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"Gambaroh Nippon" · Art · Giant Robot NEWS · Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction commemorative coin · Kuno Primary school · News · people · Taichi Kojima ·

Schoolboy’s Design to Grace Coins Celebrating Japan Reconstruction

TOKYO ~ A 9-year-old boy has become the youngest Japanese to have ever designed a government memorial coin after his artwork was chosen for one of the coins to be issued to commemorate the Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction project. The design by Taichi Kojima, a fourth-grader at Odawara municipal Kuno Primary School in Kanagawa Prefecture, shows a boy holding Japanese flags, with “Ganbaro Nippon” (Hang on, Japan) written in colorful words beside him. This is the third time the government has chosen designs for memorial coins from the public. The previous coins commemorated the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1985 Tsukuba Exposition. [Kyodo ~ Commemorative Coin]
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Motherfuckerland, Installment 20

(Art by spoon+fork.) A nice suit made me look sharp.  More importantly, it gave me confidence.  I’d never worn anything that gave me such a mental boost, apart from a protector cup.  I got my hair trimmed like Chuck told me, and before we got into the courtroom he took out a comb and tried to run it over me. I flinched and grabbed his arm. “Don’t give me your dandruff, Chuck!” “Hey, it’s not my comb.  I just bought it!” he said.  “Anyway, you can do your own hair, Sean.”  Chuck handed it over and I repaired myself. I got up on the stand and after they were done with the Bible, I got a good look at Mr. Aggarwal. He folded and unfolded his arms and shook his right leg.  The lapels of his shirt were uneven and the tie knot was mushy.  His eyes were downcast and only slightly open, like his mouth.  Sometimes he would rub his ears. Mrs. Aggarwal wasn’t around. I had both feet on the ground and I placed my hands on my knees.  I made the left and right fingers mirror each other in the same exact spot. Then I lied. I lied like a motherfucker. I had premonitions of what my testimony would be like.  I knew I wouldn’t be nervous.  I just pretended I was trying to get a girl to take a ride with me. It was Mr. Aggarwal I was unsure of.  I had a vision of him lunging at me with a knife, or maybe the same wrench that he used to kill Howard.  On TV they always kept the murder weapons on the evidence table, like they were daring the murderer to pick them up and fight their way out of the courtroom. But the wrench wasn’t there and because there wasn’t another camera angle to cut to, a sense of action was missing in the court.  I would have been incredibly bored if I weren’t testifying. Mr. Aggarwal was completely still with his head down. He looked like a boy preparing to meet the principal, not a man facing the death sentence.   We had a recess for lunch.  Chuck took me across the street to a lunch counter with a cracked-linoleum floor. “Sean, you’re doing great!” he told me.  “I think you missed your true calling.  You’re a natural actor!” “Oh, yeah.  So I’ve been told.” Chuck took off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his tie.  I leaned into him and said: “I’m one fuck of a liar, aren’t I?” He looked at me strangely and when he put on his glasses I saw menace in his eyes. “Don’t say that,” he said, his voice as faint as a lead pipe scraping against a wall in a back alley.  “Don’t ever say that.” Chuck ordered a toasted plain bagel with nothing on it.  I got the tuna salad sandwich and a coffee.  I started with the chips first. “I’ve already got a...
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bathroom · ichihara · japan · News · toilet ·

World’s Largest Toilet – Japan

This is an odd sight. A toilet in a garden, but beyond the garden is a fence and this is all one large bathroom that’s outdoors. Will you be comfortable letting loose in a space that’s open air with glass walls? No one will be watching since this is all one large private room, but it’s a feeling that’s odd. It’s in Ichihara and is only for women to use. (Forbes – Toilet)  
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Free show reviews: Dum Dum Girls at The Getty, Gizzelle at Amoeba Hollywood, Goh Nakamura at Eloise’s House

If you read this blog, you’ve probably gathered that I fully advocate supporting bands by purchasing records from merch table, cool shops, or the labels themselves. Downloading free MP3s is strictly for bootlegs, demos, and so on. But I have no qualms about attending free shows–especially ones that I can take my four-year-old daughter to. And what could be better than a trip to see one of Eloise’s three favorite groups (Dum Dum Girls) at one of her favorite places (The Getty)?

The Dum Dums kicked off the museum’s free Saturday evening concerts two weekends ago with a full set of dreamy, goth-y, garage-y rock. The band has been touring in support of its excellent second album with its extra lush sound for a while now. So of course they sound as great as ever, but there are extra hints at showmanship this time around. Members step up, back, and converge in the middle of the stage. New bassist Malia fits right in, and Eloise and her cousins rocked out nonstop after the sun went down and the volume turned up. So rad to get an hour-long fix in such a setting, and Eloise even got a heads-up from her Facebook/Instagram fans Sandy and Dee Dee. Gotta find out when Sandy returns to town for a Fiore date, and keep checking the Getty’s Saturdays Off the 405 schedule as the summer goes on.

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