Japan’s turbulent history was marked by a series of internal wars among various noble factions, vying for the title of Shogun. While most of its history was spent fighting itself, the greatest threat to Japan came from outside, in the guise of Kublai Khan. Grandson of the infamous Ghengis Khan, Kublai succeeded to the throne…
Category: Culture
An Ancient Science Fiction Story: The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child
Modern Japan is well known for its fascination with all things robotic. This is rooted deep in their history, when they used clockwork puppets called the Karakuri Ninyao to play out folk stories during religious festivals. Like their preoccupation with robots, the Japanese are well known for their contributions to science fiction. Famous science fiction…
Rockabilly in Japan, Baby
Rockabillies – or as we call them in the States: Greasers – is a fashion style that can still be found in Harajuku district in Tokyo. The rockabilly (or rokabiri in Japanese) is a strange import from America. Despite being in the style of Greasers, the fashion has roots in country and western music, dating…
Midoricon 2014 Coverage Pt. 2-Interview with Marble Hornets/THAC
At Midoricon 2014, I had the chance to sit down with Troy, Tim, and Joseph, the creators and stars of the amazing YouTube series Marble Hornets, to talk about their future projects, Luke Skywalker’s GoPro camera, and other things. Was there any point in time that you were tired of the series and wanted to…
Pokemon: A History of Friendship and Controversy
Pokemon proved itself more than a fad. Back in 1999, at the height of popularity, Pokemania caused parents to fear for their children. Pokemon was an odd mix of good moral principles like friendship and compassion with acquisitiveness. Gotta catch ’em all! (Chua-Eaon, 1999; Kehoe, 2000). The fears of parents had little to do with…
Midoricon 2014 Coverage Part One
September 5-7 once again brought to Ohio the green convention Midoricon! The convention was held at Maumee Bay Lodge and Conference Center in Oregon, OH. This year, as with any convention, there were both good and bad points. Over all, Midoricon pulled off a great weekend! This is the first part of my convention coverage,…