Death By Sword

Yasushi Nagao was the first non-American photographer to win the Pulitzer with this photograph snapped in Tokyo capturing the moment before seventeen-year-old Yamaguchi Otoya killed Socialist Party leader Asanuma Inajiro with a foot-long sword. Afterwards, while in detention, Yamaguchi wrote "Seven lives for my country. Ten thousand years for His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor!" on the wall and then hung himself. More background in this brief TIME Magazine article about the incident.

Nagao passed away a few months back on May 2, 2009.

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Japanese Building x Highway

Part of the the Hanshin expressway in Osaka, Japan runs through an office building. I wonder if space is an issue in Japan. <--That was sarcasm.

Japanese Bug Fights

The first rule of Japanese Insect Fight Club is, you do not talk about fight club. The second rule of insect fight club is, you do not talk about fight club. Third, if someone says stop, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Four, two insects to a fight...TO THE DEATH. This ain't for the squimish, the children, or the sociopath.

Sprinting and Eating on Japanese Game Show

Contestants on this funny segment in this Japanese game show must sprint as fast as they can while grabbing food items from each checkpoint. Never knew legs could turn so fast. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXksVhtZr8&fmt=18]

Winged Bike Clips

Uhm, I might have blogged these before, but whatever. Designed by Gijs Bakker these winged clips to prevent your pants from getting caught in the bike chain are cool enough to warrant a double post.

$18 here.

Crappy Bicycle Parts to Awesome Table

Courtesy of Brooklyn's 3rd Ward, a creative salon, which teaches a fun sounding course called How to Make Crappy Stuff Awesome, Popular Mechanics converts some crappy bicycle parts into a seriously neat coffee table.

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Power Assist Japanese Bicycles

Japanese bicycle company Shukuno Rintendo has a line of crazy and funky power assisted bicycles named "Jokee, Fire Trick Bob, Aqua Trick Bob, and Electric Bob."

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Velocouture: Bicycle Fashion

YMMV with some of the photos, but Velocouture is a Flickr pool of well dressed bicyclists, as well as some people wearing outfits that match their two-wheeled rides. As Kottke noted New York Times street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham also jumped on the velocouture trend as well.

How to Uglify Your Bike

MAKE Magazine demonstrates how to take your gleaming new Bianchi Milano and camouflage it to deter thieves.

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Bicycle Parkour

This video montage of Danny MacAskill doing some expert level bicycling circulated around the Internet a few months back, but if you haven't seen it yet, check it out. He makes that wheelie you popped in the playground look woefully inadequate. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o&fmt=18]

Alaskan Fat Tire Bikes

Alaskan Greg Matyas builds these custom fat tire bicycles for those that want to ride in the snow.

Relatedly, there's also fat tire beer.

Weekend Update

Off to Canada. BRB.

Wireframe Lamborghini Countach

Benedict Radcliffe's wireframe model of my childhood dream car, a Lamborghini Countach created from 10mm welded steel tubes blows my mind.

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Leather Paper Grocery Bag

Ramon Middelkoop's "paper" bag cleverly made from actually leather.

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Quote

Awards are so pointless and stupid until you get one, and then it’s awesome.

- Louis C.K.

Andrew Zuckerman, Wisdom

For his new book "Wisdom," Andrew Zuckerman photographed and posed seven questions to 50 accomplished individuals all over 65 years of age.

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Custom Chanel Motorcycle

This custom designed motorcycle was spotted at a Chanel photo shoot in Paris recently.

Bike Typeface

Typeface created from bicycle parts.

Cargo Bike

This bicycle is a beast. That rear bucket can hold up to 40 gallons. Nick: This is the bike you needed when you had to truck that propane tank to your Brooklyn apartment!

Wooden Tandem Bike

I just came across this item, which is ancient by Internet standards, but this wooden tandem bike made by Jens Eichler is awesome...in theory. Not sure I'd ever be caught riding it.