I was desperately rooting for the Blazers here, but even I had to applaud that shot. Just insane. Then the fan at the end of the 3rd quarter made a beautiful half-court shot for a car! Something in the arena tonight I guess.

The only thing I miss is good pizza. It’s here, but expensive and harder to find. Otherwise, Japan is fantastic. Gotta speak at least conversational Japanese to live here though. Not perfect, but enough to get by at the local bureaucratic office.

I wondered! Got mine at the local Disc Pier (Joshin) right at opening. Maybe 8 people in line - though they also sold out of everything but pre-orders.

Yeah, I live in one of the “seedier” areas in Japan - Osaka near Shinsekai. There are literally Yakuza down the street from me in a semi-legal capacity. It’s honestly not bad. The most dangerous places in Japan are still safer than the average American city. Nothing ever feels that dangerous, and people are generally…

In general, I agree. Shaq was not crazy talented. However, you just CAN’T discount his size. If you do that for him, you have to do it for everybody. Of course he was great because of that. The fact that he’s a freak of nature isn’t something he contributed to, but it’s not something you can discount from his legacy…

One addendum to the chores item: Farm work. Mowing the lawn and doing the dishes is all good fun. Monotonous, almost zen-like. Farm work? Farm chores suck ass for the most part. And it doesn’t even save you from the kids! They get pushed out of the house to “help” so that the other parent can get the fucking house…

This guy is the hero the world needs right now. I will absolutely be appropriating “Congratulations MEEEEEEE!”

Same. I’m the type of guy that liked the original XBox controller because it was the right size. This looks horrible to hold.

Brian, you live in Osaka - what’s your favorite arcade here? I’m bouncing between Namba Club Sega and the DenDen Town Taito Station. Any recommendations?

I’m in Japan at the moment, and can say that while rhythm games are still surprisingly popular, they aren’t the bulk. You are mostly right though: every arcade is about 30% UFO machines (crane games), 30% fighting games, and 30% rhythm games. That leaves about 5% for the card-based games, and 5% for everything else…

Well, you build a castle that survived two government-ending sieges and a modern warfare bombing without some scratches. It’s not so easy!

I’ve never been a huge fan of her music, but godDAMN can that woman sing. I will never stop appreciating her raw talent. Most of the time, the biggest pop stars are manufactured and not actually that talented or skilled - just attractive with good producers and a mild ability to sing/play. But man, she’s just freakin’…

Even though I greatly benefited from the smoking ban in my state, I agree that it should be up to the bar owner. However, the big issue before wasnt that the bars let people smoke, it is because NONE of them kept their smoke-eaters up to code. My family owns an HVAC business, and this was the number one reason for…

Just because of this, I bought one via the link. I’m not even a “leftist” or whatever that is. You’re just an asshole.

Just because of this, I bought one via the link. I’m not even a “leftist” or whatever that is. You’re just an…

I never understood this until I moved to Japan. They have these (and the yellow tracks) everywhere, and it says quite clearly that this is for people who can’t see, and to please stand clear. It was one of those “ohhhhhhh” moments that makes you feel like an idiot, because it’s so obvious once it’s been pointed out.

Hah! I only clicked because I saw the gif and was like “that looks like Osaka!” Then I watched the video - I live right there! Totally going to Owl’s Nest now.

This is a fantastic metaphor that I will be stealing.

I always justified it that way as a kid. That ladder is rickety and slippery as hell, and it’s just solid concrete below. Nerts to that, I prefer the water.

How/Why is this so fascinating?! I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. My method for this (which I have done and always will do) is to take the first jump, then worry about it midair. No hanging on the ledge looking down. That’s the worst.

“We may have reached a juncture where progress is measured by liberal white urgency”