Vanilla Ice Second & more Japangrish

Mike Grist Japan, Japangrish Leave a Comment

Perhaps you’ve always wondered. Perhaps you used to protest to your friends until they branded you the group’s uncool pariah- “No, but listen, a Vanilla Ice comeback really WOULD be awesome.” At which point you probably broke into song: “Alright, stop, collaborate and listen-“ I recommend you listen to Ice himself while reading the rest of this post. Ice on? Alright, let’s get down to it. What would a Vanilla Ice comeback look like? Japan has come up with an answer. Was this intended as a sequel to the actual Vanilla Ice? Who knows. Perhaps an inducement for all Vanilla …

Broken English #1 Huge Employees

Mike Grist Japangrish 5 Comments

As an English teacher I`m constantly hearing strange manipulations of the language. Most of them don`t make any sense, but on occasion they could, with a little creative interpretation. Try to guess what the correct version of this sentence should be. The Company fired huge employees.

Friend Bakery

Mike Grist Food / Drink, Japan, Japangrish 2 Comments

A tasty nibble I snacked upon in Kyushu- though probably available all over Japan. Just smack your surf-board sleeping friend over the head and bake her into a biscuit.       More Japangrish and J-products than you can shake a stick at.

Not many banana

Mike Grist Japangrish 3 Comments

many banana21Raising kids is tough. Ask any parent and they’ll talk to you for hours about the hundreds of daily decisions they face in naturing and nurturing their kids into healthy little human robots.

Put the Shout From a Soul

Mike Grist Japan, Japangrish 4 Comments

I was instantly hooked by this T-shirt, on the train journey back from Izu where I and SY recently went to get sun-burned. This guy was chilling in the most lackadaisical manner, almost as if he knew I was trying to get a shot of his back. Wow, that is cool. Look at his back, what a great message. I cannot count the times I have WANTED to put the shout from a soul on heavy voice, and to send, but because I didn’t know how to do it, I couldn’t. That’s a little bit like when Abraham Lincoln used …

Step into your Virgin Grave

Mike Grist Japan, Japangrish 2 Comments

I know everybody out there longs for a Virgin Grave. Who would want a used grave, a second-hand grave? Chu-ko Haka, as they say in Japanese. How much better for a Playfull Mind is a brand-new Virgin Grave, sharp-cut, deep, loamy, fresh. Mmmmm. Imagine stepping into your Virgin Grave as a dead person and just KNOWING you were in good and capable grave-hands? I know it’s what my dead body would want.

Dinning Bar

Mike Grist Japan, Japangrish 9 Comments

I found the DINNING BAR in ultra-hip Shimo-Kitazawa a few weeks ago, and ever since have been scouring the net for what it could possibly be. My first thought was that it MUST be connected with the word ‘din’ as in “Lordy Mike’s making a din on that Double Bass!” or “Where’s that Godawful din coming from, is he on the Double Bass again?” But I wasn’t sure if the noun ‘din’ could be made into a verbal noun (AKA- gerund) so I went to the font of all knowledge, my old friends Merriam-Webster:

The ‘other’ Colonel Sanders

Mike Grist Ads / Signs, Japan, Japangrish 7 Comments

His name is Koichi Sanders. He and the Colonel were divided at birth, despite not sharing a common mother nor being born in the same country or year. After that tragic separation, they never saw each other again, but for in the distant redness of Red land. They live in Red land, which is why the space behind them is always red. Their uniquely black and white faces cause them endless shame, as everywhere they go they are mistaken for each other. This is a big problem, since they do not even speak the same language! Koichi Sanders considers the …