Ever want to write an open letter to someone you figured would never read it anyway, or would never respond if they did read it? McSweeney’s has a place for you to do just that.

Do you know what Sushi really means? You bunch of Sushis. Watch this if you really want to know what Japan’s all about. I mean you, Marvin. via Japundit.

Is it hypocritical of me to post this after complaining about Orlan? I think not. I found a neat toy online. I took my nice, recent passport photo… … and turned it into other mes… What’s the take-home message here? I am thinking I should never let anyone paint me or draw me (the most horrid, I think, is the “manga” version of me), that I’d made a handsome apeman, that I should be thankful I was not born Asian (it’s not a good look for me, according to this pic), and that when I’m old I’ll look like a …

Speaking of Jack Black (as I did in a very recent previous post), this video is messed up.

Look, new from Apple, something designed just for you! I know you’re drooling already, so go check it out! Via Marvin, Viva Marvin.

Ever wonder what the skeletal system of cartoon characters would look like? Ever wonder what would happen if you drank nothing but Pepsi Spice for 45 days? Okay, it’s a stupid project, but some of the videos are mildly amusing, anyway. The first time through, anyway. Ever muse about whether cockroach cybernetics is possible? Ever just want someone to like you? Ever want to know how they do screen-printing? All of this is courtesy of Blogacide. So if you like these, perhaps you ought to check out the site…

One poster on Danwei informs us that The Miss Artificial Beauty contest, aka Miss Plastic Surgery is over. The winner is Feng Qian (pictured), a 22-year-old girl from Jilin city in China’s Northeast. Asia can be, as I have said before, a very weird place. It can also be a frustrating, sad place, too. Here’s another article from Danwei about the effects of the Chinese Communist Party on humor in China. This article is well, well worth the read.

From boing-boing: The mayor of Bogota uses mimes for public behavior control. And it’s popular, and it seems to work.

This is absolutely brilliant. I wonder if anyone will ever come out with a Korean edition? They ought to.

Here are some interesting pages I ran across during a failed search for a picture of that Korean Liberation Day Cola: CorpWatch, a page that, well, watches corporations. An article about how new drink products are hurting the cola industry. It’s good news, if you ask me! An account by some guy who attended Liberation Day celebrations in North Korea. Apparently there is a book exchange on certain Sundays in Seoul: does anyone know if this is still in operation? The homepage of Santiago Colas, a professor living in Michigan; he has some poems and some essays on the Korean …