I got a real kick, in a sort of painfully embarrassing kind of way, out of these vintage Canadian televison ads. There's really nothing funny about these ads, most are quite dull, but if you grew up in Canada during these years you might experience an odd feeling of nostalgia or nauseation, depending on your mood. Try to spot the NHL hall of famer! And no it's not our Swedish friend Ingemar. [via veer]

If you're in front of the tube tomorrow evening check out Millionaire on channel 8 (Fuji TV) at 7pm. They will air the episode which Masako's friend Hiroko competes on. They will also air video of Masako, Frankie and the rest of her brains as there was a camera on them in Hiroko's home during the entire show. And please folks, do not adjust your television set. Frankie really is that cute.

Update: 2,500,000 yen ($24,000) ain't too shabby eh? I've got the video in Quicktime but don't have the diskspace to host it just yet. The video is here.

I forgot to mention this earlier but Masako and two other sets of sweaty palms are currently awaiting a call from Fuji TV studios where they're taping an episode of Millionaire (the Japanese variant of the famous British game show "Who want�s to be a Millionaire?"). Her friend was picked to audition for the show, passed and picked Masako as one of her three lifelines, or brains as their called in Japan. I've never seen this show so I really don't know what to expect.

Masako's friend Hiroko was picked for the show because of her family�s current situation as well. Her husband, and a friend of mine, is from the Maldives and while his family survived the Tsunami they also lost everything. They're planning on going back to help rebuild their town in the next few months, so the added funds would really help. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Every single time a commercial for Qoo comes on Masako tugs on my sleeve and in her best voice belts out a, "Qoooo---". She loves the ads but oddly never had it before and doesn't plan on buying the drink anytime soon. You can watch the latest commercials here, and can also choose not to buy Qoo at any conbini or vending machine that sells sweetened fruit drinks that, thanks to consumer protection laws, can not be referred to, or labeled as juice.

For those in Japan the TV series 24 premiers tonight on FOX. I don't normally watch a lot of television outside of CNN or the odd Discovery Channel program and I'd rather eat broken glass than sit through a sitcom or "reality" TV show, but I've been told 24 is quite good. We'll see.

Late last night I saw what might have been the first televised commercial for a blogging service in Japan. Currently you have to sign up for a free account with Livedoor to view the streaming ads on their site.

Hmmn... I guess Livedoor is trying to court the late night nonsensical variety show types.

Flipping through the channels I landed on lala (ch. 44 for J-COM subscribers) and episode #004 of Jamie's Kitchen. Once every few months or so I stumble across Jamie Oliver's other show "Oliver's Twist" and make a mental note to watch or tape the next episodes, which of course I rarely do.

From the Food Network

From watching Oliver's Twist I came to believe that Jamie was this cool, easy going guy. Au contraire, as the shit-hits-the-fan in Jamie's Kitchen Oliver turns into a real hard ass with his crew of trainees. Mind you he's the kind you learn to respect as a teacher, and when complements come they mean that much more. I've never been a fan of "reality" TV shows but I�m patiently waiting for Japanese cable to air the next season of this one - Return to Jamie's Kitchen. Here�s a commercial (stunt double?).

Forget computer animation, and even claymation. This is veggiemaion. I watched a show with Fran this morning called minori no mori no nakama tachi on NHK in which the entire show is made of fruits and veggies.