Vending Machines, No. 17

Click to enlarge.

Lake Placid News

I think I've mentioned here before that I suffer from the double curse of being both easily amused and quickly bored. I found the following headline amusing: Placid man visits Japan to study martial arts. I didn't make it past the second sentence of the actual story...

Below you can click to hear an actual song (in streaming audio!) that has a theme related to martial arts. Before clicking, though, why not make a guess in the comments? (Hint: it's a very well-known song. No cheating!)

Mystery Tune

I Got Nuthin' to Say (Right Now)...

Bettye LaVette-Take Me Like I Am

Nightclubbing

I'm in a bad mood, I can't concentrate, I feel tired. I'm eating too much, and putting on pounds. I'm avoiding social contact. I'm depressed. Yeah, I got dem ole winter blahs. Even living here in sunny Miyazaki for the past 10 years is not enough to stave of this annual bout of bleh. It's even worse here, actually. Back in the old country, where there was at least some comfort in the fact that the weather really was depressing, I used to while away the months of January and February with extended bouts of drinking. And, if I had to go outside, there were always long walks down the dark, frozen, lonely streets, hockey stick in hand, and a chance encounter with a smiling, cheerful face... Of course now that I'm a family man, those small, simple pleasures have been stolen away from me...

Imagine my delight, dear readers, when I chanced upon this item about a "therapeutic" robot baby seal, designed right here in Japan (by real Japanese researchers!). The "Paro" (as it's called) has been recognized as the "World's Most Therapeutic Robot" by the Guinness Book of World Records!

The 57-centimetre Paro, covered with soft artificial fur, behaves in cuddly fashion on being caressed.

It responds to people's actions and words in a range of ways depending on what action they take toward it, such as stroking and talking to it.

The 2.7 kilogram Paro moves its head and flippers, making sounds and mimicking the voice of a baby seal [...]

[...] it provides healing effects, such as reducing stress and depression levels.

Damn! A robot baby seal for reducing stress and depression! Japanese ingenuity never ceases to amaze! Although it's mildly mystifying why none of the test subjects for this wonderful little contraption were Canadian (possibly they're trying to create market anticipation?), readers possessing only a passing familiarity with Canada and its quaint customs will have no difficulty understanding what this could mean to me and untold millions of other Canadians. I'm ordering one today!

Now, where's my hockey stick...?

Iggy Pop-Nightclubbing

Green Lantern?

Click to enlarge.

Test

This is only a test, but if it works, you should be able to click the thingie below and enjoy "I Found That Essence Rare" by Gang of Four in streaming audio!



[DivShare doodad copped from Rob at Loose Logic.]

Gnarly, Dude

Click to enlarge.

Vending Machines, No. 16

A couple of vending machines on a car ferry. Click to enlarge.

Variations...

Click to enlarge.

Horror of the Ninja! (Part 2)

In case anyone thought I was kidding with the previous post:

Please pay here...

... for your dismemberment!

Horror of the Ninja!

A couple of weeks ago my family and I passed through Ureshino town in Saga prefecture. While we were there we visited a funky little "theme park" called Hizen Yume Kaido. It's basically a reproduction of Ureshino during the Edo period. And while it was interesting to walk down the streets and look at the buildings, the highlights for me were the "ninja shows" (I had the opportunity to actually throw some "ninja death stars"!) and the several "haunted house" attractions.

I took the photo below with my cell phone while walking through one of the haunted houses. I didn't think much of it at the time (I wasn't especially "scared"), but I today I uploaded my cell's memory card to my pc and this pic caught my eye. The almost-black-and-white-ness and the grainy quality (click to enlarge) really give it (to my eye) a creepy kind of look.

My Theme Song

Maybe it's a Canadian thing...

Why I love Tom Waits

I don't wanna grow up...

Why I Like Jim Jarmusch

I am so fucked...

Apologia

The thud of drums and
droning guitars, a soundtrack.
Waves crashing on cliffs.

Life without meaning,
death without meaning; abyss.
This has been my life.

To reconcile this
with a young girl's smiling face--
what's a guy to do?

Existentially
speaking, I'm between a rock
and an, umm... hard place.

Done with Mirrors

A familiar and favorite subject, there are probably a million of these mirrors in Japan. Their purpose is to assist drivers through blind intersections. I frequently walk past this particular one while I'm out walking with my daughter. Click to enlarge.



Oh, and have a Happy New Year!

Vending Machines, No. 15

Click to enlarge.

Cool Spider

There are a lot of big, cool-looking spiders in Miyazaki. Here's one of them (click to enlarge):

Bloody Fucking Hell

Of all the stupid, I mean really fucking stupid things, this has got to be the saddest, stupidest thing. Bloody fucking hell. Fuck.

Seagulls (2)

Continuing from the previous post (click to enlarge)...