Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Wait a minute. When a cute beagle enters the picture, it’s the humans who are supposed to glow, at least figuratively. And giggle, and say “oooh” and “aaaah”, and basically fawn like silly people over the fuzzy canine. But when the dog glows, literally, you have to wonder what new kind of science fiction has now become reality. In this case, the glowing beagle is the experimental result of cloning and genetic-modification techniques employed by South Korean scientists to help find cures for such devastating diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The idea behind creating the glowing beagle is to give it the ability to artificially show symptoms of some of the nastier diseases of the 268 that dogs share with humans. Yes, it does sound a bit confusing, in that it is tough to wrap one’s mind around the idea that a dog that glows artificially when tested for a fatal human disease won’t die of that disease. Still, this is new science, and the South Korean scientists who created the dog, a female named Tegon, have only been studying her and her glowing diagnostic properties since 2009. As with anything that involves the testing of innocent animals, we hope the benefits to both animals and humans far outweigh any harm done to animal test subjects. Oh, and one other thing: Tegon’s glowing ability can be turned on or off simply by adding a specialized antibiotic to her food, or withholding it. Makes one wonder if there will soon be a market for glowing pets. (Reuters – Glowing Korean Science Beagle)
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Asia is changing. I wrote previously that Japan’s ethnic sociology is shifting. However, Japan isn’t the only country in Asia coping with evolving demographics. According to a recent article from The Diplomat, South Korea is finally acknowledging the permanent settlement of foreigners, international marriages, and their children. This is just one of the many sociological issues that South Korea shares with its continental cousin. The other is the ethno-nationalism that persists in both countries. This blood-based nationalism has, as the article suggests, restricted South Korea from sublimating its definition for what it means to be Korean in the 21st century. What the article overlooks is that this race-based brand of politics is directly related to one of its historical enemy. Scholars and commentators like B.R. Myers have argued that the myth of Korean exceptionalism traces back to Japan’s annexation of Korea. According to Myers, the concept of tanil minjok (단일 민족) didn’t appear until the Japanese brought it to Korea. The Japanese implemented a European inspired brand of race theory to co-opt a developing nationality ensuing in reaction to the Japanese occupation. Except in this instance, the Japanese occupation taught Koreans that they were both of the same “Yamato race.” The only difference, in the eyes of the occupation, is that the Japanese saw most ‘Koreans’ as subordinate due to distinctions of class according to Sociologist John Lie’s book, Multiethnic Japan. What came about is the ethno-nationalism that people see today. The reason why I bring up the shared historical ideologies of Korea and Japan is because, as I stated earlier, both countries are facing shifting demographics. The days in which someone who is born in Japan is always of “100%” Japanese are long gone. The myth of homogeneity in Japan and its discriminatory practices against foreigners is the recurrent narrative in The Land of the Rising Sun. A similar type of story is surfacing where non-Koreans and their biracial inhabitants face identical prejudices. Furthermore, Japan’s reluctance to tackle these issues could offer a framework for what South Korea should avoid. So far, I’m under the opinion that the Japanese government has done little to ameliorate the problems their immigrants face. In certain instances, some of the comments from their various Prime Ministers and politicians have done more exacerbate sentiments against its multi-ethnic residents. (See Taro Aso and Ishihara Shintaro). Similarities aside, the stark difference between the two nations is that South Korea seems to be taking the issue seriously. The only education based multicultural program in Japan that I can recollect at the top of my head is the JET Program and that’s proving to be a bungling failure in its own respect. It’s not just this, but Japanese politicians have been more than stubborn to the U.N.’s calls for legislative reforms on the matter. The creation of a multicultural program catered directly towards its inhabitants is unprecedented in its economic big brothers like China and Japan. Like Japan, China is defensive of its domestic practices. I spoke to Michelle Gamboa,...
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Comic Con 2011 is over, and now that some are recovered, here’s a look back into what we saw at the Giant Robot Booth. The best moments are always ones that don’t make it on camera, and that’s something I always hear about later. So and so stopped by the booth, this or that happened, the flanneled goateed douche stole something. It goes on and on and becomes part of the lore for next year. The little kid we caught stealing and made him cry was priceless. The raver I caught stealing and photographed, another good story. This year, there were thieves thwarted before incident. One street wear douche thought we were asses because we didn’t know where the Upper Playground booth was located, but guess who was the ass? We’ll see what happens next year. I want to thank the booth signers: Kid Koala, Harry Kim, Bonnie Burton, Mari Inukai, David Horvath, and our staff. Meanwhile, here are links to posts, and more. Cosplay is always fun to photograph. Who knows what poses the players will strike. Most of these were shot in and around our booth. There are sets of photos, so be prepared! Cosplay Thurs Cosplay Fri Cosplay Sat 1 Cosplay Sat 2 Photos from around the booth and beyond Wed Thurs Fri Sat Toys from the Convention Floor We set up a tiny camera and set it to record while we were setting up and at increments during the weekend, to the break down. Wed Thurs Sun
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I saw this video and thought, “oh how nice of the kid”. But after a few minutes, the constant propping up by the announcers, and then the TV time, free jersey, press conferences, first pitch of a game, isn’t it way overboard of a reward for an act of kindness? Is this the type of reward that people are going to come to expect to do something nice for another? It’s not the kid who did anything wrong, I think it’s the adults. Imagine the kid who didn’t get the ball at first. He started throwing a tantrum. That’s bad. Did he say thanks for the ball? No. What about his actions? Totally forgotten. The parent didn’t say thanks either. [youtube]QfF1m3-Dl_Q&[/youtube]
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Since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, energy conservation has become a very important concern after the meltdown the disaster caused at the Fukushima nuclear power facility. Setsuden, the Japanese term for conserving electricity, has become a popular trend and media discussion topic. And in cities like Tokyo which have been hit hard by Japan’s diminished ability to produce electricity because of the Fukushima meltdown, setsuden has become a necessary if uncomfortable way of summertime life. So, ever the innovators, the Japanese have started coming up with new products and ideas to help people using less air-conditioning in the often stifling summer heat of Tokyo and other cities. You may recall the story we reported a few weeks ago about the Japanese government’s Super Cool Biz campaign, which urges office workers to wear lighter, cooler business fashions. Well in addition to cooler clothes, we’ve come across a couple of tech solutions for the Japanese heat. One is a small fan that clips onto the back of a salaryman’s tie and blows (hopefully) cool air across the chest and neck. It’s run by a small battery pack which can be recharged by plugging it into a computer USB port. Another tech solution is a special jacket that has fans built into it and keeps the wearer cool with a rather unfashionable but comfortable puffy balloon of circulating air while the garment is in use. Of course, we can’t vouch for how effective these devices are for their intended purpose, but the ideas seem sound. And they must certainly be a lot less drippy and messy than those gel-filled coolers you chill in the freezer and wrap around your neck in the heat. (Red Ferret Journal – USB Tie Fan) (The Raw Story – Japanese Fan Jacket)
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