So this represents the official reactivation of my blog.

Yet another reminder of how frickin weird Japanese culture can be:


Mascot of misery

Thousands are flocking to watch a timid dolphin fail to perform tricks at Tokyo's Aqua Stadium, an aquarium. “Lucky”, as the Pacific white-sided dolphin is known, is the latest creature to win national affection for being a loser—it is part of a grand tradition of noble animal failures that includes a racehorse with the world's longest-ever losing streak.

Many see Lucky as an indicator of Japan's increasing economic polarisation. In a society that is steadily dividing into “haves” and “have-nots”, those who see themselves in the latter category have seized upon animals such as Lucky as mascots. The more tricks the hapless dolphin fails to perform, and the less gracefully he jumps, the more his reputation grows as a talisman of the downtrodden.