Discovering Japan

(Wow, the lyrics have a new resonance now…)

It went unmentioned at last night's BQT, but Japan is surely on everyone's minds these past ten days or so. The compounding of tragedies there would be roll-your-eyes, insane-action-movie implausible if it weren't, you know, actually true: earthquake, tsunami, radiation. Where's Charlton Heston when you need him?
I've never been to Japan, and I'm not entirely sure I'd ever want to visit—I'm not the world's most adventurous traveler (I like places that speak English), and I've been told that my own particular brand of irony might not translate that far East. But I nonetheless have a certain attachment to the country and its culture, because when you're a trivia writer, you find yourself thinking and writing an awful lot about the peculiarities of that nation. I mean, really:

Thus, over the years, I've written a lot of trivia questions that reference Japan, so in honor of that great nation—world's third largest economy, mind you—for the next week or so I'll be tweeting my favorite random Japanese factoids for your edificatory pleasure. While I'm at it, I'll periodically remind you of good places you can go to give money to help our pro-wrestling-appreciating friends on the other side of the globe. How about we start with an obvious one? The Red Cross has been all hands on deck for this emergency and so many others; instead of buying that latest manga volume, toss them a few bucks, why don't you?

See you on Twitter; please consider retweeting. And just because I love you…