And So It Goes

Merry Finger-Lickin'-Good Christmas from Colonel Santa!

It's Christmas, so here's an old photo of that symbol of a traditional Japanese Christmas: fried chicken.

No, seriously. Many years ago, the marketing geniuses -- and I do not use that term ironically -- at Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan started a campaign to convince Japanese consumers that a traditional Christmas dish is fried chicken. They succeeded wildly, not only to the point that people now need to make reservations to pick up their fried chicken on Christmas Day at "Kentucky" (as the place is nicknamed) and that they've expanded the product range to include "premium roasted chicken" on that day, but also that convenience stores and other fast-food chains have gotten into the act, also offering that traditional Christmas chicken.

Which explains why, last night, the 7-11 near my house had a table set up outside in the dark, displaying the Christmas cakes (another, albeit non-KFC, Christmas tradition) and the chicken, sold by three 7-11 employees, one in a Santa suit and the other two dressed as reindeer.

(The chicken didn't seem to be fried, but grilled, with a sweetish teriyaki sauce on top. Pretty tasty, actually.)

As for The Colonel above: there's a statute of him permanently outside every KFC in Japan, but he only wears the  Santa suit at Christmas time. (There's a purely Japanese holiday where he dons a colorful suit of samurai armor, but that's something for another post.)

Some photos of Mt. Fuji at sunset

I just happened to be pedaling by the Tamagawa Sengen shrine at the right time yesterday. It was a bitterly cold day, but being winter the air is clear enough to see Mount Fuji from Tokyo properly.

Yes, I'm a sucker for sunsets.

See the rest at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calton/sets/72157622916358671/

Legal thinking, no. Chutzpah, yes.

Hmm, according to this item from Boing Boing, former South Dakota State Representative and convicted rapist Ted Alvin Klaudt is claiming that the very use of his name without permission is a copyright infringement, and that anyone using the name of former South Dakota State Representative and convicted rapist Ted Alvin Klaudt without prior written authorization owes him money. According to the news story:

A letter and an accompanying document labeled ''Common Law Copyright Notice'' said former state Rep. Ted Alvin Klaudt is reserving a common-law copyright of a trade name or trademark for his name. It said no one can use his name without his consent, and anyone who does would owe him $500,000...

The letter said anyone seeking to use Klaudt's name would have to file a written request 20 days in advance. It also said he would pursue charges and other legal action against anyone who violated the notice.

Doesn't sound like like legal theory is this guy's strong suit, though chutzpah apparently is. But given that former South Dakota State Representative and convicted rapist Ted Alvin Klaudt is a guest of the state of South Dakota -- and will be for the next 52 years -- I'm not overly worried about the consequences of having forgotten to send him a written request. Besides, I'm pretty sure inmates don't have Internet access.

You can probably already guess what political party former South Dakota State Representative and convicted rapist Ted Alvin Klaudt belonged to.

(Odd factoid about this story: former South Dakota State Representative and convicted rapist Ted Alvin Klaudt's current home is the Mike Durfee State Prison -- which was formerly the University of South Dakota, Springfield before it was closed and converted into a prison. Not relevant, just odd.)