February 12, 2009

"Speaking of Japan my neighbor was in Japan and everywhere he went Japanese people yelled Yes We Can at him."

"I guess because he is an American. He said this lasted an entire week. Restaurants, stores, on the street, everywhere, Yes We Can. How scary."

So says Titus, who lies some unknown percentage of the time. Truth or lie, that's hilarious. Any other reports of Americans abroad receiving "Yes, we can" greetings? If so, surely, it must have fallen out of fashion by now.

AFTERTHOUGHT: The day may/will/has come when "Yes, we can" is a sarcastic taunt.

IN THE COMMENTS: Awesome said:
This explains it:


Wow!

Titus says:
This I actually did not lie about. This is the neighbor that I hate and resent because he is richer, cuter and younger than me. But I would do him except for the fact that he is straight. Remember I wrote about his 6 week "holiday" during Christmas.
Well, that certainly substantiates your story!

23 comments:

rhhardin said...

Japan is not a real country.

Awesome said...

This explains it

Moose said...

Might already be a sarcastic comment - who's to know?

I think the US will go from being a "rogue state" to an "absurd state" fairly quickly.

TitusLetTheSunshineIn said...

This I actually did not lie about. This is the neighbor that I hate and resent because he is richer, cuter and younger than me. But I would do him except for the fact that he is straight. Remember I wrote about his 6 week "holiday" during Christmas.

TitusLetTheSunshineIn said...

This happened during Christmas time so maybe it has fallen out of fashion. He also told me that Japan is a financial wreck now so maybe they are over the Yes We Can at this point.

Now that I think about it I really don't lie that much. The sex stories are at least true. As well as the family and Wisconsin stories. And loaf and hog stories.

Michael Haz said...

I doubt that I'll understand the Japanese "Yes We Can" phenomena. I still haven't figured out the whole "Hello Kitty" thing.

It's a cultural thing. Japanese are probably puzzled by Americans wearing foam cheeseheads.

TitusLetTheSunshineIn said...

And the rare clumber stories. I am looking into their eyes right now. Dreamy...I am in love with them.

Last night I had a dream I was on a sex train and everyone was doing everyone on the train. Some of the people I was doing were my high school classmates. Weird, maybe because I just got a 20th reunion invite which I will not attend-I would never attend that reunion. They were really mean to me and I dislike them.

MadisonMan said...

Maybe all those Japanese were Ball Mason Jar representatives.

Michael Haz said...

Although I do like the idea of a people randomly yelling Yes We Can.

It's far more optimistic than yelling We're Totally Fucked, which is what one is likely to hear in America this morning.

TMink said...

Hmmm. They apparently have actual journalists in Japan. Can we teach a few English?

Trey

TitusLetTheSunshineIn said...

I just took the rare clumbers down for a walk.

Another true story...there was a purple sequin in the elevator. It was very pretty.

I went to Tokyo once for work and felt like I was in a cartoon. Seriously everyone running around it reminded me of a really fucked up cartoon.

Anonymous said...

If any Japanese try the "Yes we can" thing on you I recommend you retaliate with "We won."

Hayes said...

hmmm...I have lived in Japan now for almost a year and have never had anyone tell me "yes we can."

now, there is a city called Obama Japan, and I have seen those shirts everywhere.

Kylos said...

The day has already come. My favorite ditty is:

Barack Obama, can he fix it?
Barack Obama, YES HE CAN!

Think Bob the Builder.

Singing it in a cartoon voice really brightens my day when I start despairing at the fact that gross inexperience and (supposedly) positive thinking are running this country. Savior Barack to the rescue; he doesn't need to rely on the old worn principles of fiscal responsibility or ethical governance, just let him touch the problem and it will all be better.

George M. Spencer said...

The old saying is that you have to be born Japanese to be Japanese, and I believe it.

+

Visited the Yakusuni military shrine in Tokyo. A museum of Japanese military history.

On the way in I passed a group of neatly attired elderly men posing to have their picture taken. All waved small Rising Sun flags, a banner you never see in Japan.

I was glad that they were elderly, and that I was young.

Automatic_Wing said...

Obama impersonators in blackface are not uncommon on Japanese variety shows and "Yes we can" is pretty much all they say. Funny stuff.

Anonymous said...

I was in Morocco in early November. Every cab driver we had asked us how we were voting and then recited, without irony, "Yes we can!"

former law student said...

Savior Barack to the rescue; he doesn't need to rely on the old worn principles of fiscal responsibility or ethical governance

They may be old but they can't be worn -- they've been packed in cosmoline since the Eisenhower administration.

Kylos said...

They may be old but they can't be worn -- they've been packed in cosmoline since the Eisenhower administration.

Well, true, Bush didn't seem to believe in them, either.

JAL said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JAL said...

As I mentioned elsewhere last night, Jimmy Kimmel played the Japanese TV cut with the "Obama" person and "Yes we can!" flashing across the screen.

I was like "huh?"

blake said...

The Japanese are earth's LSD trip.

CarmelaMotto said...

Hayes - Have you been out of Tokyo much? I don't know where Titus'neighbor was visiting in Japan, but when I was in cities and towns outside of Tokyo, I was treated like a movie star. I mean, I nearly considered moving to some of these places because it was pretty cool to be cheered at while walking down the street, but my friend (who lived in Tokyo) convinced me that the novelty of "me" would wear off and they would be focused on a new tourist. So I came back to the states.

Seriously. Like a rock star. I don't think they see to many geijin outside of Tokyo (my friend's theory). We walked into a hotel in Kobe and as we approached the front desk, the staff smiled and said "Rinda?!" My friend's name is Linda. So...

And I had a bus full of Japanese men (arriving for a business conference at the hotel I was staying in while in Nikko) yell HOORAY when I told them I was from America (my friend had to translate - rolling her eyes).

So, yes. Odd, but one interesting vacation.