Or, an alternative

A fitting return to the blog after a week's hiatus. In a follow-up to last week's story about Avex's bizarre self-improvement program, Sega has introduced EMA, or "Eternal Maiden Actualization," a 15 inch robot "girlfriend" targeted at lonely adult Japanese males. I wanted to write something clever on the subject, but the article says it all already. Take a look:

Japanese Firm Creates Robot Girlfriend for Lonely Men

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
FOX NEWS

She's big-busted, petite, very friendly and she runs on batteries.

Sega, best known for its home video game consoles, has introduced a 15-inch tall robotic 'girlfriend' that kisses on command, with a target market of lonely adult men.

The robot, named "EMA," which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, is designed to pucker up for nearby human heads, entering "love mode" using a series of infrared sensors powered by battery.

"Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive," said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys to Reuters news agency.

"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."

EMA can also hand out business cards, sing and dance.

Sega is hoping to sell 10,000 robotic girlfriends in it's first year and envisions a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.

The busty bot will be available in Japan in September for around $175.

Confidence building 101

File this one under "weird." Japanese entertainment company Avex recently released a DVD aimed to help passive Japanese men confront their fears of women. Viewers of the DVD are meant to simply stare at 50 women over the course of 90 minutes without looking away. The trick, of course, is that the women are neither animated nor are they in any state of undress; instead, they are simply staring back at the camera, mostly expressionless. Try it out for yourself:



*also comes in white woman and child

Of Wisconsin, from Japan

News from the stateside often takes a little while to reach me here, but stumbling upon the music of Bon Iver last week was like showing up a year late to the party and discovering that the leftover pizza was still remarkably fresh. From right under my nose in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Bon Iver (indie folk singer Justin Vernon) last year released a collection of stark and haunting acoustic tunes crafted in the Wisconsin woods but fit for lonely Japanese nights. Taking his name from the French "bon hiver" (good winter), Vernon's story is that of folk song lore. Recently estranged from his bandmates and kicked curbside by his long-time girlfriend Emma, Vernon retreated to his parents' cabin in remote Northern Wisconsin for a three month period of reflection and songwriting. The result is For Emma, Forever Ago, a debut album marked by unadorned acoustic guitars and the poetic lyricism of a man who has clearly found the shape of his own heart. Simply beautiful.

To listen to music from For Emma, Forever Ago visit http://virb.com/boniver.

Recommended tracks:
Flume
Skinny Love
Re: Stacks

Dancing politicians

In tribute to the end of a very long primary dance...

a special political take on Coldplay's "Violet Hill." Whatever the message, I think it's pretty cool.

Suggested viewing

Stuck in a country where you can't see Iron Man and don't want to settle for watching a grainy pirated version? Of course you're not. But if you've already seen the film and are craving more Robert Downey Jr. action (minus the random nose bleeds), I would highly recommend checking out 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Directed by Shane Black of Lethal Weapon fame and also starring Van Kilmer (hilarious as private eye Gay Perry), it's a murder mystery comedy thriller film noir spoof that's just too unique and quirky to be written off as mindless. Crass, fun, laugh-out-loud funny, and can't-miss cinema. If I had two little Ebert e-thumbs they'd be in the air right now.

Su-touch-i

Just finished wringing myself out from the touch rugby tournament and armed with all sorts of fun specs. Unfortunately, the Tokushima Su-Touch-I team played victim to a tough draw and finished the weekend with only an opening match victory, but I like to think a good time was had by all 200 some odd participants. Can't wait to get fit again and gear up for next year's tourney.


the squad


gearing up for a try


cold, wet, and unhappy - apparently I didn't get the memo


cozy home for the weekend


group photo after Sunday's final


feeding the hungry combatants