(no subject)
Well, today I have officially been in Japan for six months, and Hachioji is celebrating with one hell of a thunderstorm O___O I keep being startled by the noise. Anyway, it looks like I won't be going anywhere to celebrate, so I guess today will be Official Sit Around in Pajamas All Day Day.
I am well prepared.
(Incidentally, I just checked the weather forecast to see if there was a typhoon coming or nearby or something, but according to Yahoo Weather, it is "lightly raining", pffft).
Anyway, I kind of feel like I'm jumping on a bandwagon here, but maybe it's just good timing. I've been thinking of making a post about 占い (uranai).
Uranai is the Japanese word for fortune telling, and it's kind of a big deal here. As you can see in the most recent WONDA commercial, you can get a daily star sign update on your phone, with all the star signs ranked in terms of which one is most lucky for the day. You can also find the same thing on the internet, and for the rest of this post I'll be referring to this site http://www.dailyfortune.jp/ As you can see, today Virgo is the most lucky (Poor Gemini).
Personally, I don't really put too much faith in fortune telling, but I've been reading mine a lot since I got here as a short reading practice on the trains and such ^^;; They're kinda fun and are so short it's hard to get bored or frustrated with them.
For reference, the star signs (星座 seiza) in Japanese are
みずがめ座 (mizugame-za/Aquarius)
うお座 (uo-za/Pisces)
おひつじ座 (ohitsuji-za/Aries)
おうし座 (oushi-za/Taurus)
ふたご座 (futago-za/Gemini)
かに座 (kani-za/Cancer)
しし座 (shishi-za/Leo)
おとめ座 (otome-za/Virgo)
てんびん座 (tenbin-za/Libra)
さそり座 (sasori-za/Scorpio)
いて座 (ite-za/Sagittarius) and
やぎ座 (yagi-za/Capricorn)
Anyway, as an example, here is Gackt's for today.
Once you click on it, you get a more detailed ranking in various types of 運 (un- fate, luck). This one has 全体運 (zentai-un/overall luck) 恋愛運 (ren'ai-un) romantic luck, 仕事運 (shigoto-un/work luck, can also include study) and 金運 (kin-un) money luck. G gets a 4/5 for everything except romance (apparently he's going to get lucky or something ~_^).
Underneath that is the ラッキーカラー (lucky color), red and the ラッキーアイテム (lucky item) which is steak (!).
His actual fortune for the day loosely translates to: It seems like today is a day you'll be able to appreciate the little things. We recommend you invite an old friend over tonight and make dinner for them. (is after that where the romantic luck comes in, I wonder? :P)
But where Japanese fortune telling really gets amusing is the sheer number of specific questions you can ask these sites. Some of the examples from the bottom of that page and elsewhere:
Love Compatibility Prediction (not just which star signs are compatible, but a prediction for a specific pairing for this week)
What is your level of "no hoper"-ness? (this one predicts it by asking what your favorite kind of baked good is o____O;;)
Will you keep your friends for a long time or will you break up soon? (nice paranoia fuel there)
Perverted-ness Level Prediction (Aquarius is 80% kinky, apparently)
How much of a "demon" are you?
Are you suited for plastic surgery?
How stingy are you?
Also, one uniquely Japanese form of fortune telling is prediction by blood type. The Japanese believe that your blood type influences your personality, and so, while there is a daily horoscope based on it, most of the predictions are telling you information about your own personality. In Japanese culture, some blood types are seen as more favorable than others, my own blood type, B is stereotyped as being rather self-centered and generally the least favorable. It is also apparently taken seriously enough by some people that there have been cases of workplace discrimination based around blood type. But I digress.
Anyway, yesterday or the day before, I was browsing through the blood type ones, using Gackt's A-type as a test (for some reason I prefer to look at someone else's before trying my own), and found one that combines A-blood type with your star sign to answer the question "Are you diligent even in bed?" (A-types are meant to be good workers, the equivalent test for B-types is in fact titled "Are you the type that tends to only satisfy yourself in bed?", yes, seriously. Because us B-types are just assholes at everything, apparently ._____.)
Anyway, here is the A-type + Cancer prediction (roughly):
You are the type with fearsome technique that surpasses "diligent" and reaches the level of "professional". Someone with no limits and boundless enthusiasm, you have accumulated experience from a young age, and your level of technique developed while observing your partners responses is proportionate to that. Even during play, some part of you is somehow composed and observing to confirm to yourself the high level of your technique. Your lovers, enchanted by your proficient skills will certainly become unable to be satisfied by any other person, and even if they had an affair, would undoubtedly come back.
L. O. L.
Oh god, I don't even know if it comes across in translation, but I was cackling so much reading this in Japanese. "Professional"? It just keeps building up on top of itself into a wonderful pile of ridiculous. But the last sentence has to be my favorite. Even though a plural isn't strictly necessary in the Japanese sentence, they had to go out of their way to say koibito-tachi (lovers). MORE THAN ONE. And once they've ~experienced~ G, they can never go back. Amazing xD
(I just read mine for B-type+ Aquarius, and it's pretty hilarious too. Apparently I'm an M-type who acts strong in public but childish and bratty around my partner, and gets turned on by being spoken to in a stern tone and teased and given orders. And if I meet a Do-S partner who's good at "training" me, I might never be able to return to the normal world.
I...uh... no comment. Except, oh geez, who do we know that's Do-S and likes "breaking in" girls?)
Anyway, I've had this post in a background tab and been stuffing around with it for hours now, and I think I've run out of things to talk about. I hope it was good for you.
I am well prepared.
(Incidentally, I just checked the weather forecast to see if there was a typhoon coming or nearby or something, but according to Yahoo Weather, it is "lightly raining", pffft).
Anyway, I kind of feel like I'm jumping on a bandwagon here, but maybe it's just good timing. I've been thinking of making a post about 占い (uranai).
Uranai is the Japanese word for fortune telling, and it's kind of a big deal here. As you can see in the most recent WONDA commercial, you can get a daily star sign update on your phone, with all the star signs ranked in terms of which one is most lucky for the day. You can also find the same thing on the internet, and for the rest of this post I'll be referring to this site http://www.dailyfortune.jp/ As you can see, today Virgo is the most lucky (Poor Gemini).
Personally, I don't really put too much faith in fortune telling, but I've been reading mine a lot since I got here as a short reading practice on the trains and such ^^;; They're kinda fun and are so short it's hard to get bored or frustrated with them.
For reference, the star signs (星座 seiza) in Japanese are
みずがめ座 (mizugame-za/Aquarius)
うお座 (uo-za/Pisces)
おひつじ座 (ohitsuji-za/Aries)
おうし座 (oushi-za/Taurus)
ふたご座 (futago-za/Gemini)
かに座 (kani-za/Cancer)
しし座 (shishi-za/Leo)
おとめ座 (otome-za/Virgo)
てんびん座 (tenbin-za/Libra)
さそり座 (sasori-za/Scorpio)
いて座 (ite-za/Sagittarius) and
やぎ座 (yagi-za/Capricorn)
Anyway, as an example, here is Gackt's for today.
Once you click on it, you get a more detailed ranking in various types of 運 (un- fate, luck). This one has 全体運 (zentai-un/overall luck) 恋愛運 (ren'ai-un) romantic luck, 仕事運 (shigoto-un/work luck, can also include study) and 金運 (kin-un) money luck. G gets a 4/5 for everything except romance (apparently he's going to get lucky or something ~_^).
Underneath that is the ラッキーカラー (lucky color), red and the ラッキーアイテム (lucky item) which is steak (!).
His actual fortune for the day loosely translates to: It seems like today is a day you'll be able to appreciate the little things. We recommend you invite an old friend over tonight and make dinner for them. (is after that where the romantic luck comes in, I wonder? :P)
But where Japanese fortune telling really gets amusing is the sheer number of specific questions you can ask these sites. Some of the examples from the bottom of that page and elsewhere:
Love Compatibility Prediction (not just which star signs are compatible, but a prediction for a specific pairing for this week)
What is your level of "no hoper"-ness? (this one predicts it by asking what your favorite kind of baked good is o____O;;)
Will you keep your friends for a long time or will you break up soon? (nice paranoia fuel there)
Perverted-ness Level Prediction (Aquarius is 80% kinky, apparently)
How much of a "demon" are you?
Are you suited for plastic surgery?
How stingy are you?
Also, one uniquely Japanese form of fortune telling is prediction by blood type. The Japanese believe that your blood type influences your personality, and so, while there is a daily horoscope based on it, most of the predictions are telling you information about your own personality. In Japanese culture, some blood types are seen as more favorable than others, my own blood type, B is stereotyped as being rather self-centered and generally the least favorable. It is also apparently taken seriously enough by some people that there have been cases of workplace discrimination based around blood type. But I digress.
Anyway, yesterday or the day before, I was browsing through the blood type ones, using Gackt's A-type as a test (for some reason I prefer to look at someone else's before trying my own), and found one that combines A-blood type with your star sign to answer the question "Are you diligent even in bed?" (A-types are meant to be good workers, the equivalent test for B-types is in fact titled "Are you the type that tends to only satisfy yourself in bed?", yes, seriously. Because us B-types are just assholes at everything, apparently ._____.)
Anyway, here is the A-type + Cancer prediction (roughly):
You are the type with fearsome technique that surpasses "diligent" and reaches the level of "professional". Someone with no limits and boundless enthusiasm, you have accumulated experience from a young age, and your level of technique developed while observing your partners responses is proportionate to that. Even during play, some part of you is somehow composed and observing to confirm to yourself the high level of your technique. Your lovers, enchanted by your proficient skills will certainly become unable to be satisfied by any other person, and even if they had an affair, would undoubtedly come back.
L. O. L.
Oh god, I don't even know if it comes across in translation, but I was cackling so much reading this in Japanese. "Professional"? It just keeps building up on top of itself into a wonderful pile of ridiculous. But the last sentence has to be my favorite. Even though a plural isn't strictly necessary in the Japanese sentence, they had to go out of their way to say koibito-tachi (lovers). MORE THAN ONE. And once they've ~experienced~ G, they can never go back. Amazing xD
(I just read mine for B-type+ Aquarius, and it's pretty hilarious too. Apparently I'm an M-type who acts strong in public but childish and bratty around my partner, and gets turned on by being spoken to in a stern tone and teased and given orders. And if I meet a Do-S partner who's good at "training" me, I might never be able to return to the normal world.
I...uh... no comment. Except, oh geez, who do we know that's Do-S and likes "breaking in" girls?)
Anyway, I've had this post in a background tab and been stuffing around with it for hours now, and I think I've run out of things to talk about. I hope it was good for you.