Ananova reported on the increasing popularity of dog-washing machines in Tokyo supermarket areas that allows pet owners to save time and mess by washing their pets in a big colorful machine.
The article mentions that
It washes and blow dries dogs and cats for the equivalent of just £3.50 – a massive saving on the costs of pet stylists who charge more than £20 for a full wash and blow-dry.
This little dog doesn’t seem to be too upset about the whole procedure, but I have issues with this concept…there are some videos circulating that show other dogs reacting to the process with a mixture of panic and fear, and as a dog lover, that makes me think this might not be a great creation.
Sure, it’s easy and convenient to just stick your dog in a machine and get it washed, but I don’t like the idea if the dog ends up scared out of its mind. Maybe that’s just me, though.
Is this a good idea, or is it a bit cruel to stick your dog in a machine and potentially scare the poor thing?
He is also given some Gundam models as a token of gratitude for his visit, and looks pretty excited about it.
Of course, White won the Gold Medal for his ridiculously awesome half-pipe performance at the recent Vancouver Winter Olympics, so he is clearly riding high right now as an international super-celebrity.
A new product is hitting the market that is surely going to embarrass anyone who lies about their age.
The Toshibareru Mosukitosaundo (Mosquito), emits a super-high frequency sound similar to a mosquito’s buzz that can effectively determine how old someone is. You see, not everyone can hear this frequency, so if you can hear it that means you are within a certain age range.
I can see this being used by people on dates to figure out how old their date truly is, despite what she may or may not say out loud.
This article from CNet describes the product in more detail. It describes a potential situation in which,
Just in case your blind date fibs about her age, this little buzzer is intended to put that to the test. That said, the Age Prediction Machine is only able to gauge ages in ranges of Young to Teenagers, Early 20s, Barely 30s, 40 Years And Above. Just make sure it doesn’t get annoying enough to repel your date before you can get past your first meeting.
So if you’re someone who consistently lies about your age for whatever reason….you might want to watch out!
Here are a few little updates on the Japanese music world
It is sad to report that the band GaGaalinG are going to call it quits in July. The band claims it is because of musical differences between the members. They will play their last live gig at Takadanobaba Club Phase on July 17th.
In other “band member quitting the band” news, vocalist RETSU will be leaving the band MaitoreiA on April 23rd.The band has only been playing together for a year, but have decided that it will be best for the band’s future. The members thank all of their fans and will now be doing underground work as they search for a new vocalist. This is something I personally think is very sad, since these fellows are really good.
Also the band ZXST are to take a definite break. They will do so in April and all of the members thank all of their fans. They claim it will be the best for the band and the last live show they will play is being held at Nagoya Music Farm.
And now to something a bit happier! The duet HANGRY&ANGRY have released their European tour dates! They will be playing in Berlin, Helsinki, London and Paris between the 23rd and 29th of May. So go ahead and get tickets!
Now, this video is a big culture shock for me. I’m used to the Aflac life insurance commercials featuring the duck walking around and either getting hurt or confusing adults, all with Gilbert Gottfried’s annoying voice doing the talking…so to see the duck dancing on a table with a cat and singing some song at at wedding is QUITE different:
Still, it’s amusing nonetheless, even if it’s substantially different from the Aflac commercials I’m used to seeing stateside.
Yet another nod to Japan Probe for initially posting this commercial.
Eri Yoshida, an 18-year old woman from Japan, recently visited with Boston Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield at Spring Training. Yoshida, you see, is gaining notoriety for her pitching, which drew the attention of the Red Sox and Major League Baseball. This video from ESPN shows Yoshida showing Wakefield what she’s all about:
That’s pretty impressive. She has the same sort of wind-up as Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsusaka, who of course came from Japan and has become a very successful MLB pitcher for Boston.
I highly doubt Yoshika will make the Major Leagues, since she’s female and that has never happened before, but she is in the States right now to play in the independent Arizona Winter League, where more MLB officials and fans can at least get a chance to see.
Wakefield, himself a supremely successful knuckleballer, says he is impressed with what he saw with Yoshida’s pitching, and that she has nice control of the pitch, which is notoriously difficult to master, since it involves making the baseball not spin at all, rather it just floats up there to the batter, often causing confusion at the plate if thrown correctly.
I saw his story and had to share it, as it’s a cool story of a female athlete really making a splash in a male-centered sport. Yoshida is also very impressive, too.
I didn’t watch much of the Winter Olympics, but I would have if this was broadcast here in the USA. The Japanese network NHK had some fun in the studio with Domo-kun and the Olympic mascots….check out this video, which was posted by Japan Probe:
The combination of Domo, the cool wintry blue-themed set and the soothing music makes this a pretty fun segment….although anything can become instantly fun if Domo shows up.
I saw this and had to share it, it’s much too cute to pass up.
On February 28th two new members joined Unsraw, since their guitarist Rai decided to leave the band the 27th.
The new members are Madoka on guitar and Jin on the bass. Jin has been playing with them for months, but are now becoming an official member of the band.
At the moment there are no more information or photographs, but I will try to keep you posted.
Maybe this is a sign of the supposed decline in the success of the Japanese gaming industry, but this article posted by VGChartz.com seems to indicate that Japanese game programmers are more than a little upset about their treatment and paychecks. An excerpt from the article reads:
“Salary varies from individual to individual so it’s hard to say, but speaking about the industry as a whole you can definitely say ‘low enough to make people regret dedicating themselves to games.’ A precious few blessed with talent can earn a living wage. And an even more precious few who get lucky can make more than a living wage.”
Read the rest of the article and quotes about the issue here.
To many people the prospect of working with video games can sound like a dream job. Speaking from experience as someone who worked as a QA Games Tester for (company name omitted), it wasn’t all that great. And now that apparently the programming aspect of the business in Japan is less-than-ideal, I wonder if this will dissuade some people from going into that field….
…And now the former Yokozuna has returned home to Japan, where camera crews follow him around incessantly, not unlike those TMZ crews that stake out restaurants in order to catch a few seconds of Lindsay Lohan or one of the Twilight kids leaving dinner with their parents.
Here’s a voyeuristic video of Asashoryu at the airport after returning from his vacation to New York and Hawaii.
I’m not really sure why I decided to post this, but it’s somewhat entertaining to me to see how the Japanese media follows his every move around the globe. I guess that’s the case since he is such a larger-than-life (literally and figuratively) person, both in and out of the wrestling world.
Of course, he recently announced his retirement, amid various scandals and the fact that he was about to be fired anyway. Asashoryu has never been one to stay out of the public eye, that’s for sure.
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