Here we stand, on the lip of the frying pan that is Japanese summer, with the humidity soon to be so thick that people will dog paddle to work instead of walk.

So I figure this is the perfect time to talk about . . . curling.

Yes, curling! That, um, sport that has been racking up TV time since the winter Olympics two years back. Japanese viewers have been intrigued with their female team, with male viewers perhaps intrigued most by the team members.