Interview with Debito on TkyoSam’s Vlog: Shizzle!

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Hi Blog.  Recently I sat down with Sam (a prolific vlogger, or video blogger), who turned his passport-sized camera on me for a bit of the young lingo and beer and chicken basket.  What you don’t see is how afterwards we repaired with a group of friends for a lot more beers and some fascinating conversation with a drunk that Sam handled admirably.  Sam grew up on manga and anime, and talks like those characters fluently (which is perfect for reducing any other pop-culture-immersed J-drunk into titters and tears).  Yoyoyo, word!  Feel the generation gap of the Bubble-Era-Older-Hand meets J-Pop Awsum Dude.  Shizzle!  And it’s a fun interview too.  

Start here:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=BtPPWgKSjm4&feature=channel_page

Debito

6 comments on “Interview with Debito on TkyoSam’s Vlog: Shizzle!

  • Hey dude! Thanks for linking the video(s) on your site, it was awesome to meet you discuss how awesome both of us are and how everybody worships the ground we step on 😉

    I think the beer really helped too 😀

    Stay Black

    -Sam

    Reply
  • what did you say to the waitress?

    — “Nihongo de hanashite imasu kedo”, or “I’m speaking Japanese here” (with the nuance that so should we both).

    Reply
  • Cool video, Debito-san (although it was a little dark).

    Interesting that you mentioned wanting to learn Korean. Ever thought about trying your hand at Chinese? The grammar is essentially the same as English, although without all the ridiculous determiners and tenses and whatnot. Pick up a couple books sometime if you have the chance and see how you like it.

    Reply
  • Entertaining interview. Cool beard Dedito! Is this a permanent fixture now? Doesn’t it get annoying with like bits of food getting stuck in it?

    — I’m pretty good about keeping the beard clean. Thank god for oshibori.

    Reply
  • Mark in Yayoi says:

    Great video, and (readers) rest assured that Sam is even more hilarious in person!

    I wish I could have been a fly on the wall the next day when that drunk guy told his friends about the crazy Beat Takeshi-talking foreigner he met! Of course, when Sam finally gets his big break and makes it into the world of Japanese variety shows, the Crazy Drunk Dude will be bragging about having seen him first!

    Now on to the content of the video — let me second Debito’s opinion on the generally-more-pleasant atmosphere in academia as opposed to the business world. I myself have joined a PhD program, in addition to my regular daily job, and the people you meet are so different, and much more pleasant to be around. This was the decision that made me think I could probably stay in Japan for the long haul — the academic world can be fulfilling and fascinating, and the proportion of close-minded/prejudiced/otherwise-annoying people is much lower than it would be among salarymen. There are plenty of less-than-stellar advisors around, but at a national university, you’ve got good odds of having a great experience!

    Reply

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