Random: Dancing Microbes

[nebroadwe]

I was never that enamored of giant plush microbes -- something about a large, fuzzy Yersinia pestis or Streptococcus pyogenes winking cheerfully at me from shelf or bed just isn't very reassuring, which I believe to be the point of plushies. I may have to change my tune, however, after seeing this:

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It's the OP for an anime currently broadcasting on Japanese t.v., entitled もやしもん [Moyashimon] (Tales of Agriculture). The protagonist, Tadayasu Sawaki, is a college freshman studying agriculture who happens to be able to see microbes. And speak with them. A sort of microbe-whisperer, as it were. Hijinks ensue. I think I'm going to keep an eye out for this one if it gets an R1 release. (If nothing else, it's caused me to experiment successfully with embedded video. My mad blogging skillz increase by one!)

[P.S. Ignore the 8:00 running time; that appears to be some kind of upload artifact. The actual OP is only two minutes or so, followed by six minutes of nothing happening.]

Comments

[ishte.livejournal.com]

Nononono NOOOO! You did not just show me that (http://www.giantmicrobes.com/) while Daniel is in my head! No you did not. Now he wants half a dozen of each of the common ones so he can send his children patients home with a plushy of whatever is making them ill. He says they can bring them back when they feel better and he can chuck 'em in the washer for hte next one.

*hiding from weirdo Daniel... taking down the shelves for plushies in his doctor's office as fast as he puts them up.* You are not putting those up there Daniel!

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Sorry! Didn't mean to stir up trouble, honest!

One of my scientist friends has a whole shelf of microbe plushies over her lab bench -- that is, over the desk portion of her lab bench, not the part that houses reagents and such. She finds it pleasant and humorous. I am mildly creeped out. I haven't yet heard what she thinks of the dancing microbes, though I pointed her to the clip ...

[(Anonymous)]

They *are* pleasant and humorous!

E. coli is still miffed that, on your last visit to lab, he had to tuck up all his dangling flagellae like that so you'd feel less creeped out. I remind him that we make sacrifices in the name of hospitality, but he's mumbling anti-microbial discrimination ...

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry -- I'm a medievalist, for whom the clearest association with "microbe" is "reduction of the European population by a third", followed closely by "I feel sick" or "what made that weird lace-like pattern that obscures half the text on this page?" If all the microbes in the world were as friendly as the ones in the Moyashimon opening, I might feel differently ...

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

You are back! *was worried*

*pounces*

Okay, I rank this microbes thing right up with the little plush germs (that I want desperately).

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

You are back! *was worried*

Sorry -- RL suddenly crashed down with all kinds of work to be done, in the middle of which I was ill. I'm just now at the point where I can start catching up with the fun in my life again. (In time for the cliffhanger to FMA 76, oh joy! I'm not sure I could have stood the suspense two weeks ago.)

Okay, I rank this microbes thing right up with the little plush germs (that I want desperately).

Evidently the protagonist of the Moyashimon anime can tell a native yoghurt culture from an imported one because the native bacteria speak formal Japanese and bow a lot ... :-)

[lyricnonsense.livejournal.com]

Evidently the protagonist of the Moyashimon anime can tell a native yoghurt culture from an imported one because the native bacteria speak formal Japanese and bow a lot ... :-)

I MUST SEE THIS.

And I totally second ELD's comment about being worried.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

[shuffles feet a lot] Thank you both. It wasn't a very pretty month, but things have settled back into a groove now (in time for my Japanese midterm, oh rapture, oh bliss! ;-p). I just need to carve out a few minutes a day for writing and everything will be normal again. (Okay, normal-ish.)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

RL suddenly crashed down with all kinds of work to be done, in the middle of which I was ill.

AIEEEE! Well, when you get caught up, there are stories to be read. *grins*

(In time for the cliffhanger to FMA 76, oh joy! I'm not sure I could have stood the suspense two weeks ago.)

I know. I withstood peeking at the raws to wait for the scanlations and I'm so glad I didn't look at the raws first, because I would've been tearing hair until the scans were out. AIEEE! (Why, yesh, that is my new favorite sound of distress.)

because the native bacteria speak formal Japanese and bow a lot ...

I have the feeling that a great many of my friends would really enjoy that.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Well, when you get caught up, there are stories to be read. *grins*

Don't I know it. :-)

"because the native bacteria speak formal Japanese and bow a lot ..."

I have the feeling that a great many of my friends would really enjoy that.

I just found this blog post (http://www.riuva.com/?p=763), which is an introduction to all the science-type stuff referenced in the first episode (it does spoil one of the Big Reveals, though). Fascinating, as somebody said.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I think I may get ill reading about kiviak, though. EWWWWW.