Comments on: The Crying Game.

The Crying Game.

gottabefunky — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:48:22 -0800

The Crying Game. The Japanese proverb Naku ko wa sodatsu says that "A crying child thrives." During the annual Konaki Sumo ("Crying Sumo") festival held at certain temples in Japan, babies are held facing each other and encouraged to cry by priests and sumo wrestlers. The one who bawls first, or loudest, is the winner, thought to be blessed by the gods with good health.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:54:28 -0800

Great. Meet my 8-month-old son, Hiro-Fucking-Hito.

By: spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:09:20 -0800

Man, other cultures are so weird.

By: Mr.Encyclopedia

Mr.Encyclopedia — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:14:05 -0800

Just when I thought Japan couldn't get more messed up.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:28:03 -0800

Kids say the darndest things...

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:30:02 -0800

As a baby, my parents used to make me cry for fun. I have this on video. I could have been a winner.

By: amyms

amyms — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:31:12 -0800

I wish there would have been a prize for crying back when my kids were babies... I would have felt so much more confident about myself as a mother.

By: Zinger

Zinger — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:50:06 -0800

I can see where this would come about. Sick kids don't cry long and loud - they whimper, grizzle or don't make much noise at all. So while loud crying drives mom up the wall, it is a rough indicator of health.

By: kenlayne

kenlayne — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:12:28 -0800

Ha ha, fucking kids. /another night of refereeing toddlers ....

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:23:23 -0800

I might cry too if I were helpless, dressed is a mocking Superman outfit and grasped by my armpits by an enormous sumo wrestler.

By: Artw

Artw — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:23:53 -0800

My kid is totally going to take all your kids at this.

By: amyms

amyms — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:29:42 -0800

New bumper sticker in Japan: My Kid Can OUTCRY Your Kid!

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:51:02 -0800

In England, we give them a few more years before getting them stuck in.

By: Grod

Grod — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:54:43 -0800

um... OK?

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:02:18 -0800

Just when I thought Japan couldn't get more messed up. Heh heh! Hey man, Japan can always get more messed up!

By: Benjamin Nushmutt

Benjamin Nushmutt — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:13:20 -0800

That is no bullshit, hands down, the Goddamndest thing I ever saw.

By: rob511

rob511 — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:37:06 -0800

You know what else makes little 'uns shriek their widdle heads off, every goddamn time?! The announcement "Arm doors and cross-check."

By: DenOfSizer

DenOfSizer — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:23:24 -0800

I'd cheat and give my baby natto. That oughta do the trick.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 01 May 2007 03:48:03 -0800

I'd cheat and give my baby natto. That oughta do the trick. Well, you never know, DenOfSizer. My little girl's been a big natto fan since babyhood.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Tue, 01 May 2007 04:39:47 -0800

Abiezer - that has to be the most Chavtacular link in History. Jesus!

By: Firas

Firas — Tue, 01 May 2007 05:07:18 -0800

Poseurs. If you're going to cheat, give your kid wasabi.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:00:00 -0800

chuck - yep, I'm not usually one for despairing at the world, but that gave me pause.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:02:00 -0800

flapjax at midnite writes "My little girl's been a big natto fan since babyhood." Mine too. Minibugbread is 14 months old, started solid-ish food when he was 7 months old, and started natto around 8 or 9, and he loves it. Even if I work night-shifts, and thus away at night and asleep during the day, I can tell when my wife fed him natto because of how horrendous his poo smells.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:04:03 -0800

But my kid would have Swept. The. Floor at that competition. I've rarely seen a kid get scared so easily and cry so quickly.

By: Kwine

Kwine — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:08:10 -0800

Is this the competition where you think that all the babies are girls, and then it turns out that they are boys, but you still think that they are pretty hot anyway?

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:11:21 -0800

Wow, Abiezer. Kudos to the dad for actually taking it to the authorities. Shame that the sentencing is harsher for making dogs fight each other than making toddlers fight each other.

By: petersn1

petersn1 — Tue, 01 May 2007 08:06:53 -0800

I nver want to attend this event! Good God! Aaah!

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:24:12 -0800

I bet they sell condoms in the lobby leading out of the festival grounds...

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:26:36 -0800

Slimepuppy, petersn1: Kids crying sucks when its somewhere where you're doing something else (at work, in a movie theatre), where you want quiet (in a park, in an aeroplane), or when it's your own kid (for some reason, it always seems way louder when its your own). But in a situation where kid crying is expected, and the kid is really little (under 1 year old), it can actually be cute. I say this from the standpoint of visiting friends with little tiny kids: they're cute when they cry. Now, making them cry is kinda sucky behaviour, and kids 2 and over crying sucks because it lasts so long and its so damn loud. But you'd be surprised: when kids cry at events like this, it's not really the kind of thing that makes you want to go out and get a vasectomy.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:11:41 -0800

...it's not really the kind of thing that makes you want to go out and get a vasectomy. Whether or not it should be...