Author: Justin

Promoting Decay

Article in question: “YouTube” Web site has Japan’s broadcasters in a tizzy

“Piracy of web contents, both in Japan and abroad, has been increasing recently,” an NHK spokesperson tells Shukan Asahi. “NHK devotes time to confirming these violations one by one, and requests their removal. Even if extra efforts are involved, we believe that it serves as a discreet means of preventing illegal use of program contents.”

Good luck with that, assholes. And stop coming around my house to beg for money to squander on this bullshit… Resistance is futile, biooootches!

“One of Japan’s top promoters of showbiz talent, Johnny’s Jimusho, the office of Johnny Kitagawa, said it is mulling legal action to make sure its performer’s rights are not infringed upon. A spokesman for the agency said it was determined to “root out” YouTube and similarly predatory web sites.”

Watch out, the Kinki Kids are coming to root your ass out! (only after Johnny’s done with them first, though)

“Once, TV would broadcast a segment and that was the end of it,” recalls a program director. “But now things have come to the point that anybody can watch things anytime and anywhere. This is creating a sense of alarm among the people on the production side and can be expected to impact on programming quality. To discourage lowbrow piracy, it might be better for us to try to improve, even slightly, the type of programs we air on a daily basis.”

Okay, that whole blurb is just a pile of shit, but here are my immediate thoughts:

  1. Fuck people on the production side. It’s called work for a reason.
  2. I fail to see how inspiring TV networks to improve is a bad thing.
  3. Isn’t this the same argument made against Sony when the first BETAMAX machines went to market? That one worked out real well for these idiots, too.

…………
[Note: I just headed over to Riding Sun and realized I’ve again unintentionally covered the same article after he has, which has happened a couple times recently. I swear it’s not intentional, GB. Besides, you earn the serious linkage, so I don’t imagine it bothers you too much… But writing the same comparison to the VCR issue of old is just plain spooky.]

Retirement Lawson

As if it wasn’t already official, convenience store chain Lawson has now sealed the fate for my beloved island as the Isle of Dentures (and Onions): Lawson opens 1st store tailored for elderly
I am so gonna get the first photos of the brown Lawson sign up on the net. w00t.
BTW, Awaji-shi is the new name for the area of the island north of Sumoto, including Tsuna-cho, Higashiura, Hokudan, and Iwaya.
UPDATE: Oh no, I’ve been scooped! So I imagine photos are online at some Japanese news site, as well. Oh well, I’m just gonna have to make up for it by taking really good photos, say of an elderly gang of ojisan squatting in the parking lot eating yakisoba UFOs and loudly lamenting how much they want to get their hair cut… I think I got a good tip as to the store’s location (interesting story: A coworker who took a week off to see the world cup noted that a Lawson near the airport bus terminal in Higashiura was shut down for about ten days for remodeling). Thanks to stu for the tip.

Ocean Odyssey

I have just watched possibly the best ocean documentary, ever.
That’s pretty much all I can say, because it just completely blew me away.
Well, on second thought, I guess I can quickly describe it as a two-part show (1 hour each) that traces the life and amazing journeys of a sperm whale. I should also add that this show features some of the best computer graphics I have ever seen in the sense that the models are just real enough – they aren’t too real so as to seem spooky ala the Uncanny Valley effect, but they were good enough in places to make me wonder if it was actual camera footage or not (if you do happen to see it, tell me if you think the arctic ROV footage was real, and if it was real, whether it was CG-enhanced or not).
The BBC produced it and you can read a bit about it here (the BBC has stupidly moved or removed the page for this show on their own site). I hope this is eventually shown in the states on the Discovery Channel, because it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. In short, I highly recommend you try and see it.
snapshot-ocean-odyssey.jpg
Fighters vs. Bombers (Orcas vs. Sperm Whales)

Sumoto River Barge

I took my camera to work last Thursday so I could snap some photos on the way home.

This is a construction barge that’s been scooping mud from the river bed in the city’s effort to deepen it, as an anti-flooding measure.

There was a huge school of mullet fingerlings under a bridge I crossed, where two branches of the river merge and the current runs strongest.

Another shot of the barge, and the adjacent “dump boat,” taken from the opposite bridge.
The high resolution shots are available here: 2006 Sumoto River

obvious conclusion

me: i need to delete this chat later
Taro: hahaha
why?
me: or my grandchildren will know what a disgusting old man their grandfather is when they go through my gmail account
Taro: How?
me: you can access all of your past chat sessions through gmail
look at the Chat item in the menu on the left
Taro: oh
but it was not me
it was not written by Taro.
me: holy shit, I am not me, either!
who the fuck is taro?
who the fuck are you?
Taro: I dont know
me: dont write depraved shit here!
Taro: maybe somebody just broke in this chat
me: hah
you’re a hacker!
Taro: bad people
me: i am innocent!
oh wait… i’m a hacker, too!
Taro: not me
me: i’m not me, you’re not you
THE WORLD DOESN’T EXIST!

“Push this button!” to be the new “Pull my finger!”

Engineering nerds in Tokyo are building the ultimate fart joke:

“IMAGINE being able to record a smell and play it back later, just as you can with sounds or images.”

Read the full article here.
I can see the tagline now: YESTERDAY’S SMELLS TODAY!
………
In all seriousness, though, I have recently been thinking of what I will miss the most when I leave Japan. Unsurprisingly, certain smells are scoring high on my list. A sample:

  1. The smell of the pine forest in Nara on a hot summer day
  2. Old tatami (not rotted, just properly cured)
  3. The smell of fear when you enter a classroom full of new English students
  4. The pinsuyaki stall at a village matsuri
  5. The heavenly scent of yakitori / yakiniku on an empty stomach
  6. The aromatic combination of natto, sesame oil, and diced shallots spread evenly across the quivering naked body of a geisha
  7. The stench of shit when you disembowel an uppity peasant with your +7 Flaming Wakizashi!

The full list is being drawn up in my mind and will appear sometime before departure.
(link found over at Collision Detection)

Hanasajiki


(click to open larger popup)
This is a photo I found from a couple months ago. It was taken at a flower park called hanasajiki that I try and visit a couple times every year. The funny thing is, these flowers weren’t even in the main part of the park, they were in a planter in front of the gift store!
Here’s a link to the full set from that day: 2006 Awaji Hanasajiki (Warning: Baby pics abound!)

Eternal Sunset

Yo, this shit is pretty dope:

Eternal Sunset endeavours to ensure you can enjoy the sunset live from any location, at any time. As the sunset moves westward, Eternal Sunset continuously tunes into different webcams, chasing the sunset around the globe. This service is currently provided through the use of 206 west-facing webcams across 42 countries.

They need more webcams, though. I’ve been watching the same shot of Tehran for five minutes – that’s four too long.
check it out here (click on the “more” link on that page for background info)