Re: Benzene has been detected, at low levels, in some soft drinks as a result of interaction between the preservative sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

I'm fine with sugar but not with corn syrup. And I don't care about
whatshisface but I hope ethnic Koreans don't import pachinko into the
Mainland even in sheep's clothing like this:

Yon-sama Pachinko has Japan's older generation by the round and shinies

Pachinko in the central Japanese city of Nagoya has received a
much-needed shot in the arm courtesy of Bae Yong-Joon, the South Korean
actor who has touched the hearts of middle-aged Japanese women like few
before, according to Josei Jishin (3/21).

Middle-aged and elderly women flocked to pachinko parlors in the hopes
of playing the vertical pinball game on a "Winter Sonata" themed
machine, after the maudlin South Korean TV show that three years ago
sparked Japan's unabated craze for all things Korean.

Pachinko requires players to fire little steel balls onto a vertical
board dotted with decorations and pins, as well as holes for which more
balls are paid out if one lands inside. Players know they're about to
hit a jackpot when the machine enters a stage called "reach." If the
player can get a ball to land in a hole during the "reach" stage, the
machine's payout rapidly escalates. It continues doing so as long as
balls keep on entering holes, which isn't as easy as it sounds because
the nails are strategically (or deliberately) pounded in to make that
task almost as difficult as possible.

Pachinko is generally a favorite amongst middle-aged women in Japan in
much the same way that bingo is with the elderly in many Western
countries; as is "Winter Sonata," which tells the story of two young
lovers separated then meeting again a decade later, but with the
character played by Bae (or Yon-sama as he is known across Japan)
suffering from amnesia, and unable to remember their earlier bond.

Josei Jishin notes that players of the "Winter Sonata" machine get an
extra bonus when they enter "reach" -- footage of key moments in the
actual drama is shown through the pachinko board, titillating biddies
who get to see their adored heartthrob at the same time as little balls
keep flowing out of their machines.

And if players are really lucky, the women's weekly says, they can even
get their pachinko machine to display the "Omoidashi-riichi," or
"Reminder Reach."

The "Reminder Reach" shows footage of the precise moment when
Yon-sama's character suddenly regains his lost memory and professes his
love for the character played by Choi Ji Woo -- a moment that has
moistened undergarments amongst Japan's "middies," or 30-and-overs,
ever since it was first screened here in 2002.

Josei Jishin notes that Yon-sama Pachinko is currently only being
played on a trial basis in Nagoya, the home city of its maker, Kyoraku
Sangyo. Women have been lining up to fire their balls at Nagoya parlors
since the start of March.

Pachinko players in the rest of the country will have to wait till
March 13, when Yon-sama Pachinko machines hit parlors across the rest
of Japan. (By Ryann Connell)

March 10, 2006

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