Fujiyama beer

A week ago we took a drive out to Fuji-kyu Highland for a visit to their Thomas Land park. It was a blast. You should definitely go if your youngster loves Thomas.

One of the benefits of taking a break between jobs in Japan is the chance to travel around a bit. While I was unemployed, I took frequent trips up to Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area. I became quite familiar with the drive from Kawaguchi-ko to Yamanaka-ko.

Smack-dab in the middle of the way between these two lakes is a Michi-no-eki (route station) where they sell all sorts of locally-produced souvenirs. Just a hop away from the michi-no-eki is Fujiyama Brewery. Despite the so-so reviews at ratebeer.com, the brewery is a welcome respite after driving for 2 and a half hours of stop and go traffic on the Chuo-expressway.

I picked up 3 1-liter cans this time. 2 dunkels for myself and 1 pils for sharing. The pils, as I have come to expect, was uninteresting. The dunkel which I'm drinking tonight is also pretty basic. There is a lot of honey infused giving it a very sweet taste and a lingering aftertaste.

I don't know if I'm sold on it, but at 2 in the morning after a long night's work, it's hitting the spot.

Flag designs and client comments

Found this over at Metafilter. It's what happens when you let the customer give too much input into your designs for their products.

Flags with client comments

I particularly liked Liberia's redesign.

Tasteless, but appetizing

I know I shouldn't be lured into this kind of thing, but O.J. Simpson's book If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer is just begging me to buy. Currently it is #76 on Amazon's top 100 list, but I expect that it will be climbing pretty quickly as it becomes more widely known that it is available.

What is it with this case that makes it such a voyeuristic pleasure? Is it Simpson, the fallen from grace hero? Is it Nicole, the beautiful victim? Is it Fred Goldman, the vengeful father?

It's hard to believe that the murder happened over 13 years ago. It's incredible to think that it is still imprinted on our culture this long afterwards.