On new experiences.

Greetings and welcome to my blog. I think I'll start with some basic introduction type material. I am 26 years old, male, my drugs of choice are alcohol and sleep deprivation. Currently I am going by "Otingocni", but I have no real attachment to this name. I picked it as a throwaway identity to be used once and tossed aside, as it is simply "Incognito" backwards I think that should be pretty clear. When I first used this name I entered it into a search engine it was less common than I thought it would be (but by no means unique) and I've used it a couple times since then. I eventually decided that even though I haven't really got any reason to I might as well make this the name I shall be known by. However if you see an Otingocni anywhere non-JPop related it probably isn't me. I never used to post much on the internet, but in recent months I've started venturing out into this online community more, and well... what I posted was invariably stupid.

So, this is where this blog comes in, in my mind it will achieve two things: 1) It will be a first foray into community, where I will have one constant known identity that is to represent me. 2) It will be spot for me to vent my arrogance. Part of the reason I started posting so much was that I starting thinking that I had something worthwhile to say, something that someone else might benefit from hearing or some kind original insight. What a horrible conceit that is. So this blog will give me a chance to shout into the void those things that my own unparalleled vanity feels I must say, whilst not cluttering other people's blogs and forums with the absurd drivel that results. It would also reduce the chance of me offending someone (as long as this blog goes unknown), and it would at the very least mean I wouldn't offend them on their home turf. Anyway I have a whole folder of replies and comments I've written that I was either too weak, or perhaps intelligent, to post and this would give me a chance to consider actually using them. Though, I don't really think that would be a step forward for me, I'm not sure, but whatever.

Regarding the path this blog is to take... I've discovered one thing: I can't write for crap. My writing ability is shamefully weak. I write something, then proofread it and discover that it doesn't make any sense. It is not just that my ideas aren't properly expressed, but more that it seems like it was produced by machine translation or something like that and not a native English speaker. So I proofread and edit, proofread and edit, proofread and edit until I get it to a point at which I think it says something comprehensible, but when I look back on it later I frequently find that it says something different than what I thought it did when I posted it. Honestly, I would like to develop an easy, conversational style as it would fit in well with my digressive way of thinking, but as I can't even handle basic grammar I think that is foolishly ambitious. Right now my aim is basic readability, though I find I fall well short of the mark...

I might as well take this opportunity to discuss how I got here, and some of my blogging influences. I suppose a lot of influence has to be attributed to the incomparable Mr. Ray Mescallado of American Wota fame. Back in the halcyon days prior to Koharu's first photobook the English language fan community was... more than a little divided as to how to view that upcoming release. Many posts could be read loudly decrying this new horridly pedo turn in H!P products. I was reading a thread along those lines on mm-bbs one day, when Ray posted something to the effect of "Man I hope this PB is pedolicious goodness", that is HORRIBLE paraphrasing but I think you get the point (I haven't been able to find the comment in question). This, not surprisingly, elicited a lot of "WTF?" and "I can't believe you just said that" type responses, to which Ray replied "I say much worse stuff on my blog". Now, I usually can't stand it when people shamelessly self-promote their own blogs, but in this case I decided to check it out. I was pretty well blown away, in particular the Freudian U-15 Analysis, and the review of "Fighting Pose wa Date Janai" changed my view of blogging. From there, reading the 'Feed of Pop' and the Sunday Blog Roundups I started following more and more J-Pop blogs.

One of the people I became aware of through this was Craig (who, surprisingly, currently has a blog I can link). I look up to Craig and his frequently unabashedly honest style. A lot of the time I look at his single image or video clip posts and say to myself, "I understand exactly what he is trying to say here" or "I can see what he sees as interesting or noteworthy in this piece", honestly I don't know whether I really get it or if I am simply deluding myself, the rest of the time I just throw up my hands and say "I don't know what in the 9 Hells Craig is on about now". Still, I think that is a powerful style as it forces the observer to try and see the post through the blogger's eyes and discern the meaning in that way, "Why this particular picture, and not some other one?", this shared vision leads to a greater sympathy between the poster and the reader. Well, that's my (likely unoriginal) theory anyway. Personally I see his review of Risako's first photobook as the high water mark of all entertainment writing. I have yet to see anything that can approach the pure _truth_ of that one article.

Overall my favorite blog would have to be MorningBerryz's. I love his ebullient style and am jealous of his positive outlook. His writing is so infectiously upbeat he can get me interested in NASCAR, something I'm generally not the least bit interested in. His reviews got me to watch Haromoni@ again even after the first two episodes left me so disgusted I thought I would never watch that program again. Even when he criticizes the current format of the show, he does so by pointing out the things about Hello! Morning that he loved and focuses on the wonderful things that show had to offer. My desire to be more like MorningBerryz is why I decided to join Vox and host my blog here, or it could just be that I envy his Kamei Italian parsley. (Sorry I failed at voting for you in the IntlWota awards.)

I don't know where this blog is headed in the future. Part of me wants to be on International Wota, with Ray or wu-san slapping a "Recommended Reading" tag on there, praising my insight, but the rest of me doesn't desire that kind of notoriety. For now... I've set my mind on nothing, and hope that I can achieve it, and that when I do it will bring me happiness without compare.