Tigers and Cranes

In this issue of Ray’s Diary, Ray discusses the fact that there are numerous bicycle riders in Japan, a sharp contrast to Korea, where it’s usually college students who own and ride bikes around.

In Japan, however, it seems everyone rides, men, women, children, highschool kids, grandmas, businessmen, I mean everyone. It’s not an uncommon sight to see a housewife with a kid in the back, pedaling while holding an umbrella in the rain.

I posit that in Korea, it’s not as prevalent, since it’s so cheap to get around, and there are buses aplenty, as well as low cab fares and subway fares.

In the final pane of this comic, Ray and his younger brother are using archaic Japanese, easily identified with the use of “gozaru” (a form of “desu”), and terms such as Sessha[拙者]せっしゃ, meaning I or me used humbly, and Wagahai[我輩]わがはい, which is another archaic “I”, but with perhaps a hint of arrogance.

Thanks once again to Ray for great comic.

I’ve seen some whacky commercials from Japan, but by far this is one of the most disturbing, yet humorous one I’ve seen.

Warning: if you are easily offended by nudity, or villainous little kids, it might be better if you not watch.

Source: Skoopy

“Ray’s Diary” is drawn and written by a Korean expatriate named Han Yong Jong, living in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. I find his drawing style and humor strangely captivating, as he chronicles his daily life living in Japan as a Korean.

I had the pleasure of him emailing me and we corresponded a bit, and I hope he won’t mind my reprinting his old comics here with my translation of his Japanese and Korean into English, so those who can’t read either Korean or Japanese can also enjoy these comic strips.

Also, the author even includes mini Japanese lessons on the bottom.

You can view his latest comics online at his website (warning, it’s kind of hard to navigate, since it’s Cyworld, a notoriously insular and difficult to navigate website, kind of like Korean version of Myspace or something.)

In this installment of Ray’s Diary, he talks about those ubiquitous tissue dispensing people that are all over large cities in Japan. They’re mighty handy, since you can practically solve all your noseblowing needs just by strolling through some busy intersections and looking for these tissue giver-outers. At close to 100 yen each for a pack of “handy tissues” in Japan, they’re practically giving away money on the street.

And what are they advertising? It seems almost anything and everything, but mostly pachinko parlors, from the ones that I’ve received.

i have put up a page where you can download lim jeong hyun’s pachelbel’s canon mp3.

please go here.

in case you are wondering what i’m talking about, please go here

as i usually do when i work, i was streaming npr and i heard about this guitar guy who, heretofore known only as “funtwo”, is actually a guitarist from seoul by the name of lim jeong hyun, as revealed by new york time’s virginia heffernan.

my guitar hero has always been john myung of dream theater, a bass virtuoso if there ever lived one. i once saw dream theater in their concert in vegas, and by stroke of luck, i was sitting pretty close to the stage, and i couldn’t tell if john myung had two hands or several.
and while lim might not be as refined in his playing as myung is, he has incredible raw talent.

lim is playing pachelbel’s canon (which, by the way, is the most cliche’d piece of composition universally adored by all the koreans… especially at korean weddings), and towards the middle of the rendition, he starts busting out his near improvisational virtuoso stuff, and i was blown away.

do check it out.

download lim jeong hyun’s pachelbel’s canon mp3 here

i posted earlier i only pretty much enjoy pranks that crank the humiliation and pain threshold to 11. that’s why when my buddy mike z. sent me this video, it obviously makes the cut.

i recognize some of these dudes in the video… aren’t they from utaban? anyway, these men must recite a tongue twister, and failing that, they must pay the price. well, more specifically, their crotch must pay a price. men, watch if you dare… it is painful.

from glumbert.com

found on japan probe.
i usually don’t laugh when i watch videos of pranks and practical jokes, as i have a pretty warped sense of humor and i need to see people truly humilated and or hurt. so when i came across this video, i nearly busted my gut laughing.

it takes a place in a ski slope, in what appears to be an onsen. the poor unsuspecting saps are naked and nearly naked dudes no doubt wanting to relax their sore muscle after a hard day of frolicking in the snow. they probably never expected this…

once i strolled through rows of arcade near umeda in osaka killing time, and i came across this game with maybe 10 or so hemispheres that lit up when you pushed down on them in tune with the music. it’s similar to don-doko-don(the taiko game) or myriad other bemani rhythm games. but that night i stood there with my mouth agape watching this dude play that game… his hands moved so fast, i was amazed that he could hit all those orbs in perfect sync. well, here’s a video of some dude playing this very game… unbelievable. why is he playing video games instead of becoming a virtuoso pianist or something?

i love takoyaki! one of the greatest things about osaka is its food, whether you’re talking about okonomiyaki, modan yaki, shabu shabu, battera, or one of my favorites, the original kansai street food, takoyaki.

i once knew a takoyaki man who was a musician by trade, but also made some incredible takoyaki out the back of his bongo friendee.

you can’t eat these, but you can store your data on them. pricey, and doesn’t hold much(128mb), but you can have the most delicious thumbdrive in the office!

buy them at geekstuff4u

yes, his website has been around forever, and it’s not really japan or korea related. HOWEVER! i think his sublime creations have that very soft-focused japanese and korean style stationery look that is timeless. you know what i mean… those morning glory notepads or pencil cases or cutesy looking japanese characters like “rilla-kuma”.

morning glory pencil case

rilla-kuma

check out his website… but be warned… i am not responsible for your lost productivity.

orisinal