Nice Panda fashions from China.
I am a ruins fan and actually check the 'Gunkan Jima (Island)' site sometimes still now. Today I found another great site. The site has a huge collection of ruins in Japan. Of course he has 'Gunkan Jima' and the very famous place for ruins fan 'Maya Kanko Hotel.' That building has some class in a destroyed way. This is the 'Ashio Dozan' (Ashio Copper Mine) . This site has Ashio Dozan history in English, 'It's time to come out of the dream.' This and this are ruins of a U.S base in the Tokyo area. They don't looks like Tokyo. I wonder why ruins are so beautiful... ( I said the same before? Yes, I said it is monono aware.) They are at the mercy of the elements and do not resist time. But I must say this ruin is ugly. That is the amusement park 'Gulliver Land' located near the Mt.Fuji. The park was built on the site of the Aum Shinrikyo of 1995 Tokyo sarin gas attacks and related incidents. The buildings haven't broken yet and keep their vivid colors. Gulliver is still laying down there without seeing Mt.Fuji...ah weird. I tried to check if I could see it on Google map, but that area is unclear (just a few blocks next to it is clear though).
In Japan, we buy Tobacco at shops like supermarkets and convenience stores and vending machines. At a shop, the shop staff judge or ask customers their age. But vending machines don't have such a barrier now (some machines ask for a driver's license card). But from next year, we need a taspo card to buy tobacco from a vending machine. (This means foreign travelers can't buy tobacco from a vending machine? Maybe.) A vending machine maker will release the new machine tomorrow which can judge ages by camera. The machine checks your bone structure, wrinkles, etc., and judges if you're over 20 years old. They say the machine has about a 90% success rate of judging age and automatically it asks for a driver's license card when it is hard to judge. Hmm, I wonder if it works fine for foreign people. Maybe Asians will be okay though.
'Neko nabe' is a boom on the Internet now. Nabe is pot, but don't misunderstand -- it doesn't mean we eat cats. It is a movie where cats are sleeping in a pot. I saw it a few months ago on the Internet, but I didn't think it would be such a big boom. I think this is the original one I saw first. Here is the result of Neko nabe on YouTube.
This is the official site of Japanese artist Takashi Yamaguchi. Check his work and animation page. There are nice 3D works. I downloaded 'wPendulum' from Lab page. I think it has a relaxation effect :-)
I am very interested in your blog! Involuntary people liked it! Very beautiful people in the enjoyment! I am lucky to see it! I do feel honored
Posted by: Nike Dunks | Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 10:04 AM
While I can't say if Frank was just joking or not (the part about cutting up vegetables on top of a sleeping cat made me chuckle), he was pretty close to what I've read on the subject describing the flavor as.. cooked cat even has a euphemism showing this: Roof-hare or roof-rabbit. In german it was called Dachhase. It's something not eaten much if at all anymore, at least in Europe, but was said to have become popular by way of necessity during WWII, IIRC. Its said when properly prepared one wouldn't know the difference. Now I'm not suggesting I agree with the eating of felines (not much into the idea of eating predators in general, myself) but it happens. I have 3 cats and a dog myself and find the thought of eating them repugnant but then I also have a rabbit and had a guinea pig as pets and I have eaten representatives of both of the latter species (not my pets, mind you) and they were quite delicious. :D
To be fair, I'm close friends with a family of devout Hindus who find the idea of eating beef equally repulsive so I have to always remember I'm not fixing anything cow related for dinner (dairy products are fine, however). So we should be careful before tossing our own cultural taboos and perceptions onto others.
As for the subject of Neko nabe: That's kind of cute. 2 of mine have this strange fascination with sleeping in the wok and skillet. I automatically thought of them when I saw that. Haha. I think Bshock maybe right as to why they like sleeping in them.
Posted by: DL | Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 01:21 PM
(@-@)
Frank: Exactly how would you know:
"cat's meat is pretty good and tastes pretty much like rabbit"
- That's horrible!
Posted by: Heidi | Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 11:03 AM
On flickr there two great groups for gunkan. The scond one is only for Gunkan Island. I hope I can go there one day ...
http://www.flickr.com/groups/gunkan/pool/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/gunkanjima/pool/
Posted by: gullevek | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 01:20 PM
to be honest watching the cats sleeping in the pots made me kind of hungry. Cat's meat is pretty good and tastes pretty much like rabbit. Someone should shoot the same video with a neko sleeping in the pot and then 2 hands appear with a knive peeling potatos and carrots and spreading them around the cat, hey it is just and idea ok :)
Posted by: FRANK | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 10:53 AM
I was a little alarmed at the title "Neko Nabe," but I can see how cats would enjoy sleeping in cooking pots. I have known many cats who enjoy sleeping in the bathroom sink. I imagine the smooth round shape is a good match for the natural curve of their bodies.
Posted by: bshock | Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 03:58 AM