PlaySay Revisited
Posted by harvey in Culture, Gadgets, Language on 01. Feb, 2010 | 6 Comments
Learn Japanese Vocab on your iPod-like Device with PlaySay
You may have noticed mention of PlaySay on and off on this blog over the past year so. Recently Ryan, the head Japan-head at PlaySay, contacted me to let me know that PlaySay has really been taking off. You can read a quick article about Ryan and [...]
Hello Kitty Toaster for the Kitty Geek who has Everything
Posted by harvey in Crazy Consumers, Gadgets on 23. Dec, 2009 | 1 Comment
Burn Hello Kitty’s Face into your Toast
Now you can burn Hello Kitty’s face into your toast with this too-cute-to-be-owned Hello Kitty Toaster!
I don’t have one of these.
Probably never will…
Unless of course I have a daughter someday who learns of this product and demands that I buy it.
Scary thought.
Seriously though. Hello Kitty is powerful stuff. Powerful.
- [...]
Takoyaki USB Memory Stick
Posted by harvey in Crazy Consumers, Food, Gadgets, Osaka on 20. Dec, 2009 | 1 Comment
What better gift for a Japan-loving Osaka-friendly Kansai-dreaming friend of yours than a Takoyaki USB Memory Stick? Afterall, the best gifts are the things that no one in their right mind would ever go out and buy on their own… but on the other hand would be happy to receive! Yummy.
Takoyaki USB Memory Stick (1GB)
For [...]
Fully Automatic Takoyaki Maker
Posted by harvey in Crazy Consumers, Culture, Food, Gadgets on 17. Dec, 2009 | 7 Comments
Finally, a place where you can buy a Fully-Automatic Takoyaki Maker online and have it shipped overseas. If you still haven’t made that last minute holiday gift purchase for that special Japanese-loving someone, this might be worth a look!
Automatic Takoyaki Maker, not cheap, but awesome!
Did I say “fully automatic?” Why yes, yes I did.
I [...]
A little lost in translation – i-Fukkin for iPhone
Posted by harvey in Gadgets, Humor, Language on 29. Sep, 2009 | 4 Comments
Here is a great Japanese iPhone app that encourages you to do sit-ups. i-Fukkin!
i-Fukkin
They should have done some research before settling on their application name though.
FUKKIN is 腹筋 (ふっきん) in Japanese, which means “abdominal muscles,” and isn’t funny at all. You can use 腹筋 as a verb too and say, 「腹筋をする」to mean “to do sit-ups.”
The [...]
Japanese Phrases & Lessons 2.0 Video
Posted by harvey in Gadgets, Language on 25. Sep, 2009 | No Comments
Judging by its popularity many of you have probably have probably already downloaded this app, but Japanese Phrases 2.0 has a new preview video on YouTube. Lots of improvements and additions!
If you’re wondering whether or not it’s worth the money, check out the Free Version of Japanese Phrases first. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. [...]
Japanese 101: Kansai-ben App Updated
Posted by harvey in About, Gadgets, Language on 18. Jul, 2009 | No Comments
Just a quick note. I finally got my first app update through the Apple review process. That took forever!
The update is super minor, but it’s free of course, so if you have the Kansai-ben App already see if it updates on your iPhone or iPod Touch. [Direct iTunes Link to Japanese 101: Kansai-ben]
Look forward to [...]
Kansai-ben iPhone App Audio Preview #2
Posted by harvey in Gadgets, Language on 21. May, 2009 | 2 Comments
Here is another sample from the upcoming Kansai-ben Application illustrating the difference in intonation used when speaking Kansai-ben when compared to standard Japanese.
In this audio sample both speakers are saying the exact same thing, but one person is speaking in the standard Japanese intonation and the other is a native of Osaka speaking with Kansai-ben [...]
