Superman renounced his U.S. citizenship

My previous post was about an American university professor who intends to give up his American citizenship and become a naturalized Japanese.
(Click here to read it.)

Well, I just read online that one of the most iconic fictional characters in American pop-culture has just renounced his U.S. citizenship.

In the Action Comics #900 issue (2011 April), which has a cover price of US$5.99 (about ¥486) by the way, Superman announces his plan to give up his American citizenship.

From Action Comics #900

An American professor is turning Japanese

Columbia University professor of Japanese Studies Donald Keene has been teaching and translating the Japanese language since 1955.

He just retired at the age of 88.

Professor Keene's recent press conference with the Japanese media.

Professor Keene made the news in Japan a couple of days ago when he announced that now that he’s retired, he plans to immigrate to Japan and become a naturalized Japanese citizen.

Some of his friends and co-workers in America expressed concerned that now may not be the best time to move to Japan because of the current nuclear power plant disaster. But Dr. Keene replied that, in his opinion, now is the perfect time to show his support for his intended adopted homeland during this hardship.

What do you think about naturalization? Do you think if someone immigrates to another country, they should become a naturalized citizen? Or is a Permanent Resident Visa enough?
If you immigrated somewhere which would you choose?

Japanese McCulture

McDonalds is the epitome of American fast-food pop-culture.
But McDonalds has expanded to many countries around the world. Some people think that that’s a bad thing…but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating fast-food—as long as it’s done in moderation.

If you visit McDonalds in another country, you may be surprised by some of the items on the menu. McDonalds has “basically” the same menu in all of their stores…but they customize the menu in each country to appeal to the tastes of the “locals”.

I wrote a post (click here) that shows some of the unique items on the menu at McDonalds in Japan.

Besides the unique “only-in-Japan” items that are always on McDonalds menu here, they also occasionally offer temporary “only-in-Japan” items.

Currently, McDonalds Japan has the 「メガてりやきバーガー」 (“Mega-Teriyaki Burger”) and in the kids’ 「ハッピーセット」 (“Happy Meal”) there’s a choice of either a 「ドラゴンボール改」 (“Dragon Ball”) or a 「たまごっち」 (“Tamagocchi”) toy.

"Mega-Teriyaki Burger"

"Dragon Ball" or "Tamagocchi" toy in the Happy Meal.

Have you been to a McDonalds in another country? Did you try a “local” menu item?
Have you been to McDonalds in Japan? Did you try the “Teriyaki Burger”?

Treasured items after the Sendai Earthquake

The 「毎日新聞」 (“Mainichi News”) Japanese newspaper interviewed some of the survivors of the March 11 earthquake in the 東北地方 (Tohoku Region) who lost loved ones and most of their possessions and asked them to show something that has become a treasure to them in this difficult time.

Some of the replies were very touching. Here are a sample of them (all photos in this post are ©毎日新聞 (Mainichi News)):

This 11-year-old boy, who lost his grandfather and great-grandmother in the earthquake, treasures his school bag that his teacher found in the rubble of his elementary school.

This man treasures the wrist-watch that was found on the body of his son, that was a firefighter who died in the disaster

This 4-year old girl's family lost all of their possessions. She treasures the donated toy that was given to her at the shelter her family's staying at.

This woman lost her husband in the tsunami. She treasures her family photos.

This eldery man's wife has been missing since the tsunami. He put his hand on his heart and said that he will always treasure his memories.

World’s Oldest Man

Meet 木村次郎右衛門　(Jiroemon Kimura).

114 years old today!

Today’s his birthday. His 114th birthday!
He was born on 1897 April 19th and now he’s the World’s Oldest Living Man (and the sixth oldest person in the world).

He has 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren (his twelfth great-great-grandchild is due to be born soon).

With some of his great-great-grandchildren

When I become old, I hope I’m as 元気 (energetic, lively) as Mr. Kimura!

日本の為に歌え

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about a charity album of pop songs to help the victims of the disaster of March 11th.

Personally, I only like a few of the thirty-eight songs on that album.

There have been other celebrities who have given the proceeds from concerts, songs or other things to help the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami. The most recent celebrity that I’ve heard about is the American rock band “My Chemical Romance“.

I don’t know this band very well. I haven’t heard any of their music before today. But I found out that they re-recorded the video for one of their songs (titled “Sing“) to include images of the aftermath of the tsunami in the Sendai area and messages of hope to the people of Japan from fans of this band from around the world.

My Chemical Romance put the new video on a website called “「日本の為に歌え」 (Sing For Japan)” and offer the song for download for US$1.29 with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the disaster in Sendai.

They also offer a T-shirt with the 「日本の為に歌え」 (Sing For Japan) design for US$20. All proceeds from the T-shirt sales also go to help the victims in the Sendai area.

Here is the new video for the song:

This song sounds nice to me. I think I’m going to check out more of My Chemical Romance‘s music now.

Mother Nature wants to be sure we haven’t forgotten who’s boss

花見 (“Cherry Blossom Viewing“) is a centuries-old Japanese tradition. Every spring, Japanese people have a picnic with friends and family under the 桜 (Cherry Blossom) trees.

Japanese people have always loved the pink Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), as can be seen in many things in Japan such as haiku poems, ukiyoe (woodblock prints), paintings, Sakura-flavored snacks, tea and 日本酒　(Japanese sake rice-wine).

I wrote a post last year explaining a bit about Japan’s love of 桜 (Sakura flowers) and 花見 (“Cherry-Blossom Viewing”).

Basically, the Sakura are beautiful and fragile and they are in bloom for only a short time before they fall to the ground in a way that looks like beautiful, gentle pink snowfall…it’s called 「桜吹雪」 (“Sakura-fubuki” (Sakura snowfall)).
They symbolize the beauty, fragility and brevity of life itself.

But this year, due to the disaster last month, the Japanese government has asked people to use 自粛 (self-restraint) this “Cherry Blossom Viewing” season.

Does it seem odd to you that the government would ask that of people in Japan?
I have heard that many people from other countries were surprised to learn that the Japanese government would request people to refrain from Cherry Blossom Viewing or at least to do it quietly and reverently this year.

But in Japan we have no problem with such a request. In fact, even if the government hadn’t asked, most people in Japan probably would have done so anyways.
In many cases 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing) leads people to drink excessively and sometimes become a bit loud. But this year, so soon after the huge disaster in the 東北地方 (Tohoku Region) and with so many up there still trying to recover from it, no one is in the mood to celebrate.
Many people are electing to skip Cherry Blossom Viewing this year, and those who are doing it this year are doing so quietly and with more reflection.

Today my wife and I went to a temple with a small lunch to enjoy a quiet 花見 (Cherry Blossom Viewing).
Here are some photos that I took:

Some junior high school students walking to school. The school year has just begun in Japan.

Can you see the Sakura petals falling in 桜吹雪 ("Sakura snowfall")?

Many Sakura petals on the ground.

Back of 大仏 (Buddah)

Not long after we returned home, our house shook pretty hard from a big aftershock that was a 振動 5 (Level 5 of the Japanese earthquake scale (with goes to “7”))! It was a 振動 6 (level 6 (out of 7)) at it’s epi-center in the Sendai area! It was then that I realized today is the one-month anniversary of the 2011 March 11 Sendai Earthquake!

The best movie soundtracks

I have written a post about my favorite movies and another about classic movies quotes, but until now I hadn’t written one about the best movie soundtracks.

I have a number of movie soundtracks in my CD collection. Some are outstanding collections of songs from terrible movies and some others have only a few songs that are worth listening to…but I enjoy listening to all of the soundtracks on this list and I recommend picking them up if you don’t already own them.

So, here they are in no particular order (other than the order in which I remembered them as I mentally cataloged my CD collection)…the songs that I like are written in red:

 

◎ Who Made Who (the official soundtrack for the movie Maximum Overdrive)

AC/DC "Who Made Who"

Track listing (all songs by AC/DC):

1. Who Made Who
2. You Shook Me All Night Long
3. D.T.
4. Sink The Pink
5. Ride On
6. Hells Bells
7. Shake Your Foundations
8. Chase The Ace
9. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

The movie is called “Maximum Overdrive” and was written and directed by Stephen King, so you’d think the movie would be good…but it’s unbearably bad.
The soundtrack though (titled “Who Made Who“) is an AC/DC album and, as you’d expect, is excellent. That said, though, it’s mostly a “greatest hits” type collection…only three songs were new songs written for the movie: “Who Made Who“, “D.T.“, and “Chase The Ace“. Of those three, the title track is a good song but the other two are instrumentals, which I personally don’t care for. And the other six tracks are AC/DC classics.

 

◎ Last Action Hero

This is an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie (one of his three films that Danny DeVito co-stars in) and, similarly to Maximum Overdrive, it’s a bad movie with a great soundtrack.
Personally though, I don’t like five of the songs on the album but the other seven songs are on my i-pod.

Track listing:

1. Big Gun (by AC/DC)…great song.
2. What The Hell Have I (by Alice In Chains)…I don’t like this one much.
3. Angry Again (by Megadeth)…great song.
4. Real World (by Queensryche)…I like Queensryche but not this song.
5. Two Steps Behind (by Def Leppard)…I’m not a fan of this one either.
6. Poison My Eyes (by Anthrax)…great song.
7. Dream On (by Aerosmith)…classic great song.
8. A Little Bitter (by Alice In Chains)…much better than their other track on this album.
9. Cock The Hammer (by Cypress Hill)…this song’s not bad.
10. Swim (by Fishbone)…I don’t like this one at all.
11. Last Action Hero (by Tesla)…great song.
12. Jack And The Ripper (by Michael Kamen and Buckethead)…I don’t like it.

 

◎ Detroit Rock City

This is the second “KISS movie” (the first was the ridiculous “KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park“) and stars Edward Furlong as a teenager trying to get to a sold-out KISS concert in Detroit. It’s not as boring as it sounds…it’s actually kinda entertaining.

As I’m a fan of the band KISS, naturally I have this movie on DVD and the soundtrack on CD.

Track listing:

1. The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy cover by Everclear)…not bad.
2. Shout It Out Loud (by KISS)…classic great song.
3. Runnin’ With The Devil (by Van Halen)…great song.
4. Cat Scratch Fever (Ted Nugent cover by Pantera)…great remake of a great song.
5. Iron Man (by Black Sabbath)…great song.
6. Highway To Hell (AC/DC cover by Marilyn Manson)…Marilyn should’ve stayed truer to this excellent song!
7. 20th Century Boy (by T.Rex)…this song is alright.
8. Detroit Rock City (by KISS)…classic great song.
9. Jailbreak (by Thin Lizzy)…great song.
10. Surrender (by Cheap Trick)…it’s alright.
11. Rebel Rebel (by David Bowie)…I don’t like David Bowie’s music.
12. Strutter (KISS cover by The Donnas)…pretty good remake of a great song.
13. School Days (by The Runaways)…I don’t enjoy this song much.
14. Little Willy (by Sweet)…I don’t this too much either.
15. Nothing Can Keep Me From You (by KISS)…it might be blasphemous for a KISS fan to say—but I hate this song!

 

◎ Shocker

Another terrible movie with a good soundtrack. Shocker is a horror movie by director Wes Craven (who wrote and directed “A Nightmare On Elm Street“) about a serial killer who is given the death penalty for his crimes but “becomes” electricity after death with the power to possess other people…or something stupid like that.

I remember watching this as a teenager and recognized the voice of Paul Stanley (of KISS) singing the closing-credits song…so I bought the soundtrack to get the new “KISS song” which, it turned out, is a song by “The Dudes Of Wrath“, which was a special one-time collaboration of Paul Stanley with members of Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Motley Crue.

Track listing:

1. Sword And Stone (by Bonfire)…I don’t like this song much.
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy (Alice Cooper cover by Megadeth)…great remake of a great song.
3. Shocker (by “The Dudes Of The Wrath“)…it’s alright.
4. Timeless Love (by Saraya)…I don’t like this song either.
5. Demon Bell (by Dangerous Toys)…great song.
6. Love Transfusion (by Iggy Pop)…not so good.
7. Different Breed (by Dead On)…great song.

 

◎ Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey

Another stupid movie with a good soundtrack. If this even had a plot I can’t remember what it was.

Track listing:

1. Shout It Out (by Slaughter)…not a great song, but not horrible.
2. Battle Stations (by Winger)…not a favorite but alright.
3. God Gave Rock ‘N Roll To You II (by KISS)…good but certainly not one KISS‘s best.
4. Drinking Again (by Neverland)…it’s alright, I guess but not really my style.
5. Dream Of A New Day (by Richie Kotzen)…it’s alright.
6. The Reaper (by Steve Vai)…Steve Vai is a guitar wizard but I don’t care for instrumentals much.
7. The Perfect Crime (by Faith No More)…pretty good.
8. Go To Hell (by Megadeth)…great song.
9. Tommy The Cat (by Primus)…this band was too weird for me.
10. Junior’s Gone Wild (by King’s X)…I don’t like King’s X.
11. Showdown (by Love On Ice)…not so good.
12. The Reaper Rap (by Steve Vai)…this “song” is stupid!

 

◎Mission: Impossible II

The movie was alright and the soundtrack has some gems hidden amongst some tripe.

Rather than listing this album’s entire track listing, I’ll list the few good songs on it (with it’s track number):

1. Take A Look Around (by Limp Bizket)…this band has a couple of good songs and this is one of them.
2. I Disappear (by Metallica)…great song.
3. Scum Of The Earth (by Rob Zombie)…great song.
6. Have A Cigar (Pink Floyd cover by the Foo Fighters and Brian May)…excellent remake.
8. Goin’ Down (by Godsmack)…pretty good.
12. Alone (by Buckcherry)…pretty good.

 

◎ Iron Man 2

The sequel to the movie about the American superhero character. I can’t elaborate because I haven’t watch the film…but, like the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack, this one is entirely by AC/DC (and all the song’s are great, of course).

Track listing:

1. Shoot To Thrill
2. Rock ‘N Roll Damnation
3. Guns For Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back In Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be
11. Have A Drink On Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway To Hell

What are your favorite movie soundtracks?

Would you buy any of these?

I wrote a post before about some of the unique “Japan only” flavors of “Kit-Kat” chocolates in Japan (Click here to read it).

Well, as Kit-Kat Japan often does, they have introduced a few new flavors recently:

 

"Big Little Strawberry Kit-Kat"

 

"Maccha Assort" (6pcs of "Green Tea Kit-Kat" and 7pcs of "Milk Green Tea Kit-Kat")

 

"Yubari Melon Kit-Kat" (Yubari is a town in Hokkaido, Japan famous for it's melon)

Kit-Kat Japan isn’t the only company in Japan that offers unique “only-in-Japan” products.
Some others are Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Pepsi-Cola, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King.

Currently, Burger King Japan is offering two new styles of their “Whopper” sandwich in Japan:
the “All Heavy“, which has extras of all of the condiments on the sandwich…at no extra charge (¥420), and the “Meat Monster“, which has an extra hamburger patty, bacon and chicken…this one costs almost double the normal cost of a “Whopper” (¥820).

Burger King Japan's "All Heavy" Whopper and "Meat Monster" Whopper

Do any of these look good to you?

Towers around the world to be illuminated for Japan

Towers and skyscrapers around the world will be illuminated in white and red to show their country’s support for Japan’s recovery from the disaster of 2011 March 11.

At sunset tonight (Monday, 2011 April 4) in each country’s local time, the Empire State Building in New York City, America, the Sky Tower in New Zealand, the Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malayasia, the North Tower in South Korea, the CN Tower in Canada, the Macau Tower in China, the John Hancock Observatory in America and the Spinnaker Tower in England will all be lit up in the colors of the Japanese flag.

the Empire State Building in NYC, America illuminated in the colors of Japan's flag.

Do you live near any of these towers? Did you know they will be illuminated in white and red for Japan today?