Japan -- Unlikely and Quirky

Months ago, back in America, Tricia had a conversation with a friend who lived in Japan for a year or two on the same JET program. Her husband was in the military (and flew the Stealth Bomber while stationed in Missouri), and she taught at schools in Okinawa. When asked to describe the Japanese, she had a one-word description: "They're quirky."

I think about this a lot. It came to mind again the other day while reading a story about the big whaling controversy . A Japanese whaling fleet just took off for Antarctica, where they plan to kill humpback whales -- which are protected and were nearly hunted to extinction just a few years back. This didn't strike me as quirky. I found it sad. I mean, give the whales a chance to repopulate. Then we can eat them. I have no problem with folks chowing down on some whale, although, obviously, I expect many Americans do (this led to a conversation this afternoon with my friend Nomi about eating animals with warm personalities. He said he once ate squirrel while living in Tennessee, which tasted like chicken. He also wanted to make it clear that Japanese do not eat dog, adding "They do in China, though. There's a saying 'The Chinese will eat anything but their desk and chair, so they can still work.'"

Anyway, the quirky comment came to mind when reading this graph of the whaling story:

"Families waved little flags emblazoned with smiling whales and the crew raised a toast with cans of beer, while a brass band played "Popeye the Sailor Man."

This, in a sentence, captures Japan for me.