Ramblings of a Crowe

Telemarketers and Spammers

Several months ago, I was laying in bed reading a book and the phone rang. I glanced at the clock, knowing full well that it was after 9pm, which is the time my home stops taking phone calls. Most of my family members and friends know that we do not appriciate calls after this time, unless it's an emergency, so I was a bit worried. My mother beat me to the phone and as I listened to her angry voice, I discovered it was a telemarketer. She firmly told them not to call us again, especially after 9pm. A couple days later, it happened again. This time it was after 9:30 pm. The same company. My mom answered the phone again and told them once again not to call us. Two days later, it's several minutes after 10pm and I'm in bed reading when the phone rings. I hear my mom get up, but I storm out of my room snatch the phone. I answered with an irritated "Hello", refraining from my inital response to start yelling, in case it was indeed a family member needing something. I knew it wasn't and I was greeted by a cheerful young lady, who didn't even bother with a hello as she jumped into her spiel. I cut her off with a "Do you know what the hell time it is here?" She stammered a bit but I kept going, "It's after fucking 10pm!" I yelled at her. She started to stutter, but I was just too pissed to let her apologize. "This is the third time you assholes have called us in a week! We told you not to call us! And do you realized, that in my state, it is ILLEGAL to call after 9pm?!" She managed to spit out a weak "I'm sorry," to which I replied, "Sure you are. DO NOT...EVER...call us again. Got it?" Then I hung up on her. I was BEYOND pissed off...

Before people start pointing out that I probably just made some poor college student cry, just because she was doing her job, I want to point out I have no sympathy for her. First of all, I work for one of the largest service providers in the US. A Fortune 500 company. Where does our buisness come from? Our aggressive telemarketing program, that's where. I am fully aware of the rules, regulations, and edict that is involved in telemarketing. I seriously question the integrity of a company and it's employees that cannot even comply with laws and regulations, let alone communicate with each other enough to remove a family's name from their dailer after being told TWO times not to call us. It's simple folks...all it takes is a push of a button, paper filed with a sales manager or data entry person who updates those who have been soliciated and refused service.

Of course, until the recent "Do Not Call List", if a customer refused service, companies only had to remove the name from their dialers and recycle it to be called in three to six months. However, with the strict rules behind this list, companies are being force to eliminate names completely and SFDU's (lists telemarketers call from) are quickly becoming obsolete. My company has felt the crunch, our sales department has taken a major hit, not being able to solicate via phone the numerous people they had access to before. Policies were created inside out office to protect us from the harsh $11,000 fine that is slapped to companies that do not remove a customer from their list. We follow a very stringent protocol now, and have been forced to find other means to market our service.

Do I hate the "Do Not Call List?"

Hell no! I've never been to keen on our marketing strategy, which, under the old laws, allowed us to call potential customers as many times as we liked, to the point where we actually have people who refuse our service just because we call them so much. Now that doesn't happen. Personally, that makes me happy, but business-wise, it makes the job a bit more difficult. Well, not for me so much, since I've never been and never will be, a telemarketer. However, for the company as a whole, it hurts to lose that potential revenue which was so easily and cheaply attained. Now we are forced to spend money on other means, which, in result affects pay raises, hiring, and operations (which is the part that affects me).

Still, I believe telemarketing to be wholly evil, regardless of what company I work for. I find it to be disrespectful and incredibly rude, to call someone's home unsolicated and not even show them to courtesy as to say hello, before leaping into some sales pitch. If I want a service, I'll go looking for it. I DO NOT want someone invading my home, disturbing me with irritating pleas to buy their product. Of course, there are people who do like this kind of service, but I'm not sure why or when companies all across the US decided they are the majority. And for them to assume this, just pisses me off.

Obviously they aren't. Everyday, we update the list, and everyday, there are several thousand new people. Several thousand...each day...My name is on it...Home is suppose to be a sanctuary, a place where you kick off your shoes and enjoy yourself. There is NO REASON why companies should be allowed to phone a residence and disturb the people living there.

This brings me to the newest from of privacy invasion. Internet spam. It's in your e-mail, it's loaded onto you computer with out you even knowing it...This is the newest insult to consumers and homeowners everywhere. Even businesses are effected by it. If you read a few of my later posts from this month, you'll see my computer was damaged by spam a couple weeks ago.

Unlike the telemarketing ploy, spam has knows no bounds. Content isn't an issue, and it's not uncommon for for in-boxes to be loaded with everything from medical perscriptions and debt reducers to penis enlargement and beastiality. It doesn't matter if you've never even seen a sex site or ever needed debt reduction. The spam comes anyway. Sometimes in drove. A few years ago, my hotmail account was shut down three times as my inbox was bombarded with over 400 emails in ONE DAY over a period of a week or so. To make it even more irritating, it wasn't even the same company...

With the help of filters and specific programs, there is a little bit of relief. Some people set up "dummy accounts", using a free mail service somewhere on the net to avoid spam bots clogging up their personal accounts. I too have one of these, and my regular e-mail addy is protected with several filters. However, it's still an annoyance and once again we are back to the question "Where do my rights start and buisness's begin?"

Firstly, I'd like to say that no pornography site or company should be solicating random consumers. This just irks me. I'm hardly a prude, and I consider myself to be pretty open minded, but I honestly do not want my e-mail clogged with messages trying to enlarge my penis or sell me viagra. I don't have a penis! And I don't want one! Nor do I want to see hot chicks getting it on with goats. This stuff just pisses me off. Secondly, no company, regardless of what they're selling, should be allowed to bulk mail your email with a bazillion solicitations...this is almost as irritating as the sex spam...

There may be some relief on the way, however. People have started to complain and are fed up with all the spam and spy ware. As part of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, on May 19th the "SEXUALLY EXPLICIT" tag must be added to all emails containing pornographic images and messages. I've already seen a vast reduction of the porn in my junk folder, and nearly all of them contain the tag. A few have slipped through, but they are deleted at the end of the day with the rest of the trash.

Of course, it's still yet to be seen how these so called "spam laws" will play out. It sounds great on paper, but with out strict enforcement, the new regulations are nothing but mouth service. Perhaps, however, it is a step in the right direction. We can only hope. Until then, I'll continue to hit the delete button with a vengence...

It never ends...*sigh*

おたくのバカ。。。＊ふう～＊

Make sure to check out the "well thought out" rant on Funi's aquisition of the FMA dub in the humor section...Was that suppose to be funny or something?

For a rebuttal, I suggest taking a look at Arxane's thoughts on this issue. He sums it up brilliantly. I don't think it could be said any better...(hope you don't mind the link Arxane)

As promised...Chrono Crusade screen caps

Now that my computer is back up and running, I can post some of the screen caps I took and the Chrono Crusade televison series.

Texhnolyze: DVD 1

Texhnolyze is one of those shows that makes you go "Huh?" And then rewatch the show just to make certain your not crazy...

The story takes place in an underground city called Lux. The city, created on the basis of experimentation, is enveloped in chaos. Violence, poverty, crime run rampant as the citizens try to eeke out some sort of exisitance. The Organo govern the city, keeping careful watch over the strict cast system that seems to play an important role in the society of Lux. However, the Organo is met with fierce opposition, and severe gang wars erupt all across the city on a regular basis.

A rare material called Raphia, which can only be harvested deep from within Lux, appears to be the key factor to the beginning of the civil unrest inside the city. This material allows for humans to become, Texhnolyzed, creating an broad interface inside the body with the use of prosthetic limbs. However, this operation is only given to those of the privleged class inside of Lux.

The story starts out with our main character, Ichise, a prizefighter, illustrating exactly how incredibly violent the city of Lux is. He is ultimatly a young man in the wrong place, and the wrong time, with the wrong people. As a result, he loses his arm, then a leg, is shot a couple times for good measure, then left to bleed to death in some dark ally.

Miraculously, he survives, dragging himself through town only to be found by a mysterious, ambitous young scientist who views him as a good specimin to experiment on. Ultimatly, he recieves his own set of "texhnolyzed" arms and limbs, but doesn't seem to pleased about his recovery.

Kazuho Yoshii is a mysterious stranger, who has traveled from the surface to see the city of Lux with his own eyes. However, his motivations appear to be more than just a "sight seeing vacation", as he becomes involved in a fire fight between the Organo and a rival gang faction. Kazuho directly shows that he is an accompished gun wielder, which leads us to believe that he is more than just an average tourist.

Kazuho's guide is a quirky, strangely silent girl named Ran. She rarely speaks and has an unnerving stare, often hiding her face behind a fox mask. We learn later that Ran has the ability to see the future. Her exact role in this series is left to be seen, but she appears to be one of the major players.

Honestly, I have to clue where this show is going as of yet. The first DVD compiles mystery upon mystery with heavy drama and disturbing violence. However, the intreague is addictive and compells me to see more of this amazingly, well illustrated tale.

The art work and animation is incredible, being a key to the setting of the tone of this story. Drab, nearly monochromatic, and dark, there is a dirty, oppressive feel to the city of Lux and it's people. Those familar with Yoshitoshi ABe understand how talented and insightful his designs are when it comes to illustrating the overall tone of a show. Once again, he's done a brilliant job.

This series won't appeal to those who usually enjoy the more mainstream type anime, but for those of us who like to extend our horizons beyond the obvious and linear, Texhnolyze won't disappoint. Watching this show requires thinking and a rather alert attention span. The first episode has quite possibly less than two minutes of dailogue and is utterly told through the animation alone. Nor is this a series I'd recommend for younger viewers, as many of the illustrations are quite disturbing and rather explicit.

I haven't decided if I actually like Texhnolyze or if I'm just so confused I have to see more of it to allieviate the itching questions I have in my brain after watching it. I love the animation, the music, and illustrations, but the story is incredibly complex. Not that complexity is an issue, it's just been my experience that shows like this often fail somewhere in the middle of the show, losing perpective the plot or theme, so perhaps that's made me a bit skeptical. As for now, I'll say that this series has the potential to be a masterpiece, if the creators can manage all the elements they've attributed to it. I certainly hope they can. In a day and age where humor and cutesy characters thrive, good, dramatic shows like Texhnolyze are hard to come by. I'll definitely continue watching for the time being.

Death Penalty

Today I was thumbing through some forums at work and discovered this thread, and I honestly couldn't believe some of the garbage I was reading. Are people really this retarded? It's truley frightening...

I for one, am pro-death penalty, and I respect those who are against it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And this post isn't really about why I'm for the death penalty...what got me, was that the creator's ideals on who should and shouldn't be executed...

I mean, at the top of the list is, "Anyone who kills one member of an endangered species" and then right below it is "Anyone who kills 12 or more humans". Okay, that just doesn't make any sense in my head. Since when are animals more important than people? I'm all for animal rights, to and extent, but this is absurd. Say someone runs around, rapes, mutilates the bodies of little babies, chops their heads off, and dumps them on the road side, but he's only done is 8 times...so he's entitled to serve a prison sentance, go through a rehabilitaion that obviously doesn't work, then gets released so he can do it again...However, Ted Nugent goes out, kills a couple dodo birds (which are already extinct, BTW) and he gets the chair right off the bat? Good grief...

Dumpster diving

The computer came home today! I'm so happy! Not to mention it got hooked back up with few problems. I can't download MSN Messenger 6.2 for some reason, but that's okay. I'll figure out what's going on later. I did have to go through the hassle of getting my IME tool bar working again too and Real One was due for an update. Works still isn't working, which means ZERO is in limbo for the time being...I need to call and get a disk with Works on it so I can reinstall the program. They gave me the okay to install Frontpage too...

Apparently, despite my machine being secure, I got nailed with some "hostile spyware" that crashed my system along with two trojans that "rode" in, so to speak. It took out Norton and from there it was all over. After talking with the guy, he told me that despite Norton being a good anti-virus and despite patching your system with the usual updates, there are certain viruses that can slip by and new ones are always being written. Apparently mine were spyware related, from what I could gather...

Stupid hackers. You would think, with the know how and smarts, people would use their brains for something more intellegent. What a bunch of assholes...but what should I expect, this world is full of them. God forbid anyone put talent to use and God forbid people respect each other. Sheesh...I hope these people have fun rotting in hell....

Anyway, today I was at work and came across something cool...in the trash can. Yes, you heard me right. I was digging in the garbage. Well, I wasn't digging, I happened to be out in the shop, helping my boss fix the pumping system in one of our trucks and I saw this really nifty cardboard that was used to package one of the new Honda motors we bought. It looked like mask, you know, with eyes and a nose. (no, I haven't been smoking anything) My creative instincts kicked in and I pulled it from the garbage. Before you all stop talking to me, I don't make a habit of going through trash cans, okay....It was right on top, out in the shop and we all know that the trash in the shop is no where near as nasty as the trash in the office.

I brought it home with me and it's sitting on my floor as we speak. I have plans to paint in and what not over vacation. It reminds me of some African mask or something like that. It's really cool. I'll take some pictures of it when I get done with it. *laughs*

Though I don't normally dig through the trash, I do have a habit of collecting interesting objects and making stuff out of them. I blame it on my design 2 class I took in college. My instructor was big into abstract art and encouraged us to break from the norm and create things out of "unusual mediums". That's how I ended up making a stone pillar about three feet tall from styrofoam...and you know what, the damn thing really looked like a rock. If you didn't touch it, you wouldn't have realized it wasn't granite! LOL I was pretty impressed, and I'm NEVER happy with any of my art work...EVER....From there, I caught the bug and started collecting junk...Another time, while I was at work, I took apart some cardboard boxes and built a house out of duct tape, cardboard, and construction paper. Heh I'm a big fan of collecting strage pieces of wood. You know, the kind that twists and turns, or is weird colors...I'm so bad, that my grandma acutally collects stuff she finds and gives it to me! *laughs* My best friend is constantly making fun of me because there's always enough sticks, driftwook, or kindling to build a small fire in my car. Ha ha...I know, i'm wierd...but that's okay, we're all allowed to have our oddities.

So anyhoo, I'm pretty stoked about this new finding. I plan on working on it over vacation. It's been a long time since I actually painted anything...I'm a pretty horrible painter, but it should prove to be pretty fun! I really should get back into art...I usually draw more than I build stuff, but I haven't picked up a pencil in a long time...shame on me...

*just a few of my sketches I've done in the past. Most of my stuff remains unfinished, sorry for the poor quality*

Oh, and I can't end this without giving everyone a glimpse of Hunter's art work. *laughs* He loves to draw and has improved quite a bit! I'll have to dig up some of his Naruto and Full Metal Alchemist stuff, but for now, you all will have to settle for Dragon Ball Z. Heh heh

Well, it's getting late. Only two more days and I'll be ON VACATION! Yah! Take care everyone!

Chrono Crusade: Manga

I planned on doing a review of the anime series, I even had some cool screen caps I took. Note the word HAD. However, due to techincal difficulties, that project has been put on hold until the computer fix it people get off their asses and fix my computer. (no, I'm not bitter)

So, today, I'm going to talk about the manga, and I have managed to figure out how to edit pictures on my mother's pc (what pain that is...I miss my Adobe) Anyway, enough of my cranky whining. Stop reading this post and go buy the first GN. Period. This is a fantastic series. Excellent. Stunning. Compelling. Not to mention it has probably one of the most incredible endings I've ever seen in a manga series yet.

First of all, the art work is fantastic. I'm a sucker for good, clean art, and Chrono Crusade doesn't disappoint. The characters are drawn with expression and great characterization. The lines are clean, the tones are well done. The panels are well laid out and easy to follow, not to mention interesting. This series is eye candy, IMO. (I apologize for the quality of these scans...I'm working with sub par resources here, so bear with me)

Of course, good art is pointless without a decent story to go along with it. Once again, Chrono Crusade doesn't fail here either. Rosette, our the hero of our story, is a nun of the Magdalan Order. It's her duty to exterminate gouls, demons, devils, etc. She's good at what she does, albit, a bit untidy and reckless. She hardly seems the nunish type, especially when it comes to her companion and dear friend Chrono. Though at first glance, Chrono looks like a 10 year old kid and is kind and gentle to a fault, he's actually a devil. A powerful devil to be exact. Rosette has made a contract with him, allowing him to use her soul as a source of power. However, Chrono is often reluctant to unleash his potential in fear of killing Rosette. Around her neck, Rosette wears a pocketwatch that keeps track of the time she has left to live. More than likley, she won't live past the age of 30. Why she's made this pact with Chrono is yet to be revealed.

At first, the story is a bit cliche, but it's entertaining enough to overlook. As more characters are unveiled, the plot starts to take some serious twists. Chrono seems to harbor some great guilt, which is brilliantly characterized in by the artist. His smiles are often sad, and his joy over shadowed by some dark regret. A rather mellow, agreeable fellow, Chrono spends much of his time following Rosette around, trying to keep her out of trouble (and failing miserably). However, despite his easy going nature, we see early on that once Rosette has gotten herself in too deep, Chrono's possessiveness unleashes and he loses his control with reckless abandon. However, his concern for Rosette's welfare seems to go far deeper than just his contractee and source of power.

I was skeptical of reading this manga, afraid of the tired old trap of fan service and stupid girls with guns. I was surprised to discover what an amazing story unfolded in this series (with only a little fan-service, thank god). It's full of humor. Rosette and Chrono are like oil and water, but somehow they have created a beautiful friendship with one another. Not to mention Chrono, the almightly devil, constantly taking beatings from a highstrung, reckless Rosette without so much as a peep or protest. It's action packed, as the two of them exterminate demons and gouls, then clash head to head with some of Chrono's old friends (later volumes). Aion, the main villian is deviantly evil, but his motives actually hold some merit and make you consider if his way of thinking is actually wrong. The mysteries of Chrono's past, his relationship with Rosette, who the Apostles really are and what their purpose really is keeps the story interesting and addictive. Occasionally, the tale is heartwrenchingly sad ( I cried a couple times reading the manga and watching the anime). So, despite first glances, this story isn't as straight laced and "unoriginal" as I expected. It's actually incredibly good and worth spending money on.

As of now, ADV Manga is releasing the english version here in the US. Volume 1 is out in stores today, so go pick up a copy. I actually am impressed with the quality of work ADV Manga does and despite the first two pages being upside down (mistakes happen), I have no complaints over their products. Later this year, ADV will release the anime series, which is a good watch as well and I recommend picking up (I'll post some screens later).

Still waiting...

So...I'm still waiting to hear back from those yahoo's I took my computer to. I called and asked them what was going on. It's been a week. They told me a couple more days and I asked them if it would be better if I came and picked it up instead. I can do a System restore on my own...however, I don't WANT to do that if I DON'T HAVE to...Apparently (and this is how computer literate I am) XP has a roll back feature which I wasn't aware of. I might be able to set my computer back to the date before I installed Frontpage and have it run from then. I'd lose a bunch of stuff, but that's okay. I wish I'd known that before I took it in. I told them I'd call them on Friday. If I don't have it by then, I'm going to have a friggin cow.

The guy told me it was because of the Sassler virus and everyone being infected. That sort of pissed me off...you know, if people would have patched their machines and protected them, there wouldn't have been such a big problem. Okay, I'm just mad cause I have to wait so damn long to get mine fixed, and as selfish as that is, it still irks me I have to wait in line behind some idiots who don't take the time to take care of their computers. *sigh* (note: I do take care of my computer. It's updated, protected, and cleaned up weekly. WHY this happened to me utterly baffles me) So anyway, the guy assumed I had the virus too, and I told him no, my computer crashed when I installed Frontpage and I lost a bunch of programs...and I have no clue what to do...that's why it's there. If they're too busy, they can at least give me some direction and I can take it home and do it myself...He then said that he'd try to look at it today and for me to at least give them until Friday...

I'll call them on Thursday...even better, I'll stop by...heh...

However, I know just getting it home and hooked back up won't be so easy. It never is. I have a funny feeling I'll have router trouble again, but a reset should fix it (it did the last time). If all else fails, I'll just have to take it to a different place, which is what I should have done to begin with...though I need Norton reinstalled which only the place I bought the computer from can do (which I why I took it there to begin with).

So....that's where I'm at right now...still incredibly irritated by all this and bored out of my skull....

Well, I should get going before my mom wakes up and sees I've commandeered her pc. Ha ha...she doesn't really care too much, just so long as I don't go downloading stuff...(party pooper)

Broken....hearted...?

Alas, my computer is still broken...I took it in to the shop and they said it wouldn't be until next week...then they'll LOOK at it to see what's wrong. After that, who knows what'll happen. So...I'm trying to adapt to life with out a computer again...and it sucks...I'm not happy about this at all...Mainly because I have so much stuff on my computer and like an idiot, I didn't make a back up of ANY OF IT...*sigh* Serves me right...I have a feeling they'll just have to wipe it clean and start over...which bites...Oh well...live and learn I suppose...(is actually livid about this situation)

My mom thinks it's pretty funny...as this morning the first thing she said to me as I stumbled out of my room was "Look, I have a computer!" as she sat checking her email at her pc. If she wasn't my mom, I would have flipped her off...but I do have to give her kudos for coming up with such a good joke on my expense. I'm proud...

Anyway...

So, to pass the time, I started playing video games again. I've got a stack of them that are unfinished and since I have nothing better to do with my time, I decided to finish them up. Living in the sticks severly hinders the "fun" factor around here. My options are either, go to the mall, go to the bar, or go see a movie over and over again...Nice, huh? All of those cost money, so sitting on my butt at home playing video games, fuming over my broken PC is the better option...considering I'm flippin broke....

Right now, I'm at work...doing nothing...and getting paid...I actually brought my playstation 2 to work we me today...LOL...It's not normal for me to work Saturdays, but the boss had some stuff to do so, so I'm hanging around waiting for our production people to get done. I guess you could call it "baby sitting"...LOL Once I'm done here, I think I'll go grab some lunch in town (at the new A&W!!!) then head home and continue my videogame extravaganza...

Of course, I can't find my copy of Seven Samurai or Xenosaga...which ticks me of too, but I'm certain they're in my room amongst the stacks dvd's, books, and games...Which means I'll have to clean and though I cringe at that idea, it's probably a good idea anyway...

*sigh* Well, until next time...(hopefully I'll have my computer back by then...)

Stupid computers...

Or maybe it's just the user. I don't know...

Ever since I installed Frontpage, I've had nothing but trouble on my computer. WHY!? I'm constantly getting a "de-bug message" or "script error" message. My Microsoft Works program no longer opens, which really ticks me off...considering I can't get my ZERO translations open now either. ARGH! It took me months to translate the book! Not only that, today I get a message saying something about how hotmail can't open because of my security settings. I have error messages coming out my ears...

W T F

Hotmail opened just fine last night...so what has changed so much since then...it worked fine all weekend. I'm not sure if this is Frontpage or Norton causing the trouble...or perhaps it's just my stupid computer, but I find it strange that everything worked good up until last weekend. Now I have nothing but trouble.

I've debated uninstalling it, but now I'm worried that will mess things up even more...Hmph...I've got pleanty of memory, I defrag the stupid thing once a week, I check for viruses once a week, I install all the updates....what have I done wrong? I HATE MICROSOFT...

Maybe I'm just over reacting...though I am really ticked off about not being able to access ZERO. However, I suppose I can just save it to a zip and then print out the entire 140 pages on my mom's computer...*sigh* Why can't things be simple...and why can't things work like they're suppose too? Grrrr....

You know, the final straw will be when it decides to mess with my bit torrent, adobe, and media players. I know that's coming. I can just feel it...It's bad enough I can't get Hotmail to open, since I use my email ALL THE TIME...

Did I mention I hate Microsoft...?

Anyway, I plan to go home at lunch and mess with it some more, which is probably a bad idea since I'll end up being even more angry by the time my break is over and then worry about it until I get home...

This sucks...

***UPDATE***

So what did I say about going home and being even more pissed off after messing with my computer? Yeah...that's an understatement. Not only has Messanger, Hotmail, my net passport, and Mircosoft Works quit working, now Norton and one of my media players has fallen prey to this...this...WHATEVER...

I uninstalled Frontpage, who I believe is part of the problem. Tonight, I'm going to just drop kick the thing out my window. No, actually, I'm going to try to do a System Restore and if that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to take the damn thing in...

To top that off, I was late getting back to work, nearly got taken out by a huge Dodge pick up truck, and my son's doctor called to tell me we have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow...which I thought was for next week...I am NOT having a good day...

Full Metal Alchemist

Okay, so I'm a bit late in getting around to talking about what could be one of the biggest license announcements of this year. Yeah, I know Full Metal Alchemist was the number 1 show I wanted to see get a North American release. Don't get me wrong, I was estatic! I did a whoop of joy and then a double whoop when I realized it was going to be premiering on Cartoon Network in October. However, the joy was dampered by the masses of my peers who nearly had a heart attack when they heard that Funimation was the lucky company handling the release. So I held off for a bit, until the waters had semi calmed. Of course, the hard core elitists still have their panties in a bunch, some have even started "online petitions"...whatever...

Anyway, IMO, THIS show is the best release of this year. I can't think of any other series out there that is better than FMA. No, not Naruto (and I love this show too) it doesn't even come close. Actually, this might be the best TV anime I've ever seen.

Why?

Because it is put together so beautifully. This series just FLOWS...it doesn't lag, it answers it's questions, it's never boring, everything fits together and makes sense. I have yet to see an episode where I felt like they tried to cram too much information into 23 minutes or decided to brush over important plot elements because of time and budget. No, everything here is perfectly in place.

The characters are compelling and well constructed. They have personality. They have a goal. They have faults. Ed and Al have been given the tools to be good characters, thanks to this and the great script. Even more astounding is that the minor characters are so well rounded, they're never dull, tedious, or irritating. Every character has a role to play and each one is important to the story. It's simply incredible.

So what's it about?

Ed and Al are two brothers. They lose their mother when the are young, and since their father was a great alchemist, they decided to learn alchemy and bring her back. In this world, alchemy works on the rule of equivalent trade. You must give something of the same value to create something of that value. However, what is the value of human life? Human transmutaion is forbidden, and the two brothers learn why. The price they pay to just attempt to bring their mother back is a heafty one. Younger brother Al loses his entire body when they attempt the transumtation. The older Al loses his leg, then sacrifices his arm to bring his brother's soul back and bind it to a suit of armor.

Though they made a horrible mistake, the two of them set out on a journey to find the Philosopher's Stone, which is said to amplify the powers of alchemy. The brothers hope to use the stone to get Al's body back and restore Ed's arm and leg. As for now, Ed is equipt with "Auto-mail", a type of prosthesis with is made of a heavy metal and is attached to the nerves of his body.

As they journey, Ed takes governement test to become a National Alchemist for the army in hopes of having more information avaible to him about alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone. However, the two of them soon find themselves at the center of a dangerous conspiracy. People are after their lives, while others are trying to use them to get to the stone, and others are trying to start another war...

FMA is a mix of action, drama, and humor. I've laughed, I've bawled my eyes out, I've gotten angry while watching this show. It's fantastic how well everything fits into place and works together. I wish more shows were as well thought out, scripted, and had such expressive, captivating characters. FMA is a masterpiece.

Funimation has released the 2 trailers for FMA already. I really don't care too much for the narration, it sounds too much like DB GT to me (I'm not being anti funi here, I don't care for the narration on GT either, but the show is cool). However, I DO like Al's voice! LOL He actually sounds like a little kid!

BTW:
I highly recommend the manga when it becomes licensed. Though the anime is different from the manga, the elements are all the same. The manga is just as incredible, if not more so.

Peacemaker Kurogane is official

Well, it's finally official. ADV announced the aquisition of Peace Maker Kurogane and has estimated a fall 2004 release. My thoughts on this. It makes me happy to see PMK getting a North American release, and I certainly hope ADV does the series justice when dubbing it. IMO, ADV's dubbing quality can either be A: Fantastic or B: Utter Crap. There's usally no middle ground for them.

So what's Peace Maker Kurogane about? Well, samurai of course. The story begins during the Meji Revolution when Japan was at a turning point in their history. The topple of the Tokugawa opened the doors to Japan's modernization and entry into the world as a progressive country.

Tetsunosuke is a 15 year old boy, orphaned after his parents are brutally murdered by the revolutionairies. He's determined to join the Shinsengumi, and elite group of fighters opposing the modernization of Japan. However, he discovers that just joining the army isn't as easy as it seems. He finds himself a lowly page to the Shinsengumi's second in command, Hijikata. And it appears that Hijikata doesn't like him much. Forced to serve tea and do menial chores, Testu has a lot of time to ponder his decisions. He gets a first hand glimpse of what war really is and what it does to it's victims.

Along the way, Tetsu befriends many of the other soliders living in the barracks. His biggest advocate is Okita Soujiro, a happy go lucky, feminine looking young man with a horrible cough. Tetsu quickly finds out that despite Okita's pleasant and childlike manner, the young man is a deadly killer and possilby the best swordsman inside the Shinsengumi. Though the anime only briefly touches on the subject, Okita is slowly dying from tuberculousis. The other members of the Shinsengumi take Tetsu under their wing, giving the pet name "puppy" and constantly get him into trouble with his master, Hijikata.

However, there are others inside the barracks that don't care for Tetsu naivetee and immaturity. Hijikata aside, Tetsu runs afoul of Susumu, the Shinsengumi's resident shinobi (ninja). Though as things progress, Susumu stops taking himself so seriously and starts to warm up to Tetsu's invigorating spirited nature.

Peacemaker Kurogane is a dramatic series. The show is emotional, as the characters experience the horrors of war and the pain of death. There's a bit of well placed humor thrown in, such as the theft of Hijikata's horrible book of hiku, but for the most part the series focuses on Tetsu's quest to understand if his path to revenge is the right one. He had hoped to find the killer of his parents and execute him, but as he sees more and more of his friends struggle, he begins to doubt his motivations.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this show. The animation is incredibly beautiful and the music is amazing (so much infact I bought the soundtrack). However, I was disappointed in it's content, but perhaps I'm baised after reading the orginal manga (Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker and Peacemaker Kurogane). The anime follows the first manga, Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker, keeping with the plot of Tetsu's quest for revenge. Yet, it started to throw in elements of Peacemaker Kurogane (the second manga) at random and that's what threw the show completely off base. The PMK manga is more supernatural and wierd, while SIMP is mainstream and realistic. The supernatural elements just didn't fit well with the overall tone of the show, and when at the end, none of it made sense and a ton of stuff was left unfinished. That bugged me. It really threw things off and nearly ruined what could possibly have been one of the best anime of this year.

Still, despite being a bit disappointed in the content, I did love the show and recommend it to everyone to watch. It's so emotionally charged, it's worth checking out. Just ignore all the supernatural mumbo jumbo, you wouldn't understand what's going on without reading the PMK manga (which is due for a NA release as well by ADV manga). Just keep an eye on Tetsu and his friends, that's all that matters.

(yes, Okita is my favorite character)

Parenting...at odds...

Well, it looks like Hunter is sick again...or perhaps I should say "still". I swear, that kid get sick so easily. Last week he missed a full weeks worth of school because he caught whatever was floating around at the time. Needless to say, I got sick too, but not nearly as bad as him. Today, he comes home from Tae Kwon Do and throws up on the sidewalk. He was fine this morning...*sigh*

He's always had stomach troubles. I've known this for a long time. A few months ago, I took him to the doctor and they took X-rays. They found nothing, and after a not so pleasant exam, sent him home with a pat on the back and a warning to eat lots of fiber.

So now, my mom is stomping around the house giving me "the look". Why? Because I didn't like her idea of "take him to the doctor". What is the doctor going to do now? We've had X-rays. We've had the colon exam. What else is left? And how come "take him to the doctor" is the answer to everything?

You know...this is probably one of the biggest issues my mother and I have when it comes to raising my son. She's what I'd call a borderline hypochondraic. Everytime he's sick, even with a cold, she's yelling at me to take him to the clinic. She did this to me and my sister when we were kids too. Just ask my family, they'll tell you about how my sis and I were constantly being hauled off to the doctors office. Now my son is subjected to it. Oh, she's made some good calls on occasion, but more often than not, I'm given a generic perscription and sent on my merry way.

I just don't think pumping kids full of anitbiotics for every little sneeze and sniffle is good ethics. To tell you the truth, my personal doctor told me it was my over exposure to antibiotics that has caused me to "reject" certain medications such as...oh...virtually any kind of penicillin. I'm not allergic. They just don't work anymore. So what happens when I need to take antibiotics now? *laughs*

Even worse, the more my mom nags at me, the more worried I get and I start dreaming up all kinds of horrible illnesses...then I end up taking him in. Which is what she wants me to do. So she wins, but I'm still a bad mom. Ask her friends, they'll probably agree, since I know she tells them all kinds of things about me...

I guess I'll never live down my mistakes. I know I'm not a perfect mother, but neither is she. I've forgiven her for her faults, but she still feels the need to dwell on mine. That's too bad, but if it makes her feel better about herself, whatever...It just ticks me off that Hunter gets caught in the middle of it.

I love my son, regardless of what my mom thinks. He is the coolest little guy in the world. I can always count on him to make me laugh and I couldn't ask for a better playmate, even though he complains that I hog all the video games. Heh heh...He's the most compassionate little person too, and when I'm sad, he's there to give me a hug and cheer me up. I suppose, in the end, it doesn't matter what my mom thinks of me, it's Hunter's opinion that matters the most...

Whew...talk about a move...

Well, thanks to my super cool cousin, I'm now hooked up with a cool, ad free blogger! I'm so excited! I moved all my "valuble" blogs from my old site over at Got Diary and archived them. Well, not really, I just posted them under one day...but they're here, so that's all that matters. LOL

I've also started working on my very first web site. I'm having a ton of fun doing it! It's nothing big, but it's cool because I never thought I'd be able to make one! LOL I can't wait to publish it and have NOTHING work...we all know that's what's going to happen...LOL I made my own banner today, which was a lot of fun. I'm getting better at using Adobe. It would probably be even more user friendly if I actually picked up the book I have and read it....Oh well...I perfer the "trial and error" method.

I hope I've notified everyone that I need too...not that many people read my blog, but the few that do have been fun! I look forward to hearing from you all again!

Stupid Anime Fans

Really, the elitist stupidity never ceases to amaze me. I mean, how more mundane, whiny, and nitpicky can you actually be....

Wait...don't answer that...because when it comes to your "otaku" fans, as they like to call themselves, anything is frickin possible.
BTW...did you dumbasses know that being called an otaku isn't a compliment? Funny, how it's okay for an elitist to take a Japanese word and twist it to fit their context, but then turn around and rant and rave about how American companies bastardize anime by omitting it's "true contextual meanings"...WTF...

We have a word for that here, hypocrisy...and in Japan it's called 偽善.

それらはアホウだよ。(insert angry face here)

Anyway, I happened to be trolling about last night, searching for various release dates and info on upcoming licenses, and of course I ran into several various postings from these hypocritical ignoramuses which got me irked once again. Gawd, they're crawling out of the wood work these days...perhaps it's because it's "Con" season, or maybe it's just the warm weather and like the pests they are, they come out when the spring time hits...

Don't believe me...take a look at this doofus who is pitching a fit about American companies changing the yen amounts in manga into dollars. "It loses the feel" they say. THAT IS THE DUMBEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD "Do the math" they say...Like I really want to whip out a pencil and make conversions while I read a manga. Like I really want a bunch of text bubbles everywhere explaining things to me in the margins. Like it really matters THAT MUCH...

Gawd, how about this...why don't you stop bitching and go buy the Japanese version and you can have all the "FEEL" you want...

Another one I ran across, and I'm sorry I didn't save the link since I can't remember where I found it, was someone reviewing "Hana Kimi" and comparing Viz's translations to the scanlations they read along with the Chinese version. Now there's a great comparison to base a review off of. We all know that fan translations are much better than professional translations, and of course, the Chinese versions of manga NEVER deviate from the Japanese versions either...Wait a second while I stab my eye out with a pencil and scramble my frontal lobe...perhaps then I'll be able to reason like an otaku and understand how in the HELL they come up with this crap!

And of course, you can just troll through any anime forum, such as AoD, and find thread after thread of nitpicky complainers pointing out printing errors and minor goof-ups by companies like Viz and Tokyopop. Mistakes are made, people...shit happens...get over it. And like I've said before, (scroll down), if you're too stupid to figure it out on your own, maybe you shouldn't be reading it anyway...Sheesh...

Of course, they throw in the "Well, I pay for this" line too. Yeah, so do I. And when the kiddies grow up, they'll realize that just because you pay for something doesn't mean you're gonna get perfection. Sorry, but that's how the big bad world works. D-E-A-L W-I-T-H I-T.

Now, I'm not saying that all bitching isn't founded. Some have viable points. Just not very many of them...I'm so sick of hearing about Tokyopop's printing quality, VIZ's typo's and horrible translations, etc. I'm sick of Funi bashing, tired of dub trashing, and frankly put out over the entire perfectionist attitude of elitist freakheads everywhere. They make it very difficult to enjoy anime/manga fandom. It's hard to strike up a converstaion on a forum without some tard jumping in and spouting off "Tokyopop blows my mom" or some stupid crap like that. Case in point...a few months ago, I posted a thread about the greatness of Bleach becoming licensed in the US. Now we all know that I'm a Bleach fan (if you didn't see my review down below), and I was excited to share the info with fellow fans. Stupid me, I started a discussion about how nice it was to see this manga finally coming to the US. It took less than a day and a full blown argument occured about how VIZ was going to do a horrible job and the manga would suck. The thread was over run with elitist jackasses ranting about how Bleach should just stay in Japanese and no company should touch it...It was so idiotic...and so stupid of me to think that fans of the series could have a nice, decent discussion about how fantastic Bleach is as a manga.

Anyway...

I'm not saying they have to like the companies, but you know, I'd like them to keep their damn mouths just and stop repeating the same tired mantra over and over again.

やれやれ。。。

Red Beard

At first glance, you probably expect me to start talking about pirates or vikings. That's not the case. What I'm talking about in this little excerpt is probably one of the most amazing and beautiful movies I've ever seen.

I'm a sucker for old movies. Gone with the Wind, Annie, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, etc. I love them! This one is no different, expect in the fact that it is an older Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa. The film from 1965 (okay, so not too old), in black and white, and runs about 185 minutes long with an intermission. The language is in Japanese of course, with the option of english subtitles.

The movie is based off the novel "Red Beard" by Shugoro Yamamoto. The story is based at the end of the Tokugawa era, and a young man by the name of Yasumoto has just returned to Edo (now called Tokyo) from Nagasaki, where he was studying medicine under Dutch tutolage. Upon his return, he's told to go pay his respects to a doctor by the name of Niide at a Public Clinic. Once he's there, he learns that it's been arranged that he is to stay and work there as an intern.

Yasumoto is offended. He'd hoped to begin working for the shogun as a doctor, and had never thought about working as a public doctor. He is disgusted with the state of the poor who come to the clinc for medicine or to die. However, the agreement isn't negotiable, and he finds himself stuck at the clinc.

He tries to get himself thrown out, by breaking the hospital rules, behaving rudely, etc. He believes himself too good to dirty his hands with the destitute and desperate, but the longer he is stuck there, the more he beings to see himself and the world in a new light.

As he mingles with the poor, he learns that life is often unfair and harsh. He meets a man on his death bed whose entire family was torn from him by a decietful wife, a homicidial girl driven into madness from her repeated sexual abuse, a young boy who's family decided it was best for them all to die, than to live life because of their extream poverty, and a young girl, beaten by into a state of autistic like madness by her "geisha mistress". Yasumoto observes their hardships, and finds himself not a hardworking, upstanding, honest individual, but instead arrogant, self centered, pampered, insensitive. He realizes that he's known nothing of hardship or pain brought about by life, and finds himself to be a lacking man. He sees the world through different eyes as the movie continues. He sees the evil of humanity, and how precious it is to grasp the good when it comes your way.

Red Beard is a story about learning and growing. It's about leaving behind the illusions we're brought up with and becoming brave enough to make our own decisions about life. It's about the evils of humanity and how precious it is to cherish the good in life.

This film is incredibly touching and heartbreakingly sad. The characters are all beautiful, realistic individuals and the story moves at a wonderful pace. Kurosawa has done an amazing job pitting the difference of good and evil is a very human, very believable setting. It's truely an incredible masterpiece. I highly recommend this film for those who enjoy a seriously well told story.

Ungrateful and undeserving

I hate really have issues with anime fans these days. Yes, I know I've gone on about this before, but honestly...are there a bigger bunch of whining, self righteous, ignorant idiots? I doubt it. I've never run into a fan base of anything, that is more rude and rediculous than those of anime and manga.

Perhaps, it's because the age factor is so young, and most of the fans are pretty much just kids who think they know it all. That's usually what I chalk it up to.

What got me going this time, you ask? Hmmm...I suppose it all started here, with this thread. Note: most of this thread is mindless drivel, but a few of the later posts got me a bit miffed. Honestly, if I was Shin Oktaku fansubbers, I'd pack my stuff and say screw you to all the ungrateful, idiotic retards bitching about their releases. Granted, they did make some mistakes in episode 81 of Naruto, they are a new group, and they are trying to fix their mistakes. However, the Narutards are ready to go to war for the "debotchery" of their precious show.

I wonder how many of these Naruto fans, or anime fans in general speak or read Japanese well enough to know a "poor" translation when they hear it. I know I've been studying the language for a couple years and I still don't "hear" it well enough to understand fully. I can read it with the help of furigana and a dictionary to help me with the words and kanji I don't know, but I still get confused. So it just pisses me off when people start screaming "OH MY GOD, this translation sucks..." especially when it's directed at professional companies.

I expect shaky translations from amatures, like fansubbers and manga scanners. I'm happy these people are taking the time and effort to share these series we wouldn't be able to see otherwise. If there are mistakes, I can overlook them. I know that in my translation of ZERO, there are mistakes. However, I've worked hard to do the best I can, and if you're too stupid to figure out what's going on for yourself, you shouldn't be reading it anyway. I learn more and more about the language as I translate, I spend hours looking things up and studying. I'm confident my translations will get better the more I practice (which is one of the reason's I decided to translate ZERO, for my own personal benifit). I've encouraged my mistakes to be pointed out in a polite manner, but I won't tolerate blatent rudeness, nor should Shin Otaku or any other group or person. If people know so much about the language, then they should take the time to educate and explain, not attack and rub other people's faces in it. To put it lightly, if you don't care to share your knowledge in a polite, helpful manner, keep your frickin pie hole shut.

As for professional companies and their translations, yes, I know there's been some issues with companies such as Funi and 4Kids. Especially 4Kids...I know they've done crappy translations of certain releases. That's a fact. They did it to make the big bucks off shows that are HUGE among the kiddies here. Not that I agree with what they've done, but I can see things from a business perspective so I understand. I might not like it, and it might piss me off, but I do understand.

However, other the many other titles that are released in the US come under fire constantly as well, and they are not released by Funi or 4kids. These shows (take your pick) won't be shown on TV and are strictly for the niche market of anime fans in general. Still, you hear the outraged cry of "the translation is horrible!" Really? どのようにして知っていますか？ お前は Really, I want to know. それは米国化ですか？ Because if that's the case, fans like that need to be shot in the head. I really have issues with the people who have puppies over the fact they changed Ne-san and Onii-san or leave it out totally. Or they don't add the sama, kun, or san to the names..."It messes up the story" "It loses it's feel"...BULLSHIT...if you think that way, go buy the Japanese volumes then and you can have all the san, sama, kun, dono, etc you want. While you're at it, shove a couple pocky up your nose too. Leaving these out does not constitue a "poor" translation. Americanization is part of the translation process. Some things will change, some things will be lost. That's the way it goes. Do people honestly think that in Japan the same thing doesn't happen? People here bitch about title changes, but it happens in Japan too. Some of our movie titles are changed when released over there, but you don't see petitions going up to stop the bastardazation of American movies. On several occasions, my friend Yuko in Tokyo has had a hard time finding movies I've recommended to her, due to changes in the title...

I suppose I'd be more sympathetic to the whiner's cause if their issues weren't so trivial. Fans of Yugioh, Shaman King, DBZ (before the subbed version was released), Tokyo Mew Mew, etc. They have a reason to bitch and complain. But the other 99 bazillion purist and elitist out there are just plain irritating, and what pisses me off the most is that I'd be willing to bet that 99 percent of them have no clue how to read or speak Japanese. Being able to say a couple of catch phrases and recongizing a couple kanji doesn't give you the license to be a translator critic. You can study and study the language for several years, and still not be qualified to know what's a decent translation or not...don't believe me? Go talk to someone who is seriously studying Japanese...Just because your an anime fan doesn't mean you KNOW Japanese.

To Shin Otaku and the other people who are working hard of fansubs and manga translations, take these fools with a grain of salt and do the best you can. Continue to improve your skills and your projects. It's unfortunate that the masses are so ungrateful, and to be honest, they don't deserve the time and effort you put into these series, but there are a few of us who appriciate what you do.

My my, I've gone off on a tangent again. Oh well, I'm sure this will offend the delicate sensibility of some おたく. Life is rough, my friends, life is rough, so wipe your nose and get over it.

Good food...or just plain BAD...

Food. It's a pretty broad term, but when you really think about it, food is an important aspect of defining our culture. When I say "hamburger" you think Americans. When I say "sushi" you think Japanese. When I say "egg fu yung" you think Chinese. When I say "bratwurst" you think of Germans. When I say "escargo" (I have no idea if I spelled that right), you think of French...So you see, food plays an important role in defining culture across the globe.

However, what "we" eat vs. what "they" eat can bring up some pretty hairy topics. American's, for some strange reason, seem to be the pickiest eaters out of all the cultures in the world. The dishes we eat are pretty straight and narrow (yes, I'm American). You have the basic food groups and they are clearly defined with "do's" and "don'ts"...You don't eat dogs. You don't mix blood in with your milk. You don't eat brains. Poisonous animals are not meant to be eaten. Cook your food ALWAYS. Tofu isn't in the food group. And so on...rarely do we deviate into the "weird and 'taboo'".

Personally, I find this strange, since America is supposably the melting pot of the world. You'd think we wouldn't be such wussies about trying different foods. Alas, that's not the case, and exotic dishes are left to fancy resturaunts or eaten inside the homes of immigrants, away from the fightened eyes of natural born American citizens. (yes, this was laced with sarcasim).

I'll admit, I won't eat just anything plopped in front of me. If someone gave me a plate of deep fried maggots or milk with blood clots, I'd definitly pass. I'm all for trying new things, but I have a firm line drawn. I've eaten bulls testicals which are pretty good, tried chocolate covered crickets, sushi is yummy, hell, I want to try natto just to see what it's like. But I refuse to eat certain things...I suppose most people do as well.

Anyway, after watching an interesting show on television, I felt compelled to talk about some of the most interesting, and some of the possibly most disgusting sounding food out there. Now giving credit where it's due, the cultures who practice what we might consider "unsanitary" or even "morally wrong" eating preferences, are no different than us here in the US. I'm sure some of our food makes them queezy...hell, it makes me queezy (like cheeze whiz and spam...). So I'm not trying to say what they're doing is wrong, hell no...I just find it interesting, and peculiar...perhaps anyone reading this will too.

I'm not a big fan of fish. I can pretty much say I don't care for anything that is cooked with fish, save a couple of dishes. I do like sushi, smoked salmon and stuffed salmon, but that's about it. I couldn't imagine growing up in Iceland, where shark (aka Harkl) is a delicacy. Rotting shark, that is. Apparently, this is a cultural food served around a specific time of the year to celebrate the Icelanders "viking roots". Vikings are cool. Rotting shark meat is not.

What do I mean by rotting? Well, think of road kill frying on a hot summer road. That's the kind of rotting I'm talking about. A shark is caught, cleaned and then buried in a pit for several months and left to rot. Later, it's brought out of the pit and hung up to finish the curing process. Later, it is eaten, perferably with a special drink called brennivín.

Why eat rotting shark? Well, apparently it's not all about good, Icelandic fun. The sharks are actually poisonous, their body emits a chemical akin to antifreeze which allows them to swim in the cold waters. Eating the meat could mean dying, unless it's cured properly. The best way to get the poisons out? Let the meat rot. You can learn more about this process? Go here.

I'd mentioned Criadillas earlier, or something similar. For all you boys reading this, you might want to skip this part. Criadillas are bulls tesitcals. We know them here as "Rocky Mountain Oysters". I've tried them and they are quite good! Of course, I ate them before knowing what they were, but I'd eat them again if given the chance. Usually the testicals are boiled in water and then fried (or deep fried) in a pan. More on criadillas and bulls in Spain...HERE.

Placenta anyone? Yup. P-l-a-c-e-n-t-a. As in what a fetus is attached to inside a mother. As a matter of fact, that site above as some super cool recepies on how to COOK YOUR OWN PLACENTA, for all you mothers to be out there! How's that for a baby shower dish (since many mothers are waiting until AFTER the baby is born to have their showers). Isn't it dandy!? Squeemish about eating a placenta? Just read this woman's story. I think it was published in Good Housekeeping a few years back, right next to the Martha Stewart is an angel arcticle...

*shudders* And these women are breeding...

Since we all know the jokes thrown around about certain cultures eating dogs, I figured I'd throw in a few recipies for those who are curious. Who's laughing now?
Dog Soup

For those of you in prison or who have been in prison, perhaps you're familar with Pruno? Oh...no...probably not...if you're reading this, it means you're still alive. All I have to say is...WTF...isn't anyone watching these stupid assholes? Then again, I suppose this is a good way to cleanse the gene pool...nothing like a good case of botulisim to take care of that. Good grief.

Baluut brings new meaning to "hide the egg". A fertilized egg of some fowl, that is. You've got to bury it too, let it incubate for a bit, then scoop out the half grown embryo with a spoon. Yum Yum! Baluut here!

And just for laughs, why don't you take a look at the FDA Handbook. This will tell you how many flies eggs are allowed to pass through your tomato juice or how many roaches can be legally cooked into your twinkies. Heh...

Neighbors goats pissing you off? Are they jumping on your car and eating your roses? No worries. You can thank your neighbor for being such a responsible live stock owner by serving them some Goat Head Soup. That might get the point across. Make sure to leave the eyeballs in...they're the best part.

And just for shits and giggles, everyone needs to go check out this site and this one for a few good laughs...

Well, that's all I've got for today. If you have any gross food stories to talk about, I'd like to hear them!

Take care!

Top 3 Anime Shows

Today I'm going to talk about my favorite shows. These are at the top of my list, the ones I can watch over and over again with out getting board. They stand out above the rest for many reasons, but I'll remind you, these choices are my opinion. Feel free to like what you want, but don't diss my preferences. Right?
;-)

TOP 3 ANIME SHOWS:

1.) Full Metal Alchemist
Two boys, punished for impeading on the territory of God by trying to bring thier mother back from death by using Alchemy. One loses his body, only his soul is saved and bound to a suit of armor. The other loses a leg and arm. Now, on a mission to regrain their orginal bodies, Ed and Al set out to find the seceret of the Philosipher's Stone, but end up uncovering more than they bargined for.

Okay, I've talked about this show a lot in the past. And for good reason too. IT'S EXCELLENT! I adore the characters, especially Ed and Al, but the minor players aren't easily overlooked either. Everyone has a role in this series, everyone is important. That makes things more interesting. Even better, is the nice mixture of emotions going on during each episode. FMA is funny, I mean, Edwards face is priceless when he decides to freak out, and the jokes are well played, but the show never really lets you forget the regret and sadness laying just benieth the surface. Edward broods over his bad decisions and feels responsible for his younger brothers armored body. Al tries to cope with being a 14 year old boy who will never feel warmth, taste food, get tired, etc. Both brothers want to help the other become "normal" again, and both are willing to sacrifice themselves to achieve their goals. However, I think Edwards pain is much deeper than Al's, he blames himself for leading the younger boy down the wrong path, he blames himself for not being strong enough to deal with life's hardships. His grief is so deep he borders on the self destructive, and with out his younger brother to hold him up, I think Edward would be lost. Honestly, I can't picture this series having a happy ending, and if that's the case, I know I'll be bawling like a baby at the end. I still hope for the best though, I'd like to see Ed and Al achieve their goals and regrain their original bodies.

52 episodes long, this show is about half way over in Japan. Episode 28 aired Saturday in Japan, and should be availible for download soon.

2.) Naruto

In the world of ninja's a young boy struggles to gain a place in society. Shunned by his peers, his townsfolk, his country for a curse that was beyond his control, 12 year old Naruto fights to "be the best ninja in Konoha so everyone will have to notice him."

Naruto's life hasn't ever been easy. Orphaned at birth, a evil demon fox sealed inside him, living alone at the age of 12 with no family and friends to support him, one would think Naruto would be a bitter, angry little boy. However, instead of dwelling on the poor hand he's been dealt, Naruto turns around his bad luck and uses it to motivate and drive him to his goals.

Like all achievements, Naruto makes his in small steps. He's a poor student, the brunt of his classes jokes. Everyone hates him and he has no idea why (he has no clue about the demon inside him at the time). One by one, through his strong desire to succeed, will to live without being hindered by his circumstances, people start to be drawn to him. He proves himself again and again, that despite being a goofball, he's a noble, strong, and willful young boy with a huge heart. He finds himself surrouned by people, many people, who have come to respect him.

Naruto is a touching show about growing up and overcoming obsticals in life. It's action packed, with lots of nailbiting fights. Some have akin it to DBZ (a personal fav or mine), but I say "pshaw". Naruto is plot driven and deeper than DBZ, there's substance with in the show.

Personally, I enjoy watching the characters grown, especially Naruto. He moves forward by leaps and bounds, changing those around him as he goes. However, it's not all peaches and cream. Life is hard, and Naruto doesn't glass over that fact. People die, people become consumed by their own demons, some people are just evil to the core, and somtimes, life isn't about choices...

This is a fantastic show. Episode 80 aired on Wednesday in Japan, ending one of the most invigorating arcs in the story to date. There is no word on how many episodes this anime will be, but I imagine it will follow suit of Inu Yasha or One Piece and go on well into the 100's...or more...who knows!

3.) Prince of Tennis

Echizen Ryoma is 12 and he's a tennis prodigy. His father was a world pro, undefeated before he mysteriously retired. Ryoma is following in his fathers footsteps, winning four jr. championships in a row in America before the family decides to return to Japan. Now Ryoma finds himself enrolled in a prestigious tennis school, Seigaku and up against some of the best jr. high tennis players in Japan.

A show about tennis? How is that exciting?

Is that what you're thinking? Me too, until I watched the show and became a PoT junkie(that's Prince of Tennis for short, not pot as in ganja, okay folks). I couldn't stop watching this show, I couldn't get enough...and I think I'm having withdrawls waiting for the newest episodes.

I'm all about characters when it comes to anime. Good, interesting characters are what make or break a show...that's just common sense. PoT is full of them, starting with the snarky, cheeky little Ryoma. I adore him and his "I know I'm good" attitude. Most of the time, people who are as confindent as he is get on my nerves, but Ryoma rarely boasts outright, and if he does, he backs up his words. There's also his team mates, the hyperactive, childlike Kikumaru and his doubles partner Oishi, the anyalitical and nerdy Inui who concots the most horrible health drinks for the team, the ever smiling, sweet talking tennis genius Fuji who is a malicious deviant inside (my favorite quote: "I like to watch other people suffer" and he says it with a genuine smile...LOL). Also, there's Momo, a powerhouse hitter and an all round nice guy, Tezuka, the quiet captain who sees a bottomless potential inside Ryoma, and Kawamura shy quiet guy who turns into an english speaking, raving maniac the minute a racket touches his hand, and Kaidoh, the grouchy, frighteningly scary team member who is a lover of fuzzy animals...And that's the just the Seigaku Team. The characters on the other teams are interesting and fun to watch as well. Some you love, other's you just purely hate...it's great!

Of course, with out the matches the show would be nothing. What I like the best is that it's hard to guess who's going to win. Oh, sometimes you can call it, just for the sake of cliche, but more often than not, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing my nails, yelling at the tv, etc...LOL I think what really gets the watcher going it the interaction the leads up to the matches, like when Fuji fought against his brother's captain, and refused to shake his hand before the match...It wasn't about tennis then, it was personal...Or Ryoma going up against Jin. God, I was so pumped for that match...I HATED Jin...and at one point in the match I actually threw my hands in the air and yelled for Ryoma! That match was incredibly personal...

This show is a lot of fun to watch. It's not incredibly deep, but extreamly entertaining. It's great to watch Ryoma taunt his opponants, who usually think he's going to be an easy win because he's so young. It's a blast to watch the characters interact with one another, play against one another, and win and lose with each other. The characters grow, expand their (sometimes absurd techniques), and become better players, especially Ryoma.

I highly recommend this show to everyone. I know nothing about tennis, but PoT sucked me right in! I'm not certain when the show will wrap up, but I believe it's up to episode 130 or so in Japan...alas, I've only seen 115 episodes to date and I'm dying to watch the finals (I hope they air Seigaku going to the Nationals...assuming they win).

Well, that's it for today...I'm done rambling on and on...take care.

Seven Samurai

Okay folks...I've been playing this game off and on since yesterday, and I'm really enjoying it, so I thought I'd talk about it a bit first.

Okay, it reminds me a lot of Devil May Cry and Chaos Legion. It's very linear, which is a shame, since the story has a ton of potential for growth and movment. Still, the fact that it's not all that intreaguing doesn't bother me too much. I'm usually a pretty story driven person, but the characters in this game are just so much fun, I look past it all. Don't get me wrong, the story's not "bad", but it's not "good" either.

I just love Natoe, he's so damn funny. Cocky, witty, and confident, not to mention a bad ass with swords. His dailogue is entertaining, not bland or dull, I've actually laughed outloud several times while watching the cut scenes. The other characters aren't bad either, everyone interacts with each other so well. I can't praise the voice acting enough either. It's incredible. Natoe's voice actor did such an amazing job. The dailogue sounds so natural! It makes the game that much more enjoyable (no, I'm not a sub fan, but I do appriciate good voice acting when I hear it).

Game play is pretty straight forward too, nothing spectacular, but entertaining. I happen to get a big kick out of slashing away monsters with my two swords. It's even cooler when it's done in slow motion. Natoe has a variety of moves, which are all awesome to behold (sort of like Dante's moves with his guns...*insert evil laughter*). The graphics are nice too. Not like FF nice, but very well done in my opinion. I happen to like decent graphics when I play games, I can be fairly picky, but my idea of decent and someone elses could be very different...but since this is my opinion of the game, I'll say whatever the hell I want...don't agree with me, go write your own review somewhere...

The only thing that really pisses me off about this game is the lack of "revive crystals". You can't buy them, you rarely find them anywhere...so if you fight like a dozen battles and are at the end of your life, you just have to pray some monster you chop to pieces drops one, two, or twenty...That's why I've been stuck on Chapter 9 for so damn long...I fight a horde of monsters...and when I say HORDE, I mean a HORDE, they're coming at me from all sides, like 20 of them at a time (no joke), and more are spilling out the portals. By the time I'm done wasting them, my life is limited. Of course, I'm thrown right back into another battle with some even tougher monsters (another horde) and I die everytime. GRRRRRRR....Ha ha, the irony is, I bet once I make it past these two hordes, I have to fight a boss to boot. Now that would JUST SUCK...

Also, I wish I could play as other characters. It's called Seven Samurai, but Natoe is the only one you control (as far as I know). Natoe is my favorite, but I think it would be cool to play as a couple of the others...oh well.

Anyway, for entertainment value, I really like this game. I'm sure if I had sat down and played it for a couple hours straight, I would have beaten it, so it's not a long game, nor is it hard...well, I'm only on Normal level right now...once I unlock hard level, I'll replay it...

Well, it's late, and tomorrow is the beginning of another week...sigh...Take care everyone!

Kino's Journey and The Samaria Novels

Well, it's been a long week. A week of hell, to be more percise, but that's behind me now...no big deal. But one thing just really bugs me, it never ceases to amaze me how stupid some of our customers are...it's really amazing...Do people even think before opening their mouths these days? And why hire a professional service if you already have all the answers? *sigh* Working in the service industry has really opened my eyes to how moronic people are...

Enough about work...it's the weekend and they don't pay me to worry...

Today I'd like to talk about a couple things that have caught my attention as of late. First of all, I bought several dvd's over the past few weeks. Saiyuki volume 9, Comic Party, Somedays Dreamers, Yukikaze, and Kino's Journey, along with several manga releases and some other various novels.

Kino's Journey really stands out. Honestly, I bought it on a whim, out of sheer boredom. I'd seen the first episode and thought it only mildly interesting and had told myself I wouldn't spend the money on it. However, I ended up buying it anyway (I get bored...I shop). I sat down to watch it, starting with the second episode and was blown away. Oh, there's not a lot of fireworks or action, it's not a riveting, seat gripping type of show like Naruto or Full Metal Alchemist or Rurouni Kenshin. Instead, it's a thinking show, one that sets you back on your heels and makes you go "Oh...wow...".

It's slow paced, just like the character Kino, which really makes you feel like you're right there, traveling along side...her. I wasn't sure for a while if Kino was a guy or girl actually, since she uses the Japanese word "boku", which is a masculine way of saying "I". LOL Maybe I was just being dense, but Kino does dress and act like a young boy for a reason (you'll have to watch the show to find out though!).

Anyway, Kino is a travler, who moves from town to town, country to country on a perpetual adventure with her talking motorcadd, Hermes. In each episode they meet new people and experience different cultures, learning about the world.

Sounds boring? I thought so too, until I sat down and really started watching. We learn, the world isn't always a pleasant place. People lie, people cheat, people hurt other people for the stupidest and most selfish reasons. Every city is different, every culture has things that might seem cruel or inhuman to an outsider. Despite being human, we are merely animals in the expanse of the world, and perhaps, we are the worst kind of animal.

The first episode starts off slow and interesting enough. Kino visits a town which is managed by robots. All the humans live outside of the city, and away from each other. They never leave their homes. Never communicate with each other, and they flee at the sight of another person. Later we learn that through curiosity and greed, the people of the city drank a special elixer that allowed them to hear each other's thoughts, assuming it would bring harmony to them all. What they discovered was not peace and love for all, but thoughts of malice, deciet, and ill will. Of course, it's human nature to think poorly about someone but be kind to their face, but the people of the city were stripped of that freedom, thanks the the exlier. Now, they all live and die alone. Families driven apart, lovers torn from each other, friends alienated...no one can stand to face the ill thoughts they might hear or worse, that someone might hear from them...

At anyrate, the other episodes were a bit more disturbing, and often left me with frowning and feeling a bit bitter. Kino's Journey really brings home the disgusting side of humanity.

The show is displayed brilliantly. The world Kino travles through is beautiful, full of color and magnificent cities. It's a striking contrast to the darkness that lurks with in the series. The languid pace of each episode gives the veiwe a sense of "real time", like they are there with Kino and Hermes. The characters are interesting, Hermes is witty, the art work is beautiful, and the stories are utterly intreaguing, if you take the time to see them through.

This isn't a story about coming of age or conquering the world. It's just a story about life, humanity, and discovery. It's definitly worth a watch!

The other thing I'd like to talk about is the Semaria Novels by Sharon Shinn. It's been awhile since I found a series that intreagued me as much as these have. I think the last novel series I really got caught up in were the stories by Melanie Rawn. She wrote "The Dragon Prince" and Sunrunner stories.

Anway, Semaria is a world based on faith in God. Angels have been appointed to live among humans and watch out for them. They move the storms, call the rains, cure disease, etc., with their prayers. The humans accept them as God's messangers and the world lives in a semi-harmonious state. I say semi-harmonious because as well all know, humans wouldn't be humans if they didn't treat each other poorly somehow.

Each novel is individualistic, taking place a couple 100 years or so after the pervious. It revolves around the angels and their attempts to keep order in Semaria. The main characters are often the Archangels, which happens to be only one angel, chosen by God to be the spokesperson for the world. The Archangel communitcates with God, according to their scriptures, and God hears him/her.

Things start getting interesting as the second novel starts out. God seems not to be listening to the angels as storms ravage the land. Not even the Archangels prayers are heard, so the people begin to suspect that it is the Angels calling down the rains that are flooding their homes and killing their crops. However, it appears more to the Angels and those who are strong in their faith, that God has turned their back on them because of their violence to one another and their pollution of the world with their newfound technology. Even more surprises lay in wait, as the real reason for God's deaf ear is revealed.

I'm not a religous person. Infact, I'm hardly an advocate for organized religion in any form, but these stories are just fantastic. It's a bit of fantasy, wrapped into sci-fi, which creates this imperfect world of humans and Angels, where both races struggle to maintain thier ideals and values. Humans try to grow and evolve, while the Angel's try to direct them, but humanity has a mind of it's own, and governing an entire planet (who's rapidly losing faith in God) isn't an easy task.

Both Kino's Journey and The Semaria Novels are worth reading/watching. I couldn't be more pleased with both these purchases and am looking foward to seeing more!

On another note, there are no Zero updates this week. I was too damn tired to do any editing or translating...sorry for those who are reading it. If all goes well, there should be updates by next Sunday. My translations are shaky enough, I can't imagine what they'd turn out like if I worked on them when I was tired as hell...LOL...

Well, I am off to play my new video game...Seven Samurai...I really don't know much about it, but it looked really cool, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm an RPG type girl, a big fan of Final Fantasy, Xenosaga, and StarOcean (Gawd I love this game), so this new "toy" isn't really my genre, but I'm willing to give it a go! Yay! If all else fails, I can steal my son's game cube and play Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicals with him...hee hee! Till next time!

Bleach （ブリーチ)

It's been a long morning already...After being relentlessly nagged by my mother while I was making breakfast and doing dishes, I finally got so fed up I left and bought something to eat instead. I also left the dishes in the sink too. Nothing pisses me off more than someone nagging at me. I do things my way, and on my own time. That's all there is to it. So, to make myself feel better, I ordered the entire PeaceMaker manga, which cheered me up right away. *laughs* It should be here next week! Yay!

Anyway, enough of that...

Today I'm going to talk about Bleach. Kubo Taito is the author (mangaka) and the story as been running in Weekly Shonen Jump since August 2001. There are 12 volumes as of right now, and it has also been licensed by Viz and is scheduled for a release in May (though I'm not sure if that date is correct). I currently have 7 volumes in my collection, though I do keep up with the story via Weekly Jump editions.

The story starts with Ichigo Kurosaki. He's a grouchy, cynical 15 year old boy with bright orange hair. He's a magnet for trouble, though he doesn't go looking for it. He has good grades, a loving family, a decent home. Sounds fairly normal right? Well, Ichigo is hardly normal. He has the ability to see and speak to the dead. He sees ghosts, so well, infact, that when he was little he couldn't tell the living from the dead. The dead sense his abnormally high spiritual energies and seek him out in hopes he'll aide them, SOMETIMES they'll catch him on a good day.

One night, while Ichigo is at home, he sees a strange girl in his room. She's dressed like a swordsman and carrying a sword. Her name is Rukia, and she's a shinigami (gaurdian of death). She's stalking a Hollow, a soul gone bad, and has lost track of it. She's astounded that a living person can see her, let alone talk with her and is a bit thrown off gaurd by Ichigo (who's NOT happy she's in his room).

Rukia is in for even more surprises, when the Hollow attacks Ichigo's home. What's shocking is that Ichigo sensed the evil spirit before Rukia. Ichigo tries to fend off the Hollow, and Rukia realizes that the spirit has come for Ichigo himself. Hollows feed on people with high spiritual energy, and Ichigo is a buffet.

Rukia saves Ichigo's life, getting badly hurt herself. She realizes they'll both die if she doesn't think of something fast. An idea hits her, but she's not sure if it'll work, but it's the only card they have. She transfers her shinigami powers to Ichigo.

Rukia is stunned when the "Soul Cutter" sword grows to an enormous length. The sword reacts to the spiritual powers of it's weilder, the sword is as long as Ichigo is tall. Ichigo saves them from the Hollow, but that's not the end of their problems.

The story continues, introducing Ichigo's school friends and sisters, even his goofy father. We learn that Ichigo isn't the only one with strong spiritual energy, and he earns himself some decent allies in his fight with the Hollows.

Hollows start off as souls that are full of regret or vengful. If they are not saved and sent to the next world, they become Hollows, losing all sense of what they once were. Their only desire is to exist and consume. Ichigo has many run ins with these beings, as it's his job as a shinigami to dispatch them. Until Rukia can figure out a way to get her powers back, Ichigo is working double time.

However, this story isn't just about Ichigo and fighting random Hollows. As the story movies on we meet Uryuu Ishida, a Quincy (another hunter of Hollows). Apparently Uryuu has a strong hate for Shingami, and challenges Ichigo to a match to see who can kill the most Hollows. Using "Hollow Bait", Uryuu unleashes a hoard of Hollows on the city, and now EVERYONE is running to save as many people as they can. Of course, the Hollow of all Hollows makes an apperance and it's up to Ichigo to stop him from fully entering the living world.

More enemies appear, as the Soul Society (the division Rukia works for), comes to find Rukia. Two shinigami's have been dispatched to find her. Their objectives, bring her back or take her out. Ichigo tries to stop them, but is badly hurt. Rukia leaves for the Soul Society and her death sentance.

Ichigo has only one choice. He has to save Rukia, but to do that, he has to go to the other world and to the Soul Society. After being beaten so badly, he's not certain it's possible, but Urahara (a mysterious shop keeper) tells him it IS possible. There's a catch, Ichigo will have to undergo training and pass three tests.

Once everyone is finished training, Ichigo and crew set off to the Soul Society, where Rukia is awaiting her death sentance. However, there's turmoil inside the Society as well, and things are starting to happen. Will Rukia be saved? Will Ichigo and his friends make it in time? What's going on at the Soul Society?

This is a great story. One of my most favorite shonen (comics targeted for boys) manga. The characters are so likable, even grumpy ole Ichigo (he's actually my favorite). There's a nice mixture of humor (Kon is probably one of the funnies manga characters ever), sadness, and excitment in each chapter. It's not just a story about fighting evil spirits, it's a story about overcoming your despair, making friends, and moving out of the past and to the future.

I really like the art work in this one too. It's not beautiful like Yami no Matsuei,Blade of the Immortal, or Angel Sanctuary, but it's crisp, fresh and has a real "hip" feel to it, IMO. The fight scenes are incredible, (especially the fight with Renji) and you can't help but get excited when reading them!

For those interested in this manga (and I HIGHLY recommend it), look for the Viz release this year. Until then, you can find text translations at Strawberry and Lion.

ALSO---> Bleach Web has put together two really cool mini movies using manga panels. Just run the mouse over the three boxes in the bottom right corner (they say Bleach on them so you can't miss them). You'll get to see a bit of Ichigo's fight with Renji as well as Ichigo's training with Urahara! CHECK IT OUT!

Once again, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this manga. I was so happy when I heard it was scheduled for an NA released, depsite owning the manga already. I'm one of those weird people who collect both versions if availble (probably because I'm not confident enough in my japanese yet...*sighs*...I do try very hard though.)

BLEACH KICKS ASS!

Take care everyone!

Funimation Bashing (this is targeted to the hardcore Funi haters)

Today was a slow day at work, so I had some time to mill about the internet. I started looking up various websites to find some release dates from some manga and anime titles I'm collecting. While browsing the forums for info and the like, I ran across a thread stating that Funimation has registered a domaine for Full Metal Alchemist. Of course, being the FMA junkie that I am, I click on it to see what's going on.

I knew what I'd find. A bunch of speculators trying to pass themselves off as "all knowing" and of course, the rampant haters of Funimation. Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes....

First of all, there's no official press release, so no one outside of the Funi Suits know what's going on. Until the come out and say, we've got rights to FMA, it's all pure speculation...

Secondly, for all the Funimation bashers...give it a frickin rest already. Get over Dragonball Z and move on. Yes, Funi "hacked" the show up, but they made amends to quiet all you ungrateful bastards and gave you uncut and subtitled...they didn't have to, you know...The money DBZ makes for "older" fans is pure pennies compared to the bonanza it is among young kids. Funi doesn't need your money, they've got the kiddies to support DBZ...therefore they didn't have to give a subtitled, uncut release...Crying out loud...

And another thing...Dragonball isn't the only thing Funi has released...ever see Fruits Basket? It's probably one of the best dub jobs I've ever seen. It's beautiful. Try checking out some other releases before running off on a witch hunt. Half of the Funi haters are only Funi haters because "they've heard" what a bad job Funi does. Try thinking for yourself for once...or maybe that's too hard.

To all the DBZ fans. Grow up. You don't like it, stick to your fan subs and R2's. Am I a DBZ fan? Hell yeah! I love the show, I love Akira Toriyama! I have all the DVD's and movies that have been released! I have the manga too! Funi has gone above and beyond what a company should do to appease fans like you...and yet you're still whining.

It's getting really old.

What would I say to Funi getting FMA? Right on! I'd be estatic! I can't wait for FMA to be released here in the states! At least I'm confident that I'll get an uncut, subversion if Funi holds the license. Same goes for Naruto...

In my opinion, the only people who have a right to cry are fans of Shaman King, Yu-gi-oh, and any other anime 4kids has licensed. I hate those guys...While my 9 year old son enjoys Yu-gi-oh...he hates what they've done to Shaman King (since we've seen the show via fansub). Did I put him up to it...no. I conducted a test...*laughs* My son, being the demographic they target, I kept my mouth shut to see what he would say when he saw the first airing of the show in English. I was pretty surprised when he totally freaked out when they called Manta, "Mortimer"...however, it's not just the name changes that got him freaked...but I'm not going to go on about the cuts made to this show...

Needless to say, we don't buy anything 4kids releases. I'll be disappointed if shows like FMA or Naruto get destroyed by them, but they're a business. They're making money. That's what businesses do. However, I don't have to support them by buying their products, so I don't. Now, if they start putting uncut/subbed releases out, I'll be a happy camper, but I don't forsee that in the future. I've got my fansubs...

I think what bothers me the most about 4Kids and 99.9% of cartoons aimed at kids in the US, is that we take the children for granted. Kids aren't dumb...and we insult them by giving them "dumb" cartoons. To me, stupid shows like Barney, Spongebob, Ed Edd and Eddy are just another sign of American laziness...lets give our kids mindless shows with little or no meaning so we don't have to take the time to explain things to them and then hide behind the excuse that violent cartoons make bad children...That kind of thinking just pisses me off. Lucky for my son, I don't underestimate his intellegence, and I know he's smart enough to understand a cartoon that has a deeper meaning than just mere slapstick and potty jokes.

Do I hate all American Cartoons? Hell no! Slapstick is cool! But only when it's funny...if you get my point. Think Wilie E. and the RoadRunner...THAT is funny slap stick. I grew up on "dumb" cartoons...Jabber Jaw (I liked this one), My Little Ponies, Scooby Doo, Flinstones, Jetsons, etc...However, I was always more facinated with X-men, He-man, etc. Then Transformers came along...I got hooked...But I'm dating myself here. I love other cartoons too, not just Japanese cartoons! Family Guy, Futurama, Grim and Andy, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans, Jackie Chan, Simpsons, King of the Hill, South Park, Sealab, Aqua Teens, etc...I think they're all fantastic! (I even have the box sets of a few of these shows). Does anyone remember "The Tick"? OMG, that was the funniest damn cartoon I've ever seen! WHY did it get taken off the air! I laughed so hard during a couple episodes I cried. I wonder if I can find VHS or DVD's of that show anywhere...it was the best....

I've gone off topic again...Damn...

Anyway, now I'm getting sleepy (another symptom of old age), so I'm calling it quits for tonight. This weekend I might to a manga review...I've got Full Metal Panic in mind, since volume 3 was just incredibly halarious...but we'll see.

Take care!

Is there such thing as a "bad child"?

I was thinking about this today while I was at work. Think real hard about the question before answering. I'm talking about kids under the age of 10.

At first, I concluded that yeah, of course there are, but the more I thought about it, the more I started to ponder, "Aren't children a product of their parents?"

Certainly, kids reach an age where they can make their own concious decisions and learn what is acceptable behavior in our society, but until then, who is responsible for the way they act? The children themselves? Or the parents that raise them?

People are born into this world like a clean slate. Oh, there's already bits and pieces of personality and temperment set into place at birth, making each child an indvidual, but those things are shaped around the environment the child is exposed to. They're more like stepping stones for the makings of a human being, not set in stone, subject to change as the child is exposed to more and more stimuli.

Now, I fully believe that there are SOME people born into the world who are just messed up from the beginning. Something just doesn't click in their heads and it's all over before it starts...people like certain serial killers and the like. I do believe that they are rare, though.

But those people aside, I'm talking more about the children you see running around the mall, acting like hooligans...or even those "bratty" kids that appear on talk shows. You know, the ones who swear at their mothers and beat up their siblings all the time...What went wrong there? Are the kids to blame? Or is it the parents?

Honestly, I blame the parents. Young kids need guidance. They look to adults to set the example and show them how to behave. If a child misbehaves, how is he/she suppose to know what they've done is right or wrong? How are they suppose to know what the limits are if they've never had any set for them? Or if they've never had any enforced?

All kids...and I mean ALL KIDS...test the adults around them. It's their way of figuring out what is and isn't acceptable. Us older people call it "testing us" or "being annoying" or "being mischeivious"...but it's a natural part of growing up, and an important event for the parent to notice. If a child tests his mom, dad, aunt, uncle, etc...it's the adults responsibility to reprimand and set the limits right then and there.

If we don't do that as adults, we've failed our children...and how can we fault them when they act badly?

My son is a good boy. He rarely causes me any trouble. He has incredible manners, which shock even me sometimes, and he's so damn compassionate he's easily taken advantage of (he didn't learn that from me...believe me...). Does he misbehave? Yup. He tests me and everyone around him, just like any other nine year old boy. Does that make him a bad kid? No. Does he get in trouble when he acts up? Sure does. He knows there's rules, and he knows just how much is acceptable when he's dealing with me. I have a very low tolerance for misbehavior. Do I spank him? No. I don't have to. He knows I'm good on my word and if I tell him he's pushing my buttons, he'll be punished.

Now ask my mom and sister how he acts when he's with them...He's more apt to push them further than he is me. Why? Lack of follow through. Who's at fault? My mom and my sister. My mom punishes him, but she's more apt to just "talk" to him about his behavior. He really has to get to her before she finally grounds him. He knows this and takes things a bit further with her. My sister doesn't feel she has the place to punish him, and usually comes to me when he's done something. Unfortunatly, me interviening won't make my son respect my sister one bit. If I'm not around, and he acts up, I expect the adults who are watching out for him to correct him. That's their job, like it or not. He might not be their kid, but if I don't happen to be there, I'm trusting them with my son and I'm trusting their judgement when it comes to doling out punishment for misbehavior. And I'm VERY picky about the people I leave my son with, I won't leave him with people I think won't take care of him.

Now, my son is getting old enough to know what's okay and what's not, regardless of who's with him. He's able to make decisions and choices on his own, and he's aware there will be consiquences for bad behavior. Still, it's my job as a mom to steer him back onto the path when he falls off...which is bound to happen.

I think parents fail their children. I don't think children fail their parents. Not at this young of an age...and maybe, on some aspects...ever. As a parent, if my child ends up in trouble, the first thing I think is "Where did I go wrong?"...not "Why is he like that?". Nor do I point the finger else where...which has become a popular past time for many parents in this country.

Movies, music, television are all to blame for bad kids...That's a lie...a cop out for people who are BAD PARENTS...sorry to break it to all the pathetic finger pointers out there, but it's the truth. Music, movies, media of any kind IS infulencial...but you know what? If parents haven't invested enough time in becoming THEE MOST influencial part of their childs life, there's something wrong...If a parent hasn't taken the time to sit down and talk to their kids about right and wrong, good and bad, real or unreal...there's something WRONG...I'm sorry, but to me if a kid is so moved by music or television that he feels compelled to gun down his fellow classmates, shoot himself, or dies from a drug overdose, something has fail miserably at home...MISERABLY...it has nothing to do with music/media...it has to do with the fact that adults in that childs life have failed him (or her). Let's give credit where it's due, folks...stop worrying so much about your own damn selves and start paying attention to your kids.

Sorry, but this "Lets blame media" trend just makes me sick. As a parent myself, I let my son watch lots of shows that are above his "age bracket". I took him to see Last Samurai, he watches ton's of anime, I rarely sensor his television (I don't allow for him to watch risque shows...I think he's a bit too young for that yet). He's not violent. He's not desensitized. He's not delusioned. He behaves a hell of a lot better than the kids down the street who go to church every sunday and watch barney all day (seriously, I won't even let him play with those kids anymore they're so bad...and you know what, I have to look no further than their stupid parents to see why...*frowns*)

I'm not the perfect parent. I makes lots of mistakes, so I won't even pretend to be high and mighty here. But at least I have the common sense to understand my child...and I hope as we both grow together, my son will forgive me for all my missteps as a parent.

Crap, it's late...I gotta get up early tomorrow AGAIN...TGIF, that's for sure!

Take care!

Random Jumbling in my head---Men vs Women

You know, who ever said men and women can't be just friends is full of so much crap, they should be flushed down the john. Certainly, boys and girls are different, but when you boil it all down, we're all just human. I don't know what got me thinking about this, but I suppose it stems from the fact that I'm the only girl at work. It's been that way for years. The profession I chose is a male dominated profession, which doesn't bother me one bit, I've always gotten a long really well, and surprisingly never ran into too much "discrimination".

Oddly enough, the only person I can remember ever having a problem with me is this one guy whom I'd known for nearly 10 years of my life. He was a lazy slub, slacking at work, constantly being difficult. When I was given the promotion to managment, it was suddenly an issue of me being female and all the men "liking" me, or worse. Nice huh?

I'm a hard worker. I am paranoid when it comes to failure and I try really hard to do my best when working. Oh, I slack sometimes, but I still try to be as accurate as possible. Maybe if he had any work ethic, he would have made a decent field manager. Things in life aren't just handed to you on a platter. You have to earn them folks.

I digress though, I get a long well with all my male co-workers. I'm "one of the guys" I suppose, and they accept me unconditionally. Then again, I've made it clear that I'm not offended by their "brash male" behavior and thier sometiems vulgar teasing of one another. Perhaps it's because I've never complained about having to do work that would be considered "too hard" for a chick, and often jumped into the middle of hard labor to help them out. I'm not afraid of working on a truck or taking apart a pump. I'm not afraid of the chemicals I work with (though I do follow all saftey required of the EPA and MSDS sheets...everyone should). I think they respect that...I guess. I dunno.

I can't stand girls who stand around and wait for a guy to do everything for them. That just pisses me off. I'm hardly a feminist. I mean, if a guy wants to be nice and help me out, I think it's pretty cool. I'm talking about the girls who EXPECT IT. That really gets me. Especially the ones who start working in male dominated fields...they're the ones who give girls like me a bad name...News flash to all the brain dead broads out there, if you CAN'T do the job, don't apply. If you don't like hearing guys tell stupid jokes or rib each other, DON'T APPLY...don't waltz into a job and expect them to change it to all pink flowers and cutsie wutise things...Go work at the Bon or something....

I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this one, women should feel comfortable in the work place and should be accomidated....TO A POINT. The work place shouldn't be totally overhauled just because a girl decided to join the crew. Oh, I like having my own bathroom, and I appricate the rules that are in place to protect me from those asswipes that DO directly discriminate against women, whether they can do the job or not, but I DON'T agree with women making demands when they walk into a job that the know is going to be mostly men.

When I first started working, everyone walked around on tiptoes around me. There was no swearing, no jokes, no having fun, no picking on me, no nothing. Everyone was so uptight, it made me feel out of place. I started to think that they didn't want me around, and that could have been true. One day, our branch manager visisted and made a joke, and I popped off back to him. Everything changed after that...*laughs* The guys I worked with went back to being guys, and I fit in like the little sister they never had to abuse...*laughs* It's been that way ever since.

It's interesting to watch as we hire new people too. Most are guys, well, all of them are, and they treat me the same way I was when I was first hired. It's usually short lived, when they see everyone else picking on me and me dishing it back, but I still have to wonder about society and it's standards.

Sexual harrassment is a big issue. Sexual discrimination is a big issue. There are jerks who manhandle women and hold them down, but being where I am and in the jobs I've worked, I'm pressed to believe it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I went to college knowing that my field was mainly men. I've worked jobs that were usually slotted for men. I've worked with men and very few females. I haven't had the half the problems I read about in the news and what not. Surprisingly, most of the complaints come from office workers and military...if that says anything....so where do all these lawsuits come from? Why are they happening? Is it because some tight ass woman has her panites in a twist over a dirty joke told at the water cooler? Did her boss give a promotion to a girl who happenes to look better than her AND be a hard worker? How often to women get sued for making cracks like "Girl rule and guys drool"? Not very often...

I feel bad for men sometimes...cause us women are a caniving bunch of harpies. I'll admit it. We get pissed about something, and it's all about being vindictive. I could never be a lesbian...I can't stand other women *laughs real hard*. Honestly, I've only had three close girlfriends in my life (girlfriends and is a girl that is my friend for those of you who don't get it) for the exact reason that I know women are sneaky, backstabbing, and lairs. ESPECIALLY TO EACH OTHER. Knowing this helped me find some really awesome girlfriends who were honest (bluntly honest ha ha), fun to hang out with, total "real", etc. I'm still friends with them today, even though we've been out of school for 10 years. God Bless them. I've always admired the friendship men have with one another. Being a girl, that type of honesty and loyalty is hard to find amongst other women. (Don't believe all those stupid chick flicks about girls being a lovey dovey with each other, it's all a facade).

My two best friends in the whole world are men. I've been friends with them for a long time and there are no "strings attached" or "benifits" in our relationships. They are just my friends and I love them both to death. I think men and women being friends with one another, and just friends, is totally plausable. In my experience, there's an honesty that exists between my two best friends and I that we wouldn't get with our friends of the same sex. They don't need to act all macho and studly and I don't need to try and act the part of an acceptable chick in today's society. (then again, I don't think I've ever really conformed too much...LOL).

I sound like a woman hater. LOL I'm not. I'm damn happy I'm a girl. I'm not a "girly" girl. I don't like pink, I don't think Oprah is just totally cool, I hate to shop, and I refuse to wear a dress. Do I act like a girl? Sure. I am one. But I don't run around like a bumbling idiot and I don't think everything is "cute". I don't NEED to fix my hair everyday, I DON'T need to paint my nails, I DON'T need to get dressed up just to go to the mall...I'm still a girl. I like rock and roll, I hate pop...I like hockey and horseracing...I think Martha Stewart blows...I can't cook, I can't sew...I like action flicks where lots of things blow up...I can't stand goodie goodie chick flicks where everyone loves each other...

Being a mom, I'm glad I had a boy. I don't think I could raise a girl to thrive in society. I know that sounds strange, but I refuse to conform to the status that women are bound too...meaning, I refuse to be a girlie girl...sometimes just being myself is difficult. LOL And honestly, I don't think I could relate to a girl well. Having a son, I feel like I can relate to him better. We have a lot of fun talking about things like sports, cartoons, nature, etc. He tells me about his hunting trips with his dad, and I understand. I encourage him to do sports and and truly excited when he does well. We like the same movies. I think I understand him better than I would a girl. At the same time, I'm doing what I can to teach him to respect women and treat them well, but not to get walked on by them...I hope I do okay...

Do I think men should treat women with respect? Sure do. And I think women should treat men with respect. Common courtesy goes a long way. If a guy holds a door for me or opens the car door, I don't mind, I find it endearing...but I don't expect him to do it. Maybe if people could remember to be kind to one another and respect one another, the divorce rate wouldn't be so damn high...

Anyhoo...this is all over the place...I know...It's just a plethora of my random thoughts on things. I really don't have the energy to organize these posts into something intellegent...LOL

Till next time!

A Review of Tenjou Tenge

Anyone like Fighting Manga? I do! Especially Fighting manga with gorgeous art work and interesting stories. Oh, I'm a DBZ fan. I love Akira Toriyama's work. He's a brillant man in my eyes, but Tenjyou Tenge is incredible.

The manga comes to us from "Oh Great", and is a cross between Dragonball (there's even a dragonball joke in there...ha ha) and Real Bout High. Actually, if I were to say anything, I'd have to say it's what Real Bout "should have been" or "could have been".

The setting is a highschool where clubs and martial arts activities rule. It's a school for fighting. Not just any fighting either, a few of the youngsters have incredible powers at their disposal that makes for some pretty gruesome battles.

The stongest group is named the "Enforcement Group". They are the ones who rule over all the other clubs and groups. At one point in time, one of our heroine's (Maaya Natsume) brother was the leader, but due to an awful tragity he died in battle and the current Enforcement group disbanded.

Maaya sees that the new Enforcement group, led by her brothers best friend and her love interest (of sorts)Mitsoumi Takayanagi, is riddled with corruption and conspiracy. She is intent on bringing Mitsoumi to his knees, even if it kills her. She gathers together some of the finest warriors, her younger sister, Aya, a street punk Nagi and his African friend Bob, Mitsoumi's younger brother Masataka Takayanagi, and some various other various members. With them, she ressurects the Juukenbo group, with her brother's memory burned in her mind.

It sounds rather simple, but honestly, the story is incredibly complex. Each character has their own tale to tell, and some of them are incredibly heart wrenching. The Death of Shin, Maaya's brother, the events that lead up to that fateful day, Nagi's true heritage and his mother's role in his life, Aya's inner battle to fight for her sanity against the very power that caused her brother to die...Even the bad guy, Mitsoumi, has his own version of what happened that day, and he leaves you wondering if he's truely "bad".

This manga is graphic. There is a lot of gore and a lot of nudity. A comic for boys, many of the girls fight in the buff after a couple panels, and there are some explicet scenes as well. I mean, what more could a guy ask for, naked chicks fighting, right? LOL At anyrate, I'm a girl, the nudity doesn't bother me, but if other chicks read this manga, be warned...if you don't have an open mind, you'll be offended.

For those interested in reading it (and I highly recommend it), you can download via bit torrent at this site---->
mangatranslation.com A special thanks goes out to Fugu too! Thanks for your help! I appriciate it! Keep up the great work!

I had links to pictures up as well, but I'm too lazy to re-link them...but you can find them all at the listed site as well. Have fun!

At any rate, this manga is worth a read. I've heard volume 11 will be out this year sometime, and I look forward to reading the scans (since I have a hard time reading Kanji without the help of furigana...but I'm studying!!!!! *cries*).

Oh, on another note, Zero has been updated at my site, another 10 pages or so have been added. Batsu makes his debut! Yay! The story's just getting started!

Take care everyone! I'm off to work....(until 7pm! YUUUUUUKKKKKKK!)

Yami no Matsuei (闇の末裔)

Also known as "Decendants of Darkness" here in the US. While I enjoyed the anime, I much prefer the manga. It's 100 times better. The anime covers basically the "short stories" in first couple volumes of the manga, before the real story starts going. So, the anime doesn't really even scratch the surface of this particular series.

The manga is probably one of the most beautifully drawn comic's I've ever seen. Matsushita Yohko is an incredible artist, and the use of screen tones is amazing. Truely eye candy for the manga lover.

The story takes place in several aspects of the world. First, the world of the living, second, the world of the dead (Meifu), and later on, the world of the Shikagami(式神). Most of your characters are Shinigami (死神), or Gaurdians of Death, who work for an organization called JuOhCho. This organization handles the judgement of the dead, after they leave the living world. JuOhCho is divided into various divisions, but I won't go into all that because it gets VERY confusing. LOL All you really need to know is that our main hero's work for Shoka division. The Shinigami are often involved in detective type work, sifting through the lives of those about to die, or who have already died.

Our main characters are Tsuzuki Asato (都筑麻斗). He's 26, well, he died when he was 26 and had been working for the bureau for 70 some years. He's lazy in some aspects, acts like a kid most of the time, has a sinful desire to eat anything sweet, and is often considered clumsy and hard to work with by his other coworkers. He's gone through several partners, and no one can seem to stand him long enough to work with him. Oh, he's a nice enough guy, full of compassion and kindness, but his excentricies make him hard to deal with. There are strange mysteries behind Tsuzuki as well. His inhuman violet eyes, his ability to heal at incredible rates, the reason he lived for 8 years with out eating or drinking any food or water, only to wake up and commit suicide in his weakened state, AND his ability to control 12 shikagami of his own, including the insanely powerful "god of shikagami's", Sou-ryuu.

That leads us to Kurosaki Hisoka (黒崎密). Dying from a murderous curse at the age of 16, he's decided to become and shinigami to find his killer. His memory has been erased somewhat, and he's determined to find out who was behind his death. Unaware of Tsuzuki's repuataion, he's paired with him by the bureau. Of course, Hisoka is a typical 16 year old. Full of his own ideas and he thinks he's right all the time. However, he's actually very grown up for his age, having been raised in some horrendous situations within a family that has a lot of dirty, very dirty secrets, he's had to be strong on some levels. Alas, his become with drawn and socially in adept as well, which makes for some very funny clashes with Tsuzuki's outgoing, friendly personality. Hisoka is also and empath. A very strong empath. He doesn't like to be touched and he doesn't like being around a lot of people. He can't control his ability to feel other people's emotions, and if they are too strong, he becomes a quivering mass of flesh (not literally, but he just loses it). There is a lot of mystery behind Hisoka and his family. So much infact that the Bureau is investigating the Kurosaki family.

Muraki Kazutaka (邑輝一貴) is a silver haired, white cloaked doctor that plays a large roll in the first few books. I'm not certain if we'll see him again, his "death" later on is skeptical. Anyway, Muraki is a devious and sick individual, hiding behind the facade of the "good doctor". He shows his true colors early on though, when he attempts to kill Hisoka (again) and tries to capture Tsuzuki for some crazy experiment to bring back his dead step brother...only so he can kill him with his own hands...Confused? Yeah, trying to puzzel out what's going on in Muraki's head is pointless. Just be aware that his is SICK...he makes Ted Bundy or Jeffery Dahmer look like a kindergarten teacher...He's a serial killer, not afraid to fake his own death to make himself look innocent, not afraid to brutalize people in the most horrible and unthinkable ways, he's a rapist (he raped Hisoka when he was 13 and then cursed him to die), he'd rape Tsuzuki too if given the chance (and he's tried a couple times), he enjoys death and being a part of it. He's smart...so smart that you wonder if he's even human. Add the fact that he's got insane powers and one trippy silver eye that he hides behind his hair, one can only ponder what he truely is. Muraki creeps me out...and I think later, he'll be back with a vengence (as of now, he's disappeared after being stabbed and nearly burned to a crisp by Tsuzuki).

There are so many other characters, too many to list fully. There is Watari, the Kyoto born, Osaka raised scientist. Tatsumi, who is the Seceretary of the division and one to Tsuzuki's former partners. Terazuma, Tsuzuki's rival and a man who is unfortunate enough to be cursed to change into a giant black beast when touched by a woman (his partner is a woman...ha ha...and as a side note, Terazuma is afraid of Hisoka, because even though Hisoka is a guy, he looks so girly that he causes Terazuma to change...ha ha ha).

The story is full of intreaguing people, wild stories, and vivid imagination. What really draws me to Yami no Matsuei is the author's way of mixing insane, out of place humor into serious situations without making it seem "wrong". For example, her use of the occasional stick figure is truely worth a good chuckle. In one chapter, young Hisoka has gone missing, searching for his own personal "gaurdian". Tsuzuki is worried and discussing things with a companion, while in the background, there is a tiny stick man with a very large "vein mark" (which depicts extreme anger or irritation in manga). Hisoka has returned!

Probably one of my most favorite "out of place humor" is when Hisoka and Tsuzuki are investigating the brutal murders at an all boy's catholic school. Tsuzuki, who is ten years (in human terms) Hisoka's senior, asked Hisoka if he could sleep with him because he's really scared of all the creepy people...on the next page, Hisoka has dumped a HUGE statue of Christ on top of Tsuzuki and tells him to sleep with "Him" instead. LMAO Finally, Hisoka's first meeting with the Shikagami Kurikara was a hoot. Kurikara, banished from the Shikagami world due to transgression agains Sou-ryuu is a dangerous person. He's been sealed away, and has a great distaste for humans. Hisoka has decided to make him his personal Shikagami. When he finally finds Kurikara-ryuu, he was expecting a regal, elegant, and terrifying Shikagami...instead Kurikara is about a foot shorter than Hisoka (who's small already), and looks like a 12 year old kid. The look on Hisoka's face is priceless, especally when he starts screaming...

Oh, and the count is always good for a laugh or two as well. To put it bluntly, he's just a pervert. A sick, demented, see though pervert. You can expect him to say the most "WRONG" things at any given time...one jaw dropper was when Tsuzuki was changed into a kid. The count has a thing for Tsuzuki...a major thing for Tsuzuki...and decided that since his crush has become a child again (like 8), it would be the best time to take advantage of him...and I mean "take advantage" in the worst possible way you can imagine...Yup...I had to read that a couple times to make sure it was really there....LOL Of course, Hisoka and Tsuzuki's relationship as partners and as friends is the best comedy routine. Hisoka often sends Tsuzuki crying from the room, sometimes it's easy to forget that Hisoka is actually the kid, and Tsuzuki is the adult. LOL

At any rate, despite all the sporadic humor and halarity, this manga has a dark side to it. Murder scenes are often brutal and graphic. There's a lot of blood and gore. A good example is a possessed Tsuzuki hacking apart a young musician with a meat cleaver and the two boys getting it on inside the Catholic Church only to have the "top" boy but a hatchet through his partners head. Of course we also have Hisoka's decomposing body, as he recovers from the blast of Kurikara's power. It's not nearly as bad as some of the other panels, so it's a poor depiction of the graphic nature of some of the story lines. I'm too lazy to scan my manga right now, so sorry...

At any rate, this manga is worth a read. I'd like to see it translated, but as of right now, I doubt it will happen. Updates in chapters are sporadic, and sometimes I wonder if the author will ever finish the story. It's been running in Hana to Yume, but I haven't heard much about it lately. I'd hate to see it abandoned, it's simply amazing. There are 11 volumes as of now, and I have no clue when there'll be a 12th one...if it's out, let me know. I wouldn't qualify the story as "shonen ai" either. I know lots of people do, but I don't see Hisoka and Tsuzuki as much more than two people who share heart pains of their past. They're close, but I doubt we'll see Hisoka letting Tsuzuki get "that close" to him anytime soon. (refer to "Christ" joke)....

If you like good humor with a different spin, captivating mysteries, and invigorating characters, Yami no Matsuei won't disappoint.

If you don't have the tankobon's and can't read Japanese, you can find translations, pictures, scans, etc at this site---> Theira.net. It's the best place on the net to get Yami no Matsuei info!

On a final note, I just want to say, that Hisoka is the best character in the book. His sullen attitude makes him so damn funny! Ha ha!

Perhaps when I do another review, I'd do Blade the Immortal or Gravitaion...hmmmm, choices, choices....

Until next time folks...

Give credit where it's due! America's fastest race horse!

And I'm not talking about Seabiscut.....

Of course, I will admit, he's the reason I decided to write this little rant. Undoubtably, Seabiscut was a great race horse, there is no denying that fact. His movie will be availble on DVD in the next couple of days, and I still find myself ponding why they made a movie of "this" horse in particular? Certainly he was small, unrefined, and uncharacteristic of your typical race horse...The odds were stacked against him....but I don't see how that is so different from the greatest race horse in American history....EVER...

I'm talking about Man O War.

Born March 29th, 1917 to dam Mahubah and sire Fair Play, the young Man O War was tall, thin and gaingly upon birth, hardly befitting of a "classy" thoroughbred race horse. Of course, it was his looks that got him sold at the Saratoga auction as a yearling for 5,000 dollars. That was a lot of money back then, but compared to several other horses who would be peers to Man O War on the track (and utterly defeated, I might add), the price that was paid for him was peanuts. It was never expected that he become the legend he is today, amongst horse racing lovers everywhere.

In his lifetime, Man O War ran 21 races.

He lost one.

And that was a fluke.

Back in the days before electric starts and gates, the field would ride together as a team facing away from the starting line. Someone would give a signal and all the horses would turn at once to start down the track. On this particular race, the flag fell before Man O War had the chance to right himself...or even turn the right direction. The field left him behind in the dust.

Only for a little while though.

He managed to catch the pack and over took them one by one, carrying an excess of fifteen or more pound handicap than any other horse on the field. He caught the leader, a horse by the name of Upset, but missed the win by a furloung and a half. He met Upset six more times in his racing career, and beat him every single time.

He set three world records, 2 American records, and 3 track records by more than a several seconds. By the time he was three years of age, other owners refused to race against him, and those who did, were only doing so to place second money. The Kentucky Derby that year had a field of 17 without Man O War racing...However, the Belmont, a leg of the legendary "Triple Crown", had a field of two. Man O War and another horse by the name of Donnacona. Man O War took the win by 20 lengths.

During the Lawrence Realization in Belmont, Man O War cruised by his only opponant, Hoodwink to win by 100 lengths and set an American record.

His career ended swiftly...

No one would put their horses or thier money against Man O War. His odds were 1-100, meaning you'd have to bet 100 bucks to make 101 bucks. His owner, Mr. Riddle decided to retire him at the age of four, where his remained on the farm until he died at the age of 30.

Between then, he sired some amazing horses. War Admiral, Seabiscut's nemisis and Triple Crown winner. Battleship, who won the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree England. American Flag, War Relic, Mars, etc., were all incredible horses.

So I wonder...why did his grandson, Seabiscut get the movie? Yes, that amazing horse that has his own Hollywood movie is a grandson to the great Man O War. What makes his story so much different than the legendary king of horse racing? I suppose, watching a movie about a horse that literally leaps past his challengers wouldn't be that interesting. Seabiscut had War Admiral to contend with.

Man O War had no true challengers. At any rate, I wish there was some tribute to this astounding animal. He definitly diserves recognition for his feats.

Man O War will always be the yard stick that horse racers measure themselves by. I suppose that, in it self, is a great honor.

Adults are so jaded...

"What? Why would I quit something just because it's hard?!"

Those are the words my almost 9 year old son said to me the other day. I was stunned. He was incredibly offended that even made the suggestion that he would quit his classes because they were hard. My question was an innocent one, as he was talking about how hard of a time he was having with a certain move. He sounded very disappointed and discouraged because he was having difficulties, so I inquired to what he planned to do about it and I asked him if he was thinking about quitting. His mind couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind giving something up just because it's difficult.

I don't think I've ever been more proud of him.

And I don't think I've ever felt more ashamed of myself for being a quitter. If a nine year old boy has the courage to keep going, even when the road gets rough, what is my problem as an adult? I've spent a lot of my life, giving things up because I get discouraged with myself and feel I'll never improve. It's always been easy for me to quit, and I think I've missed out on a lot of things in life by throwing in the towel when I get aggervated with myself and my abilities.

I think a lot of adults do.

Sometimes I wish I could see through my son's eyes and maybe be a bit more like him. He's so honest with himself and with the people around him. I never want to discourage that part of him, but I often worry that as he grows up, he'll become more and more jaded, as so many of us do.

We adults think we know everything, but if we took the time to sit and listen to the kids around us, I think we could learn quite a bit about being better people ourselves. Instead, we sit around, complaining about everyone else and how rough our lives are. We sit around and judge the people standing next to us. We throw stones at one another...we adults can be pretty disgusting people.

Then we read self help books, go to counseling, and other crap to try and fix all our problems. What a shame. What we should be doing is taking a closer look inside ourselves.

It's such a shame that we seem to lose more and more of our humanity as we grow up.

Of course, there are some children who are already on a fast track to the adult world of cynisisim and pesimissim, and I really feel for them. These are the kids who are forced fed thier parents beliefs and the kids who have had lives so awful no one can really blame them for thier outlook on life. This loss of innocence is so sad.

Of course, my son is no saint. He's a kid and kids do things that kids do. They throw fits, smart off, slack off, forget things, etc. That's stuff is normal, and it's the parents job to correct it. People who don't understand things like this have no business having children. Another mark as we become adults is we tend to forget that we were once children and we did the same damn things to piss off our parents and families too, so in reality, we really need to stop being so hypocritcal. But as far as kids go, he's rarely in trouble, rarely throws a fit, and rarely gives anyone a bad time. He has his moments, but compared to some of the children I've seen and worked with (I've worked in three different daycares in my life), he quite possibly could be a saint. LOL

It annoys me when people point out his flaws, because he does have them, but what person doesn't? Why belittle him for it? Certainly, these people are the kind of people who have a hard time analyzing themselves, and find it easier to pick out other peoples "quirks" and critisize them. Another trait of becoming and adult.

I wish I had half the integrity, honesty and forthrightness my son has. He's a much better human than me or anyone else in our family. I admire him, and I pray that he never loses his sense of justice, his love of his fellow man, his compassion, and his courage to continue down the rough road. He's such a good boy, and I'll argue that point with anyone who cares to disagree with me.

Excuse me, your ignorance is showing...

America. It's a wondrous place, built on the blood and sweat of a multitude of immigrants who fled their home countries looking for a better life. Many were fleeing the poverty and oppression of their homelands, others were escaping for their lives, their beliefs or lifestyles under heavy persecution by their native brothers. During that period, America was a clean slate. A place to start over. A place to live freely, without fear of being killed or shunned because your ideals were different from your neighbors. It was a new beginning for many immigrants. Those people went on to build a society based on the belief that all peoples have the right to live freely and express themselves, as long as it isn't a harm to others.

Of course, that isn't always the case here in the US. Many groups of people are still being persecuted by their fellow Americans. Hate crimes are not uncommon in our news media. Churches still slander one another, preaching about the “rightness” of their religion and damning all other congregations to hell. Sexism is alive and well and self proclaimed hate groups still spout their ignorance to the general public (isn’t the freedom of speech great!).

It saddens and angers me that the people who promote such irrational garbage are the first ones to jump up and scream “I AM AN AMERICAN!”. These people couldn't be any more LESS American. If they were truly Americans, they would remember their roots and why America is what is today. Forgetting those who left their homes behind, those who were brave enough to start over somewhere else, and the reasons WHY they came here is a slap in the face to our country as a whole. If you don’t understand, go pick yourself up a history book and start reading. While your at it, grab a copy of the US Constitution.

Don't get me wrong. I love my country. I respect the morals and values it allows me to have. I respect the morals and values of those that I might not agree with as well, since this is, after all, a free country. If I don't agree with the lifestyle or beliefs of my neighbor, I have the right to turn my head and ignore them. I have no obligation to try to change their mind or chastise them any more than they do to me.

What I DON'T respect is blind hatred and ignorance. There's no excuse for it. With all the information available today, all people need to do is pick up a book or jump on the internet. Unfortunately, most hate mongers and bigots are too damn lazy to exert the effort, or perhaps, in some circles, they just find big text books to daunting. There are children's books available folks. Get educated on a subject before forming and opinion and expressing it.

For example, my best friend received an email after logging a message in his blog. He was innocently discussing his feelings about being a gay man in society and coming to terms with his own perceptions about it. It was a heartfelt message about his own views on himself and humanity as a whole. It was probably one of the most heartfelt and honest web log entries I've ever read.

He sent me a copy of the message and has given me permission to post it here. Before warned however, it is offensive and vulgar, but then again, he proves mine and my friends point perfectly. A real shining example of what it's like to deal with intolerance and hatred.

>>>From user: anonymous
>>>AM 7:55 PST

The reason you people aren't accepted is because of whiny crap like thes shit! The rest of the world isn't gay so you are just going to have to lern to live with it. queers are abominations and we shouldnt have to make exceptions for them to go around fornicating with anything that moves, and since when do pedophiles and queers become "different" all you pervs come from the same pod!

At first I was peeved when I read this, but then I had to laugh. Who wouldn't, after seeing the total idiocy of Mr. Anonymous post? If your going to try and make a point, at least do it with some dignity and spell and punctuate correctly. It's L-E-A-R-N dumbass, not lern. Maybe you need to do some more “L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G” before you try to formulate a complex opinion on something and someone you know nothing about.

It's sad, but Mr. Anonymous is the perfect example of ignorance at it's finest. He believes that gay men and pedophiles are the same, which is about as correct as me saying that all Catholic Priests are molesters or all men are rapists. No, Mr. Anonymous, being gay and being a pedophile isn't the same thing. Pedophiles like young children, little girls and little boys. They are sick and disgusting individuals, who should be lock in prison the rest of their natural lives. Gay men and women, however, prefer the company of the same sex, not little children. Both heterosexual and homosexual people can be pedophiles.

As for coming for the “same pod”, I suppose I would be correct in assuming you come from the same “pod” and the KKK, Hitler, and The Skin Head Nations. I mean, come on, if we are comparing idiotic assumptions, I must be right, since you spew nothing but hate, hostility, ignorance and intolerance. And while we're at it, why not add all the various religions of the world to that “pod” as well, since from the beginning of time they contributed to the mass slaughter of other human beings in the name of their many re-written and idealized bibles.

“Fornicating with everything that moves?” That made me laugh, because Mr. Anonymous just described nearly the all male species in the world, heterosexual, homosexual, and animal! *laughs* At any rate, I can't even comment on this sort of irrationality, because it doesn't make sense in my head. Trees move, rivers move, clouds move…Mr. Anonymous needs counseling.

I don't remember my friend asking for any special rights, Mr. Anonymous. I believe he was asking to be treated as the human being he is. He wants to be able to walk into a store and not have bigoted radicals like you spew stupidity at him. He wants to be able have a meal without having to overhear people calling him dirty names. He wants to shop in peace and live his life like any other tax paying, law abiding citizen. What’s so bad about that? You wouldn't like it much if you went somewhere and heard people talking about “stupid honkies” or “F….niggers” or “filching kites” or what ever nationality/religion you happen to be. It's so obvious you've never had to deal with any type of discrimination what so ever, and if I perchance am wrong, shame on you for being a hypocrite.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” - Matthew 7:1-5

Every once in a while, the bible gives us a good lesson. To bad the bible thumping hate mongers don't take the time to read the whole thing. They'd much rather read passages that COULD pertain to their cause and then twist them around to fit their warped, moronic ideals. If I were God, I’d be pretty pissed about this…I imagine he is…

Anyway…I'm sorry to inform people like Mr. Anonymous that this is indeed America. All of us who live here have the right to live our lives the way we see fit and pursue our own happiness. We can choose who we love, what we wear, what we say, and what we think. That's what makes this place so great. However, we cannot obstruct another American's right to pursue happiness, and that includes everything from murder to discrimination. A person being homosexual doesn't hinder your life, Mr. Anonymous. It only bothers you because you make it your business to let it bother you. However, your hate and bigotry fuel the fires that make it difficult for other Americans to live. You, Mr. Anonymous, are very Un-American. You, and people like you, do our country a great disservice by being poor representatives of our country. Maybe you should move, it wouldn't be any loss to the rest of us citizens, but I warn you, there are gay people all over the world!

Also…

The next time you decide to reply to someone's personal feelings, I suggest you better educate yourself on your opinions, instead of coming up with some sort of 4th grade reply that makes you look like the idiot you are. Your reply to my friends blog does your cause no justice and only illustrates our point that people like you are nothing but uneducated, inferior, insecure parasites with some sort of moralistic complex. Apparently your opinion doesn't mean much to you, since you can't even apply a screen name to your post. How typically cliché that is of your kind, always hiding behind masks and computers.

To everyone else, I just want to say that I don't know what it's like to be discriminated against because of sexual preference, but discrimination is discrimination. I've been discriminated against because I'm a woman, and I know that it made me angry and hurt me. Whatever form it comes in, it is wrong. Do I think there needs to be laws regarding hate, bigotry and discrimination? Yes, to some extent. I don't think we should try forcibly change a person's way of thinking, but I do believe there should be laws regarding jobs, business, etc. that prevent employers, employees, customers, etc. from discriminating against certain people. I don't agree with affirmative action, as people should be chosen for their merits and not their skin color, sex, or sexuality, but until the hate mongers stop being so biased and obsessive about such things, those types of laws will be necessary.

My friend is a wonderful person. He's very kind and open minded. It is very rare to find a human being like him in this world. My son loves him very much and I just want him to know that there are many of us who see you as YOU. We accept you for who you are and everything else doesn't matter!

To the readers I don't know, if you feel the need to flame, go ahead, but be warned, if you are too moronic, I'll roast your flame publicly, along with your email address or IP#. All comments are screened for approval first BY ME, so think things through before posting...

Frickin McStupid

Okay...the world had finally gone utterly and completely bonkers...Is it just me, or am I the only one that has never heard the term "McJob" before? If it's not just me, and I doubt it is, why the hell is this stupid phrase being entered into the dictionary? When I first heard about the ordeal, I didn't believe it, but after reading this I was utterly astounded. For some reason this reeks of the days when "ebonics" were trying to make a place in our dictionaries. I didn't agree with that, and I don't agree with this either. Maybe we should add Hamburgler and Fry Guys too. Grimace already has a place in the dictionary. He's so lucky. And while we're at it, we should make sure that a #1, #2, #3 and so on are directly defined. Gawd, do we really need to add every stupid catch phrase or word of the day to our dictionary? I noticed that Wazzup, wicky wicky, homie aren't there. Niether is Biotch. Maybe I missed them. *shrug* If not, they should go in there before McJob.

What a McFrickin joke.

Even more sad, is the fact that McDonalds is one step closer to ruling the world as we know it. First they infest every American city street corner with artery clogging meals, then the infect other countries and start contributing to the growing obesity factor of the world, now they have thier own lingo and place in the dictionary. Pretty soon, Ronald will be president.

That's scary.

Even scarier than that...Bill Gatesis in the dictionary...

Scary and not so scary movies

First off, not alot went on today. But that's fairly normal for a Saturday. I'm a pretty routine creature. By no means organized, but routine. I have to have a routine to do certain things or I get annoyed. For example, at work I have set times that I want to get things done by and if I don't, I start getting stressed. Or at home, I have things I like to do in an orderly fashion and if that schedule gets messed up, I grow irritable. It's weird and only applies to certain things, but it makes me happy so I live with it.

Saturdays consist of getting up and watching all my cartoons in the morning. LOL Yes, cartoons. I love them, even though I'm an adult, and someday I'll discuss a few of my favorites, but not today, since I can go on forever about cartoons, comic books, and video games. After those are over, I watch all those silly "Trash to Cash shows and Designer shows on HTV". Those events are pretty set in stone, and I normally won't leave the house until they are over. Yes, I'm weird, but that's okay, we all have our little quirks.

As for today, a friend of mine came over and brought some movies to watch. One called "Identity" which was pretty interesting and another called "28 days later" which I haven't finished watching but probably will sometime tonight. Both were thriller type movies, which I enjoy when done well.

I'm a hard critic for scary movies. I rarely run into a movie that truly frightens me. That itself is kinda funny, since when I was a kid, everything scared me. But now, I find myself analyzing scary movies to pieces as I watch them. Maybe it's my way of trying not to be scared, I don't know...but it works.

I think the last movie I watched that scared me was The Ring. That movie totally scared the crap out of me. Though I prefered the Japanese version over the Americanized version. They were both similar in many ways, but I thought the American version tried to make things deeper and more "hip" by adding rediculous plot lines and special effects. The whole horse thing had me going "huh?" and the girl at the end doing those funky super fast moves made me shake my head. Still, the movie was incredibly creepy and scared the bejeezus out of me. I slept with the tv on for over a week. LMAO

Another movie that totally freaked me out was Pet Semetary. I saw that movie for the first (and last) time when I was ten. I haven't forgotten it, and I won't ever watch it again. It was incredibly disturbing and terribly frightening. Stephen King is an amazing writer. His stories never cease to amaze (and frighten me). I highly suggest reading the book, Pet Semetary, since it's far scarier than the movie (if that is even possible). I also recommend reading The Green Mile (and watching the movie), Cujo, etc. The only film I've seen of his that annoyed me was Dreamcatcher. I thought it was utterly rediculous and a mishmash of his previous works (The Thing, Stand By Me, etc). It had the potential to be frightening, but when I saw the aliens, it totally lost it's appeal.

Most of the time, I find that seeing the monsters or aliens ruins the movie for me. Many look incredibly cliche or just plain stupid. For example, the aliens in "Signs" were just rediculous. It was a creepy movie until I saw what was causing all the mischief, and after that, I grew bored. Another good example of "bad alien" portrayal was those in "Dreamcatcher". I just don't find giant slugs with teeth frightening. Gross, but not scary. "Them" was another one. I actually laughed my head off during that entire movie, though my friend swore it scared the crap out of him at the movie theater. However, there have been a few movies where the monsters have given me the chills. Alien was a great show and truly kept you on the edge of your seat. The creatures were frightening, and I wasn't disappointed by clicheness or just dumb designer flaws. Predator (couldn't find any decent links) was another good film with a creepy bad guy from another world. Unique and impressive, I was scared of the Predator. LOL

I can't really explain my reasoning for what makes a movie scary to me or not. I've tried, but I guess it doesn't make much sense to other people. If a movie tries to be "realistic" and falls short, it doesn't frighten me. The newest flick The Texas Chainsaw Massacre left me feeling a few IQ points short when I left the theater. I was utterly disappointed in that movie, perhaps because in my opinion it tried to be "realistic". Note the word "tried". It was gross, the whole meat hook thing left me gagging, but scariness just wasn't there. It was totally predictable, and completely unbelievable. I mean, I'd like to know where that guy bought his chainsaw, because it runs unbelievably well after cutting through various metals, thickness of wood, and people's bodies. It must be a Craftsman. And how the hell does he run with that thing running? How the hell does he run with it period? Geesh...Not to mention that chick, running around screaming all the time. She doesn't get smart until the end, which really set me off. I went home in a bad mood after watching that movie. I suppose, setting all thing aside, for a hack flick, it was done well. I can't deny that the fliming was done well and it WAS creepy, but the plot and characters just kill all that for me. Not my kinda flick at all, but my friends enjoyed it greatly. If you like mindless chopping and mutilation, watch this show. It requires no thinking at all, and I guess that's the point behind a show like this.

Scary movies disappoint me now a days. Many try to go over the top to be scary by creating dumb looking monsters, stupid heros/heroines, rediculous plots, and moronic special effects. What ever happened to suspense and drama? I mean, NOT seeing the monster/bad guy is creepier than having it be in your face. And whats up with all the blood and guts? Sure, that's gross, but it's NOT scary...and too much ruins the movie. Good example, Dracula 2000. It went over the top with all the gore, and ruined them movie. They could have had some better acting too, but the last fifteen minutes was pretty cool.

When you boil it all down, I guess it's a matter of preference. Some people enjoy all the gore and guts. Some people get off having a monster jump out at them every two minutes. Some people like to see a hot bodied chick run screaming through the bushes for 2 hours. It's not my cup of tea and I'd much rather be left wondering "what if" at the end of a movie. It's the fear of the unknown that gets to me, the not knowing.

On that note, I want to recommend that everyone watch this trailer Resident Evil. Though I imagine that this movie will fall into more of the "Action/Horror" genre, the video games done by Capcom are amazing! I'm really looking forward to it!

Til next time!

Zoso

ps-pardon my horrible spelling, I'm not checking my entries...