Is there a current "boom" for wearing face masks around one's neck?
Apr 26, 2014, 7:57 am
#1
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Is there a current "boom" for wearing face masks around one's neck?
Can't quite make my mind up about this, but I'd swear there's something different this spring in the way that people are using the usual Spring hayfever face masks.
Just like the thick wrinkled socks used to be a boon for those with chunky legs, this must be welcome for those without swanlike under jaw lines.
Other noticeable "boom" is the Kumamon mascot. Other prefectures' marketing departments must be nauseous with envy.
Just like the thick wrinkled socks used to be a boon for those with chunky legs, this must be welcome for those without swanlike under jaw lines.
Other noticeable "boom" is the Kumamon mascot. Other prefectures' marketing departments must be nauseous with envy.
Apr 26, 2014, 5:01 pm
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We prefer to buy "less contaminated" Kyushu rice and vegetables, so the Kumamoto mascot is an easy way to spot products from the south... Not sure if that has anything to do with the popularity among the locals though, which might have more to do with the kawaii/fashion factor.
Apr 26, 2014, 10:11 pm
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And on a related note, are they still calling such flash fads "booms?" Seems so - last decade. 
And yes, I realize I just asked a question about "the boom boom." Sue me.
And yes, I realize I just asked a question about "the boom boom." Sue me.
Apr 27, 2014, 1:11 am
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Apr 27, 2014, 3:44 am
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Apr 27, 2014, 5:18 am
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtxbM7-jAD0&feature=kp
Or ... going a little higher brow ... Boum Boum!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YimX5V-fjv4
I think "boom" is well entrenched in the Japanese language now. For "boom" read "fad".
Incidentally, I used to think that "fad" had some connection with the verb to fade or the French word "fade" meaning "boring" or "bland". However, Google tells me that the origin of the word "fad" is a contraction of a 19th century nonsense word: "fiddle-faddle" (trivial matter). With such a silly origin, it's kind of surprising that the word "fad" hasn't faded.
Apr 27, 2014, 7:21 am
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Speaking of boom booms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK8cQUX6pLc
Apr 27, 2014, 8:31 pm
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On my last trip from Tokyo to Los Angeles in January, at LAX Customs and Immigration there was a uniformed officer (not rent-a-cop) screaming at all the mask wearers to remove them !
Apr 27, 2014, 9:44 pm
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Solaseed Air has had a Kumamon-liveried jet for much longer than the current Kumamon fad has gone on.
May 9, 2014, 2:03 pm
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May 9, 2014, 2:15 pm
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May 9, 2014, 10:42 pm
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May 10, 2014, 3:07 am
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May 19, 2014, 12:48 am
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I call BS on these masks. You see them everywhere purportedly because of allergies (none of these people look sick to me. Yet the pollen count is extremely low now and I have no allergies (was popping a clariten per day at home). From what I can tell it is some kind of attention seeking behavior or maybe pretension - who knows. But definitely no rational reason or necessity. Also see a lot fewer here in Osaka - in Tokyo they were everywhere. Again, evidence of a fad, not a need.