Erections

So, the erections happened last weekend. Err, I mean, eLections. Sorry bout that, becoming more Japanese than I thought.

Japan has a thing that the louder salespeople are, the better they are. As in, the louder you are as a salesperson, the more people are going to buy from you. This is true in a supermarket, when shelf-stockers shout like auctioneers, "Irashamasae! Dozo!" at the top of their lungs, repeated ad nauseum, to entice people to buy things. It entices me to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, quite likely overlooking an item I'd might otherwise purchase.

Everyday, without fail, I see at least one advertisement on wheels. It's the same idea as in the grocery store, except these advertisements drive up and down every road in the town. Reminds me a lot of the Blues Brothers:


And so of course, with this mentality firmly secure in the minds of buyers and sellers alike, it's no wonder that on the day of the erections, the supporters of each candidate were out - in the rain - campaigning for votes. The scene was not all that dissimilar from that in Lost in Translation:



Granted, the movie took place in Tokyo, so what I experienced in my little town was not identical, but the spirit was the same.


I don't know who won, nor do I care all that much, but it was fun taking pictures of them.