I might profit from moving to Japan in two ways: make Buoyantville turn a profit and become the published author of a "blook". I was alerted to this opportunity by this story in today's Wall Street Journal:

"How Demon Wife Became a Media Star And Other Tales of the 'Blook' in Japan" - Yukari Iwatani Kane. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Oct 5, 2006. pg. B.1

SIX YEARS AGO, a Japanese businessman went online to vent about his domineering wife. Blogging daily under the pen name "Kazuma," he detailed how she grabbed food from his plate, sent him shopping in a typhoon, and made him sleep in the living room when he caught a cold. Now, his terrifying spouse is famous as Oni-yome, or "demon wife," the star of a book, a television drama, a comic-book serialization, a videogame and, coming soon, a movie.

"Demon Wife Diaries," as the book and its spinoffs are titled, is at the forefront of a trend in new media emerging in Japan: Blogs, chat rooms and other Internet formats are increasingly providing the inspiration, and in many cases the verbatim content, for books, television shows and other old-media products. Blogs, in particular, are contributing to the vast reservoir of online content. Stories that incorporate the Internet and that unfold in its anonymous, abbreviated writing style are proving to be especially popular -- perhaps because they represent real, spontaneous conversation, not an author's massaged prose.

Blogs are even more popular in Japan than in the U.S. It may be that they represent an appealing outlet in a culture that discourages public self-expression. Japan produced 8.7 million blogs at the end of March, and the U.S. an estimated 12 million blogs -- making blogging far more popular in Japan, taking the countries' relative populations into account. An estimated 25 million Japanese -- more than a fifth of the population -- are believed to read blogs.

Books based on blogs -- which some people have dubbed "blooks" -- appeal to Japanese who rarely go online as well as to heavy Internet users. "Even people that are on the Internet regularly buy books to read on trains," says Taichi Kogure, a marketing specialist for Ameba Books Ltd., which published "Demon Wife Diaries."

...

Though "Demon Wife Diaries" was written under a pseudonym and the couple has never been publicly identified, it offers an all-too-real look at the gap between the ideal and the reality of marriage. One morning, Kazuma woke up to find he had overslept and was late for work: The alarm clock hadn't gone off. He woke up his wife and accused her of switching the clock off. "Of course I did," she said. "It was too loud." Then she berated him for disturbing her sleep and interrupting a dream. Then there was the shopping trip when the demon wife ordered Kazuma to give blood in order to get the free-parking voucher available to blood donors. On another occasion, the demon wife ordered three tickets to see the Cirque du Soleil -- two for her parents and one for herself. Kazuma, who paid for the tickets, had to stay home and baby- sit.

Kazuma, who updates his blog about once a week, says his writing has actually caused him to spend more time with his wife. "Dramatic things don't happen every day," he says, "so going out with the family instead of by myself increases the likelihood that something will happen that I can write about." In a recent telephone conversation, the demon wife, who in contrast to her husband's portrayal has a cute, gentle voice, says she has mixed feelings about her husband's writings. "I didn't think it was a big deal at first," she says, "but now I consciously don't read it."

The book and its sequel have earned author Kazuma more than $300,000 in royalties, and the comic book, TV series, movie and game deals have brought in even more. His life hasn't changed much, though, he says, because the demon wife, who manages the family finances, doesn't give him much spending money. "Her argument is that it's because of her that I have stuff to write about," he says. "She says that if I don't like that, then I shouldn't write anymore." His wife says she is using the money to pay their mortgage and save for retirement.

Now I don't have a demon wife much less a demon girl friend (I may have had one or two before but for now I have excused myself) to come up with a blog that can be turned into a "blook". Now well written misery (along with romance and sex) narratives will sell but I am not miserable enough to come up with one to compete with "Demon Wife Dairies". However, given the revenues (the bestest selling "blook" called "Train Man" clocked $11 million) that can be made in the Japanese blogsphere, I think must have a "lost in translation" experience as soon as I can afford to have one. So even before I get to Japan, and start typing away in Japanese, do you think alt-fiction revolving a balding desi geek-boy called Apu, modeled after yours truly and Simpsons's Apu, and Charlotte, modeled after a Scarlett Johansson-ish thinking hottie (who are compete against each other in order to be the greatest gaikokujin (or gaijin) in Japanese gameshows such as the ones below) will be the basis of a good "blook"?