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September 30, 2006

Secret scoop: Otakus planning a revolution.

In the news recently, stories of attacks on the otaku community in Akiba by punk ass youth who target these poor uber-geeks because they are totally defenseless AND they carry tons of money to buy Gundam toys with. Well, most people don't know this yet, but the otakus are planning a major attack on the punks in the very near future. The exact date is a secret, but I can tell you this: It's going to be crazy. Like, the way Nostradamus predicted the world would end. The revolutionary coup will involve never-before-used weapons such as idol trading cards and golden bazookas, and will result in the addition of a fifth island to the Japanese archipelago constructed with spare gadget parts in the shape of Mario's head.

Stay tuned for more breaking news on this topic.

September 29, 2006

New DoCoMo handset reminiscent of a sexy night out...or an aquarium.

Does your cell phone look like a fancy neon-lit bar in SoHo? DoCoMo's new handset, the N702iS, is the vision of designer Oki Sato, and each of the cute little bubblies on its shell has a function. Some of them are speakers, one's a camera, one's a mini-flashlight, and the others are notifications for new mail and missed calls. (Can you guess which is which?) And look at that charger! I want to eat it, it looks like jello on panna cotta. It comes in three colors--mineral water, strawberry milk, and caffe latte. And I'm not making that up.

(From Jean Snow's Japan Times article.)

Straight men can wear cute gay panties too.

I know dsquared is Canadian, but I still think it's notable that these undies, clearly inspired by Brokeback Mountain and featuring two fully nude males (except for their hats and boots), is being promoted as "cute AND sexy" on Rakuten.

September 28, 2006

Alyssa's Japanese lesson video!

Don't speak any Japanese? Can't tell when yes means no and no means no? Get your shit straight with Alyssa's Japanese lesson video.

Mysterious death of an Imperial Guard--the REAL truth.

11tokyoimperialpalace A very suspicious story about a dead Imperial Guard officer on the palace grounds in Tokyo today. The news reports claim it was an apparent suicide, but I find it very hard to believe that a dedicated 19 year old servant of the royal family would shoot himself in the head. Besides, Japanese people would much rather jump off train tracks than pick up a handgun. So I did some digging on my own, and here's what I think based on some top-secret investigative leads:

1. Dick Cheney accidentally shot him.
2. Colonel Mustard killed him in the bathroom with a five-pound block of soap.
3. The crown prince did it because he couldn't figure out why his wife's baby boy looked like the guy guarding his secret Ultraman collection.

Read what the ignorant real news reporters think here.

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Lisa Katayama's personal blog.
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  • I write articles about culture, technology, and human rights for Wired, Popular Science, Fast Company, and the New York Times Magazine. I also produce radio segments for PRI's Studio360 and am a Correspondent for Boing Boing, one of Time Magazine's five most essential blogs of 2010.

    In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.

    I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.

    Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!

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  • My book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan, was published in April 2008. Get it now!

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