The new high-class hamburger offered by Mos Food Service (MosBurger), the “Takumi 10”. Using safely-raised eggs and domestic bacon, it also comes with a Japanese-style sauce. The odd high price is “the result of emphasizing quality and disregarding commercial concerns.”[Jiji Tsushin]
Comment: I might split this with someone. But 1000 yen for a damn burger?! Forget it.
From the always lovable SUNSPO:
Tampa, FL (Tashiro Manabu and Ami Shunsuke reporting) — Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui (30) took his first full day of rest during this year’s Spring Training on Mar. 23. Matsui has been at his best in the exhibition games, but the secret to his success can be found in the sweet voice of pop singer Rod Stewart (60). It’s been his favorite recently, saying that it’s really great to listen to while training (?!). (Photo: “Godzilla” Matsui takes a ride in his car to get refreshed on his full day off)
“Godzilla” smiles as he does his situps. Even away from the field he cannot take a break from his training routine. With a 333 batting average, 5 hits and 15 RBIs in the exhibition games, the outfielder is at his best. But why Rod Stewart?
“I hadn’t really listened to him before, but the singing and the music are very easy on the ears. It’s great for training, so I love putting it on.”
As Matsui trained the sweet strains of Stewart’s unique voice could be heard on the stereo speakers. When he came to America, “The Great American Songbook Vol. 3” (A cover album of American standards including Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”) was among the CDs he brought with him. He bought it because it had a comfortable sound that he might have heard somewhere before.
He likes it enough that he’s considering getting the previous two volumes, and he listens to it every time he trains at home. The tag team of Rod Stewart and Godzilla will shoot for the stars this season, so watch out!
My Comment: That last sentence conjures up images that I wish I could Photoshop. Who knew Matsui had such lame taste in music? God this guy is hideous:
Danwei reports that Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series is finally being published in Chinese, and in honor of this the Beijing News has put out a special science fiction issue. In addition to articles on Chinese language SF, they have also managed to get an interview with the man himself, (English translationthe first he has given since passing away in 1992.
Isaac Asimov passed away on 6 April 1992, so to be able to conduct this interview we must thank a scientist named Vikkor Mallansohn – according to Asimov’s novel [The End of Eternity] he invents something in the 24th century that makes a “time kettle” possible.
Among the highlights of the interview is this exchange on the much discussed Al Qaeda connection. It’s worth noting here that (according, again, to Danwei), both ‘Al Qaeda’ and ‘Foundation’ are translated the same in Chinese (基地)
TBN: What a terrible reader. Reportedly there are people who have examined Bin Laden’s choice to name his terrorist organization “Foundation” (Al Qaeda) and have concluded that it is perhaps because of your influence, that he was a science fiction fan in his youth. What is interesting about this is that you wrote the Foundation under upon the instigation of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and many scholars today believe that the United States is a New Roman Empire.
Asimov: I don’t know whether Bin Laden really understands English. “Foundation” (Al Qaeda) does resemble a group exiled from civilization, but they are at a lower level rather than a higher one. The US is unquestionably the most powerful country today, but I have a hard time determining whether it is in a process of decline akin to that in Foundation. This is perhaps the mystique of history; we can learn lessons and gain inspiration from similar historical situations. But I must point out that the “Empire” in my novels is not a country, but rather a description of a stage in the progression of the people of Earth. You can see that personal names are of all different types, not merely American.
The Ansible website has a good (if somewhat tongue in cheek)article on this theorized connection.
The small but alarming coincidence is that this is Asimov’s “Foundation” series (Seldon’s outfit is called the Foundation), allegedly popular among Arabic-speaking SF readers under its translated name Al Qaeda. Usually rendered into English as The Base, this also means The Foundation.
So, was Osama bin Laden inspired by Asimov’s fiction to establish his Al-Qaeda in an impoverished country, there to await and assist the fall of the West, issuing portentous videotapes the while?
Interestingly, while the Al-Qaeda/Foundation link is still a matter of controversy, it is generally accepted that the Foundation trilogy was in fact an inspiration for Shoko Asahara, the founder of the Aum cult responsible for the Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks several years ago.
More on this later when I have time to do some checking.
Via ZAKZAK:
Hiroshima Prefectural Police announced Mar 18 that their Bosozoku/Youth Crimes Division, which was responsible for controlling the activities of “Bosozoku” or Japanese youth biker gangs, would merge with the Youth Development Division on April 1 to become the new Youth Crimes Division. Most of the gangs have disbanded, creating less of a need to monitor them.
Since installing the Counter-Bosozoku Office in 1994, a Division with the word “Bosozoku” in it will disappear from the Prefectural Police after 11 years.
Bosozoku clashed with riot police in 1999’s Ebisu Matsuri (festival). Since then, a movement to eliminate the Bosozoku came into being, with a Bosozoku Banishment Ordinance and other measures. At the end of last year, membership in Bosozoku had decreased to under one third its peak number (in 1999), 119 people.
My Comment: I knew that Bosozoku were out of style, but at this rate maybe they’ll disappear entirely within a few years.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on March 18 that they will be providing 200 Judo uniforms to the Iraqi Judo Federation. Their stated purpose is:
to promote friendship with Iraqi people and to deepen their understanding about Japan and also strengthen their hope toward the future through Judo, which is one of the national sports of Japan that place importance on the spiritual side.
This is in addition to the $91,000 of judo and soccer (football for you non-Americans) equipment that they donated to Iraq just short of one year ago.
Apparently judo has a sizable presence in Iraq, with over 25,000 members in their national judo federation, and it seems that the sport is taken quite seriously there. According to this article on one Iraqi Olympic athlete (in another sport):
Iraq’s judo champion, who will carry the national flag at the opening ceremony, and his coach were once incarcerated in Uday’s private dungeons after performing below expectations.)
The BBC reports that:
A chewing gum which the makers say can help enhance the size, shape and tone of the breasts has proved to be a big hit in Japan.
B2Up says its Bust-Up gum, when chewed three or four times a day, can also help improve circulation, reduce stress and fight ageing.
UPDATE: LOOK LIKE IT WONT COME OUT IN THE US UNTIL APRIL 2006 OR SO. RATS!
One of my favorite video games that was released semi-recently is Kingdom Hearts. It’s a Square-developed role-playing game based on the Disney universe. You play as a younger version of the typical Final Fantasy-type hero and team up with Donald and Goofy to save Mickey from The Darkness. That’s why I wait with eager anticipation for the American release of Kingdom Hearts II. Fanning the hype is gamesindustry.biz with its interview with producer Shinji Hashimoto:
Kingdom Hearts II
What are the major changes we can expect to see in the new Kingdom Hearts game?
One of the big changes you’ll see when you play the game is to the camera – we’ve changed how that works. Also, the levels now have more events in them, with mini-games and so on. We’re basically keeping the same concept and everything, but the changes are to the system of the game – we’ve made a massive block of changes that you will see.
After the success of the first game, do you think Disney trust you more with their characters and worlds now in the second game?
We definitely feel a new sense of trust from the Disney side. Based on that trust, we can make new developments – the kind of drastic changes, new discoveries and surprises that we couldn’t before. So yes, look out for that!
Kingdom Hearts 2 looks like it is a lot darker and more adventurous with its story and characters than the first game – is it aimed at a slightly older audience?
We’re still keeping a sort of balance, so that younger audiences can enjoy it as well. Certainly, at the top end, you’ll see some serious scenes and so on – but that’s not the main part. So, for example, even if the player is really young and doesn’t understand the serious parts, they can still enjoy it – we’ve kept that sort of playful element in the game.
There’s some cross-over with how Disney approaches things [to make their films appeal to all ages], of course, but we make the details quite different. We add more mysteries and so on, which appeal more to an older audience, maybe.
Can’t wait!
I recently set up Google News Alerts, a wonderful service that e-mails you search results from Google News whenever they show up. My first big payoff is this story, going beyond the mat documenting the 1976 “boxer versus wrestler” match between Muhammad Ali and my favorite Japanese wrestler, Antonio Inoki. It’s a great read (excerpt quoted below):
“Now Herbert [Muhammad, Ali’s manager] came to me and he said these Japanese people have come to him with all kinds of money to go over and fight this wrestler, Inoki, in Japan,” says Bob Arum, who promoted the exhibition. While Arum has promoted some of the biggest fights in boxing history, he has also promoted other extravaganzas, most notably Evel Knievel’s attempt to jump the Snake Canyon in a rocket car.
Ali’s handlers began putting the fight together in April of 1975, when Ali met Ichiro Yada, the then-president of the Japan Amateur Wrestling Association, at a party in the United States. Ali asked Yada, “Isn’t there any Oriental fighter to challenge me? I’ll give him one million dollars if he wins.” Ali was probably joking but Yada brought his comment back to the Japanese press. When Inoki read Ali’s words, he relentlessly pursued a match, finally getting him to sign a deal in March of 1976.
The money was without a doubt great: $6 million for Ali, $4 million for Inoki. And the bout seemed like it would be nothing more than fun, entertaining fare. As Arum put it, “Professional wrestlers are performers. The thing is a fraud.”
However, Inoki had not planned to put on a show. To him and his manager, it was a serious fight between a boxer and a wrestler. According to Pacheco, “Ali’s fight in Tokyo was basically a Bob Arum thought up scam that was going to be ‘ha-ha, ho-ho. We’re going to go over there. It’s going to be orchestrated. It’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s just a joke.’ And when we got over there, we found out no one was laughing.”
Continue reading Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki: Beyond The Mat
This blog has a great rant about how much “Pan-Asian” restaurants suck. In trying to cover the whole damn continent they get it all wrong and water it down way too much to please the yuppies. In DC the big crap-fest is Raku, but there are some Thai fusion-type restaurants that fit the description as well. But Mr. O-Dub can tell it better than I can (link via The Melting Blog):
Memo to All “Pan-Asian” or “Asian Fusion” or “Asian-Infused” Restaurants:
First of all, just admit it: “Pan-Asian” is your way of charging exorbitant prices and exploiting naive white people who don’t feel comfortable venturing into a restaurant run by actual Asian immigrants.
Second, stop skimping on the flavor and spices. Are you interpreting the Greek prefix “Pan” in “Pan-Asian” to mean “not even remotely”? I’m talking to you, Zao Noodle, king of bland.
Third, if you’re going to co-opt Asian food, stick to the cuisine of one country. You can’t offer watered-down versions of pad thai, adobo, sashimi, and bi bim bop on your menu. You’re destroying the ongoing struggle of Asian Americans to convince everybody else that we’re not all the same.
A commenter on the quite interesting /. discussion thread on this issue posted a link to this comic on an Israeli portal site.
The guy on the dragon is saying (Very loosely translated) “I won’t go anywhere but Golani”, which is an elite unit.
And for the Slashdot crowd, the artist (Miki Mottes) was once the Sysop of a major Israeli BBS.
