Celebrating 100 years of broadcast, NHK has decided to dust off some of its educational mascots for this nostalgic photoshoot for the September edition of Brutus magazine. Featuring Latin America and Peru’s favorite Gonta-kun (of Dekirukana fame) alongside GORORI from Tsukutte Asobo (つくってあそぼ).
Gonta-kun hasn’t aged one bit, I must admit. And Ei Takami’s passing back in May 2023 was felt throughout millennial Peruvian twitter who mourned Noppo-san, a key character in our formative years. RIP, Noppo-san.
Also, you guys- one of the most popular posts on the site is the Okaasan to Issho (おかあさんといっしょ) post I did so long ago, I thought I would update you all that NHK (and Japan in general) has decided to finally enter the digital era, and have set up a bunch of NHK content channel, though I have to be honest, I tried looking up all the content I watched during the special events for the 65th anniversary of Okaasan to Issho and couldn’t find the same clips. I’m pretty sure there was a Poyoyon (ぼよよん) special clip with all the available hosts of the show’s history, and I’m sure I saw a good quality clip of the Power Up song.
Now a general search only gives you a non-official clip of Kinra Kira Pon (きんらきらぽん) on TikTok, which feeds you into this version of the SUPURAPPI (スプラッピ スプラッパ) song for the anniversary. Archive accordingly.
~ el arroz zambito, la mazamorra de cochino y la mazamorra morada ~
Todos hemos comido una buena mazamorra morada hecha, no necesariamente por tu propia abuela, por una tía, la amiga de la familia o la señora del barrio. Menos hemos comido una mazamorra de cochino o un buen arroz zambito. La textura de un arroz zambito es muy parecida a un arroz con leche, que todos en América Latina y cualquier hispanohablante posiblemente sí ha probado. Pero la textura de una mazamorra es solo propia de los países andinos— desde emolientes con mucha linaza o sábila en Perú y Ecuador o los apis en el sur peruano o Bolivia. Una textura pegajosa, no masticable, solamente absorbible; no necesariamente del agrado de todo el mundo. Ésta es solo comparable a lo que se consigue en Japón y, a veces China, con una planta conocida como Kudzu/Kuzu (葛) que además de ser de uso medicinal, su raíz tuberosa se utiliza como almidón en diversos postres y para espesar sopas y otros platillos.
Las supuestas raíces pre-colombinas de la mazamorra nos lleva al Ishkupcha, una mezcla de maíz con cal, según los detallado en el blog de Gloria Hinostroza donde escribe Historia de la Gastronomía Peruana – Parte 6 notando antiguas palabras quechua, seleccionadas por Horkheimer de antiguas crónicas de Garcilaso, Domingo de Santo Tomás, Middendorf y Varcárcel. Por otro lado, Mazamorra morada: historia, evolución y receta del postre peruano más popular publicado en el 2024 en El Comercio indica que en el libro La Cocina en el Virreinato del Perú de Rosario Olivas Weston se señala que durante la época incaica se cocinaba el champú (otro postre de textura similar a la mazamorra) y que al fermentarse, éste adquiría un color morado, y que finalmente se le terminó llamando “api.“
Con la llegada de los españoles, que ya habían sido influenciados por los árabes, el boom del comercio de especias como la canela y el clavo de olor chocan con la fécula de camote y el maíz morado (¿y la piña?), y así nace la mazamorra morada moderna. Según el historiador peruano Juan José Vegas se cree que los españoles trajeron al Virreinato del Perú unas concubinas moras, que muchas veces se convertían en domésticas y cocineras por lo que se creo el término “masa mora” para referirse a uno de sus platos. Sin embargo, según Larousse de la Gastronomía Peruana de Gastón Acurio, el origen del nombre nos lleva al ámbito de marinos mediterráneos que “quizá conocieron un dulce similar en los viajes que realizaban hacia el Oriente.” Este Oriente puede ser la zona del Maghreb en la actual Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez y Libia, donde supuestamente existe algo llamado “matmora” que nadie encuentra. Sin embargo los tunecinos tienen un postre tipo natilla llamado Bouza, aunque parece estar preparado con sorgo, avellanas, semillas de sésamo, leche y azúcar.
En la búsqueda de un postre muy similar a la mazamorra que sea de origen árabe, me encontré docenas de versiones de arroz con leche, y versiones de éstos hechos con semolina, no obstante me encontré con un postre libanés y zona de influencia cerca al norte de África que se llama Meghli (مغلي, incluído en la foto) o Karawiyah. Considerado un “pudding de arroz” por el uso de harina de arroz en lugar del grano entero, azucarado, especiado y espesado, y adornado con una millonada de nueces, pasas y coco. Su color acaramelado proviene de las especias utilizadas en lugar de la chancaca o panela.
Diferentes, pero también muy parecidos.
Y así pues es la Ruta (de bajo presupuesto) de la Mazamorra.
Gomen, gomen. I skipped two months of random blogging this time around. I did, however, write my late 2024 Peruvian box office wrap-up, published in late February. And I did a small write up by the end of March about Malayalam cinema that is yet to be publish in case Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018 is released locally this week. Just in case.
I have also picked up French once again! Officially since mid-January ;D Thanks to Nelly of Français avec Nelly. Everyday French (and slang, especially online slang) has improved, formal usage (has returned), but writing refuses to go back to levels (^=^!) to when I was a formal student and could actually write. It takes me ages to actually write, so it takes triple the ages to get something out in French.
Anyway- in one of the most recent videos where Nelly answers some subs questions, user tomas_valiunas asks about a website where you could watch French films for free, which is -of course- my expertise. I may not focus on writing about French films and festival films, because there are hundreds of others who do, but I do watch a number of French films and co-productions. And even though the French, and Europeans (and first worlders) in particular, are very finnicky about geo-restrictions and copyright, there are ways.
And the first and most obvious legal answer is TV5 Monde Plus.
I still have cable, so I don’t know how people who don’t have cable are supposed to find out about the TV5 Monde app for download or that they have a streaming website. Of course, there are a number of shows (broadcast on TV5 Monde) available to stream for free on YouTube like Echappées Belles or Des Racines et des Ailes.
They let you browse without an account, but you have to create one to actually watch the shows and films, otherwise you hit ‘play’ and just get the TV5 Monde logo and a ‘sad face’ lol
According to current (Mar 4th 2025) FAQ, opening an account and accessing the programs in the platform is free.
Right now they’re offering a bunch of Brigitte Bardot films like Boulevard du Rhum, Viva Maria!, La Bride Sur Le Cou, L’histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise and En effeuillant la marguerite. Other classics like Peau d’âne by Jacques Demy, Jean Eustache’s La Maman et la Putain, and Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups are also available. And that rare Marlene Dietrich French film, Martin Roumagnac is also available.
Some of their co-productions are available, like Papicha by Mounia Meddour and Noces by Stephan Streker. However, considering the vast recent production of French animated films, I was a little underwhelmed from the selection of animation available; though Alain Ughetto’s Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens, Florence Miailhe’s La Traversée and Une Vie de Chat by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol are available as well.
But my favorite discovery available is Adrien Beau’s Le Vourdalak [Trailer] which I had been looking forward to watching. Sadly, it’s the only film labeled a fantasy. ^^’
Subtitles seem to vary, most (if not all) content seems subbed in English and French, there are also options for German (?), Arabic, Romanian and Spanish, though these two vary depending on the film you’re watching.
So I thought you should all know, even though no one reads blogs any longer, maybe someone will find this information on the vast nothingness of modern-day internet.
I was doing one of those random searches I do (every other year now) in search of an old show from early to mid-90s, which featured Canadian actress Lani Billard, who later starred on 1993’s Ready or Not alongside Laura Bertram. It was called F.R.O.G and it aired on Discovery Kids Latin America. The show, which apparently was produced by Toronto’s OWL TV (maybe PBS in the US?), was a shown now commonly known as “edutainment” -entertainment with an educational take- about a group of children that used to get together to discover or solve a physics/mechanical/nature/science issue of the day.
I clearly remember two episodes of the show— one featured electromagnetics, which were used to power racing toy cars. The other one featured hydronic heating systems, which were built with a water hose installed on the roof of a shed to “warm up” with the sun. Apparently, the show only featured 13 episodes, to the surprise of everyone’s brains who feels like shows used to last forever, but they were all miniseries (eg. The Storyteller, Mr. Bean, old Shogun, etc.).
My old scattered cable magazines must be somewhere around, but that’s basically the only hard copy I have of the show’s existence. I have never been able to find digital proof of the show ever existing, except for this low resolution picture I just found on one of the few videos that talk about old Discovery Kids Latino.
I barely recognized it, mainly because that’s Billard in the pink sweater. I suppose the kid in blueish green could be Gideon Arthurs, while the kid in red could be Ivana Shein.
I also found this Reddit thread saying it’s “Fully lost” and learned (finally?) that F.R.O.G stands for “Friends of Research and Odd Gadgets,” ha! I had no idea.
According to one of the links above, and the info on WorldCat, the show’s distribution is or was done by Bullfrog Films. For educational purposes, Bullfrog Films used to offer a VHS tape per 30min episode at $50 on a dedicated F.R.O.G page that is no longer available. I tried browsing through their catalogue and doing a search to see if I could find more info on the show, but no luck. I even went through all their YouTube archive to no avail, even though they are still releasing material. In theory, you should be able to order these from them.
Damn, Japan. You got too much time in your hands xD
Everyone’s a big Pythagora Switch fan~ and Asahi Kasei has taken promoting their plastic wrap and ziploc bags to Pythagora levels with this commercial.
“I learned at my expense that Father believed there was another animal even more dangerous than us, and one that was extremely common, too, found on every continent, in every habitat: the redoubtable species Animalus Anthropomorphicus , the animal as seen through human eyes. We’ve all met one, perhaps even owned one. It is an animal that is “cute,” “friendly,” “loving,” “devoted,” “merry,” “understanding.” These animals lie in ambush in every toy store and children’s zoo. Countless stories are told of them. They are the pendants of those “vicious,” “bloodthirsty,” “depraved” animals that inflame the ire of the maniacs I have just mentioned, who vent their spite on them with walking sticks and umbrellas. In both cases we look at an animal and see a mirror. The obsession with putting ourselves at the centre of everything is the bane not only of theologians but also of zoologists.”
I was watching Madharasapattinam last night, and I said to myself “let’s see about that Tamil.” If Amy Jackson could try, so could this Amy, amirite? However, I’m not gonna lie to you- Tamil intimidated me from the get-go. There’s something about those long *VERY LONG) words and all those Rs, Ps, Ks that just made my tongue a mess. But at least I can sorta tell the Tamil alphabet apart, which isn’t the case with Telugu and Malayalam. You have to admit it MUST look really foreigner to outsiders~
I sorta can guess how it works, but I need a place/link where they teach you how to write the alphabet in order. For example, how do you begin writing the symbol for Ai (ஐ)- is it in one stroke? Do I do it like a toppled over 3 with an inverted one, or does it start more like an incomplete heart. Is A (அ) more like two strokes? And what about Aa (ஆ). And the I (இ) looks suuuuuper complicated. Is that on one go?
If anyone stumbling on this post knows Tamil, please, give me some pointers ;) I, at least, would love to pick some up.
It’s always interesting to see educational (short) clips about different languages; did you guys ever see the one about the guy that could speak like 20 languages? At that time, my niece (6) and nephew (5) were struggling with picking up Italian and English at school, while they spoke Spanish and Swedish at home. That was, of course, on top of their other school subjects like math, because schooling is just incredibly ridiculous nowadays.
The only bad thing about the clip is the incredibly boring tone of the voice over. In any case, I thought it was funny they lumped Mandarin, Cantonese, etc into one big chunk of Chinese language. I thought the formal label was “Sino-Tibetan language,” even though Tibetan feels more like it would be more like Indo-Aryan, no? Isn’t Sanskrit both part of Tibetan and Indo-Aryan languages? Sighs.
I don’t exactly understand how branching works with languages, how does Indo-European come about? Isn’t that like stretching things out? What would languages like Spanish, German and Hindi have in common with each other? And how does Japonic or Koreanic come about? And how do they have more in common with Mongolian than with Chinese?
Finally got my full fix of Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno web series, as well as Seduce Me, the following Green Porno series, and this year’s Mammas. It’s all worth it, though I felt that Green Porno – Bon Appetit got a little bit preachy and lost the consistency of the other shows.
Sometimes I wonder why region restrictions still exists. It’s definitely taken me too many years to watch this.
This is actually a really great idea… especially the caps for the giant Coca Cola markers, the soap dispensers, the water atomizer, and the light caps. I dunno about the Den-den daiko [1]… but, oh well…
Everything that you could use at a kindergarten is awesome.
