TOKYOMANGO

Self-Detonating USB Hub

Computers never have enough USB ports. (Actually, my HP Media Center PC does. But I hardly use it other than to watch TV.) So for those of you who need more places to plug into and need a little bit of drama on your desktop, there's this self-detonating USB hub. When you turn all three switches on its control panel to ON, it explodes. Well, at least it fills you with suspense and makes a giant exploding sound.

Accident: Blind Couple Walks Off Train Platform

Sad story. An elderly blind couple walked off the train tracks and got hit by an oncoming train. Apparently they thought that they heard the train they wanted to catch stop there--but it was actually on the other side. The husband, 70-year old Hiroyoshi Esaka, is in critical condition at the hospital. His wife, Sachiko is conscious but seriously injured.

The two were holding hands, unusual for an old Japanese couple, as they walked straight into their tragic accident.

Here's a pic of the station in Osaka where the accident occurred. The yellow bumpies are supposed to guide blind people and show them where the platform ends, but it doesn't help identify the sound of one train from another.

Link

High Shool Girls Kung Fu Fighting

This extremely silly short film features two Japanese schoolgirls walking and arguing about whether Tezuka Osamu's famous manga character, Black Jack, is Japanese or not. First they're just wondering out loud; then they start yelling; then they break into this all out back-flipping, panty-flashing fake kung fu match.

And then this guy on a bicycle shows up with a giant QR code on his head. (QR codes are 2-dimensional barcodes that usually link to web sites.) And he goes "Scan me, and you'll find the answer."

This video commemorates the kick-off of a new QR code product that incorporates moving video. Cool product, but it's Japan only, so those of us living abroad can just enjoy the school girl cat fight.

Link

Help Me Help My High School Not Destroy the World

To the board members of the American School in Japan:

I heard you guys are about to accept a giant donation from a cluster bomb company executive so you can light up the football field. That's the stupidest shit I've ever heard, and I hope someone knocks some sense into you before you sign up for it. Come on, guys. Cluster bombs are on the brink of being banned via a joint effort by the UN, Human Rights Watch, the Vatican, and many other global VIPs because they're dangerous and threatening to global peace and security, and because that makes them just suck.

It is so not cool to revamp a football field on the blood of thousands of civilians across the world.

OK, thanks. Hope you change your mind.

Lisa

Blog readers: Sign this petition if you agree with me.

Note: I didn't write this letter, some other do-gooder alumnus did.

Mad Golden Week Rush Starts Today

Today marks the beginning of Golden Week, which means that the entire country is on vacation. That's right, you don't get standard vacation days if you're a working professional in Japan--you get Golden Week.

Golden Week is actually a series of national holidays all bunched up together. Showa Day, Constitution Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day all happen in the first week of May, so someone just decided that that would officially be a golden time for travel and leisure.

During this week, Tokyo is empty, plane tickets are super expensive, the rest of the world sees a sudden influx of Japanese tourists, and Narita Airport is in a constant state of chaos.

So don't be surprised if you see a billion Japanese businessmen with yellow hats and tour bus badges at major tourist points in the city you live in.

And be nice to them, because this might be the only chance they get all year to get out of their business suits and let it all hang out.