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Fran W

Fran grew up on a farm in Northumberland, England’s most northern and least populated county. She relocated to Nagoya in 2011 to teach English and find better edamame beans. On arriving in Japan, she enthusiastically abandoned a lifetime of vegetarianism and now spends her weekends on the trail of the perfect miso katsu. When not attempting to sing k-pop at karaoke, Fran can often be found loitering in old camera shops, or on a hike wishing the manual camera in her backpack wasn’t so heavy.

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Posted by Fran W (Page 9)

Why did we blow into NES cartridges? 【Video】

Fran W
Jul 8, 2014
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It’s 1987. You’re looking awesome in your oversized Michael Jackson “Bad” t-shirt as you slot a chunky, grey game cartridge into your NES console. But instead of the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt title screen, all you see is a jumbled-up mess of an image that looks like an 8-bit Picasso. What do you do? The same thing everyone did – you take the game cartridge out, blow into it, and put it back in. Lo, and behold: this time the game loads perfectly and you can squish goombas or shoot ducks to your heart’s content.

But in the pre-internet age, how did we all “know” to blow into cartridges? And like rubbing the magnetic strip on a credit card or shaking a Polaroid photo, why did we keep doing it even when product manufacturers and scientists insisted that it didn’t work and could actually cause damage? Joe Hanson, biologist and author of the popular science blog It’s Okay To Be Smart, offers up some answers in a neat YouTube video asking just that.

Global
(famicom • It's Okay To Be Smart • NES • nintendo • science • YouTube)

Internet declares Yoko Ono’s Glastonbury festival set “the worst live performance ever” 【Video】

Fran W
Jul 8, 2014

It’s been a week since Yoko Ono made her festival debut at Glastonbury. A week, however, is a long time on the internet. While music critics have been fairly kind – if not particularly enthusiastic – about the 81-year-old’s performance, netizens have let rip on the singer-songwriter’s erratic wailing, with one criticising Ono’s voice as sounding “like a goat with a sore throat”.

Join us after the jump for screaming, giant political banners, and an octogenarian dancing like there’s no one watching.

Europe
(Glastonbury Festival • music • Yoko Ono • YouTube)

Defrost a steak in 5 minutes without using heat or the microwave? What is this sorcery!?【Video】

Fran W
Jul 7, 2014

Buying in bulk and freezing some of your purchase to cook another day is a great way to save money. But the problem with freezing things is that then you have to unfreeze them. That’s right, my friend. We need to talk about defrosting.

If I told you there was a super-fast way to defrost meat that doesn’t require a heat source, a microwave, or even hot water, you’d probably think I’d been drinking too much Lemon Coke or something. But, dear reader, never again will you feel depressed about the single-person servings lined up neatly in your freezer. Never again will a good steak go to waste for want of an eater. Never again. And it’s all thanks to the magic of physics. Yes. Magic.

Taiwan
(cooking • magic • steak • Taiwan • TV)

Everything you think you know about your washlet toilet is wrong

Fran W
Jul 4, 2014

Here at RocketNews24 we love a good toilet story, whether it’s the health benefits of old-school squatters or a visit to a long drop. And the washlet toilet, with its wash-and-blow dry function, noise-masking function and hilariously perplexing control panels, is one of Japan’s most famous inventions.

But what if, just like Napoleon’s height and the Vikings’ spiky helmets, the ultimate icon of technological wizardry is also surrounded by misconception and mystery? What if (almost) everything we know about super-toilets is wrong?

Think you know your washlet? Think again.

Japan
(technology • Toilets • Toilets in Japan • washlet)

Japanese politician screams and cries at press conference as he defends expenses claims【Video】

Fran W
Jul 2, 2014

A Japanese politician who claimed over 3 million yen (around US$30,000) in travel expenses without providing any supporting evidence has defended his actions in a dramatic and emotional display. Speaking to reporters at the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly on Tuesday, Ryutaro Nonomura cried loudly as he insisted that he had genuinely made all the trips claimed for, and that the travel was for work purposes.

Nonomura faced criticism last week when it was revealed that he had claimed for 195 long-distance return tickets by rail during the financial year 2013-14. He did not provide any receipts for the journeys, or any evidence that he had been carrying out official activity. The transportation expenses claims included 106 visits to Kinosaki Onsen, a hot spring town 139km from his hometown.

Japan
(expenses • politics • Ryutaro Nonomura • video)

Social experiment puts public to the test in “Do Singaporeans have a heart?”【Video】

Fran W
Jul 1, 2014

A hidden camera show has tested the kindness of strangers, asking Singapore shoppers to help a poor tissue seller. While the cameras rolled in secret, members of the public were asked to complete a short survey, for which they received five Singapore dollars (about US$4). They were then approached by a man in a wheelchair, who asked them to buy a pack of tissues.

While some commentors on YouTube praised the heartwarming video, which claims that the majority of people chose to give the man the money, others expressed disappointment that some people ignored him and kept the cash for themselves. Some viewers also criticised the video itself, which promotes a contest open to those who spend over 20 dollars in the mall.

SE Asia
(hidden camera • Singapore • social experiment • video)

An ode to Japan’s musical trucks and the wondrous things they sell

Fran W
Jun 29, 2014

The next time someone asks, “What’s your favourite thing about Japan?”, I know what I’m going to say.

When I was growing up in England, the only thing you could buy from a cute little musical van that drove around the neighbourhood was ice cream, and for the approximately eleven-and-a-half months of the year when it was too cold to eat an ice cream, you had to make do with a “mix-up bag” (like pick ‘n’ mix, but without the “pick” part – that is to say, without the element of choice) which consisted of ten gummy sweets no one ever liked anyway.

Sure, in city centres and at events in England we have vendors selling fast food. But our burger and falafel trucks don’t drive door-to-door playing old-fashioned jingles like an ice cream van does. In Japan, however, there are a bunch of tiny vans, privately owned, that each specialise in one product and each have their own song. And it’s not just food, either. The things you can buy off the back of those little musical trucks are amazing.

Japan
(Japan • mobile catering • music • songs • trucks)

How not to choose a kanji tattoo: A guide for World Cup footballers

Fran W
Jun 26, 2014

Are you a professional footballer? Are you thinking about getting an exotic-looking tattoo in Japanese or Chinese script? With this year’s World Cup players the most inked in history, it’s no wonder the players keep taking their shirts off to show off their skin. Today, we bring you a guide to getting inked as a World Cup footballer – or to be more accurate, a guide to what not to do.

Greek footballer Theofanis “Fanis” Gekas, who has been attracting online attention in Japan recently for his unusual Chinese(ish) tattoo, isn’t the only World Cup player with some not-entirely-accurate ink on his arms. Join us after the jump for photographic evidence of what your mother (should’ve) told you: “If you can’t read it, don’t get it permanently etched onto your skin.”

Global
(fail • hanzi • kanji • tattoos • World Cup)

“Be a blank slate”: The way to get hired in Japan?

Fran W
Jun 24, 2014

As far as things not to say in an interview go, you’d think it’d be pretty high up on the list. But the young Japanese university student, rejected by all the other companies he’d applied to, was prepared to take the risk. “This company is the only option I have left,” he pleaded with the interviewer. “I’ll do anything!” An unusual strategy, certainly. But he got the job.

Japanese site Niconico News reports that the man is now entering his ninth year of employment with the company, so it seems the gamble paid off. But is the company’s positive reaction so unusual? Some Japanese employability experts are arguing that, for many companies, the ideal graduate recruit is a “hakushi” – a blank page that the company can do what they want with. When companies train new recruits extensively, an across-the-board willingness to learn is valued more than previous experience.

Japan
(employment • graduates • job hunting • shukatsu • university)

The konami code makes Twitter flip the bird!

Fran W
Jun 24, 2014

It’s the ultimate easter egg, the key to secret funny effects on all kinds of websites. The konami code, entered by pressing the sequence up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A, works on Twitter!

The code, which originated in video games from Japanese publisher Konami, and is called the konami komando (“konami command”) in Japanese. Twitter user @konosuke recently posted that, perusing the site’s JavaScript, he had discovered a piece of code in there that read “konami_watcher”. Intrigued, he punched in the magic code on Twitter’s timeline page and … something surprising happened! Join us after the jump for a look at Twitter’s new flippy bird!

Internet
(cheat • easter eggs • konami code • logo • twitter)

You (only) live twice! Repair work begins on priceless Toyota 2000GT crushed by falling tree

Fran W
Jun 21, 2014

The world’s car fans wept in unison earlier this month when a freak accident caused a 30-metre beech tree to fall on an eye-wateringly expensive Toyota 2000GT. Widely recognised as the first Japanese supercar, the 2000GT has been known to sell for over 1 million dollars, and although we were relieved to hear that the driver escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, the photos of his trashed car brought tears to car-lovers’ eyes.

The 2000GT’s regular production run in the late 1960s was so limited that only 351 were ever built, and when these photos emerged of the flattened vehicle, many assumed that the number left in existence had just got that little bit smaller – and the car, therefore, a little rarer. However, Japanese website Nostalgic Car TV reported June 14th that the car in question is to be repaired and restored, promising regular updates as it is brought back to its former glory.

Japan
(car accident • sportscars • Toyota 2000GT)

How do you hide a 760-tonne ship? Paint it so bright it dazzles

Fran W
Jun 19, 2014

A retired pilot ship sits in a Liverpool dock, painted in vivid red, yellow and green stripes. This is a “Dazzle Ship”, decorated with a unique and eccentric British camouflage method originally developed during World War One.

The British navy had tried different methods of disguising ships, but none had proved effective. Realising that it must be impossible to successfully conceal a boat, marine artist Norman Wilkinson suggested a radical, opposite approach: a design that would instead confuse and disorientate the enemy, making it difficult for a U-boat commander to estimate the boat’s speed or direction. The Dazzle Ship was born.

Europe, Japan
(art • Britain • Dazzle Ships • Norman Wilkinson • ship • WW1)

“The beer is my friend”: Watch the World Cup in style at this Captain Tsubasa Cafe

Fran W
Jun 19, 2014

The World Cup is underway and Japan’s city streets are full of excitable-looking young people wearing blue soccer jerseys (sorry Dad, I mean “football shirts”). If you’re looking for somewhere in Tokyo to watch the game that’s a bit different – somewhere, for example, that’s got soccer-manga merchandise, weird themed food, and blue drinks that aren’t just beer with blue food-colouring in them – we’ve got just the place for you! When the staff at our Japanese sister site heard that a pop-up Captain Tsubasa Cafe was opening in Tokyo’s Ueno district, they couldn’t resist heading down there to take a look!

Captain Tsubasa, for the uninitiated, is a soccer manga (sometimes called Flash Kicker in English) created by Yōichi Takahashi in 1981. As is typical with popular Japanese manga series, Tsubasa and his team have since spread their wings into anime, video games, spin-off merch… and now this sports bar!

Japan
(cafe • Captain Tsubasa • football • soccer • World Cup)

When giant blueberry monsters attack: Ao Oni meets Attack on Titan【Video】

Fran W
Jun 17, 2014

So-called MAD movies are Japanese fan-made videos spliced together from clips from anime and video games. Posted on sites like YouTube and Niconico Douga, they are similar – although not identical – to YouTube poops, in that they see fans mashup footage and distorted sound to make beautiful, and bizarre videos. Truly, the internet is a wonderful place.

Today we bring you a MAD movie that throws together a Japanese pop culture David and Goliath in the form of puzzle-horror game Ao Oni (“Blue Demon”), and anime and manga publishing sensation Attack on Titan. Join us after the jump for some surreal animated mashup fun!

Japan
(Ao Oni • Attack on Titan • funny • MAD Movies • video)

Evangelion theme song played on a pea pod is just as weird and awesome as it sounds【Video】

Fran W
Jun 13, 2014

Things I can do that impress Japanese junior high school students: touch my nose with my tongue; recite the lyrics to ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’ on cue; whistle the Benny Hill theme inconspicuously during class and then blame it on the Japanese sensei.

There’s one thing I’ve never mastered though – one thing that would hugely augment my repertoire of “odd things the English teacher can do”. I can’t whistle with grass. Or any kind of plant, in fact. Clearly, I should’ve taken some lessons from this guy, who can play entire tunes with a single pea pod.

Japan
(anime • beans • Evangelion • peas • theme song • video)

There’s something not quite right about these mannequins…

Fran W
Jun 13, 2014

“Hey, you, go dress the mannequins in the window. Do whatever you want, but make sure you show off this season’s gift items. And make it summer-y, you know. It’s getting warmer, after all.” “Ok, boss, whatever you say…”

We have no idea whether this was employee sabotage or a knowing campaign, but this window display is certainly attracting attention in all the right places.

Internet
(display • Father's Day • gift ideas • mannequin)

“A Taste of Japan”: Mouth-watering video of one man’s incredible gourmet trip 【Video】

Fran W
Jun 12, 2014

A filmmaker based in Los Cabos, Mexico, is attracting attention online in Japan with his stunningly beautiful food video. Entitled “A Taste of Japan”, Mike Arce’s video features the food he fell in love with on a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. In an impressively expansive gourmet tour, Arce sampled everything from Kyoto speciality tofu cuisine to delicious hot-plate favourites like okonomiyaki and sukiyaki, even squeezing in a trip to Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi for some high-class sushi, too.

If you didn’t already want to go to Japan really, really badly, you will after you watch this!

Japan
(food • gourmet • Japanese food • okonomiyaki • Sukiyabashi Jiro • sushi)

Kamon kamon kamon kamon…branding? Pumps to bring out your inner feudal warlord

Fran W
Jun 8, 2014

Japanese family crests (or kamon), have been passed down through the generations for centuries, although these days they’re mostly seen in the patterns of kimono or the logos of sushi restaurants, as well as on flags and armour. Kamon are circular, often featuring animal or plant motifs.

These family crests have found a new home now, though – as logos on cute shoes! These kamon pumps, from an Ikebukuro-based cosplay store, use the actual family motifs of four armoured generals (“busho” in Japanese) from the Sengoku period, to make up this new feudal warlord series. We do love it when Japan combines old and new!

Japan
(crest • fashion • kamon • mon • pumps • samurai • Tokyo)

Gundam VS Evangelion: Women of Japan give their verdict (kind of)

Fran W
Jun 7, 2014

What’s that you say? A survey that polled Japanese women about two of the country’s most popular anime series? I wonder what kind of questions they asked! Maybe we can learn how Japanese audiences feel about the female characters in Gundam! And does Shinsekai Evangelion really offer a “radical solution to the socio-environmental curses of patriarchy“? Maybe they’ll talk about female otaku being under-represented in mainstream media! And whether the word “otaku” still carries negative connotations…

But wait! Oh. What? This survey only has one question! “What kind of men do you like better”, the pollsters asked, “guys who like Evangelion, or guys who are Gundam fans?” Oh.

Japan
(anime • Evangelion • Gundam • survey • women)

Become MASTER OF NUGGETS with this heavy metal recipe book

Fran W
Jun 6, 2014

Have you been looking for a way to combine your love of thrash metal with your enthusiasm for trying new food? As you may know, we at RocketNews24 are always looking for ways to mix up new musical experiences, so we were tickled to discover Metal-Meshi, a tour through headbanging history told through metal-inspired recipes!

The brainchild of Tokyo-based foodie and blogger Yasunario, Metal-Meshi takes its name from “meshi”, a slightly slangy, rough-sounding Japanese word for hearty food.The book offers up over 60 mammoth-sized dishes that put some of Japan’s other Americana offerings to shame! So what kind of gastronomical excitement has Yasunario come up with?