This Japanese site has some remarkable panoramic images of the region's passenger trains. Dozens of photos have been stitched together to produce a single image spanning the length of the train. This one, in particular, is quite cool.

Amazon.com have a peculiar product in stock: Barbie and Ken as Arwen and Aragorn. Though their plasticised faces and miniature weapons are more little creepy, it's good to see the standard husband/wife archetypes developing into, uh, warrior/elf maiden imagery. Progress? I wonder how much Mattel paid for the rights...

Still on The Lord of the Rings theme, one enterprising individual is selling t-shirts satirising many an iPod owner's strange attachment to their overpriced portable music devices. With the recent announcement of the iPod Mini (and the accompanying frenzy of rumours, name-calling, and drooling), there may be some truth in this shirt's message.

This next news item is rather strange. An Olympia, United States man returned from a trip to find himself the victim of an inventive practical joke. His house-minder used 4000 square feet of aluminium foil to encase every object inside the house - even the toilet paper:

The prankster, known for his 'large-scale strangeness,' considers the act 'a psychology project,' and is unphased by his friend's threats of revenge. Bizarre, truly bizarre.