News
RIP Alex Chilton 1950 – 2010
Goddamn it – I just found out that Alex Chilton died. It’s probably more appropriate to post a video of Chilton’s own work, but for some reason it seems proper to send the guy out courtesy of The Replacements. Our younger readers will probably only be familiar with Chilton from the song ‘Through The Street’ [...]
Highway to Hell for shamisen and accordion
The ever-talented Kevin Kmetz and a willing cohort rock out AC/DC’s Highway to Hell on shamisen and accordion.
Great interview with Tokyo Vice writer Jake Adelstein
Boing Boing’s Lisa Katayama posted part one of an interview with badass reporter Jake Adelstein (Tokyo Vice), who is equal parts Hunter S. Thompson and Bunta Sugawara.
In April 2008, I was trying to figure out how Goto knew that I was writing a book about his liver transplant. There was a yakuza real estate broker; [...]
Joining a Fan Club!
Two of my favorite bands – Jellyfish, with their song ‘Joining a Fan Club’, and the cover by Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy (or Puffy Amiyumi, if you prefer).
The sweet sounds of victory…
If this doesn’t make you grin, you clearly need more quality time with your Playstation.
(Linkage from Boing Boing)
JAL stewardess uniforms feared hot item on black market
Already engaged in a struggle to emerge from bankruptcy, Japan Air Lines is now engaged in a fight of a different sort: Keeping the stylish outfits of laid-off flight attendants off the black market and out of the hands of uniform fetishists.
A jacket alone can fetch several hundred pounds, while one site is presently advertising [...]
Making mountains out of molehills? Avatar-branded rocks stir controversy in China
Some context, in case you haven’t been paying attention…
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So – predictably, things haven’t gone quite as planned. In addition to the usual kvetching about the importation of Western popular culture, there is also a competing interest in Huangshan who claims that Cameron namechecked their [...]
South Korean child dies as parents abandon it to raise digital one
Okay – man…I’ll admit to occasionally avoiding the wife and kids to hit up a little Mass Effect 2 once in a while, but godalmighty. After reading about this South Korean couple who ditched their 3-month-old to raise an imaginary one, resulting in said child’s demise, I feel like Dad of the Year.
An autopsy showed [...]
James Cameron moving ahead on film adaptation of discredited A-Bomb book
James Cameron still plans to film an adaptation of Charles Pellegrino’s not-quite published Hiroshima tome Last Train from Hiroshima despite allegations that Pellegrino manufactured several of the accounts contained in the narrative. Of course, this brings to mind the wholesale fabrication of James Frey’s ‘memoir’ A Million Little Pieces (and the subsequent duping of Oprah [...]
Kingdom of the Little People theme park raises awareness for Chinese dwarfs
Okay…true story.
A few years ago I took my son to the Hamilton County fair here in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m not a big county fair guy, but my dad thought it would be entertaining. And it was, despite having to repeatedly curb my dad’s instinct for taking my three-year-old son on the various deathtrap rides that [...]
Off-Topic: ‘Does that zombie have pants?’
Last week I took advantage of Target’s price-drop on Left4Dead 2 – in case you’re one of the few who haven’t picked it up, I heartily recommend it. One of the unexpected benefits of this purchase, aside from lots of awesome zombie-slayage, is that it has subsequently led to some really awesome father/son videogame bonding.
Now [...]
Vintage Japanese industrial expo poster gallery
Check out this sweet gallery of vinyage posters from Japanese industrial expositions from the 1920s-1940s.
(via BoingBoing)
Sometimes Memory Lane is an alley best avoided: Pink Lady and Jeff
Gaze upon the horror that is Pink Lady, a short-lived variety program that aired in 1980 starring Japanese singing duo Pink Lady (hence the title) and co-host (and occasional translator) Jeff Altman. Pink Lady are entertaining in a post-70’s kitschy sort of way, but Altman’s jokes are about as entertaining as a colostomy bag souffle.
Hughes Brothers to tackle live-action ‘Akira’
Aint-It-Cool-News reports that directing duo the Hughes Brothers have signed on to bring Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira to the silver screen. I can’t say I’m a fan – From Hell was an abomination, but only because they jettisoned all the cool mystical stuff that made the original comic so amazing. In all fairness, I can’t see [...]
Daniel Dae Kim is Chin Ho
Hrm – I didn’t even know that CBS was prepping a Hawaii Five-O remake, but I’m a huge Lost fan so hearing that Daniel Dae Kim (who plays Jin on said show) is booked to replace the departed Kam Fong is a big plus.
Growing up in the 70’s, I watched a fair amount of Hawaii [...]
