one thing i really like about traveling to foreign countries is endlessly being fascinated by foreign currency, and the thrill of trying to figure what i’m about to buy is a good deal or not by doing some quick and dirty(really dirty) conversions in my head.

i guess that’s why i don’t like the euro, because it replaced many a colorful moneys in europe, like deutsch mark. alhtough i have to say, i really like the idea of each issuing countries’ coin having a unique tails. i think the heads are all the same. also, unlike, say american dollar(which these days are turning into a hideous multi-colored hippie tie-dye colors), different denominations of euro bills have different sizes. i suppose they did this, despite the fact that they don’t neatly all line up in a wallet, so that a blind person can use it.

as we all know, japanese currency is the yen. it bugs me when people pronounce it “yen”. it’s really pronounced “en”, isn’t it? what i want to know is where the deuce the japanese banks had the idea of calling something “yen” when it’s pronounced “en”. same thing with “yebisu”. what the? is it not pronounced “ebisu”?

korean currency is, of course, “won”, pronounced… uh, “one”, as you’d expect. so that’s good. on the other hand, the largest cash bill in korea is the 10,000 won note. all good and fine, as japan is the same with 10,000 en (i refuse to spell it with a “y”). the thing is, 10 won is roughly equivalent to a 1 en, or 1 cent. or 2.5 pfennig or .95 euro or 23.5 clams. anyway, that means that the largest bill in circulation in korea is roughly equivalent to about 10 bux. or 1000 en. this causes a headache because when you go to exchange some currency in a korean bank, you are usually handed a thick wad of cash notes. i usually ask for an envelope, as this stack of papers would surely bust my wallet.

psychologically speaking, it feels rich to be carrying such a large sum around. on the other hand, you have to carry a rather large number of said notes, so my question to you, korean central bank, is: “why don’t you print some 100,000 won notes!”

i bring this lament to people i know in korea, and they usually just shrug and say “hey, that’s just the way it is, pal.” thankfully, debit cards and credit cards are pretty much accepted everywhere, unless you’re trying to buy some squid on the street. then it’s time to bust out your fat wad of bills, daddy warbucks.

in what seems like an exercise in futility, korean central bank(mint) is releasing brand new 10 won (approximate value: squat) soon. i can hardly contain my glee. it’d be akin to american mint releasing brand new pennies. gee, how about this, korea. instead of new 10 won coins, start releasing 1000 won coins. it’d be perfect for vending machines, although, in that area, i think japan outnumbers korean vending machine’s population by about 100 to 1.

on the other hand, it’s really easy to be a millionaire in korea. all you need is roughly 1000 bucks, and there you are.

new 10 won coin. now it even looks like an american penny. useful for making jangly noises in your pants. and not much more.

if being a gyaru in shibuya is an expression of one’s individuality, then surely these trucks are vehicular equivalent.

let’s see, what can one really say about these things to make sense of it all? well, basically, it’s what the long haul truckers in japan drive, as owning one’s own freighter, apparently is a great source of pride. there are many meets where truckers gather to admire each other’s visually modded haulers. impressive, in a way.

i think most motorist in america would have a heart attack were they to see one of these rumbling past them on the freeway.

from damn cool pics

写真

しゃしん [shashin]
meaning: photograph

写 copy or describe
真 true or reality

“真” can also be read “ma” or “makoto”, depending on your mood.

some things, even simple things, sometimes take a long time to explain.

for example, this simple usb memory drive… well, how shall i explain its existence? basically, it’s called “kore ja nai robo”, which roughly translates to “this is not it robo”. make sense now? right. i know. clear as mud.

upon doing some investigation, it turns out that this device is meant to create profound sense of disappointment for kids. here’s the scenario:

a kid thinks he’s getting a kickass robot for, say, christmas or bar mitzvah. the little punk thinks he’s getting that gundam or whatever the little pukes play with these days. instead, he gets this crude “robot” with face drawn in by an apoplectic monkey, and less joint movement than kenner starwars figures.

you can see the consternation on the little rugrat’s face: “kore ja nai!!” (this ain’t it!)

oh yeah? well, let this be a lesson to you, and let it serve you well in the future. in this world you aren’t always going to get what you want. in fact, life is nothing but series of one profound disappointment after another. you’d better get used to it. but hey, look at it this way: it actually works as a thumb drive!

oh, another one of life’s disappointment? it’s only 256mb.

from the purveyor of all things mundane and strange, rakuten
via engadget

here’s a little game called “yen neko”. kinda hard to describe, actually, but here goes.

you are a prince among cats, and you have a magical energy field called “yen”. through a tragic curse put on by the magical foxes, you are forever destined to run like an idiot along your “yen” circle. you have but one way to escape your miserable fate, and that is by grabbing a little flag with the letter “G” written on it, which presumably stands for “germany”. or goal.

anyway, what’s written above is a pure drivel, and totally made up, as i think i’m hallucinating. but the game is real, and so is the little cat that walks around perpetually in a circle. i played it, but i think it takes someone with IQ over double digits to fully understand what the hell is going on.

but the little neko sure is cute

play the game here

…just what in the hell is going on here?

what we have here is a burst of individualism on japanese roads. wait, make that like supernova of individualism, as i shudder to think what would happen to a hapless pedestrian were one of these machines and a street ambler were to accidentally meet.

they can of course deck out their rides like this, because unlike, say, america, minivans in japan don’t carry the social stigma of being uncool. in fact some of the coolest vehicles are minivans. witness total badassedness that is toyota estima:

toyota estima

this one may be a rolling advertisement for the ultra popular “sea story” pachinko. i played it a bit, but as is usual with me and pachinko, it totally mystified me and i ended up with a mild seizure anyway. it’s also pretty embarassing to have a granny sitting next to you, with some pity in her eyes teaching you how to play these things. nope, it’s not for me, definitely.

from funny cool stuff

労働

ろうどう [roudou] (both “o”s are long vowels)
meaning: manual labor

労 toil, labor, trouble
働 work, manual labor

this week’s japanese movie review is about kitano takeshi’s “dolls”. while not the most fast paced nor exciting, it is nevertheless quite well done. excerpt:

“the main story revolves around a young man named matsumoto, who on his wedding day, ditches his (wealthy)bride and his family to be with former fiancee, who upon hearing of matsumoto’s marriage to his company’s president’s daughter, attempts suicide. she is saved in time, but now has seems to lost her mind, unable(or maybe unwilling) to recognize anyone and is now in a perpetual state of zombie-like incoherency…”

full review and screenshots