Brian Ashcraft's discussions

It's genius, really. Read more

Something like that, yeah. Read more

Yeah, I was gonna add this one:

Yeah, people online in Japan were making fun of the cogs for that, saying someone at Asahi was doing it on purpose. Doubt it, but that would be funny if true! Read more

Adding, thnx! Read more

No. I am being dead serious. Read more

Like this! Or this!

You'd be hand-pressed to find a better one. Read more

I'd say that is more true about houses built in the Post War years, as they were getting stuff up as fast as they could. The build quality for houses and apts today, which are built to withstand earthquakes and whatnot, is quite different. Read more

Here's a ID reader for beer. But yeah, in the past, they relied more on kids not being able to buy beer from vending machines simply because they would be seen by other adults.

You're carded. But, for example, you need a special pass to buy cigarettes: http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifest… Read more

Looks like it! Nice eye. Read more

Well, thanks! :) Honestly, it's a nuanced subject that Japan is often poor at explaining and one that people outside the country really don't take the time to understand. Read more

Most Japanese people don't ponder the deeper points of Buddhism, either. Most don't know if they're families are Jodo-shu, Jodo-shinshu, Nichiren, or whatever until they go to a family funeral. Japanese people are pretty open about religion—much more than, say, other Western countries are. Or countries elsewhere in… Read more

Well, obviously she's hoarding them all, or we'd get two or three. Read more

Yeah. Pretty much. Read more

Nah. This is new. It's a puzzle attraction with zombies. Read more

Let you down. Read more

That one was pretty bad, too. T_T Read more

That's untrue that most Japanese don't follow Shintoism. Unless you are the one percent (or so) of the country that is Christian, chances are you were blessed at a Shinto shrine as a baby. If you are a girl, then you are blessed again at the ages of 3 and 7. Boys are blessed again at the age of 5. Read more