Or this…

or even THIS.

Well now you can immortalize your beloved pet’s nose as a pendant, sterling silver keychain or even a belt buckle.  I like this as an example of Deity Complex™ because an animal’s nose is unique and special to them alone, kinda like a fingerprint.  For the besotted pet owner who has to be away from their little one while they work, or (god forbid) when they pass on to pet heaven, the loving owners will always have a solid keepsake.  It just won’t wake you up in the morning all wet and cold and slobbery.

A Japanese company with the ominous name of The Clone Factory will put your EXACT likeness onto a doll for you.  It seems they are using emerging 3D Printing technology to help people that want to become the kind of dolls they grew up playing with as a kid.

You can read the full story here and check out the blend of simple technology (digital SLR cameras) and this new form of printing that forms layers of ink, which harden in the plaster.

One of the reasons they wanted to wanted to offer this cloning service is “so that folks can preserve that special (some call it “unfortunate”) moment in life – getting married etc. They would clone the makeup, hairstyle and dress worn at the time too.”

The essence of the Deity Complex@ wave is all about IDENTITY STAMPING.  I think The Clone Factory may well be cornering the market with people who want more than just a pictures of themselves.

Now, we only reminisce as we watch shows like Mad Men, at a time when marriage held the kind of social status and accomplishment that it did in the past.

The NYTimes articles outline the many reasons this has come about, a few being: “Rising income inequality has divided American society, making college-educated people less likely to marry those without college degrees. Members of that educated group have struck a new path: they marry later and stay married. In contrast, women with only a high school diploma are increasingly opting not to marry the fathers of their children, whose fortunes have declined along with the country’s economic opportunities.”

As a side note, I’m sure we could bump the number substantially over the half way mark if we legalized marriage to every couple who loved each other… but that’s slightly off topic for this blog.

The Human Truth™ for Deity Complex™ is:  “It’s my world, my way.”  The societal pressures to follow conventional paths are weakening with each passing year.  Couples are no longer feeling the need for a “piece of paper” and singles are also finding fulfillment in their own way… whether it be a career or just the fact that they enjoy living by their own rules. Welcome to the New Normal.

But no, it’s games where the player has “god-like” powers over the virtual world of the game. From Dust, is the latest from Ubisoft in this genre.

“From Dust puts the player in a god-like perspective, with the goal of mastering the natural forces at play on a mysterious archipelago and protecting its inhabitants, using powerful tools that allow the player to manipulate sand, lava, water, and vegetation at will. The player can also fight off several natural disasters, and gains new powers doing so.”

What a great example of the Deity Complex™ wave! This is taking the Human Truth™ quite literally: “It’s my world, my way.”™ This wave sits in the ESTEEM level of Maslow’s Hierarchy for good reason.

The need to control and create order from chaos is something we can all relate to on varying levels of urgency. Gaming is an escapist kind of behavior to begin with, but my hunch is that the people who embrace this game will really enjoy feeling the power over a world in which they are The Big Boss.

“OMG I’m feeling so manic today!”

“That dudes ex is mega psychotic!”

“I’m majorly depressed- even chocolate doesn’t cheer me up”

“I’m so ADD today I can’t finish anything!”

And let’s not forget the now ubiquitous: “soooo retarded”

Anyway that little observation aside, let me show you the: OCD Chef Cutting Board.

Yes that’s the actual name. I’m sure the people who buy this, are just concerned about the uniform size of the ingredients they are preparing – rather than having real Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but as we know, these terms get trivialised these days.

Being more of a “Nigella Lawson –slap it all in with abandon” kind of cook, this wouldn’t ever be my kind of thing.  However, having been around home cooks who are actually very serious about precision, it’s definitely got a market.

It’s a great example of Deity Complex™ where the Human Truth™ is “My world, my way.”  Woe be tide anyone who get’s in my roommates way when she’s cooking:  “You’re actually not helping coz I like to do it this way! Not like that!!”  The essence of the wave is “Demonstrating the value of control” …I think we all know a few people who do that.

I’m a big fan of “having it my way”.  I love custom ordering as much as the wait staff and cooks must hate me.  That’s why I’m a big fan of buffets! I can have a little of this, a lot of that, a dash of this, a sprinkle of that.  My work mates can attest to the time and energy I spend creating the perfect buffet plate.

Even dining in a nice restaurant I’m always personally invested in what everyone else orders because I can’t wait for the moment when we all decide to taste each other’s meal!  Ok maybe I’m weird.

But that’s why this burger appeals to me so much…

Why spend agonising minutes deciding between two things?  If I can have a bit of both – AWESOME!  Oh and also the fact that they are Euro style burgers with au poivre, brie and curry toppings, YUM… who could possibly decide??

The Human Truth of Deity Complex™ is “My world, my way”™ and when it comes to food and I- never a truer phrase was spoken.

Life Calendar is a novel way to track how each day of your year went. Every day is represented by a emoticon.  You draw it in at the end of your day based on how it went: very good, good, regular, bad, very bad.

Deity Complex™ is about “identity stamping” and I thought this was an interesting way to reflect back on the the moods you have experienced through the year.

Ok, let me explain what’s going on. Pilot is a stationary company responsible for those things we used to use all the time… you know: pens?  Well in a clever merging of the “old” with the “new” they have come up with a way to turn your own handwriting into a font!

Check out how it’s done here:

Emails can be impersonal and uniform, I guess in some ways we stamp our personality with the content. Bringing back personal handwriting to emails is not just a novelty; it’s a deeply felt connection to our sense of individuality and the written word that, to a certain extent, has been lost.

Unfortunately we can’t save the program to our computers yet and have to go to www. PilotHandwriting.com to send emails (…but directing traffic to their site is also pretty smart too, right?)

What really draws me to this is it’s a new take on customization, something we focus in on in the Wave of Deity Complex™; the ability to personalize and select your own options, beyond the simple idea of “yes I want cheese on that.” Sure, not everyone is going to end up with what they want to happen, but the fact that you can have a hand in deciding the fate of a character is pretty interesting and fairly unexplored outside of the singing competition popularity contest of American Idol.

We’ve seen everything from the customizable soda machine to the paint by number dress, and I think this may rank up there in the top of unique ideas, granted there’s not much information out on the project. Because eventually, customization gets boring, when you can customize and personalize everything, nothing really feels compelling when people ask how you want it. But throw it into a mass audience all pushing for different outcomes, then maybe we’ve got a new champion. Think of it as crowd sourcing television, a concept that is being used in Japan right now for snack foods.

You gather the popular opinion, and build the product around it, instead of around what a creative team decides. However, if they’re planning this to be a weekly show, then the writing staff’s and production crew is going to have their work cut out for them. But then again, what the people want the people get.

Deity Complex™ is all about viewing “my world, my way” so this is a great example of how you can customize the huge amount of information that is coming at you.  We here at Culturewaves® know too well that managing your various news sources from Facebook, Twitter, product mentions, blogs and rss feeds can feel like drinking from a fire hose with a straw.  So when things like this come along we jump in and start trialing… so far I, personally, like it a lot.

Especially because you can get all meta with it: “you can even view how many Google users are using each of custom created sections, see section ratings, and sort by type, category, rating, or users.”

So if there is something you’re passionate about (hopefully your business right?) and you want to know the latest news in that field or category… check it out!