Topicless thread

[Red-Machine]

@Red: I don't know what to say. ;////////;

Well, you could say "thank you". *mwah*

@Red + Choco: Pwese don't fight over meeeeeeeee....

Hee.  Don't worry; I'll make sure I win! ;010

[Cockleshell]

BELLA IS VURRY PRETTAY. go be a model and make LOTS OF MONEY

[Chocofreak13]

@red: you're on. but i'll have you know, i'm a stubborn-ass bitch. >:3
@bella: i WAS in the market for a girlfriend...... ;3 (due to my past history with guys reading like a bad emo romance novel)
and if you're not too comfy with your family, come to otacon with us. :3 (i'm kidding. you don't really get a choice in the matter. :3)

@cockle: YES, then she can donate it all to the site! >:3

[SleepyD]

haha, you'll find just as many or even more grown men reading manga on the subway in Japan.

Ah cultural differences. It's a very interesting subject, I agree. In recent months I've been observing the differences between Western and Japanese otaku cultures. And oooh, I feel like going into ranting/blogging mode now.

I have some relatives in NorCal... an uncle with a wicked temper but who has a much larger bark than bite, a paranoid-schizophrenic/agoraphobic aunt and a couple of cousins who... sort....of.... joined the military for family honour or something. The cousins once spent a summer with us in New England, just to broaden their horizons or something... don't think I'll be doing the same though, what with the crazy aunt and all.

I also have some more distant family in SoCal, but I'm not very familiar with them. :\

I don't have any relatives in the New England area, and I've likewise never been there. Since most of my relatives are Filipino, they settled in places with similar weather to the Philippines, so if they decided to move from California (the port of entry for ALL of them) they ended up in places like Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Georgia. i.e. places that get warm and/or humid, with minimal snowfall, if any.  

As a result, NE culture is something I'm quite unfamiliar with.

I'm not really hostile toward Californians per se, I'm just rather quite pissed at the... hijacking of my region's technological culture. It actually pains me slightly to think of how little my people know about their own past when it comes to technology -- New Englanders are a history-obsessed people, but we seem to have lost all knowledge of our own region's role when it comes to the invention of the modern computer.

Also, I can't really say much about those guys up north in the Silicon Valley taking your history away. ^^;  It's not like I can apologize for that or anything. ehe... Although I think we attract a lot of tech people that would like to see that sort of stuff though. Or maybe you can blame CalTech, I hear they have it in for the MIT guys.

Most of California's own history remains unnoticed by most Californians, let alone any tourists.  You don't see any structure that's obviously "old" or anything of the sort.  Relative to NE, our history as a part of America started quite recently. The general sense here is to keep looking forward and never, ever look back, no matter what mistakes we make along the way.  

Thank you though -- I love reading about regionalisms and local cultures and found this quite interesting. Most of my knowledge of CA's culture comes from things like this: http://verseau.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/differences-between-california-and-new-england/ . You seem to have confirmed a lot of the things mentioned here.

That's an interesting article.  I may object slightly to the "shallow" relationships mentioned, but I guess it is true with a number of people I've encountered. I like to think I'm not like that, likewise with many of the friends I've met in my life. My circle of acquaintances may be big, but my circle of friends is much smaller and intimate.  It's a rather nerdy circle, so we have very few, if any, of the habits of a stereotypical young Californian.

And yes, our towns and cities don't have any one center; instead, you'll usually find multiple, smaller city centers spread out over many square miles. The California population is home to a bunch of people from all sorts of places and backgrounds.  It's a very interesting dynamic really, seeing these different groups with completely different and often opposing needs trying to live together.

It also mentions how reserved NE is. I'm considered rather reserved, but I've had to break out of my shell on numerous occasions. I wonder if I'd still be considered a "reserved" person by NE standards. haha...

I mean, really, there are enough anime fans in Los Angeles that even people that don't care for anime have a fairly good sense of what it is.  So, most anime fans here are very open about their hobbies (and i mean at public places not necessarily related to anime). I rarely get that sense anywhere else. To the dismay of many 4channers, many fans here don't "hide their power level"



Of course, I can't really pigeon-hole Californians to any one personality or whatever. There's just too many different kinds of people here. They don't care what anyone else thinks, so the place is indeed much more open and maybe much less polite than say, NE. Reason? I can only think of 2.

2 common mindsets, that is.
1) "Take it easy": No need to get all riled up about rules of politeness or whatever. Just do what you want/need to do without regard for much of anything.
2) "Who the hell do you think I am?!!!": The "I'm better than everyone else here, and my way is the best way" attitude.  
Sometimes both mindsets at the same time. haha...

As evidenced by the fact that these are catchphrases, these are not uniquely Californian. It's just something I've observed while living here.

=============================
=============================
tl;dr
California is an energetic, fun place. It's a bit chaotic, to be sure. As long as you don't mind the crazy, you might enjoy some of its other offerings.


Also, soda or pop?
...or coke?
...or fizzy drink?

[Bella]

Thanks Cockle. ^//^ Um... modeling looks fun and all *tsktsk* but I think I'd rather try to make lots of money using physics or math or photography or something. :U

@Red: I don't know what to say. ;////////;

Well, you could say "thank you". *mwah*

@Red + Choco: Pwese don't fight over meeeeeeeee....

Hee.  Don't worry; I'll make sure I win! ;010

Okay then, thank you. *mwah!* ^^

I'm routing for ya~ :V

@red: you're on. but i'll have you know, i'm a stubborn-ass bitch. >:3
@bella: i WAS in the market for a girlfriend...... ;3 (due to my past history with guys reading like a bad emo romance novel)
and if you're not too comfy with your family, come to otacon with us. :3 (i'm kidding. you don't really get a choice in the matter. :3)

@cockle: YES, then she can donate it all to the site! >:3

...I'm routing for you too though~ :V

Good luck with finding a girlfriend/boyfriend who doesn't make your life an emo novel. .______. Um... my entire history with guys involves getting hit on + being too shy to tell others that I like them. ("Hey I think you're nice, wanna date an asexual?" is kind of an awkward proposition.)

I'm trying to work things out Otacon-wise, it's still dependent on a lot of things that are currently out of my control (money + time being the main gist).

I don't have any relatives in the New England area, and I've likewise never been there. Since most of my relatives are Filipino, they settled in places with similar weather to the Philippines, so if they decided to move from California (the port of entry for ALL of them) they ended up in places like Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Georgia. i.e. places that get warm and/or humid, with minimal snowfall, if any.

As a result, NE culture is something I'm quite unfamiliar with.

It's interesting how immigrants tend to settle in areas with similar climate conditions to the place they left... the large Swede and Norwegian populations in Minnesota and Germans in the northern part of the Midwest are other examples of this phenomena.

Also, I can't really say much about those guys up north in the Silicon Valley taking your history away. ^^; It's not like I can apologize for that or anything. ehe... Although I think we attract a lot of tech people that would like to see that sort of stuff though. Or maybe you can blame CalTech, I hear they have it in for the MIT guys.

Most of California's own history remains unnoticed by most Californians, let alone any tourists. You don't see any structure that's obviously "old" or anything of the sort. Relative to NE, our history as a part of America started quite recently. The general sense here is to keep looking forward and never, ever look back, no matter what mistakes we make along the way.

Hmm, I did now know about the CalTech-MIT rivalry either (although I am quite familiar with Harvard v. MIT). Just seems that the current popular conception traces the beginnings of computers (or really PCs) to the Pacific Coast-- Apple and Silicon Valley would be the best examples, but there's Microsoft in the Pacific Northwest too.

That's an interesting article. I may object slightly to the "shallow" relationships mentioned, but I guess it is true with a number of people I've encountered. I like to think I'm not like that, likewise with many of the friends I've met in my life. My circle of acquaintances may be big, but my circle of friends is much smaller and intimate. It's a rather nerdy circle, so we have very few, if any, of the habits of a stereotypical young Californian.

And yes, our towns and cities don't have any one center; instead, you'll usually find multiple, smaller city centers spread out over many square miles. The California population is home to a bunch of people from all sorts of places and backgrounds. It's a very interesting dynamic really, seeing these different groups with completely different and often opposing needs trying to live together.

It also mentions how reserved NE is. I'm considered rather reserved, but I've had to break out of my shell on numerous occasions. I wonder if I'd still be considered a "reserved" person by NE standards. haha...

I mean, really, there are enough anime fans in Los Angeles that even people that don't care for anime have a fairly good sense of what it is. So, most anime fans here are very open about their hobbies (and i mean at public places not necessarily related to anime). I rarely get that sense anywhere else. To the dismay of many 4channers, many fans here don't "hide their power level"

...

Also, I can't really say much about those guys up north in the Silicon Valley taking your history away. ^^; It's not like I can apologize for that or anything. ehe... Although I think we attract a lot of tech people that would like to see that sort of stuff though. Or maybe you can blame CalTech, I hear they have it in for the MIT guys.

Most of California's own history remains unnoticed by most Californians, let alone any tourists. You don't see any structure that's obviously "old" or anything of the sort. Relative to NE, our history as a part of America started quite recently. The general sense here is to keep looking forward and never, ever look back, no matter what mistakes we make along the way.

...

That's an interesting article. I may object slightly to the "shallow" relationships mentioned, but I guess it is true with a number of people I've encountered. I like to think I'm not like that, likewise with many of the friends I've met in my life. My circle of acquaintances may be big, but my circle of friends is much smaller and intimate. It's a rather nerdy circle, so we have very few, if any, of the habits of a stereotypical young Californian.

And yes, our towns and cities don't have any one center; instead, you'll usually find multiple, smaller city centers spread out over many square miles. The California population is home to a bunch of people from all sorts of places and backgrounds. It's a very interesting dynamic really, seeing these different groups with completely different and often opposing needs trying to live together.

It also mentions how reserved NE is. I'm considered rather reserved, but I've had to break out of my shell on numerous occasions. I wonder if I'd still be considered a "reserved" person by NE standards. haha...

I mean, really, there are enough anime fans in Los Angeles that even people that don't care for anime have a fairly good sense of what it is. So, most anime fans here are very open about their hobbies (and i mean at public places not necessarily related to anime). I rarely get that sense anywhere else. To the dismay of many 4channers, many fans here don't "hide their power level"

Of course, I can't really pigeon-hole Californians to any one personality or whatever. There's just too many different kinds of people here. They don't care what anyone else thinks, so the place is indeed much more open and maybe much less polite than say, NE. Reason? I can only think of 2.

2 common mindsets, that is.
1) "Take it easy": No need to get all riled up about rules of politeness or whatever. Just do what you want/need to do without regard for much of anything.
2) "Who the hell do you think I am?!!!": The "I'm better than everyone else here, and my way is the best way" attitude.
Sometimes both mindsets at the same time. haha...

As evidenced by the fact that these are catchphrases, these are not uniquely Californian. It's just something I've observed while living here.

=============================
=============================
tl;dr
California is an energetic, fun place. It's a bit chaotic, to be sure. As long as you don't mind the crazy, you might enjoy some of its other offerings.


Also, soda or pop?
...or coke?
...or fizzy drink?

I've heard from other sources that Californians tend to be very socially-gregarious but perhaps not as loyal to their relationships, but not having any friends who belong to the typical CA youth culture I can't make this judgment either. ;P

New Englanders can be gregarious or cold depending on the region-- Bostonians and Eastern Mass-people are very, very talkative, engaging, curious and open, but when you get into the some small-town areas the locals can be suspicious of people outside their immediate social circles. The rural people and residents of tourist areas (like most of central NH, my region) are typically a little more relaxed toward outsiders.

NE is largely Caucasian, but it would be better thought of as a mix of English, Scottish, Irish and French (and French-Canadian, especially in NH and VT), and a large population of Portuguese and Italian (especially in coastal Mass and Rhode Island). There are a fair number of people who've had family here so long that they don't associate with any ethnicity and simply consider themselves... New Englanders.

When they say NE'ers are reserved, it doesn't so much mean that we're prudish... well, maybe just a hint (see: notable lack of nightlife our cities), but we're rather mindful of one anothers' beliefs and feelings and try not to be offensive. Ironically, it's not considered taboo to discuss such topics as religion or politics with strangers, but they are subjects that tend to be approached with sensibility and politeness.

NE I'd describe as being orderly, harmonious and pleasant with a healthy dose of mystery and a hint of melancholy. There are certainly more energetic areas and a lot of interesting places, but for the most part our main source of entertainment is one another-- our neighbors, friends, family. We live in "tough" environment and have learned to live with nature rather than try to overcome it.

If you like nonstop fun and excitement, NE isn't going to be your sort of place... but if you like being able to stop for a moment and enjoy life at a more relaxed pace, this is the place to be.

California is a place I really want to visit, though-- the culture seems fantastic to me, quite foreign, but like something I'd enjoy.

...

BTW, it's soda. Pop is a name for yah fatha, Coke is a brand-name, and fizzy drink'll just get yah weihd looks.

[Aurora Borealis]

The Northeast sounds so interesting and have such a distinct culture of their own!

Heheheheh! I admit that for a long time I thought the computer revolution started on the west coast! Back then the earliest computer I knew of was the Altair. It wasn't until late '07 onwards that I learned that UNIX originated in the Northeast, along with Multics, CTSS, and many other systems older than that! ^^;

[Chocofreak13]

HAH. NE ROCKS. ALL THE REST OF YOU well i'm not gonna say anything mean cause you guys are nice :3

NE is cold. it has odd weather patterns, and bells is right on the money with the ethnicity thing. my town (southern NH, almost mass) is.....well......depends on which town. the town i ACTUALLY live in (windham) is full of stuck up little richie-rich types who feel they're better than everyone else even though this is just a hick town where the biggest attractions are the castle, cobbet's pond (gross lake), the lead singer of godsmack and the fact that we seem to be a stop on the drug-running trail. :\

salem, the town i consider my REAL hometown, is ALOT more down to earth. i have friends in both towns, but from my experience, the people seem friendlier in salem, maybe it's cause there are less richie-riches and more average joes. (this is conflicting with my high school experience, i'm trying to ignore that in the name of accuracy.) salem's attractions include: canobie lake park (amusement park, lots of fun rides but the price has skyrocketed in this economy ;__; ), canobie lake (no swimming, it's the town's water), victorian mini golf, rockingham park (race track), rockingham mall, shadow lake (yes swimming), and much else. :3

oh, and they call it "soda pop" in canada, here we call it "soda". (they also call ketchup "catsup" in canada, which is wrong cause the two are two different things.)


COME TO OTACON EVERYBODY KTHXBAI

[Bella]

@Aurora: Every region in America has its own unique culture, but NE is probably one of the more distinct (along with, as far as I can tell, CA, the various Southern cultures, Cajun-influenced Louisiana, and the heavily Hispanic and Native-American influenced Southwest).

Yeah, I always assumed Unix was the "first modern OS", so it came as a shock realising that many OSes, perhaps even more advanced ones, originated in New England at the same time... and even dates earlier. Now there's a fairly solid case that NE gave us some of the first true "ancestral" computers to our own... Harvard Mk. I and Whirlwind did much more to inspire the mainframes and micros of the 1950s and 60s than, for instance, the ENIAC.

@Choco: Hey, I know those annoying rich NH snobs! I call them the "Townies". Occasionally they wander into our region...

My area, on the boundary between the White Mountains and Lakes Region, is home to lots of tourists, outdoorspeople, college students and generally unpretentious and polite working-class folk. We have several ski resorts within close driving distance: Waterville Valley, Loon, Cannon and Tenney Mountain, rivers and lakes all over the place (the most prominent being the Pemi River and Lake Winnipesaukee) and a huge outdoor activity-based economy (tours, etc). A lot of the people I know there are from other states, especially Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

It's just plain "pop" in Michigan and the Midwest.

I'LL TRY MKAY?

OHHHHHHH, and I'm leaving today for Rhode Island. So you're not gonna be hearing from me for a couple of weeks, or maybe, more like ~10 days. D:

Imma try to go to Block Island. I hear it's like a little Martha's Vineyard. <3

[Chocofreak13]

we'll miss you...

srsly. there's NO ONE to talk to anymore. everyone's on vacation. >__< and my southern mass area friends seem to think i died. (at least that's response i've been getting for 3 weeks. >:[ )

the friend i mentioned that was missing has been found, she's in the ICU at holy family hospital. ;___; she can't have visitors right now except family, so i don't know much.

on a brighter note i have aspired to a new mini-project: OS-TAN MAGNETS. >:3
i'm making vocaloid ones too, but this goes hand-in-hand with the pencil case idea. send me artwork you want turned into a pencil case, along with pics for a magnet set along with address, and i will start making these things for you. :3 (keep in mind that pencil case artwork will be folded in half, lengthwise. it's best to make one pic on half a sheet of 8.5" x 11", then mirror it to the other side.)

i'm so bored recently. >___<;

[Red-Machine]

Okay then, thank you. *mwah!* ^^

I'm routing for ya~ :V

OMG YAY!

Um... my entire history with guys involves getting hit on + being too shy to tell others that I like them.

I'm exactly the same.  I may be completely infatuated with a girl and I just won't have the courage to tell her.

[Chocofreak13]

I WILL WIN!!(or at least fight)

my romantic history isn't that great.

[Cockleshell]

Choco I forgot to mention I have a goat named Chocolate that I named after you <3

[Chocofreak13]

........i wuv you......<3

[Cockleshell]

really damn good sausages, homegrown potatoes, eggs laid today, and sour cream
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Xeon]

Why hello thar internets. Did I miss any important internet news during my 169 days of internetz deprivation?.

Has Microsoft and Apple finally combined to form an unholy abomination?.
Has /b/ killed itself yet?
Has google taken control of the internetz yet?
Is that Hadron Collider gonna kill us or what?

Ohhhh so many unanswered questions..... I need to drown myself in internetz now *468 opened tabs... HOW GLORIOUS *.