By Piper Bayard
Membership in Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest family of Yakuza, or Japanese mafia, has been falling. Due to economic difficulties, the gangsta life is apparently not enough of a recruiting magnet on its own. So the Yamaguchi-gumi now has a recruiting website with its own corporate song, a poetry page, fishing diaries, and a message from the boss. Read about it here . . .
Japanese mobsters launch their own website
And this is the site. It’s in Japanese, but don’t worry. It has an English translation option.
Yakuza Recruiting Site
And here’s their video of happy little Yakuza at play to the tune of their theme song.
Blogs and Articles in No Particular Order
Speaking of Yakuza, Japan, and such, a big welcome to historical fiction author Susan Spann, the newest featured author at the Social In network. Look for Susan’s posts about ninjas, a.k.a. shinobi, on Saturdays at SocialInDC. Also, you can pre-order her latest Shinobi Mystery, BLADE OF THE SAMURAI, at Amazon now.
Kokkie H Reviews The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
In case you missed it, Holmes wrote an excellent piece about Boko Haram, the kidnapping that caught world attention, and the Western response. Boko Haram — Nigeria’s Jihadi Biker Gang
Emotional Triggers–A Direct Path to Human Connectivity. Great advice about social media marketing strategies from Lonny Dunn of Pronetworkbuild.
UNHCR Says Internal Displacement Affects Some 10,000 People in Ukraine
Via Screenwriter and Best Selling Author Ryne Douglas Pearson — Photos: Ray Bradbury’s House for Sale. Cozy enough for the best of writers. Can be yours for only $1.49 million.
Photos: Welcome Home–The Story of Scott Ostrom via Christine Moore. There is more than one way to sacrifice a life. This Memorial Day, I won’t only be thinking about those who have died. I’ll be thinking about those who are called to go on.
Great article from New York Times bestseller and former Green Beret Bob Mayer. Survival Friday: Burglaries. I recommend checking out all of his Survival Fridays and picking up his book, The Green Beret Survival Guide.Β Part of the proceeds will go to Special Operations Warrior Foundations. SOWF provides scholorships grants, education and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who have died.
Morning A.D.D. (Awkward Daily Dose): Gallery. Get ready for a laugh.
Porn addiction is a very real and very serious issue. Your Brain on Porn: 10 Common Signs of Addiction by August McLaughlin, who is the person you’d get if Dr. Ruth and a supermodel had a baby.
And our video for the day . . . Think of the tub as the Yamaguchi-gumi Recruiting Site, the dog as the Yamaguchi-gumi, and the cat as the poor sucker who takes their web site seriously.
All the best to all of you for a week of knowing who your friends are.
A mafia family with a theme song feels wrong on a very primal level. I’ll never be able to look at The Godfather the same again. Thanks for the shout-out.
LOL. I know. Sort of expect dancing horse heads with these guys. π
*giggling* –> “…August McLaughlin, who is the person youβd get if Dr. Ruth and a supermodel had a baby.”
Fabulous Friday post, as usual. π
That’s August, right? π
Thank you so much for the great shout-out!! I’m psyched about joining Social In – and thank you for the great words about BLADE too π
Also? That video is hilarious. “A kinder, gentler Yakuza” is … an interesting thought.
The Hells Angels did it. As did so many mobster families who made their money bootlegging and then went on into Congress. Why not the Yakuza? π
Thanks for the awesome shout out, Piper! π Honored to be mentioned with the others.
Most welcome, August. Sex addiction can be deeply destructive. Thank you for your post.
Hai-eee, Grasshopper !!
What is this “sex” thing , of which you speak ??
(At my age, I may have forgotten…)
LOL. It’s never too late to ride a bicycle, and there are infinite ways to do so. π
Cool mash-up & links! Ray Bradbury’s house got me thinking; here’s one of the icons of 20th century sci-fi, a great writer by any measure – living comfortably but not exceptionally so given his standing and the way most non-writers imagine authors to prosper when at the top of their game.. A reality of writing, of course. His wealth was what in he gave to others through his words.
I like that about him. π