We were all highly critical of the “freaky looking deer-horned Buddha” mascot that was chosen to represent the Nara Heijo-kyo anniversary, and rightly so, but I fear that even he was more appealing than the two characters that front NHK’s “Eigo de Asobo” children’s TV show.
Meet Kebo and Motch
Let me introduce these ambassadors of the English language…
This picture from the cover of an NHK CD actually shows the two characters in good light. I usually find Kebo on the left, far more frightening than he appears here.
Goodness me! What are those things?
I’m not an expert on children’s shows, and have only recently started watching them regularly while on babysitting duty, but I did find an explanation in English on a post by Japanese blogger gyutaku:
There are two main charactors on this program.
The one is “Kebo” whose name comes from a Japanese word γζ―γΌγγ (ball of dust)γ.
He looks like a dirty hairy monster for you.
But you will get used to and not mind.
He can speak english appropriately for his age (6 years old).
I’m not so sure I’ll get used to him, but please continue…
The other is “Motch” whose name comes from γγγ‘ (rice cake)γ.
He has white smooth skin.
All people will say “How cute it toddling is!”
Because “Motch” is only 3 years old, he speaks only easy and short sentences.
They play together every day.
Motch likes every funny or yummy stuff.Kebo is good at everything like γ¬γγ£γγ³.
And, he is so gentle that he isn’t angry at Motch’s mischief.
I don’t know what “Gachapin” is, but I found a really bizarre video when searching that word.
Some people like Kebo and Motch, but…
If the original Nara mascot cost over 500 million yen, I can’t help but feel NHK should have splashed a little more cash on these guys. I mean, look at them… a ball of dust and a piece of old rice cake? I blame those of you who don’t pay your TV license fees! Cheapskates! Think of all the poor children who have to suffer Kebo and Motch because you won’t pay your bills!
Now Jenny on the other hand…
Little Rikuto loves Jenny, the native English speaking guest/presenter on the show. Whenever she does her pronunciation practice and we see a close up of her face that fills my 37″ telly, Rikuto, who isn’t even one year old yet, let’s out a little snigger of appreciation and starts drooling. It’s possible he’s trying to practice his English, but I suspect he’s truly happy to see Jenny after watching Kebo and Motch for so long…
This weekend, the annual Bilderberg conference gets underway at a fancy hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, in the United States. You could argue that this meeting is more significant than the G8 summit and even the U.S. presidential elections, but chances are, you’ve never even heard of it.
Bilder-what?
Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg Group is the superclass of modern society, a group of the world’s most influential politicians, business owners, royalty, military leaders and media giants. Every year, over one hundred of them gather together to discuss, and possibly even plan, world events.
For an idea of just who attends these meetings, take a quick look at the list of Bilderberg attendees from previous conferences. How can this possibly avoid media attention?
Never heard of Bilderberg?
That’s not surprising. A gathering of pop stars or top athletes would almost certainly hit the front page of most newspapers, but despite the people involved, it’s rare for Bilderberg to even get a mention. In fact, so far this year, only a Portuguese newspaper has mentioned the conference.
The secrecy under which the Bilderberg Group operates gives reason to be suspicious. Are they acting as a shadow government? Conspiracy theorists often describe Bilderberg as puppeteers, pulling the strings of politicians around the world to achieve their goals of a one world government, or a New World Order.
I would prefer to believe that Bilderberg was a think tank for solving the world’s problems, but I find it more likely that whatever they discuss is intended to benefit no-one but themselves.
What’s your reaction?
If this is the first time you’ve heard of Bilderberg, I encourage you to do some research, then come back and answer this question for me.
Loading ...I’d love to hear your thoughts on Bilderberg, particularly why the media gives so little attention to the group.
In addition to JapanSoc Sumo, I’ve tweaked a couple of other things on JapanSoc this week…
Have you got Genki?
If you don’t know, “genki” is the Japanese word for “active energetic happiness” or other less exciting definitions. As such, it’s the perfect replacement for JapanSoc’s Karma, a measure of a user’s activity over the last 7 days.
Although I should be asking “Are you genki?”, I find it much more amusing to use it as a noun…
- Do you have Genki?
- What’s your Genki?
- I gotta get me some Genki!
But how much Genki can you have? The formula for Genki considers stories submitted to JapanSoc, votes and also comments. Previously, Karma didn’t use comments in its calculation, but now, with a dose of Genki, it does! The most Genki you can have is 100%, and you can check your current Genki on your profile page.
Note: Points, Sumo Rank and Genki are updated every 6 hours, not instantly.
Sidebar overhaul
You may have noticed I’ve revamped the JapanSoc sidebar. It was getting too busy for my liking, and I really wanted to keep it clean. This image shows how each sidebar box now has tabs to switch between its contents:
I hope you’ll agree that this layout is better. Incidentally, registered users and casual surfers see a different variation of the sidebar. If you haven’t registered, emphasis is given to “Monthly Picks”, whereas registered users see the “Upcoming” box more often.
Suggestions for future improvements
Without a professional developer to help, there are limitations on the kind of features I can implement into JapanSoc. That won’t stop me trying though, and my amateurish efforts behind the scenes are the reason for the “beta” label next to the JapanSoc title. My apologies if you’ve tried using the site during those frantic moments when I’m doing some live testing!
There are two things currently on the drawing board; 1) to allow you to add more than one “homepage” to your profile. Some of you write for more than one website and I think it would be nice if you could add those links to your profile (Update: Done!), and 2) follow up Deas’ suggestion for a “Who’s Online?” feature. I think it’s a great idea and certainly worth pursuing.
If you have any other ideas for improving JapanSoc, please leave a comment. In the meantime, I have to live up to my Makkuchi sumo rank and find some interesting articles to submit. Maybe I can boost my Genki! 
Japan’s sumo season has come to an end, but the power users over at JapanSoc are just getting started.
What is JapanSoc Sumo?
It’s a new measure for ranking users so we can see who the biggest contributors to JapanSoc are. You earn points by submitting stories, voting, commenting, saving stories as “Favorites”, and for getting positive votes on comments you write. The more points you get, the higher up the sumo rankings you’ll move, until everybody recognizes you as an almighty Yokozuna!
What happened to Karma?
Karma is still there, but is now merely an indication of a user’s recent activity. If I can ever figure out the magical Karma formula, I’ll try to include more factors than just submitting stories and voting into the equations.
How do you get sumo points again?
Here’s the breakdown:
- 10 points - Submitting a story that hits the front page
- 7 points - Submitting a story that doesn’t make the font page
- 5 points - Commenting on a story
- 3 points - Voting for a story
- 2 points - Adding a story to your Favorites
- 1 point - Receiving a positive vote on a comment
How many points do you need to move up the rankings?
Everyone starts at Jonokuchi, the lowest level sumo rank…
- <1,000 points - Jonokuchi
- 1,000 - 1,999 points - Jonidan
- 2,000 - 2,999 points - Sandamme
- 3,000 - 3,999 points - Makushita
- 4,000 - 4,999 points - Juryo
- 5,000 - 5,999 points - Makkuchi
- 6,000 - 6,999 points - Komusubi
- 7,000 - 7,999 points - Sekiwake
- 8,000 - 9,999 points - Ozeki
- >10,000 points - Yokozuna
10,000 points! You’ve got to be kidding me!
I’m hopeful that JapanSoc will continue to grow and and establish itself as one of the biggest Japan-related social sites of its kind. So, five or ten years down the line, any Ozeki or Yokozuna will be like JapanSoc gods to all the new users that join. And if you’re a blogger, you can be sure they’ll start reading your blog!
The current top ten power users are…
Juryo:
- LongCountdown (me, Nick) from here and Virtual Tripping
Jonidan:
- ShaneS from A Typical Life and The Tokyo Traveler
- Deas from Rocking in Hakata
- fz22gq also known as Neil Duckett
- OmoshiroiEigo also known as Michael McKinlay and Omoshiroi Eigo
Jonokuchi:
- Thomas from Nihon Hacks and Babelhut
- Hawaiibadboy from Chris’ English School
- thechemist from the Daily J (whatever happened to Tori?)
- billywest from 7:10 to Tokyo and Billy West Evolution
- freedomwv from The Liberty Factor
… and snapping at their heels are a bunch of regular contributors who I’m sure will break into the top 10 very soon! See the full Top Users List for more.
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Addition: Points are updated every 6 hours, not instantly.
Since coming to Japan, the amount of time I spend in front of the television has plummeted. I think it’s fair to say that I watch less than two hours of TV a week now. Some of you will find that hard to imagine, but it’s not surprising when everything on TV is in a foreign language.
The internet as an alternative to TV
These days I get my entertainment fix from the internet, and keep informed about the world via the web, too, but there’s a big difference between TV and the internet. For starters, you can choose what to read, and what to believe. Television doesn’t give you that choice, imposing its own version of the news on you.
That means the internet gives you a more well-rounded view of the world, drawn from multiple sources. Also, actively reading a news article on the web gives you a better understanding of the topic than passively digesting information from TV. Of course, you also have the power to research the topic further on the net.
Does TV have a negative effect on IQ?
I managed to track down two charts, one listing countries by TV viewing times, and the other by estimated IQ, and while there’s no perfect correlation to show TV makes you stupid, the results are still interesting.
The U.S leads the way, with TV addiction consuming over 8 hours a day of the average American’s life. Turkey comes next with 5 hours, and those wacky game shows encourage the Japanese to watch close to 4 hours of TV a day.
As for IQ…
South Koreans, who watch just a little over 3 hours of TV a day, are second only to the geniuses of Hong Kong. Japan, a country whose citizens watch half as much TV as Americans, are ranked as the third most intelligent nation. Our friends, the drooling couch potatoes from the U.S., rank a lowly 23rd.
This argument holds no water!
I’m plucking at straws here trying to make a case that television fries your brain, and my argument falls apart when you consider Ireland. The Irish watch just two and a half hours of TV a day, but are only the 36th most intelligent country in the world! All I can assume is that the free time gained from watching less TV is obviously wasted at the pub, rather than swatting up on world issues on the internet.
I am stunned that the average American watches over 8 hours of TV a day. No wonder they are so fat! It makes me wonder how many hours of commercials they are exposed to everyday…. wow…
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