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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 199)

Olympics-Schmolympics, Who Makes the Better McDonald’s Burger; France or Japan?

Olympics-Schmolympics, Who Makes the Better McDonald’s Burger; France or Japan?

Fresh off the most recent stint of Big America burgers released in McDonald’s restaurants across Japan like the Texas Burger, Idaho Burger, and Broadway Burger, the taste of the month now has turned its eye toward France.

This time though McDonald’s Japan has completely copied one of French McDonald’s sandwiches, the Le Grand.  To see if it lives up to the original I tried one in France and Japan for a tête-à-tête taste test.

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“Lina Blue Cooled Ramen” is More Than Just a Slick Name, It Might Add Years to Your Life While Keeping You Cool This Summer

“Lina Blue Cooled Ramen” is More Than Just a Slick Name, It Might Add Years to Your Life While Keeping You Cool This Summer

On 18 July, a ramen shop in Nipponbashi, Tokyo called Bee Hive Genki no Moto had introduced a novel chilled ramen that’s equally cooling to the eyes, ears, and stomach – perhaps even the life.

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Japanese Civil Servants Can’t Have Tattoos While Chinese City Workers Can’t Receive a Piece of Hard Candy; Regulations Run Amok

With just one week left to vote for the most evil employer of 2012, we’d like to shed some light on an overlooked “black corporation” – city governments.  Sure, government workers often get a bad rap as being slow and overpaid with ridiculous job security.  But in the words of Bob Dylan “the times they are a-changing.”

In Osaka, government workers will be forbidden to have any tattoos and a drinking ban is in talks for all the city workers of Fukuoka.  But to really see the slippery slope that these labor reforms can lead to, we should turn our attention to the People’s Republic of China.

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Man Creates Waste Basket That Targets Flying Garbage and Catches It by Itself

Have you ever seen a sci-fi movie about the future where robot garbage cans move by themselves to pick up our waywardly thrown garbage? You’d think humanity has reached the level of technology to make that happen, but no.

Evidently the people lazy enough to want an autonomously moving waste basket are also too lazy to create one.  That is until a mysterious mad scientist by the name of FRP created his own and recorded a video outlining the entire process.

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At “Robot Restaurant” You Can Accentuate Your Meal with Girls in Bikinis Riding a Neon Tank and Gigantic Fembots, We Investigate

A new restaurant modestly named “Robot Restaurant” has opened in Shinjuku on 18 July but already has generated a lot of buzz on the internet.  Its quick surge in popularity may have to do with the rumored post-apocalyptic giant robot show that goes on while you eat and is said to cost 10 billion yen (US$127M) to create.  We had to go and see if this is for real.

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Blistering 160km/h (99mph) Fastball Pitched by High School Student

The baseball world in Japan has been shaken to its core by a pitch so fast it stands among the fastest in the world – and it was done during a high school game.

The pitch, thrown during a televised semifinal match between Ichinoseki Gakuin and Hanamaki Higashi, has focused all the attention of professional baseball onto young Shohei Otani, the pitcher for Hanamaki Higashi High School.

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Child’s Birthday Coming Up? Why Not Get Them a Life-Sized Brachiosaurus?

It seems you can buy just about anything on the internet these days, and here’s another bit of proof to put on the pile.  What’s the one thing you could add to your home and garden that would make you stand out among your neighbors?

You got it; an 18 meter (59’) tall, 3 ton (2205 lbs) Brachiosaurus statue.

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Future and Past Collide as Long-Awaited “Evangelion and Japanese Sword Exhibit” Opens

You may have read our previous report about how Japan’s top sword makers had been called upon to bring your favorite weapons from the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion off the screen and into reality.

Well, the day has finally arrived as the Bizen Japanese Sword Museum has at long last opened their “Evangelion & Japanese Sword Exhibit” utilizing traditional sword making techniques to create swords of the future Evangelion universe.

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Apoopalypse Now! We Use Twitter and Japanese Linguistics to Track the Toilet Habits of Japan

It seems the days of keeping novels or magazines on a stand by the toilet are slipping away from us as more and more people are taking their smartphones into the loo to pass the time.  On top of this, social media has paved the way for everyone to update the world on all their daily minutiae.

And what could be minuter than broadcasting our bowel evacuations to the world.  On an individual basis such information might be meaningless to others but when analyzed en masse we can learn something about the pooping habits of a nation.

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See Tokyo on the Cheap, See It in Lego and More

Who doesn’t love Lego?  It’s a toy that has certainly stood the test of time and transcended all boundaries of gender, class and geography with its simple yet endless possibilities.

And who doesn’t love Tokyo? It’s a city that has certainly stood the test of time and grown into quite the cultural mecca of food, science, and art.  However, it’s a big city that requires time to explore fully.  So why not head down to Decks in Odaiba, Tokyo Beach to see the best of it in everyone’s favorite medium – Lego! But that’s not all Legoland Tokyo has to offer.

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Scientists One Step Closer to Cure for Body Odor

It seems that some of life’s simplest yet most widespread problems never have solutions.  Millions of men worldwide have to watch their hair fade away with no reliable cure.  Or how about that man or woman who somehow manages to sit next you on the subway or bus making your eyes water with their biological curse of body odor, better known by bacteriologists by its scientific name: “pit stank.”

Pit stank doesn’t discriminate.  The victims are our fathers, sisters, children, and spouses. However, thanks to the pioneering efforts of a legal rep for an NPO in Sendai working with Tohoku University’s New Industry Creation Center the world is one step closer to a cure for this socially scorned affliction.

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Infield Fly Controversy Mars Tension-Filled Baseball Grudge Match

A recent first round qualifying game for the high school league national championship between rivals Nichidai Fujisawa (Japan University’s High School) and Buso ended in controversy after a botched infield fly ball was mishandled causing a Nichidai runner to steal home and earn a walk-off victory for their team.

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High Ranking Chinese Officer Demands “Japan Should Leave Okinawa”

According to South Korea’s Far East Daily newspaper*,* China’s public radio broadcast an interview with a currently active Major General who spoke like many Generals do, with much aplomb and sabre rattling to be heard. Let’s see what he has to say.

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Online Customer Review of a Can of Cat Food Horrifies Thousands

On first hearing about this story, it’s easy to be skeptical that a review for a can of cat food could possibly be as unnerving as one buyer’s comment on Rakuten (Japan’s answer to Amazon) was purported to be.

Most of us have spent enough time on the internet and saw our share of Goatses and blue waffles.  So how could an online review for a tin of Mon Petit Whitefish & Tuna For Kittens possibly turn our web-hardened stomachs?

It did.

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Man Robs Girlfriend So He Can Buy Her Presents, Gives Love a Bad Name

Dating can be difficult and costly no matter what country you live in, but because of the economic inequality and old-fashioned customs of China it can be a down-right nightmare.

Take one Mr. Hu of Hubei Province whose girlfriend, ironically named Ms. Yuan, he had been dating for a couple months. However, because of money troubles he was unable to buy her presents and had to turn to a life of crime.

However, what could have been a romantic “man in love against the world” kind of rebel story turned out incredibly lame when the target of Hu’s criminal behavior turned out to be none other than Ms. Yuan herself.

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Voting is open for the “Most Evil Corporation of the Year” Award for 2012

Established by a 10 member team including journalists, activists and University professors, the committee for the “Most Evil Corporation of the Year” (in Japanese “Black Corporation Award”) has made a shortlist of nominees each vying to be the blackest of businesses.

In Japanese, the term “black business” refers to companies who rake in huge profits while exploiting their own work force by discrimination, harassment, unpaid overtime, and short-term contracts.  This type of business is a widespread problem in Japanese society but often goes on undiscussed in mainstream media.

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Toilet Theme Park Opened In Korea, There is a Rational Explanation for This

 

Only 4 July, Suwon, South Korea officially opened their newest attraction; “The Restroom Cultural Park” which is the world’s first toilet theme park.  To answer the question on everyone’s mind – What the…? – we should first look at a little background on Suwon city.

This city located outside of Seoul is well known for two things.  First, the great Hwaseong Fortress ranks among UNESCO’s world heritage and has ruins which run throughout the city.  Second is their recently deceased mayor who was known affectionately as Mr. Toilet.

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HexRinger Turns Your Phone’s Vibrate Mode On and Off Based on Your Location So You Don’t Have To

How many of you forgot to put your phone into manner mode (vibrate) when going into the office or a movie theatre only to have it ring and draw the angry scowl of everyone in the room?  Of how about when you remember to turn on manner mode but when forget to turn it off you miss that important message you were waiting for?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an app that automatically turns your manner mode on or off depending on where you are?  Wouldn’t it be nice to have HexRinger?

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Robot Guide Scheduled To Work Atop Tokyo Tower Needs a Name

With the recent opening of the Tokyo Sky Tree, it’s older little brother, Tokyo Tower has its work cut out for it to gather tourists.  In an effort to break out of the shadow of the tallest tower in the world, Tokyo Tower plans to add “Japan’s first autonomously moving robot with a signboard.”

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Man Faints and Falls into Cesspool Rescuing Woman Who Fainted and Fell into a Cesspool Attempting to Rescue a Pig Who Fell into a Cesspool

Here’s a hypothetical that you can discuss with your neighbors during the next BBQ or dinner party:  One of your neighbors had fallen into a pit full of human excrement and the rest of you have to rescue them.  Who goes in?  What would you do?

This crappy situation played out in a central China province after a pig running into the cesspool of a farm resulted in two people being hospitalized.

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