You may have seen a hilarious image pop up on Facebook or Tumblr in the past few days from Japan- department store style in-store signage from a Japanese shop, in which it loudly and proudly trumpets a big “Fuckin’ Sale” for Christmas.

The image is a funny one not only for the incongruous profanity, but also because it plays into some of our stereotypes of how people in Asia perceive American culture. (One that is subverted in the joke of the college kid with the Asian character tattoo that they think means “courage” or “strength” but really means “pork fried rice.”) The image of the confused representation of another culture is one that resonates strongly, which is probably part of the reason why the pic has been catapulted across the internet in the past few days.

Gawker has spoken to American chef Ron Silver, who owns the comfort food restaurant Bubby’s in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Silver- who has pulled off a great coup if he is correct- claims credit for making the f-word a point of emphasis in Japanese pop culture right now, saying that it comes from his propensity for using the intensity descriptor as a way to explain to staff that the food he serves is fresher than that which most Japanese residents are accustomed. (In Japan, fresh produce is really f*cking expensive, it seems.) New Yorker Silver hilariously explains:

“I trained these guys and trained these guys, and they called me up and said, ‘By fresh do you mean frozen?’ And I was like, ‘I mean fucking fresh, man. Do not fuck around with this thing. The very next day they were like, ‘By fresh do you mean canned?’ And I was like, ‘What do you not understand about fucking fresh?’”

It seems Silver’s Japanese staff took the phrase to heart, but the story even has a kind of f*cking touching ending- the chef explains how it came to be a marketing buzzword for his Japanese ventures:

Silver’s employees may have been fucking with him the whole time. They later surprised Silver by plastering Bubby’s with the slogan “Fuckin Fresh,” adopting it as their motto.

“It was like, alright you won my heart over,” Silver said.

So that’s (ostensibly) how the “Fuckin’ Sale” pic came about. Do you find the tale hysterical or offensive?

Viral “F***in’ Sale” Sign Credit Claimed- By New York Chef, Are You Surprised? is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Oscars are long, and although people across the world watch it, even the attendees are bored to tears. (Did you see George Clooney?)

If you missed Hollywood’s biggest night of self-adoration all year, here’s a handy crib sheet for the most notable moment’s from last night’s show.

1. George Clooney was a bitch all night. Homeboy picked up a bag of swag that probably cost thousands of dollars and included like, trips to Africa and shit, but every time the camera panned toward him he made a point of letting America know he would much rather be at his Italian villa, draped in supermodels and making faces at paparazzi.
2. Some old white lady pulled a Kanye West on Roger Ross Williams. Seriously, apparently there was a New York Times article about how this dude struggled over writing a potential acceptance speech, he goes and wins and three words in, this woman called Elinor Burkett crashed it. The whole debacle was really sad, and rumor has it the lady was kind of ousted from the movie early on for being the kind of person who would do such a thing.
3. Jeff Bridges won, Gabby Sidibe didn’t. Sandra Bullock won, Morgan Freeman didn’t. A whole lot of other people won Oscars, you should look at our liveblog if you want a complete rundown of the wins and losses. Also, Jeff Bridges is apparently a stand-up dude that’s been with his wife for 35 years. Bless.
4. James Cameron’s ego was finally dashed- spetacularly. His ex-wife beat his ass for Best Director and Best Movie. And ex-wives everywhere felt ever so slightly better.
5. Oscar mourned 2009′s dead, with the notable exception of Farrah Fawcett. Twitter didn’t forget. Whoops!
6. Dolphins are sadder than migrant kids and other sad things. A film called “The Cove” won Best Documentary and now everyone wants to know about dolphins.
7. If you’re in New York, you missed the first thirteen minutes. But you didn’t miss much. It was awkward and even Alec Baldwin’s sweet, sweet voice didn’t redeem it much. Plus, Cablevision and whoever they were fighting with worked their shit out just as soon as you taught your mom how to watch a live feed of something on the internet.
8. The kids from “The Breakfast Club” got really old and it was kind of sad. Everyone misses John Hughes marginally more than all the rest of the dead people.
9. Famous people use big words. No one watching knew what “equanimity” or “towhead” means, going by Google searches during and after the show. Read a book, people. I recommend “Push” by someone named Sapphire. Really tugs the old heartstrings.

That’s pretty much everything you need to know, if you hear all the chit chat in your cube and have no idea what happened. You’re welcome.

The 9 top Oscar moments, in case you missed it is a post from: The Inquisitr

Actor and political activist Ron Silver, best known in his later years as Bruno Gianelli in The West Wing has died from cancer aged 62.

Silver had a long career in film and on television, including roles in Lovesick (1983), Garbo Talks (1984), Eat and Run (1986), and the lead in Enemies: A Love Story (1989). The movie role is was best known for was as defense attorney Alan Dershowitz in Reversal of Fortune (1990).

Originally a life long Democrat and founding member of the liberal-leaning Creative Coalition in 1989, Silver became an outspoken Republican after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Silver spoke in favor of George W Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention and was appointed by Bush to the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace. Silver was also a strong advocate for Israeli and Jewish affairs.

In 2008, Silver began hosting The Ron Silver Show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which focused on politics and public affairs.

West Wing Actor Ron Silver Dies is a post from: The Inquisitr