So yeah, I'm not dead (it's only been what, a year and a half since I last journaled?). Haven't been working on anything, but I'm posting here for a good reason. You see, I've been the first to be tagged by the brand new OBSCURITY MEME (created by ~Cassidybat). This needs to propagate, so I'll be the first to spread it around! Without further ado...


THE OBSCURITY MEME _{dun dun duuuuun}

The rules are simple:

(1): Obviously, the things you list have to be obscure. Things that are common and well-known in your own country, but not known in another do not count. However, if the thing you list is well-known in its own country of origin, but almost unheard of in your own, that's okay. It's even better if it's only well-known in its own country(again, as long as it's not your own) but virtually unknown everywhere else. Of course, things from your own country are allowed too-just remember, whatever it is has to be obscure!

(2): It can be pretty much anything. Sure, I listed books, movies, TV series and musicians as the main examples, but you're free to list anything else. It can be an obscure animal that you think is cool, a religion, hell, it can even be a political ideology from the nineteenth century, I don't give a shit!

(3): For the love of all that is holy, please provide some kind of description of why you enjoy the things you list. If you just list a bunch of names with no description at all, you might as well write nothing at all. The whole point of this list is to gain followers for your evil army of darkness-er, I mean show the world the awesome things that hardly get any credit. So give us a reason why this list is special to you. Who knows, you might get a few people curious enough to look up more info on the subject, and these people might even become fans as well. Then you can begin to assemble your evil army of unspeakable terror!

(4): While 3 is the bare minimum of things on your list, you can certainly list much more than that if you want to.

(5): Tag at least one other person.

Here are my picks:

1: Sam & Max: Freelance Police

Sam is a dog. Max is a hyperkinetic rabbity-thing. Together, they form the freelance police, who take on missions too weird for anyone else. Originally a comic book created by Steve Purcell, it was known by few, but generally well-liked by those familiar with it. The comic eventually became a short-lived animated series, and there was even a video game. In recent days, the dynamic duo have been revived as a new series of episodic video games, which have been very well received. Thus, they're not as obscure as they used to be, but they're still awesome. I was introduced to the series through their original video game, "Sam & Max: Hit the Road," whose introduction you can (and should) watch here. It gives you a good feel for the type of humor they employ.

2: Touhou

To sum it up, Touhou is a series of games for the PC that involves magical anime girls shooting the crap out of each other with giant lasers. The series is developed almost entirely by one person, a fellow who calls himself ZUN, who does the drawing, music, programming, and dialogue for a majority of the series. It has a rather cult following in the United States, but I'm not too sure of its popularity in its country of origin (Japan, as you may have guessed); however, the series has a number of very enthusiastic fans, who have created remixes of the music, fan manga, and even fan games -- a number of which ZUN himself aided in making. Another interesting note about the series is that it has an almost entirely female cast. Between the games and the manga (which is semi-official), there are about 100 characters in the Touhou universe. Only four of them are male, according to the Touhou wiki. And most importantly of all, I should mention how the game plays. It's a 2D SHMUP (shoot-'em-up), similar to games like Gradius or R-Type (or even Galaga or Space Invaders, as a bit of a stretch), but with an unusual twist. Instead of shooting down legions of enemies and dodging shots here and there, the enemies are more sparse, and fill the screen with countless bullets -- hundreds at a time in the harder levels -- which the player needs to weave through, like an intricate tapestry of imminent death. It's a little hard to explain, so I recommend watching it yourself to get a feel for it. It's honestly like playing a fireworks display.

Also, the series sparked one of the most ridiculously over-the-top soccer games ever created.

3: Chipscene

A very unique, very distinct, and very obscure genre of music (which I can tell you now is not for everyone's tastes). Chipscene music is inspired by the sounds of outdated computer technology, particularly old gaming systems, such as the NES, Game Boy, and Commodore 64. Normally, music from such machines is referred to as a "chiptune," due to being produced by special computer chips that create sound when electrically charged (called sound chips, fittingly enough). Chipscene artists create their own chiptunes for their hardware of choice -- sometimes emulating the sound with a program, other times using an actual NES/Commodore/etc. Often chipscene music is more than just a custom chiptune. Most chipscene music is a combination of outdated sounds and modern instruments, whether synthetic or live. The band Anamanaguchi, for example, uses live guitar, bass, and drums along the sounds of a hacked NES and Game Boy.

To get an earful of chipscene music, you can listen to a good variety for free on this album. I'm not a fan of every track there, but I do particularly like the tracks by Anamanaguchi, Nullsleep, and Mr. Spastic, to name a few. If you grew up with ancient gaming platforms like I did, you're likely to find at least one track that resonates with you.

4: Urumi

Is it a sword? Is it a whip? No, it's a goddamn urumi! A weapon originating from India, the urumi is a flat, flexible length of steel that cuts like a sword, but behaves like a whip. It's an extraordinarily dangerous weapon -- both to the wielder and his opponent! Watch it in action in this video _{(YouTube to the rescue once again!)}, and read the description there. It's packed full of information, I'd just be repeating things if I tried to tell you more about it!


Well, I can guarantee you that took longer to write than it took you to read. Now, to spread this thing further, I tag (in alphabetical order, 'cuz I'm cool like that):


Go forth, and celebrate obscurity!