Iain Duncan Smith and the Meme-ification of Politics
This week, Iain Duncan Smith made an offhand remark claiming he could live on £53 a week – the level of income some will find themselves receiving following his recent housing benefit cuts. Little did More...
Baka Gaijin: All Downhill From Here.
It’s been said that if God had intended Texans to ski he would’ve given them mountains. Well, the kami in their infinite wisdom have shown no such restraint with Japan and have bestowed it with some More...
Baka Gaijin – Guys, Can We All Stop Being So Damned Racist???
So, I’m riding the train through the suburbs of Tokyo when we pull up at a station. The blast of cold morning air as the doors slide open makes me wish I still had a ¥100 can of coffee. Blank faces shuffle More...
Six Nations Round Up: Week 2
It’s hard to draw conclusions from the opening week of any Six Nations championship. One game does not make a form-book. Crushing defeats are written off as flukes and cobweb shaking, whilst victories are More...
Five films you should see this week: Valentine’s Special, part 1
As Valentine’s day approaches, the same questions are being asked all over the country: What should I buy my significant other? What restaurant should I pick? What if I can’t find a date and have to More...
Baka Gaijin – Snowkyo
One of my favourite pieces of pub trivia is that Mount Fuji, in spite of looking like it was painted onto the background during a particularly low-budget play, is the tallest active volcano in the world. I mention More...
The 10 best albums of 2012
So then, farewell Twenty-Duz. I will always remember you as something of a disappointment – the illusion of monarchy was shattered by the realisation that they have boobs and bums, Battleship somehow failed More...
Five films to see this week- Christmas special
Ahh, the Christmas holidays – the time of year where it is acceptable to pour yourself a large brandy and watch as many movies as an erratic shut-in like myself. I could spend this column outlining the More...
Baka Gaijin VI: A Coin for a Cat
If the director of “Son of Mask” is to be believed, and the world is divided into two irreconcilable camps, then I’d have to admit I’m a cat person. Not that I have anything against dogs- More...
Baka Gaijin V: It’s Only a Joke!
Every year , the Japanese publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha compiles its list of the top buzzwords and phrases in Japanese for the last 12 months. Absent-mindedly browsing the list, I came across a phrase I found peculiar- More...