REHABILITATION
paulfryer.net
DATE: 2007
MEDIA: Wood, Steel
Bed, Light
REHABILITATION is actually a wooden cabin/shed.
And, here’s the rehab shed interior. Comfy?
Prior Art
1)
Rehab by Amy Winehouse
They tried to make me go to REHAB but I said ‘no, no, no’
2)
Fat Man atomic bomb of Nagasaki fame
Humiliate your cat for the 12 months of the year…
Of course in Japanese-English, “Oily Boy” is not greaser or kinky sex act but a compliment; and, a “mook” is not a asshole adolescent but a magazine-book. Read more…
Fashion Guidance for Aging Japanese Lads
Slick Magazine Entices Young-at-Heart ‘Elder Boys’ to Trade a Little Cash for a Lot of Cool
December 17, 2008 - The Washington Post– …OilyBoy a slick new magazine designed to excite consumption among “elder boys.”
Weathered, wrinkled and bald though they may be, the aging Japanese lads who read OilyBoy are still out on the town, drinking. Or up in the mountains, backpacking. Or down at the beach, surfing….
Now for the rest-of-the-story…
The Washington Post article goes on to explain about the reason for the weirdly, unattractive name of the magazine OilyBoy was, “the nickname of the late Jiro Shirasu, once the coolest guy in Japan.” Old OilyBoy was a real player—six foot tall, wealth, and supremely self confident, he spoke with at Cambridge University accent and bombed around Tokyo in the the city’s only Porsche and Bentley. He used English and slick style to help negotiate the terms of the U.S. occupation. Basically, “OilyBoy” Shirasu translations shaped the new Japanese constitution after WWII.
He was also known as dandy hence the reason for naming the style bible cum magazine-book, “OilyBoy.” Even in his 80s he still considered himself a player as described by Japan’s premiere fashion designer, Issey Miyake in his 2006 Kyoto Prize Commemorative Lecture…(PDF)
… “Jiro Shirasu, who has recently received a great deal of media coverage. He was a very good friend of mine [Issey Miyake] and often dropped into my office to see me. However, I imagine what he really wanted was not to see me, but to invite this lady on the right out to dinner.”
We will be hearing a lot more about OilyBoy since the Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, will be playing a period drama based on the life of Jiro Shirasu that will be broadcast starting Saturday, January 17, 2009 for three weeks, 9:00 to 10:29.
At tonight’s Bonenkai/End-of-the-Year Party, our rather robust waitress leaned over to place the beers we ordered our table when this caught my eye. Perhaps to prevent putting someone’s eye out, she was thoughtfully wearing this strategically-placed campaign sticker over her right nipple. 
Phonetically written in Japanese were the English words, “Handle Keeper.”
Of course I was compelled to ask in English to my Japanese coworkers, “May I handle–keep her?”
The above poster in the bar gave the rest-of-the-story about the “Handle Keeper” campaign. For some delightfully demented reason, Japanese use the English word “Handle” for steering wheel. In the “Handle Keeper” campaign, the government combined Handle/steering wheel with the word “Keeper” as in a goal keeper who saves the team to form a new word in Japanese for Designated Driver for their anti drunk driving campaign.
PS: Much to my surprise, when I facetiously asked my English-speaking coworkers, “May I handle–keep her?” the well-endowed waitress cheerfully replied in fluent English, “Sure!”
I was just drinking with a few executives of a major Japanese bank last night, I asked them, “What ever happened to retirement parties?”
In the past I would attend many such parties during the year but for the past couple years, most Japanese retirements have been early and forced and the tossers in management don’t seem to want to “participate” for some reason.
Man thrown into air at retirement party dies after colleagues fail to catch him
Mainichi Japan–December 16, 2008
KUSATSU, Shiga — A 60-year-old man who was thrown into the air in celebration at a farewell party for his retirement died after his colleagues failed to catch him and he landed on the floor...more...
Photo thanks to DannyChoo.
The always informative blog, What Japan Thinks, listed Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping’s most irresistible unusual items of 2008; that is, the rare products Japanese folks just couldn’t resist click through to on the mega-popular Yahoo! JAPAN online shopping mall. The 3Yen covered most of these products in our previous stories such as, Ladies loincloths, the Scream Bottle, and the Exploding piggy bank, the Algae balls of Captain Hard-on.
However, the best of the Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping’s items I sadly missed: Curry Bath Salts!?!
Check out the machine-translation of the Curry Bath Salts page on the Yahoo! JAPAN online mall…
Although curry bathing product is made by Bandai toy company, it is targeted at the adult market judging from the creepy expression on the Indian guy boiling in his own curry pot on the cover of the package. The whole idea of curry bath salts seems absurd since Japanese people will even complain about the smell if you eat garlic bread as part of your lunch.
However, these curry bath salts have the rather normal fragrances of “Honey”–for the sweet apple curry, “Herb”–for the dry-style curry, “Ginger”–for the hot red pepper curry, and “Milk”–for the beef stew curry along with the added bath-time zing with a touch of Capsicum red pepper extract (yes, Japanese think it is normal to eat Vermont Apple Curry and Sacred-Cow Beef Curry).
Just in case you missed it…
Here are throwing stars for the domestic minded…
Shuriken fridge magnets !
More info on BoingBoing Gadgets
YouTube has really improved the high definition (”HD”) function of their service if you click on the text that says, “watch in HD” as shown below.
Click to view.
For example, you can now watch mindless-but-fun, squeaky, J-Pop like Perfume’s “Love the World” in HD with the sound at 48.00kHz 16Bit 2ch 188.25kb/s in AAC, which ain’t bad audio quality.
According to the Los Angeles Times Brad Pitt has been photographing nude girls in a Japanese TV commercial for Softbank (formerly Vodafone Japan).
Brad Pitt photographs nude girl in Japanese commercial?
Los Angeles Times - December 12, 2008-– What is Brad Pitt doing in this strange Japanese TV commercial? Well, it’s directed by Wes Anderson…. a remake of the 1953 French film “Les Vacances de Monseieur Hulot.” Pitt shot the Softbank commercial in Normandy on Sept. 20.
“There were lots of children on the set, and Brad was very friendly to all of them” ….more..
Note: Be sure to view this CM fast—YouTube is pulling the Softbank Japan commercial as fast as people are posting it, and leaving this warning:
Just in case, here a couple screen shots of Brad ‘Pedo’ Pitt in action.
Most young Japanese women find kimono, the Japanese national costume, so boooooooring. Perhaps this Wafrican style will make next month’s Coming-of-Age Day—seijin no hi* with the kimono cosplay of Japanese girls the turning 20.
Wafrica Kimono
The Japan Times
…in a collaboration between an African designer and a traditional Japanese kimono-maker. Launched last month, Wafrica — Africa plus wa for Japan — has unveiled a range of kimono handcrafted in an array of African cotton fabrics that would seem to be a million miles from the subtle silks more commonly associated with traditional Japanese dress….more…
Visit the official website of www.wafrica.jp and www.kururi.net.
*Coming-of-Age Day is held annually on the second Monday in January. Along with the festivities women turning age 20 in the year celebrate this day by wearing a furisode kimono with long sleeves that drape down…often for the first (and last time in their life), which gives the girls the grace to transvette coming out for the first time, ha, ha. Coming-of-Age kids often gather in groups and go to parties or go out drinking. Young women not used to wearing kimono and zori slippers can often be seen staggering and limping as the afternoon wears on and evening approaches. Later in the evening, it is not unusual to see young adults dead-drunk wobbling into the trains, heading home after a day of celebration.
Via –Wikipedia
- 
