It's summer in Japan, which means shaved ice, cold noodles and parasols against the blinding sun - for men.
While women have used sun umbrellas, or "higasa," for centuries, power conservation and increasingly hot summers have sent sales of men's sun umbrellas sharply higher, with department stores across Japan scrambling for stocks.
"There's been a spike in demand for men's sun umbrellas of about three times since last summer," said Mayumi Mio, a spokeswoman at Takashimaya, a major Tokyo department store.
"Most of them buy it for business when they have to step outside of the office to go to a meeting. They feel that it's rude to show up to work or a meeting all sweaty and worn out from the heat."
White, natural skin has long been thought beautiful for Asian women, and Japanese men have also become increasingly skin-conscious in recent years. But the real jump in sales came last summer, after power cuts in the wake of the March 11 disaster prompted new ways to beat the heat.
According to the Environment Ministry, the combination of casual business attire such as short sleeves and no tie, and a sun umbrella, can cut up to 20% of heat stress, providing almost the same impact as walking under the shade cast by trees.
Kazuhiro Miyatake, the fourth generation to own and run the Shinsaibashi-Miyatake umbrella specialty store in the western city of Osaka, feels it's high time that men be able to carry parasols as well, if they want.
"It's your own portable shade you can carry around anywhere," he said.
While women's parasols run to lighter colors - pink, beige, white and red as well as black - those for men are more somber shades of blue, grey, and green. They also tend to be larger.
Prices can run from as little as 2,000 yen ($25.56) up to 17,000 yen ($220), depending on the design and the materials.
"I believe if there was a 'sun umbrella God', I'm positive it wouldn't discriminate between men and women," said Miyatake, who sells a thousand a year. "If men want to use sun umbrellas, they should be able to without shame."
Japan is currently in the grip of a heat wave that sent temperatures in areas around Tokyo to well over 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) by 1:00 p.m. on Friday. ($1 = 78.2400 Japanese yen)
Friday, August 3, 2012
Red Sox fans, fearing loss of mascot, see Yankee conspiracy
As if fans of the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox aren't downtrodden enough, for a spell on Friday the costume of Wally the Green Monster, the team's popular mascot, was missing. Fearing it was swiped, the team alerted the police.
A security guard at Fenway Park thought he saw a thief in the emerald green outfit getting away. On the Red Sox' website, Wally is described as "pretty big" - no matter who is wearing the outfit.
The timing of the incident inspired recurring mid-summer conspiracy theories. Some fans feared that Wally's disappearance was just another way to unsettle the Red Sox as they head into a crucial series against arch-rivals the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium that begins Friday night.
But shortly before 4 p.m. the Boston Police Department, which had tweeted Wally's disappearance, again tweeted that "Wally the Green Monster has been found."
"It was later revealed to officers that an employee took the costume and neglected to inform the proper supervisor. There is no one under arrest and Wally the Green Monster is safe," police said in a statement.
One fan, momentarily relieved, tweeted: "They found Wally the Green Monster. Maybe the Sawx could have the police look for pitching too."
A security guard at Fenway Park thought he saw a thief in the emerald green outfit getting away. On the Red Sox' website, Wally is described as "pretty big" - no matter who is wearing the outfit.
The timing of the incident inspired recurring mid-summer conspiracy theories. Some fans feared that Wally's disappearance was just another way to unsettle the Red Sox as they head into a crucial series against arch-rivals the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium that begins Friday night.
But shortly before 4 p.m. the Boston Police Department, which had tweeted Wally's disappearance, again tweeted that "Wally the Green Monster has been found."
"It was later revealed to officers that an employee took the costume and neglected to inform the proper supervisor. There is no one under arrest and Wally the Green Monster is safe," police said in a statement.
One fan, momentarily relieved, tweeted: "They found Wally the Green Monster. Maybe the Sawx could have the police look for pitching too."
Opticians see advertising gold in Korean flag flap
A British chain of opticians saw publicity gold on Friday after Olympic officials blundered by showing the South Korean flag instead of North Korea's at a women's soccer match.
Opticians Specsavers took out adverts in national newspapers with the North Korean flag above the South Korean one and, written in Korean, a message suggesting the officials should have visited them for an eye test.
The company's regular tagline, used in commercials featuring embarrassing cases of mistaken identity, is 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.
The gaffe in Glasgow on Wednesday caused a diplomatic incident, with the North Koreans walking off the field and delaying the kick off by more than an hour.
Organizers LOCOG apologized and promised the mistake would not happen again.
Opticians Specsavers took out adverts in national newspapers with the North Korean flag above the South Korean one and, written in Korean, a message suggesting the officials should have visited them for an eye test.
The company's regular tagline, used in commercials featuring embarrassing cases of mistaken identity, is 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.
The gaffe in Glasgow on Wednesday caused a diplomatic incident, with the North Koreans walking off the field and delaying the kick off by more than an hour.
Organizers LOCOG apologized and promised the mistake would not happen again.
Man charged with manslaughter in Florida butt-injection case
A man who injected a woman in the buttocks with unknown substances during an illegal cosmetic surgery was arrested on Thursday and charged with manslaughter in the woman's death, authorities said.
Oneal Ron Morris, 31, of Hollywood, Florida, is known to have injected other women with substances such as bathroom caulk, cement, Super Glue and the tire product Fix-A-Flat, officials with the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities described Morris as a transvestite who went by the nickname "The Dutchess."
According to his arrest affidavit, 31-year-old Shatarka Nuby died in March in Tallahassee from what an assistant medical examiner called "massive systemic silicone migration" due to "cosmetic silicone injections of the buttocks and hips," according to the arrest affidavit.
She died months after her last injection by Morris. Before her death, Nuby told a Florida Department of Health investigator that she paid Morris at least $2,000 for about 10 treatments between 2007 and 2011 to enhance her buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts, according to the affidavit and a sheriff's report.
Morris once told Nuby's aunt that he was injecting her with silicone from Home Depot, the affidavit said. Morris made house calls for the injections and would seal the injection sites with cotton balls and Super Glue, Nuby's aunt told investigators.
Neither Morris, who remained in custody in Broward County Jail, nor a representative for him could be reached for comment on Thursday evening. He is awaiting trial on previous charges of practicing medicine without a license and causing injury.
Nuby's death in March occurred at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute where, according to CBS Miami, she was serving a 2-1/2 year sentence for identity theft, which she resorted to in order to pay for breast implants and liposuction.
Oneal Ron Morris, 31, of Hollywood, Florida, is known to have injected other women with substances such as bathroom caulk, cement, Super Glue and the tire product Fix-A-Flat, officials with the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities described Morris as a transvestite who went by the nickname "The Dutchess."
According to his arrest affidavit, 31-year-old Shatarka Nuby died in March in Tallahassee from what an assistant medical examiner called "massive systemic silicone migration" due to "cosmetic silicone injections of the buttocks and hips," according to the arrest affidavit.
She died months after her last injection by Morris. Before her death, Nuby told a Florida Department of Health investigator that she paid Morris at least $2,000 for about 10 treatments between 2007 and 2011 to enhance her buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts, according to the affidavit and a sheriff's report.
Morris once told Nuby's aunt that he was injecting her with silicone from Home Depot, the affidavit said. Morris made house calls for the injections and would seal the injection sites with cotton balls and Super Glue, Nuby's aunt told investigators.
Neither Morris, who remained in custody in Broward County Jail, nor a representative for him could be reached for comment on Thursday evening. He is awaiting trial on previous charges of practicing medicine without a license and causing injury.
Nuby's death in March occurred at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute where, according to CBS Miami, she was serving a 2-1/2 year sentence for identity theft, which she resorted to in order to pay for breast implants and liposuction.
U.S. Olympic swimming team show off dancing skills in spoof video
It's not all hard work and no play for the U.S. swimming team at the London Olympics.
A light-hearted, spoof video filmed by the team during training has gone viral on the internet with tens of thousands of viewers clicking to watch top names such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin dancing and lip-syncing to hit "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
The video, billed by the team as an attempt to "blow off steam" in the run up to the Games, features swimmers dancing down the aisle of a plane, waving arms around on a bus and even strutting their stuff under water.
Lochte, a favorite with female swimming fans, smooches at the camera.
"This is one of the best teams I've had the opportunity to be a part of! We are having so much fun!" Franklin tweeted as she sent out a link to the video (http://bit.ly/Mac9yW).
USA Swimming said the project was led by swimmers Alyssa Anderson, Kathleen Hersey and Caitlin Leverenz and later finished off by a member of the U.S. team's staff, Russell Mark.
"USA Swimming's "Call Me Maybe" proves two things: 1. Swimmers are funny. 2. Taper makes you stir crazy," tweeted swimming journalist Mike Gustafson, referring to the reduction of swimmers' workloads just before a competition.
Other parodies of the much spoofed song include one from Harvard's baseball team, a women's college rowing team and even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.
A light-hearted, spoof video filmed by the team during training has gone viral on the internet with tens of thousands of viewers clicking to watch top names such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin dancing and lip-syncing to hit "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
The video, billed by the team as an attempt to "blow off steam" in the run up to the Games, features swimmers dancing down the aisle of a plane, waving arms around on a bus and even strutting their stuff under water.
Lochte, a favorite with female swimming fans, smooches at the camera.
"This is one of the best teams I've had the opportunity to be a part of! We are having so much fun!" Franklin tweeted as she sent out a link to the video (http://bit.ly/Mac9yW).
USA Swimming said the project was led by swimmers Alyssa Anderson, Kathleen Hersey and Caitlin Leverenz and later finished off by a member of the U.S. team's staff, Russell Mark.
"USA Swimming's "Call Me Maybe" proves two things: 1. Swimmers are funny. 2. Taper makes you stir crazy," tweeted swimming journalist Mike Gustafson, referring to the reduction of swimmers' workloads just before a competition.
Other parodies of the much spoofed song include one from Harvard's baseball team, a women's college rowing team and even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.
Austrian admits making up story to get rid of snake
An Austrian applauded for capturing a 2.3-metre (7.5-foot) boa constrictor he said he discovered on a riverbank has admitted he made up the story to get rid of a pet snake he found too big to handle, an animal rescue group said on Thursday.
"It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way," said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.
She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.
"No passer-by who isn't familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police," she said.
The man has two other two-meter snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.
"The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can't just release a snake and then pose as its finder," she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.
"It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way," said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.
She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.
"No passer-by who isn't familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police," she said.
The man has two other two-meter snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.
"The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can't just release a snake and then pose as its finder," she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.
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