Day: January 26, 2005

Mamederumon, the Magic Bean of Japan!!

Boingboing points out a BBC story on a magical new product from Japan. The BBC article doesn’t say the half of it. Here’s a full translation of the original product site.
Note that the name Mamederumon is made up, but translated literally means, ‘thing which sprouts from a bean’

Mamederumon
The bean with a message in it is being born!

The egg of Mamederumon!
From an egg a plant is born!
Exciting and thrilling!
The introduction of the egg!

Simply water the egg, and after a few hours have passes the shell will split by itself.

A bean with a message inscribed on it will sprout from the egg.

Then if you just take care of it, something good may happen.

Plans to go on sale from late February for ¥798 (¥760 with tax).

Magic beans

The story of Mamederumon
Once upon a time there was a land called ‘Mamederumon.’ In this land there dwelt a peculiar hen. The eggs laid by the hen of Mamederumon were rather large, and from within would sprout a large bean. On this bean a message was inscribed, and if cherished and cared it would grow rapidly in size, and the person who raised it would likewise be filled with vigorous energy.

Be careful what you wish for: F*cked Gaijin Down for Exceeded Bandwidth

The forum for “FGs” or those non-Japanese in Japan who feel like they don’t quite fit in, has been down for the past 24 hours or so, giving the following error message:

Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.
Apache/1.3.33 Server at www.fuckedgaijin.com Port 80

Now, in theory, this is the problem I wish we had. But, as Simonworld so sagely points out, the more popular a site gets, the more costly it is to maintain (especially a forum site like theirs). Maintaining a large and growing audience may in fact only be possible if you are taking in a good chunk of revenue from the site. Otherwise it’s a drain on both your time and your wallet.

As for the FG site itself, I have some mixed feelings. I was actually gearing up to write a scathing review of the site that blamed it for a) reinforcing negative stereotypes about Japan and b) showcasing the main posters’ insecurities and bad attitudes. Nevertheless, it was a good source of insider info about Japan from a different perspective, and it had some good features (Random Gaijin Pic of the Day being chief among them). I think we’ll all be watching to see what develops.

Man Stabs Co-Worker Upon Being Scolded for Bad Behavior

From ZAKZAK:

Police in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, arrested a man (24) in flagrante delicto for attempted murder on suspicion that he stabbed a co-worker (38) after an argument at an izakaya (Japanese drinking spot). The co-worker later died at the hospital, so the police are changing the charge to murder.

According to investigators, an argument arose at the izakaya at around 10:30PM Jan. 18th when the co-worker told the man, “Recently, your behavior’s been bad.” The man then stabbed his co-worker in the left flank on a nearby roadway with a butterfly knife he’d been carrying (9cm blade).

Witnesses say the man called the ambulance for his co-worker after the stabbing.

My Comment: This is just one more case that makes me question why Japanese companies force so much socialization on their employees. I wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with my co-workers here in America. I don’t know if I’d be able to stand going out drinking with the same people who I see in the office every day.

Enormous Subway Stick?

I just got the following email from the study abroad office at my University. Please post suggestions for a response in the comments section. Let’s see who can get the best combination of goofy and believable.

Hey Roy,

Sara from study abroad…hope you’re doing well. hate to take up your
time, and i’m not sure how “for real” this question is, but it’s my job to
get them all forwarded to you guys who are better equipped to answer these
questions than I am! Umm, feel free to just give him a silly answer if
you want! Thanks!

Sara ******

email: Matt****l@hotmail.com
subject: Ask the Expert
firstName: Matt
lastName: ******
message: Is it true that in Japan in the subway stations there is a man
who pushes people into the cars with an enormous stick?