February 2012
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Because it amuses me, here are the results of a Japanese online survey asking how many ex-lovers would you forgive of your boyfriend or girlfriend. 1000 people responded, and while there is no age/sex breakdown of the respondents, quotes from both men and women were included.
1 - 5 exes: 672 people
6 - 10 exes: 109 people
11 - 20 exes: 10 people
Any number is OK: 209 people
I am surprised...
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The Seven, er, *Nine* Deadly Nerd Sins
As a public service announcement to any Japan-oriented geeks out there, here are nine habits that Japanese women say make you an unappealing nerd (aka, otaku). Most of this is common sense stuff, but just in case you think nerds are cool in Japan, please think again. Avoid the following:
Wearing a T-shirt or other merchandise featuring anime characters
“Mastering” otaku...
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Korean Invasion!
I don’t watch Japanese dramas for a lot of reasons, the primary one being they are terrible. Seriously, despite having writers and actors and editing, they are actually less compelling than the hastily-concocted “let us look at and talk about food” variety programs that dominate Japanese television. But I am aware of them because I own a television and thus I cannot escape the...
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Ill-informed Doctor Who ranking time!
I should be spending my off-hours playing games but instead I have continued to seek out old episodes of Doctor Who so that I can have a better understanding of what the show was like before I fell head-over-heels in love with it last Spring. After writing about this twice before, I have at last managed to watch at least one serial starring every Doctor there is.
Unfortunately, my television...
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Where'd all these games come from?
Today was Demo Day in Japan, as I was suddenly offered a free taste of multiple new games coming out this month.
Denpa ningen no RPG (3DS): This one came out of nowhere, being announced just a day or two ago with a release date of next week. You collect “denpa ningen” (“signal people?”) in one mode and then lead those little guys into a dungeon where you fight monsters and...
January 2012
21 posts
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This Just In: Krispy Kreme glazed donuts are...
Just like last week, Japanese television “celebrities” sought the ten most popular items on a chain restaurant’s menu. Tonight, it was Krispy Kreme.
Original Glazed (duh)
Assorted Dozen
Karnival Heart Dozen Box*
Original Glazed Dozen
Almond Ghana Chocolate Heart*
Strawberry Kreamy Chocolate Heart*
Cookies & Kream Rich
10 Minis Box
Caramel Walnuts
Glazed Chocolate...
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Top 10 items at Burger King Japan
Given that Japanese TV is a wasteland of “celebrities” eating food, I have learned to make do and even enjoy those programs that offer a twist on that banal formula. One of these shows is Otameshika (お試しか) and the gimmick is this: the participants must eat at a chain restaurant until they happen to consume the ten most popular items on the menu. While the minute-to-minute veracity of...
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“Seriously, it’s all food, food, food. People eating food, answering...”
– This quickie column on Japan by Charlie Brooker contains a bit of the usual “Japan is so weird” business, but it’s funny and worth reading. Especially good is the bit about Japanese TV being dreadfully boring despite its reputation abroad (based entirely on decades-old...
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Self Improvement
This started as an email response to a podcast I heard this week but I decided to post it on my blog. Not enough people talk about dealing with depression (for reasons the host colorfully described) but at this point, I’ve got little reason to hide from my past. If anything, sharing stories like this could really help someone dealing with the same issues.
I was stunned when I heard a...
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“I was at the movies yesterday and before the movie started they had this long ad...”
– Mindy Kaling (audio source here) via stfuconservatives
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I am not a regular listener of the WTF Podcast, but I am now after listening to the recent episode where guest Todd Glass publicly came out of the closet and had an incredible, truth-laden discussion with host Mark Maron about being yourself, overcoming your own fears, and (of the utmost importance to everyone, gay or straight) on language and how we treat other people.
You must listen to this...
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Another depressing Japanese sex survey
Whenever you read or hear the words “Japanese sex survey” only bad news will follow. Today is no exception. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 61.4 of unmarried males and 49.5% of unmarried females between the ages of 18-34 are not currently dating anyone. But wait, it gets worse! According to the Japan Family Planning Association, 36% of...
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The Royal Dragonbaums
amazinglybadfanart:
“…”
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Who Watches Who? I Do.
Last summer, when new episodes of Doctor Who went on hiatus mid-season, I tried watching some of the older episodes of the show and then I wrote about what I saw. With the season now over and new episodes months away, I’ve been delving more into the decades upon decades of the show. Here’s what I’ve found:
1. The original Doctor Who, William Hartnell, still doesn’t do it...
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Every game I played in 2011
Here’s every game that I played during 2011. Demos don’t count unless they were arcade games. Also omitted: anything I played in a web browser and Android games. BOLD titles are ones I really enjoyed or spent a long time playing. Italicized titles are ones I only just scratched the surface of.
Limbo (360)
Shiren the Wanderer 5 (DS)
Castlevania Harmony of Despair (360)
INDIE:...
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Moe: Make it Stop
In the creepiest online poll I’ve ever heard of, respondents were asked “With whom could you fall in love: a middle school student or a 30-something adult?”
Out of 869 Japanese men, 407 (46.84%) chose the little girl.
In a much smaller sample, the women (only 175 respondents) overwhelmingly chose the adult.
All caveats aside (online poll is online, does not reflect society as...
December 2011
2 posts
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Rapid-fire Vita Impressions!
So I played a Vita today. Properly, this time. No boats, no arguing, with only minimal wait time. Indeed, the crowds were pretty scarce despite taking place in the middle of one of Osaka’s most crowded pedestrian areas, Namba. Then again, with multiple events and in-store demonstrations starting today, the number of places consumers can play with a Vita is pretty large.
Here’s what I...
November 2011
3 posts
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On the presence of nuclear wessels in Alameda
I missed the actual anniversary date this weekend (stupid new house with no Internet) but Star Trek IV just turned 25 years old. You know, the one the whales. I love Star Trek as a whole and even though IV isn’t my favorite (KHAAAAN, motherfuckers, now and forever), this one means a lot to me for a number of reasons.
First, I remember visiting the Paramount lot back in the eighties thanks...
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“It’s not Japan’s fault that they don’t have a lot of African,...”
– I get that Mike Fahey is just trying to be cute here when explaining away Capcom’s usage of stereotypes to create Street Fighter characters, but this is a patently false statement. Major Japanese cities like Osaka and Tokyo have plenty of Africans, Indians, and Russians hanging around....
October 2011
22 posts
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Frozen in Time
Japan has not one but TWO long-running prime-time animated series about a traditional family: Chibi Maruko-chan and Sazae-san. The other thing linking the shows is what makes them especially weird to me: the stories all take place in some unspecified year from the past. This is not about characters being ageless, as such a device is common for animated series. I mean that the shows themselves...
Film: Primer: John Carpenter →
Primer is The A.V. Club’s ongoing series of beginners’ guides to pop culture’s most notable subjects: filmmakers, music styles, literary genres, and whatever else interests us—and hopefully you….
Op-Ed: If You Want To Fight Piracy, Make Better... →
Valve has had tremendous success selling games like Team Fortress 2 on its Steam digital distribution platform. Image courtesy Valve
The game publisher Ubisoft set off no small amount of…
The 8 Creepiest Glitches Hidden in Popular Video... →
By Maxwell Yezpitelok,M. Asher Cantrell Published: October 25th, 2011 We’ve told you about the creepiest video game Easter eggs ever found. But Easter eggs are hidden details that someone…
TV: Newswire: Scientologists spent a long time... →
Suggesting that stories of the average Scientologist’s legendary sense of humor may have been somewhat overstated (at least at levels below OT IV, when every Scientologist completes their Comedy…
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Boring Video Games
All day I got caught up in a Japanese trending topic on Twitter: 好きなゲームをつまらなそうに紹介する (“introduce a game you like in a boring way”). A bunch of other people got in on the fun and, I must admit, I got stumped pretty quickly. So here’s a list of my entries with links to the answers. I hope others follow suit and share their secrets.
Plumber walks to the right, jumps
You’re a...
6 Classic Songs That Were Supposed to Be Jokes →
By Colin Murdock Published: October 23rd, 2011 We tend to think of successful songs as the carefully crafted result of great artistic vision and hours of grueling, dedicated work. This isn’t always…
TV: Star Trek: The Next Generation:... →
“Parallels” (season 7, episode 11; first aired Nov. 27, 1993)
Or The One Where Worf Gets Promoted, Married, And Geordi Killed
The hardest part about starting a review—starting anything, really—is…
Photo →
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Japanese cops: The Ends Justify the Means
That was my first thought when I read this head-scratching article in the Mainichi Daily News. The National Police Agency is quite literally arguing that because so many suspects confess to their crimes, there is no need to change how police interrogations are conducted. Nevermind that the “change” they are resisting is limited to recording said interrogations to prevent improper...
26 Great Movies from the Villain's Point of... →
Shared by feitclub
Is he the villain in #1? No matter, I LOLed
By CRACKED Readers Published: October 19th, 2011 Everyone’s the hero of their own narrative, walking around with the theme from Rocky…
12 oz can of beer in Andre the Giant’s hand. →
12 oz can of beer in Andre the Giant’s hand.
Atop the Fourth Wall: WARRIOR #4 →
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Seriously insane. Like, clinically.
The thrilling conclusion of the Warrior comic series culminates with Linkara, Spoony, and the other TGWTG hosts fighting the…
The Last Time I Will Ever Write About Star Wars.... →
Two weeks ago I consumed all six Star Wars movies—the prequels, the tampered-with originals, the special features—in the span of 48 hours. Not by choice or because I’d temporarily lost my mind, but…
Dr. Thao Nguyen (Michael Jackson Murder Trial... →
Dr. Thao Nguyen (Michael Jackson Murder Trial Witness) Totally Looks Like This Romulan (Star Trek)
TV: South Park: “The Last Of The Meheecans” →
Just like last week’s episode, tonight’s South Park introduces a topic rife with political landmines, only to sidestep it in favor of a more humanist approach. That should be no great surprise at…
Cat Election in Japan →
The city of Saga has found an interesting way of dealing with stray cats. Instead of sending animal control officers to round up and imprison the cats, it has turned them into celebrities….