Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Microphone Mixmasters, Make Money From Music

Wednesday down.  Work has been good and I am feeling pretty settled into life in Tokyo.  Just in time to get on a plane next Friday for the holidays back to Alaska.  I am pretty pumped for Christmas both because I get to visit with my family and because Kia and I get to stay in the house we just bought.  We closed on it a few days ago and my brother and his family should be moved in by now - I think.
Rahul has been in town this week which has been nice because it has meant that we have gone out almost every night.  We went to the arcade and udon last night and we went shopping and ate sushi tonight.  The sushi was awesome, udon too.
Need to do some shopping this weekend for holiday stuff.  We went to a store called Don Quixote or Donki for short this evening and it had some awesome stuff.  Maybe I will head back and look for some gifts.  
Anyway, things are good.  I have been learning about Japanese sports, video games and television shows - all the important stuff.  For those of you who watch this gameshow in the US it is apparently a take on a Japanese gameshow called Takeshi's Castle which has long since been off the air but we had fun at lunch today comparing notes on which events we all remembered from the show.
Lots of interesting things to report but maybe I shouldn't try to pack them all into one blog post.  I should pace myself.

FYI - this movie looks awesome:

I was showing the team some of the Japanese gameshow videos that Dave showed me back in Mountain View which are funny as hell.  I didn't show them this one, so a bonus for team members who follow my blog - credit goes to David.


The beginning is awesome but I lost some interest after the bad smell one.  If you watch any of them skip to 7:45 to watch the "old man biting tenderly".  Holy cow that's nuts.
I like the fact that some of them pretend to read inbetween. 
OK, getting late.  
Sayonara.

4 comments:

Liz said...

why are they doing this in a library?

robert said...

I think the short answer to Elizabeth's question, despite my complete lack of knowledge of all things having to do with anything involved in the video is:
Because it's Japan.
I think the longer answer is:
Because it's Japan and the entire purpose of the library runs counter to the purpose of the game. Civilization (or traditional Japanese respect or reverence or respect for cultural mores) would collapse without some quietude for learning, and one function of the game is to establish that there is no aspect of civilization that cannot be deconstructed by the inane.
An episode of "Jackass" would be just that much more zany if held in a library.

Matthew Lewis said...

Uh, doy. Also, because its awesome.
It warms my heart to know that dad watches Jackass.

robert said...

Actually, I can't watch "Jackass." We don't get whatever cable channels it's on. I am just a pop/cult maven. One significant reason for watching "Jackass" appears to be able to say that you watch "Jackass." Final comment (from me) on the subject. The age and sex of the participants appears to be relevant to the "awesomeness." I can't imagine the same level of interest in teen-aged boys doing this, just because there would be no age-inappropriate behavior. One of the reasons that the "biting tenderly" episode is funny is that the participant is old. If the participant was the same age as the contestants, it would be less jarring. If the participant had been an older woman, there would have been an oddly sexual quality to the thing which, while probably still funny, would have lent that portion of the show a peculiarity which would have drawn a different Japanese audience.
While girls could have giggled behind their hands quite effectively, I don't think it is as bizarre if girls are giggling behind their hands as young men.