§Aaron Renier has a spiffy new website, with much charming art like the attached. [Link via Brett Warnock.]
§Comi-Press alerts us to Prospero’s Manga, a new website that reviews manga volumes from a knowledgeable but level-headed perspective.
§Borders is opening some new stores in Malaysia and giving the people what they want:
“Its aim is to make books a lifestyle product among Malaysians by creating a relaxed and cozy atmosphere that will encourage Malaysians to indulge in reading,” said Yong.
Meanwhile, Yong said the Borders customer loyalty programme that was launched in the US early this year may be introduced in Malaysia soon.
“While we study this option, we will continue with our on-going promotions and zoom in on particular trends such as the ‘Manga’ and ‘Graphic World’ titles which are very popular,” she added.
§ ANN tells us about a Maid Cafe taht has been opened in…CANADA!:
A japanese style maid-cafe has opened in Scarborough Ontario. iMaid Café was launched by Aaron Wang, a 24-year-old student of Economics at York University.
Like any maid cafe, iMaid Café features waitresses cosplaying as maid, and treating their clientèle “as if they were in their own home.” However iMaid Café caters to a majority Chinese clientèle, so rather than using the tradional “Master” by which waitresses generally address their patrons at Japanese mad cafe’s, the waitresses at iMaid Café address their clientèle with “Shang-di,” a traditional Chinese appellation. Litterally, “Shang-di” means “god” however it doesn’t infer that the clientèle are gods, but rather that they are receiving service fit for a god.
§Dear Colleen links to this exciting story that suggests that night owls are more creative.
“Being in a situation which diverges from conventional habit — nocturnal types often experience this situation — may encourage the development of a non-conventional spirit and of the ability to find alternative and original solutions,” lead author Marina Giampietro and colleague G.M. Cavallera wrote in a study to be published in the February 2007 issue of Personality and Individual Differences.
This comes as a great comfort, since we normally type this in an hour with but a single digit, and a trip to the radiator just confirmed that the heat has been off for quite some time. Very creative indeed.
“One could reasonably envision a link between the personality trait of extraversion and the finding of creativity,” Van Dongen said.
The rest was fascinating, and I’d love to read the research on the actual study itself, but that one left me scratching my head.