There are times when the only joy I can extract from the work of the Hello!Project costume designers is the thought that they’re an aberration, and that outside of Harajuku, most people involved in costume design in Japan at least try to achieve some sort of tasteful enhancement.

Yeah, well, not so much.

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It’s 10pm on a Friday night. When I open my windows to cool the place down, what do you suppose I hear?

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Just for amusement…

I know you’re in it for the ad impressions and referrals to your horribly-overpriced online store, but when you’re retyping a press release for a new product announcement, could you at least identify the product correctly and link to the goddamn press release. Especially when it includes useful information like a release date and a price.

For instance, today’s little gem is the new Buffalo USB-powered 3-port Ethernet Switch. Note the link to the press release. Note the fact that I correctly describe it as a switch, where you mistakenly called it a hub. This is a difference that may matter to customers.

I’m sure you’ll be selling it at an 80% markup in your store soon, so here’s the Amazon Japan link that’s taking preorders for 15% off with free shipping.

Vlc hits version 1.0. Now they can start working on the user interface!

Congratulations on your new implementation of Usenet. That is, “FAIL”.

The Product: Sylvania 20682 CF13DD/E/827 Double Tube 4 Pin Base Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb

The “active discussions in related forums”:

• (health) My daughter has ulcerative colitis...help!
• (health) how do you get your wife to lose weight?
• (health) Is Spanking a lovable or harmful form of disipline?
• (health) Are Gays and Lesbians a future endangered species?
• (health) How come it burns when I pee?
• (home improvement) Are energy saver halogen bulbs green enough?
• (home improvement) What your local contractor doesn't want you to know.

Just noticed that a translated version of the Asu no Yoichi manga has been released, under the title Samurai Harem.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Meanwhile in Japan, volume 10 is about to hit the street.

Mikako Takahashi is one of many voice actresses (Kasumi Tani from Hand Maid May, Rushuna from Grenadier, etc) who also sings. I’m rather fond of her ED song from HMM (Honto no Kimochi, “My True Feelings”), so when I noticed that she released two albums last year, I added them to my list for a future purchase from Amazon Japan.

I finally got around to buying them, and while my initial impression of the songs is mixed, I can find nothing to dislike about the pictures…

Especially the red dress and the bikini…

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