What is this... "Scrub"?

     Recently I've read a small bit of a book titled Playing to Win, in which the author, a game developer named Sirlin, writes about the concept of... well, it's kind of obvious. When "playing to win", victory is the most important goal, and any method used to win is viable and acceptable as long as it still falls within the game's set of rules. While the bits I read focused on the competitive side of gaming, a side that I understand fairly well but am not terribly familiar with, many of the concepts and points stated can be said of non-competitive games or of competitive games played non-competitively. He makes some very interesting and excellent points, and also defines what it means to be a "scrub"... and I match the description.

What is this... "Fanboyism"?

     Over the past few weeks, the internet has been abuzz (read: "out of its mind") about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special. Every time I get on Facebook, my news feed has at least one Doctor Who post, sometimes as many as five or six. These range from "Check out this video" to "ZOMGOOGLES A NEW DOCTOR WHO VIDEO! I'M SO EXCITED! AASDFASDGASDFJASKBFASKLCJN!" Today, we're going to talk about the latter...

So... uncool...

What is this... "Hardcore Gamer"?

     While doing some research for an upcoming post, I stumbled upon the urban dictionary definition of what a "Hardcore Gamer" is. At first, I was amused. I'd be the first to say that anything from Urban Dictionary shouldn't be taken seriously, but I actually found myself agreeing with the definition. At least, that is, at first...

*Stereotypical Hardcore Gamer*

What is this... 'Cour'?

     When I watch an anime, I usually don't have anyone to talk to about it. Only a few of my friends watch anime, and they don't watch nearly as much as I do. While watching Attack on Titan over the past few months, I've had the unexpected pleasure of having someone else I know watch it as well. It's been exciting to be able to talk to someone about it, and I've bugged her about "getting caught up" so I can let my inner otaku out and gush about the twists in the story. However, she's not even close to being an "otaku", and so some of the things that are normal in anime strike her as odd. One of these things is the way anime seasons are set up. So, I've decided to lay it out plainly, both for her and anyone else that might be wondering...

So just sit back and pay attention...

What is this... Difference Between Geeks and Nerds?

     Someone comes up and asks me, "So you're a nerd, right?", to which I respond, "No, I'm a geek.", to which they respond, "What's the difference?" That... is a good question. Over the past few years, I've struggled with answering this question, and found myself unable to do so in an easily understandable manner. Whilst doing a little research, I found the answer: "The distinction is that geeks are fans of their subjects, and nerds are practitioners of them."

I can't believe I never saw it like that...

What is this... Favorite Anime? REVISITED

     Back in October 2011, I wrote about my favorite anime. At the time, I had a somewhat limited watch history and, to be honest, I hadn't quite thought some of them through. I figure it's about time I fix that. This time around I'm going to do it by genre instead of just naming a bunch of the same genre and copping out on the others. Variety is the spice of life, you know?

UPDATED! I've changed a few favorites as new shows have come out over the past few years, and I've added a new genre! Check em' out!

What is this... Weaboo?

      While watching a livestream a few weeks months ago, I heard a conversation between the Livestreamer and a commentor in the chat box. It went a little something like this:

Commentor: "Desu" means "death".
Livestreamer: "Desu" does not mean "death", you stupid weaboo!

     All I could say was... WUT? So, I did some research, and here's what I found...

Wait, what do you mean research? Is this about to be educational?

What is this... Anime? 二番ラウンド (Second Round)!

     Back in February, I did a blurb about anime. As I read it now, it comes across as somewhat fanboyish, and more heavily opinionated than I had originally intended. Many of my original opinions still stand, but I've had more time to mold them into a better argument. "No one's arguing with you, Goongala." SILENCE! I mean... Yeah, it is kind of one sided in here. *Sigh* Anyhoo, time to try this again...

So listen up...

What is this... Favorites? Characters!

     WHEW! It's been a few weeks since I wrote something new. I've been suffering from some epic laziness, but that ends now... With this post!    

See if you can name them all before reading the rest of this thing!

     After reflecting on the... Forty-three (yup, just counted them) animes that I've watched, I began thinking: out of all of the characters in all of these animes, which are my favorites? Why do I like them in particular? As I looked back, I decided to choose ten characters who've defined awesome for me.

     For some of these, I may not really have much of a reason other than I just like them as a character (I am entitled to my own opinion!). They also aren't going to be in any particular order, but I figure I at least have to start with my all time favorite... Or perhaps I'll save that one for last. Yeah, I'll save it... There are going to be a ton of spoilers (each will be prefaced with "SPOILER" for easy spotting and blacked out so you wont accidentally read them. As always, highlight the blacked out areas to read!) so if you are interested in watching the anime, watch out for those. I'm not going to give away a lot of details about the animes themselves, so if you want to know more... watch the anime! Or, you know, you can just Google it or something...

What is this... おたく?

     "Three posts in one day? Goongala, you spoil us." Well, yes... Anyway, time for another dose of Japanese culture, with a side of geekiness... Now, just what is this "Otaku Series"?

I spot... Kon, Naruto, Alphonse, Cloud Strife, Domo-kun, a Dragonball, Pikachu, and is that... Poop?

What is this... Manga?

     It's finally time for the third part of my "Otaku Series". "What's an 'otaku'," you might ask? I'll get to that later, since I think this one's going to be pretty short. So, onto manga...

Look at 'em all!

What is this... VOCALOID?

    When you watch the amount of Anime that I watch, you can't go long without hearing Japanese music. Each anime has a unique OP (intro) and ED (ending) song, sometimes more than one if the series lasts long enough. Sometimes the songs are made specifically for the Anime, and sometimes the song has nothing to do with anything. But that's more about Anime, and not really about Vocaloid.

What is this... Anime?

It all began that one time I saw...

     Anime. Japanimation. Japanese cartoons. It really doesn't matter what you call it, it's still awesome. "But why, Goongala? Why do you like anime so much?" This has been asked of me several times by my friends, even if they didn't know they were asking. Some give me weird looks, looks that say, "You're weird. I'm not talking to you anymore." "So then, what's the deal Goongala?" Here's a few reasons why I like anime so much.