What’s with Pocky?
by V.E. on December 8th, 2007
filed under anime/manga, fyi, writing
I’m sure, if you’re reading Amish Otaku, you already know what Pocky is. If not, let me give you quick run down. Pocky is a thin breadstick dipped in chocolate or some other flavor of melty goodness (like strawberry, “almond crush,” or vanilla creme) and then packaged in bundles and sold for exorbitant amounts of money at anime and gaming conventions. And… that’s usually where the knowledge of Pocky ends. Hah! But not today, my friends!
First, the basics. Pocky Street is the snack’s official website, but it’s in Japanese. Even if you can’t read or understand the language, I recommend checking out the commercials; some of them are pretty funny. Pocky is—unlike popular American opinion—not pronounced like “hockey” (or “rocky”) in Japanese, but rather like “pokey” (as in “Did you just poke me?”). The katakana-to-romanji is “pokkii.” That said, I’ll be the first to admit that I learned to pronounce “Pocky” like “hockey” and I have no intention to change my pronunciation now. Anyway, I’ve never heard “Pocky” pronounced any other way besides rhyming with “hockey” and I think it’s a pretty safe bet that if I were to ask for “pokey” at a convention, the dealer would look at me like I was nuts—unless said dealer was Japanese him/herself. In any case, I’m pretty sure a Japanese person would understand the mispronunciation.
The most popular Pocky flavor in the United States is chocolate, with strawberry a distant second. Most other flavors can’t even be found here, much less tasted. The most comprehensive gallery I found is the Pocky Gallery, courtesy of Anata Watashi mo Pocky. In fact, many flavors can’t even be found in Japan, either, because the company that produces Pocky, Glico, tests new flavors in rural areas of Japan and some never get mass produced. According to Glico’s history page, Pocky was first launched in 1963 as “Chocoteck” and was renamed (and re-launched) in 1966. The current name comes from the “pockin” sound the sticks make when they are broken. In 1971, almond Pocky was introduced; strawberry Pocky came onto the market in 1977. Now, a new flavor comes out every Autumn. My personal favorite is green tea Pocky.
Aside from the flavors, there are two kinds of Pocky I should mention: Giant Pocky and “Men’s Pocky.” Giant Pocky is just what it sounds like: giant Pocky sticks dipped in chocolate or another flavor. I’m not to keen on Giant Pocky because, although the stick is bigger, the amount of dipped flavor is about the same as regular Pocky—which is too much stick and not enough chocolate for me. Men’s Pocky is, according the box, “crispy pretzel[s] dipped in dark chocolate for the intelligent connoisseur who enjoys the finer points in life.” Now, that has “sexist” written all over it, but I’m not even going to go there in this article. Suffice to say, if you like dark chocolate over milk chocolate, Men’s Pocky is for you.
There are quite a few fan-sites devoted to Pocky, not the least of which is The Depths of Addiction. Depths “is a web-based video series that dives into the deep depths of a disorder known commonly as cultural addiction. The current season focuses on ‘the Pocky Problem,’ an epidemic of epic proportions.” Another site is Got Pocky? (now defunct), which pioneered the introduction of Pocky and other Japanese snacks to the Unites States market. Anata Watashi mo Pocky also has a section about Pocky in anime.
In case you’re interested in learning more about Glico, Pocky’s parent company, check out Funding Universe or visit Glico’s main page in English. Finally, thanks to the tongue-in-cheek article about Pocky from the Big In Japan column on Metropolis.co.jp and the Wikipedia article about Pocky for pointing my search in the right direction!
Now that you know more about Pocky, where can you get some?? Anime and gaming conventions usually sell Pocky (well, they will if they’re a respectable convention), but as I said before, buying from convention dealers costs an arm and a leg—if you’re lucky. If you’re just in the market for “normal” Pocky (that is, regular chocolate, almond, and strawberry flavors), I suggest trying Yes Asia, Very Asia, Asian Munchies, Asian Food Grocer, and, if those fail you, Amazon.com. If you’re looking for something more unusual (say, grape or pineapple flavored, each of which are only available in one area of Japan), you should be willing to pay more in shipping fees than you spend on buying the product in the first place. Unless you actually go to Japan, of course… In which case, take me with you!
Are we “equitable” or “equal”?
by V.E. on December 7th, 2007
filed under lgbt, thoughts, words
According to the American Heritage Dictionary (via Dictionary.com),
eq·ui·ty (n. pl. eq·ui·ties): The state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair.
and (again, via Dictionary.com),
e·qual·i·ty (n. pl. e·qual·i·ties): The state or quality of being equal.
while “equal” means (via Dictionary.com),
e·qual (adj.): Having the same quantity, measure, or value as another.
That means that “equity” and “equality” are not the same thing. Let me explain. To have equity, a person (or group of people) are fairly treated regardless of who they are. Judges in this country (the USA) are supposed to be equitable. To have equality, the person or people be treated the same as everyone else. Now, that seems like the same thing—until you look closer.
Let’s take a hot topic as an example: same-sex marriage. Many people in this country are fighting for what they consider to be equal rights under the law. (For the record, I include myself in this group.) That is, they want to be treated just like everyone else in respect to marriage. That means they should be able to be legally married to their respective partners, regardless of that partner’s gender. Right now, straight couples may marry; gay couples may not (not even in Vermont, where the same rights are awarded as “civil unions”).
In theory, asking for equal rights means that gay couples should be satisfied if the government decides that no one should be allowed to marry. That would be equality. It would also be equality if gay couples were awarded the same rights as straight couples. And that includes being able to call themselves “married,” not just “civil unioned.” There is no such thing as “separate but equal.” However, I have a sneaking suspicion that what gay couples actually want is equity, not equality. In an equitable country, all couples would be treated fairly before the law and that would be the end of it. In an equal country, all couples would be treated the same, whether that treatment was fair or not.
In simpler terms: equity is being treated fairly; equality is being treated the same as everyone else. Members of a group can all be treated equally unfairly, and that would still be equality because everyone’s getting the same treatment—even if it’s crappy.
Kid Nation
by V.E. on December 7th, 2007
filed under entertainment, recap/review
Um, yeah, so… “Kid Nation” is sorta boring now. And I’m tired of writing reviews on it (haha, I have an extremely short attention span…) But, I got my roommate hooked on it, which is a big deal, apparently, since he never watches TV. I find that odd (that he “never watches TV”) because the TV’s always on when he’s home… Hmm. Methinks there’s some kind of disconnect between his brain, “never watching TV,” and my perception.
In any case, here’s the standard “Kid Nation” information:
Official | IMDb | Wikipedia
Wednesdays @ 8 PM ET on CBS
Previous episode reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
unsubscribe me
by V.E. on December 7th, 2007
Waiting for the Guards.
Backstory. Main.
GAH!!
by V.E. on December 4th, 2007
filed under politics
WHY, Mr. President, WHY are you such an idiot? You make me want to pull my hair out and scream obscenities at the TV. God, PLEASE give me patience to deal with stupid people.
AjjhkM!!!!!!”GEB$#%Y!~~!!!!#TP”Q#$oy ?@#%#$Y^*(!!
To quote Chris:
by V.E. on December 2nd, 2007
filed under entertainment, favorite
Sim City has a vastly different feel when I actually am old enough to contemplate the games simulation and identify just was is going on. … However I have no idea why I’m getting traffic reports after I bulldozed every street. Well the problem went away once the population went down to zero.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Chris, you slay me sometimes. I love you, man.
O.M.G.
by V.E. on December 2nd, 2007
HAHAHAHAHAHA HAR HAR HAR HAR *cough hack cough* Hahahahahaha.
I am SO done with my homework until January!!! *does little dance*
I included this poem in one of my pieces:
Cold Feet?
I believe when I said
I would accept Bennett’s proposal
(should he ever propose)
I was under the influence of…
something. I don’t know quite what.
But I know
I wouldn’t be happy
if I married him.
If you want to read/see my portfolio for nonfiction or poetry, just drop me a line. LURV.
