Jukebox: Pizzicato Five

Time for more Japan love. Pizzicato Five were a hyper-prolific Japanese pop band of the "Shibuya-kei" style (an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, and electro-pop that originated in the Shibuya district of Tokyo) who released bunches of albums in the late 80s and 90s and were introduced to the U.S. in 1994 via the bouncy single "Twiggy Twiggy vs. James Bond" (video above) and a compilation album called Made in USA. P5 are the quintessential Japanese creation in that they took quintessentially American/western influences and filtered them through their Kitschy Nippon Weird-o-Nater to create something wholly and sublimely Japanese. And hella awesome, or, as the Japanese say, "へラ　アーソム".

Bonus clip below of the single "Baby Love Child" in which lead singer Maki Nomiya sings in English.

My Book Gets Its First Review OMG LOL NSFW LMAO IMHO!!!!!

People will read anything these days as long as it's got lots of cussin'.

My Book is Now Very Slightly Famous in Japan

Y'all, I can retire from writing now because my dream of getting a blurb in a Japanese publication has finally been realized. Metropolis, a weekly culture rag in Tokyo, has given yours truly a shout-out in its latest issue and on its website. (I'm serious. This is something I've REALLY wanted!) Here it is.

Attention Tokyo/Metropolis readers who have clicked through and found yourselves on this scary blog: Thanks for visiting! たのしんでね。

More Shameless Plugging: My F**king Book, Almost As Good As Sarah Palin's

Get it here. Because freedom ain't free.

What Is Jimmy Reading?

What's Jimmy reading as we wait at La Superior in Williamsburg for our Queso Fundito ("Bowl of Cheese") or whatever? What IS that fascinating-looking book of smut? And, more importantly, who is its utterly talentless author?

Answer to third question: Me!

Answer to first two questions: My book, Tune in Tokyo: The Gaijin Diaries, which you can now officially buy from Amazon!

Full disclosure: Jimmy wasn't actually reading it. He was just searching the pages for his name.

It's Finally Possible to Wash Your Dog the Same Exact Way You Wash Your Dinnerware, Thongs

Finally, Japan! Jesus, what took so long? This "Dog Wash Machine" at Tokyo's Pet World Joyful Honda should have been available in the 80s, for Quiche Lorraine.

Laydeez I Love: New Japanese First Lady Miyuki Hatoyama

There are many reasons to love new Japanese First Lady Miyuki Hatoyama (aka Miyuki-chan): she has eyeballs the size (and explosive power) of grenades; she has long wispy locks of hair that you could use to field dress a moose (suck on that, Palin); and, best of all, she has visited the planet Venus. Witness this excerpt from an actual published book of hers (actual title: Very Strange Things I've Encountered) from last year:

While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus. It was a very beautiful place and it was really green.

This story is awesome and so important. Hopefully, the new administration headed by Miyuki-chan's husband will usher in a refreshing new era of openness and transparency regarding alien abductions. Was the triangular-shaped UFO equilateral? Obtuse? Acute? Scalene?! ISOSCELES?! (Please say it was isosceles.) Miyuki-chan must answer this and many more questions, because her public will want to know. (The shape of alien spacecraft is a very important public policy issue in Japan.) And she will in her next book Earthlings Are So Curious!