May 2009

  • Creepy Japanese Wedding Bra

    By sparklyscotty on 5/29/09 10:46am
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    The Japanese are well known for many things, and their love of gadgets and wacky fashion sense come close to the top of the list. 

    This new wedding countdown bra reeks of cynicism, and stone age values and is surely more likely to send a prospective husband run screaming for the hills than stopping the clock by proposing.

     

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  • Japanese Toilet Paper

    By becksta on 5/27/09 3:05pm
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    "Drop""Drop"How did the Japanese end up with a horror story on toilet paper? I believe to answer this,  certain facts that have to be considered.

    Fact #1: Japan is about ten times more interesting than the United States and for reasons unknown, more interesting than much of Asia.

    Fact #2: The Japanese seem to be overly-fascinated with life in the toilet. (As evidence to this, I would like to submit various ingenious toilet devices and applications all available in Japan)

    Fact #3: People like to read in the bathroom. (For evidence regarding this, I would like to submit my own bathroom reading material as evidence, which contains but is not limited to the following reading material: Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey, two Uncle John's bathroom humor books, and the occasional novel.)

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  • Seriously, what's with the cabbage field?

    By akgoemans on 5/27/09 8:26am
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    Here's an interesting story that I read today - a Tokyo fashion student wins a Triumph lingerie competition for her cabbage inspired underwear. I wasn't entirely sure if she used actual cabbages or if it was simply creatively designed cabbage print. You know, weird green tints with vein-like bits, possibly with a few caterpillar trails.

    To be fair, this article did point out that she based her actual designs on cabbage colors and its outer look rather than mimicking its rough texture. Then again, Japan is well-known for its innovative designs and fashion and thus, you could never be sure. On the other hand, all and I mean all these other websites repeating one another with the same story didn't help clarify matters. I know the little guys are more into marketing the real news so I expected major news outlets to be in the know. And perhaps have a few pictures of the event.  

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  • Sad story about Okunoshima

    By akgoemans on 5/25/09 5:33am
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    When I first read about this, it seemed like a story straight out of Lost - strange facilities on a secret island, underhanded activities that affected the lives of those involved and of course, all those rabbits. Well, perhaps I am stretching it a bit, but that was my initial impression. What I am referring to is the creepy history of Okuno Island.

    Okuno Island is a tiny island located in Takehara which is one of the cities located in Hiroshima Prefecture. Incidentally, I must note that some articles refer to this island as Okunoshima while others refer to it as Okunojima. The latter might be a completely different island altogether but the poison gas reference in both cases made me think otherwise.

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  • Dai-Nipponjin

    By akgoemans on 5/20/09 9:32am
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    Two more months and it will finally be here! What am I going on about? That weird Japanese comedy called Big Man Japan (Dai-Nipponjin). Released in its home country in 2007, it's taken its own sweet time getting to foreign shores.  I mean the DVD of course. The movie might have been shown at various film festivals but I was quite unaware of this movie until a few months ago. Well, the DVD should be out on July 28th 2009 and it is definitely something to watch out for.

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  • Shinjuku Ni-Chome

    By akgoemans on 5/18/09 8:22am
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    NIi-ChomeNIi-Chome

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Photo Source: Payton Chung via Flickr

     

    I came across the name 2-chome in Antique Bakery, a funny little anime about four guys and a bakery. Actually what grabbed my attention was the reference to a possible world record. Apparently, this area just might be the largest group of attractions aimed at gay culture, at least in Asia. This was surprising as, somehow, I had assumed Bangkok would win that title. Well, I did find out some interesting details about this area.

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  • Funny Japanese Street Signs

    By akgoemans on 5/8/09 10:07am
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    Spoken language can be complicated with each one having its own weird word structures and feminine/masculine nouns. Now add visual media in the form of street signs and the like. You'd think that images make it easier to understand a message, that it is the best medium to overcome a language barrier. Well, maybe not, judging from this group of funny pictures.

     

    I saw the sign


    Head BangingHead Banging

    Photo Source: Gruntzooki via Flickr

    In theory, this one should be pretty self-explanatory. Low-hanging signs will give you a nasty headache. I must admit, I was a bit confused about this picture; for the life of me, I could not figure out why anyone riding the escalator would experience a face-plant with a flying dustbin. With weird little springs at the back too.

     

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  • Japanese Food

    By akgoemans on 5/5/09 7:36am
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    I've heard of Black Pudding (from UK), Kraut and Sausage (from Germany) and Oliebollen (from Netherlands) but I don't know much about Japanese food. Oh sure, there's sushi ... but then everyone knows sushi is a Japanese delicacy. And the food list stops right there. So I embarked on a quest to seek out and oogle at some Japanese cuisine. And ended up a very hungry reader.

    Oyako Donburi


     

     

     

     

     

    Photo Source: Jetalone via Flickr

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