Man-shaped pillow for solo sleeper

By Kaori Hitomi in Nagareyama, Japan
29sep04
AFTER a long night at work as a radio DJ, Junko Suzuki likes to snuggle at bedtime - and she says she's found the perfect partner: a man-shaped pillow.

Linen maker Kameo Corp.'s new "Boyfriend's Arm Pillow" - which consists of a headless torso and a stuffed arm that curls around the sleeper - might make some people uneasy.

But not Ms Suzuki, or about 1000 others in Japan who have bought the pillow, which Kameo says is the first of its kind. The product went on the market last December.

"I like to sleep holding someone's hand," Ms Suzuki, 34. "And this pillow makes me feel relaxed because I can hold the arm and feel something warm at my side."

Kameo, based in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, says the pillow is not only an emotional comfort, but that its shape keeps the body balanced by supporting the sleeper from both sides.

Sleepers typically curl up in between the body of the pillow and the crooked arm, with the sleeper's head resting on the pillow's "bicep."

"My grandmother used to say that there is nothing more comfortable pillow than human," Kameo President Tomoki Kakehashi said. "So, I thought that maybe women would want to sleep on an arm-shaped pillow."

The pillow is only on sale in Japan, where customers can buy one for Y8500 ($106.8). Covered in a shirt-shaped pillow cover, it comes in blue, pink or green.

For Ms Suzuki, who is estranged from her husband, the pillow has definite advantages: It doesn't squirm or thrash in the night, and you know it'll be there in the morning.

"It keeps holding me all the way through," she said in her home outside of Tokyo. "I think this is great because this does not betray me."

One-size pillows do not fit all.

So Kameo is working up new models: muscular pillows for sleepers who like their pillows well-built; slender models for those after a more sensitive, vulnerable partner.

The company also has a prototype for its next big project: a female pillow for men. This one will be shaped like a woman's lap, with a "skirt" cover.

"I always thought someone's lap would the best pillow for me," Mr Kakehashi said.

Lets hope that fire extinguishers are stationed by Sir Elton at all times.

Raging 'Rocket Man' explodes
By This is London
23 September 2004
Sir Elton John branded photographers in Taiwan "rude, vile pigs" today in a furious airport bust-up.

The star arrived in the country to play a concert, the last date in his tour of the Far East.

But after touching down at Taipei's Chiang Kai-Shek airport by private jet in the early hours of this morning, he was besieged by photographers and TV crews.

Taiwanese news channel ETTV showed Sir Elton, dressed in a royal blue tracksuit and matching sunglasses, clenching his teeth and muttering expletives as he stood with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Rude, vile pigs!" he shouted. "Do you know what that means? Rude, vile pigs. That's what all of you are."

One of the photographers shouted back: "Why don't you get out of Taiwan?"

Sir Elton replied: "We'd love to get out of Taiwan if it's full of people like you. Pig! Pig!"

The star, who recently performed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, said: "We had a great tour of the Far East and then we come to Taiwan."

It is not the first time the 57-year-old singer has lost his temper in public.

In the fly-on-the-wall documentary Tantrums And Tiaras, made by his partner David Furnish, he famously threw a fit when a female fan waved at him and
shouted "Yoo hoo!" on the tennis court of his French Riviera hotel.

He stormed off court saying: "I'm never coming back to the south of France again."

A spokeswoman for Sir Elton accused police and airport security officials of failing to protect the star but said he was "bravely" carrying on with tonight's concert at the Chung Shan soccer stadium.

"Elton John's arrival at Taipei Airport was greeted by what can only be described as chaos and confusion," the spokeswoman said.

"No sooner had he disembarked from the aircraft, he was led into the public immigration area of the airport which was immediately besieged by hordes of photographers and live TV crews intent upon disrupting his progress.

"The local police and security at the airport failed to protect Elton John from the ensuing chaos.

"Despite this frightening arrival, his spirits remain high and he is looking forward to performing the concert."