F.R.O. 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, Kangaeroo will be glad to see the back of it.

There was plenty to be grateful for: a happy marriage, closer relationships with children, excellent friends, a life filled with love, family reunions, delightful garden, a full year of employment, generally good health.

For all of these, I am deeply thankful.

There was much about the year that was extremely satisfying, and I am filled with thanks for that, too.

But overall, 2022 was a year of loss. It is been, and remains, an excruciatingly painful time, despite all of the above.

One loss that didn’t occur in 2022 was hope. Although Kangaeroo is angry, bitter and resentful, mainly due to fear, there is hope that better things lie on the horizon.

May 2023 bring a new outlook on dealing with loss and fear that amplifies those losses so they seem more important than they are.

And may all those associated with Kangaeroo in any way at all be able to see the joys that took place in 2022 and thrive in the coming year. Love and best wishes to all!

(But 2022 can fuck right off!)

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Perfect Pose Sees Kitakyushu Kangaroos Idolized

    A mob of kangaroos caught on camera in a perfectly timed shot at a Kitakyushu zoo remains incredibly popular in Japan for its resemblance to the typical formations in which girl idol groups pose. Roos from Hibikinada Green Park were captured peering at the lens in an October 2024 photo that soon went viral. Millions saw the photo, which has since been removed from the park’s social media account but remains widespread online after it went viral. Netizens throughout Japan and across the world noted how the roos lined up in a manner almost perfectly resembling Japanese girl groups like AKB48, Nogizaka 46 and others of that ilk. Hibikinada Green…

  • |

    Tokyo’s Strange Socceroos

    Japan has a strange affinity when it comes to using Australian animals for its advertising. A number of major Japanese corporations use koalas and roos to plug their products and services. One with a difference is Hayashi Corporation, a construction company with a history of over 100 years and based in suburban Tokyo. Hayashi Corporation’s Fuchu branch office entrance is adorned with photos of a family of cartoon kangaroos decked out in soccer gear, just like Australia’s national football team, the Socceroos. Japan’s next opponent in World Cup qualifying is Australia, but there’s no connection. What is interesting to note, though, is that the kangaroos had been painted over until…

  • |

    Little League Laps Up Kanga Clout

    Kangaroos play a prominent role in encouraging kids to take up baseball in the Aichi Prefecture city of Kota. Kosuke the Kangaroo is the marsupial mascot of the Aichi Kota Boys youth baseball club that runs age-group squads including its Kangaroo Kids for first and second graders new to the game. The club has been around since 2009 but has not given a public explanation for why it chose the kangaroo as the animal to promote its game. It’s possibly because youth teams often pick animal names to sound friendly and energising. A kangaroo fits a young-players programme because it suggests bouncy energy, protection and youthfulness — easy, family-friendly branding…

  • |

    Strewth! Roo-ed Awakening for Unsuspecting Cyclist

    An Aussie cyclist got more than they bargained for in Australia recently.  最近、オーストラリア人女性サイクリストが想定外の事故にあった。 While riding along at a gentle pace, the cyclist collided with a kangaroo.  ゆっくりと走りながら、なんと、カンガルーと衝突事故した! The kangaroo leaped out of the bush and struck the unsuspecting cyclist.  カンガルーが道路脇にあった森から飛び出し、女性とぶつかった。 The woman hit by the kangaroo sustained minor injuries.  カンガルーに引っかかれた女性が軽傷で済んだ。 Queensland cyclist crashes into kangaroo

  • Packing a Roo in the Days of Pac-Man

    Kangaroo was a mildly successful arcade video game released in 1982. Launched in the same year was the phenomenally successful Pac-Man and notorious Custer’s Revenge. Kangaroo also came out in the same year as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (video game), the flop largely blamed for the video game industry crash of 1983. Kangaroo required players to take on the role of a mother roo who dodged falling fruits and punched primates to rescue her joey, who had been stolen by the monkeys. The game started as an arcade game before Atari made versions for its 2600 and 5200 game consoles. The game was also later adapted for a children’s cartoon. Kangaroo…