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http://kotaku.com/5584759/hayao-miyazak ... sturbation

In an interview in the July issue of "Neppuu", the Studio Ghibli published pamphlet, the famed animator does not pull any punches when discussing the iPad, or what he calls the "game machine-type thing" that people are "stroking with strange gestures".

"For me, there is no feeling of admiration or no excitement whatsoever," Miyazaki said about the iPad. "It's disgusting. On trains, the number of those people doing that strange masturbation-like gesture is multiplying."

Miyazaki also noted that he also got "fed up" when everyone on the trains started reading manga and then later when everyone began using cell phones on the trains to presumably send text messages.

What does he expect people to do on trains?

Swap business cards, I imagine.

Hayao Miyazaki Is it the ultimate grumpy old Japanese man. Are we really surprised that he said this? Out of all of his movies only Kiki's Delivery Service and Ponyo have televisions in them. In the first one a small boy watches cartoons for less than one minute of screen time and in the latter a television is used to communicating oncoming storm to the viewer. Also in Ponyo there's a scene in the movie that stresses how self-sufficient the house is. His own work has hinted at his dislike of technology for a long time.

Miyazaki also noted that he also got "fed up" when everyone on the trains started reading manga

What are people supposed to read on the train, text books? I don't read manga anymore but when I take public transport I always have a book with me, and it ain't heavy reading. I need to make sure I don't miss my stop, son.

Yeah, I don't see why people give a shit about his opinion on new technology. Although I would much prefer to see people on public transit literally masturbating, as opposed to figuratively masturbating.

Wait, no I don't.

My take on this is that he hates fads, rather than being a straight-up technophobe -- though, general consensus is that he is that, too.

I always thought BUYING an iPad was kind of like masturbation...

I kind of understand the train thing. I don't read, text message, or play games on the train or the bus. For me, that's reflection time. The scenery from the window is entertainment enough. It's like everyone else just wants to gorge hungrily on an endless stream of information swill rather than pausing to form their own thoughts, completely oblivious to the world around the 2-inch screen in their hands. Any lull in the information onslaught is an unbearable pain that has to be eased with some inane distraction like tweeting your opinion on the breakfast burrito you just ate or playing a couple rounds of the latest Bejeweled clone.


But as far as I can ascertain, I am a grumpy old man in the making.

Oh god, GG, you have literally completely summed up my views on the time spent on public transport, far better than I ever could.

I am actually quite weirded out.

If you idolize this man's work you owe it to yourself NOT to go see him in person. I saw him twice last summer while he was touring and each time was disappointing. He consistently spouted ridiculous things like "contrary to popular belief, sen does not change at all during the course of spirited away" or "the reason why I don't ever have a truly evil character in my films is because they are icky to draw". When asked what his favorite scene was from one of his films he stood up and said "for the end credits of ponyo, I was not interested in dividing people's names based on their function so we grouped everyone together without labels and I drew a little picture for EACH NAME" and then sat back down. After a brief/puzzled silence the response was met with applause.

PS. You probably shouldn't take a technophobe's view on the latest gadget at face value.

I don't have much interest in the iPad at the moment, but I can see it becoming more relevant once OnLive starts to kick off. The potential for streamed games is pretty staggering.

Has anyone tried OnLive, by the way? I've only heard one opinion on it (and they told me it was better than sex). It's not released over here or else I would be very eager to try it out.

The biggest flaw with onlive is that you need to purchase the game via onlive in order to play it. Once bought, the game can then only be played on the same service.

Oh, so it is not like 360 where I can also play my games on PS3 and PC.

Kogen wrote:Oh, so it is not like 360 where I can also play my games on PS3 and PC.

haahaha

So yeah, GG! is weird. Public transit is insufferably boring, and the window scenery is not only not that interesting to begin with, but also sure to become repetitive very quickly. I do prefer to gorge hungrily on an endless stream of information, because if I'm sitting around doing nothing I might as well be reading or listening to or watching something that will educate me further on current events or topics of interest, or simply something to amuse myself or pass the time. I harbor an infamous distaste for social networking sites so it's not like I'm constantly checking my friends' inane tweets or facebook postings or whatnot. Reflection can be done in much better locations and times with less distractions than a small enclosed space full of noisy, smelly, annoying strangers.

Train/bus/plane rides are all boring and tedious as hell. Thank God for my iPhone.

Kogen wrote:Oh, so it is not like 360 where I can also play my games on PS3 and PC.

The issue is not exclusivity.

5 years from now, if you get a hankerin to boot up the ol' 360/ps3 chances are it'll still be around. Can the same be said about Onlive? My point is that you are now 100% dependent on their service. Plus you rely entirely on the internet to enjoy your games. Can you imagine a situation where you may not have access to the internet but still might want to play a game you paid 60$ for? With software running on your own hardware at least you retain autonomy.

What Holic said. It's hard to reflect on anything when I'm surrounded by people, on a bumpy bus driven by a maniac who would like nothing less to kill us all, probably being stared at by some creepy Mexican dude who never learned that staring at breasts is not how you attract women, and more likely than not, especially now that it's really getting hot out, assaulted by someone's atrocious body odor.

I am, however, becoming a goddamn master at dealing with creepy fucks who won't leave you alone.

LA seems quite the leap from NH. I'd be uncomfortable with such a drastic change. Not that we don't have our own creepy fucks, but I imagine such encounters are more frequent there, yes?

I try to talk to people on the bus, if conditions seem favorable. I like meeting people, especially if we share the same route everyday, and it's not like I expect to make a long lasting connection doing so. I have trouble concentrating on a game or book when riding public transit. Sometimes I listen to music, but I don't really care to shut myself out like that. However I can do all of these things when riding passenger in a car, with someone I do know. Whatever that says about me!

Reflection can be done in much better locations and times with less distractions than a small enclosed space full of noisy, smelly, annoying strangers.

But if everyone was just chilling looking out the window, they wouldn't be noisy or annoying!

Green Gibbon! wrote:But if everyone was just chilling looking out the window, they wouldn't be noisy or annoying!

Your mistake is expecting anything reasonable from random people.

I spend almost the entirety of my day working with computers. When I'm taking the tram, I'm thankful I have the opportunity of looking at a landscape instead of an electronic screen.

Segaholic2 wrote:Reflection can be done in much better locations and times with less distractions than a small enclosed space full of noisy, smelly, annoying strangers.

Replace "strangers" with "gases" and you've basically got my opinion of the john, which seems to be a common place for the meditative affairs of many.

Most people go for walks, you know.

I do too, just not to work. My point is that I don't feel the need to spend more time looking at a screen as soon as I get off work, but I also don't take long enough trips to warrant book reading or anything of the sort. So I just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I would pay money just to be entertained at the idea of riding a train.