dari

No way Hogg! And congrats on your new car.

Got it, thanks for the clarification. Sometimes meanings can be lost without inflections of speech, body language, facial expressions and the like. Do you work in a street shop in Tokyo? And how many are there now?

Why ya'll gotta be making fun of my people all the time?

I have no idea about permanent hair removal, but welcome to LST! I hope people pipe in with good answers for you.

That seems a little harsh, I can't imagine there are too many people who are tattooers or enthusiasts who wouldn't be interested in tattooing in Japan. And I know there are tons of street shops in Tokyo now, but I can't imagine that Japan's changed so much that Byran's experience is that outdated.

That is the way I read the original question, but it wouldn't be the first time I misunderstood something! Bryan, Thanks for all that good info. I remember being told, as to why so-and-so wouldn't bring his Japanese wife around certain situations, that she'd be expected to serve and do certain things that I'd be exempt from as an American woman. He left the monkey part out, but that's a great way of explaining it. It really takes some of the pressure off, to just be seen as a moderately polite and well-behaved monkey! I remember Scott and I were looking for a woodblock print museum, and some young people on the street recognized Scott and called out "Scott Sylbia, Scott Sylbia!" I figured we could ask them directions, and I showed them our map, which was all in English, of course. Unfortunately, Scott asked the question wrong, "It's this way?" Now a Japanese person won't contradict you, and will even let you go the wrong way in the interest of not telling you that you're wrong. It was surprising, in that the two nice young kids let these other two dumb monkeys go two blocks out of the way, just not to tell the monkeys they were wrong. Surprising in that they couldn't let go of the need to be respectful, even though they wanted to be helpful. If we had said, "which way is it?" they could've easily told us, or even shown us, but their etiquette system is so deeply ingrained in their culture. (This was in 2005, if that matters.) I found this guideline for customs and culture in Japan. It is meant for monkey businessmen, but it shows the intensity of their ideals of respect and saving face. Doing Business, Culture, Customs, Etiquette - Japan

@Rockelman, the pics on the last link you posted were amazing, I especially loved this one, thanks!

It's true, this is what I meant. Not that I think the Horishi's are imaginary. I met and had dinner with Horitoshi and the whole Horitoshi family while in Japan, and the experience may have been unreal, but they were quite real. (Scott worked at one of his shops in 2000.) I just meant that there are intricate politics, customs, and traditions involved in tattooing in Japan, and that we don't need to discuss them here, unless a Japanese tattooer wishes to speak up, and I just don't see this happening. Thank you for the history and timeline breakdown, CaptCanada. I've been told that it was a certain American president's fascination with Japanese tattooing that aided in the Japanese Gov't's loosening up on the laws, since he didn't see it as barbaric or an impediment to trade. Has anyone else heard this story, or know which prez it was? Was it Franklin Pierce? He did have a tattoo, and was very interested trade relations with Japan. I know that both Roosevelt and Truman had tattoos, but Truman did authorize dropping the atom bomb, so I doubt it was him. I've also read somewhere that 35 of the first 43 presidents had tattoos, but who could verify such a thing? And while we're on the topic of tattooed presidents, does anyone know what Bush has tattooed on his ass?

Maybe at next LST dinner, if we ever get it together.

It's like Fight Club.

I'm such a sucker, I never doubted it for a second. Then again, I never have doubts regarding human stupidity.

As someone who let a lady two seats down on the last flight I was on get a picture on her phone for her son, yes. She was very nice, and we did have a good conversation, but she most likely would not've been talking to my husband, and the issue of a picture most certainly would not have come up.

Here's a picture of our dear friend Hubert, and some more of his side of the story, plus some other goodies: Buster | The Smoking Gun

Nick, I'm currently playing a game where I'm just the nanny, and Henry and Adeline's real parents will be here to pick them up any minute now. Knowing that I only need to keep them happy until they get picked up takes some of the pressure off!

There was no way around it. But yes, I did. And for this guy to suggest that he didn't get his money's worth is laughable to me, sounds like he got a pretty good deal. I'd say $100 per minute is what the girls of the future should charge good old drunken Hubert. Maybe she'll bring a bad breath countersuit?

I've mentioned to my husband that I wanted to get my hands done, and straight up told me no (which isn't something he does often) because I hadn't earned it yet.

Deb, I'm not meaning to argue with you, it's just that this type of infantile self-entitlement really irritates me. I guess it'll all boil down to contract law in Nevada. He obviously had some kind of contract with the escort service, but he then entered into a new oral contract with the woman herself. Its like whenever I made any changes (more/less minutes, new phone, whatever) to my old Sprint phone account, they would always say, at a later date, that I had entered into a new 2 yr. contract, although I hadn't actually orally agreed to or signed a physical 2 yr. contract in over 8 years. They just took that liberty, and had the lawyers and fine print to back it up. This pissed me off, so I paid the $300 "early contract termination fee," and stopped ordering hookers from them. I'm sure, in the escort's mind, the new contract was that she did the sexual favor and got to leave when it was over. It probably never occurred to her that this needed to be spelled out. I bet if he had said, "I need you to hold my hand until I fall asleep" or whatever, she'd have said, "Well, Mr. Weirdo-pants, that'll be $X more." If I were feeling any compassion for this Hubert Blackman yutz whatsoever, I guess I'd feel bad that he's humiliated his family and ruined any chances of dating or gainful employment, at least until he changes his name. Maybe $1.8 million in damages have been done, if somehow you could place a value on his life before he ruined it himself. Maybe he should sue his parents for letting him grow up with this disgusting sense of entitlement and need for vengeance. On the other hand, if I were in the habit of going to Vegas and hiring private escorts, this company would be the first one I'd call, just for novelty's sake. I hope their business triples. And I hope the woman in question, quite possibly a single mom as so many escorts are, doesn't suffer any more than she already has as a result of a regretful Hubert Blackman.

I did edit my "about me" on here after "pulling info" from FB, it did automatically change a few things. Ironically, my "about me" now told visitors less, I don't have too much personal info on FB. I think this will be a cool feature in the long run!

@ Nick Guilty as charged.

But he did get the drugs, in the drug dealer analogy. According to Blackman's own allegations, "An escort did an illegal sexual act on me during her paid service to me'' and "I almost had gotten arrested." The $1.8 million sum he's seeking is because he "now needs medical treatment for a mental condition related to the incident." (Maybe that's what the therapist said they'd need to treat him?) It's more like he's suing the drug dealer because he called the police and told them he wasn't happy with the quality of the drugs, and the police said "Hey, drugs are illegal, maybe you should call the Better Business Bureau." The police actually advised him to call the BBB, they didn't pistol whip him.

If we were comparing it to pizza delivery, I'd say that it were more comperable to getting your pizza 1/2 hour after they said they'd deliver it. Yes, they wasted your time, you were hungry, or drunk and lonely in this moron's case. But he did get his pizza AND his breadsticks, he got the lapdance AND the sex act. She left AFTER the sex act was performed. He said that he was too drunk to negotiate at the time, she probably assumed that her work there was done, most guys don't need a hooker to hang around for another half hour after the deed is done. If it were just a lapdance situation, then the length of time would be relevant, but prostitution has a different set of customs that are generally understood and agreed upon by most Johns. Why would she need to hang around after some "too drunk to negotiate" guy gets off? ("Blackman said he also told the company he was incapable of making an informed agreement with the stripper because he was drunk at the time."- Las Vegas Sun.) If he wasn't capable of saying, "No, baby, please don't go, I think I love you" at the time, is he really owed $1.8 million for his buyer's remorse gone wild? Is he claiming that he can't be held accountable because he was drunk? If he wins, all drunk drivers who kill someone in Nevada can refer to this case in their defense. Wait until he tries to get a job post college, and his future employer googles him. Who's going to hire someone known for drunken illegal sex acts and frivolous lawsuits?

Okay, get what he is charged for, but what's the extra $1.8 million for?

OMG, one hit right after the other. What's going on in NM? Too much fluoride in the water?