This is a video advertising display at Welchia Drug Store for Pakkun, a digestive aid supplement featuring Pac-Man.
Famicom gachapon at Mandai
The Mandai Shoten store in Maebashi has a Famicom gachapon machine. For 200 yen, you can receive a random Famicom game. You never know what you will get! How exciting! What could it be? Pac Man? 1943? Arkanoid? Dragon Quest? Tetris? ZANAC?
My friend Lou got Derby Stallion, the boring-as-hell horse race simulator. Oh joy.
Just ignore him and he might go away
This is what I’d do. I wouldn’t even acknowledge the kid sniffer.
MOAR ’80s game arcade memes
So, here is Pac-Man, Frogger, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Defender, and the last two on the right are kind of small and I can’t recognize them.
For me, when my family would go to Valley West Mall in Glendale, Arizona, there was a game arcade there called Bag-A-Tel. My first go-to game was Atari’s Star Wars sit-down cabinet! If someone was there already, I’d go to Atari/Namco’s Pole Position II sit-down cabinet. I have so many great memories of that arcade. Valley West Mall died, was reborn as Manistee Town Center and died again. It was eventually demolished for the movie “Eight-Legged Freaks.”
Related: A couple of clever ’80s game arcade memes
Imai 1:100 Armored Valkyrie plastic model box art
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.
Arii 1:100 Macross Regult Tactical Scout Type pod plastic model box art
I am nearly done with this build. It’s coming out rather well. Decals were slightly yellowed, but for the most part I was able to apply them. There were a few rips, but I was able to correct some of the damage with a bit of paint. I only lost one decal. There won’t be a build video for this, but just pictures posted on my Tumblr feed.
Iria Linux Mint desktop April 2024
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.
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.