kobe

NBA Jam is an updated and faithful recreation of probably the most popular standup arcade basketball game of all time. For those who never went through several dollars in quarters at the local arcade playing this fun classic many years ago, NBA Jam is not your standard five-on-five simulation you see on consoles. This game is all about two-vs.-two high-flying dunk basketball, where just about every play is worthy of a highlight reel.

The control system for NBA Jam on offense includes a directional pad on the lower left part of the screen, and pass, shoot, and speed boost … Read more

Playing in the NBA is a high-pressure, neurotic experience.

You are so tall that the public glares at you even when you're not on the court. This apparently means you must get the appropriate amount of sleep--not too much, not too little--in order to perform your best.

It seems that three members of the Los Angeles Lakers relied on their iPhone alarms on Sunday to wake them at the perfect moment. And their iPhones let them down so badly that the Lakers then let their fans down by performing like sleepwalking oddities against the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to ESPN.com, … Read more

Activision is launching "Call of Duty: Black Ops" November 9. So it needs everyone to get very worked up about the idea of a new way to shoot the living daylights out of those who occasionally enjoy the sight of living daylight.

And when I say "everyone," I mean every concierge, every mystery meat salesman, every businesswoman, every Best Buy salesperson, every sportsman, and every comedian. Well, they're everymen too, you know.

So please rejoice in the sight of Kobe Bryant (reportedly a deeply committed "Call of Duty" player) appearing as if he'… Read more

I cannot predict (though I can dream it) Kobe Bryant being sunk by Los Suns de Phoenix in the NBA playoffs. Can the alleged Superman Dwight Howard defeat those hardy assailants from Boston? My heart says probably not. My brain says absolutely, positively no way in this lifetime or any other.

But these are mere emotions. They fail us. And the more our emotions fail us, the more money the left-brainers make. (Look at Google, having invaded our laptops, now marching its armies toward our TVs.)

Yet what is lovely about some left-brainers, especially mathematicians beyond Wall Street, is that … Read more

Workers in Japan have built a 60-foot statue of famous cartoon robot Gigantor in the city of Kobe. The statue is an actual-size replica of the hulking robot depicted in numerous manga and anime. It's known as Tetsujin 28 in Japan.

Towering over Kobe's Wakamatsu Park, the statue weighs 50 tons and cost some 135 million yen ($1.5 million) to build. It took about six weeks to erect.

The body parts were made earlier this summer. Here's a neat video showing manufacturing at a factory in Kishiwada City, Osaka.

Gigantor follows the construction of another 60-foot robot statue in Japan. An incredibly detailed, life-size replica of the fictional Gundam robot was built in a park in Tokyo in June, and it could shoot light from its body.

Designed as a permanent tourist attraction, the Gigantor monument was organized under the NPO Kobe Tetsujin Project to honor the work of the late cartoonist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, a Kobe native and the genius behind such manga classics as Sally the Witch and Giant Robo.

Gigantor is also a symbol of the rebirth of Kobe after it was devastated by the 1995 earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people. January 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the tragedy. … Read more

Wakamatsu Park in Kobe, Japan, will soon play host to the latest member of a robot army. A life-size Tetsujin (aka Gigantor) robot, 60 feet tall and weighing nearly 50 tons, will be on permanent display starting in October. Tetsujin joins a life-size Gundam, built in Odaiba.

According to the AnimeNewsNetwork, "The Kobe Tetsujin Project's statue is intended as a symbol of the city's revival after the 1995 Kobe earthquake. It is being built in Nagata Ward, the city's hardest hit neighborhood which has since been rebuilt and revitalized. The statue also celebrates the life of one of Kobe's most well-known native sons, as Yokoyama not only created the Tetsujin 28 manga and anime, but also Giant Robo and Sally the Witch." … Read more

We at Crave enjoy a good steak as much as anyone, but just the sight of this thing is enough to clog the arteries of the most dedicated carnivore. No ordinary iPod case, it's made to resemble Japan's famed Kobe beef.

It figures that this was made by SolidAlliance, the company that has brought us gems ranging from a disco ball mouse to a UFO-detecting strap. We've got to hand it to their detailed eye: Even the packaging resembles a real slab of beef, complete with a Styrofoam-looking tray and weight label with bar code.

And we … Read more