Archive for 'Technology'
Kyokasho.net: Relive your Childhood by Defacing Historical Figures
Posted on 25. Sep, 2008 by koichi.
I played around on this website for way too long. Thanks to Cscout, I came across the website kyokasho.net, which allows you to choose from several school subjects, and then doodle all over the pictures of historical figures. I remember those days. They weren’t all that long ago. I would ignore the teacher (maybe that’s why I became a Japanese Studies major?) and do all sorts of horrible things to my textbooks. One thing I remember doing was erasing numbers in my math books (those pen erasers were good for this) and rewrite the numbers in the same font so the poor sap who got my book the next year could be as confused as I was. When I wasn’t feeling like such a horrible person, I’d doodle on the faces of historical figures. This is exactly what this website allows you to do. Some folks get pretty ridiculously creative. It’s great. (more…)
Continue Reading
The Cuddliest Keitai You Ever Did See
Posted on 30. Aug, 2008 by Erin.
I’ve come out of my blogging hibernation to share the news about Japanese cellphone company Willcom’s newest creation, the Kuma (Bear) Phone. I’ve always loved Willcom’s cutesy designs, but they’ve taken it a step farther this time, embedding phone parts into an actual stuffed animal ↓
Yep, that inocuous-looking teddy bear actually functions as a stand-alone mobile phone. (more…)
Continue Reading
Stare-apy for the Socially Inept (+ Edits)
Posted on 06. Jun, 2008 by Erin.
As much as I want to be outrageously snarky in this post, I don’t think I can bring myself to do it. After all, social anxiety disorder is pretty serious stuff, especially in Japan, the birthplace of the hikikomori (引き籠もり or “pulling away”) phenomenon. In an attempt to help out those who are uncomfortable in social situations, Avex has introduced a DVD titled Miterudake (ミテルだけ) or “Just Looking”. The DVD is labeled as “interactive”, but there are really only two activities that users are expected to perform: (more…)
Continue Reading
Another Reason Not to Use Online Translators
Posted on 03. Jun, 2008 by Erin.
Responses to my online translator post were mixed. Some people agreed, while others got defensive*. Past differences of thought aside, I found something today that argues unequivocally in favor of my point. It seems that Kosuke Fukudome, a right fielder for the Chicago Cubs, has some well-meaning but very Japanese-illiterate fans. At a Cubs game earlier this year (April–I’m kind of late), fans brandished signs that they thought bore the Japanese equivalent to the Cub’s slogan: It’s Gonna Happen. Unfortunately (but oh-so-predictably), they didn’t.
Continue Reading
World’s Smallest Bowl of Ramen
Posted on 30. May, 2008 by Erin.
Having taken (and nearly failed) more chemistry courses than I would like to remember, I’m usually not particularly enthusiastic about molecular engineering. However, a recent news story caught my eye this morning. Apparently, Masayuki Nakao, a professor at Todai, has just debuted the smallest bowl of ramen known to man.
Continue Reading
Mixi.jp now hates foreigners. Requires a (Japanese) mobile email address to join.
Posted on 22. Apr, 2008 by koichi.
Wow Mixi, way to put a damper on things. About two months ago, I put up a tutorial on how to get started with Mixi so that you could use it to practice your Japanese. Now it seems like Mixi is pretty much off limits (for now) to foreigners without a Japanese cell phone email addresses. This theoretically means you have to be living in Japan, and own a cell phone if you want to be able to join Mixi now.
Here are the new rules:
- You have to confirm a Japanese cell phone email address (docomo, AU, softbank, etc).
- You also have to confirm a normal email address (hotmail, gmail, whatever).
If you don’t have both of these, you don’t get into Mixi, simple as that. I’ll still be happy to send folks invites, just know that you won’t be able to complete the registration process unless you have a Japanese cell phone. (more…)
Continue Reading
Japanese Online Translators: They Laugh at You
Posted on 18. Jan, 2008 by Erin.
Ladies and gentlemen, step right up! Today I am going share with you the secret to producing perfect Japanese emails, comments, and even blog entries all without a drop of effort on your part! Sounds to good to be true, you say? Well of course, that’s because it is.
Believe me when I say that I understand the inclination towards using online Japanese-English translators, but trust me, you’re much better off just doing your best on your own. Why? I’m glad you asked (if you didn’t, humor me, please). There are three main reasons: (more…)
Continue Reading
Use Mixi.jp to improve your Japanese (and make some friends, too!)
Posted on 09. Jan, 2008 by koichi.
Mixi.jp is Japan’s number one social networking site, much like America’s Myspace or Facebook. To get in, you have to be invited by someone who is already a member, which thankfully helps to make Mixi a lot less sketchy than Myspace (though I guess that doesn’t take much effort). I’ll be giving out invitations for people to join Mixi, but not yet! Just because you are American (or European), doesn’t mean you can get in, raise your profile flag and name the site as your own. Before you get an invitation to mixi, you have to learn Mixi’s culture. It is surprisingly different from Facebook, Myspace, or any other social networking site, and in order to be accepted into the community, you’ll have to know a few things before getting your digital feet wet.
What is different about Mixi?
- Everyone is Paranoid: The most important thing to know about Mixi is that nobody wants to be your friend. That is, the folks who use Mixi listened to their parents, and will often refuse to talk to strangers. I feel like this is quite different from Myspace, and even Facebook. When I first got Mixi, I joined a community (which you will learn about later) for everyone who went to the high school I went to in Japan. I thought I would add some people I didn’t know (but who went to the same school as me). I thought this was reasonable. I have a decent amount of “friends” on Facebook from high school or college that I’d never formally met, but still added because we shared a common educational experience. Although most people were nice about it and added me, I got a handful of people who refused my Mixi friend offer saying they didn’t know me personally, so I should stop pestering them, or something to that extent. I suppose the best way to learn is to make mistakes.
- Centered around Journal Writing: In a sense, Mixi is somewhat similar to Livejournal in that a lot of it is centered around journal writing. When you write a journal entry, all of your added friends see it on their front profile pages. Many of them read it and comment on it too. I know several people who are absolutely addicted to this feature and will get a little bit restless if they can’t read their Mixi journal articles on a regular basis.
- Communities are Big Big Big: Another big part of Mixi is their communities. Unlike Facebook groups, people are often active members. Communities don’t usually have silly names, and anything written in the community is relayed to your front page, which keeps you on top of things (as long as you don’t join too many big communities). Joining a communities might be a good way to make friends as well.
What you should know before joining Mixi:
- Everything is in Japanese: If you are just starting to learn Japanese, it won’t be easy stumbling around the controls and setting up a profile (not to mention meeting people and making friends). You should probably have a pretty good grasp on (more…)
Continue Reading
Tofugu’s Japan Week in Review 1: Fukuda, Elevators, & Mochi Death
Posted on 05. Jan, 2008 by koichi.
December 27, 2007 – January 4, 2008
Every week (i.e. whenever time allows), I’ll be doing a “Japan week in review.” These segments will cover smaller news articles from throughout the week that we don’t want to cover individually. Although these articles of news won’t necessarily be very important, they’ll surely be interesting instead. Included after the break is a video; before that, though, let’s go through the stories not covered in moving picture.
Army of Tiny Crustaceans is Destroying a Small Japanese Island: On a small island 1650 ft off the cost of Hiroshima, a whole bunch of tiny crustaceans are burrowing into the island, causing it to break apart into a billion little pieces. The island’s name is Hoboro, if you ever want to visit, though I’m not sure why you would, since it’s inhabited (except for our friends the “nanatsuba-kotsubumushi,” of course). Supposedly the increasing number of these shrimp/crab relatives was caused by increasing temperature of surrounding waters, which caused plankton blooms. These little guys love the stuff, so they reproduced like crazy. Since they make their homes by burrowing into rock, they are destroying the island one burrow at a time. Reports say that the island could disappear within the century if this keeps up. Wow! [source]
Japan Stops their Brutal “Research” of Whales: When Japan “researches” whales, they kill them in large numbers and feed them to their upper classes. “I say, Mr. Tanaka, I’m going to have to research some more of that ‘Whale Curry‘, it tastes smashing” (British Accent). Thankfully, due to international pressures, Japan has halted (for now) this nasty practice. We’ll see how long Japan can keep from eating that lovely whale cocaine. [source] (more…)
Continue Reading
“Mama Sucked out my Nose Mucus;” Child Protection Agency Works Overtime
Posted on 05. Dec, 2007 by koichi.
Apparently there’s this neat little product over in Japan that’s called “ママ鼻水トッテ,” which roughly translates to “Mama takes (sucks) my nose mucus.” Seriously, only the most dedicated mothers would be able to suck the runny snot out of their sick children. Then again, Japanese mothers are pretty dedicated. Anyways, let’s take a look at it:
The most important part is the top left. That baby’s never been happier!
Basically, what you do is you stick the soft end in the baby’s sloppy, gushing nose and put the other end in your mouth. Luckily there is an easy to clean bottle between you and your child’s snot factory, but what seems to be missing is the brown paper bag for when you have to throw up. Maybe that will appear in version two. If you’d like to see the product “live” on video, go ahead and read more: (more…)
Continue Reading
