Dr. Mario Commercial

Anyone who came of age in the 1980s knows that Mario's given profession was a plumber, but apparently he did a lot of other jobs on the side. This time around he's acting as an MD, prescribing (or throwing) pills into a pool full of rabbit-like germs. Weirdness abounds!

Ultraman = Scatman

This has nothing to do with bathroom related porn and everything to do with Ultraman covering the Scatman John tune, "Scatman".

Noodle-bar robber pays bill before getaway

Yahoo News gives us this story of a fairly considerate armed robber in Japan.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Police are looking for a robber who held up a noodle bar in
western Japan then paid for his meal and waited for his change before making
off.

The young man ate a bowl of "ramen" noodles and a side order of
fried chicken at a restaurant in the city of Osaka on Wednesday then produced a
knife and forced a waitress to hand over takings of 46,000 yen ($393), the
Sports Nippon newspaper said.

When the woman demanded he pay for his
meal, the robber gave her 1,000 yen and waited for his 100 yen change before
running away, the paper said.

Denroku Choco Party Commercial

Woman bouncing up and down while wearing a bikini. Rock, scissors, paper. Seems like a perfectly logical way to sell chocolate to me.

Man steals 5,000 pairs of shoes to savor the odor

The Mainichi Daily News offers up this story of a dude stealing children's shoes to sniff.

NAGOYA -- A man suspected of stealing about 5,000 pairs of shoes in order to enjoy their odor has been arrested, police said Wednesday.

"I was enjoying their smell," Masashi Kamata, 28, a resident of Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, was quoted as telling investigators. "Indoor shoes for school sexually stimulate me. I couldn't throw away the shoes I obtained."

In the specific case for which he was arrested, Kamata stole two pairs of shoes from a girl that were being dried on the premises of her home in Owariasahi, Aichi, in September last year.

Local police confiscated about 5,000 pairs of school indoor shoes for girls and boys from a warehouse he had rented in Moriyama-ku on Wednesday.

Police had received numerous complaints that indoor shoes have been stolen in Moriyama-ku and surrounding areas.

Investigators suspect that Kamata stole the shoes from shoe cabinets at schools and homes, and are trying to seek further charges against him. (Mainichi)

Vacuum Cleaner Commercial

Fake Ultraman...I guess she would be Ultramom, battles a dirt monster in this 1970s commercial attempting to sell vacuum cleaners.

Dragon Quest II

Dragon Quest was a series known in America as Dragon Warrior. After a chance purchase of the orginal game, I was hooked. Dragon Quest II (aka Dragon Warrior II) really cemented my addiction to not only the series, but to role playing games in general. Thanks a lot Dragon Quest II...you asshole!

Anyhow, this a commerical from Japan for the classic game that pretty much consumed much of my childhood.