Naivete vs. stupidity: An Inakadelphia rant June 10, 2010

I don’t call something stupid because it is different from my own ideals or my own culture. I call something stupid when it defies logic, reason, and the basic notion of common sense.

Convenience store booze bazaar March 6, 2010

Back in the States, the availability of alcohol varies greatly. New Jersey has liquor stores, Pennsylvania has beer distributors, and New York has cases of beer at the convenience store. However, in the land of beer vending machines, alcohol is easier to come by than anywhere I have previously experienced. There are 3 major convenience [...]

Eye mod purikura February 15, 2010

Headed to Sega for some Initial D 5th Stage and, of course, Valentines Day purikura. Purikura is the katakana-ized form of “picture club,” and involves taking photos in a large booth, followed by using electronic styluses to draw on and edit them. Purikura booths come in many varieties and can be found in just about [...]

My first zine piece: Musings on pot leaf pen cases February 2, 2010

After being in Japan for six months, I finally buckled down and wrote something (other than a lesson plan or blog entry). HAJET (Hokkaido’s branch of JET) has a great e-zine, titled the Polestar, and the editor contacted me about contributing in light of my background as a (wannabe) journalist. It was easy to zone [...]

What’s in a name? The business behind Japanese product naming January 27, 2010

“”If you can’t advertise a product, the name itself must be the advertisement. It has to have instant impact.”