Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Japanese Pregnancy Traditions Aren’t All That Traditional
11:40PM Brian Ashcraft | To: Totilo From: Bash RE: Spare a Rodent? This morning wife and mother-in-law took the train to a Buddhist temple to ask for a healthy birth. As you may or may not know, this pregnancy has been rather tough on her. It was like that for Mini-Bash’s, but this time seems to have more teeth that dig in and bite. The baby, says the doctor, is healthy and strong. Wife still has bad days. Today, for instance, her mother said the moment Mrs. Bashcraft got off the train, she threw up. When she got to the temple, she threw up. After lunch, ditto. When she got back on the train, and so on. (She seems fine right now as she watches TV! Just going out of the house seems to take a lot out of her.) At the temple, she bought two talisman or amulets — what the Japanese call “mamori”. The orange coloured one in the picture is for the unborn baby, to protect it. When Mrs. Bashcraft went to the temple today, she took the one she kept for Mini-Bash while he was in her belly, returned it and said thank you for a healthy birth. (Yeah, I know, she was five years late, but whatever.) The other amulet, the yellow one, is to protect Mini-Bash. At the temple, she also bought a white cloth called “haraobi” which pregnant women wrap around their stomachs to keep them warm. It’s basically an old fashioned maternity girdle. She won’t be able to start wearing it until the 27th of this month, because according to the Buddhist calendar that the “Day of the Dog”. Since dogs give birth easily, it’s advised to start wearing the haraobi starting from that date. (Note: This “Day of the Dog” changes every month, so I think it’s the 4th of next month, but I’m not sure.) Fingers crossed this stuff works. In case you are curious, hit the jump for look at the back of the envelope from the Temple that the haraobi came in. What you missed last night “Hot Coffee” Class Action Suit Claims Show Very Few Were Offended Microsoft To Let Other Companies Build, Release 360 Consoles? New Duke Nukem Screen Is Small A Terrifying Glimpse Into The Future Of The Halo Franchise? “Everyone Will Be Really Excited” About Blizzard Announcement More »
Some Infinity Ward Guy, Ladies Man
11:20PM Brian Ashcraft | It’s time to turn down the lights down real low. Set the mood, right. Previously, Microsoft exec and ladies man Aaron Greenberg talked up Bill Gates hot tub habits with two Penthouse Pets. This time it is Robert Bowling from Infinity Ward’s turn. Robert Bowling? Yes, ROBERT BOWLING. He talks to the Pets about his part in Call of Duty 4: Penthouse Lady: You are behind Call of Duty 4, right? Robert Bowling: Uh, yeah. I’m the Community Manager for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warefare and Infinity Ward, which is the developer. Penthouse Lady: Right on. Phew. Good thing that wasn’t all awkward. It sure could’ve been. These clips are from GDC and will never get old. Never. In Bed With The Pets [Das Gamer via videogaming247] More »Professor Layton, Hookers and Coke
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Professor Layton puzzles are tricky, but only when you give a shit. The Daily Hotness [Dtoid via Go Nintendo] More »Rumour: Full 2.40 Revisions List Leaked, Due Around E3
10:40PM Luke Plunkett | According to CVG, the much-hyped PS3 firmware update to 2.40 – the one that’ll bring trophies and in-game XMB access – won’t be launching “soon”. Instead, Sony will be holding it back, and launching it around the time of the company’s E3 address in three weeks time. They also claim to have gotten hold of the final list of features contained within the update. It’s a literal list of updates – meaning the exact function of some of them is unclear – but hey, use your imagination. More »PSP Phone Out Next Christmas?
10:20PM Brian Ashcraft | Earlier we posted what we thought could be the “PlayStation Phone” — which was more phone than PlayStation. This Sony Ericsson “gaming phone” does not carry the PlayStation brand, which is something many analysts found strange. Elsewhere business site Marketing Weeks writes about the rumoured PlayStation phone Sony is apparently working on: It is thought the phone will incorporate elements of the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is understood the phone could hit the shelves in time for Christmas 2009… Sources in Japan and Korea say Sony is working on converting the current PSP model into a phone. Analysts say it would be “relatively easy” to convert the current PSP as it already incorporates wi-fi. According to Marketing Week, the reason why the Sony Ericsson phone does not carry the PlayStation brand is that Sony would “never give its PlayStation branding” to Ericsson after learning from its “strategic error” of giving the Walkman brand to Ericsson. What’s more, relationship between Sony and Ericsson is “frosty”. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Sony plots gaming phone with PlayStation branding [Marketing Week via MCVUK] [Pic] More »New Viva Piñata 2 Screens
10:00PM Luke Plunkett | Courtesy of Rare, here’s four new screens for the upcoming Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise. Things are looking lovely, there’s no doubt of that. But the first one looked (and played!) lovely, too. And still, nobody really paid any attention. Will genie huts and birds with gas masks change that? Probably not, but there’s always hope! More »
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Sony Talkin’ God of War III At E3
9:30PM Brian Ashcraft | What we know: Last year, Sony officially said God of War III was for the PS3. Back in February of this year, a Sony teaser ad said God of War III was “coming soon”. A job announcement popped up in April was seeking an online game programmer for the team that created God of War and God of War II. According to a post on game site Eurogamer, Sony will be announcing God of War III for the PS3 at E3. This s unconfirmed, but makes sense! Surely, Sony will want a big AAA exclusive to face off with Gears of War 2 this holiday season. But just because something makes sense doesn’t mean it’s true. God Of War III vai ser [Eurogamer.pt via N4G Thanks, Thorsten!] [Pic] More »The Lolita DS English Game Scholarship!
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | DS game Moe Sta is here to teach people English. The instructional software features 5,000 English questions that range from junior high school to Tokyo University entrance examination level. To mark Moe Sta’s release, its developer Mirai Shonen has announced the “Moe Sta Scholarship Institution”. Here’s the deal: Use Moe Sta to study English and pass the notoriously difficult Tokyo University entrance exam, and the Mirai Shonen will provide ¥500,000 ($AU 4,170) in financial assistance. The developer will carefully select two students who use the software to help enter the university. Study hard! Moe Sta Scholarship [Official Site via Hatimaki] More »
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