Barack Obama to Also Be Elected President of Small Town in Fukui Prefecture, Japan

We here at Japablum have been struggling with who to support for President in the election this year. While we love Hilary Clinton and kind of relish the idea of her eating the Republicans every morning for breakfast (and hurling them up at lunch), we're preternaturally drawn to Barack Obama, probably because he's so clean and articulate. We love politicians that can speak good. And we can't even count the ways that we love his wife Michelle. Oh my God. That bitch absolutely MUST live in the White House for AT LEAST four years, if only to get fembot Laura Bush's librarian stench off the premises. Imagine what she'd do with the Christmas tree lights!



So, yes, we've been torn, but now, thanks to a tiny little town in western Japan (coincidentally called Obama), we're finally able to make our decision. Yes, Japablum is pleased to announce that, just like the native Obamans, we are endorsing the Barack.



We're just hoping that this doesn't go the way of Obama, Japan's last endorsement, Howard Dean. That was embarrassing.

Office Lady: "Oh My God, I Totally Didn't Order That"

"You know, these new robot waiters aren't really all they're cracked up to be. I mean, this is the second time one of them has brought me something that I totally didn't ask for. Like last Wednesday when I asked for a woolong tea and a small bowl of udon noodles drenched in milk chocolate? He brought me a deck of cards and a frisbee. It must be something with the new operating system. (I hear they're contracted with Microsoft, which is so sad!) But really, I just asked for a green tea smoothie and a Swedish massage. And look! He brought me a cigarette lighter and a pair of pink leg warmers. I'd laugh if I wasn't so freaking thirsty and tense!"

Siouxsie Sioux at the Fillmore: Japablum's Cell Phone Camera Will Not Be Denied

Japablum's fairy godmother Siouxsie Sioux, erstwhile of the Banshees and the Creatures, was at the Fillmore in NYC on Friday, and so was our camera phone! The show was life-changing. Japablum hadn't hopped up and down so much since we took that dare at the gay bar that time (and made all that money!).

Our Siouxsie looked awesome in her fitted harlequin jumpsuit, as you can clearly see. And, damn, her hair was big. Even better, she played Nightshift. And Arabian Nights!

Below: They Follow You, courtesy of someone else's cell phone or DVR device or something

Japablum Recommends: Author Haruki Murakami, Who Finally Kind of Talks to the Press

Japablum is a big fan of the Haruki Murakami. He's a truly unique voice on the contemporary literary scene and, best of all, he never has a cartoon image of some skinny bitch shopping and chatting on a cell phone on the cover of his books. Well, the famously shy Murakami has finally submitted to a friendly press grilling in GQ Korea, and Japablum thought both of our readers would want to know.

Japablum first discovered Murakami when we were trolling through a Tokyo bookstore looking for something Japanese to read in English. We found Underground, Murakami's only nonfiction title, a series of interviews he conducted with surviving victims of theTokyo sarin gas attack in 1995. Murakami also talked to ex-members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, the group that organized and executed the bizarre attack. Was the book a total bummer? Absolutely! But very interesting, especially for anyone interested in the Japanese way of looking at/dealing with tragedy.

From that, Japablum moved on to Murakami's fiction. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle are our favorites. Norwegian Wood, the standard Murakami text in Japan that most of the Japanese public is readily familiar with, is our least favorite, but what do we know? We're just a blog.