Month: July 2016

We’ve done Americans, nerds, the Swiss, and the French. How ’bout otaku?

In case you’re not familiar with the term “otaku”, here’s the definition:

ōˈtäko͞o/ — (in Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills.

Here are a couple of anime otaku in their bedrooms / personal shrines:

As for “waifu”, that’s borrowed the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “wife”, and its definition is:

(fandom slang) A fictional character (generally female) from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga, or video game) whom one is attracted to and considers a significant other.

For example, the person in this room probably considers Hinagiku Katsura (or Katsura Hinagiku, if you prefer your names in Western order) from Hayate No Gotoku (a.k.a. Hayate the Combat Butler) to be his waifu.

Otaku who are attracted to male manga, anime, or videogame characters refer to the one they’re obsessed with as their husbando (from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “husband”).

We’ve seen the American, nerd, and Swiss way. How about the French?

We’ve seen how Americans and nerds take a shower. How do the Swiss do it?

A follow-up to yesterday’s post, How Americans take a shower…

And yes, if you’ve ever been to a LAN party, Comic-Con, or similarly nerdy event, you may be justified in asking “Wait a minute…since when do nerds actually shower?” But I assure you: some of us do.

C’mon, what’s more American than listening to a professional wrestler who’s talking sense, has been described as “the moral center of a inverted reality in which ripped men and women pretend to pulverize one another to advance their careers”, and can do a press conference in Mandarin?

Seventy years ago today, another independence took place on July 4th. On this day in 1946, the Philippines was granted independence from the United States, which held it first as a territory in 1898, and then as a commonwealth in 1935.

Here’s an old newsreel showing the events of that time, which includes an excerpt of a speech by General Douglas MacArthur:

The signing of the Treaty of Manila by Philippine President Manuel Roxas and U.S. Ambassador Paul McNutt sealed the deal, and the Philippines has been its own country ever since. Happy Republic Day!