It’s so great to be asked to blog for Adrienne’s awesome site today. Thanks, Adrienne.

It’s super exciting to have a novel come out, I have to say. My fourth published book, BIG IN JAPAN, is now making its attack on the reading world. The plot is this: big fat Texan guy, Buck Cooper, is invisible in his lame life, until he goes to Japan and accidentally becomes the first blond sumo wrestler.

People have asked me where this idea came from. I’m a short mom of five with no athletic ability. “Write what you know” didn’t come into play for the sumo parts of this plot. However, I did have a great time during college living in Japan for a year and a half, and I drew from those days to help craft this novel. Adrienne asked me to tell Japan stories. I could go on all day!

I fell head over heels in love with Japan. Chiba—home of Narita Airport and the Chiba Marins baseball team and Tokyo Disneyland—was where I lived first. Several different people told me Tokyo Disneyland was built atop a landfill—I guess meaning land dredged up out of the Tokyo Bay. Unfortunately, I never got to go, but I did see the Tokyo Bay on a long bike ride one winter night. Across the bay we could see, through the blood-red haze, the dark outline of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s most famous peak. Pretty stark!

Later I moved to downtown Tokyo. There were exciting things like slam trains—where officers down in the subway wear white gloves and shove additional passengers into crammed train cars at rush hour. The Japanese know how to capitalize on tight spaces. A house adjacent to my apartment building was so narrow I could stretch out my arms (all five measly feet) and span it.

One fun thing was reading the oddly phrased English words on merchandise. One t-shirt I saw had a picture of a cartoon tortoise with the caption, “His mustache is so proud of him.” Brilliant. Another gem was a Hessian-style black helmet (the kind with the spike on top) dangling from the handlebar of a motorcycle parked outside a ramen shop. It was decorated with a skull and crossbones and the words, “Speak English or die.”

Food! Japan has tofu and sashimi (the real name for raw fish, in case anyone cares), but easily the most exotic thing I ate (under peer pressure) was a cricket. They sold them in the grocery stores in a Styrofoam plate with plastic wrap over them. Never would I have dreamed of buying one to eat myself, but I was at an English class one night and someone brought them, probably to pressure the gaijins (foreigners) into tasting them. I was game. And yeah, it was crunchy. The taste was all soy sauce and sugar, which was what my particular cricket was fried in. But I have to admit the prickly leg did kind of stick to the back of my tongue and made it hard to choke down.

Afterward, I asked why on earth that was considered food, and I learned a good lesson. After World War II, the economy of the country was devastated. Their food supply had all gone to the soldiers, I was told, and the rice paddies weren’t producing. There was widespread starvation. For many, the only way to survive was to forage in the mountains for crickets. The protein in the insects kept them alive.

Eating that cricket made me pretty grateful for the huge abundance I’d always known and the people who sacrificed so much to keep themselves and their culture and their country afloat despite great hardship.

My grandpa lived in Japan with his wife and 6 kids during the 1950s. He was really excited when I told him I was going to Tokyo. He helped me overcome my fears of living there—especially when he pulled out his slide projector and his gorgeous pictures of the millions of autumn leaves and the zillions of pink spring cherry blossoms flittering down from the trees. The cherry blossom represents the fleetingness of life, and I reflect that even though my time there felt long, it was fleeting. Here’s hoping someday I’ll get to go back and show my own family the resilient and beautiful islands of Japan. Maybe everyone should! (Or at least read BIG IN JAPAN to take a reader’s trip to the Land of the Rising Sun.)

Jennifer Griffith lives in Arizona with her husband and five kids. You can read more about her novel at BIG IN JAPAN. She also blogs. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Who are some of the most popular cartoon characters of all time? What are their defining features, and why do they deserve to be on the list? Making any kind of list involving cartoon characters is going to mean being selective, and leaving out some deserving characters. The list below is a sample of some of the more varied and iconic characters that have formed an important part of animation history, and can be viewed as influencing a number of other trends. From Disney icon Mickey Mouse to Bugs Bunny, and including Wile E. Coyote, Homer Simpson, and Tom & Jerry, these characters are known the world over, and are discussed in more detail below:

5 – Mickey Mouse

Disney’s mascot made his first appearance in the 1928 short Steamboat Willie, and has gone on to appear in over a hundred shorts, with notable appearances in 1940’s Fantasia. However, Mickey has been less a film star than a brand connecting different television shows, video games, comics, and merchandising ideas. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the most prominent faces of Disney theme parks, and Mickey is among the most merchandised characters in Disney history.

4 – Wile E. Coyote

Wile E.Coyote, and his fruitless attempts to catch the Road Runner, has been the star of 48 cartoons since his first appearance in a 1948 Warner Brothers short. The character was created to be part of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, and was defined by his ongoing frustrations, and use of elaborate devices from the ACME Company. Wile E. has also been a part of numerous shorts, Internet specials, and part live action films involving the Looney Tunes, all speaking to his iconic status and put upon identity.

3 – Homer Simpson

After more than 20 years, Homer Simpson remains perhaps the most memorable face of The Simpsons, eclipsing the early popularity of Bart. Voiced by Dan Castellaneta, Homer is the American everyman, combining his work at Springfield Nuclear Power Planet with sweet, but often misguided efforts to deal with his family. Homer is one of the most fascinating cartoon characters, equal parts alcoholic, loving father, and drawn into everything from space flight to 3D representation. Over the years Homer has become an honourary citizen of Winnipeg, Canada, and the face of multiple commercials.

2 – Tom & Jerry

This cartoon cat and mouse were created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera while working at the MGM animation unit. 114 shorts were produced between 1940 and 1957, with the cat and mouse being revived for new cartoons and television series from 1960 under a new creative team that included Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones. The popularity and inventiveness of the duals between the cat and mouse led to a feature film in the 1990s, and a more recent revival of the characters for Tom and Jerry Tales on the Cartoon Network.

1 – Bugs Bunny

One of the most iconic animated characters, Bugs Bunny was created in 1938 by Leon Schlesinger as a grey hare with a trickster personality and a New Yorker accent. Originally part of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, appearing as a supporting character in Elmer’s Pet Rabbit and Wild Hare, Bugs graduated to his own shorts, which showcased his ‘eh…what’s up, doc?’ catchphrase. Bugs went on to become an iconic character in multiple films and specials, as well as the face of the Looney Tunes brand around the world.

Sebastian is currently working with Cartoon Network, the home to your favourite Cartoons. They are currently promoting their website which allows you to watch cartoons online. Perfect for the kids and the whole family.

Our name is usually one of the first things we tell people when we meet them. For most people this is not an issue, especially if you have a relatively common name such as Jane Taylor, Michael Brown or Sam Anderson. 100 years ago, there was a small pool of names from which most babies in the UK were named but nowadays you can call your baby practically anything. People who have less common names like Trixibelle, Araminta or Zowie may be less confident about introducing themselves and having to go through the same lengthy explanation about their name for the thousandth time. Changing your name is easy and quick, and thousands do it every year for a variety of reasons.

Glamour

In the heyday of Hollywood, it was standard practice to change actors names to make them sound more attractive and glamorous. Would Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire and Judy Garland have been as successful if they had stuck to their birth names of Norma Jean Baker, Frederick Austerlitz or Frances Gumm? Although modern day movie stars are more likely to use their real names, there are still a few notable exceptions such as Tom Cruise, who was born as Thomas Mapother. Movie stars have to have names which trip off the tongue, are easy to spell and are memorable. Cruise fits these criteria much better than Mapother.

Linguistics

America is known as the world’s melting point, and there are names of many different nationalities found its major cities. Many well-known people have changed their names simply to make them more recognizable and easy to spell. The famous designer felt his Ralph Lauren Denim & Supply line would sell better under that name than under his birth surname of Lipschitz. For similar reasons, cosmetics industry entrepreneur Helena Rubenstein changed her first name from Chaja.

Weird and Wacky

Of course, some people feel forced into changing their names because their parents have lumbered them with very odd or wacky names. David Bowie’s son Zowie soon grew tired of people making fun of his rhyming name, and took the decision to change it to the far more normal Duncan. Another rockstar’s daughter with a wacky name is Memphis, daughter of U2’s Bono. Luckily, her middle name is Eve so she uses that rather than Memphis.

Process

In the UK, changing your name legally is simple and quick, and just involved filling in a few forms. You are legally entitled to call yourself whatever you like, and all you have to do is inform your bank, employer and so on of your new title. Birth certificates cannot be changed however, and you cannot change your name into something which is offensive. Brands and companies often do not take kindly to people using their protected trademarks, so there may be legal difficulties ahead for people wanting to call themselves Coca-Cola or Ralph Lauren Denim & Supply, for example. Changing names should never be done on a whim as the decision may be regretted after a matter of days.

Citations:

• Image courtesy of RockyandNelson

On the Jeanstore website you can find all the great brands for the trendy male wardrobe, such as Ralph Lauren Denim & Supply.

Sleep, sleep, sleep…that wonderful feeling when our head hits the pillow and we drift off to the land of nod. When we actually stop to think about it, sleep is an insane concept. One third of our entire lives are spent in this altered state with our eyes closed. We are completely oblivious to the outside world and yet sleep is not empty. Instead it is full of that inner universe our dreams and subconscious create. Whatever sleep and dreams are, they form a huge part of our lives. In simple terms, sleep can be seen as a magical mix of unusual dreams and recharging our bodily batteries for another day. However, to make things even more captivating, here are seven crazy facts about life under the covers…

What the Duck?

Ducks are no ordinary sleepers. In fact, these curious critters are masters at sleeping with one eye open. Except for a minor alteration… they actually sleep with ‘one brain open’. To ensure their survival, ducks can keep one half of their brain awake while the other half is asleep.  Just imagine if we could do this, power naps at the office would be a walk in the park!

Ladies Night

Now, this evidence isn’t concrete, but there are a fair number of studies that suggest women need up to an hour’s extra shut-eye compared to men. You women may even be more susceptible to depression if you don’t nab this extra hour, so keep your head down and your chin up!

Young at Heart

Older people can deal with sleep deprivation better than younger people, with 18-24 year olds much more likely to suffer from impaired performance due to lack of sleep than their older, wiser counterparts. However, it could be due to all that sleeping the oldies do when they’re pretending to watch TV.

Wired on Wireless

The world’s leading experts in sleep research believe that one of the greatest distractions from our sleepy havens is the internet and its relentless 24/7 distraction capabilities.

Kept in the Dark

Practically everything we know about sleep has come from research conducted over the last quarter of a century. Just imagine what we’ll know in 25 years from now!

Final Snore

Around 1 in 10 serial snorers actually have sleep apnea, which is a condition that can cause sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times in just one night’s sleep. This disorder greatly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

From Stressed to Dressed

If you’re one of those people who seems to wake up on time without an alarm clock, then chances are you’re making use of your ‘in-built alarm clock’, which is really just a healthy injection of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin into you’re your bloodstream. Apparently, this chemical injection reflects the unconscious anticipation of the stress caused by waking up!

Stuart Withers is an internet author and online marketing whiz kid, who’s also a bit of a self-proclaimed ‘sleep junkie’. If he’s not typing, painting, or helping a business with their online marketing, then expect to find him neatly tucked away under a duvet somewhere. He recommends Landmark Linen, just because they sell mattress enhancers, which,  quite frankly, are awesome!

Writing this post might date me a bit, but when I was in high school, one of my favorite places to go was European Connection. A lot of you probably have never heard of it. That’s because, much to my dismay, it’s gone out of business. They made crepes that are to die for. The way they flavored their crepes was amazing. They had a distinctly sweet flavor without being too overwhelming. The texture was just a touch crisp on the outside while moist on the inside. The way they made their crepes seemed to bring out the flavor of whatever you had inside your crepe, be it sweet or savory. Even as I write this, my mouth is salivating at the memory!

I went there a few times a week. Anyone I introduced to the restaurant would instantly become addicted. Yeah – they really were that good. But they slowly went out of business. The first one to close down was the location closest to me (I know, right?). Then the ones that were further away closed down a few years later. I’m really not sure why. I can testify that the location nearest me had a steady flow of customers.

There were other crepe restaurants and delis that opened up, but I just couldn’t be satisfied by them. Sometimes, the crepes would be too soggy or they were too bland. I was getting depressed and losing hope that I would ever get a satisfying crepe fix. However, last weekend was my birthday, and my husband took me to a crepe place that we hadn’t tried yet. I was cautiously optimistic as I looked over the menu. The smells emanating from the back proved appetizing, so I went a head and ordered a savory crepe as well as a dessert crepe.

The verdict? Delicious! The crepes had a fabulous flavor to them. And while they didn’t quite capture that crispy texture that I love so much, they were very well cooked. I had what the menu called “The City Hunter”. It was kind of like a BLT, but with a blend of cream cheese, BBQ sauce and ranch dressing (I know, I know – the calories! Needless to say, I gained a little weight over the weekend.). It may sound like a bit much, but the flavors combined so perfectly to give it a spicy richness that was incredible.

And the dessert crepe? Oh yeah, baby! They have regular dessert crepes with Nutella, strawberries, or lemon custard, but I went for one of the gourmet crepes. It was the Chocolate Tiramisu crepe. Their Tiramisu was divine, combined with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. (There may have been other stuff in there, but I couldn’t identify them.) I left their little establishment quite full and unbelievably pleased. No doubt we’ll be eating there again soon.

It’s called Savory and Sweet, and it’s owned by a couple who moved here from Canada. They also served something called Asian Ice, but we didn’t indulge so I can’t say how great those were. But Asian Ice looks a lot like regular ice cream except it’s made in a very unique way. They also have a pasta menu and a tea menu for those who like to stick to something a little more conservative.

So, happy birthday to me! I finally found a European Connection substitute. 🙂 Anyone who’s looking for a great place to eat out, you’ve got to try Savory and Sweet.

(Pics from Savory and Sweet’s site.)