For many Americans like myself (and many, many other people from all over the world) Japan is considered the Mecca of video games; a sacred land that birthed Nintendo, Playstation and an array of dearly loved game franchises like Final Fantasy, Zelda and of course Mario. While I’m not a super nerd that buys dozens of games and spends all his free time in a dark room in front of a glowing screen, I will admit that gaming has been a significant part of my life ever since I can remember, and also played a large part in me becoming interested in Japan.

My first fond gaming memories were from when I was about five years old and I played games like Super Mario World, Mortal Kombat and Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo (スーパーファミコン). Later, for my 9th birthday I received a Nintendo 64 and the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which made me fall in love with role-playing games (RPGs) and has influenced me ever since. Nowadays, I have a Playstation 4 and love to play games from the Japanese video game company From Software.

While gaming is a great passion of mine, I also realise that many think it’s a waste of precious time (my wife is one of those people)! I titled this post “I’m kind of a nerd” because I also believe it’s important to keep a balance with what I choose to do in my free time so I can keep up with everything else happening in my adult life while nourishing my other interests.

Whatever you may choose to do with your free time, I hope you enjoy it!

Joe

What would make a good mascot?

Tokyo Olympics is still three years away, but organizers have finally chosen Dragonball Z, Son Goku, as the official ambassador for the summer event. Applications for designing the mascot for the 2020 games is open to the public which I think is a great idea. So, what would make a good mascot? If I had to design a mascot, it would be a mix of something old and something new – Ninja Robot.

Something old- the ninja. They are popular and easily recognized because of their cool traditional outfits. The jobs of the ninja in the past were not always noble, but their level of skill and training are qualities that I have admired since I was a child. Growing up, I loved watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Something new- the robot. Japan’s robotics industry is well known throughout the globe and is another reason why I think it’d make a popular mascot. Robots are very much part of our everyday life. Most people can recognize Asimo the humanoid robot who has made public appearances around the world. And who could forget Astro Boy, the hero android. Very cool, indeed!

What if you had to hand in a mascot design for Tokyo Olympics? What would it be?

Did you see the news?

I read an interesting article the other day. There was a report that seven planets the size of Earth have been discovered. I have enjoyed many Science Fiction movies and books that explore the topic of alien life and have always hoped that alien life exists.

The report mentions that each of the seven planets has the potential to have liquid water on their surface. This is, of course, essential to support life. However there are other factors which are required for life and the experts have referred to three of the seven planets that have been discovered to be inside their definition of a “habitable zone”.

Obviously further research and observation will be carried out to learn more about these and other planets as well as the possibility of alien life. I did find the article very interesting and still have that spark of hope that we may discover more than us in the Universe! Many people claim that they have seen a UFO, I haven’t – have you?