Wednesday, February 27, 2008

SASUKE 2008 Air Date Announced! Plus More Kane Kosugi

So while in the course of checking whether or not this:

was legit or not (since Japanese Wikipedia editors rarely feel the need to cite things), I came across this:
http://mamono.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/tv/1202198153/l50x
which led to a place I should have been checking all the time:

長野誠オフィシャルホームページへようこそ!!

2008. 2. 21更新

●長野誠からのお知らせ●

一部の方はご存知かもしれませんが、、、、
1月末から体調不良で地元延岡で入院しておりました。
ご心配をお掛けしましたが、2月21日退院しました。
3月のサスケ20回大会(3月26日放映予定)には
出場予定ですので、頑張りたいと思います。


Note: If you're checking the page in Firefox you too can wonder why THE BLINKING NEVER STOPS.

So yup, next SASUKE is March 26th, 2008! Unfortunately, I have work at that time so I won't be able to live-blog it um..live but I'll try to get it up by the end of that night.

In the meantime, head over to G4 where the American Ninja Contest is in full swing!

Edit!
Since we're in a SASUKE kind of mood...
Here's another video with short clips from the first SASUKE, this time featuring Kane Kosugi (I know the sound is out of sync):

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Six Things February 10, 2008

1. Super Bowl XLII. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Who knew you could spell schadenfreude with an 18 and a 1? A week later and it's still the gift that keeps on giving. Bill Simmons gets all emo. Some Pats fans can't let it go. Even the Onion joins in on the fun. I'm glad I recorded the replay because I can watch that fourth quarter over and over again.

2. Gyoza-gate is still one of the top stories in the news here.

3. "JapanSoc is a social bookmarking site, devoted to news and stories about Japan."

4. There is a new English wikipedia entry for 筋肉番付 (Kinniku Banzuke -- known as Unbeatable Banzuke on G4 in the US). The person who created the page is trying to do a translation of the Japanese page. If you want to practice your Japanese this might be a nice little exercise.

5. Frozen Grand Central by Improve Everywhere.

6. Huh, Hawaii's caucuses might actually matter for once. Cue the "Barry Obama, Hometown Boy!" campaign! Of course once the primaries are over Hawaii will follow this up by having absolutely no impact on the general election.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Six Things February 3, 2008

Hey! I'm still here! Sorry I haven't been putting anything up recently. Was a bit busy last month.

Anyway, I often have blog ideas that I don't think always deserve their own post. While I'd like to drive up the number of posts I um..post, I'd rather devote time to a select number of posts, especially the ones that I can really flesh out. So here goes an experiment: Six Things. Every Sunday I will try to put up a quick list of six things on my mind that are notable but not single post-worthy. They may not always be Japan related though. Of course this experiment will probably fizzle out and die by March but whatever. On with the show!

1. Super Bowl XLII is this Sunday if you're in America. If you're in Japan the game will be broadcast Monday morning on NHK BS-1. Coverage starts at 8:10 AM. Go Giants! The Patriots losing may or may not make Bill Simmons cry. That would be enough of a reason for me even if I weren't a long-time Giants fan. The Patriots are overwhelming favorites (a 12 point spread last I read) and are going for a perfect season. I'm hoping that this game will be similar to Super Bowl XXXVI with the overwhelming offensive juggernaut taken down by the underdogs with destiny and luck on their side.

2. Koda Kumi (倖田來未) has been suspended by her label for saying something stupid. And she has a new album coming out soon which she won't be able to promote. Wow. Just goes to show how much control talent agencies and record labels have over their clients. Say something or even blog something wrong and you pay a price.

3. Today is Setsubun (節分)! Throw them beans!

4. Aso Taro is my favorite Japanese politician because frankly, he's crazy:
"I've been saying that Japanese agricultural products are expensive but taste good and are clean and safe," Aso said. "To be blunt, the agricultural cooperatives should thank China. Great value has been added (to Japanese products)."

5. The L Word hit DVD rental shelves today in Japan.

6. The first time I saw this commercial for au's Infobar I thought, "Hey, it sounds like the Futurama theme song."

Like so many other people, I later found out that the opening was inspired by Psyché Rock by Pierre Henry which is the song the au commercial uses.

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