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I don’t usually post pics of my dog, but these were just ridiculously cute.

We all know that there’s 10 million of us playing Blizzard’s MMORPG juggernaut. In MMOGChart’s latest report however, there appears to be a little growth spurt in the early part of this year.

This is surprising when we consider the fact that WoW is three years old. In the video and computer game business, three years is considered “old”, even for a game that is constantly updated. Other games would usually see a tapering off in terms of population growth at this stage. Not only is market-dominating WoW bucking the trend, it has actually enjoying a surge in its population!

Is this growth spike the result of anticipation for Wrath of the Lich King? Probably so, according to MMOGChart: “There appears to be a slight acceleration of growth a month or two before the release of an expansion, which then continues for approximately 3-6 months afterwards.” With the unprecedented size of WoW’s playerbase, we can probably expect the hype to be built up a lot sooner than “a month or two”.

The report has gone on to break down WoW’s existing 10 million subscribers by territory:

• North America: 2.5 million
• Europe: 2 million
• Asia: 5.5 million (primarily China)

Here’s a youtube video compiling Blizzard Seoul World Wide Invitational in 2007 as well as the midnight opening for World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade.

Did I say I love Warcraft 3?

Latest video of Lacey.  Please don’t report me to pet protection services, gg no re thx.

The themed lounges at the Google Zurich HQ are pretty awesome. A ton of money never hurts your ability to pull off fun things Link with more pictures HERE.

Lacking in Google funds, I did recently buy a vertical bookcase for my apartment (array bookcase from CB2). It’s turned out to be pretty cool — makes your books look like they’re floating in your living room.

It’s interesting that the latest trend for nightlife is to go DL. Reminiscent of prohibition era speakeasies, the coolest bars around the country are tucked away with no signage at all. NYC lounge PDT (Please Don’t Tell) is hidden in a hot dog shop and accessed through a phone booth. Other “secret” gotham bars include Death & Co and Tailor. Then there’s Winston’s, Green Door, Mesa, and Villa in LA. No signs, no promoters. Sometimes the only way to find them is finding the valet guy near the door

I went to Green Door this weekend for both dinner and party afterwards. Anyway, you definitely don’t go there for the food. And the service was very lacking. The waiters never came by and when I asked for a Mojito, they didn’t carry mint!?!? WTF. The party, however, was great — trendy crowd and great music. Here’s an article on Green Door HERE.

Never having had a dog in my life, it’s been slightly overwhelming.  Her 1.5 lbs definitely helps a lot though, lol.  Regardless, my 2nd bathroom has been retrofitted to be her playhouse.  Includes a Guitar Hero III box ramp for her to slide on and lots of boxes to climb and platform like Mario.  Hopefully, the obstacle course will be a “Brain Age” for dogs and make her smarter.  Here are some pics on her first day:

Since puppies grow so quickly, I’ve been snapping lots of pics of her.  Here’s the first day at home video of her. She’s so small compared to the Guitar Hero III box, haha.  Love it when I zoom out and she’s still sitting in my kitchen drawer, lol.

This piece is called ‘Geisha Yume’ by a really talented artist, Nanami Cowdroy. Some fantastic art on her SITE — it’s got areas of extreme complexity juxtaposed with spaces of clean simplicity.  I especially like the fact the art’s all black and white — popular for hanging prints anywhere at home.  That being said, it’s unbelievable that some of her prints aren’t sold out yet (just ordered Deepsea Sushi, yay!).

Here’s a good interview about her HERE. In any case, cool to have an artist from Oz representing

This morning I clicked on my World of Warcraft icon and was greeted with the impending download of the highly anticipated 2.4 patch, Fury of the Sunwell. The patch introduces us to Sunwell Isle, a brand new quest hub complete with new 5-man dungeons and a 25-man raid that gives players a chance to finally kick Kil’jaeden’s ass.

The glorious fount of arcane energy known as the Sunwell empowered the high elves for millennia, until the death knight Arthas laid siege to the elven kingdom and corrupted its sacred energies. Seeing no other alternative, a band of survivors led by Prince Kael’thas destroyed the ancient fount, and over time the surviving elves fell prey to a crippling magical withdrawal. Now, promising salvation for his people, Kael’thas has returned. Soon the Sunwell will shine once again, but whether the sacred fount will usher in deliverance or destruction remains to be seen.
This area includes:

• A new quest hub
• Magisters’ Terrace - a 5-player instance
• Sunwell Plateau - a 25-player instance
• New badge rewards

Yata!!! Just got the “Lacey” Audrey Kawasaki print! Sold out in less than 2 minutes ( * . * )

Note: Crap, I didn’t actually get it.  Thought I got it but the Paypal payment didn’t process in time.  WTF…

Sweet, the Frostmourne sword’s finally out. If you’re hardcore, you can try to bid for the first 99 swords (embedded with patented G2G microchip for authenticity). Click HERE.

Note: The first sword just sold in auction for $20,700 USD!

One of the more interesting online backup systems, DropBox. I like how their site has a video on how it’s used.

Not sure what to think about Passively Multiplayer Online Games. Guess we’ll see how they turn out. Here are some links: TerraNova and HERE.

Nucleus gallery is showcasing Blizzard art. Check it out HERE.

Apparently, Audrey Kawasaki’s latest limited PRINTS will be on sale this Sunday. Can’t wait!

I’ve been watching the iPhone SDK roadmap and it’s got lots of really great info. On a side note, Apple’s presentations are always so clean, modern, and polished. I was trying to see how they did the turntable effect; anyway, browsed in Keynote and found their style effect for it. Here are some cool icons that people have been creating for their iPhones.

Here are also some good places for finding cool icons. Besides Icon Factory, there’s also an icon creation tutorial by Jotlet.

The first thing I noticed is that the iPhone screen is 160ppi. I’m not sure I’ve ever worked with a medium in a ppi other than 72 (other than print, of course), so I’m hoping I did this ok. I first created an empty photoshop doc sized 480 x 320 at 160ppi. I took the image of the iPhone here and cropped the screen out maintaining 3×2 aspect ratio. I pasted the result into the psd and scaled it up to fit. The icons in the result wound up being roughly 58×58px @ 160ppi, not including drop shadow. I made the icons in this kit exactly the size of the ones in the scaled doc.

Found this old poem that Slim and Grace wrote.  Ah, the days of innocence

Very Manner
by grace kim and stephen lim

[17:14] slimborama: where he go
[17:14] slimborama: nobody know
[17:14] graskim: sad….
[17:14] slimborama: now our day go so slow
[17:14] graskim: oh, no
[17:14] slimborama: and i get sad and no more grow
[17:15] graskim: so so sad, so sad, fo sho
[17:15] slimborama: but if he come back i be like whoa
[17:15] graskim: and then you and i won’t cry no mo’
[17:16] slimborama: like all our ducks are in a row
[17:16] slimborama: that was a stretch, i know…
[17:17] graskim: its all good, not bad, slimbo
[17:18] graskim: all this, an ode to my missing beau
[17:20] slimborama: but if he come back then we no more flow
[17:22] graskim: aw, i’m so sad, i’m speechless, yo
[17:26] slimborama: he gone so long it’ll start to snow
[17:30] graskim: i hope he comes back before we get old
[18:04] slimborama: lest my heart ache like a slave to be sold
[18:04] graskim: and we’re left alone, alone in the cold
[18:05] slimborama: oh my knees get so weak i could fold
[18:06] graskim: so many stories and tales yet untold
[18:07] slimborama: but we must endure, press on, and be bold
[18:08] graskim: how can i, when i’ve nothing but memories to hold?
[18:09] slimborama: cause we’re here to comfort, care, and console…
[18:10] graskim: but life w/out keith, i’d rather be a troll
[18:11] slimborama: would drive me insane, i’d hide in a hole
[18:14] graskim: i’ll weep in ashes and even attempt to eat mold
[18:14] graskim: (eww)
[18:15] slimborama: completely consuming, by his absence controlled
[18:17] graskim: war, anger, joy all brought to a lull
[18:17] graskim: bc keith leonard lee joined the offline world
[18:20] slimborama: while into the abyss like babes we curled
[18:20] slimborama: he’s suddenly appeard, his magnificence unfurled
[18:21] slimborama: alas, into darkness, again we are hurled
[18:21] graskim: so cruel, so heartless, who i once thought a pearl
[18:21] slimborama:
[11.14.2002:17:27:05] *** keithlee0 signed on at Thu Nov 14 17:27:05 2002.
[11.14.2002:18:22:44] *** keithlee0 signed off at Thu Nov 14 18:22:44 2002.
[18:22] slimborama: it’s time to move on, i’m afraid, little girl…
[18:23] graskim: my self alone, when it used to be plural?
[18:26] slimborama: we’re the loniest peeps in the world
[18:35] graskim: hopeless and heartbroken, our sanity whirled
[18:48] slimborama: dejected, rejected, our emotions are twirled
[18:51] slimborama: no hero to hold
[18:51] slimborama: no savior extolled
[18:52] graskim: how can such a savior leave us to mold?
[18:53] slimborama: you ask me of prophecy which can’t be foretold
[18:55] slimborama: but perhaps with some food i could be cajoled
[18:55] slimborama:
[18:56] graskim: to such fleeting things, can your heart be so easily sold?!
[18:56] slimborama: yeah, that or liv tyler for me to behold
[18:57] graskim: you forsake platinum and settle for gold
[18:58] slimborama: i’m po, pretty please pretty girl to me doled?
[19:02] graskim: oh i can’t think, such a void in my soul
[19:03] slimborama: oh mercy on me!! would his vice grip parole?
[19:10] slimborama: alas it’s to go home and leave this hellhole!!
[19:10] graskim: oh, i wish, i wish, here its so lonely and cold

Halo in Hong Kong. Who cares about fire hazards?

If you’re into incredible, unique art, definitely check out Audrey Kawasaki’s latest gallery, Mayoi Michi. For all the paintings, check it out HERE.

Still showing over in Santa Monica. Even better, there are 20 different galleries nearby.

Here’s a few exhibits:

The turnout for Tuesday’s AWAKENING show featuring the work of Hong Kong photographer JC is the most star-studded art opening I’ve been to. We’re talking big names in Hong Kong’s entertainment scene. Joey Yung, Isabella Leong, Sam Lee, Shawn Yue, J.C. (Jackie Chan’s son), 2R, Jackie Heung, Miriam Yeung, 24 Herbs, Josie Ho, Chapman To and many more filled the gallery early on in the night. Add to that crowd Hong Kong’s top models, fashion editors and art scene royalty and you have an idea of the type of respect there is for JC as both a photographer and a friend.

Tuesday evening I arrived at the show on the early side. The venue for the exhibition (which is open until January 4th,) is the second floor of Pacific House, a large open space just above 20 Queens Road in Central. To get there, walk around to the side of the building closest to A Bathing Ape. Take the escalator up to the second floor and take the first right. Guests at any of Diesel’s events at the same space would be surprised at how well the room served as a gallery, rather than a party venue. The large open area was neatly sub-divided by lines of prints hanging throughout the space.

And of course here’s a quick NYE in HK:

Of course, Pixelmator is a layer-based image editor. You can quickly create layers from your photos, other pictures, from selections or even your iSight. Yes, Pixelmator can add a layer to your composition directly from your Mac’s little camera. Not only can you link and arrange added layers, but Pixelmator allows you to blend layers, change their opacity, create clipping masks or even add layer masks to hide some portions of layer.

Here’s a youtube video compiling Blizzard Seoul World Wide Invitational in 2007 as well as the midnight opening for World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade.

Did I say I love Warcraft 3?