excurse: consumerism I - competitive eating

Now that we have a global food crisis i am sure these kinds of tv-programs will regain popularity in japan.
basically, the (mostly professional) contestants try to stuff as much food into themselves as possible. it is indeed a painful sight as japanese create noises consuming certain dishes even under normal circumstances. take into account that those who chew loose and you have a pretty good idea of how it goes.
i would guess the pain of watching is not half as bad as the emptying sessions the contestants have go through after they have taken the trophies.
the moment of the program you look forward most is when we are allowed to gaze at the the amount of food that was just swallowed, usually there will be a commercial break just before it.

cat land

i don't know about the state of pet accessories in other parts of the world but in japan some vital boundaries have been crossed evidently. tricked into riding to the top of a ikebukuro department store because advertisements on the ground floor promised the biggest cats for sale exhibition of kinds i couldnt believe that in order to see the cats for sale one had to pay entrance fees. luckily (...) the accessories were on display free of charge. there you could see a diveersity of clothing lines for your cat. so, say, you have a cat but poodles are also kind of cute, too. you could dress your cat as a poodle. i mean, why (not)?

UDON

Do you remember the day when you found out that all italian noodles in reality are just variations in shape.
Welcome to japan, the land of noodles, where noodles do not only come in a diversity of shapes but tastes as well and each of them unique.
i found this udon shop by accident in ikebukuro, which ought to have the fattest noodles i have seen to date. with the temperature rising there is nothing better than a cold noodle dish.