Congrats to Godzilla

For the most part, this face dominates the advertising space in Japan:


And rightly so. Ichiro has done wonders bringing to light the talent and compassion Japan has invested in baseball for years. Ichiro has played for the Seattle Mariners in the United States since 2001 where he has showcased his talents as a hitting machine. Now, second only to the legendary Pete Rose for career hits, Ichiro has cemented himself with the baseball elite both in the States and of course, back in his native Japan. Thus, you can find Ichiro's face on numerous ads in Japan from Kirin beer, to NTT Telecommunications (above), to Mizuno sporting goods.

Yet, there is another power-house baseball player who has been working in the United States. Hideki Matsui, nicknamed, "Godzilla", has been playing with the New York Yankees since 2003. He is a power left-handed hitter who grew up a right-handed hitter. He changed to a lefty growing up in order to level the playing field with his friends. This advertisement for for Kirin's "Fire" Coffee brand came out a few months ago with his face on it. I remembered thinking that he is often overshadowed by Ichiro, and this was one of the few ads I had seen of him.

Matsui's performance in the 2009 World Series with the Yankees might change that a little. He not only helped the Yankees to victory, but won the World Series MVP award by tying a World Series record with 6 RBIs in the decisive game. When you think about it, it's pretty impressive that Matsui bats clean-up in a Yankees lineup worth over $300 million and half of whom will arguable end up in the hall of fame. Maybe even Matsui himself.

Congrats to Matsui, and to the people of Japan who support their ambassadors of baseball. Matsui enters the off-season a free-agent and who knows where he'll land. Rumors have circulated he would go play with Ichiro in Seattle, return back to Japan to play for the team he supported as a kid, the Hanshin Tigers, or maybe even be re-signed by the Yankees. Although, he's 35 and showing his age in the outfield, his face alone brings in millions from Japanese advertisers and fans. One thing is for sure, though, we'll probably be seeing a lot more of Matsui's face in advertisements around here!

What's in a Greeting? A Lot.

President Obama faced heavy scrutiny from the 24-hour news programs again this week for none other than bowing. Yes, bowing. Apparently, the fact that the president had been traveling in Asia, and was caught (gasp) bowing in Japan (the nerve) set off a wave of scrutiny from CNN, to MSNBC, to Fox News. In response, the most relevant point I can make is that they do, in fact, bow as a show of respect during greetings or farewells in Japan. Is that so crazy?

Actually, I give the president a lot of credit for trying to bow here. It’s quite hard to pull off the intricacies without looking silly. I always feel awkward trying to bow myself, and have compared it in recent posts to giving a limp handshake in western cultures. You can go throughout your life giving limp handshakes and never know it; meanwhile everyone you encounter will judge you for it.

If anything, the president should be scrutinized for his bowing technique. I thought he showed good form with the angle he bowed to, and his foot and leg posture were good, but he threw in a simultaneous handshake, which deviates from tradition. In the end, like I said, I applaud the president for making an effort. What it boils down to is a generous show of respect for Japan and their Emperor, and not a sign of weakness.

Shouldn’t that be our aim? Think about our everyday life. What would be the outcome if you met a colleague for lunch and didn’t stand up to shake his/her hand? My guess is that the lunch would be a little cold from the start and not progress very heartily. If it were a business lunch with a potential investor, do you think he/she would at least think twice about why you didn’t offer a formal greeting? Now take that idea broader. Let’s say you’re travelling in France and you’re hungry. You can walk up to the counter and say, ‘I’d like a sandwich.’ Now, that might get you some service; heck, you might even get a little more acknowledgment if you say it with a polite intonation and add a ‘please.’ The problem is that more often than not, the nice little French lady running the counter will not understand a word you say. She might know a little English, but won’t be able to follow what you’re saying. What if, instead, you try a little French to break the ice before slowly making your request in broken French or slow English? My guess is, the store worker will acknowledge your sincerity and try to help you with your sandwich. You might even get a pickle out of it!

The point is, it’s not always necessary to be the aggressor, and it doesn’t always get you far acting like a bully. ‘My way or the highway’ or ‘Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.’ Which do you think will get you further in the long run?

This is where the short-sightedness of the talking heads on the 24-hour news cycles got it wrong. This wasn’t a story, this was an opinion set to fire up a response. First of all, any credibility that these stations might have had is in serious jeopardy in the wake of the balloon boy fiasco. Second of all, it points to an increasing pattern of poor journalism. They are making stories out of opinions, and masquerading as news sources. I would love to see the ratio of budgets for pundits compared to actual investigative journalism at these news stations. Unfortunately, that would require some investigating…how ironic.

Kirin's Autumn Brew

Don't let Tanuki fool ya. He'll get excited about anything, especially if it's in the form of alcohol.

Personally, I thought that there didn't seem to be anything seasonal about this autumn brew from Kirin. In the end, it tasted just like the regular Kirin beer. Call me a sucker. I guess I got caught up in the cool fall temps, beautiful fall colors, and seasonal advertising on the store shelves.


Any good autumn beers where your at? I'm looking forward to being able to try some of the Christmas brews back in the States when we're back for a visit!

Fun with Fido & Friends

Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could all be this happy about a sac of s$%#!!!

Snail Mail SPAM

Once a month a binder full of information gets passed around our complex. Usually general information affecting our neighborhood or building - construction, clean-up days, maintenance fees, local school meetings, etc. It comes around the end of the month to remind us of next month's activities, and I always dread seeing this thing sticking out of our mailbox or leaning up against our door when that time comes.

I really don't like getting it because number one, it's information we generally can't comprehend (that whole language barrier thing); number two, if the few words we can make out seem important then I have to take it to work for help from a co-worker; and number three, more often than not, the information after all of that is...well...useless.

Although, last month's binder had a great write-up about being aware of roaming fingers on the subway. Either that or a reminder that rear ends aren't the best things to hold onto in order to maintain you balance on the train.