Can I ask you your opinion on something that occurred to me after reading your post? I wonder if Japanese attitudes toward responsibility also play a role here. (Disclaimer: I am an American and so I may make many mistakes with what I say. If so, please correct me and know that any mistakes are due to my own…

Well put. This is why I think our two cultures can really learn a lot from each other.

The only graffiti or vandalism I saw when I went to Japan was in English. :(

There is a larger reason people don’t rise up en masse and eradicate inequality. Americans in general no longer believe the actions of individuals can meaningfully change society. Or maybe people all over the world believe this. “My vote won’t matter.” “Shouting down some idiot on the internet accomplishes nothing.”…

This sucks. When we went to Japan last year we rented a house in Kyoto and it was fantastic. Any move that reduces the amount of houses available and drives up prices is going to suck balls.

A thousand times this. A kindly old Japanese gentleman taught us this when we went there last year.

I’m calling BS. There aren’t 50,000 deer visible in this photograph.

My favorite argument is that people in many countries don’t have the luxury of speaking their minds or criticizing their government, so isn’t it the sheerest form of self-indulgence to engage in such behavior instead of being quietly glad that you could do so if you wanted? Or, put more shortly, You have the right to…

Very nice metaphor.

People aren’t wrong when they say that Trump could probably initially draft a pardon for himself. However, for some reason they forget to mention that it would immediately be struck down by the courts on a common-law basis that a person cannot be their own judge in a court of law. We don’t need a law presently saying…

I think somebody’s lost perspective. Come back to earth. Or open up a history book instead of just reading Huffington Post comment threads all day.

God how I miss the vending machines. No matter where you were, in the heart of an oppressive Japanese summer, odds are there was a vending machine within 100 meters of you. Pocari sweat, Aquarius, Boss Coffee... man, boss coffee.

Your observation about blighttown is an interesting one. Would it have gained its notoriety without the crippling performance issues? Almost certainly not. One of my favorite souls stories revolves around it. A guy had convinced his friend to play Dark Souls, and the next night he received a succinct text: “If I die,…

This seems like deciding it’s better to fly in a plane piloted by someone who doesn’t know how to fly a plane rather than someone who flies in a way you don’t like. If the plane crashes, you may wish the competent pilot you don’t like had been at the controls instead.

“...having Donald Trump as President is better than Mike Pence”, which works as long as you assume that having Mike Pence as President would mean more legislative accomplishments...

I believe in the right of responsible, law-abiding citizens to own guns for the purpose of protecting themselves and their loved ones. This includes me, by the way.

I’m afraid that ship has sailed, my friend. If the government wants to get you at this point, consider yourself got. Defense against a tyrannical government is an argument that hasn’t made much sense since the invention of the tank.

I was just about to post this. There is an interesting correlation among developed nations between access to birth control and abortions and a decrease in crime rates.

Even so it’s like... did we really need to get the police involved, here?

Oh... my... GOD!