95% of gaijin demand 70% more pie charts
January 25, 2008 6:11 AM Subscribe
Election poll fatigue? Diversify your daily dose of stats with What Japan Thinks. Check out Japan's favorite emoticons, thoughts on drinking vinegar, and of course awwcats.
And if you still really need something about the primaries, Hillary Clinton is the 4th-best-looking world politician.
And if you still really need something about the primaries, Hillary Clinton is the 4th-best-looking world politician.
Man... Japan's emoticons seem a lot more expressive then what I'm used to seeing... I particularly like the man fallen on his knees in despair:
OTL
I can see that being an emotion I need to get across a lot online...
posted by bookwo3107 at 6:18 AM on January 25, 2008
OTL
I can see that being an emotion I need to get across a lot online...
posted by bookwo3107 at 6:18 AM on January 25, 2008
Does drinking "pickle juice" count as vinegar? If so, count me guilty as charged.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:23 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:23 AM on January 25, 2008
Looking at the emoticons, I noticed a few had a semicolon at one side, e.g., #3, "Troubled",
(^_^;)
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
posted by the sobsister at 6:47 AM on January 25, 2008
(^_^;)
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
posted by the sobsister at 6:47 AM on January 25, 2008
95% of gaijin demand 70% more pie charts
Nevermind the charts, I just wish it wasn't damn near impossible to find pies here in J-land. I want a good cherry pie. And goddamn, I really want some pecan pie. Goddamn.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:50 AM on January 25, 2008
Nevermind the charts, I just wish it wasn't damn near impossible to find pies here in J-land. I want a good cherry pie. And goddamn, I really want some pecan pie. Goddamn.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:50 AM on January 25, 2008
I know they have cherries in Japan, I've seen the blossoms. Make a pie yourself.
posted by DU at 7:01 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by DU at 7:01 AM on January 25, 2008
I'd need a real oven. No room for it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:02 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:02 AM on January 25, 2008
In case you weren't being sarcastic, DU, the native Japanese cherry trees make tiny, useless fruits, and many of the varieties prized for their blossoms make no fruit at all.
flapjax: The internet has informed me that there is an American-style bakery in Tokyo called Kyle's Good Finds that sells, amongst other things, pecan pie.
posted by jedicus at 7:06 AM on January 25, 2008
flapjax: The internet has informed me that there is an American-style bakery in Tokyo called Kyle's Good Finds that sells, amongst other things, pecan pie.
posted by jedicus at 7:06 AM on January 25, 2008
(^_^;)
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
I thought tears when I saw it.
posted by davey_darling at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
I thought tears when I saw it.
posted by davey_darling at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
Okay, after preview I see that a pecan or cherry pie will run you 3800¥ (about $35). Wow. Still, it's there if you really, really want pie.
posted by jedicus at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by jedicus at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
Sobsister, I think that it's the sweat of exasperation...
posted by donkeymon at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by donkeymon at 7:08 AM on January 25, 2008
Actually, jedicus, I know the Kyle of Kyle's Good Finds! But he's over in Nakano, not exactly on my way, if you know what I mean, and like you say, it ain't cheap. But I have a good friend in Nakano who has had a couple of parties catered by Kyle, and he's a bangup soul food chef all around. The ribs? Killing.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:12 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:12 AM on January 25, 2008
I added the apologizing emoticon to my user profile, as a general, blanket apology for all the dumb things I write here.. I hope it works.
posted by Dave Faris at 7:30 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by Dave Faris at 7:30 AM on January 25, 2008
I loved the apologizing emoticon, but some of them stumped me. I only just realized, after bookwo3107's post, that OTL was a man kneeling, and the last few are just mind-boggling.
posted by misha at 7:30 AM on January 25, 2008
posted by misha at 7:30 AM on January 25, 2008
(^_^;)
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
I thought it was a bluetooth earpiece.
posted by Eekacat at 8:07 AM on January 25, 2008
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
I thought it was a bluetooth earpiece.
posted by Eekacat at 8:07 AM on January 25, 2008
DU: Rice better looking than Obama? I'm a straight guy and even I think Obama is hotter.
Keep in mind we're dealing with different standards of attractiveness here. After all, this is the country that gave the world tentacle porn.
posted by I Said, I've Got A Big Stick at 8:20 AM on January 25, 2008
Keep in mind we're dealing with different standards of attractiveness here. After all, this is the country that gave the world tentacle porn.
posted by I Said, I've Got A Big Stick at 8:20 AM on January 25, 2008
Can anyone parse that? Is it the left ear? Is it sweat trickling? Is it that bulgey vein that manga characters display to express upset?
It's a sweat drop.
posted by vorfeed at 8:30 AM on January 25, 2008
It's a sweat drop.
posted by vorfeed at 8:30 AM on January 25, 2008
(^_^;)
I believe it is a sweat drop, which is a type of face fault which is a common in a lot of anime. I'm going to say which again just because. Which.
posted by utsutsu at 8:32 AM on January 25, 2008
I believe it is a sweat drop, which is a type of face fault which is a common in a lot of anime. I'm going to say which again just because. Which.
posted by utsutsu at 8:32 AM on January 25, 2008
flapjax at midnite I ate cherry pie in Tokyo. I only found it at one place: a pizza joint out in Machida. So, if you live in Machida, or are so hard up for a pie that you're willing to travel to Machida, grab a bus from Machida Eki that heads towards Obirin Daigaku (桜美林大学) (all the busses that include Obirin in their stops pass by this point), and hop off at the stop where there are two Coco's restaurants, one across the street from the other. Walk a kilometer or so north along the road the bus stops at, and you'll find not only some damn fine pizza (wood fired ovens, good crust, nice sauce, good stuff in general), but also pies. Caveat: my directions may be somewhat faulty because its been a year since I was in Tokyo, the street you need to head north on may be a block or so east from the twin Coco's.
As for politicians, I've got to agree with the Japanese choice for first place. Koizumi had *excellent* hair, better than any American politician I've seen including Rick "good hair" Perry.
As far as the website's claim of Japan's most decisive battle in WWII, I disagree. As I commented on their site:
While my speciality isn’t WWII era Japanese history, I am a Japanese historian, and the story at Siberian Lights is rather definately hetrodox from the viewpoint of most historians.
Most historians agree that the attack on Perl Harbor was motivated more by the success of Admiral Togo at Tsushima when he destroyed virtually the entire Russian Baltic Fleet with only trivial losses (three torpedo boats) of his own. While Russia was capiable of continuing the war with Japan, their more pressing concerns in Europe prevented them from committing more troops to the war, and consiquently Russia sued for peace and the two nations signed the Portsmouth Treaty.
Using that as a basis for their planning, it is generally agreed that the Japanese high command was worried about the US intervening in their expansion into China, the Pacific, and eventually Siberia. Thus, the attack on Perl Harbor was seen from the Japanese POV as a warning shot, a message to the USA to keep its nose out of Japanese affairs, and was inspired not by failure against the Russians, but by the earlier success against the Russians.
Obviously one cannot say that Japan’s action were not wholly unmotivated by Khalkhin-Gol, but most historians do not think it was a particularly formative moment in Japan’s military history. Especially considering that the Japanese Imperial Army had been aggitating for an expansion into China, not Russia, for decades.
posted by sotonohito at 9:05 AM on January 25, 2008
As for politicians, I've got to agree with the Japanese choice for first place. Koizumi had *excellent* hair, better than any American politician I've seen including Rick "good hair" Perry.
As far as the website's claim of Japan's most decisive battle in WWII, I disagree. As I commented on their site:
While my speciality isn’t WWII era Japanese history, I am a Japanese historian, and the story at Siberian Lights is rather definately hetrodox from the viewpoint of most historians.
Most historians agree that the attack on Perl Harbor was motivated more by the success of Admiral Togo at Tsushima when he destroyed virtually the entire Russian Baltic Fleet with only trivial losses (three torpedo boats) of his own. While Russia was capiable of continuing the war with Japan, their more pressing concerns in Europe prevented them from committing more troops to the war, and consiquently Russia sued for peace and the two nations signed the Portsmouth Treaty.
Using that as a basis for their planning, it is generally agreed that the Japanese high command was worried about the US intervening in their expansion into China, the Pacific, and eventually Siberia. Thus, the attack on Perl Harbor was seen from the Japanese POV as a warning shot, a message to the USA to keep its nose out of Japanese affairs, and was inspired not by failure against the Russians, but by the earlier success against the Russians.
Obviously one cannot say that Japan’s action were not wholly unmotivated by Khalkhin-Gol, but most historians do not think it was a particularly formative moment in Japan’s military history. Especially considering that the Japanese Imperial Army had been aggitating for an expansion into China, not Russia, for decades.
posted by sotonohito at 9:05 AM on January 25, 2008
hm, maybe it's the linux at work, but what I see on the emoticons site is this.
Could somebody be so kind and make a snapshot of how it's supposed to look?
posted by kolophon at 11:06 AM on January 25, 2008
Could somebody be so kind and make a snapshot of how it's supposed to look?
posted by kolophon at 11:06 AM on January 25, 2008
Soma lkzx, I found out about this site maybe a week ago, maybe less, and absolutely love it. It had never occurred to me to post it to MeFi, so good on you for spreading the word.
flapjax at midnite writes "I'd need a real oven. No room for it."
Get one of those microwave/convection ovens. They actually work. I'm amazed. I thought I'd never have home-made lasagna again, and here I am eatin' it. (Well, not right this minute, but in general).
posted by Bugbread at 11:30 AM on January 25, 2008
flapjax at midnite writes "I'd need a real oven. No room for it."
Get one of those microwave/convection ovens. They actually work. I'm amazed. I thought I'd never have home-made lasagna again, and here I am eatin' it. (Well, not right this minute, but in general).
posted by Bugbread at 11:30 AM on January 25, 2008
kolophon writes "Could somebody be so kind and make a snapshot of how it's supposed to look?"
Here ya go.
posted by Bugbread at 11:36 AM on January 25, 2008 [1 favorite]
Here ya go.
posted by Bugbread at 11:36 AM on January 25, 2008 [1 favorite]
thanks for that informative Wiki-link, utsutsu.
posted by the sobsister at 1:52 PM on January 25, 2008
posted by the sobsister at 1:52 PM on January 25, 2008
Thanks bugbread and sotonohito!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:18 PM on January 25, 2008
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:18 PM on January 25, 2008
They think Bush is more attractive than Obama? Blair is #3? Is this from an alternate universe of some kind?
(^_^;)
posted by Tehanu at 9:30 AM on January 26, 2008
(^_^;)
posted by Tehanu at 9:30 AM on January 26, 2008
Tehanu writes "They think Bush is more attractive than Obama? Blair is #3? Is this from an alternate universe of some kind?"
Well, the internet seems to indicate that a lot of Americans find Devon Aoki attractive, so I guess we'll just have to conclude that peoples' concept of attractiveness goes fucking haywire once it crosses racial lines.
posted by Bugbread at 12:11 PM on January 26, 2008
Well, the internet seems to indicate that a lot of Americans find Devon Aoki attractive, so I guess we'll just have to conclude that peoples' concept of attractiveness goes fucking haywire once it crosses racial lines.
posted by Bugbread at 12:11 PM on January 26, 2008
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JAPAN LOSES
posted by DU at 6:17 AM on January 25, 2008