No title available
No title available
Janaina Medeiros
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
#extradirty
we're not kids anymore.
tumblr dot com
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Today's Document
🪼
Xuebing Du
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Sade Olutola
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
h
occasionally subtle
Love Begins
oozey mess
Show & Tell
YOU ARE THE REASON
seen from Chile
seen from South Korea
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Ecuador
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Brazil
@fl2209
comment s’appelle un chien qui vend des médicaments?
un pharmachien
why the fuck is this joke in french and why there is 26k notes am i missing something important
this is the most underappreciated joke around I wish more people spoke french
I just wanted to share this. That will be all.
We talked about the Caucasus region in class this week. I wanted to show another apsect of the Caucasian culture. I did my presentation on the Chechens, but I didn’t get a chance to share with the class their unique style of dance and music. This video is a pretty good example of their dancing style. They are in traditional costume as well. What’s neat about their dance is the different roles the men and women play. The man appears to be trying to impress the woman by showing off his moves while the woman effortlessly glides around him. She apperas to float as he makes rapid movements around her. This dance is popular at a lot of gatherings, escpecially weddings. I find it interesting that in their dances the women dance mostly supportive roles and the men have all the footwork and difficult steps. Even though the women appear to be merely decoration in the dance, it’s as if they are in control, forcing the men to impress them with their abilities. I find that curious because the Chechen Republic is such a male dominated society.
"Chechen Dance." Ala’a Alden Ismail. 18 August 2007. Web. November 14, 2013. Youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaIbGIjQzeo
Since this week we explored the Year of Japan Module, I thought I would talk about an anime movie that many of us have enjoyed: Spirited Away. Up until very recently, I thought that this movie was just an innocent children’s movie about a girl named Chihiro who gets trapped in the spirit world and is made to work in a bath house while her parents are turned into pigs. However, I found this link a couple days ago that completely changed my view on one of my favorite childhood movies.
In summary, the post says that the bath house that Chihiro (or “Sen”) works in is in fact a metaphorical brothel, and that the movie tackles the problem of the growing sex industry in Japan and children’s exposure to it at such young ages. All of that is evident with the understanding of Japanese names and characters used throughout the movie, and a little extra research in Japanese history. It makes me wonder what other things get lost in translation when we watch and read things that were not originally in our native languages.
Source: “Interesting Fact About 千と千尋の神隠し”. Tumblr.com. Accessed November 22, 2013. http://cering.tumblr.com/post/560013869/interesting-fact-about.
I just recently presented my Year of Japan project and something I found interesting was kanji. I have seen tattoo symbols like these before but I never knew what they stood for or how they originated. Kanji is a symbolic language used in the Japanese writing system that was adopted from Chinese characters. There is said to be up to 50,000 symbols because any Chinese character can be used but the majority of them are not used in the common language in Japan or China. I found this interesting because in today's world not many countries use symbolic language. "I Speak Japanese." Learn How to Speak Japanese Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. WebsiteLinkTagsEditDelete
We've posted a lot about the Year of Japan module, so I figured I'd introduce something related: Many of you know of Astro Boy, the first manga. Written in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy (or Tetsuwan Atom, as it's known in Japan) featured character designs similar to those of American cartoons made by Disney or Fleischer at the time. The story is that mad scientist mourning his deceased son creates Astro Boy, who later goes on to fight crime. It's a fairly simple storyline, but the manga surprisingly delved into dark and serious themes like abandonment, death, and even prejudice. Tezuka having faith that his readers could deal with such issues really set the stage for manga to become flexible enough to market to both children and adults in Japan. In 2003, another manga artist named Naoki Urasawa released Pluto, an alternate-reality retelling of some events in Astro Boy. It's known for being a lot darker, much sadder than the original story, and takes a darker tone; approaching issues like prejudice, military violence and the existential anguish felt by those who aren't quite human nor machine. In 2005, Pluto went on to win the Osamu Tezuka cultural prize. Image: {comics} pluto vol 1-7. omphaloskepsis, posted February 28, 2012. http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/comics-pluto-vol-1-7/
I feel like this post is appropriate for this week because it deals with both food and Japanese culture.
The culture around food in Japan is very particular. The presentation and appearance of food is often as important as the taste, and quality is highly valued. This importance is so pervasive, that it even carries over into their “fast food” and snacks. One way in which this cultural aspect surfaces is in the popularity of what are known as “B-class” restaurants among Japanese. B-class restaurants typically start as small “fast-food” type restaurants (ramen and noodle shops, etc.) that gain a lot of attention after receiving a stellar review in some publication. Japanese people will then swam the restaurant, sometimes traveling long distances and often waiting in line for 30 minutes, even if there’s an empty restaurant next door. Their patience and willingness to wait for superior quality food is reflective of some of the key cultural values of Japan.
First image: lines in Japan, kenTaka, “Why Japanese People Stand in Long Lines for Ramen,” Japan Talk, posted June 13, 2012, accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/photo/26142/lines-in-Japan.html
Second image: ramen is the top b class food, kenTaka, “Why Japanese People Stand in Long Lines for Ramen,” Japan Talk, posted June 13, 2012, accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/photo/26147/ramen-is-the-top-b-class-food.html
Article: “Why Japanese People Stand in Long Lines for Ramen,” John Spacey, Japan Talk, posted June 13, 2012, accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/b-class-gourmet-in-Japan
KIMONO
Kimono are Japanese traditional garments that used to be worn as a daily attire before World War II. It all changed during the Meiji period (1868 - 1912) when the government wanted the Japanese people to adopt western clothing. Currently, they are worn on special occasion such as weddings and tea ceremonies as mentioned in one of the videos in the module, and also during other special events. Some people may still wear it every day, but it is not seen often. Kimono, as it was worn daily in history, comes in wide variety fitted for each season. Also, they come in variety of colors and prints. These kimono's have different designs for different events, such as when going to a funeral, they, both men and women, would wear black kimonos and men would have black ties for funerals to differentiate between when going to a wedding, they would wear black kimono with white tie. More information about what kimono's are worn at what events can be found here. Sources: History of Kimono's http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/kimono/kimono01.html Japanese Kimono History http://traveltips.usatoday.com/japanese-kimono-history-13616.html Images: http://kimono-momo.on.omisenomikata.jp/ http://kimonoswitch.com/?pid=48207394
This is an image from my favorite anime movie ever. Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki is an epic animated adventure produced by studio Ghibli (the same animation studio responsible for Kiki’s Delivery Service and Ponyo). These little guys are considered kawaii and have been turned into stuffed plushies, figurines, and keychain mascots. If you haven’t seen spirited away, I highly encourage you to give it a watch. It’s based off of an interesting cross section of old Japanese myths and beliefs, and takes place in a bath house for spirits.
Sources:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/103536215/my-neighbor-totorospirited-away-bottle?ref=market
http://www.etsy.com/listing/126386740/soot-sprite-plush-amigurumi-spirited?ref=market
http://ladygeekgirl.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/manga-mondays-spirited-away/
JINJA HONCHO - Association of Shinto Shrines
I've done the Year of Japan final project, and one of the things I talked about was Shinto. I've always been interested in religions, but to me Shinto was "they worship ancestors" and that was it. Just glancing at the Wikipedia page showed how lacking my knowledge of Shinto beliefs was. Personally, I think religion is one of the best ways to learn about a culture.
Jinja Honcho. "JINJA HONCHO - Association of Shinto Shrines." Accessed Nov. 22nd, 2013. http://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/en/
Can we just talk about anime for a moment? Anime is cool. I love the overreactions, I love picking up random Japanese words, I love the animation (usually looks so beautiful), just all around pretty awesome. Allow me to recommend some good ones.
Ouran High School Host Club is a great character heavy parody anime that features ridiculous situations and hilarious overreactions. If I tell you what it's about you might judge it too soon. So just go out and find it yourselves if you're interested.
Baka and Test and Summon the Beasts is about a school where students settle their differences by summoning avatars, basically mini versions of themselves, whose strength is based on their academic ability in a given subject. This series follows the lowest class. Hilarity ensues. It's such a funny and light series. Not too serious, just fun.
Soul Eater is more action, as the other two were slice of life comedies. The students at Death Weapon Meister Academy, consisting of one (or more) person who can transform into a weapon, and one to weld said weapon. Their goal is to eliminate kishins, evil former humans who feed on human souls. However, it gets far more complicated than that when crafty forces move to awake the kishin sleeping under the school. While I'm talking about Soul Eater, I need to mention that the themes (ending and opening) were really good. Here's opening 1 theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyH9PwoBItM.
Fullmetal Alchemist. If you're into anime at all, you've probably at least heard of this one. At least, it's been that way in my experience. This series focuses on two alchemist brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who have committed the ultimate taboo: human transmutation. They then go off in search of the philosopher's stone in the hopes it will restore their incomplete bodies.
There are so many great animes out there, it was hard to keep this list to four. I also wanted to mention D Gray Man but alas. Also, all of these can be easily found on the internet (and Netflix, by the way). Hope I've sparked your interest.
http://animeguyspl0x.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/ouran-high-school-host-club/
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JOaRmxR1EJ8/USMDRARd1kI/AAAAAAAAABQ/_YsYeb2n5OU/s1600/Baka_to_Test_to_Shokanju_by_AlexanderTheTerrible2.jpg
http://souleater.wikia.com/wiki/Soul_Eater_Wiki
http://anime.wuxiaedge.com/fullmetal-alchemist-wallpaper-screenshots/
As many of you already know, it is year of Japan at Kennesaw State University. Well, I have not really paid it any attention until participating in the year of Japan module for our class. This module affirmed much of what I already thought or knew relatively about Japan; the fashion is cute/edgy (Kawaii), comics (Manga) and animated cartoons (Anime) are very popular, and entertainment or Geinokai is synonymous with talent.
What really caught my attention is how popular Anime is in Japanese culture. In a Los Angeles Times article titled, "Line are being redrawn for Japan's Anime Industry," I found that anime is actually at risk of being lost in the Japanese culture because there aren't enough animators due to outsourcing. "Seeking lower costs, production companies for decades have been outsourcing the work to animation companies in South Korea, India, Vietnam and elsewhere, where scores of trade schools have cropped up and artists can be hired more readily." Although anime did not solely originate in Japan, it began to gain popularity as early as the late 1920's.
I think that anime will always be popular among the whole world. I grew up with friends throughout my adolescence that watched Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, and if it was anime, you can bet they were watching it. It personally never appealed to me but I can still appreciate the countless hours and skill that goes in to making it.
Article: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/19/business/la-fi-japan-anime-20100819. accessed November 22, 2013.
First Picture: http://www.japantravelinfo.com/heritage/index.php. accessed November 22, 2013.
Second Picture: http://webtaj.com/cute-anime-res-912.html. accessed November 22, 2013
Participating in the module of Japanese pop-culture this week and giving my Year of Japan presentation to a class really made me realize just how much Japanese culture influences my, personal, daily life. The top photos are from an app. that I have on my phone (one of three), called Kawaii Vol. 0, which is a Japanese magazine that focuses fully on Japanese Kawaii-inspired fashions in major cities like Osaka and Tokyo and districts like Harajuku. It updates every few weeks with new pictures of mostly college aged men and women in amazing fashion in Japan. The second set of pictures is from a wonderful store called Daiso Japan that I am having trouble surviving without! I visited Daiso nearly once a day when I lived in Seattle. It is pretty much a Japanese dollar tree (but everything is $1.50). They carry everything from shoes to umbrellas to toiletries to figurines to a whole room of chopsticks and bento boxes! Nearly everything in the entire store is themed with cute (Kawaii ^.^) little things like strawberries, bunnies, cupcakes, and countless other tiny, adorable, pink things! The last two pictures are of the wall about my bed and of a couple the bento boxes (which I prefer to American lunchboxes) and stuffed animals I have collected. I look at and interact with things from the Japanese culture every single day of my life, and I am glad that the module did a great job in calling my attention to that.
P.S. I have not stopped listening to AKB48 since yesterday. :)
"Photos for Daiso Japan." Yelp. Accessed 22-Nov-13. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/daiso-japan-anaheim?select=0o9b4RX7aIdzLhykEi8rRA#0o9b4RX7aIdzLhykEi8rRA
Gastelum, Gabriel. “Daiso Seattle.” Wordpress. Posted 22-Oct-08. http://violentpillow.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/daiso-best-store-ever/
"Kawaii Vol. 0." Google Play Store. Accessed 22-Nov-13. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.androbook.material110820165515_1efffcce
Mambazha pulliseri is a famous Kerala dish. The main ingredient is ripe mango and Yoghurt.
So we were talking in the restaurant about many things, and mangos for cooking was mentioned. So I wondered when you would ever use mangos of all things in cooking. This is what I found.
http://allrecipes.co.in/recipe/11953/mambazha-pulliseri--kerala-special.aspx?o_is=Hub_TopRecipe_1
Haruki Murakami is an incredible author. I have recently begun reading his book 1Q84 after hearing great things about it from friends. Since we have been discussing Japan this semester, I thought Murakami would be an interesting person to mention. He has won many awards for his fiction and non-fiction writings. His stories are realistic with a touch of the surrealistic. I recommend him to anyone who enjoys a touch of the unreal. His stories contain themes of isolation and fantasy. In this day and age I think a lot of people can understand and relate to feelings of isolation because of our current trend to communicate via computer, smart phone, etc.
Pino, Kristina. "Geekery Do." Blogger, April 2, 2012. Accessed on 22 November 2013. Web. http://geekerydo.blogspot.com/2012/04/book-review-1q84-by-haruki-murakami.html
Haruki Murakami. Random House, n.d. Web. Accessed on 22 November 2013. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/murakami/site.php
The Year of Japan Module helped me understand the Japanese culture a little better than what I already knew. I've heard the term Kawaii many times before this but I could never really put a meaning to it. Japan has always been a strange country for me because they are so unique, which is not necessarily a bad thing. One of the funniest and most interesting aspects in my opinion is their propaganda. Compared to Japanese commercials, U.S is nothing. I think they have by far the best commercials that really show a lot of their culture. In my opinion, Japan thrives on being cute and bright and adorable and that is what I see through these commercials. They differ so much from our pop culture and what we are used to. Kawaii ranges from commercials to clothing to tv shows, movies and manga. I especially found these commercials really funny and entertaining and they pertained to this week's topic. I learned a lot from this module about Japan and it really shows how polar opposite some cultures can be from one another.
"Japanese Kawaii Commercials", Munex - www.youtube.com, accessed November 22, 2013, http://youtu.be/t-MYO7c6PeA
The official site for tickets to Disney's landmark Broadway musical THE LION KING at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA.
Disney's THE LION KING celebrates its 10th Anniversary in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, December 20, 2008 with a gala performance and celebration at the Theatre Haru. The Tokyo production of The Lion King was the first to be mounted after the show's award-winning New York City debut and is the second longest-running staging of the show, after Broadway.
“THE LION KING Celebrates 10th Anniversary In Tokyo, Japan,” BroadwayWorld.com, accessed November 22, 2013, http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-LION-KING-Celebrates-10th-Anniversary-In-Tokyo-Japan-20081219
