The Null Device

A Washington Post article looking at Akihabara, and how the Tokyo electronics-retail precinct has become transformed into the world's first geek ghetto:

"We have been discriminated against for being different, but now we have come together and turned this neighborhood into a place of our own," said Yamagata, nursing his tea as he sat with a portly computer technician friend at Akihabara's Cos-Cha, one of a dozen "maid cafes" in the neighborhood. Here, the waitresses' uniforms are inspired by the French maid-meets-Pokemon outfits of adult manga. At other cafes, waitresses greet patrons at the door with a curtsy and the words "Welcome home, master."

Tetsu Ishihara, 34, a computer programmer whose three-room apartment in west Tokyo is filled from floor to ceiling with comic books, does not want to be associated with such charges. Ishihara maintains a growing collection of 130 life-size pillows of female anime characters -- both purchased and self-designed. His favorite is Mio-chan, a female character from a love-simulation computer game in which a high school boy builds up the courage to ask a girl for a first date.

"There are some people who do lose their grip on reality, but that is not me -- or most of us," said Ishihara, a chubby man with glasses who this year started dating a woman steadily for the first time She's an anime artist. "For me, the pillows have been my source of unconditional love, a reminder of when I used to be hugged by my parents. There is nothing strange about it."

(via /.) ¶ akihabara anime bizarre culture fetish geek japan otaku sex wtf 0

Girls wearing headphones, it seems, are the new girls in glasses. Or perhaps the DJ-culture/music-geek equivalent thereof. (Link is work-safe; via Music Thing)

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And while we're on the subject of bootywhang, here's a comprehensive Venn diagram of sexual fetishes, from the commonplace to the bizarre. (via Charlie's Diary)

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Bizarre fetish of the day:

Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney is calling for a ban on the production of "crush videos" - films for people that get sexually aroused by watching scantily-clad women smashing rats and other small animals.

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