Joomla! site syndication http://www.minatsu.speckz.org 2008-08-21T14:31:31+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-07-06T21:04:24+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/content/view/18/28/ 翼をください (tsubasa wo kudasai = please give me wings) is a very melodic song, sung by several singers. I especially like the lyrics of the song. I'm posting two video clips, one with the lyrics subtitled and one showing a recent rendition of the song by Hideaki Tokunaga (徳永英明). Enjoy! LYRICS 翼をください - 赤い鳥 作詩：山上路夫 作曲：村井邦彦 今　私の願いごとが叶うならば 翼がほしい この背中に鳥のように 白い翼つけて下さい この大空に翼を広げ 飛んで行きたいよ 悲しみのない自由な空へ 翼はためかせ行きたい 子供の時夢見たこと 今も同じ夢に見ている この大空に翼を広げ 飛んで行きたいよ 悲しみのない自由な空へ 翼はためかせ この大空に翼を広げ 飛んで行きたいよ 悲しみのない自由な空へ 翼はためかせ　行きたい text/html 2008-06-20T02:48:29+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/content/view/17/28/ Recently I read a Lifehacker.com post describing how you can trace a Domino's Pizza order (http://random.noflashlight.com/) on a GNU/Linux using a python script (the post can be found HERE (http://lifehacker.com/388708/track-your-dominos-pizza-order-from-a-terminal)). Very impressing I might say! That same night I watched an interesting show on TV describing a very radical program currently active in Japan called The Cow Traceability Program . Tracing a pizza order online sounds cool, but tracing online the origins of the beef you are about to eat is very impressing! You might have read about the quality (and the cost) of prime quality Japanese beef (cf. Kobe Beef (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef)). Quoting from Wikipedia: Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ, Kōbe Bīfu) refers to beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. These practices may include a diet of saké and beer, and daily massages to relieve muscle stiffness, presumably resulting in tender meat. So, what is the cow traceability program? Basically, a 10 digit number printed on selected packages of high quality beef (牛の個体識別番号 = Cow's ID number) can be used to view the history of the cow online. All you have to do is go to https://www.id.nlbc.go.jp/top.html (https://www.id.nlbc.go.jp/top.html) and input the 10 digit Cow ID number and click on the search button (検索). Give it a try using cow ID 1085809113. Below is the output you get (English translation by me): 個体識別番号 ID Number 出生の年月日 Date of birth 雄雌の別 Gender 母牛の個体識別番号 Mother's ID 種別（品種） Cow Species 1085809113 H 06.05.22 1994-05-22 メス Female 黒毛和種 Japanese Black Cow (http://zookan.lin.go.jp/kototen/nikuusi/n422_1.htm) 飼養県 Breeding prefecture 異動内容 Transitions 異動年月日 Transition Date 飼養施設所在地 Location of breeding facilities 氏名または名称 Breeder's Name 1 宮崎県 装着 H 14.03.12 都城市 蕨野　敬二 2 宮崎県 転出 H 17.03.30 都城市 蕨野　敬二 3 宮崎県 転入 H 17.08.10 4 宮崎県 転出 H 17.08.16 5 宮崎県 搬入 H 17.08.17 都城市 都城市食肉センター 6 宮崎県 と畜 H 17.08.17 都城市 都城市食肉センター Forgot to mention that you can also trace the origin of your beef using your mobile phone (http://www.id.nlbc.go.jp/report_mcap/proxy/cf/mobile/index.cfm)! There you have it now! If you happen to be in Japan, get to know your cow (before you eat it)!!! text/html 2007-08-22T19:00:00+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/content/view/1/2/ Welcome to the new MinaTSU! If you have comments, suggestions or just want to say hi please drop me a line using the Contact Us (component/option,com_contact/Itemid,3/) . You can now leave comments on the posts and register with the site if you want. By registering you will gain access to Downloads and other privileges. Please enjoy your stay! Enter your search terms Submit search form Web minatsu.speckz.org text/html 2008-01-29T03:08:52+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/content/view/15/28/ いのちの名前 (inochi no namae) is a song composed by Joe Hisaishi (久石譲) and sung by Ayaka Hirahara (平原綾香). If you watched Spirited Away you will recognize the tune. Here is the clip: LYRICS 作詩：覚和歌子 作曲：久石譲 青空に線を引く ひこうき雲の白さは ずっとどこまでも　ずっと続いてく 明日を知ってたみたい 胸で浅く息をしてた 熱い頬　さました風も　おぼえてる 未来の前にすくむ手足は 静かな声にほどかれて 叫びたいほど　なつかしいのは ひとつのいのち 真夏の光 あなたの肩に　揺れてた木漏れ日 つぶれた白いボール 風が散らした花びら ふたつを浮かべて　見えない川は 歌いながら流れてく 秘密も嘘も喜びも 宇宙を生んだ神さまの　子供たち 未来の前にすくむ心が いつか名前を思い出す 叫びたいほど　いとおしいのは ひとつのいのち 帰りつく場所 わたしの指に　消えない夏の日 text/html 2007-12-11T23:09:33+01:00 http://www.minatsu.speckz.org http://www.minatsu.speckz.org/content/view/14/28/ I don't know if this fits in Unique Japan . Maybe I should create a new category called Sick Japan ... Here is the story quoted from Japanprobe.com (http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3359): A man has been arrested in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture for assaulting 5 schoolgirls with coffee via drive-by spitting attacks. Here’s a report from Asahi TV: The spitter, who was nicknamed “Coffee Bukake Man” [コーヒーぶっかけ男] by locals, had carried out 5 attacks since the end of October. All of his victims were junior high school or high school girls wearing their uniforms, and all of the attacks involved spitting coffee onto their faces from his car window. His final attack took place on December 7th, when a 16-year-old schoolgirl he spit on was able to come to her senses quickly enough to spot his license plate number and memorize it. This led to the arrest of 26 year-old Yoshiro Sumiyama, who admitted attacking the girls. Sumiyama told police that he was irritated after having been dumped by a woman and carried out the spitting attacks to relieve some stress.