Is SMAP entering a creepy Michael Jackson phase?

I feel alternate disgust and pity for SMAP, Japan’s original boy band from the early 1990s. Each year, they release new CDs, sell stuff in ads, and hog a lot of TV time. But it’s increasingly clear that with each year, the band members are desperately trying to subtract a year from their appearances. It’s unsettling to see these 40 year olds posing as teenagers.

In their recent appearance on the New Years Eve Kouhaku show, they did not dance, sang very poorly, and basically showed no interest in performing. Does evil Johnny prevent them from just retiring? At least they are keeping the Photoshop jockeys in business.

Asashoryu retires!

Mongolian bad boy sumo wrestler Asashoryu retires. Last month he won his 25th Emperor’s Cup, making him the third most successful wrestler of all time. The reason he retired is because he broke someone’s nose at a nightclub. His given name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj.

I’ll miss his corpulent body and bad boy behavior!