Magnificent Japanese Things
Rube Goldberg may be way before my time but after getting a book of his inventions one Christmas, his world was revealed unto me. Now in this video there are nearly thirteen minutes of many Goldberg-esque contraptions for a Japanese business or concept or something.
Since I've taken some Japanese I should really take the time to figure out exactly what the numerous signs say. Maybe later. For now, watch and wonder.
Posted by
Harrison Cross on April 17, 2006 12:35 AM | Permalink
Comments
Cool stuff. Wish I had an ounce of that kind of skill. Ingenuity is a strength of the Japanese to be sure.
FYI - The signs (that are all the same) say PI-TA-GO-RA SU-I-CHI. I don't know what it is supposed to mean, but I do know that they are words of foreign origin (i.e. non-Japanese)being spelled phonetically. One can tell by the use of KATAKANA (one of two syllabaries used to write Japanese, in addition to kanji). Sorry to sound like a smartypants.
Posted by: John | April 17, 2006 01:17 AM
etakolotsineechee this...
Posted by: budb | April 17, 2006 08:26 AM
the signs all say "we're smarter than you".
Posted by: mayday | April 17, 2006 02:38 PM
Rube Goldberg taught me cause and effect.
Posted by: baci | April 17, 2006 03:52 PM
etakolosineechee in japaneze--it's the name of the toy company that makes those setups - like hasbro & mattel.
each setup is an japan tv ad.
i'll bet.
$20.
anyone up?
Posted by: budb | April 17, 2006 06:06 PM
I hadn't had a chance to watch it yet, but I guess it's a HALF HOUR long!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3812507039888532441&q=der+lauf+der+dinge&pl=true
Posted by: Bad Cat! | April 19, 2006 08:08 AM
I once wrote a comic about Rube Goldberg. Well, it wasn't about him but it mentioned him. And I didn't write it, someone else did, but I drew it. And ... well ... uh. Yeah.
Posted by: Barrett | April 21, 2006 02:33 AM