As an extension of culture, it is fascinating:
The diary habit runs so deep in Japan that it transformed the craft of blogging from an American-style lecture to a Japanese-style personal narrative, according to [Technorati board member] Joichi Ito...In the process, he said, blogging exploded as a mega-fad for Japan's huge middle class, a kind of karaoke for shy people.
One might say that blogging on this side of the Pacific is just as much an extension of culture -- quite individualistic, more confrontational, very opinionated, provacative.
OK, enough of that crap...we'll be getting back to hockey in a bit.