Mac Denny

Writer / Translator

Mac Denny is a freelance Japanese-English translator and interpreter. Mac enjoys writing/translating for RocketNews24 because it gives him a chance to turn Japanese media writing on its head and use puns, sarcasm and double entendre in English at will.

Mac evaluated baseball players throughout Japan for Major League Baseball organizations for several years from a base in Kochi Prefecture and later from Tokyo. He specializes in translating and interpreting involving sports, tourism, transportation and environmental issues. He currently resides in California.

Posted by Mac Denny

Demand for “Mini-Dam” Rain Barrels Triples in Year-Plus Since 3/11, Municipal Subsidies Available

A movement toward storing rainwater for emergency use seems to be afoot throughout Japan. Sanei Build System has reported threefold demand for its user-friendly “Mini-Dam” rain barrels in the wake of the March 11 disasters. 

The manufacturer has suggested retail prices of 50,000 yen for the 200-liter model and 120,000 yen for the 1,000-liter model, but it adds that certain municipalities will subsidize as much as half the retail price. Read More

Pack Your Boxes With Style: X Tape Gussies Up Plain Cardboard

In a world where all that existed to hold cardboard boxes together was normal brown packaging tape and cloth tapes, Korean designer Jeong-Min Lee saw a need and taped it up.

Lee’s snazzy “X Tape” spruces up spring cleaning and storage with eccentric designs printed on rolls of clear tape. Designs featuring metal hinges or leather straps can turn a plain cardboard box into a steamer trunk, and metal bolt and spiral notebook designs can add some fun to a gift or package. Read More

Lame Applicant Pool Plagues Don Quijote, Discount Superstore Posts Recruiting Fails

Part of the fun of visiting Don Quijote discount superstores is the vastly diverse clientele swarming the narrow aisles. People from all walks of life sort through the unique, chintzy merchandise and add a distinct flavor to the atmosphere inside the gaudy stores.

An atmosphere that Don Quijote apparently does not want to see behind the counter. The retail giant has put out an urgent call for “plain, normal people” on its online job postings after struggling to find even these very average folks in their latest round of recruiting in the Tokyo Metropolis.

In a frustrated cry for help, Don Quijote posted reasons why previous applicants had failed to measure up to its expectations on FromAnavi (the post has since been removed). Read More

New iPhone App Lets Users Throw Darts at Expensive, High-Tech Equipment

Want to let off some steam by throwing dangerous sporting equipment at expensive entertainment devices? Want to indulge your destructive, decadent side while testing your fine motor skills and depth perception? “Play Darts!” is the perfect iPhone app for you.

Play Darts! (“Daatsu Ni Shiyagare!”) is a new kind of game application that links iPhones to Smart TVs or computers. The user “throws” a dart shown on his iPhone to a target displayed on a distant Smart TV or PC by moving the iPhone through the air the same way he would throw an actual dart. The game is available for free on iTunes for users with iOS 4.3 or newer.

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A&G Diner’s “Best Burger in Tokyo” Hijacks Taste Buds, Takes Them for a Wild Ride

Everyone seems to agree that the best burger joint in Tokyo is A&G Diner in fancy-schmancy Jingumae. It tops the lists on Gourmet and B Gourmet blogs and gossip sites and is the first name out of the mouths of my restaurant critic friends.

I decided to check it out for myself to see if the taste lived up to the hype and glam of Jingumae. I went in to attack an A&G Diner burger with abandon, but, as it turns out, the burger attacked me . . .

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Pop Star’s First Pitch Induces Laughter, Ignites Shameful Flame War

Korean pop group Girls’ Generation’s Jessica had everything going for her as she stepped to the mound last week at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. She went into a semi-accurate windup with her white glove, pink shoes, form-fitting jeans and perfect smile aaaaaaand . . . she spiked the ball into the ground three feet in front of her.

Big deal, right? Lieutenant Dan did basically the same thing in Texas a couple nights ago, proving to us that a ceremonial first pitch is like a box of chocolates – you never know what kind you’re gonna get.

And what’s better, throwing like a T-baller or collapsing in a heap a la Sadako last month in the Tokyo Dome?

None of it should come as a surprise; Jessica showed us the extent of her athletic prowess at 0:20 with that strong, convincing fist pump. What is surprising is the harsh criticism piled on poor Jessica by the peanut gallery.
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Glass Gem Corn Craze Hits Japan

Corn ain’t supposed to be this pretty. Corn doesn’t normally sparkle like jewels or reflect every color of the rainbow. But when it does, the world sits up and pays attention.

Glass Gem corn lives up to its name with white, pink, blue, purple, green and gold kernels distributed randomly and beautifully across each cob. The magnificent maize is an other-worldly sight at first glance to the extent that Discover Magazine went so far as to inform readers that pictures of the corn had not been edited.

Seeds Trust, a small, family-run American company, introduced the glittering corn to the world via Facebook last year, and it went viral earlier this month. Read More

Sneak Peek Into Japanese All-Boys High Schools: 50 Surprising and Unsurprising Things You’d See

It’s hard to imagine what goes on inside Japanese high schools without setting foot inside of one, and even if you’re able to do that, sometimes it’s hard to decipher what’s happening in front of your eyes.

Nonetheless, high school is high school, right? Playing with abandon on the field or court with your sports team, teen romances that run hot and cold, and a host of other universal events unfold at your typical co-ed secondary school.

Within the gates of the Japanese all-boys high school, however, lies a world beyond comprehension. It can be both humorous and painful, proper and vulgar. Let’s take a look at 50 things you would find in the typical Japanese all-boys high school. Read More

Bus Button Lovers Get Off at Tokyu Hands During Golden Week

“Next stop, Shibuya Tokyu Hands!”

That’s what one might have expected to hear at the department store that hosted the quirky Tsugi Tomarimasu Bus Button Exhibit on May 3 and 4. A private collector put his collection of over 100 bus signal buttons on display for the Golden Week shopping crowds.

Anyone who has ever ridden a bus is familiar with the buttons you push to signal that you want to disembark, and we all have a relationship with these buttons. Aggressive people want to initiate action and get where they’re going. Passive people want someone to push the button and take care of their needs. Kids just want to be big enough to reach the buttons! Read More

Gnarly Eraser Shavings Ball Rubs Some the Wrong Way

Imagine the number of mistakes you’d have to make to amass a pile of eraser shavings big enough to make a sphere as big as a softball.

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Harley Davidson Restore Project Stirs Respect, Admiration in Japanese Internet Community

The heartwarming, true story about a disaster-stricken man being reunited with his long lost Harley Davidson has made the rounds on the Internet and tugged at the heartstrings of Japanese Internet users in particular.

“They’ve started writing the movie already,” posted one enthusiastic reader on the Topsy.com comments section.

Man loses three family members and nearly all of his possessions in a horrific earthquake and tsunami and spends over a year in temporary housing before hearing one day that someone found his treasured motorcycle 4,000 miles across the ocean, reasonably intact considering the beating it took at the hands of the Pacific Ocean?  We may have something here, Mr. DeMille. Read More

KDDI Releases First Iridium Satellite Phone with GPS Capability

On April 13, KDDI will begin selling “Extreme,” the newest Iridium satellite phone model and the first equipped with a GPS function.

With the GPS function, Extreme users can periodically update people in their address book on their location via email. In case of emergency, they can push the SOS Button on top of the unit to send an automatic message containing their GPS position.

At 10% thinner and 7% lighter than 9555, the previous model, it is now the thinnest, lightest Iridium satphone, and it also features better resistance to water and dust. Read More

Forget Surgical Masks and Fake Glasses, Wear Your Allergy Remedy Around Your Neck With the Virus Blocker!

Spring brings new life, new love, warmer weather and so many other great things. It also brings with it heaps of pollen, and we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of pollen season. While it’s been a pretty easy year in terms of pollen, many of us are still shut indoors and suffering. I may have stumbled upon an easy, cost-effective way to take care of that, though.
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Gifu, Kyoto Rack Up Highest Averages in Japanese Boob Size Survey, Saitama Falls Flat

Cosmetics website “LC love cosmetic” (www.lovecosmetic.jp)  shared the results of a quick-and-dirty survey it conducted about women’s bust sizes, and the surprising facts are certain to titillate men (and women) with certain – ahem – outsized preferences.

The website, which bills itself as being “for two persons who love,” posted a list of Japan’s 47 prefectures arranged by average cup size, and for persons who love two large, shining orbs, there are no better places in Japan than Gifu and Kyoto Prefectures, where E is the norm.

For those who don’t like speed bumps between themselves and their lovers, Saitama Prefecture and its A-cup average beckon. The national average fell between B- and C-cups, with a majority of prefectures in East Japan at B and a majority of those in West Japan at C. Read More

Panasonic Developing 24-Fingered Hair-Washing Robot

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CioVfxwtutM?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360%5D

If Panasonic has its way, the next human task we entrust to Japanese robots will be hair-washing. The electronics manufacturing giant is developing a hair-washing robot and hopes to put it into actual service in beauty salons before the end of the year.

First, the robot moves its mechanical fingertips around the customer’s head, measuring it with sensors. Once it has an idea of the unique shape of the customer’s head, it applies hot water and shampoo and uses its 24 digits to wash the customer’s hair. Read More

Tokyo PD Announces Traffic Restrictions to Follow Major Earthquakes in Tokyo Metro Area, PDF Files Available in Several Languages

On April 9, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department released pamphlets describing traffic restrictions that would be put into effect if a massive earthquake (Intensity Lower 6 or greater) were to strike the Tokyo Metropolis. The restrictions were made public in Japanese some time ago, but now the pamphlets are available as PDF files in English, Korean and Chinese. Read More

Energy Companies Make Move Toward Massive Geothermal Development in Fukushima

Idemitsu Kosan, INPEX and other energy corporations began speaking with locals on April 3 about building a geothermal power plant inside Bandai-Asahi National Park in Fukushima Prefecture. If locals agree with the plan, research would begin this year with operation commencing in about 10 years. The area is expected to produce 270,000 kilowatts of geothermal energy, higher than anywhere else in Japan.

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Japan Self Defense Force Recruitment Posters Kill with Cute

In recent years, the Tokushima Provincial Cooperation Office of the Japan Self Defense Force has created recruitment advertising posters featuring cute, adorable illustrations, and it wasted little time in releasing this year’s version.

The posters depict a girl texting her Self Defense Force member boyfriend after she sees him on a news show, in uniform and providing natural disaster relief. “That uniform made you look twice as dashing as you usually do,” she texts lovingly. Read More

Manhattan Japanese Restaurant EAST Serves Unexpected Tear-Jerker

I happened upon a kaiten sushi-ya (conveyor belt sushi restaurant) while on an extended trip to New York, and I was surprised that something other than the hot wasabi brought tears to my eyes.

Japanese Restaurant EAST in Manhattan is a far cry from any Japanese kaiten sushi-ya – this place is as hip as any nightclub in the area. The chef is not Japanese, but his skills are just as good as those of any “genuine” sushi chef. He rolled out perfectly squeezed nigiri sushi and delicious miso soup.

And though I like to get adventurous with the wasabi from time to time, I was not prepared for the rotating item that would move me to tears on this day.

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“Gourmet” fans, add Ikebukuro Station to your list of stops for fine fare. Platform 3/4 for the Tobu Tojo Line, to be exact. HOT DOG 59 is the name, hot dogs are their game.

Folks in gourmet circles rave about these sizzling sausages available only at this single location. HOT DOG 59 spares no expense on the quality of the buns and dogs, said to be a step above New York’s famed red hots.

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