A recent episode of the Fuji TV variety show Mecha-Mecha Iketeru! featured a group of Ultraman monsters dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" as part of a mock audition for the new Ultraman film "Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie."
[Link: Dailymotion via Japan Probe]
Sapporo Breweries has begun selling six-packs of the world's first "space beer" brewed with barley descended from seeds that spent time in space.
For now, only 250 six-packs of the beer, which Sapporo calls “Space Barley," are available for purchase. Customers will be selected at random from those who apply through the Space Barley website before December 24.
The barley used in the beer is the fourth-generation offspring of seeds that spent five months aboard the International Space Station in 2006 as part of research that Sapporo conducted with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Okayama University. The aim of the research was to study the adaptability and life cycle of barley in zero-gravity and to explore the challenges of achieving self-sufficient food production in space.
Space Barley beer has a mellow flavor and slightly dark color reminiscent of deep space, according to Sapporo. The six-packs are priced at an astronomical 10,000 yen ($110), but Sapporo will donate the profits to Okayama University, who will use the funds to promote science education for children and foster the development of space science research in Japan and Russia.
[Links: Space Barley website, Sapporo press release]
In the early 1970s, TV superhero Kamen Rider battled a mind-boggling array of monsters unleashed by evil terrorist organizations (Shocker, Gel-Shocker and Destron) scheming to take over the world. These outlandish mutants usually incorporated a mixture of human and animal (and sometimes plant) DNA, along with the occasional cybernetic enhancement. Here are a few dramatic fight scenes (via KAMEKICHI1964, who has posted hundreds of these clips online).
+ Jellyfishdall (Kuragedaaru), an electrified jellyfish monster
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+ Isoginchakku, a man-eating sea anemone
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+ Newtgeth (Imorigesu), a poisonous newt with a powerful tongue
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+ Deadman-Bat (Shibito Kōmori)
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+ Shiracuras (Shirakyurasu), a blood-sucking louse with flesh-melting spit
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+ Lens-Ari, an ant-like creature that shoots deadly light beams from its eyes
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+ Girizamesu, a fire-breathing mutant shark
* * * * *
+ Haetoribachi, who is part venus flytrap and part bee
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+ Owl Man (Fukurō Otoko), whose deadly X-rays turn people into skeletons
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+ Spider Napoleon (Kumo Naporeon), who is part spider and part Napoleon
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+ Egyptus, a fire-breathing Egyptian mummy
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+ Leechguerilla (Hirugerira), a savage leech
* * * * *
+ Crabbubbler (Kanibabura), a crab monster that spits flesh-melting bubbles
* * * * *
+ Mushroommolg (Kinokomorugu), a fungus that spits deadly spores
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+ Mukadetiger, a centipede/tiger mutant
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+ Jellyfish Wolf (Kurage Urufu), an electrified jellyfish/wolf hybrid
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+ Scorpion Man (Sasori Otoko), whose left hand is a deadly scorpion stinger
