Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
It’s called preservation, but in the end, the “miracle pine” that survived the tsunami is actually dying from the salt water. Yet, it’s preservation basically means putting a carbon pole into the trunk and reattaching the branches. It’s basically dead and stuffed at a cost of nearly 2 million dollars. The 270 year old tree will stand in Rikuzentakata as a symbol for much longer time. (ABC – Pine)
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Today is the last day of the Paralympics in London. They come and go so quietly compared to the big summer games. If you live in the UK, you had a chance to watch over 400 hours of Paralympics broadcasts on Channel 4. In contrast, in the United States NBC had four nights of an hour long highlight show to cover the 11 days of ceremony and games. In Mongolia we got a good 4-6 hours of daily coverage, even after all of the Mongolian athletes came back home without medals. It’s reported that 11 million people tuned in to the opening ceremonies, nearly three times the number of viewers of the 2008 games in Beijing. China can console itself through a massive stack of medals its athletes will be taking home this summer. They are up to 95 gold medals so far, kept company by 71 silvers, and 65 bronze. Not too shabby. Pictured here are the “Sook Sisters” (they all have “sook” in their name and aren’t actually related), Korea’s archery heroes who came away with one gold medal a piece, and an extra silver for Hwa Sook. South Korea had a lot invested in its athletes this year. Most of its athletes trained and lived at the newly built Korean Sports Training Center d’ground, a beautiful facility South East of Seoul designed just for Paralympians . Leading up to the games, Korean TV broadcast touching documentaries about the lives of some the athletes, and the coaches and family members who support them in their training. Back in June, GR blogged about Maya Nakanishi who was getting some flack for fund raising with a self-published calendar featuring some sexy shots with just her prosthetic. She did end up making it London this year, and she competed in three Athletic games, but didn’t get any medals. I hope she can make it again in 2016. (Calendars as Christmas gifts are a big seller, Maya…) Fundraising is just one of the challenges facing paralympic athletes. There was a record breaking number of participating athletes this year, 4,200 from 164 countries. In contrast, more than 10,000 from 204 countries competed in the Olympic games. Even if a paralympic athlete can overcome cultural stigma in their country, their personal physical challenges, and train hard enough to dominate in their categorized sport, they still have to find a way to pay for it all and make it to the games. It’s depressing to think of all the individuals who are held back by financial resources when they’ve been able to take on everything else. There’s a dark side to the Paralympics, just like there is for the Olympic games. Much has been written about the “supercrip” archetype that surfaces with the Paralympic games. It’s fascinating, provocative, and a conversation that should be continued to better understand the challenges faced by the differently-abled. North Korea can enter into the supercrip conversation now. They debuted their first ever Paralympic athlete in London. At the very...
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This is rising Mongolian sumo talent, Takanoiwa A. Baasandorj posing for a press junket with rising K-pop stars T-ARA earlier this summer. They have something in common – growing popularity in Japan. Takanoiwa came to Japan to train and compete in sumo, as a part of the Takanohana stable. Retired yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo, train young wrestlers to rise through the ranks. They learn more than just the sport, but how to adapt to to very regimented Japanese tradition. Some of them do better than others… at the adapting. The Asahi Shimbun reports on the changing face of sumo in Japan. As far as foreign wrestlers go, Mongolians are still the cream of the crop in sumo. They take on Japanese names, and Japanese lives. They can spend a lifetime trying to become yokozuna, and still never make it. Asashoryu (aka Dagvadorj Dolgorsuren) made it to the top at 29 and then fell, with some disgrace. His marriage to his Japanese wife crumbled as scandal grew. Mongolian “fighting spirit” is best saved for the basho. 2011 brought a huge match fixing scandal to light, and the sport is still recovering. Dwindling attendance is a problem as well. The younger generation hasn’t taken to the national sport the way the older generations did. How to sauce it up again? I’d go just to catch yakuza gambling action, but maybe that’s just me. The right-wing nationalists aren’t keen on the rising number for foreign sumo wrestlers, but it has brought in a larger international audience. One tactic in place to bring in a younger Japanese audience is the development of sumo character design for products and promotion. Collectible cards could do it, but maybe some more amazing smart phone apps (for edutainment rather than betting), or some updated video games! I would pay money for some meta video of sumo-sized gamers getting their virtual sumo on. I can already picture the Gangnam Style/sumo parody… Invisible Horse, meet Sumo Belly Slap!
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Wired UK reports that pressure is building up, and Mount Fuji will blow in the next couple of years: “The pressure in Mount Fuji’s magma chamber is now higher than it was in 1707, the last time the nearly 4,000-metre-high Japanese volcano erupted, causing volcanologists to speculate that a disaster is imminent.” Ugh. I can’t think of anything worse that could happen in Japan. Let’s everyone cross fingers, toes, all available limbs, and hope that Mother Nature gives Japan a break for a bit. Can kozyndan’s bunnyfish please go back to the summit and think non-volcanic thoughts, please!!
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The Kurihara family allegedly owns three of the disputed “Senkaku Islands” and is reported to sell or have sold them to Japan for $26 million dollars. The problem? They’re disputed by China and are called, “Diaoyu Islands” (WSJ – Senkaku Islands)
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