Covering the economic and industrial might of Japan

-Scott Spann might be America's best bet to beat Japan's world record holder, Kosuke Kitajima.

-Scott Spann is from Austin Texas and it 20 years old.

-Spann qualified for the US Olympic team in the 200 breast stroke.

-He swims for University of Michigan however he represented Longhorn Aquatics in Austin Texas for the Olympic trials

-Spann trains under Randy Reese which is the brother of Eddie Reese who is the Men’s 2008 Olympic Head coach and also University of Texas head coach.

-Spann along with Eric Shanteau beat the American former World record holder in the 200 breast stroke, Brendan Hansen. It was the biggest upset because Hansen had the world record for 4 years; America's best breast stroker was beaten by an unknown newcomer Scott Spann.

-The Japanese world record holder in this event (broken this year) Kitajima has a time of 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Although Spann’s time of 2:09 was a great time (ranked 7^th currently in the world) it is a tough shot to beat the world record holder.

-Kitajima and Brendan Hansen (who had 2:08) had been having rivalry races since before the 2004 Olympics. Now that Hansen is not in the game, Spann will be taking over the role of Hansen.

-In the 2008 Olympics, Scott Spann is said to be the most surprising newcomer. US hopes that’s going to be the case at the Olympics to take on the 200 Breast stroke

Guest Blogger - Micah Belew

What about when it's a teacher? and a school girl? Weirdo pervert.

A 34-year old Japanese male teacher was busted for looking up a 15-year old girl's skirt at around 6:50am. The teacher hung around the stair case at a train station and looking up while the little girl's climbed the stairs.

He's been arrested and police have started hanging around the area more. To not do what?

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Melon Buns - yum! My son loves these.

Choco Danish - Chocolate inside a danish roll.

Sugar Croissant - Something to aid the Japanese who want to catch up with the west in the mid section.

Each of the products go for Y100 - 95 cents-ish.

I haven't eaten at a McD's in 10 years, maybe longer. Once I was on an extended trip to China and grew tired of frog toenails and snake livers for breakfast. I found a McDonalds in Zhuhai near the border to Macao. Pancakes - yum! But then again, it's hard to mess up a pancake. 

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Of course the hope is to hire these students after their internship programs.

Nuclear power is making a comeback due in large part to the uncontrolled rising of crude oil prices. It's about time, too, I might add.

More qualified engineers are needed.

Students will be recruited from Vietnam, Indonesia, Mongolia and elsewhere in Asia to take the course.

The course on nuclear power will be two years long and center on plant design and safety as well as give practical experience. Let's hope nobody fails the actual test.

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Naked weddings in Japan?!

Well, the Chinese do nude wedding photos, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. 

And perhaps they couldn't afford a $10 million wedding dress. 

Still, I performed more than 900 weddings when I was in Japan, and I was never lucky (unfortunate?) enough to face such a situation.

I used to ask the Japanese couple why they wanted a western style wedding. Invariably, they would say to my dismay that a western style wedding dress would be able to cover up the fact that the bride was pregnant. SIGH!

Well, just when I thought the whole thing couldn't go downhill any farther, it has.

Couples, at least this one, are getting married naked.

Thank goodness the parents of the couple are keeping their clothes on, eh?

Shameless Plug -

I've written a book - Gee I Wish I Had Been Drinking at the Time. 

You may also be interested in:

China's Top 5 Nude Girl Posters for 2006

Japan's Hottest Girls - Numbers 1 - 24

Topless News Anchors and Naked News

6 Hottest Pictures of Zhang Ziyi Plus 3 of Her Nudity Double (SFW)

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Good grief. Has anybody calculated what that costs per mile to drive? Suppose someone drove the car a 100,000 miles (fat chance, I know). It would cost $4.5/mile just to drive the thing.

Last year, Rolls-Royce sold 1,010 cars worldwide and this year the production quota has already been met. 

One out of every five RRs get bought in the Asia-Pacific region.

What's $450K x 1,010?

Shameless Plug -

I've written a book - Gee I Wish I Had Been Drinking at the Time. 

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The dress was made of gold. She showed it off while standing next to a Mercedes-Benz decorated with Swarovski crystals.

And, I thought the Middle Eastern countries were the only one's that could really waste money. A good friend told me of her visit to Kuwait. She saw a silver-colored Benz that was made of silver. The hotel chandeliers were giant Swarovski crystals.

Okay, Japan loses. But, both are serious money wasters in my book.

Not to mention the guy who's life is going to be wasted who marries this girl, eh? 

You may want to see these girls in a wedding dress...or not.

Japan's Hottest Girls - Numbers 1 - 24

Topless News Anchors and Naked News

Nude Wedding Photos

Chinese Nude Wedding Photos (part 2)

Shameless Plug -

I've written a book - Gee I Wish I Had Been Drinking at the Time. 

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Where's that electric police car when you need it?

Japanese policemen will be driving the Mitsubishi MiEV soon enough. The car can max out at 130kph and go 160km per charge.

The primary use will be to track illegally parked cars. But, what about giving them to old folks who confuse the accelarator for the brake?

There's a guy in Osaka who drove his car into a bank and broke a woman's leg, not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff.

Had he been in a MiEV, chances are the extension cord wouldn't have reached far enough and he would have lost power before going through the window/wall, no? 

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Despite the fact that somebody has found a way for plastic bags to decompose in just 3 months this Japanese editor did manage to mount a reasonable defense of the pollutants.

He learned that of the 30 billion plastic garbage bags, in Japan at least.

1. 83% get reused, as liners for kitchen garbage bags.

2. 80% of people use them in trash baskets.

3. 43% find some way, anyway to reuse them.

4. and just 0.8% throw them away outright.

Sounds like recycling to me. And, what's wrong with that?

If it weren't for the plastic bags brought home from the supermarket, the users say they would buy other plastic bags expressly for that purpose.

Does it sound like the big plastic bag makers don't like the little guys cutting into their profits to you?

So, what's the big deal with plastic bags if they are in fact being reused? 

Japan is playing catch up again, this time with Hong Kong. Hong has had reasons to buy an eco-coffin for sometime. Now, it's Japan's turn at making eco-coffins.

A coffin that uses half the wood of a conventional coffin is tree friendly and burns more quickly, saving energy.

Additionally, the company that is making them in Japan will plant 10 red pines in Mongolia for each coffin that is purchased.

Nearly everyone in Japan is cremated when the time comes. It makes sense that over the next 80 years or so, 120 million people are burned in something more environmentally friendly. Besides that would be 120 million X 10 trees each planted up north.

What I don't get is if the thing is going to be burned, why all the fuss for a $1500 dollar box? Why not a space heater box or something like that?

I hope my family wastes no money trying to dispose of me.