Comments on: 95% of gaijin demand 70% more pie charts

95% of gaijin demand 70% more pie charts

soma lkzx — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:11:21 -0800

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.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:17:31 -0800

Rice better looking than Obama? I'm a straight guy and even I think Obama is hotter. JAPAN LOSES

By: bookwo3107

bookwo3107 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:18:02 -0800

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...

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:23:59 -0800

Does drinking "pickle juice" count as vinegar? If so, count me guilty as charged.

By: the sobsister

the sobsister — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:47:09 -0800

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?

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:50:39 -0800

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.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:01:51 -0800

I know they have cherries in Japan, I've seen the blossoms. Make a pie yourself.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:02:56 -0800

I'd need a real oven. No room for it.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:06:04 -0800

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.

By: davey_darling

davey_darling — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:08:13 -0800

(^_^;) 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.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:08:29 -0800

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.

By: donkeymon

donkeymon — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:08:53 -0800

Sobsister, I think that it's the sweat of exasperation...

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:12:32 -0800

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.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:28:42 -0800

Election poll fatigue? Oh, yeah. Much.

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:30:23 -0800

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.

By: misha

misha — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:30:51 -0800

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.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:07:42 -0800

(^_^;) 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.

By: I Said, I've Got A Big Stick

I Said, I've Got A Big Stick — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:20:02 -0800

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.

By: vorfeed

vorfeed — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:30:24 -0800

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.

By: utsutsu

utsutsu — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:32:27 -0800

(^_^;) 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.

By: utsutsu

utsutsu — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:32:54 -0800

I should have previewed! (^_^;)

By: sotonohito

sotonohito — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:05:50 -0800

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.

By: kolophon

kolophon — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:06:22 -0800

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?

By: bugbread

bugbread — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:30:53 -0800

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).

By: bugbread

bugbread — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:36:25 -0800

kolophon writes "Could somebody be so kind and make a snapshot of how it's supposed to look?" Here ya go.

By: the sobsister

the sobsister — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:52:45 -0800

thanks for that informative Wiki-link, utsutsu.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:18:47 -0800

Thanks bugbread and sotonohito!

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:30:18 -0800

They think Bush is more attractive than Obama? Blair is #3? Is this from an alternate universe of some kind? (^_^;)

By: bugbread

bugbread — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:11:22 -0800

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.