September 2007
40 posts
Amazon.co.jp's iPhone survey →
It’s not clear what they intend to do with the results, but Amazon.co.jp’s iPod touch page has a link to a page with some introductory demo videos of iPhone functionality and a survey that asks if you’ve heard of the iPhone, would buy one, own an iPod or a Mac, etc. Is Apple trying to assess their priorities for Japan by gauging interest in the iPhone here?
Bank offers "divorce loans" (Nikkei) →
Ogaki Kyoritsu bank is offering loans to cover legal expenses and alimony for those getting divorced…at 3.45% above the prime rate. Not sure whether to regard that as cheap or not.
Executions should happen without Minister's... →
Justice Minister Kunio Hatayama, perhaps feeling the stress of having to get the execution pipeline unblocked after his predecessor’s refusal to send anyone from Death Row to the gallows, is suggesting that the requirement for the minister to sign off on each execution should be discarded. “It would be wrong to say we need a conveyor belt [Ed: you just did], but if we could switch to...
Nippon TV sets up recording studio in Second Life... →
They’ll be using it to record a regular program called “Digital no konjou” (Digital Guts, or Digital Balls, if you like) in its entirety, with presenters and guests represented by avatars and no real-life studio used.
The high tide for CCTV? (Engadget) →
Here’s hoping that the UK example will prove to the world that camera surveillance doesn’t work, aside from the privacy implications. It’s a major factor (aside from tax and property prices) that makes me disinclined to live in the country any more.
Docomo shrooms →
Cellphone carrier NTT DoCoMo (looking for a little Superflat love, perhaps) has evolved a family of cartoon mushrooms used in its advertising into art, making them the subject of an exhibition in NY called “How to cook Docomodake?”. The answer, presumably, is that one Googles for shroom recipes; we’re clearly deep in the realm of psychedelia.
Worst film ever released →
The 1995 movie version of “Hana yori dango” is simply awful. Absurdly scripted, inexpensively shot, ineptly acted, clumsily directed and (unforgivably given the characters’ backgrounds) repetitively and tackily wardrobed. No wonder the video store only had it on VHS, which format should ensure its demise in reasonably short order.
Contextually... →
…the adjacency of the words “Chef” and “Dieter” here made me parse this all wrong.
Homer beats Julie: New Japan PM →
OR Morecambe beats the Mekon.
Gender proof
Post office employee: We can't let you make a withdrawal unless you have something that will prove your gender.
Customer (casts eyes downward, significantly): Well, I do have *something* right here, but, uh...
Cockroach-resistant sheet steel (Asahi) →
JFE have come up with a variety of sheet steel coated with a mix of resin and cockroach-deterring gunk that’s effective for ten years. What can one say but “please build everything in my house out of this stuff from now on”?
The sleeping cat mystery →
Ten reports of a pair of tabby cats, mother and kitten, sleeping on various shop signs throughout Tokyo. The signs are too high for a kitten to jump up to, and the cats remain soundly asleep despite the attention they generate. Drugged and put there by an owner (who no-one’s spotted yet)?
Konnyaku jelly deathtrap →
Konnyaku jelly is a Japanese culinary killer that’s right up there with mochi and badly-prepared fugu (probably). Packaging will now advise kids and elders not to eat it, and include first-aid instructions for clearing a throat of the goop.
Your failed business model is not my problem →
Revisiting an old fave (except that I had remembered it as “I am not responsible for your failed business model”).
Trent Reznor excoriates record labels →
Oldish link, but refreshing to hear a major label artist speak so clearly about the imminent demise of the traditional record company business model. Bonus round.
Bluetooth Mini Phone (Engadget) →
Having something to hold against your ear does eliminate the oh-lord-he’s-talking-to-himself reaction the usual Bluetooth clip-on can provoke, but…it also means you’ve got to hold something against your ear. What a dilemma.
BBC NEWS | Deadly attack on Baghdad morgue →
Several levels of irony, and of tragedy.
Shape-shifting robot face →
Hollywood must surely snap this one up before the year’s out. If they can just slim it down a bit.
Tornado (Nintendo DS) →
This appeals to me in a Katamari Damacy kinda way; a game in which you play a space cat controlling a hurricane to suck up buildings stolen from Earth by an evil building collector and return them home. Absolutely insane.
Sukenao Iida →
One exception to the rule that young entrepreneurial types are generally not attracted to politics in Japan — Sukenao Iida, a friend who ditched a decent job at Internet security outfit ISS to run for local government in Yokohama (successfully).
In Japan, Stagnation Wins Again - New York Times →
Joi Ito’s op-ed for the NYT. I found the Japanese vocab references a little jarring, but it does help to contextualize Japan’s attitude to ex-PM Abe.
3G iPhone in 1Q08? →
Steve’s protestations about 3G chip power consumption seem a bit feeble when you consider that Japanese manufacturers have 3G handsets out there with battery life equal or better than 2G, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s building in a safety margin to the hints of a 2H08 release for the 3G iPhone. What happens to the deals with the EDGE-only carriers when the iPhone goes 3G,...
Marronnier Gate Ginza restaurants →
“Marronnier”, so the dictionary says, means “chestnut tree” in Frence. How quaint. Bento.com gives a quick rundown on the restaurants in the new complex.
Holux M-1200, another keyring GPS →
MTX MT3318 chipset rather than Sirf Star III.
“Now is the time for Japan to have a strong leader, a reliable leader to lead the...”
– Aso, Fukuda address foreign press club | The Japan Times Online
Bluetooth keyring GPS (Engadget) →
Google Japan enables Calendar viewing from... →
…just viewing, for the moment. You can also get reminders sent to a cellphone address.
Apple iPod touch adds to Japan's katakana... →
