Debra Occhi is
@debraocchi.bsky.social
Anthropology and linguistics of Japanese character culture, regionality, Pokémon tourism | qual research | consulting | 日本語OK
It’s online for a YEAR 🤗
The NHK show about my research on Japanese mascots and heroes is now online in English until 12/4
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
In Deep with Characters - Outside in Lost in Academia | NHK WORLD-JAPAN
American linguistic anthropologist Debra Occhi dives into the fascinating world of mascots and characters. From adorable to heroic, she explores how their naming is shaped by sound.
www3.nhk.or.jp
November 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM
It’s online for a YEAR 🤗
The NSF grant that supported my PhD thesis research was ‘archived’ 😨
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:32 PM
The NSF grant that supported my PhD thesis research was ‘archived’ 😨
The NHK show about my research on Japanese mascots and heroes is now online in English until 12/4
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
In Deep with Characters - Outside in Lost in Academia | NHK WORLD-JAPAN
American linguistic anthropologist Debra Occhi dives into the fascinating world of mascots and characters. From adorable to heroic, she explores how their naming is shaped by sound.
www3.nhk.or.jp
November 27, 2025 at 7:04 AM
The NHK show about my research on Japanese mascots and heroes is now online in English until 12/4
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...
You’ve just died.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
👹
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
👹
November 27, 2025 at 2:07 AM
You’ve just died.
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
👹
The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.
👹
I was studying Japanese and someone gave me some homemade vhs tapes of early An-Pan Man
November 23, 2025 at 10:53 AM
I was studying Japanese and someone gave me some homemade vhs tapes of early An-Pan Man
Keep the Penguin 🐧
The Suica penguin has been the face of JR East's popular IC transit card since its inception in 2001. Now, the company says it will replace the iconic character with an as-yet-unannounced mascot. That's left fans both perplexed and irate.
buff.ly/otKANut
buff.ly/otKANut
Suica Penguin Retirement Announcement Sparks Fan Outcry in Japan - Unseen Japan
The character, created by a children's book author, has been the face of the popular transit card since its inception in 2001.
unseen-japan.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Keep the Penguin 🐧
Some local culture person heard me on the radio and brought a free ticket to see the locals singing Enka, which I haven’t researched for thirty years. No surprise that nothing’s changed ♬
November 9, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Some local culture person heard me on the radio and brought a free ticket to see the locals singing Enka, which I haven’t researched for thirty years. No surprise that nothing’s changed ♬
The local radio station reporter saw me on NHK so our interview will be on the MRT Sunday Daigaku show this weekend (and on radiko for a week if you listen to your radio online)
www.miu.ac.jp/news/archive...
www.miu.ac.jp/news/archive...
MRTラジオ「サンデーラジオ大学」に本学国際教養学部教授のデボラ・オチ教授が出演します
宮崎国際大学の公式サイトです。英語でリベラル・アーツを学ぶ国際教養学部、採用までの一貫教育を行う教育学部の2学部からなる大学です。見たことのない景色を見て、見たことのない自分出会う。それがMICの学び。
www.miu.ac.jp
October 23, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The local radio station reporter saw me on NHK so our interview will be on the MRT Sunday Daigaku show this weekend (and on radiko for a week if you listen to your radio online)
www.miu.ac.jp/news/archive...
www.miu.ac.jp/news/archive...
What’s your sign?
September 29, 2025 at 10:03 PM
What’s your sign?
Reposted by Debra Occhi is
There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
August 27, 2025 at 6:47 PM
There are tons of graphic novels, academic papers, film and TV scripts, & prose novels/nonfiction on the LibGen list Anthropic used.
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
As settlement approaches, make it easy for the class action lawyers to contact you! Here’s how
Part 1: is your work in Libgen?
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
I’m on NHK next week with the heroes and local mascots www.nhk.jp/p/ts/PG7NRXY...
最深日本研究 〜外国人博士の目〜
食やアニメ、伝統芸能だけではない。いまや日本のあらゆる分野に外国人の研究者の目が注がれている！ なぜそんなことまで？という驚くべき研究を取り上げ、日本人も気づかなかった日本の姿を取り上げるこの番組。研究者の日本での調査研究などにも密着して、日本の何が彼ら彼女らを惹きつけるのかを解き明かす！
www.nhk.jp
August 20, 2025 at 3:43 AM
I’m on NHK next week with the heroes and local mascots www.nhk.jp/p/ts/PG7NRXY...
Reposted by Debra Occhi is
A new bill introduced in the U.S. House on August 1 threatens to block overseas Americans from voting in federal elections.
H.R. 4851 - New Threat to Overseas Voting Rights Introduced in Congress
A new bill, HR 4851, introduced in the U.S. House on August 1 threatens to block overseas Americans from voting in federal elections.
www.democratsabroad.org
August 9, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A new bill introduced in the U.S. House on August 1 threatens to block overseas Americans from voting in federal elections.
Stoked about the publication of my co-authored book chapter on Aggretsuko and the characters’ relationships with tech 🤘
The Future of Humans and Emotional Machines: Narratives from Japanese Culture in the 21st Century
This book explores human‑machine interaction in Japan, providing a new focus on how and in what form people build affective bonds to new technologies.
To gain insights into the feelings, identities, f...
www.routledge.com
August 6, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Stoked about the publication of my co-authored book chapter on Aggretsuko and the characters’ relationships with tech 🤘
Reposted by Debra Occhi is
I turned off all AI features in DuckDuckGo, and apparently you can now do that in Google search as well. You can hide the AI-generated images, too! (They all look terrible to me, kinda like autotuned voices, but worse.)
www.devx.com/daily-news/h...
www.devx.com/daily-news/h...
How to Disable AI Features in Popular Search Engines - DevX
Users concerned about AI influencing their web search results now have options to disable AI features in Google and DuckDuckGo.
www.devx.com
August 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I turned off all AI features in DuckDuckGo, and apparently you can now do that in Google search as well. You can hide the AI-generated images, too! (They all look terrible to me, kinda like autotuned voices, but worse.)
www.devx.com/daily-news/h...
www.devx.com/daily-news/h...
Coastal friends on the ring of fire take care 🌊
M8.8 quake off Russia prompts Japan tsunami warning, 50 cm detected
Japan on Wednesday issued a tsunami warning for the country's Pacific coast after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in the morning, with waves of up to 50 centimeters ...
english.kyodonews.net
July 30, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Coastal friends on the ring of fire take care 🌊
Quick stop in Uji 🍵🌱
July 11, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Quick stop in Uji 🍵🌱
Summer reading list!
I’ve been dumbbelling my way out of a shoulder injury all year and found her work 💪
I’ve been dumbbelling my way out of a shoulder injury all year and found her work 💪
I wrote about @caseyjohnston.bsky.social 's weightlifting memoir, the perks of getting jacked, and why I eat candy at the gym
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
The Feminine Pursuit of Swoleness
Casey Johnston’s new book, "A Physical Education," considers how weight lifting can help you unlearn diet culture.
www.theatlantic.com
July 8, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Summer reading list!
I’ve been dumbbelling my way out of a shoulder injury all year and found her work 💪
I’ve been dumbbelling my way out of a shoulder injury all year and found her work 💪
Reposted by Debra Occhi is
Things That Make Me Feel Old #43587:
ORANGE RANGE releasing a Reiwa-version music video of イケナイ太陽 (original release: 2007) and they crammed A LOT of cultural references of things that were common or popular with high school students in Japan back then (including myself).
youtu.be/fdYFKOMQGUU?...
ORANGE RANGE releasing a Reiwa-version music video of イケナイ太陽 (original release: 2007) and they crammed A LOT of cultural references of things that were common or popular with high school students in Japan back then (including myself).
youtu.be/fdYFKOMQGUU?...
ORANGE RANGE – イケナイ太陽 (令和ver. Music Video)
YouTube video by ORANGE RANGE
youtu.be
July 8, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Things That Make Me Feel Old #43587:
ORANGE RANGE releasing a Reiwa-version music video of イケナイ太陽 (original release: 2007) and they crammed A LOT of cultural references of things that were common or popular with high school students in Japan back then (including myself).
youtu.be/fdYFKOMQGUU?...
ORANGE RANGE releasing a Reiwa-version music video of イケナイ太陽 (original release: 2007) and they crammed A LOT of cultural references of things that were common or popular with high school students in Japan back then (including myself).
youtu.be/fdYFKOMQGUU?...
Did AI write this recipe?
June 24, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Did AI write this recipe?
Share a song that still slaps
FIELD OF VIEW - 突然 (QHD Remastered Video)
YouTube video by FIELD OF VIEW FAN TH
youtu.be
June 24, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Share a song that still slaps
Loli sighting at the mall 🖤💜💗
June 21, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Loli sighting at the mall 🖤💜💗
Forget auto-tune, listen to these vocals:
June 9, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Forget auto-tune, listen to these vocals:
The Pokémon that runs this account
May 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
The Pokémon that runs this account