Russian Mother Gives Birth to Enormous 17.5 lb Baby Girl!!

by Matthew Firestone on

A Russian woman has given birth to a baby girl weighing 17.5 pounds, more than twice the average newborn weight.

“We were all simply in shock,” reported the baby’s mother, Tatyana Barabanova. “My husband couldn’t say a thing – he just stood there blinking.”

The baby girl, Nadia, was by delivered by Caesarean section at a hospital in the Altai region of Siberia, and will be joining her eight sisters and three brothers.

All of Tatyana’s previous babies weighed more than 11 pounds.

“We don’t have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles and tomatoes,” added Tatyana.

Big in Japan: Japanese Robots Will Take Over the World

by Matthew Firestone on

The following post was inspired by an article that appeared recently in Wired magazine entitled the Future of Humanoid Robots, From Frubber ‘Skin’ to DJ Juke Bots.

Like the majority of other self-respecting Japanophiles the world over, I love robots. I mean, every time I turn on the news and see some crazy story about some new Japanese robot, I get giddy all over. With that said, you can imagine how excited I was when I found this recent article in Wired magazine on the future of Japanese robots.

Here is a rundown of some of the crazy robots you can expect to see in a future near you:

Kiyomori Samurai Robot

According to Wired magazine, “Tmsuk’s flagship robot has a humanlike stride with stretchy knees, 39 joints and a very flexible pelvic region that provides a smooth, more natural gait.”

I want to call particular attention to the ‘flexible pevlic region’ – I can only imagine just exactly where the engineers will go with that one. I know robots are designed to make our lives better and easier, but I know there are a lot of people out there who could use some help in certain, er, departments.

Reem-A

Wired writes that “this life-size humanoid robot can recognize casual questions and commands, hold simple objects and stop for obstacles in its path during a leisurely stroll.”

The craziest part however is that it is programmed to kick your butt in a variety of games including chess and checkers. It’s fine and dandy that robots are getting smarter than us, but then again, who plays chess and checkers any more. I guess the real question here is whether or not can it play Nintendo Wii?

Juke Bots

According to Wired Magazine, ‘Juke Bots are two giant mechanical arms that select and spin vinyl records. They’re programmed to perform compositions with robotic precision and can go head to head with the best warm-blooded mixmasters around.’

Sure. But can it get me passes to jump the line? Afterall, isn’t that the best part of knowing a real life human DJ? And what about its musical tastes? I mean, is this going to spin repetitive house music all night, or can I expect it to play my favourite hip-hop records and bust out some serioues scratching.

Human-Carrying Biped Walking Robot

Wired magazine writes, “Researchers at Japan’s Waseda University have developed a pair of 4-foot-tall robotic legs that can move efficiently across uneven terrain. The Biped Walking Robot uses footlike sensors to measure the forces between its base and the floor, maintaining on-the-fly balance based on the weight of its load.”

Amazing. I mean, all of the hipsters I know love rocking out their Segways, but how cool would you look coming down the street riding one of these things? All you need to do is add some loader arms and you could throw an alien out the hangar door a la Sigorney Weaver in Aliens.

Call me crazy, but am I the only one that thinks that Japanese robots will take over the world? Maybe not in my lifetime, but the seeds of resistance are definitely being planted.

(On a serious note however, the field of robotics is rapidly moving from the realm of science fiction into reality, and I can’t stress enough how much all of our lives will improve if this current pace of innovation continues).

Big in Japan: World’s Oldest Man is Japanese (What a Surprise!)

by Matthew Firestone on

Last week, the world’s oldest man, who needless to say happens to be Japanese, turned an astonishing 112 years old. Tomoji Tanabe, who was born in 1895, proudly told to the Kyodo News Agency: “I want to live indefinitely. I don’t want to die.”

To mark the occasion, Mr Tanabe received a check for 100,000 yen (US$900) and flowers from the mayor of his hometown, Miyakonojo.

When asked about the secret to his longevity, Mr. Tanabe told reporters that avoiding alcohol and not smoking keeps him young. He also stressed the importance of keeping to his daily routine, which involved writing in his diary and reading the newspaper.

Mr. Tanabe was declared the oldest man this past January by the Guinness Book of World Records after the death of Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, of Puerto Rico, at 115.

Due to improvements in healthcare and lifestyle, lifespans in developed countries around the world are on the rise. This, combined with better record keeping, means that the number of supercentenarians or people who have lived 110 years or more is also on the rise.

Japan is said to have the largest population of centenarians in the world, with some 30,000 citizens aged 100 and over. The country has also laid claim to some truly mind-blowing supercentenarian records.

Shigechiyo Izumi, who grew up in the Southwest Islands of Japan, lived from June 29, 1865? to February 21, 1986. Assuming his claimed birth was correct, he would have attained an age of 120 years, older than any other recognized male, and be the second-longest lived human ever, second only to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment.

Although there is some dispute as to his actual birth date, Mr. Izumi was recorded as being six years old in Japan’s first-ever census, which took place in 1871. At his death, Mr. Izumi stood at 1.42 meters (four feet, eight inches) tall, weighed 42.6 kilograms (94 pounds) and lived through 71 Japanese Prime Ministers.

Mr. Izumi also holds the record for the longest working career for a person, which spanned 98 consecutive years. He began his career in 1872 goading draft animals at a sugar mill, and retired as a sugarcane farmer in 1970 at the age of 105.

As he frequently told reporters, Mr. Izumi attributed his long life to “God, Buddha and the Sun.” Of course, unlike the teetotaling Mr. Tanabe, Mr. Izumi loved his drink.

According to the Kyodo News Agency, Mr. Izumi drank copious amounts of shōchū (焼酎, a Japanese alcoholic beverage distilled from barley) on a daily basis.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of drinking shōchū (indeed it is one of my favorite tipples), let me be the first to tell you that its tastes like rubbing alcohol and smells like turpentine.

But oh lordy – that stuff will make get you off your rocker in 10 seconds flat!

So, I guess the morale of today’s post is that it if you want to live to be a supercentenarian, it doesn’t matter whether or not you indulge in the occasional drink. Of course, it certainly helps if you happen to be Japanese!

Australia’s Biggest Security Risk May Be Climate Change

by Catherine Bodry on

Australia may be tightening security at its borders soon, but not because of terrorist threats. While the climate-shift story in the rest of the world reads like the Book of Revelations, Australia has got a problem almost as large as floods and famine: mass immigration caused by floods and famine (and overpopulation).

Reuters states that China’s population is posed to tip 1.5 billion by 2030, and while the Chinese might be making babies, Mama Nature is wreaking havoc. A 3 percent temperature rise, rising sea levels and shrinking glacial runoff could reduce runoff into major Chinese rivers, while land for grain and rice might be reduced by 30 percent. More citizens and a lot less food and water could prompt a forced migration of millions of people.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty suggests that since police will be dealing with resulting racial tensions and thus directly involved “with the struggle to cope with the impact of global warming,” they should also be involved in the regulation of emerging carbon trading schemes.

Australia, along with the United States, has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which requires 36 industrial nations to cut greenhouse emissions.

Big in Japan: The Weirdest Japanese TV Show You’ll Ever See

by Matthew Firestone on

While everyone in America is arguing over whether or not Kid Nation is innovative and groundbreaking entertainment or cheap and exploitative thrills, it seems as if the Japanese have once again bested us.

Don’t believe me? I promise you – you’re in for a surprise!

Click on the video above for a little preview of a popular Japanese game show known as Haneru No Tobira, which I believe roughly translates to ‘Human Tetris.’ Although this clip defies mere explanation, the idea is simple.

Contestants stand in front of a moving conveyor belt, which transports life-size blocks with cut-away human shapes. Unless they want to be knocked off the platform into a pool of icy water, contestants have seconds to contort their bodies into the appropriate shape so that they can pass through the block unscathed.

So now that you’ve all seen the video and are no doubt utterly confused, I suppose I should offer some sort of cultural explanation as to why Japanese TV shows seem to be anchored in another reality. Truth be told, and in light of the fact that I have an anthropology degree from a rather prestigious university, I have no freakin’ clue.

Of course, in times of confusion and doubt, I always turn to the great archive of cultural knowledge that is The Simpsons. Weaned on America’s favorite nuclear family since I was but a wee Japanophile, the early seasons of The Simpsons did more for my personal development than any other institution of higher learning.

With that said, do you remember the episode entitled Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo, which was the finale of the 10th season? After besting the Flanders by picking up the mega-saver tickets at the Springfield airport, the Simpsons fly to Tokyo for a Japanese-style family fun vacation.

Interestingly enough, Wikipedia reports that a Japanese dub of this episode never aired in Japan. Although the series was running concurrently in Japan, the TV censors banned the episode because of the scene when Homer throws the Emperor into a pile of mawashi or sumo thongs. In fact, Sanrio also objected to episode because of the depiction of the Hello Kitty factory as a giant smoke stack fueled by truck loads of stray cats.

Anyway, let’s get back to the original question at hand, namely why it is that Japanese TV shows seem to be anchored in another reality.

In the climax of the episode, the Simpsons appear as contestants on a TV game show called The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show, hoping to win plane tickets back to Springfield. As serious Simpsons aficionados such as myself quickly recall, the show was hosted by a rude and violence-bent game show host named Wink, who was voiced by George Takei of Star Trek fame.

At the start of the show, Wink offers the Simpsons a quick and simple explanation of why Japanese TV game shows are so cruel: “Your shows reward knowledge. We punish ignorance.”

Ah – so! Hey, it’s not groundbreaking cultural commentary, but it’s the best got!

Anyway, feel free to offer your ideas as after five years of living in Japan, I still have no idea what’s going on when I turn on the TV.