Well, SOTU was bloody awful too and DM wasn’t much better, so ‘since Playing the Angel’ is a pretty low level to achieve. Though I would say that for me it (Spirit) is, without doubt, their most pathetic album.

I […]

“I thought Spirit was pretty good – true, it’s not up there with their peak (from Black Celebration to SOFAD, since you ask), but it was a big improvement on Delta Machine, the album where they seemed unable to […]

The “Fletch quality control” thing is a story told many times, isn’t it.

But I think it has large holes.

God knows where he was during the recording of the last horribly insipid album, the spiritless ‘Spirit’. […]

I have noticed some really funny ones over the years with Japanese/Chinese characters, wish I had written them down.

I do remember one though that would dryly translate to any Japanese reader* as “I am a […]

“here in Singapore we are at about 30-32 deg C EVERY day of the year (and sometimes even higher)”

I just could not do that.

2+ months of heat is way too much for me. It is always such a relief when it gets […]

I feel sorry for my UK family and friends having to put up with horrible heat without the beautiful relief of air conditioners.

Then again, I’m rather jealous that it’ll be back down to around 20 in 2 short days […]

Two more from Japan:

Super Beaver

Mrs. Green Apple

“Maybe the Japanese don’t ask a native speaker as they don’t want to lose face by being wrong?”

No, I don’t think that’s it.

Then again, when I have been in the UK I have seen some ridiculous ‘Ja […]

My favourite local beer, that I can remember anyway, is Kusatsu Ale.

A few of the Shiga Kogen ones are good too.

Many of them are often rather similar… and they are all rather expensive. Hence the […]

“Jakusha no hangeki” would be written in Japanese as such:

弱者の反撃

The first two characters literally means weak/weak person.
Bit of a stretch for that to become chicken!

The last two characters does indeed me […]

Oops spelling mistake….

Ebisu ‘Kohaku’

Beer for me mostly. It has to be good quality, and also very cold! 😉

Here’s my pick:

Kirin ‘Aki-aji’（秋味）
Ebisu ‘Kokaku’（琥珀）
Suntory Premium Malts ‘Kaoru Ale’（香るエール）

All three of those are autumn only brews a […]

A view from Japan.

It has been on the news here. I have been watching various bits and listening to and reading comments from people here.

The Paddington bit was especially popular. (But anything ‘cute’ goes […]

“The whole thing is morally repugnant of course”

Sounds just like the Olympics.

April Fools stuff is a bit pathetic, isn’t it?

(And especially so in our current world when a large amount of stuff is almost April Fool level stupidity anyway, day in day out)

Didn’t see any turds in the video though…. they would have been more appropriate.

I like everyone involved, but that sounds like a really poor re-do of Always On My Mind (the PSB version of course).

Very mediocre indeed and I’d say hugely disappointing.

I have no idea what is the right answer is to all of this, but here’s my thoughts on the Japan situation.

“Did everyone in Japan limit socialising”

Pretty much, yes.

“work from home”

Some did, but seemingly […]

There were no “lockdowns” here.

The general population just did (are doing) the right thing for the community and society as a whole, and doing it without moaning about it all the time like big babies.

There […]