Roland Kelts will be in town next week for two events promoting his new book, Japanamerica. He'll be talking at Powell's in Portland on March 27 at 7:30 pm, and on Thursday the 29th, he'll be addressing the Japan America Society of Washington at City University in Bellevue.

I'll be at both events, and Chin Music will be the bookseller at the Bellevue event, so come out, say hi and hear Roland talk about how Japanese pop culture has seeped into the American mainstream. It's a great read that reveals, among other things, how Pac Man was inspired by a Shakey's pizza.