In re: the benefits of Japan's Idol Singer system

[Foxboy]

In Japan, if a "teen idol" type of singer is disgraced, her single act that tarnished her is her last appearance in the media.
Unlike Britney Spears who is yet again having as breakdown....
Grrr.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Ankhani]

Well, if Americans don't have anything to just sit and watch, then they might (gasp) actually get up and do something!
I'm sure you know that no one wants that...
The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."
-Analects Book V, Chaper XXVI
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The Master said: "It is all in vain! I have never yet seen a man who can perceive his own faults and bring the charge home against himself."

>Analects: Book V, Chaper XXVI

[SkyeFire]

I'm reminded of the old joke that God created whiskey to keep the Irish from taking over the world (I'm part Irish, I can get away with making that joke).
So, the answer is obvious: God gave the Irish whiskey, he gave Americans Reality TV. Or maybe just pop culture in general.
The Russians got vodka. And chess. And Tolstoy -- I mean, c'mon, after reading that for Russian Lit class, any Russian bright enough to later lead the rodina in conquering the world would slit their own wrists....
The Japanese got catgirls. And they're perfectly convinced they got the better end of the bargain, even if the cargirls are still video-only creatures as yet. Real Catgirls, like nuclear fusion, are only thirty years away....
The British... well, have you ever *tasted* British "quisine"?
The French got a national Napoleon complex.
The Spaniards got Mexico. Utterly ruined them in the empire-building business. If your economy is based on gold, importing massive amounts of it from elsewhere is just debasing your currency.
The Mongols got democracy before communication technology made it practical. No, seriously -- that was the entire reason the Mongol Empire fell apart: when Temujin (Genghis Kahn) died, the *entire* Golden Horde had to go all the way back home in order to vote for a new Kahn. By the time they did that and got back, it was all over but the shouting...
(Lessee, now -- are there any *more* nations I can insult? )

[ECSNorway]

Well, Germany got Bureaucracy.... --
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[robkelk]

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The British... well, have you ever *tasted* British "quisine"?

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I happen to like British cuisine.

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(Lessee, now -- are there any *more* nations I can insult? )

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Canada got a reputation as peacekeepers, and believed it ourselves. We can't invade anybody because "we've never been warriors"... never mind Dieppe, or the Moro River, or D-Day (the only footage from the beaches of Normandy on D-Day is Canadian; the US footage is from after the landing), or Kapyong, or many other campaigns where Canadian forces distinguished themselves in battle.
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[WengFook]

Rob Kelk said

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I happen to like British cuisine.

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Ditto... and I've certainly got no British blood in me _______________________________
"Walls are meant to be broken." - Makes sense figuratively and literally.
"Asuka is angry with me, All's Right with the world." -Shinji Ikari, Once More With Feeling.
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.