there's now a Japanese firm that specializes in barcode funification (although it seems like any competent graphic designer could probably do it just as well). [via Neatorama]

Lisp (or LISP) is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older.

It's like a pop-up book, kind of, except way more complicated and expensive and made of Lego elements by YouTube user talapz. Words fail me, too. [via The Brothers Brick]

A newly posted work from Japanese kinetic sculptor Osamu Kanda, whose elegant praying mantis automaton I blogged two weeks ago. This one is called Crawl. [via The Automata / Automaton Blog]

To produce a naturally blue rose has been a dream of horticulturalists for almost as long as people have been breeding flowers. It turns out to be essentially impossible to do by traditional plant husbandry, and attempts have proved futile for so long that the blue rose itself has become a symbol of the impossible or the seemingly impossible, and only the rarest achievements call for their presentation as gifts. And until recently, even those rare occasions had to be served by artificially blue roses made by growing white roses in tinted water. Now, however, the Japanese company Suntory, in partnership with Australia's Florigene, have created a transgenic rose which incorporates a petunia gene to achieve a pale lilac color which is really only barely blue. It took them 13 years of work to do it, however, so I guess they've decided pale lilac is close enough.

Japanese toymaker Osamu Kanda made this elegant machine. His YouTube channel has oodles of wooden mechanical goodies.

Kumiki puzzles, as they're known, have been manufactured in the Ashigarashimo district of central Japan since the late 19th century, but the traditional fastenerless joinery techniques from which their intricate designs are derived are truly ancient. Kumiki puzzles are commonly representative, prototypically taking the form of traditional Japanese buildings, but more often, today, of animals or vehicles. Abstract kumiki are only slightly less common, the so-called "Great Pagoda," a commonly known type of octahedral burr puzzle, being a prime example.

The top photo is taken from this Japanese site. A wide selection of kumiki are available in the US through Cleverwood.

While not the oddest fetish in Japan by a long way, there are some who travel the length of Japan enticed by the prospect of a compellingly designed manhole. But while even the most ardent manhole cover buffs come up against the problem of too many manholes, not enough time, they now have a powerful ally: a new community Web site called Ittemia Zensen, started in August this year and featuring pictures of manhole covers from various regions of Japan and details on their locations.

Contributors can add photos of manhole covers directly from their mobile phones, along with global positioning system (GPS) data to mark its location on the map. While the site features pictures primarily of manhole covers from the Kanto region, those from other regions are also available, and many manhole covers feature locals sights and scenes, such as lanterns from the Kanto Festival in Akita; "gassho-zukuri" (thatched gable roof) farmhouses of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture, and scenes from the port city of Kobe.

You don't have to be thirsty for a small cup of tea to see the appeal in this kit. Making the karakuri gives you a chance to experience what it was like for innovators and dreamers before the flood of modern technology, to see the trouble they went to as they carved their "code" into pieces wood, metal and other materials instead of uploading it onto microcontrollers like many makers do now. The karakuri is, by definition, a robot, but it is a robot that uses no electricity, and instead of using code as its instructions, it uses a series of mechanical processes to react to its physical environment.

View the Gakken Karakuri Tea Serving Robot in the Maker Shed.

Major League Models creates the world's finest "made-to-order" replicas of your favorite ballparks. Our incredible scale sizes yield museum-grade showpieces that consistently turn heads and bring favorite memories to the foreground. Ballparks begin with meticulous research utilizing blueprints, photos, and drawings. Ballparks are hand-crafted by renowned ballpark artist Steve Wolf with contributions from specialty artists to yield a unique three-dimensional art treasure. Over 1,800 hours of artistry are required to produce a single, one-of-a-kind gem.

In covering DIY technology from Japan, there have been quite a few kits and projects that have come along that would be of interest to makers outside of Japan, but are either not available for overseas ordering, or are available but may be subject to high shipping costs and long waits. Luckily, one very consistent source of excitement in the world of DIY kits and resources in Japan is Gakken, the publishers of magazine Otona no Kagaku (Sophisticated Science for Adults), and in addition to their magazine that includes a new DIY kit with each issue, they also produce a wonderful line of stand-alone kits. Lucky for residents of the US, the Maker Shed is proud to be the exclusive US distributor of Gakken's line of Sophisticated Science Kits for Adults, as well as their Mechanical Animals Series, thus saving you, the maker, from exorbitant overseas shipping rates and unbearable overseas shipping wait times. Gakken's kits provide the perfect mix of DIY, science, and history as they entertain as well as educate.

Below is an extended list of the Gakken kits that we have in the Maker Shed with descriptions of each item. You may have seen some of these items such as the hack-loving SX-150 Analog Synthesizer and the Mini-Theremin on the Make Blog before, but this list also includes some of the lesser-known gems like the Gravity Clock, the Stereo Pinhole Camera, and the New Edison-style Phonograph. Check 'em out:

The Make: Tokyo meetings, although in their early stages, are quickly becoming one of the premiere arenas for makers in Japan to display their creations. Because there are relatively few other arenas for makers to display their work in a large, interactive setting, it will no doubt continue to be an attraction for creative people in Japan and beyond.

The event was kicked off with an opening speech by sci-fi novelist H. Nojiri on the future of DIY. Throughout the day there were a total of 18 presentations at ~20 minutes each, as well as full-on workshops on Arduino, electronics for crafters (using Craft's Fashioning Technology book), and LED Throwies, as well as many other mini-workshops conducted at the maker booths. MTM 02 also featured a Making Things Talk publication panel discussion by Shigeru Kobayashi, A. Kubota, and Takumi Funada. This panel coincided with the very recent publication of the Japanese translation of Making Things Talk. Appropriately, the event showcased a lot of work by students from site hosts Tama Art University, IAMAS, etc. who utilized physical computing technology such as Arduino and Gainer in their projects.

This Make Meeting also saw the presence of more craft-related makers.

"Don't sit on me!"

The Teslasizer (Tesla Coil + Synthesizer), made by high school student Hidehito Kikuchi.

This researcher connected a bunch of electrodes to his face to stimulate his nerves and tendons causing him to become a human puppet for the duration of this video. Although we don't conduone this type of thing here at Make, it's still pretty amusing to watch.

via Suicide Bots

Here's a video featuring four particularly awesome things from the meeting:
・Make: hat
・Air canon
・iPhone radio-controlled model car
・Homemade tank

Click through to see more!

These Dia de los Muertos-style tote bags with blinking skull eyes were shown at the latest Make: Japan event, the Make: Tokyo Meeting 02 held at Tama Art University. 8tote (or "Mitsubachi Tote" in Japanese) made these tote bags using the LilyPad Arduino with great success. They describe the experience quite adorably on their blog:

We made our bags controlled with LilyPad Arduino (kawaii microcontroller board designed for wearables and e-textiles), we were enjoying to succeed blinking our products.

Check out a video:

More stuff from Make: Tokyo Meeting 02 coming soon, stay tuned for more fun!

A couple of weeks ago we checked out the rooms No.17 fair, just opposite of our office in Yoyogi Stadium, and were happy to discover tons of great fashion items. Have a look at the plastic gem we found! Plaring by the Clunky Design quartet from Shibuya, is a do-it-yourself plastic ring kit. It’s playful, much like futuristic anime accessories and, above all, is so Japanese! (And you can get a kit from us here!) Today, PingMag pieced one together with Plaring’s director Kenta Ochiai and creative director Hironori Sato.

The art of wine - manga style via Robot Wisdom.

Kami No Shizuku – or The Drops Of God – has been wildly popular with manga fans since its creation in 2004, and is considered a bible for ordinary wine-lovers scared by stuffy wine magazines.

Sales have topped a million copies in South Korea alone, with sales of wine shooting up by 30 per cent in response.

The ten-volume series sees two brothers given the challenge of locating 12 legendary wines when their father, a wine critic, dies suddenly.

Printed mostly in black and white and drawn to look like an ancient Japanese woodblock print, the secret of its success lies in the brilliant, sensual – and ever more outrageous – wine descriptions. 'Just like a classic rock concert!' says one brother after taking a sip of a 2001 Mont-Pérat.

'Like walking in a quiet forest being followed by two butterflies,' exclaims the other brother.