MIKE ON TV: My Super Fun Time "Michael J. Fox Show" Promo for Japan's Superdrama TV

Sorry to break this to you, Japan, but NBC has canceled "The Michael J. Fox Show." Nonetheless, here's a promo for Superdrama TV (love that channel name) in which I tell Japan how much American audiences still love Michael J. Fox and love a comeback story.

OK, it made sense at the time I said it. Hey, maybe they should run the Japanese dubbed version and reboot it as a crazy game show.

A Visit to the Store That Has Nothing You Need, Yet Everything You Want

One of the joys of the 99 Cents Only store is buying things that you never knew you wanted -- or needed -- but what the hell, it's just a buck. Daiso Japan magnifies that joy: The store is filled with junk. Useful junk, like a silly frog mobile phone holder (see above). But what the hell, why not: Everything is $1.50. It's nothing you really need, yet you end up spending $25. The joy of discount stores! Some pics from our recent visit to the Daiso in Northridge (one of 15 locations in Southern California):

Best Product Packaging Ever? Japanese Popsicles

Apparently the Gari Gari Kun Soda-flavored popsicles are very popular -- and I'm sure they're delicious. But you gotta credit the packaging and marketing as well. According to this website, "Gari Gari Kun" can be translated to "Crunchy Boy." OK, that's odd. But still looks delicious.

Los Angeles Fire and Rescue Team Flies to Japan (VIDEO)

Via the website Airboyd comes this video below of relief aid and Los Angeles Fire and Rescue Team members shipping off for Japan.

According to Airboyd, the video (shot by 4th Combat Camera Squadron/SMSgt. David Smith) shows a C-17A arriving at March Air Reserve Base (formerly Air Force Base) near Riverside to upload 11 pallets of equipment and 3 personnel from Los Angeles Fire and Rescue Team. Aircraft departs and flies direct to Misawa Air Base in Japan to support the relief efforts:



And here's the other end. Video from the American Forces Network (AFN) at Misawa Air Base (200 miles north of Sendai) of the Los Angeles Fire and Rescue (as well as a fire/rescue team from Fairfax, Va.) landing.

What's interesting here is how quickly all of this went down: One of the L.A. fire/rescue members asks where they are.. while the military personnel seen on camera tells the volunteers that they may know more than he does, as the electricity at Misawa had just been restored:



Speaking of Misawa, here's video from the base's AFN bureau immediately after the quake. I love the beginning shot with the kids, describing the quake, when the giant voice of the base command starts talking:

Los Angeles TV and Print Reporters Head to Japan

The Japan disaster story has also become a local one here in Southern California, given the number of Japanese expats and persons of Japanese ancestry in the region. What's more, the slight possibility of a tsunami -- and now, radiation -- coming to our shores (again, highly unlikely) has forced us all to pay attention. (As if the stunning images coming out of the country weren't reason enough.)

That's probably why several local TV stations have sent crews to the country in recent days. It hasn't been an easy trip -- KTLA's Frank Buckley wrote that it took 27 hours to get into the country from Los Angeles.

Here's a partial list (likely to be updated) of local TV and L.A. Times staffers now reporting within Japan:

KNBC 4: Reporter Conan Nolan, photographer Bobbie Eng, photojournalist Jorge Diaz

KTLA 5: Reporter Frank Buckley, producer Toni Molle, photographer Michael McGregor (UPDATE: They've returned. See below)

KABC 7: Reporter David Ono

(KTTV 11 currently doesn't have a crew in Japan. We're still waiting to hear back from the KCBS 2/KCAL 9 duopoly.)

And here are the Los Angeles Times staffers currently in Japan:

Barbara Demick – Beijing Bureau Chief
Mark Magnier – New Delhi Bureau Chief
Laura King – Baghdad Bureau Chief
Carolyn Cole – Photographer, based in NYC
Brian Vander Brug – Photographer, based in LA

There’s also a stringer, Kenji Hall, covering the situation in Japan.

The newspaper's Japan coverage is being aggregated here.

Here's what Buckley wrote on his blog on Sunday:

As some of you know, my mother is Japanese and I lived here for a number of years as a boy. I speak Japanese well enough to get us from here to there. I feel close to Japan and the Japanese people so this story has meaning to me. In fact, I have family here and friends. Fortunately, they're all OK. That's obviously not the case for thousands of others and we'll do our best to tell their stories.

UPDATE: With the radiation scare on the rise in Japan, Buckley has returned home. LA Observed pointed to Buckley's tweet:

Reluctantly leaving Japan after Morning News Wed.Too many questions about radiation. Don't think there's a huge risk but I'm not an expert.

KTTV News Director on His Tsunami Coverage, and How Others Underplayed It

(Photo: Kyodo News)

Local Los Angeles stations hit the airwaves earlier than usual this morning, as more news emerged about the impact of a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan (and tsunami waves threatened both Hawai'i and the west U.S. coast).

At Fox-owned KTTV, the station returned to wall-to-wall coverage at 4 a.m., just two hours after signing off from a marathon four-hour broadcast (10 p.m. to 2 a.m., led by anchors Christine Devine and Carlos Amezcua) the night before.

KTTV's decision to stick with earthquake/tsunami coverage long after L.A.'s other local stations returned to normal programming impressed several pundits out there, including me (see below) and The Hollywood Reporter's Matt Belloni.

"Tsunami coverage on LA's Fox 11 is far better than on CNN right now," Belloni wrote on Twitter last night.

KTTV news director Jose Rios (right) told Franklin Avenue that he was a bit surprised that L.A.'s other stations didn't stick with coverage.

"I thought it got underplayed last night," Rios said. "To me it was just a huge story."

KCBS, KABC and KNBC went back to regular programming at 11:35, after their local news, while KCAL stuck with coverage until 12:30. (KCET ran Al Jazeera English coverage until midnight, while KSCI's digital 18.2 ran a feed of NHK World.)

"It was a big quake for one, and for us in earthquake country, that resonates broadly for us," Rios said. "And while people think that the cable channels will be covering, the fact is, not everyone has cable. We thought it was a public service that everybody would be interested in."

Rios said KTTV attracted a much larger than usual late night audience right up until 2 a.m.

By going wall-to-wall last night and again this morning, KTTV blew out commercials . Rios expected to be back to normal programming by 1 p.m., as the threat of a tsunami in Southern California subsided. But he has no regrets.

The coverage kudos is likely a big morale booster for KTTV's news team, which has been hit hard by huge layoffs in recent years. Given the station's limited resources, Rios said he was "proud of the news team. Everybody worked hard."

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Coverage: KTTV Leads All L.A. Outlets

I was quite impressed with KTTV/Fox 11 tonight; as of 1 a.m., the station is still carrying live coverage -- anchored by Carlos Amezcua and Christine Devine. The station has been wall-to-wall for hours, not even breaking for commercial.

Compare that to KABC, KCBS and KNBC -- none of which went with full coverage, and all of which went to regular network programming (Leno, Letterman and "Nightline") at 11:35. (At least KCBS' independent sister KCAL continued with coverage until 12:30 a.m.)

Insult to injury: The pre-taped "Nightline" was filled with fluff, and obviously no mention of what was going on in Japan.

Back to KTTV: Amezcua and Devine did a great job of juggling callers, describing the utter devastation and adding context without being too sensational. The station utilized NHK video but also ran clips from YouTube, answered (and read) tweets and spoke to a wide range of folks, such as eyewitnesses in Tokyo, tsunami and earthquake experts and even an emergency staffer in Honolulu.

As many have mentioned, CNN (using its CNN International feed) was an embarrassment. BBC America completely dropped the ball, airing a "Star Trek: The Next Generation" repeat instead of a BBC World News feed (epic fail, BBC America). And here in L.A., KCET ran the Al Jazeera feed until around midnight.

Beyond KTTV, KSCI Channel 18's digital subchannel 18.2 continued to carry live coverage of NHK World.

UPDATE: KTTV finally signed off at 2 a.m. But both KTTV and KTLA were both on live at 4, earlier than normal. (Not sure about KABC, KNBC and KCBS.) Over at B&C, Ben Grossman has the ABC News explanation on why they didn't go with a live edition of "Nightline" for the west coast. Simple answer: They made a communication error.

Friday morning, and it looks like both Hawai'i and the west coast have been spared from any major damage. I've been watching a bit more of the KGMB/KHNL coverage from Honolulu, but at this point they don't have much more to say.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic has the most stunning collection of photos from the disaster and its impact in Japan. Jaw-dropping images.

Hey Japan, the Governator Wants You to Visit

I believe this translates to, "Come see how I destroyed California. Flights daily!"

(Actually, according to Japan Probe, the slogan says something to the effect of "It's got everything-fornia.")

Found via Gawker.

Piece of That Japanese Kit-Kat Bar

As you may know, I love unusual candy flavors -- and I especially love bizarro Kit-Kat flavors from overseas. The Japanese market close to my hotel in New York sold two varieties of Kit-Kat I'd never had: Vanilla Bean and Green Tea. The Vanilla Bean flavor was fantastic: No chocolate, just pure vanilla-flavored goodness. The Green Tea flavor was chocolate, with a green tea middle. Good, but hard to make out the Green Tea flavor.

Also at the store, I spotted something I KNEW I had to bring back for the Kid Formerly Known As Blogger Toddler:



Thomas the Tank Engine Pocky!

Break Me Off a Piece of That Obscure Kit-Kat Bar

Thanks to Santos, who's in town from Guam and her many travels. Santos passed along a treasure chest of Kit-Kat and Mentos flavors from overseas (esp. Japan) that are impossible to find here in the States.

Above, check it out: Bitter Chocolate, Strawberry, Cappuccino, Azuki Bean, Raspberry, Chestnut, Mild Bitter & Orange, and Pumpkin flavored Kit-Kats!



Mentos flavors from the Philippines (which you may be able to find at spots such as Arko Foods or Seafood City): Dalandan Fresh and Juicy Ponkan.



More Mentos: Fuji Apple and Grape.