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Pointy Max visits Mt. Fuji

Pointy Max finds pointy symmetry with Mt. Fuji.

Pointy Max seeks solace in Aokigahara Jukai Forest in Japan.

Pointy Max pauses to reflect upon the beauty of Shiraito Falls.

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Using WaifuXL to clean up and enhance anime images

A handy website called WaifuXL uses AI or something to clean up, color-correct, upscale, and enhance anime images. Above left is a very old picture of Madoka from Kimagure Orange Road I’ve had since high school. It’s a very low-resolution picture. To the right is a 4x enhanced version, courtesy of WaifuXL. (I never use the term “waifu” and it’s pretty stupid, but this website is pretty cool.)

Linna from Bubblegum Crisis. Look how blurry and low-res the original is.

Nadia taking a shower. You can see how it clears up the dithering considerably.

Nadia taking a nap. It really sharpened up the picture.

Nadia’s wedding.

Nadia wedding dress.

Komillia from Macross 2036. The original looks blurry in comparison.

Plus it works on non-character images. Look at how it cleaned up this image of a Macross Valkyrie prepping for takeoff:

This is a nice tool. Apparently it does not work on non-anime images well.

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Samenyan is AWESOME

Samenyan (“Shark-Meow”) is a new character by a company called Mofusand.

Oh my gosh, this cat is so cute I could just SCREAM.

So in case you haven’t noticed, Japan is weird. I am weird. My wife is weird. Our daughter is weird. My motto is you’re either weird or boring. I choose weird.

Meow.

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Ulan found a Slime hat

We were at a store called Chambre and we found a sort of beret that looks like a Slime from Dragon Quest. Ulan tried it on. Not something she’d wear regularly though.

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Space Invaders Frenzy

Unfortunately, game centers in Japan have become increasingly boring due to the lack of actual games. Even the Purikura (“Print Club”) photo booths are boring as while 20 years ago they were a fun way for friends to have pictures taken together, they are apparently now targeted at young girls who aren’t old enough to wear makeup and these things detect your eyes and add make-up, make the eyes freakishly big, etc. The tourist-y Purikura booths were the best, so if you went to Tokyo Tower you could have your friends get a picture taken with Tokyo Tower inserted behind you, etc. Now they just make you look like some anime freak with creepy eyes. To think that girls these days actually appreciate how these photo sticker booths treat their appearances is bewildering.

The UFO catcher claw-arm prize games can only be entertaining for so long. Most of the time the claws just caress the prizes, or maybe they will pick them up, only to drop them clumsily. I’m sure it’s all on purpose.

Space Invaders Frenzy provides a fun gaming experience that cannot be replicated at home. It is a retro throwback to the original Space Invaders, but you control it with rapid fire gun turrets, picking up power-ups to defeat the invaders. It’s pretty fun.

I recorded this at the Taito Game Station in Lirica Mall in Maebashi a couple of years ago.

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Ulan enjoyed drawing pictures

I was recently asked to prepare an activity for junior high-level English classes to have students use gerund phrases as modifiers for verbs. I took an idea from my coworker to have the students use whiteboards draw pictures which describe sentences that they put together by drawing cards at random. I made a stack of noun cards with pictures (Darth Vader, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, a pencil, etc), a verb (enjoyed, started, or finished), plus a gerund phrase (baking cookies, talking to plants, reading a Harry Potter book, etc). The picture would depend on the verb, whether its something that just began, just finished, or is in progress. I played this game with my daughter Ulan. She used her digital blackboard to draw pictures. We played several rounds.

Bananas started swimming in yogurt.

Elmo enjoyed playing the drums.

My neighbor’s stupid dog started riding a dinosaur.

Gunma-chan (Gunma Prefecture’s mascot) finished wrestling an octopus.

Anya finished hunting a Totoro.

Sponge Bob started stalking AKB48.

My cat finished building a time machine.

A muffin started stealing cars.

My grandmother enjoyed punching Luffy.

Ulan likes drawing goofy pictures, so this was a perfect way to play with English on a Sunday afternoon.