Oh the Shame!

Last night I met a new friend visiting from Japan. It was his last night in town, and the group I was with spent much of the evening talking about music and cultural differences. At some point I brought up my personal obsession with competitive eating star Takeru Kobabayashi (world record holder for hot dog eating with 53 1/2 in 12 minutes), and after working through the comprehension issues, Masa (the new Japanese friend) said "He is like a shame for us." Crestfallen is really just not the word for how I felt at that moment. Kobayashi as Japan's Paris Hilton? Say it ain't so! I suppose excess isn't as highly-regarded there as it is here (well, at least with me anyway). Don't worry Kobayashi, spanning_time's still got your back.