"there's a black car parked at the side of the road / don't go to the door, don't go to the door"

[larryhammer]

Like ahorbinski, I'm often iffy on coverage of Japan by the New York Times, and the article she points to on the continuing social effects of Japan's persistent deflation is indeed a mixed bag: some stock reportage, some digging deeper. But it fits right in with a couple other links I've been meaning to post, such as this other report about Japan's still lost generation (via) as a possible model of what happens during long-term economic stagnation, and men turning into grass-eaters.

Almost as fascinating+depressing as reading about the mortgage industry crisis part deux: breaking the chain of titles. I leave linking that to elsewhere: "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."

So as a pick-me-up, I linked to this a few years ago, but I remember it fondly enough to do so again: Flight Attendant Dance.

---L.