We’re loving this portrait piece of Zhang Ziyi by risqué fantasy artist Serge Birault. Has a certain je ne sais quoi.

Check out more of Serge’s work on his website

Technorati Tags: art, fantasy art, illustration, Serge Birault, Zhang Ziyi

CNNGo looks into the work of artist and photographer Remo Camerota who has taken lovely shots of Japan’s famed manhole and utility covers for his book Drainspotting.

‘Drainspotting’ in Japan: The lowest form of art

Technorati Tags: design, drain covers, Drainspotting, Japan, manhole covers, Remo Camerota

We’re loving these pieces of sculpture by designers Harumaki and Hirosher, who make them out of old pieces of skateboard decks. The multi-coloured laminates work beautifully and are on display in the Skate and Destroy exhibition in Tokyo.

More on the WhiteZine website

Via CraftZine

Technorati Tags: art, exhibition, Harumaki, Hirosher, Skate and Destroy, Tokyo

I always used to wonder how on earth traditional id stamps such as the chops used in China were not used by anyone other than its owner to sign. Barring keeping these chops in high security, there’s nothing to stop someone else just making a quick imprint to sign a document. However, this Hanko stamp design with anti-fraud mechanism goes some way to answering.

A two digit dial creates a series of marks around the printed name making it difficult to copy.

Granted, the code wouldn’t be too hard to crack, and I can’t understand how someone can easily spot a “forgery”, but the idea is a start.

More on BoingBoing

Technorati Tags: chop, gadgets, hanko stamp, stamp

Paper Ninja is a simple but nice looking iPhone game featuring ninjas you battle with the onscreen swipe movement.

More on the Real Inverse site, creators of the game

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPhone game, martial arts, ninja, Paper Ninja, Real Inverse

We’ll keep this short and sweet as we’re sure fans of Hello Kitty will be itching to click on through – Hello Kitty Online launches for the US and Europe…

HelloKittyOnline.com

Via Joystiq

Technorati Tags: gaming, Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty Online, online world

We know the force is strong in this one and now we know why. Darth Vader does tai chi…

Via Kuriositas.com

Technorati Tags: animation, Darth Vader, Darth Vader Tai Chi, entertainment, martial arts, Star Wars, Tai Chi

We like pizza but never knew the pizza in Korea is so good it makes the girls dance.

Via Urlesque

RED, a new book to be published on September 9 by Jonathan Cape, documents the passion, energy and fanaticism of the Cultural Revolution, as well as the destruction and confusion that it brought to the country.

The book features a collection of photographs, ephemera and paintings, sourced by art historian and curator Jiang Jiehong.

Read more on Creative Review

Technorati Tags: China, Cultural Revolution, culture, history, Jonathan Cape, Jiang Jiehong, RED

Japanese craft lovers can now dispense of that stack of magazines in the toilet and forget about bringing in their iPhones and iPads to keep them company. The origami toilet paper comes printed with instructions on making an origami crane so you can practise while you “wait”.

Origami Toilet Paper

Technorati Tags: crafts, Japanese, origami, origami toilet paper