Comments for Amused Me http://www.amusedme.com Amusing Stuff on the Web Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:30:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Comment on My Darling is a Foreigner by My Darling is a Foreigner | The Otaku Kid - Anime, Japanese cultures & the Internet http://www.amusedme.com/my-darling-is-a-foreigner/comment-page-1/#comment-3507 My Darling is a Foreigner | The Otaku Kid - Anime, Japanese cultures & the Internet Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:30:52 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/my-darling-is-a-foreigner/#comment-3507 [...] After some digging I finally found a site that contain some part of the manga being scan without any translation here. [...] [...] After some digging I finally found a site that contain some part of the manga being scan without any translation here. [...]

]]> Comment on Photos of an Abandoned Prison by michielle wilson http://www.amusedme.com/2007/05/26/photos-of-an-abandoned-prison/comment-page-1/#comment-2419 michielle wilson Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:07:37 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/05/26/photos-of-an-abandoned-prison/#comment-2419 It is Eastern State Pen in pennsylvania. Some of these pics are on their website. It is Eastern State Pen in pennsylvania. Some of these pics are on their website.

]]> Comment on Gamer Rooms by Rachel http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-355 Rachel Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:58:33 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/#comment-355 That explains it a lot more. The impression I had was that to most people it meant something extremely negative/insulting. But I guess it depends on the speaker. I knew that Boni did not mean it in an insulting way of course, but it worried me when he said that other Soba players were saying it, since I did not know what they thought. I need to work on my sarcasm meter I guess. =p The BBC article seemed to be over-simplifying things based on a comment made by an acquaintance of the attacker. They described him as an otaku who did not like real women or socialization, and the BBC went on to briefly explain otaku under this context. Thanks for explaining it to me a lot more BTW. It will still bother me being called this simply because of how it was first explained to me years ago, but at least I have a better understanding/context for its applications now. Sorry for turning the comments box here into sociology hour too. =X LOL That explains it a lot more. The impression I had was that to most people it meant something extremely negative/insulting. But I guess it depends on the speaker. I knew that Boni did not mean it in an insulting way of course, but it worried me when he said that other Soba players were saying it, since I did not know what they thought. I need to work on my sarcasm meter I guess. =p

The BBC article seemed to be over-simplifying things based on a comment made by an acquaintance of the attacker. They described him as an otaku who did not like real women or socialization, and the BBC went on to briefly explain otaku under this context.

Thanks for explaining it to me a lot more BTW. It will still bother me being called this simply because of how it was first explained to me years ago, but at least I have a better understanding/context for its applications now. Sorry for turning the comments box here into sociology hour too. =X LOL

]]> Comment on Gamer Rooms by Ttancm http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-354 Ttancm Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:36:34 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/#comment-354 It has a negative connotation. Most of the people who say it doesn't say that because they are or have been considered otaku themselves at some point. In Boni's case it's more likely he was just trying to be nice, but there are different levels to it as well. You can be a somethingorother otaku, which means you are into that particular somethingorother, but doesn't necessarily always carry all of the negative connotations. On Soba I don't think anyone really thinks of you as hardcore otaku, but say more in terms of like friendly ribbing. Like if an american friend spouted off something about Spock's shoesize or what not and you said "wow, you are such a big geek" or whatnot. The bbc article is full of shit and ridiculous. 1. otaku does not equal anime. You can be a car otaku who loves memorizing details about engines. 2. they generally don't hate women, but are (just like a lot of geeks whatever in the U.S) often socially inept and unable to develop/maintain a relationship with the opposite sex (there are female otaku as well). The creepy guys there wish that those cartoon women were real, because they are a sort of ideal. They are cute, sexy, do whatever for "their man" etc. They essentially lack all sorts of social skills and whatnot that would make them attractive to the opposite sex and yet at the same time expect traits and behaviors from the opposite that just aren't really realistic when applied to an actual human being with their own life, thoughts and opinions. Anyway, this is supposed to be a light-hearted "ha ha that was funny/cool" type site and this is developing into amateur sociology hour =) It has a negative connotation. Most of the people who say it doesn’t say that because they are or have been considered otaku themselves at some point. In Boni’s case it’s more likely he was just trying to be nice, but there are different levels to it as well. You can be a somethingorother otaku, which means you are into that particular somethingorother, but doesn’t necessarily always carry all of the negative connotations. On Soba I don’t think anyone really thinks of you as hardcore otaku, but say more in terms of like friendly ribbing. Like if an american friend spouted off something about Spock’s shoesize or what not and you said “wow, you are such a big geek” or whatnot.

The bbc article is full of shit and ridiculous. 1. otaku does not equal anime. You can be a car otaku who loves memorizing details about engines. 2. they generally don’t hate women, but are (just like a lot of geeks whatever in the U.S) often socially inept and unable to develop/maintain a relationship with the opposite sex (there are female otaku as well).

The creepy guys there wish that those cartoon women were real, because they are a sort of ideal. They are cute, sexy, do whatever for “their man” etc. They essentially lack all sorts of social skills and whatnot that would make them attractive to the opposite sex and yet at the same time expect traits and behaviors from the opposite that just aren’t really realistic when applied to an actual human being with their own life, thoughts and opinions.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a light-hearted “ha ha that was funny/cool” type site and this is developing into amateur sociology hour =)

]]> Comment on Gamer Rooms by Rachel http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-351 Rachel Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:55:05 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/#comment-351 Yes, when I told Boni that it depressed me to hear that the Soba players had such a negative opinion of me as an otaku, he told me that otaku isn't a negative term anymore. How true is this from your perspective? When I asked one of my other Japanese friends about the term, he cited the perpetrator of the Akihabara stabbings as an example of otaku. So to my limited understanding it does seem to have negative connotations among many people still. While reading a BBC article on that same incident, one of the things mentioned was how the attacker was an otaku, and therefore did not like real women. The way it was explained in the article was that otaku are not attracted to physical females... only their cartoonish representations in anime and videogames. I guess this is what is going on with that picture of the guys holding those pillows. Or was that just a BBC exaggeration? Nerd culture in the US isn't really this... creepy? I've heard of Star Trek geeks who were afraid of girls for example, but not to the extent that they didn't like them. So it is kind of surreal to me that someone could only like an artistic representation of a girl and not be interested in actually pursuing living girls. Actually... it is just borderline psychotic to me and scary. D= Yes, when I told Boni that it depressed me to hear that the Soba players had such a negative opinion of me as an otaku, he told me that otaku isn’t a negative term anymore. How true is this from your perspective? When I asked one of my other Japanese friends about the term, he cited the perpetrator of the Akihabara stabbings as an example of otaku. So to my limited understanding it does seem to have negative connotations among many people still.

While reading a BBC article on that same incident, one of the things mentioned was how the attacker was an otaku, and therefore did not like real women. The way it was explained in the article was that otaku are not attracted to physical females… only their cartoonish representations in anime and videogames. I guess this is what is going on with that picture of the guys holding those pillows. Or was that just a BBC exaggeration?

Nerd culture in the US isn’t really this… creepy? I’ve heard of Star Trek geeks who were afraid of girls for example, but not to the extent that they didn’t like them. So it is kind of surreal to me that someone could only like an artistic representation of a girl and not be interested in actually pursuing living girls. Actually… it is just borderline psychotic to me and scary. D=

]]> Comment on Cat goes crazy for scatches by Rachel http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/comment-page-1/#comment-349 Rachel Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:38:34 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/#comment-349 Pugs are sooo adorable!! I love the noisy sounds they make when they get excited. LOL They're really friendly and smart dogs too. Pugs are sooo adorable!! I love the noisy sounds they make when they get excited. LOL They’re really friendly and smart dogs too.

]]> Comment on Gamer Rooms by Ttancm http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-347 Ttancm Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:01:41 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/#comment-347 It is generally negative. taku literally means house, and the term is derived from shutins, more recently the term for them is hikkikomori (something like bottled up, or almost literally shut-in). There are a lot of otaku who play fps games in Japan anyway, so it's not that much of a big deal there, but I've not met many westerners who describe themselves as such who I've liked. And it's okay that you play those games, it's the 21st century, we're in more enlightened times now and everything heheh ;) It is generally negative. taku literally means house, and the term is derived from shutins, more recently the term for them is hikkikomori (something like bottled up, or almost literally shut-in). There are a lot of otaku who play fps games in Japan anyway, so it’s not that much of a big deal there, but I’ve not met many westerners who describe themselves as such who I’ve liked.

And it’s okay that you play those games, it’s the 21st century, we’re in more enlightened times now and everything heheh ;)

]]> Comment on Cat goes crazy for scatches by Ttancm http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/comment-page-1/#comment-346 Ttancm Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:58:12 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/#comment-346 We're probably gonna get a pug. Can't keep any big dogs in Japan, no yard, no space in the house. I like dogs and cats, but cats are infinitely easier to take of. Dogs also tend to be a bit more needy than cats. A lot of people don't have the first frigging clue how to raise a cat and that's why so many of them are nasty. We’re probably gonna get a pug. Can’t keep any big dogs in Japan, no yard, no space in the house. I like dogs and cats, but cats are infinitely easier to take of. Dogs also tend to be a bit more needy than cats.

A lot of people don’t have the first frigging clue how to raise a cat and that’s why so many of them are nasty.

]]> Comment on Gamer Rooms by Rachel http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/comment-page-1/#comment-340 Rachel Sun, 10 Aug 2008 07:51:34 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/06/10/gamer-rooms/#comment-340 One of my friends is a big fan of Japanese pop culture (anime, games, etc.) and calls himself otaku. I really hate when he or anyone else online calls me otaku simply because I like certain things. I don't know much about Japanese language/culture, but one of the first Japanese words that I learned online was "otaku", and what I learned about it was extremely negative. The way it was explained to me back in like... 1997 was that "otaku" literally means house. As in, someone who is so demented and obsessed with something that they never leave the freaking house! LOL This probably isn't a historically accurate explanation for the origins of that word, but the description really stuck with me all these years. Boni told me when I talked about Gundam on your forum, that people on Soba said I was an otaku. It really bothered me because I don't want to give Japanese players the impression that I'm some creepy gaijin who never leaves the house and simply plays FPS games while watching Gundam all day. I think I told you before that one of my fears when I first heard them saying "gaijin" was that they were saying "kowai gaijin". I really don't want to give a bad impression of westerners. I like some bishoujo/datesim games... I know that is probably the lamest thing you've ever heard, but I swear I'm not anything like the creepy guys in that photo. =( One of my friends is a big fan of Japanese pop culture (anime, games, etc.) and calls himself otaku. I really hate when he or anyone else online calls me otaku simply because I like certain things. I don’t know much about Japanese language/culture, but one of the first Japanese words that I learned online was “otaku”, and what I learned about it was extremely negative.

The way it was explained to me back in like… 1997 was that “otaku” literally means house. As in, someone who is so demented and obsessed with something that they never leave the freaking house! LOL This probably isn’t a historically accurate explanation for the origins of that word, but the description really stuck with me all these years.

Boni told me when I talked about Gundam on your forum, that people on Soba said I was an otaku. It really bothered me because I don’t want to give Japanese players the impression that I’m some creepy gaijin who never leaves the house and simply plays FPS games while watching Gundam all day. I think I told you before that one of my fears when I first heard them saying “gaijin” was that they were saying “kowai gaijin”. I really don’t want to give a bad impression of westerners.

I like some bishoujo/datesim games… I know that is probably the lamest thing you’ve ever heard, but I swear I’m not anything like the creepy guys in that photo. =(

]]> Comment on Cat goes crazy for scatches by Rachel http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/comment-page-1/#comment-339 Rachel Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:32:02 +0000 http://www.amusedme.com/2007/10/29/cat-goes-crazy-for-scatches/#comment-339 Are you planning to get a cat or dog once your house is built? I'm more of a dog person myself. But I've never known any cats so personable that they would let you... erm scratch their butt. XD; All the cats I've known were more interested in scratching the living heck out of me. =( Are you planning to get a cat or dog once your house is built?

I’m more of a dog person myself. But I’ve never known any cats so personable that they would let you… erm scratch their butt. XD; All the cats I’ve known were more interested in scratching the living heck out of me. =(

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