CBFTW is back blogging in a big way. For those of you who don’t know, he’s running the best stationed-in-Iraq blog since Just Another Soldier got shut down (IMHO). Link: MY WAR: Fear and Loathing in Iraq

Next round of shooters is on me: Mexican tequila set to flood Japanese market under FTA If I ever see another bottle of that Suntory-branded tequila stocked at a bar again, I’ll bitch slap the barkeep. At least spring another couple bucks for a bottle of Cuervo Silver, if nastiness is your thing (it’s imported by Suntory anyway). The Suntory brand stuff is pure pukejuice.

Watched the Professor Reynolds interview on the international version of CNN this morning. It was kind of short, but he ended by saying that CBS should own up to their mistake – it was a milestone for bloggers, IMHO. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this broadcast in Japan. This was the Paula Zahn show, by the way. She interviewed wonkette after that, but she was about as interesting as her site, as in “not.”

In my inbox today: “I think I’m going to vote Republican this year. The Democrats left a bad taste in my mouth.” – Monica Lewinsky Now that’s just crude. More, please.

USMC cargo helicopter crashes and explodes in crowded Okinawa city; three crewmen injured. Most significant backlash? Marines are criticized for allowing pizza deliveries through while blocking “Japanese police detectives, local political leaders and diplomats from Tokyo.” Well, duh. US Marines could eat any of those for lunch, too, but pizza is boneless (as opposed to spineless). The whole “Go back to Japan” remark puts things in an interesting light. And: “When Okinawans feel isolated from the central government, they rise,” said Mr. Okamoto, now a lobbyist, as he recounted waves of anti-base sentiment since World War II. “It may be happening again.” Say Wuuuuuuuuuuut? Overall, I think the writer tried…

I had hoped to point out the Living In Japan page after it got a bit bigger as another good resource for Japan-related blogs, but I’m not comfortable doing so until I find out why a Scissor Sisters fansite (no linkage for you – Bad Monkey!) is included in our aggregator as of today.

Via Yahoo Asia News: Japan to deploy armed police officers on U.S.-bound flights I hope they pick the old judo bulls with “cauliflower ear” instead of those 90 lb weakling parking ticket sissies that putt around on Super Cubs.

The Guardian unveils the vampire Lazar, spokesartiste for La Mexicaine de la Perforation: Paris’s new slant on underground movies Personally, I think Ford should use the name Lazar for their new SUV and describe it as an “urban explorer.” Hey, if I were Eminem, I would rhyme that with “anal inducer” (Ah, no wait, he’s still stuck on rhyming “Slim Shady” with “slim shady”). And I think a better name for this article would have been: Parisian Window Dressers and Massons Agree: Eraserhead Experience 100% More Subversive in Sewer Theatres

This article at Time Asia might as well have been titled “Why file sharing owns iTunes in Japan”: Where’s the Music? This article explains the reason I download MP3s with file-sharing apps instead of paying for them online (BTW, I purchase music I like, which is not really a justification but sounds kinda responsiblish). If you are a BitTorrent user who downloads music, you probably know that TorrentBox, TorrentReactor, and SuprNova are great sites for finding what you want. Personally I like the Azureus client. If you are after Japanese music, there is no substitute for Winny2, but you better have a LOT of room on your hard drive if…

There’s a great article about soldiers fishing in Iraq over at the ESPN site: Fishing Saddam’s Waters Excerpt: “We’ve heard that Saddam only allowed his family (tribe) to fish these lakes. All others (caught fishing) were put in jail. When Palace Lake was drained (searching for weapons), they found over a hundred dead bodies in the lake.” (No wonder the fish were big!) All of the soldiers interviewed said they didn’t eat what they caught – bodies aside, I can understand that sentiment. Adam and I have been fishing the murky waters of our local river, where we never see anyone fishing. When people see us, they invariably ask: 1.…