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Master Blaster

Writer / Translator

Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Canada’s Steven Le Blanc and Japan’s Masami M, a pair who in addition to writing work are in English education and created the StudyNow app for Japanese students of English.

Together they have written somewhere around 1,500 articles for RocketNews24 covering such diverse topics as Chinese men selling sanitary napkins to each other and a Japanese guy dragging an ear of corn around the Tokyo train system. A few of these were actually good, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our beloved readers had to say:

“One isn't always in the mood for bold tastes. But when I'm in the mood for bold flavor I turn to you.”
“Stupid article. Who cares what the Japanese think it's cool. You don't call a monkey, "gorilla".”
“You know, this is about the most cogent explanation of how a turbocharger works that I have ever seen in the non-motorsports world.”
“Thanks for the article peter!”
“It's people like you who make exploitation possible.”
“It looks yummy and the story was great. Thank you for the smile.”

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Posted by Master Blaster (Page 157)

Craving cheese but on a diet? Try our “advanced tofu pickles!” 【Recipe】

Craving cheese but on a diet? Try our “advanced tofu pickles!” 【Recipe】

Summer has a way of creeping up on us before we can shed those extra pounds in this, the season of skimpier clothing. As such many people take up diets including our own reporter, Hotaru. At one point during her weight management, Hotaru had decided to go to a vegan restaurant thinking it wouldn’t be as high in calories as other establishments.

However, when her curry arrived she noticed that there were little bits of what looked like cheese on top. They tasted kind of like cheese too. Confused by this non-vegan and diet-bending food, Hotaru asked the staff what it was. “Tofu pickles” they replied.

Hotaru also learned from them how to make this delectable topping and found it was actually incredibly easy. So easy, in fact, that she also developed her own “advanced tofu pickles” recipe. We’d now like to share these recipes with you so that you many enjoy some tofu pickles in your own home.

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The greatest “no parking” sign ever made

The greatest “no parking” sign ever made

To many environmentalists, a city where most people get around by public transportation and bicycles may seem like a dream, but it’s also not without its share of daily nuisances.

The person who originally tweeted the above photo had said, “The area around this building is very tight due to illegally parked bikes… After I open shop I put out this sign and bikes don’t park here any more.” Over 15,000 Twitter users have agreed and called this the greatest “no parking” sign ever made.

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Be careful how you talk about “spaghetti” in Japanese — you may sound unhip

Although Italian in origin, the words pasta and spaghetti are now everyday words in English. Thanks to the foods’ proliferation around the world these words can also be found in Japanese, pronounced pasuta and supagettī respectively.

But in recent years, it seems as if the word “spaghetti” has been falling out of favor in Japan, being replaced by the word “pasta.” Although in English the distinction between “spaghetti” and “pasta” is pretty clear (pasta being the foodstuff, spaghetti one of its many varieties), it seems there is a whole other world of nuances when the words cross over into Japanese.

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Forget snack packs, South Korean school girls sporting full-on snack backpacks

Do you often find your purse, backpack, attaché case is crammed with sugary snacks to help you through your day? If so you may want to follow these girls’ example and have your snacks become the bag.

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We try Taiwan’s newest taste sensation: Pudding Ramen!

Taiwanese websites have been swirling with a new food fad that has taken the nation by storm. We’re not sure exactly where it started, but it probably had something to do with two people shouting, “Hey! You got your pudding in my ramen!” and “Hey! You got your ramen in my pudding!” And thus pudding ramen was born.

As the news hit the shores of Japan, we felt this was a combination that needed to be tested. It turns out that pudding ramen is not only tasty, it’s really cheap and easy too. Well played, Taiwan!

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Himeji City preparing to crack down on nuisance “walking biker gangs” (Yes, you read that right)

It’s June again, and that means it’s time for Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture to hold its annual Himeji Yukata Festival! The three-day event incorporates around 800 businesses and draws in around 200,000 attendees, many of whom are dressed in traditional Japanese summer wear yukata.

It’s a festive time for the whole family, but the Himeji Yukata Festival also has a dark side that city officials and police are looking to stop once and for all. This problem comes in the form of biker gangs known in Japan as bōsōzoku. But these are not just any biker gangs; they’re biker gangs… without bikes.

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Cute d’état! Thousands of ducks take to the streets in Thailand

There’s a lot going on in Thailand at the moment, and you can be sure that those in the tourism industry watching visitor numbers plummet now that the country has fallen under military control are none too pleased, so it’s not surprising to hear of stories of anger and frustration. What we didn’t expect to see, though, were ducks taking to the street en masse as if in protest.

Check out this video of thousands of ducks waddling along together in an adorable yet really eerie demonstration of nature.

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Fundoshi Panties bring back traditional Japanese underwear style, promise a good night’s sleep

RocketNews24 has long stood behind the traditional Japanese loincloth known as a fundoshi. Every year when Fundoshi Day (14 February) rolls around we’re always sure to endorse fundoshi for all of their physical and spiritual benefits.

And now we have reason #165 on why fundoshi are awesome. They can help to prevent sleeping problems for women. At least, that’s the claim made by the makers of Fundoshi Panties now on sale in a mook by Makino Shuppan.

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Millennia of martial arts wisdom distilled in one video: 100 Ways to Attack the Groin

YouTube has really established itself as an invaluable resource for the information age. Through a simple search you can learn how to play the solos from Freebird, tie a windsor knot, get infinite 1-ups in Super Mario, and so much more.

Of course there are plenty of clips that teach us how to fight as well. But even with the convenience of streaming videos, learning a martial art takes patience and training. Actually it did until now. A new video by Ameri-Do-Te Master Ken has consolidated everything you need to know to win a fight in one video: 100 Ways to Attack the Groin.

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First new Japanese Apple Store opened in eight years, Apple fans celebrate best way they know how

On 13 June, the Omotesando Apple Store opened in Tokyo. It was a rare occasion, being the first of its kind to open in Japan since the Sapporo Apple store in 2006. Although no new product was released, an estimated 1,000 Apple fans came out to show their support in true Apple fashion by making a huge line.

We sent our local Apple line-up correspondent Mr. Sato to report from the frontline.

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Brass section rejoice! Your ideal smartphone accessory has arrived

This classy metallic smartphone accessory is currently in development by RepeCan a maker of custom instrument parts. For saxophone or brass instrument players that little thing should be instantly recognizable, and for many more it should conjure up an odorous memory or two of middle school music class.

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Samurai Vader: a historical take on a favorite from a galaxy far, far away

Ever since it hit the scene back in the ’70s, Star Wars was an early pioneer of movie merchandising. Decades later the gravy train of action figures, posters, lunch boxes, notebooks continues. Underoos, Shrinky Dinks, Jell-o molds, clothes hangers, chess sets, virtual keyboards, book ends, and um… I forgot where I was going with this.

For those of you who think it’s all been done before, we present to you something new from Bandai. Behold: Samurai Taisho Darth Vader.

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Always live where the sun doesn’t shine with the ultimate in weird parasol technology

People from other countries may be surprised by the number of people using umbrellas on a sunny day in Japan. However, after experiencing the scorching summers in many urban centers across the land, it’s not surprising why so many carry their own shade.

Of course there’s the obvious UV protection reasons where people wish to avoid melanoma and maintain that deathly pale complexion that’s all the rage here. There’s also the simpler reason that the sun can be freaking intense during the dog days and shade is a rare commodity on city streets.

In fact it can be so powerful that even with your standard parasol, daylight can manage to creep in and threaten your well-being. That’s why someone developed the next level in umbrella technology with Rain or Shine Umbrella for Use at the Game. With a name that catchy, you know it’s gonna be good!

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Man arrested for crimes against nature and potato chips, did it to meet popular voice actress

Here at RocketNews24, we consider wasting food to be one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Whether it be a 1,000 bacon slice burger, feces wine, or the most disgusting ramen ever, we always clean our plates or ask for a doggie bag.

And so it’s with heavy hearts that we bring you the story of a particularly disgusting crime. This suspect stands accused of buying, having his way with, and then dumping 208kg of potato chips in the wilderness, eating hardly any of them. As it turned out, this was all part of a bigger scheme to meet the talented voice actress and vocalist Nana Mizuki.

***Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of delicious snack wastage which some readers may find disturbing.***

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Twitter users check possibility of entering Universal Studios Japan dressed as Disney characters

As the art of cosplay steadily proliferates into the culture of Japan, even traditionally stodgy institutions like universities have begun accepting it at their graduations. So it would seem obvious that more “carefree” places like theme parks would embrace the costumed fun.

Tokyo Disneyland had their own cosplay event and Universal Studios Japan makes provisions for it in their park rules and regulations. Still, with these companies and others protecting their own brand interests there’s bound to be some lines one shouldn’t cross when trying to gain entrance in costume. But with no official bans on dressing up like certain characters it’s up to Twitter users to test the waters and find where these parks draw the line.

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Doctors puzzled by Indonesian woman who claims to have given birth to a gecko

Since the end of May a special investigative team was dispatched to Oenunto Village in Indonesia at the request of the Chief Medical Officer of nearby Kupang City. Their mission was to figure out what really happened after hearing about a woman who gave birth to her third child: a healthy, bouncing baby gecko.

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South Korean World Cup team pulls the ol’ switcharoo, changes player numbers to confuse rivals

With the 2014 FIFA World Cup all set to start, the 32 qualifying teams are hard at work preparing for the final tournament and getting as many edges over the competition as possible in order to survive to the end.

However, with such drive and passion it’s only natural for some teams to go a little over the line in their preparation from time to time. That’s what seemed to have happened with the Korea Republic national team who came up with the idea of swapping most of their players’ uniform numbers in their games leading up to the tournament in order to protect their strategy from prying eyes of the competition.

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We talk to Pepper, SoftBank’s new emotional robot, kind of wish it would shut up for a second

On 5 June, Japanese telecom giant SoftBank announced that it will be selling a robot capable reading emotions and being a friendly companion to humans. The robot’s name is Pepper, and in addition to a chest-mounted tablet computer it comes loaded with an array of mics, cameras, and other sensors for sophisticated movement and interaction with people.

Frequently abandoned by his fellow humans, our beloved reporter Mr. Sato decided to go down to the SoftBank shop in Omotesando, Tokyo where a Pepper unit was on display. Although excited about his first chat with a robot, Mr. Sato would soon find that Pepper was actually kind of a jerk who totally dominated the conversation.

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Nation alerted to man asking where the nearest bathroom is

Whenever a suspicious person is reported to the police it gets up loaded to the Zenkoku no Anzen/Anshin Mail (National Safety/Security Mail) website accessible anywhere in Japan. However, every once in a while a “suspicious person” added seems suspiciously not suspicious.

Such is the case of a student who was approached by a middle-aged man and forced to go to the police after being asked “Where is a bathroom?”

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Coca-Cola giving away specialty bottlecaps in Vietnam to promote reusing their plastic bottles

You have to hand it to Coca-Cola. Despite being the best-selling cola brand and one of the biggest companies in the world, they certainly don’t seem to rest on their laurels. Like a hungry up-and-coming business, they’re always coming up with new gimmicks in each of the 200 countries they operate in, whether it be personalized bottles in Japan or, like now in Vietnam**, a set of functional caps which can transform your empty bottle into a water gun, pencil sharpener, night lights and more after you’re finished with it**.

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