Sambomaster - Utagoe Yo Okore (Raise the voice of song)

I like this cool band.

(HT to ServantSab3r)

Their song "Sekai wa sore wo ai to yobundaze (That is what the world calls love!)" was used in the ending of the legendary TV drama "Densha Otoko" aired in 2005.

(HT to watzy)

Seven percent of Japanese eat the same food as dogs eat

Japan probe has a hilarious story about a report in the Telegraph, UK.

Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura decided to continue playing football with the Scotish Premier League champions Celtic, instead of returning Japan next season. Fans of rival teams, who are not happy about the decision, are targeting Nakamura with banners and chants saying "Nakamura ate my dog".

According to the Telegraph,

Celtic fans have been getting agitated about a banner brandished by Rangers fans bearing the legend 'Nakamura Ate My Dog'.
(...)
Dog, of course, is a Korean staple - at least, it was in more impoverished times - and the consequence of poor agricultural soil, although a recent survey revealed that seven per cent of Japanese respondents admitted to eating dog food, albeit a top-end brand associated with the British Royal Family. (emphasis mine)

The dog food survey mentioned in the report can be found at What Japan Thinks with the title: "7% of Japanese dog owners eat dog food". However, the title of the blog entry was a joke based on the answer to question 2 in the survey, where 7.1% answered that they feed dogs the same food as humans eat.

Q2: What sort of dog food do you usually buy?

Commercial ordinary dog food	78.1%
Commercial premium dog food	23.3%
Specially hand-made food	4.1%
Same food as humans eat	7.1%
Other	2.4%

Actually the author of What Japan Thinks wrote in the main text an excuse for the sensationalist title.

Please excuse the sensationalist but accurate story title; I’ve found recently that it’s the silly stuff that attracts the punters, and some serious but important surveys have had very little traffic. In fact, there’s a new premium dog food on the market that advertises itself as being not just edible, but in fact tasty for humans too!

It seems the reporter of the Telegraph found the title of What Japan Thinks when he googled to see if Japanese people eat dogs. He was able to find correct information that Japanese do not eat dogs, but perhaps he did not have enough time to read the main text of What Japan Thinks.

By the way, I guess 0.05% or so of Japanese has ever tried dog food.

When I was a high school student, I saw on the street one of my friend coming from the opposite direction. He was eating something in a plastic bag. When we get closer, I was astonished to find that he was eating dog food. He told me that he went to buy dog food for his pet but he was so hungry that he could not help picking up the food on his way home. He gave me one but I didn't dare to eat it.

Although I have never eaten dog food, I have eaten shika-senbei (deer-cracker sold in Nara Park) when I was a high school student. It tasted like taste-less cardboard.

(The videos are via 空)

Russian POP music, Leningrad and Vitas

I happened to find a nice Russian band, Leningrad, while browsing YouTube. The following song is "Raspizdyay" by Leningrad. Although I don't understand a single word of Russian language, I like this song.

(HT to dikodin)

According to Wikipedia, the band, Leningrad, is a Russian ska punk band from Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).

Also found were a sorcerer-like Russian singer, Vitas. I couldn't stop replaying the video again and again when I first found it.

(HT to punjasmine)

The title of the above song is "Opera #2". You can watch many promotion videos of his songs on YouTube, e.g. "Opera #1", "Opera #2" and "Lucia Di Lammermoorr".

Olympic Torch in Shenzhen, China

Meine Sache has a video and photographs of the Torch relay held in Shenzhen on May 5th, 2008. The article is in Japanese language, but the photographs on the page are worth taking a look at. It seems the original article on Asia Sentinel website has been removed.