Luminiferous Aether

I love seeing these familiar, yet alien, artifacts on my travels...

I really like this one from "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones":

"Soyen Shaku, the first Zen teacher to come to America, said: "My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes." He made the following rules which he practiced every day of his life.

In the morning before dressing, light incense and meditate.

Retire at a regular hour. Partake of food at regular intervals. Eat with moderation and never to the point of satisfaction.

Receive a guest with the same attitude you have when alone. When alone, maintain the same attitude you have in receiving guests.

Watch what you say, and whatever you say, practice it.

When an opportunity comes do not let it pass by, yet always think twice before acting.

Do not regret the past. Look to the future.

Have the fearless attitude of a hero and the loving heart of a child.

Upon retiring, sleep as if you had entered your last sleep. Upon awakening, leave your bed behind you instantly as if you had cast away a pair of old shoes."

(thanks, Blake!)

Dear friends, if you'd like to get a sneak peek at our latest game -- and would be willing to help us beta test, read on!

Boogie Monster is a mashup of a virtual pet and a music game, where you raise and play with your own little beast. Music soothes his savage soul, so play with your monster via music minigame and dress your monster up with a variety of funny accessories. Don't be afraid of the Boogie Monster!

Note that for the next 30 days we are limited to iPhone UDIDs that have already been entered into our system, so if you have given us your UDID already you are eligible for this beta. Otherwise, a Monstrous crew member will be happy to show you the game in person on one of our devices. : )

Either way, please send a message to beta-request@monstro.us -- including your preferred email address -- so I can either send you an invite to iBetaTest.com or arrange an in-person visit.

Thanks a lot!

Here are a few photos I took while touring the factory in Shenzhen, China on Tuesday. These are the people who build the Guitar Hero controllers, In The Groove dance pads, DJ Hero controllers, and Tony Hawk skateboard controllers -- among other projects of course. This is the new factory under construction, with facilities to support 5,000 workers. Pictures below show some of the CNC tooling machines and high-pressure injection modeling machines. In our meeting, it is clear that these guys have a lot of energy and creativity to put into the design of some truly cutting-edge peripherals.

Neat stuff!