3 reasons Japan is awesome today [and 1 it is not.]

Reason #1 - Creativity under adverse conditions - Marketing Japan: Porn Filmed in Japanese McDonald's? I'm Rubbin' It!

Reason #2 - Pragmatism and rational self interest - Japan's Motion to Kill Kyoto Protocol a 'Slap in the Face,' Advocates Say | SolveClimate News  [Look, without the US, China or India bound by this, all you're asking people to do is shoot their economy in the foot.  And that's even if carbon emissions, not adaptation, is a better way to deal w/global warming.]

And Reason #3 - This.  Just this - Jesus mourns Tokyo subway umbrella losses - Boing Boing

In the 'not awesome' category, it looks like the end of an era - No K-1/MMA on broadcast TV on NYE. That may be the only thing that's swung in my favor since I had to leave Nippon this summer.  If I don't get free shows on NYE of people beating the hell out of each other, then no one does -  

TV deal or not, Dynamite event still on (and why there’s fear about K-1 collapsing) | FightOpinion.com – Your Global Connection to the Fight Industry.:

"With there being an impasse between Tokyo Broadcasting System and K-1 over what to do with Dynamite on New Year’s Eve, the bitterness that fans are tasting has nothing to do with an emotional connection for K-1 as a product. This time around, the sadness is all about the fact that MMA may not make it again onto a major broadcast network in Japan for a long, long time (if ever again)...  

Currently, the situation right now for Dynamite appears to be on course for a ‘no TV’ show. In other words, it may air on HDNet and on SkyPerfecTV PPV, but perhaps not on broadcast television. The whole point of the New Year’s Eve concept when it was developed and crafted by K-1, DSE, and Antonio Inoki was to stage an assault on NHK’s Kohaku (Red & White Music Festival show) and demonstrate the strength and appeal of the fight game. It worked. Despite finishing second or third at times, the NYE shows demonstrated an erosion in viewership for NHK’s programming."