Monaka comments

Bit ironical that this "burger" doesn't contains much American ingredients ...

Hmm... maybe Russian?

Probably just as greasy as its namesake, but a better dancer.

I have an image in my mind of taking the first bite and having loooong, light-colored hair coming out of my mouth and trailing back to the burger.

Should've called it the "POTUS 45," by the way. Now that sounds appetizing!

If any one of them is wearing a high-quality Nishijin-ori obi---and they probably all are---then it's top-of-the-line. Some go for over ¥1,000,000. For formal wear, the rule is: A dyed kimono goes with a woven obi. For casual wear, the opposite is true.

She choked... and she wasn't eatin' no mochi. Naomi Watanabe did a better job on "Kōhaku"... looked better too!

On its "Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners" website [1], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, concluded the following:

Whether in its pure form or mixed with other chemicals, ozone can be harmful to health.

When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

Some studies show that ozone concentrations produced by ozone generators can exceed health standards even when one follows manufacturer’s instructions.

Many factors affect ozone concentrations including the amount of ozone produced by the machine(s), the size of the indoor space, the amount of material in the room with which ozone reacts, the outdoor ozone concentration, and the amount of ventilation. These factors make it difficult to control the ozone concentration in all circumstances.

Available scientific evidence shows that, at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is generally ineffective in controlling indoor air pollution.

The concentration of ozone would have to greatly exceed health standards to be effective in removing most indoor air contaminants. In the process of reacting with chemicals indoors, ozone can produce other chemicals that themselves can be irritating and corrosive.

Health Canada's "Ozone" website [2] states:

Ozone: Good up high, bad nearby!

Ground-level ozone is a component of urban smog. It can enter the home from the outdoors and potentially cause respiratory problems. Health Canada does not recommend the use of air cleaners that intentionally generate ozone.

[1] https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

[2] http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/air/in/poll/ozone/index-eng.php

You see!? Mayoi-bashi (迷い箸) and sashi-bashi (さし箸) are not only impolite, they can be deadly!

Wow, もっともっと.

C Harald Hansen wrote:

Looks kinda awkward with the Secret Service agent pushing up against them, but I guess even in a situation like that they don't take chances. :/

I watched this live on TV. That was not a secret service agent; it was the elderly gentleman's translator. They were next to each other during the entire ceremony..

It's sad, really.

I was going to post information about the murder, but decided not to.

http://www.chibanippo.co.jp/news/national/177239

Read the following headlines from JAPANTODAY's front page, while humming "Sesame Street"'s "One of these things is not like the others" song:

Man arrested for killing wife with hammer in Nagano Pref ( 9 )

Mother dies after jumping from 8th floor with 3-year-old son ( 11 )

Suspected kidnapper caught after girl missing for 2 years found ( 68 )

Tokyo police release PR video in English to assure foreign visitors Japan is safe ( 41 )

Tires punctured on 33 cars in Tsukuba neighborhood ( 12 )

It seems to me: The goofier the country, the goofier the military hats.

Oh, brother... What's with these Japanese actresses and their one-word names?

"Wolfpack" wrote: CO2 makes up around .004% of the atmosphere...

Actually, according to NASA [1] and NOAA [2], it's 400ppm, which is 0.04%, not 0.004%.

[1] http://climate.nasa.gov/400ppmquotes/

[2] http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html

An umbrella thrown through the front spokes would stop him very quickly.

Sorry to say that those plastic Heinz's bottles in the photo are anachronistic. Heinz ketchup was served in restaurants in restaurant table-sized glass bottles that you had to invert and whack multiple times on the bottom to get any ketchup out. Too bad that it's probably impossible to find any like those anymore.

FizzBit fizzed this tidbit:

Found this a few days ago. Kinda cool.

http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-225.00,0.00,352

That is cool. Thanks FizzBit!

That pop-up image is just scaled-down to fit your browser. To view it properly, save the pop-up image to your computer; it is 650x2040 @ 96 dpi and readable.

If I didn't know better, this photo could be a Japanese movie director storyboarding the next Godzilla movie,「ゴジラ対生肉プルーム」 (Godzilla vs. Plume of Raw Meat).

Yes, thanks chinpira.

Placebo effect.

She was on the 11/26/85 episode Late Night with David Letterman from "Tokyo."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBXiXx-xOh8

It opened on Friday in the U.S. in 10 theatres in New York; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; Phoenix; Kansas City; Miami; Minneapolis; Houston; Dallas; and Philadelphia.

The Hollywood Reporter says the film earned $319 on Friday and $288 on Saturday in those theatres.

Yes, a total of $607.

At the theatre in Phoenix it earned $9.

Where in Minato-ku?

ANN News shows that it happened behind the Cope Takanawa (コープ高輪) building (4-6-8 Takanawa, Minato-ku), next to the parking stalls. It's about 300m directly west of Shinagawa Station's Takanobu entrance.

Thunderbird 2 wrote, "That doesn't look particularly appetising - the beef looks like rubber."

I agree. It also won't taste as good as gyudon should. There is no dashi (stock make from kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes) as a foundation here, and so there is no umami.

What a waste of Kobe beef.

"...to stamp out “chikan” (groping) and other deviant behavior..."

I always thought chikan was a noun that meant masher, molester, or pervert---not a verb.

The Hamburglar has turned to online phishing schemes and Mayor McCheese is out of office for getting sauced too much.

Thanks lucabrasi! I think you may be right.

Trying to remember what the background music is... Anyone know?

Better video of it here:

http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-channel/watch-plane-land-then-nearly-hit-truck-on-tarmac-423694915858

Hmm, must be March again.