An Americanist
Welcome to An Americanist Daily, your go-to solo podcast for a quick and snarky dive into the current events and politics shaping our nation! As a daily extension of the An Americanist blog, I’m here to break down the headlines that matter—Monday through Friday—without the fluff and filler.
In each bite-sized episode, I tackle the latest political news, dissect current events, and share my unfiltered thoughts, all with a sprinkle of humor and a touch of sass. From legislative shenanigans to social issues stirring the pot, I’ll keep you informed and entertained in just a few minutes each day.
Join me as we explore the stories that impact America and remind ourselves why an engaged citizenry is essential for our democracy. Whether you’re commuting, grabbing coffee, or taking a break, An Americanist Daily is the perfect way to stay in the loop without sacrificing your time or sense of humor.
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An Americanist
When Baby Names Cross the Line: Japan's Ban on "Glittery" Names
Have you ever wondered if there are limits to what you can name your child? Dive into today's episode where we explore Japan's fascinating new law banning "kirakira" (shiny or glittery) baby names like Pikachu, Devil, Nike, and even Elsa! The Japanese government now gives local authorities power to reject names deemed too outrageous or difficult to pronounce, all to prevent potential negative impacts on children's futures.
The origin of this naming controversy dates back to 1994 when one couple sparked national outrage by naming their son "Akuma" (meaning devil). Despite the father's defense that "it is the best possible name," public backlash eventually forced a name change. This case launched a decades-long effort to regulate creative naming practices in Japan, similar to restrictions already in place in countries like New Zealand.
We also discuss former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza's peculiar claim of Tesla "vandalism" that turned out to be nothing more than a colorful note taped to his car reading "Musk is a Nazi." Cillizza expressed surprise that it wasn't a "MAGA person" behind the incident, challenging his own preconceptions about political divisions. Is this legitimate concern or possibly staged for attention in our increasingly polarized media landscape?
The episode wraps up with a thoughtful question about our daily media consumption habits: What do you listen to during your commute? Whether it's podcasts, music, talk radio, or simply enjoying the silence, our choices reflect our priorities in this information-saturated world. Share your preferences and join us Sunday for Brood Awakening where we'll continue exploring the quirky intersections of culture, politics, and everyday life.
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Well, hello, good morning, happy Friday. This might be one of the shortest episodes ever. Maybe We'll see. I only have one, maybe two stories to bring to you today because I was late this morning. Woke up late, woke up at instead of 3, got up at 3.30. Ooh, kind of put me back a little bit, but I'm still sitting here in the parking lot. I'm not late for work, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Alright, first up is the residents of this country are forbidden from using these baby names. It can't, I'm sorry. It can have a negative impact on a child's future. Mr sean's, I haven't read any. I haven't even read the story yet. But mr sean's uh replied with even the japanese know that pokemon can bring a man down. That's why they infected our culture with it. Amen, all right, let's see what it says. And I'm probably kind of. I probably can't even pronounce these names, so maybe they are good to be banned. They put the glitter in the gutter, what? I have no idea what that means.
Speaker 1:Japan has officially cracked down on kirakira meaning shiny or glittery baby names with a new law aimed at dimming the dazzle of outlandish monikers like Pikachu, prince and yes, devil. Well, who would want to name their kids that in the first place, they have to actually put a ban on these names Among the newly discouraged names. Oh gosh, here's more. What is wrong with these names? Jewel, lovely Kitty, Elsa, prince, naruto, pikachu, of course, nike, as in Nike, pew, as in Winnie the Pooh, purin, as in Pudding, and Dia meaning Diamond, and Oshisama meaning Prince, per the South China Morning Post. I thought we were talking about Japanese, yes, but we're talking about okay, uh, the crackdown. Effective may 26 is part the crackdown, that's the crackdown of these names. Oh, how dare you. Effective may 26 is a part of a revision to the family register act, giving local authorities power to reject any name they deem too outrageous or tricky to to pronounce.
Speaker 1:Originally reported by todaycom. What I'm gonna name my baby? Whatever the hell I want to name my baby, okay, but I'm not a crazy person so I'm not going to get out of hand with it. Uh, so the crackdown effect? I already read that. Um, why? Why is this happening? To ensure names don't have a negative impact on a child's future? Blame it on one devilish dad, oh dear.
Speaker 1:In 1994 look, that was such a long time ago shiguro and ayaka and sato sparked national outrage when they named their newborn son akuma, which translate to devil. According to the south china morning post, the decades-long effort to ban Kirakira names began with that headline-making hell-raiser. Ha ha Soto defended the diabolical decision at the time, telling the Los Angeles Times there will only be one Japanese person with this name. If you hear it once, you'll never forget the name. It is the best possible name. No, don't name your kid that. But I don't think there should be a ban on anything either. Spoiler, it wasn't.
Speaker 1:After officials initially approved the name, public backlash and a court battle forced the couple to swap it out for something less infernal. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. They made their, changed their baby's name. Still, sato wasn't done dreaming big. He reportedly wanted to name a future son Teyo, meaning emperor, though he conceded he'd give a daughter an ordinary cute name Sexist.
Speaker 1:Now the Japanese government is making sure no one follows in his fire footsteps. And japan isn't the only nation reigning in the rogue registrations, as the new york post previously reported. New zealand, of course new zealand, they are. They are messed up, new zealand. Go look into their newsy stuff, my goodness, especially over covid, my goodness. Uh also has a list of forbidden names and it's royally strict. So that's that for that.
Speaker 1:All right, I want to uh, the other thing I wanted to talk about. I did a victory girls, but I have neglected my own blog and oh, look, there's a bunch of joggers one, two, three, four, five girls running, six girls running jogging through here and this is this is not. This is so unlikely, you never see this. Okay, they must be staying at the at the hotel over there at Bridge Street, probably here for something. All right, I know. Okay, back to the Victor girls. I have neglected my personal blog and Americanist for a while. I just felt like I got burnt out. I was writing a lot, so, but I wrote yesterday for the Victory Girls, because we do sign up and write for certain days. So I had to this.
Speaker 1:Chris Kaliza I donI-L-L-I-Z-Z-A. He used to be a CNN person, but he was laid off back. You know, a few years ago he was shown the door with a bunch of other people when they had that big. Remember, they had a big layoff a few years ago. He was one of them, but now he's doing a YouTube channel. He's been on YouTube for a while.
Speaker 1:Anyway, he went on and is making the rounds on social media that his Tesla was vandalized. And he says, he starts off by saying he was afraid to get a Tesla to begin with. I guess this was before Elon became part of, you know, created Doge and all this stuff. This was before, probably, trump even became president. He bought a Tesla and he was afraid that when he bought the Tesla in the first place, when he bought it years ago, whenever that, he was afraid that it was going to be the MAGA people that gave him a hard time for it, you know, because electric. Well, so he was surprised when he got this his car was vandalized.
Speaker 1:Now, when you hear vandalized, what do you think? You probably think scratched, keyed, tires deflated, you know, windshield busted in spray paint, something like that. No, no, no, I about died when I watched the video. He pulls out this little sign that was decorated and cut out like a flower bubble type thing, had colorized like coloring on it and stuff, and it was a handwritten note that said Musk is a Nazi and it was simply taped to his car. That's what he calls vandalized. Um, and he said he was surprised that it wasn't a MAGA person. That you know how we're becoming politic, politics is dividing us and it's becoming dumb and all this stuff. Well, no shit, you started it so and now he's just surprised and he, I think, and my whole blog blog post here. I think it was staged and I think that, uh, he's probably trying to audition. Remember, the left is looking for their Joe Rogan. I think he's trying to audition for it. That's what I think. Anyway, you can go read that over there at the Victor Girls. It's called Chris Kaliza Tesla Drama Desperate for Clicks, not Justice.
Speaker 1:Okay, question of the day. So I did my. I was listening to my podcast on the way in my Father Mike Bible in a Year and it finished up an episode and then it just stopped, and so sometimes it does that. So I didn't want to stop and mess with the phone and try to get the next episode to come on while I was driving. So I drove the rest of the way to work in silence. It was kind of nice.
Speaker 1:So my question to you is, when you drive in your car either short trips, driving to work I don't know if you you go to work anymore, you might be retired If you're going to church, if you're going to an appointment or long trips, whatever what do you listen to? Do you listen to the radio Do you listen to? Is there even local radio anymore? Do you listen to talk radio? Do you listen to the news, music podcasts? What do you listen to in your car? All I gotta go. Thanks for listening. I guess this did. I'd made it last a little longer than I thought it would. Be all right, gotta go and I will be back on Monday, but the gent and I will be back on Sunday at our podcast called brood awakening. Hope to, uh, see you there, all right. Well, not see you, but you know what I mean. All right, gotta go. Love y'all bye.
