A lot of shitty action movies are, like old Van Damme movies and such.  At least I hear people I know call those guilty pleasures.

I’m going tomorrow - because everybody expects this will be his retirement game, tickets are very very difficult to come by.  Hoping he will end his playing career on a good note!

Speaking from my own experience, life is quite a bit more easy-going in Japan than in the US.  There are some bad points but overall it’s a wonderful place to live.

He failed a drug test.  Same with people going overseas - you can of course smoke pot legally in a lot of the US, but you can still be drug tested and get in trouble for that overseas use in Japan.

What is regressive about it?  You think Japan doesn’t see what’s going on with opoids in the US as reason #1 to not relax drug laws?  

Yeah, I get that it doesn’t provide a stimulant effect for you, but it’s still a stimulant.

Nah, I wish people wouldn’t trot that out so much, it’s really not the case very often.  In this case, companies and brands don’t want to be associated with criminals (which fair or not, drug use is viewed extremely poorly here).

Ritalin is a stimulant, stimulants are illegal in Japan. There are a lot of over-the-counter medicines in the US and elsewhere that are not allowed in Japan. It’s not so different in the US, where tylenol with codeine is prescription only but it is OTC in many other countries.

I live in Tokyo, hands down the worst tourist trap is Gonpachi. People want to go there because of Kill Bill, there’s not a single Japanese person there (including the staff) and the food is below the bottom of the barrel. You’ll get a better Japanese meal at Denny’s in Tokyo.

I don’t think he took a jet there just for that though, did he?  I thought he was there overnight.

I’m sure even billionaires can google things, probably just came up under “Asian spa”

I need to be a bit honest here.

The original stadium was in OK shape but probably needed to be replaced and updated. Jingu Baseball Stadium next door also needs to be replaced and updated, as much as I love the place. Did it need a mega-fancy stadium to replace it? No, not really, but the new design is much more reasonable and fits in with the…

I probably would have given more than 10% because it would mean more to someone from lesser means, and I could afford it.  But hey that’s just me.

McDonalds?  Sounds like they stopped at Whataburgler.

Scouts in other countries are generally coed, tho.  Median age of scouts is something like 13, by the time kids are into the “getting in trouble” ages most of them have moved on from scouts.

An Indonesian coworker used to get us this GREAT seasoning (not a sauce) called Ma Uchu.  Loved that stuff, wish I could still get it! 

An Indonesian coworker used to get us this GREAT seasoning (not a sauce) called Ma Uchu.  Loved that stuff, wish I…

Where are y’all seeing Cholula for such high prices?  It’s half that price near my place in Tokyo, not exactly hot sauce heaven.

Where are y’all seeing Cholula for such high prices?  It’s half that price near my place in Tokyo, not exactly hot…

Oh, they definitely aren’t trying to hide anything.  Did you see how many people signed up for the volunteer slots?  Completely filled up well over a year in advance.  I know some people who are taking a holiday from work to volunteer, which is frankly insane to me.

I can’t speak for the US, but here in Japan she’s super popular right now.  I was watching the final in a local restaurant and everyone was cheering her on.  Her wins have been front page news all over the country.  I hear more comments about her Japanese language skill being not so good than anything about her mixed…