Thursday, May 31, 2007

*Sigh* The Prettiest in the Universe


Hello all.

Now, is it just me, or do you cringe through the yearly Miss {insert country}/Miss Universe pageants? As another year has passed (and much too quickly I'd say), I find the Japanese news bombarded with this important, drop everything news. In 2006, Miss Japan was second place (but still a victory, they say) for Miss Universe. This year, oh my gosh she's first! What a victory! And while important matters like Japan's whale-killing for eats seem to be a major issue for other countries at the moment, Japan has turned their complete attention to Ms. Riyo Mori.

If you actually devote the time to watching the Miss Universe pageant, it honestly feels like a bit of a letdown. As most of the results are pre-decided it actually doesn't really feel much like a contest. And there are a plethora of hotties to choose from. I think that Riyo Mori, while pretty and fantastically tall, couldn't compare to the voluptuousness and sex appeal of some of the other candidates.

Well, maybe this will blow over in a week or so....but judging from the milking of Miss Kurara Chibana of 2006's Miss Universe Pageant, I think I'll be seeing Riyo Mori's face for a very very long time.

Sites for the interested:
Wikipedia's in depth look at the 2007 Miss Universe Pageant
Miss Riyo Mori's personal blog (includes English language posts)

posted by Fudocom - Celina @ 9:59 PM 2 Comments

 

Monday, May 28, 2007

Die Furby Die


Sorry I'm late! Thought today I would take a break and share with you a personal experience.

Most of you know this toy, made and manufactured in America and translated and shipped to many countries worldwide. For those of you who don't Furby is a "smart toy" that can talk (that's debatable), dance, laugh, play and feel when you lift or tickle him. In the land of the cute, Furby caught on big-time with children and adults alike. It was about two years ago that the Furby2 was released. Caught up in the kafuffle, I too purchased one of these mechanical monsters. My first thought when opening the box: Is it cute or is it ugly? Perhaps it's one of those things that are so ugly that they are cute like poodles and newborn babies (ha, I kid).
Anyway, my relationship with Furby didn't last long. I remember our last conversation well. I've taken the liberty to loosely translate it for you.

Me: Faabii? - Japanified "Furby"
Furby: Nani? - Yes?
Me: What should I say from this list? (while holding Furby's little booklet manual)
Furby: Wakannai - Speak Japanese, woman!
Me: Faabii? - Furby?
Furby: Ew - or something that sounded very similar
Me: Huh? (while scanning the list of Furby language words and their translations)
Furby: .........
Me: Oh you speak your own language.....
Furby: Hehehe
Me: Faabii? - Furby?
Furby: Hm?
Me: Odotte - Dance my little ugly bird-like creature
Furby: Yada! - No, just to tick you off.
Me: Faabii? - Furby?
Furby: Ew - Yes dear?
Me: Hanashite. - Say something!
Furby: sdoijfidefjoiwjdfodifkjefjdspfjkwkodwf - It might as well have been as he used so much Furby language it was impossible for me to keep up.
Me: Faabii? - Furby?
Furby: Hm?
Me: Oyasumi. - Go to sleep, please go to sleep!
Furby: Boku wa nemukunai! - Not on your life, sister.
Me: Faabii? - Furby?
Furby: Nani? - Yeeeees?
Me: Oyasumi. - Sleep or die, plain and simple.
Furby: Yada! - Never!

And that was the end of that. He was turned off manually by the switch on his butt and placed in solitary confinement in his own cupboard. The reason I bring him up today was that I had a rather scary encounter. When he went in that cupboard his eyes were closed. I've seen enough of those Chuckie movies. Yesterday I found him, as he was, turned off and ready, but his eyes were wide OPEN! Needless to say, he's going out with the burnable trash. Down with Furby! That's what I get for jumping on the Japanese cuteness bandwagon.

posted by Fudocom - Rei @ 2:57 PM 0 Comments

 

Friday, May 25, 2007

Expensive Commodities


Would you pay almost $2000 for three mushrooms?
Japan Times recently reported a story of the rare mushroom called "samatsutake" being offered for sale in packages of 3 for 189,000 yen in Osaka. Well, to me a shroom is a shroom but you'd think a mushroom like this would need to be framed and in a casing of diamonds and gold to be worth the price. What would one do with 3 over-priced mushrooms? I'm guessing it won't be a topping on their pizza.

It reminded me of my first experiences in the supermarket here. Before I got really aquainted with my area I used to frequent a rather expensive but nice-looking supermarket. Featuring fruit baskets for $100 each, and the $100+ square watermelons, fresh fruit wasn't on my menu often for my first year here. It made me wonder, who buys these overpriced commodities? My most expensive purchased single fruit item was a 3 4$ apples that I thought would be perfect for a pie. I still regret it.

posted by Fudocom - Celina @ 6:31 PM 2 Comments

 

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Top 20 Hits - May 19/07

Hihi!! Here's the new Japan Top 20! I updated some of the video links of those who were on the last list but for whatever reason are no longer available. Please click on the pictures to listen/view the song/video.


20. Infinity16 ft. Shonan, Minmi, Moomin - Dream Lover


19. Nobodyknows+ - Hero's Come Back!!


18. BoA - Sweet Impact


17. Masaharu Fukuyama - Tokyo nimo attanda (It was also in Tokyo)


16. Takki & Tsubasa - Dame (Useless/Wrong) {updated link}


15. Ketsumeishi - Train


14. Seamo - Cry Baby


13. Ben Westbeech - Get Closer


12. Chemistry - Sora no Kiseki (Sky Miracle)


11. Orange Range - Ika (Squid) Summer


10. Kazumasa Oda - Daijoubu (It's ok)


9. Kirari Tsukishima ft. Koharu Kusumi (from Morning Musume) - Happy


8. Wentz Eiji - Awaking Emotion 8/5


7. Bjork - Earth Intruders


6. Mucc - Flight


5. Tachibana Keita - Friend


4. Kinki Kids - Brand New Song


3. Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend


2. Ne-Yo - Beacause of You


1. Arashi - We can make it!



And that's all 20!! Hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned in another two weeks for another update.

posted by Fudocom - Rei @ 7:37 PM 0 Comments

 

Thursday, May 17, 2007

A Strange Fetish


I recently discovered probably one of the weirdest fetishes I've heard about in a long time. While, yes, Japan is full of them, it's mainly from men. So it's extra rare to encounter a story like this one.

Tetsuko, combining the characters for "railroad" and "child" is the name associated with a group of growing girl fans who have a love of railways, namely, the shinkansen (bullet train). Not only is this a love, but many girls see a masculinity in their favorite train and may even go so far as to call it their boyfriend. Sound crazy? Companies of publications for the shinkansen and related railway content have been surprised by the sudden growth of female readers and fan mail. Some have even gone so far as to create female specific content in portions of their publications to appeal to their female readers. Hmm...female specific? Perhaps a novelette or a romantic/erotic story? Quite the challenge I would think.

A TV drama called Tokkyu Tanaka San-go (Express Tanaka No. 3) recently started on television featuring a romantic story between a Tetsuko and an ordinary Joe. He falls in love and of course she expands his railway horizons. Imagine the conversation:

Him: Would you like to go on a date with me?
Her: Sure meet me on the platform at 4:40 and we'll ride the 4:45 shinkansen. That's my favorite one.
Him: Um....why don't we try a restaurant...away from the train?
Her: We can stopover at Osaka and go to the station noodle shop. If we time it right we can catch the 9:32 train back. He's not my favorite but I haven't met him for some time. It would be nice to visit. Then maybe we can pick up the new issue of the Shinkansen Explorer to read on the train. It features the new 700 series train. Which series is your favorite? Personally 500 is my favorite. But oh....it will soon be all gone. That will be sad. Won't it be sad?
Him: *sigh*

And cut.

Yup, I could write a drama for sure.

Let's not forget Ms. Yuko Kimura, the self-made "railway idol". Buying her own railway uniform-like outfits, she showed up at events to promote her crazy...ahem...enthusiasm for her favorite trains. Apparently one of her latest stints was to spend 4 nights on the train. That's a long time to go without a bath in this heat.

Well to each her own I guess.

posted by Fudocom - Celina @ 11:52 AM 0 Comments

 

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Japanese Lingo for Dating

.
Recently I've had the chance to have a look at these popular bestsellers to foreigners coming to Japan. The idea behind these books are to teach foreigners dating lingo with choice phrases to meet, date, insult then dump or marry their Japanese target. Granted the first book was mildly better content-wise, I don't recommend either.
For those who understand Japanese, you understand that Japanese is a complex language of polite passiveness. Saying something like "Stop complaining!" or "You mean nothing to me." is incredibly harsh and just not said in such a direct manner. Even to someone you know well.
If in English you wanted to dump your girlfriend/boyfriend, isn't the "It's not you, it's me" excuse top on the list? How often do you tell them the real reason for kicking them to the curb?
I definitely appreciate that learning Japanese is quite tough. I even have my troubles (dang kanji). But please don't shortcut it. Once you understand the grammar, reading and using slang forms as illustrated in the above books will come very easily. Especially as you'll also most likely understand the context in which to use them.
Ganbatte (try your best) everbody!

posted by Fudocom - Rei @ 6:21 PM 0 Comments

 

Friday, May 11, 2007

Wet Wet Wet


Ah sorry I'm late everyone! I've only just gotten back and just had a moment to breathe!

Due to the tough time Rei's had recently she's been given a few days off. She's already sent in her blog entry for this week though so not to worry!!

I hope everyone's golden week went well whether you chose to go away or not. Those who did go away got to come back to the hot and muggy weather that is Tokyo's spring to summer transition time. As I once again join the swarms of rush-hour passengers on the train it occured to me to wonder just how Japanese people stay cool in this weather?

If you've ever been here and ever were in need of deodorant, you'll have found the small selection to be incredibly frustrating. Many of the deodorants come in spray form as pictured above and are nothing more than fragrance in a bottle that keep their smell for about an hour. The best choice are the roll on deodorants that can be harder to find but still can leave you smelly by the end of a long day.

Why would a country with such a humid climate lack smell proof protection? My thought is that it goes back to the Japanese idea that chemicals are harmful to the body. This idea means Japanese women don't have easy access to pills like birth control that can be more easily obtained overseas. It's also the reason that drugs aren't offered in most hospitals during pregnancy (can you believe it!!???!).

Regardless of the reasoning, the solution is fairly simple. When you go out of Japan, hoard hoard hoard!

posted by Fudocom - Celina @ 3:36 PM 0 Comments

 

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Top 20 Hits - May 5/07

Hihi!! Sorry for the wait! I had a family emergency that meant me taking a short break. But I'm back now! Here's the new Japan Top 20! It seems the list has changed drastically since last time. I updated some of the video links of those who were on the last list but for whatever reason are no longer available. Please click on the pictures to listen/view the song/video.


20. Fratellis - Flathead


19. Glay - Kodou (Beat)


18. Ryuichi Kawamura - Dare no tame demo naku kimi ni... {no video, sorry}


17. Ulfuls - Jyounetsu (Passion) A Go-go


16. Chatmonchy - Joshitachi ni ashita wa nai (There Is No Tomorrow In Women)


15. Hikaru Utada - Flavor of Life {updated link}


14. Beat Crusaders - Ghost


13. Infinity16 ft. Shonan, Minmi, Moomin - Dream Lover


12. Beyonce ft. Shakira - Beautiful Liar


11. Kobukuro - Tsubomi (Bud {of a flower})


10. Ben Westbeech - Get Closer


9. Ketsumeishi - Train


8. Seamo - Cry Baby


7. Sekijyani - Zukkoke Otokomichi


6. AAA - Get Chu! (play on words for Get You. Chu means kiss)


5. Masaharu Fukuyama - Tokyo nimo attanda (It was also in Tokyo)


4. Rag Fair - Natsu Kaze Dayori (A summer wind letter)


3. Spitz - Looking For


2. Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend


1. Takki & Tsubasa - Dame (Useless/Wrong)



And that's all 20!! Hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned in another two weeks for another update. Sorry once again to keep everyone waiting. Please also stay tuned for an update to the photo album. Will be more up to date from now on!

posted by Fudocom - Rei @ 5:06 PM 0 Comments