Tag Archives: Japan

Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami

15 Mar

Among all the information coming from Japan concerning the huge earthquake and tsunami, the gallery created by The New York Times presents the tragedy in a very simple way. With superimposed satellite pictures of the before and after that can be interchanged using a slider, one can have a quick look at how badly changed the affected areas were.

For example, this is how Ishinomaki looked on April 4 2010:

Ishinomaki, Japan - April 4 2010 Satellite photo

And on March 12 2010:

Ishinomaki, Japan - March 12 2011 - Satellite photo

Make sure you check out the whole gallery. Some impressive/shocking images there.

UPDATE: And here’s some more photos, from the ABC News site.

Wacky Japanese Gameshows

8 Mar

Not a single day goes by without another crazy thing from Japan surfacing on Teh Internets. A lot of them are gameshows so weird that make me think the creators must have been on crack when they came up with the idea. And the fact that there are people actually watching them certainly tells a lot about how fucked up some Japanese must be.

I’ve selected a few of those for your enjoyment. They sure make me smile every time I watch them.

The first is a show that puts primarily crustaceans into a small fish tank to watch the fight that inevitably follows due to both creatures being in such a small place. Behold, the “Crustacean Deathmatches”!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXLXDRjwMqY

Next up is a show where the contestants are placed in a classroom and watch a video of a funny situation. When they laugh, they lose, and get hit with a stick.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sAHNtc07dU

Human Tetris. Enough said! I’m embedding the original version, although the rip-off made by the Italians with bikini-clad hotties is much better.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll2kajMH2u0

And I couldn’t finish this post without mentioning the great “Takeshi’s Castle”. An “army” of contestants try to conquer Takeshi’s castle, but first they must overcome a series of obstacles that end up reducing their ranks considerably. Here’s a compilation of some of the best knock outs. You got to admire the courage and determination of these people:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u0QF5GJ730