Japan’s Latest Fads — Marketable in U.S.?

Anyone else think these are all really boring? Who wants to take a bath in wine? Is that the best that “Wacky Japan Inc.” can come up with? Acerola? Slow down, Japan. You are blowing my mind.

Themed Hot Springs Resorts: because normal onsen in the United States have gotten so boring.

Shower Washable Suits: so you can be just as stylish as the average salaryman, now with less hassle.

Kool Boost: I’m not a smoker or anything, but that sounds like it will revolutionize cancer delivery.

G-Shocks: Oh, Japanese kids watch so much CNN that it only makes sense they would learn their style from it.

I also like this statement:

It would be wise for futurecasters to look beyond the much-watched Japanese schoolgirls who indulge in fads.

If futurecasters are obsessed with Japanese schoolgirls, I am not sure they can call themselves “futurecasters.” Trend spotters need to spend a lot less time predicting the future and a lot more time actually figuring out what is going on in the present.

連続幼女誘拐殺人：宮崎死刑囚の死刑執行　他の２死刑囚も

In the late Bubble era, the chilling case of “otaku” serial killer Miyazaki Tsutomu firmly established the supposed link between anime-loving social outcasts and sex criminals. The witch-hunt was kicked off by the (now disputed) discovery of his collection of over 5,000 videotapes — many of them pornography and anime — after his arrest in 1989. The resulting moral outrage at the otaku subculture lasted close to a decade and is almost difficult to fathom in this era of otaku symbolizing “Cool Japan.”

After nearly twenty years on death row, Miyazaki was finally executed yesterday. Given the opacity of the Japanese justice system, it’s hard to speculate, but one can’t help but wonder if the recent Akiba massacre had any impact on the timing.

Generic Name for Soft Drinks by County (U.S.A.)

I mostly grew up in Northwest Florida, which is a mere 12 hours to Miami by automobile. The culture of the Panhandle is distinctly “Southern.” However, no one ever believes me when I say that my Florida bears little resemblance to the Florida they’d know from Orlando or Miami or Key West, etc.

Finally, some proof of Florida’s cultural diversity: in my part of the state, we say “Coke” as a generic term for all soft drinks. This is also true in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. In South Florida, it’s a bunch of Northern immigrants who say “Soda.” This also explains why the state is a battleground state every election