this shouldn’t really surprise any korean nor a japanese, but many westerners recoil in horror at existence of such a device. namely, for lack of better words, what i like to call “ear diggers”. or perhaps a better (or at least more scientific sounding) moniker might be “aural excavator”.

at any rate, traditionally, these slender sticks with a itty bitty scoop at the end have been used to, uh, dig ear wax out of one’s ear. now, now, don’t get all squeamish on me. i say “ear wax”, but it’s more like “ear chunks”. wait, no, that’s not any better. maybe “ear flakes”?

well, they(the flakes) exist, and what better thing to do on a lazy day than shove a bamboo stick up your ear and dig it out? don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it. it’s better than spending money on expensive headphones to hear better. plus, the satisfaction of hauling out a prize sized nugget is… well, damn satisfying.

traditionally, like i’ve said, they’ve been made of bamboo slivers, but i’ve seen heirloom silver ear digger. “here you go… granma used to dig a mound of flakes out of her ear!”

this wonderful item from rakuten, called “mimipet”(hah! “mimi” is, of course, japanese for “ear”) is actually a cellphone charm that looks like… well, see for yourself.

no! don’t do it lady!

there’s even an “evil version”- a grinning black elephant. ask yourself this: “do i really want to stick an evil elephant in my ear?” well, if it works better than a Q-tip, then, well, maybe.

found via red ferret via textually , from rakuten. Whew!

NOTE: Due to the holidays and my obligations to the family and friends(yes, i hate to say it, but as much of a scrooge as i might be, sometimes i can’t seem to escape the clutches of tradition), updates on this blog will be kinda sorta light.

-JUNOSORA

now, on with the post.

okay, so it sometimes puzzles me when different cultures have a vastly different view on what constitutes a fair meal. take for example, pizza. now who doesn’t like a piping hot gooey-cheesy slice o’ pizza now and again?

well, i remember the first time i tried it, and i thought it was the most disgusting thing i’ve ever had the displeasure of eating. maybe it was becasue it was chuck e. cheese’s pizza, but seriously, i thought it was a cruel joke from that giant mouse.

most western culture(with possible exception of italians) seem to turn its nose on such delicacy such as our wonderful friends, the mollusks. i’m talking about those freaks of nature, squid and cuttle fish. both in korea and in japan, kids and businessmen just can’t seem to get enough of these protein laden, tentacle dangling snack of the ocean.

in many ways, a dried up squid is an excellent snack, low in fat and high in protein and loaded with chewy goodness. what more do you want in your snack?

some snack makers have taken our good friends the squid even further in snackology. not content to merely have shredded dried squid to chew over a bottle of asahi or a hite, they’ve created…

SWEET SQUID CHUNKS!

hello kitty endorses munching on squid chunks. i firmly belive that the word “chunks” is a surefire way to guarantee sales of any food item.

next we have “squid peanut”. why do peanuts and squids go together so well? what is the mysterious bond between squid and peanuts? what is the flavor synergy at work here? and what is that squid doing to that peanut? looks kinky.

this thing is called “오징어 땅콩” [o-jing-uh thahng kohng] (come on, say it aloud. it’s really fun to say!)
and is veeery similar to a bag of “ika-pina”, a japanese version of squid and peanuts.

hakodate in southern part of japan’s hokkaidou is well known for their squiddery. here, there are many boats that set out each night, with “squid lights” blazing to hunt for these slippery, slimy mollusks. here, you can get some of the freshest seafood known to man, and hakodate is very well known for their hairy crabs(really), but today, we’re talking about squids.

this is a picture of a manhole cover from hakodate. and you can see, how delectable these squids look, how cute and ready they are to please your palate.

the squid boats are outfitted with these brilliant light bulbs, and at night you can see into the distance, out in the sea, these squid boat’s lights as they haul in their tentacled bounty.

once, flying from tokyo to seoul on a late night flight, i looked out the window and rubbed my eyes as clearly we were flying over the east sea/sea of japan, and i thought i was hallucinating because below me were countless number of brilliant lights that shone along the coast of japan in the ocean, as well as korea as i approached incheon.

these lights were being shone from the squid boats, and it was really interesting to see them because from the air, one could see the extent of each country’s maritime border by noting how far out to the sea each squid boat was.

oh, and the whole dokdo/takeshima thing between japan and korea? i really think it’s all about who gets to catch squid around these islets.

you know, for chopping up uncooperative fools.

i remember trolling a flea market when i was a mere child, and coming across a replica katana set and being deeply impressed. these swords really looked like they could do some damage. and damage they did. i’d swing them around the house like a maniac, and few punctured drywalls put an end to that shenanigan pretty quickly.

but those replica swords couldn’t even open an envelope, let alone cleave a dude in half.

well, here are some real katana for sale, and if you fancy them, prepare to pay, as they range anywhere from usd $6000 to $16,000. but as you know, when you must absolutely, positively must teach a fool a lesson, nothing less will do.

katana “kuniteru”

katana “yoshikado”

from e-sword

EDIT:woops, it looks like the towing device is made in SWEDEN not Switzerland. sorry.

fascinating.

it’s really a good idea, this motorcycle towing vehicle. well, let me back up. it’s not a vehicle that tows motorcycles, but it’s the motorcycle that tows vehicles.

say, your car suddenly dies in a middle of a highway, in a traffic jam. imagine how difficult it would be to have a tow truck come and tow your vehicle away. but with this, a lane splitting bike can come and rescue your hooptie before passing motorists hurl insults at you or worse.

the bike is a honda GL 1800cc, and is modified by a swiss company under contract. it’s a six speed bike with 5 forward and one reverse. it’s capable of pulling 2.5 tons, at 30km/h

car pulling demonstration

towing device folded, and the bike en route to a call

towing device unfolded

from dkb news

christmas approaches. to many it’s a time eagerly anticipated (say, if you are a kid), or rather like me, if you happen to gnash your teeth at hearing a christmas jingle for the umpteenth time as you go about your day. what i don’t uderstand is, these stores and public places that play christmas music 24/7 as the day approaches… do they not realize how grating these songs become after a while? i pity the store employees who have no choice but to endure this aural assault all day long.

then there is the whole damn gift giving thing. gee, thanks a lot, three wise dudes of the orient for starting a real annoying tradition. it’s come to a point where most people including me have begun to associate christmas with which mp3 player to buy as a gift. that is just sad.

sometimes, i think scrooge had it right. man, screw that cratchit dude and his incessant whining about how one oughtta be jolly during christmas. i think he was secretly a slacker who was looking for excuses to lollygag.

well, no, that’s not quite right. yes, scrooge is a mean-spirited and miserly dude, but then again, what was the moral of “a christmas carol”? that you can become a saint if you go about handing out gifts and yelling merry christmas like a dolt? i’m not even sure if dickens wrote this. it was probably sponsored by best buy or hallmark or something.

i do remember when i was little, i did get the most kickass christmas present(see? a religious season reduced to memories of gift receiving!). it was a train set, with three locomotives that would switch as it pulled into the station. it even had the shinkansen! now, that’s what i’m talking about.

korea and japan gets in the mood too, during this season. of course, there is the gift giving thing, but curiously, the evening and the day is seen as not so much a family holiday(indeed, most japanese work on christmas day), but time to spend having fun with friends, coworkers, or one’s sweetheart( think christmas parties). and of course, there’s the “christmas cake”, and the joyous waiting for “grandpa santa claus” if you’re in korea, or “santa-ojiisan” in japan.

well, in korea, they have taken it step further with a “christmas bus”. in an article submitted to me by a loyal reader in korea, there’s apparently a bus that goes around all decked out with christmas tchotchkes INSIDE. we’re talking about tinsels, lights, the whole nine yards. even a friggin’ christmas TREE!

according to the article, it’s so that people who haven’t got such decorations in their own homes can feel the warmth of the christmas spirit.

i’d say, i think it would just depress people even more. they probably think “damn, even the crappy seoul buses can have christmas decoration. i’m such a failure!”

i wonder if christmas season and the festive decoration inside the bus has any calming effect on the usual maniac drivers of seoul buses. if i was a driver, driving along all day with a damn tree behind me in the mirror may move me to mow down an extra pedestrian or two.

but that’s just me.

from tvreport.co.kr

i recall one time helping my parents move from their old house into a new one, and being horrified at the amount of dust that lay underneath their bed. these dustbunnies apparently have multiplied as they usually do, and donning a bandana over my nose to vacuum these infernal dust particle was a really a trying experience.

sorry to gross you out and all, but inevitably, my nostrils sucked in quite a large amount of said dust. it was really disgusting. i asked one of my sisters: “hey, what should i do? the inside of my nose is all gunked up,” she replied non-chalantly “lavage it”.

“lavage”?

having never taken french (and it sounded french, as she pronounced it “lah-vah-ji”), i merely blinked and nodded and said “yeah, time for some lavage action.” didn’t want to sound like a total ignoramus, you know.

it turns out lavage is the act of drawing up water through one’s nose holes, holding it for a while, then expelling it. wikipedia defines it thus:

Antiseptic lavage is a means of washing, especially of a hollow organ, such as the stomach or lower bowel, with repeated injections of warm water mixed with an antiseptic or antifungal solution. Antiseptic lavages are commonly used as a treatment to pericoronitis of wisdom teeth.

i really hope my sister meant the inside of my nose and not my lower bowel.

so, i tried it by cupping a handful of water and giving it a good snort, and was immediately blinded by pain as if someone gave me a good punch to my nose. i spluttered water out of my nose, me now being a choking, tearing, coughing mess. i’m sure my sister was out there somewhere chuckling to herself.

well, does it work? i dunno, i suppose, as my nose produced prodigious amount of snot, and i’m sure my umteenth nose blowing probably loosened all that dust. but, man, what a way to clean your nose.

if i had known about this device, the nasal irrigator, it might have saved me some pain and humiliation. according to gizmodo, you fill it up with salt water and squirt the blasted thing into your nostrils, and voila! it’s like taking a shower inside out. why the salt water? well, it seems that saline is less painful than freshwater when you snort it up your nose. kinda like saline doesn’t hurt your eyes as much as fresh water or bleach does. if you suffer from chronic stuffed nose (boogurus fullitis), maybe you should get one of these.

you mean to tell me you still pick your nose to clean your nostrils? that’s just uncivil.

from gizmodo

kendo grew out of need to train japanese men in the art of sword fighting without, you know, practioners losing their eyes or limbs. in its present form, the art of kendo is practiced with a bamboo sword called “shinai” and the kendoka(the kendo dudes) wears armor called “bogu” as well as a mask called “men” so that when one is whacked(it is the purpose of kendo, after all), it don’t hurt so much.

it’s a sublime thing to watch at times, as the strikes come in a microsecond, and the reflex needed as well as coordination and training that is required is pretty damn arduous. i used to think that it’s all about swinging that bamboo sword around and whacking people, but in reality, it will take someone a good year or more to properly land a strike. consistently.

korea has kendo too, and as far as i know, it was first brought by the japanese colonialist in the 1910 or so. koreans took to kendo with fervor, as understandably there must’ve been some pent up anger and frustration.

after the japanese left post world war 2 defeat, koreans kept at it, and eventually the art as we know it, is rechristened “gumdo” or “kumdo”. essentially it’s the same, but asking someone who has practiced both kendo and gumdo, he tells me that in gumdo, there is much more movement, less concentration on form and mental aspects. gumdo also does away with some of the rituals of kendo, such as squatting in front of your opponent before the match and so forth.

this much is certain. as the birthplace of kendo, japan has been dominant in the world of kendo championship, just as koreans dominate tae kwon do world championships. in fact, japan has never lost a world kendo championship, but it has happened this year in taipei, taiwan, where japanese national men’s team was defeated in the semifinal round at the hands of american team. the american team consists mostly of second and third generatiopn japanese, many hailing from the los angeles area. congratualtions, team u.s.a.

perennial runner up korean team defeated team u.s.a to win its first ever kendo world championship. which is as shocking as japan winning world tae kwon do championship. these things just do not happen, but it finally did.

A riotous crowd cheered as South Korea defeated Team USA in the men’s team kendo competition in the final round of the 13th World Kendo Championship in Taipei on Sunday.

It was a historic moment, as Japan, the spiritual home of kendo, failed to take top honors for the first time in the tournament’s 36-year history. South Korea, on the other hand, finally escaped second place, where it had languished for the past six tournaments.

here is a video of that championship match, which a korean kendoka (in funky white)lands a decisive blow on the head of an american (traditional dark)to win its first ever champioship.

from taipei times

ho! i haven’t seen one of these in a long time.

those of you who have been around for a while(geezers) will know what this is.

what the hell?

i came across this photo, and became all nostalgic. many an eatin’ establishments in japan and korea used to have one of these devices at each table, and it’s a great conversation starter, as well as a pretty good way to get rid of some coinage.

basically, you insert a coin and pull the slide, and out pops a fortune, or a horoscope, in this case. this one is interesting because it apparently vends a western horoscope, not the traditional rat, cow, rabbit and dragon kind.

speaking of which, i think it’s really unfair that in traditional asian zodiac, there’d be some cool-ass signs like the dragon and the tiger, yet there are retarded ones like the pig and the rat. why! why couldn’t they all be sorta neat animals, like the crane, badger, hawk, otter or an armadillo? hell, a dragon isn’t even a real animal. that’s so unfair.

um, if you are a rat, that is.

found on naver, uploaded by one mr. xmas.

according to japan probe, the japanese word “inochi” has been chosen as the kanji of the year. (2006, that is)

”Inochi,” meaning “life,” has been chosen in a poll for the kanji character of 2006, a year marked by the birth of the first grandson of the emperor, a series of reported student suicides related to bullying, and a number of child abuse cases, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has announced.

well, this is what “inochi” looks like, dear readers.

命

いのち [inochi]
meaning: mortal life

there is such a thing as “kanji of the year”? who knew?

円

えん [en]
meaning: japanese monetary unit, pronouced “EN”, not “yen”. circle.

it is read as “marui” [まるい] when written thusly: “円い”. means circular or spherical.