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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 16th, 2023

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  • Back when I was really into Pokemon I liked Dewott. After not playing Pokemon for several years, I think Pikachu became my favorite; it’s really the only pokemon you get exposed to if you don’t play the games and the design is very iconic.
    About a year ago I played Cobblemon (Minecraft Pokemon) and Joltik / Galvantula became my new favorite. 🕷️




  • Reminds me of the beginning of Moby Dick

    Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.



  • What I imagine to be the “true” answer to the question is that “consciousness” isn’t really real, but if it’s thought of as a result of physical/chemical properties, then there’s no dividing line between what reactions count as consciousness (ie, a waterfall or tectonic plate could also be conscious).

    You can’t prove that you experience that sort of intangible experience and it can’t be measured or well-defined, so I’m personally inclined to not really believe in it at all.
    OR if we do accept that it’s a result of chemical reactions and we want to define it in terms of those, then there’s not a strong reason to differentiate a human experience from rocks or computers or waterfalls.
    I think people are inclined to think that such a thing exists because we have the abilities of memory and communication, but the concept itself I think is not very useful. Which is why I suspect that a magically True answer would say that the physicality of the brain itself is as close as you can get to that idea.




  • I’ve been studying Japanese for almost six years now and I would say YES kanji is difficult, but it’s not insurmountable. It’s also one of the most interesting and fulfilling parts of learning the language.
    There’s a certain level of “you have to know the rules before you know how to break the rules” but kanji can often be used in interesting nonstandard ways in literature & manga and just in general carry so much meaning and depth.
    There’s always something new to learn. Did you know that there’s another version of 探す (to search) that has a slightly different connotation? 探す is usually used to search for something you want, but 捜す is used to search for something that’s missing.

    By the way, do we have a Japanese learning community on Lemmy?


  • Depends on what you mean by “similar”. If you’re looking for the right thing, there are often a lot of phonetic hints in kanji.

    For example, 矢 and 夫 sound completely different, totally unrelated. These are pretty basic kanji though; I think it’s analogous to how O and Q are totally different, or i and j.

    If there’s more complex similarities though, then yeah there can be an implied phonetic relationship. Look at: 同胴洞銅恫桐粡. These can all be pronounced the same: どう (dou). Though, many of them have kunyomi readings that are totally unrelated.


  • I really got into anime in 2018 with Little Witch Academia but as a kid my first anime ever was probably Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind or another early Ghibli movie. Also as a kid I watched the Cardcaptor Sakura movies.

    My first impressions were very positive. I was kinda primed to expect all anime to be trash and cringe so I was surprised when Little Witch Academia was actually just a great show. I’ve been watching non-stop since then, learned the language, translated some manga, etc.

    My favorite series since I first watched it in 2020 has always been The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Every arc is amazing, the characters are so interesting, and the presentation is so creative. Though I just recently started PaniPoni Dash! and it’s the first thing that’s ever challenged Haruhi for me; it might be my new #1. It’s 2005 Shaft and it’s kinda the peak of Shaft’s style and quirkiness and it’s also really funny.

    I also just recently watched absolutely the worst anime I’ve ever seen: Kennel Tokorozawa. It is funny, which is a positive, but not enough to outweigh how overwhelmingly awful it is as a whole.
    The worst things I’ve seen that (somehow) have an actual level of popularity and acclaim: Shinsekai yori, 86, The Boy and the Heron. All bad for different reasons, but each one irredeemably terrible.

    You didn’t ask, but I’ll also mention what I think is the most underrated anime ever: Christmas in January. Amazing short movie. Not very popular or well-regarded, but very subtle and emotional and whimsical. Definitely the most “hidden gem” thing I’ve ever found.








  • You do not invent your own name sign. Name signs may only be given by a person in the Deaf community. Some hearing people (like interpreters and teachers) mistakenly give name signs without realizing they are in violation of Deaf culture traditions. However, a name sign cannot be assigned by a hearing person.

    American Sign Language has deep cultural and linguistic significance. Typically, it is not until you are involved in the community that you are given a name sign. In fact, not everyone within the Deaf community has a name sign.

    From article
    It’s like a cultural thing. This still doesn’t really answer why it’s like that in the first place, but I think in general the reason it feels inappropriate to name yourself in another language is that it feels “cringe” for lack of a better word. Somebody picks a name that has all kinds of cultural and colloquial associations without understanding them at all.
    That’s kinda my theory of cultural appropriation; it’s not wrong because of some deep ethical reason, but rather it’s just often uncool. People sending signals that they don’t understand themselves.