Soon, Japan, Inc. would own the United States of America! I pointed out that they were on the wrong side of a "nerd gap" in innovation between us, and I predicted they would soon go belly-up trying to catch up with us. And that's just what they did.

I predict now that if we give the Donald his head, China will do exactly the same thing. But I have already digressed.

I'm not going to assume that you know what karaoke is. The word is Japanese and means "empty orchestra". Basically, it's singing before an audience to recordings that have had their vocal tracks removed, while the lyrics roll by for you on a computer screen. If you want to know more than that, I warn you, Wikipedia's explanation is horrible. Ask around, instead, or, better yet, spend an evening in a bar that has it. What you will see and hear will run the gamut from hideous to heavenly. And you may eventually find yourself up front—I won't try to explain the drive to perform publicly to those who don't feel it—with a microphone in your hand.

You've been warned.