DOMO_KUN

Domo (どーも くん Dōmo-kun) is the official mascot of Japan's NHK television station, appearing in several 30-second stop-motion interstitial sketches shown as station identification during shows. Domo is a fuzzy monster that hatched from an egg. He loves to watch tv and daydream

                    Name

Domo-kun first appeared in short stop-motion sketches on December 22, 1998 to mark the 10th anniversary of NHK's satellite broadcasting. The name "Domo" was acquired during the second episode of his show in which a TV announcer said, "dōmo, konnichiwa" (どうも、こんにちは), which is a greeting that can be translated as, "Well, hello there!", but which can also be interpreted as "Hello, Domo", and thus is a convenient pun (dajare). The kun suffix on "Domo-kun," the name used to describe the character in the Japanese versions, is a Japanese honorific often used with young males.

Characters

Domo, the main character, is described as "a strange creature that hatched from an egg, with a large, sawtoothed mouth that is locked wide open. Domo's favorite food is nikujaga, a Japanese meat and potato stew, and he has a strong dislike for apples, because of an unexplained mystery in his DNA. Domo can only communicate by producing a low-pitched noise which sounds somewhat like his own name, but other characters appear to understand him. A Tokyopop press release of the Domo comic book states that "he communicates sotto voce with a verve that only his friends can understand. Clint Bickham, the writer of the Domo comic book, said that to him Domo's expression is "a sort of cheery wonderment. Like when a kid wakes to a room full of presents on Christmas day." While Domo's face has variants, to Bickham most of his expressions have "an underlying sense of fascination. Domo is known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or upset.

Domo lives in an underground cave with Mr. Usaji and his other friends, known in Japanese-language versions as Usajii (うさじい), a portmanteau of the words usagi (うさぎ), (rabbit), and jii (じい) (old man, grandpa). Mr. Usaji is a wise old rabbit who has lived in a cave for decades, loves to watch television and drink astringent green tea. Mr. Usaji is not into any "new" materials, and does not own a telephone. In terms of fashion, Mr. Usaji focuses on materials instead of shapes. Mr. Usaji's favorite food is carrots, and his least favorite food is "something that is meaningless.

Also in the cave live two bats, a mother named Maya (Shinobu (しのぶ) in the Japanese version) and her child Mario (Morio (もりお) in the Japanese version). Maya suffers from alcoholism; her favorite foods are seasonal while her least favorite food is alcohol. Mario's favorite food is Japanese-style tomato spaghetti, while his least favorite food is shiitake mushrooms.

The other main character in the shorts is a weasel girl named Tashanna (Tā-chan (たーちゃん) in the Japanese version). Tashanna, 17 years old, is a weasel who aspires to be a fashion stylist or model in Tokyo and is always using technology (televisions, mobile phones, and cameras). In English Tashanna has a "weaselly accent" (いたちなまり itachi namari) (bear in mind weasels in Japan are not associated with underhandedness) and ends her sentences with "y"s. In the Japanese version, she ends her sentences with "chi" (ち). She has not had a boyfriend in ten years and she is seeking a platonic boyfriend. She has a passion for bidding in auctions, but she gives up by the end. Tashanna's favorite food is apricot and mint tarts, and her least favorite food is sea urchin. The Japanese name originates from the word "multichannel" (多チャンネル tachanneru) of digital broadcasting.

Bear Boy (Kogumagorō (こぐまゴロー)), also known as A Little Bear (くまのこ Kuma no ko, literally "A bear cub"), is a Moon Bear and one of Domo's friends from the neighborhood; the timid cub enjoys playing baseball.

Hee (Flower One (花一 Hanaichi)) and Haw (Flower Two (花二 Hanaji)) are pixie twins from a flower. Domo is the only individual who can see them.

The Fox Trio consists of Esther (Esuko (エスコ)), Brother Fox (あにきち Aniki-chi), and Fox Boy (Konjirō (コンジロー)). Esther, the youngest member, enjoys producing crocodile tears, plotting schemes, and causing havoc. Brother Fox, the eldest member, dutifully cares for his youngest siblings and feels upset when referred to as "short-legged" (短足 tansoku?). Fox Boy, having a quiet demeanor, converses with Domo and Bear Boy and prefers to read.

Hungry Bear (はらぺこぐま Harapekoguma), a large and powerful bear, feels too hungry to take advantage of his strength.

The Ghost (Hyūtarou (ヒュ～たろう)) randomly appears and disappears.

 Have a look at these pictures...

HISTORY OF COLOUR

Color or colour is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue, and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra. By defining a color space, colors can be identified numerically by their coordinates.

Because perception of color stems from the varying spectral sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.

The science of color is sometimes called chromatics, chromatography, colorimetry, or simply color science. It includes the perception of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range (that is, what we commonly refer to simply as light).

COLOUR NAMING

Colors vary in several different ways, including hue (shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet), saturation, brightness, and gloss. Some color words are derived from the name of an object of that color, such as "orange" or "salmon", while others are abstract, like "red".

In the 1969 study Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Brent Berlin and Paul Kay describe a pattern in naming "basic" colors (like "red" but not "red-orange" or "dark red" or "blood red", which are "shades" of red). All languages that have two "basic" color names distinguish dark/cool colors from bright/warm colors. The next colors to be distinguished are usually red and then yellow or green. All languages with six "basic" colors include black, white, red, green, blue, and yellow. The pattern holds up to a set of twelve: black, gray, white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and azure (distinct from blue in Russian and Italian, but not English).

DODO (Raphus Cucullatus)

The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was a large, flightless bird endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that became extinct in the late 17th century, shortly after its 1598 discovery. It is genetically related to pigeons and doves, and its closest relative is the likewise extinct Rodrigues Solitaire, the two forming the Raphinae subfamily. The closest living relative is the Nicobar Pigeon. A white Dodo was believed to have existed on the nearby island of Réunion, but this is now known to be incorrect.

The Dodo was about one metre (3.3 ft) tall and may have weighed 10–18 kg (22–40 lb) in the wild. Its external appearance is evidenced only by paintings and written accounts from the 17th century. Because these vary considerably, and only a few sketches are known to have been drawn from life, its exact appearance remains a mystery. The same is true of its habitat and behaviour. It was depicted with brownish grey plumage, yellow feet, and a tuft of tail feathers, a grey, naked head, and a beak coloured black, yellow and green. It is assumed that the Dodo became flightless because of abundant food sources and the absence of predators on Mauritius.

The Dodo was first mentioned by Dutch sailors in 1598. Hereafter the bird was preyed upon by hungry sailors, their domesticated animals, and other invasive species introduced during that time, and the last credible sighting is from 1662. The extinction was not immediately noticed, and some considered it a mythological creature until the 19th century, when research was conducted on surviving remains of four specimens brought to Europe in the early 17th century. Since then, a large amount of subfossil material has been collected from Mauritius, mostly from the Mare aux Songes swamp. The extinction of the Dodo within a century of its discovery called attention to the previously unrecognised human involvement in extinction.

The Dodo achieved widespread recognition due to a notable role in Alice in Wonderland, and has since become a fixture in popular culture, sometimes as a symbol of extinction and obsolescence.

THIS CAT MAY BECOME THE BIGGEST CAT IN THE WORLD

Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat. They're usually pretty big. The biggest specimens weigh up to 25 pounds—11.3kg. But Rupert here isn't just pretty big. He's huge. He's a "mega monster cat," according to the experts.

Heck, this thing can probably kill you if he decided to. He may become the biggest domestic cat in the world.

Rupert is now 20lb (9 kilograms) which is less than his biggest cronies. But he's only two years old. By three he will be much bigger, say the vets, growing to the point in which he would be at least 31 pounds (14 kilograms). Maine coons' growth levels at 9 to 14 months, and then they keep fleshing out till the age of 3 to 4.

For comparison, a wildcat like the male bobcat can get up to exactly the same weigh that Rupert is going to be. The Canada lynx goes only up to 24 pounds, while the Iberian lynx can reach 28 pounds. Only a male specimen of the Eurasian lynx would be bigger than Rupert, at 40 to 66 pounds.

Still, Rupert will be 31 pounds of muscle, teeth, and claws, a domestic cat of unknown origins who looks pretty much like a real lynx. I'm not sure if I could feel safe around one.