Master Blaster

Writer / Translator

Master Blaster is the two-man translating team of Canada’s Steven Le Blanc and Japan’s Masami M, a pair who in addition to writing work are in English education and created the StudyNow app for Japanese students of English.

Together they have written somewhere around 1,500 articles for RocketNews24 covering such diverse topics as Chinese men selling sanitary napkins to each other and a Japanese guy dragging an ear of corn around the Tokyo train system. A few of these were actually good, but don’t take our word for it! Here’s what our beloved readers had to say:

“One isn't always in the mood for bold tastes. But when I'm in the mood for bold flavor I turn to you.”
“Stupid article. Who cares what the Japanese think it's cool. You don't call a monkey, "gorilla".”
“You know, this is about the most cogent explanation of how a turbocharger works that I have ever seen in the non-motorsports world.”
“Thanks for the article peter!”
“It's people like you who make exploitation possible.”
“It looks yummy and the story was great. Thank you for the smile.”

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Posted by Master Blaster (Page 139)

Hiyoriyama newly crowned as Japan’s Shortest Mountain

Osaka has many sights and attractions to boast about. To name a few, there’s the robot drummer clown, the big robot crabs here and there and of course Tenpozan, Japan’s shortest mountain. Standing at 4.53 meters above sea level, it was a tourist draw leading to the creation of an aquarium shopping complex and giant ferris wheel.

However, now it appears Tenpozan has been relegated to second place following a recent survey by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI). Hiyoriyama in Sendai is now the nation’s lowest summit at a reevaluated height of three meters. Normally, the Osaka resident in me would demand a recount and ask for a discount on it, but considering how Hiyoriyama came to be this way, I’ll humbly congratulate the new record holder and wish them all the best.

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Ten-year-old illustrator getting national attention for his unique style of portraits

Up-and-coming artist Mondo draws with a somewhat skewed sense of proportion very much like any other 10-year-old boy. However, from beneath the superficiality of his sometimes jarring contours, the unmistakable sense of his subject can be felt.

The impact his images create has been earning him a lot of respect around his hometown of Fukuoka and recently a growing fan-base around Japan. In addition to his public appearances where he draws visitors’ portraits, he has a blog on which he posts a daily illustration displaying his ever-growing talents. Check out his work after the jump.

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“Dr. Fruit” or “How Japan Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Peel”

On more than one occasion, when the family would settle down for a nice bowl of grapes, I would do as usual and pop one in my mouth. Almost assuredly my wife’s face would contort into a grimace that would make you think I just licked a dog’s butt. This would soon be followed by a lecture on how the pesticides used on it seep into the skin and cannot be washed off along with pleas to stop this barbaric act.

However, I figured if I haven’t died or gotten so much as a tummy ache thus far, it’s probably okay. Nevertheless, every once and a while my wife would try to slip me a peeled grape to convert me, only to have my face contort into the shape of having licked a dogs butt.

The whole point of all this dog-butt talk is that my wife is not at all alone among Japanese people who refuse to eat the skins of certain fruits. However, in recent years, this trend has been changing according to a survey by Tropicana Japan and Dr. “Fruit” Motohashi.
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How photos of food look when taken by a professional photographer vs a guy with an iPhone

Here at RocketNews24 we often cover food whether it’s weird, wonderful, or a waste of money. As such, we often have to take pictures of it. However, since none of us are photographers by trade, we often make do with whatever is lying around, be it iPhone, SLR, or Game Boy Pocket Camera.

We’re not alone either as many a Facebook or Instagram page can be found flooded with images of people’s dinners. However, even though that picture of last night’s pastitsio looks really good to us, how does it actually compare to someone who takes pictures for a living? Has the technology gotten to the point where anyone can make gorgeous food shots, or has it only fueled our own delusions of photographic grandeur? We decided to do a direct comparison using two people and one dish.

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16 Manga Mash-ups including Attack on Crayon and Pooh’s Bizarre Adventure

Anime and manga tend to have an overall defining style that has evolved (or devolved depending how you look at it) over the ages. However, it’s really a far more diverse collection of artwork ranging from the cartoony fun of Sazae-san and Crayon Shin-chan to the stark yet attractive contrasts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and eerie atmosphere that opened Attack on Titan.

So what if we took these different styles and smashed them together like so many mud pies at my 10-year high school reunion? Why, these 16 drawings found on Twitter of course.

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Prominent political figures like you’ve never seen them before… FABULOUS!

Saint Hoax is a Middle Eastern artist who recently set up a website which combines the kitsch of pop art with cynical political commentary. In their post, Saint Hoax muses on the similarities between drag queens and world figureheads. Thinking that they share unique fashions and stand-out personalities, the only real difference between a drag queen and a king boils down to flashier colors and a whole lot of money.

So Saint Hoax took nine political and religious figures and applied some sequins and foundation – a lot of foundation – to make them queen for a day.  They certainly work – sashay, shantay – but if you happen to have strong political or religious leanings in one direction or another, you’ll probably find yourself offended by these images.

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New hands-free binoculars let you see far, look like something out of One Piece

Don’t you hate it when you’re out birding in Tibet and you spot a Sillem’s Mountain Finch? The find itself is great of course, but immediately upon sighting it you want to light up a cuban cigar in order to celebrate, in accordance with birdwatching tradition. The problem, is you have to put down your binoculars to do so, thus potentially losing sight of the rare bird.

To address this problem that we all must deal with at one point in our lives, a Shanghai wholesaler is offering “Meganegata Sogankyo” or “Glasses-type Binoculars” which allow you to see long distances while retaining the use of both your hands, in the most steampunk way possible.

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Kanna Hashimoto’s rise to fame continues with major commercial appearance

About a half a year ago, the charming face of a local idol from Fukuoka was plastered all over the internet. Kanna Hashimoto’s genuine charm and cuteness had won over the country literally overnight. Shortly afterwards, we were able to meet the up and coming star and buy a pair of glasses. There we found Hashimoto’s charm wasn’t just a fluke of the original photo that shot her into the spotlight.

Now we’re happy to see that her rise to fame hasn’t slowed down one bit with a recent appearance in the hugely popular SoftBank commercial series featuring the Shirato family. Not only that, she has also thrown the ceremonial first pitch at Opening Day of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2014 season.

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Enjoy the beauty of Angkor in your underpants thanks again to Google Street View

It seems Google Maps and Google Street View is truly unending in their quest to walk around and take panoramic photos of some of the Earth’s most beautiful locations. So far we’ve witnessed the eerie wonder of Gunkanjima and the spectacular sights of Mt. Fuji’s summit all courtesy of Google. And now we are treated to a place found on many people’s bucket list: Angkor, Cambodia.

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High-end Japanese farm wear now available for public consumption

Last year, Osaka-based heavy manufacturer Yanmar unveiled some major changes to their line-up. Hoping to breathe fresh life into the age-old life of farming, they designed a bad-ass tractor and futuristic farming wear.

Since then, the rest of us have had to deal with uppity Japanese farmers walking around town in their high-end fashions with their noses firmly aimed at the sky. They say they’re just avoiding the manure smell, but everyone knows what really stinks.

However, now Yanmar is letting us lowly peasants get a taste of the high life, by releasing a limited number of their cutting-edge farm wear for sale to the general public. As you can imagine, this kind of fashion doesn’t come cheap.

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Pearl River Delta confirms recent risk ranking with severe hail storm

No sooner was it announced the third most at-risk area for natural disasters in the world than the Pearl River Delta in China was hit by extremely severe rain storms with giant hail and damaging winds. The region, which is composed of several major urban centers has experienced flooded subways stations, canceled flights, and destroyed shopping centers due to heavy downpours.

Some of these scenes have been recorded and shared online in video form.

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Kuos Beer promises all the flavor of beer without any of the other fun stuff

If you’re not a fan of watery beer, then the new beer Kuos is definitely not for you. It’s about as watery as a beer could possibly get. In fact, although it’s a beer by name, Kuos is better described as a carbonated water with the pleasant bouquet of delicious ale.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to cut back on alcohol, carbs, and/or calories without loosing the beer drinking experience then Kuos may be perfect for you since it contains absolutely none of those things.

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What do a zebrafish and Dragon Ball’s Krillin have in common?

The zebrafish is an interesting member of the minnow family for a number of reasons. They cute, fairly cheap, and relatively easy to take care of as pets making them great for warming up the old homestead. On the other hand, they are widely used in labs due to their speedy reproduction and development along with their fully sequenced genome.

Krillin, meanwhile, is an interesting recurring character of the Dragon Ball series. The most popular fully human character, he has developed the power of flight and powerful energy disc. He’s also one of the more versatile dressers of the series sporting outfits and hairstyles beyond his fighting gear.

So what is it that connects this fictional fighter to the freshwater fish?

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You ain’t seen North Korean calisthenics ’til you’ve seen it done to Final Fantasy IV boss music

Every once in a while we experience pleasant beauty of synchronicity in life, whether it’s listening to Pink Flyod’s Dark Side of the Moon while watching The Wizard of OZ or just listening to The Police’s Synchronicity.

Another such case is the uncannily fitting combination of a North Korean calisthenics video for children with the background music to a Final Fantasy IV boss battle. A video of it was posted on YouTube quite a while ago, but it’s worth revisiting again and again.

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Way to go! Japan earns top spot and two others in top 10 most dangerous world cities ranking

It’s always nice to be number one for something, even if it is number one in the “cities where the earth is most likely to kill you” ranking. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Tokyo and Yokohama were declared the cities at highest risk of natural disaster by Zurich-based Swiss Reinsurance (Swiss Re) in a 2013 study, whose findings were recently announced.

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Fashion Update: Lobster is the new black

With only a day left before the dreaded sales tax hike in Japan, this is truly the zero hour for you to get your last-minute impulse buys in. And what could be more impulsive than buying this lobster-shaped clutch bag for the low low price 50,400 yen (US$490)!?

It’s not getting any cheaper folks!

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How to enjoy wasabi painlessly, or at least as painlessly as possible

A few months ago we mentioned the various health benefits a daily dose of the Japanese condiment wasabi has to offer. Afterwards, I was intrigued by the potential anti-aging and cancer preventing effects that five grams a day could bring.

However, eating that much wasabi every day is easier said than done. As small as it is, that little ball can pack quite a punch if eaten all at once. Other more traditional uses of wasabi like on sushi are small and require you to eat a lot every day.

Luckily, there actually are quite a few ways to try and enjoy wasabi without feeling its notorious sting. If you can get past that, then you can enjoy what a delicious root it truly is.

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Yoppi and the Fashion Factory: One man’s magical makeover in Shibuya

On the surface, a lot of guys don’t seem to put much effort into their appearance. This is often mistaken for sheer laziness or apathy, but in these cash strapped times, many men simply lack the funds to look as stylish as they want to.

One such man is Omocoro’s Yoppi, or as he’s known to the rest of the world, “that Japanese guy who was caught looking at cartoon porn on the train.” Struggling on a blogger’s budget he resorts to bland colors and patternless pants. That is until one fateful day when he heard of a contest in the fashionably elite area of Shibuya which promised to make his dreams of looking good come true.

Here is his story.

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“Make your own Pino ice cream fondue” event to be held for one day only in Tokyo

Pino is one of Japan’s most beloved brand of ice cream snacks. They combine the simple deliciousness of a chocolate covered ice cream bar with the bite sized convenience of a bonbon.

Since their launch in 1976, Pino have become available in other flavors such as double-chocolate or strawberry, but their vanilla ice cream with chocolate coating has remains a firm favorite. However, on 13 April this year, Morinaga Milk Industry will be holding a one day event where you can not only taste brand new Pino flavors, but you will actually be able to create your own from over 100 different combinations. Details after the jump!

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