Kabuki Shojo

Everything about Japan is a condensed version of what happens in other cultures. Tokyo is a city of cities, equal parts Manhattan, Las Vegas, Paris and Hong Kong. The country villages are like a bullion of provincial charm. And as for Japanese pop culture, it too operates on a much more intense, insular level than its counterparts in the West. Take the music scene in Japan in the 1990's, for instance. It was a sort of artistic renaissance in every sense of the word. Not only was there a boom in the number of unique artists in the recording studios of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Sapporo, there was also a refreshingly international flavor to the clear influences of the artists. For the first time in the history of pop music, Japanese artists made a splash beyond their own borders.

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To really understand Japanese culture, Americans are going to have to remember what it was like to be five years old again. I don't mean to imply that Japanese pop is immature, or at least any more so than American pop. No, I'm referring to that child-like ability to embrace things in an entirely unguarded way. American pop culture is so dependent on irony that it's impossible to make stateside pop that isn't even a little bit self-aware, or even self-conscious. Underneath our bubblegum and whimsy is a drive to be taken seriously, to be hard and stoic. Such is not the case with Japanese pop culture. It's a culture without doubt and unnecessary humility. As such, it can produce a nearly endless supply of candy-colored sap without so much as one batted eyelash.

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Poke

This right here is my WTF moment of the day. Ueno Zoo, a cozy little animal sanctuary in Tokyo, recently performed an animal escape drill. These drills, which are held regularly, has some guy dress up in an animal suit and run amok. Folks will then try capturing it whilst making sure injured parties are taken care of.

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Oooh human so soft!
I spent a considerable amount of time this weekend finishing up Resident Evil 5 which might explain my reaction to this story – what is that woman hugging something from the Demon Seed movie?

After my initial 'arrrgh', I realized that the robot actually makes sense. Sort of. The robot in question is a 4 feet 3 inch model which is basically a giant android baby. A gargantuan scary one at that. Named Diego-san, this invention will help its creators understand how babies learn various skills. The focus is on how little ones pick up behavioral aspects like gestures and expressions.

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