标题: Why Do We Love Japanese? Because They Are Goofy [打印本页] 作者: choi 时间: 3-29-2015 13:31 标题: Why Do We Love Japanese? Because They Are Goofy 本帖最后由 choi 于 4-29-2015 18:58 编辑
My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: There is no reason for all the hand-wringing about the strong greenback
(b) Definition of the hand-written "SWOLE" on the one-dollar bill.
(i) "extremely muscular or buff." Urbandictionary.com
(ii) swole /swoll: "short for 'swollen,' is a slang term used to describe someone who has developed a large or well-defined physique from weight lifting"
knowyourmeme.com/memes/swole-swoll
(c) There is no need to read the text. Just view the charts:
"Japan[:] The yen's fall has done little to revive the country's growth. Central Bank Governor Haruhiko KURODA 黒田 東彦 said on March 17 that deflation might soon return, albeit temporarily.
"China[:] The yuan has kept its value against the dollar, chilling the country's growth. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the economy to slow again in 2015, to 7 percent.
(d)
(i) Depreciating a currency may or may not help a nation's economy (improving export but imports becoming more expensive)--and how long the effects (good or bad) will appear.
(ii) The above descriptions for Japan and China are not self contradictory, because the slowing of economy has different causes in the two (though few fully understand why Japan has lost more than two decades). 作者: choi 时间: 3-29-2015 13:32
(2) Jason Clenfield, Japanese Engineers Reinvent Wheel. Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Mar 23, 2015. www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... -reinvent-the-wheel
two consecutive paragraphs:
“In Japan compulsive overengineering is producing beautiful industrial components and few consumer hits. Sharp has made a $1,300 fridge that tries to distinguish itself by making clear ice cubes, as opposed to cloudy ones. Panasonic is selling an $1,800 washing machine that estimates how much detergent you need after you enter the brand into an app and swipe your phone against a sensor on the machine (instead of, you know, reading the bottle). In an era where smartphones come with free step-by-step navigation apps, Pioneer is trying to sell a $2,500 standalone GPS device that projects instructions onto the windshield of your car. “We’re hoping it catches on,” says Pioneer spokeswoman Hitomi Ishizuka.
“Japan, which invented the Internet-connected mobile phone, last year imported 34 million of them and exported just 240,000. Alberto Moel, an analyst at portfolio manager Sanford C. Bernstein, says a big part of Japan Inc.’s problem is that engineering, not marketing, often drives product development. His take: “You made this stuff on the expectation that your customers would pay more for it, without stepping back and asking whether they really would.”
Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: The Kondo brothers’ bike parts reach peak performance--and price
(b) "Brothers Nobuo 近藤 信夫 and Yutaka KONDŌ 近藤 豊 run Kondo Machine, a 30-employee shop that engineers specialized parts for Rolls-Royce jet engines and machines that make parts for Toyota cars."
(i) Kondo machine Corp 株式会社近藤機械製作所 (愛知県名古屋市; founded in 1947) www.kondo-kikai.co.jp/index.html
(ii) Not to be confused with
Kondo machine works co, Ltd 株式会社 コンドウ www.gr-kondo.co.jp
(Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture 愛知県豊川市 (75-km air distance southeast to Nagoya); established in 1951 and incorporated in 1959)
(c) "The Gokiso wheels the Kondos have made out of titanium and carbon fiber provide what they say is an incomparably smooth ride. * * * But it’s a level of quality few can afford: Each pair costs $7,900. In four years, Kondo has sold 30 and about 1,000 of simpler models that go for less than $3,300 a pair."
(i) Gokiso Hub www.gokiso.jp/ja/products/
* The website is bilingual: Japanese and English. The former uses Gokiso without Japanese proper name. Neither language explains the meaning of Gokiso.
(ii) There was a Gokiso village 御器所村.
ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%A1%E5%99%A8%E6%89%80%E6%9D%91
(現在の名古屋市昭和区にほぼ該当する; 村名の「御器所」は、熱田神宮が祭礼に使用する土器を製作していた地という意味であるという説がある)
translation: Corresponds to today's Shōwa-ku, City of Nagoya; the village name is reportedly the place where earthenware was produced for rituals at Atsuta Jingū
(d) “Pioneer spokeswoman Hitomi ISHIZUKA 石塚 仁美”
“Pioneer Corporation パイオニア株式会社
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Corporation
(founded in 1938 by Nozomu MATSUMOTO 松本 望; Headquarters Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture 神奈川県 川崎市)
(e) “Marketing the most expensive bicycle wheels in the world is another matter. In 2012, the Kondos hired amateur cycling champion Makoto MORIMOTO 森本 誠”
Japanese English dictionary
* makoto 誠(P); 実 【まこと】 (n): "(1) truth; reality; (2) sincerity; honesty; integrity; fidelity
< (1) 嘘から出た誠。 Many a true word is spoken in jest.>
<(2) 手八丁口八丁の彼だけど、誠がないのが玉に疵だね。 He works fast and is very articulate but his insincerity is his biggest defect.>
* hatchō 八丁 【はっちょう】 (n): "skillfulness"