Ramblings of a Crowe

Bad America

Trolling about the internet, I'm always stunned at the misconceptions people have about the US. Usually the bits of information come from people of other countries, giving their knowledge of American life and culture (yes, there is such a thing and if you don't think there is, you're stupid.). That's kind of like me talking about the French when I've never even been there. Silly, isn't it? Anyway, apparently, US media isn't the only biased, untruthful media in the world.

What stuns me the most is how everyone seems to think the US has black men hanging from trees and Asians working laying rail-road tracks non stop.

Um, no. The US has racial issues, we'll admit it--but I don't think we're any worse than some of the other countries of the world. As a matter of fact, I'm always stunned when I hear about racism across the ocean. I mean, France, you're on fire! WTF is up with that? To an American, this is astounding. And Japan. Tsk tsk--you have some SERIOUS racial issues you need to start dealing with ASAP. You would NEVER see a "No Japanese" sign up on any American establishment. Oh, and how about China and Korea? That's right, you're both busy hating on the Japanese right now. South Africa, raise your hand! And you loveable Aussies aren't exactly innocent either! Let's not forget about the Ukraine or Ireland.

I could go on, simply because racism exists in every country--a sad fact. It's not just a problem in the US, however we are in the lime light these days, thanks to our ameba brained President and ridiculous chest thumping patriotism. I will set the record straight for those of you visiting from other nations, that contrary to popular belief, the KKK and Aryan Brotherhood (skin heads) are FAR from popular in the US. If anything, they are thought of as the most despicable level of our society--and not just by minorities. (J can tell a story about the mayor of Boise and the Aryans, which is quite humorous).

So, instead of finger pointing, perhaps we all should step back and take a deep look into our own societies. No one country has a monopoly on racism. No one race either. To the Chinese guy who said, "Whites should suffer too, so they know how it feels" I'd like to ask, "Then where does it stop?" You hurt me, I hurt you, you hurt me again, and on and on and on and on. To toss an old cliché, "two wrongs don't make a right". It saddens me to know that there are people out there with this mentality--far too many people; both white and non-white.

We are all human beings. We all laugh. We smile. We love and cry. We mourn. We feel pain, happiness, and joy. Our cultures might be different, our colors might be different, but beyond that we are all just human. Why is that concept so hard for us to grasp?

Manners: A Thing of the Past

What is the matter with people today? Is no one teaching their kids things like common courtesy or manners? Have adults just phased out the 'polite' part of their brain? I don't know about in other countries, but here in the US, people's manners are becoming downright deplorable.

How hard is it to utter the words "please" and "thank you"? It takes about 2 nano seconds of your life. You won't die if you say these words. USE THEM! Say them to your family. Say them to the cashier or store clerk helping you (yes, I know they're paid to help you, but it wouldn't kill you to be kind). Say them to the person who holds a door for you. Don't be a dick! Nothing pisses me off more than when I hold open a door for someone right behind me and they just walk on through--as if I was suppose to do that. I always tell them "You're welcome" as the bluster on by. Responses vary from an embarrassed glance to a downright glare. Guess it sucks to be called on your poor manners.

And people, I know we're all in a hurry these days. We've got things to do, places to go, TV shows to watch--you know, all that important stuff. But for the love of Christ, hold the door for the person behind you. Yeah, it sucks when there's a family for 12, but it only takes a couple seconds, and nine times out of ten, one of said family members takes over the door for you. Don't be an ass and slam doors in peoples faces. If they say "Thanks", tell them "You're welcome" or "No problem".

To you cellphone users--shut the fuck up in public places! You don't need to friggen shout out your date details or dinner menu to everyone at the gym, in the store, standing in the lobby, or where ever the hell you might be. Talk quietly. Or--GO.OUTSIDE. Why are there people like this? The day and age when cellphones were unique and having one was 'cool' are over. Now no one thinks having a cellphone is cool and people like you are annoying as hell.

And to the people who feel the need to argue with clerks over the dumbest shit. Let it go. You see that long line of other customers behind you. No, it's not your imagination. They really do exist. You aren't the only patron to 'such and such' establishment. Those looks of hate on our faces aren't meant for the poor clerk you're harrassing because their store doesn't take such and such credit card/out of state checks/etc. We are pissed AT YOU. Why? Because you're a dumbass. Because you're selfish. Because we have to wait 15 minutes or more for a transaction that should only take 2. Don't have your ducks in a row? DON'T GET IN LINE!

I could go on and on and on with this topic, but really, I'm exhausted just thinking about. I might be brash and offensive sometimes, but I'm always worried about other people around me. Good manners are important. I always say please, thank you, your welcome. I always hold the door for the person behind me. If I cause a hold up somewhere, I apologize to those behind me, and I don't go out of my way to cause trouble (if you can believe that *ha ha*). People in this day and age are selfish. It's sad. It's disgusting. Though manners are simple, they have profound impacts on people. They remind us that being nice feels good and that one good deed is often returned in spades by others. Ever see the movie "Pay it Forward"? If not, go watch it--right now. The message is loud and clear.

"Thank you for sharing, now SHUT UP and quit Whining!"

Where do I sign up?

Shadow Hearts 3

Shadow Hearts 3 website up! Yay! Not much there yet, but be patient.

Offical Japanese Website

I can't wait! These games are so much fun! I love the ring system! But, I'm gonna miss Yuri...he was cool!

Things I Hate/Things I Love (in no specific order)

Things I Hate

1.) Rude People
2.) Walmart (a group of fuckers if I ever saw one)
3.) Britany Spears (stupid ho)
4.) Stupid People
5.) Heights (scary)
6.) Biggots
7.) Kanye West (just...shut up already)
8.) Pertentiousness
9.) People who can't let things go
10.) Spiders
11.) Wars
12.) George Bush (SHUT THE FUCK UP, STUPID MONKEY!)
13.) Bats
14.) Micheal Moore (you shut up too)
15.) Anti-americanism (yes, let's hate an entire country of people...Makes perfect sense.)
16.) Americans who pass themselves off as Canadians (ball-less fucktards)
17.) Osama and his cronies
18.) Organized religon (all of it)
19.) Peta
20.) most fish (yuck)
21.) Birds (except raptors)
22.) 90% of my neighbors
23.) Conformists
24.) Ferris Wheels
25.) Fangirls (rabid ones)
26.) Otaku
27.) Japanophile elitists
29.) Snobby Europeans (they know who they are)
30.) Music elitists
31.) Dumbass customers
32.) Politics
33.) Jack Thompson (now unable to practice law in Alabama HA HA HA)
34.) Math
35.) People who can't laugh at themselves
36.) Grumpy old people (just die already)
37.) Tardiness
38.) Selfish people
39.) Other people's kids (most of them, anyway)
40.) Spahgetti
41.) Reality TV
42.) MTV
43.) FCC
44.) Incompetant Parents
45.) Tequila
46.) Repeating myself
47.) Talking on the phone
48.) Stupid drivers
49.) Fema-nazis
50.) Chauvenists

Things I Love

1.) My family
2.) The sound of a guitar
3.) Beautiful sunsets
4.) Dogs
5.) Autumn afternoons
6.) Good Books
7.) The human body
8.) Compassion
9.) Creativity
10.) Music of all kinds
11.) The ocean
12.) Good movies
13.) Italian sodas
14.) Micro-beer (*sob* can't drink it anymore)
15.) Lance Armstrong
16.) Rollercoasters
17.) Languages
18.) Cats
19.) Curiousity
20.) My friends
21.) Art
22.) Laughter
23.) House
24.) CSI
25.) Horses
26.) Videogames
27.) Musicals
28.) Pianos
29.) The Black Crowes
30.) Kanji
31.) Rain
32.) Scented candles
33.) Funny Jokes
34.) Pretty eyes
35.) Smiles (of all kinds)
37.) Sarcasm
38.) The variety of cultures around the world
39.) Simplicity
40.) Trees
42.) Utaban
43.) Quietness
44.) The human mind
45.) Japanese TV
46.) Dragons
47.) Mythology
48.) Dreams
49.) Courage
50.) Sleep

How does he do it?

How the hell does Miyavi fit into that box? He's like six foot tall!

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Videos

Chivalry is dead (aka: You're on your own Bitch!)- No summary...just make sure you empty your bladder before watching this. Ichatta (行ちゃった！) pretty much means "go/going/went/etc"--I think you can figure out the context just by watching the video though.　Kowai(恐い) means "scared", btw.

This guy would be dead in America...

This is NOT a funny joke...

Put icky stuff in a box and watch people pee their pants. (Note: it starts mid video so be patient) I did not know boys could scream like little girls...

Car...what? I suppose this one is only funny if you know a little Japanese. One of the guys asks what 'shrimp' is in English (the japanese word is 'ebi'). The guy eating tells him and somehow he comes to the conclusion it is 'car shrimp'....Uh, no. What he's trying to say is prawn...or in Japanese, kuruma ebi (車えび). Kuruma (車) is the word for car--get it?

Moving on...

With friends like these...well, I have friends like these...

How's that reconstructive surgery coming along...asshole?

It's a REAL waterbed!

A genius he is not...

More Icons

There are a few others over on the photobucket site too, but they suck worse than these. :P

Stupid stuff that makes you laugh...

I'm easily amused. That's no secret. Some people find my sense of humor immature and twisted, but really--I don't care. Everybody's tastes are different. Some people find Howard Stern funny (I don't) and others think Jim Carey is a hoot (he's okay).

The other day I happened to download the sound track to Gokusen 2 and discovered a song sung by K@men@shi K@tsuya (name encoded to keep frothing fangirls from googling their way here). It's a very pretty song called "k i z u n a" (more random encoding). I wanted to hear more of his stuff, so I started looking things up. Apparently he's a member of an idol group or something. Whatever. I really dislike boybands, but the kid can sing.

Anyway, I stumbled upon a site that has videos downloaded by fangirls. Everything from TV spots to music videos. Okie dokie. I was bored so I started watching some of them. My god, I laughed so hard I cried. By the time I knew it, it was like 2am.

Here are a few of my favorites:
Norinori (the guy talking is eating seaweed (nori); he makes a dumb joke "Norinori (happy happy) desu ne" and the other guy doesn't think it's funny. What makes it great is the look on the other guy's face. Ha ha!

In your face A volleyball spiking contest that goes wrong.

Meow In Japan, cats (neko) say "nya"(ニャー）. They are singing a song about a cat. The singing instructor has something against K@men@shi, tells him his timing sucks and he's only to say "nya". It's funny, even if you don't understand Japanese.

Sing with me The teacher has the first two guys say nice things about her "I love you" and such. When she gets to K@men@ashi, she has him say "I am stupid". Then the teacher flips out and starts like juggling. Finally, she insults K@men@shi's jacket and calls him a pervert. At this time, everyone in the skit is trying hard not to laugh...

Flipping Kid This one is too funny. The little boy is just hysterical! And the look on the one guys face is funny as hell when he finds out what they want him to do. BTW: Abunee (abunai) means "dangerous".

Lets do gymnastics! Nothing is more funny than watching people who can't do gymnastics nearly kill themselves.

Good for a few laughs.

Friggen Computer...

Today I lost all my bookmarks. Firefox decided my profile was no good for some reason (I had no idea I even had a profile), and deleted everything. Passwords, sites, etc. All gone. I've spent most of the day trying to recover the more obscure sites, but I lost quite a few.

I did try to recover my profile, but had no luck. I had to start a new one. Nor could I find any bookmarks saved on my computer. It really sucked.

At least it wasn't my fault this time (all I was doing was reading a web page and BAM--gone!), unlike the loss of all my music earlier this year. I learned my lesson then. That being said, I also learned to backup my bookmarks. Now I have them saved three different places.

Firefox, I love you but today you lost some serious points from me.

:(

Those Wacky Adverbs!

Since this seems to be "lets bitch about languages" week, I thought I'd get off my ass and do another, "Look What Zoso Has Learned" piece. Regarding that fun loving language of Japanese, which I manage to butcher on a daily basis. Hiro san, Yuuko san, I'm sorry I destroy your language with each email I send. Ha ha. I'll get better, I promise!

So today I'll talk about some adverbs. Why? Because that's what I've been studying lately and talking about them helps me remember. In theory, anyway. Feel free to correct mistakes, but play nice. I hate rude assholes.

Okay, so we all know that adverbs are words that modify other words. There are two kinds of adverbs in Japanese. 1.) the kind that modifies other words and 2.) those used for interrogatives, negations, conditonals, etc. Confused yet? Good.

Word Modifiers (a few)
いつも (itsumo)　always
とても (totemo) very
もっと　(motto) more
たくさん (takusan) a lot

Negations, Interrogatives, Conditionals, etc.
なぜ　(naze) why
たぶん　(tabun) probably
ぜひ　(zehi) definitly

Adverbial placement is pretty free, just so long as it comes before the word it modifies. However, the closer it is the the word, the better.

Some adverbs can be used as vowels by adding する(suru) to them.

いらいらする (iraira suru) become irritated

Adjectives, nouns, and verbs can become adverbs. Adjectives use the 'adverbial form'.

早い hayai fast　( i type adjective)
早く hayaku quickly (adverbial form)

静かな　shizukana quiet (na type adjective)
静かに　shizuka ni quietly (adverbial form)

私は明日日本語を勉強します。　(noun type adverb)
Watashi wa ashita nihongo wo benkyou shimasu.
I will study Japanese tomorrow.

川で泳いで、リラックスしました。(verb type adverb)
Kawa de oyoide, rirakkusu shimashita.
Swimming in the river, I relaxed.

And that's all I've got to say about adverbs. That, and there's a lot of them.

Hablamos inglés

Well, Florida has been busy lately. First with their concealed weapons laws, and now they're going to make kids learn Spanish. Yup, classes will be mandatory for elementary students if the bill passes. Of course, they have no idea where they'll fit in this new course, nor do they have any idea where the money will come from for supplies and teachers...but you know, it's all good. Right?

You know, I think learning new languages are a great idea; but what pisses me off is knowing that there are a ton of Hispanic people in my country who don't even bother to learn English. If we speak Spanish, why should they learn?

Yet in order to be PC, we bend over backwards to accommodate their laziness. My thinking is considered 'racist' and 'ignorant'. Those poor immigrants! Making them learn the language of the country they immigrated to! What is this world coming to?

Funny, the Asian and European immigrants seem to pick up English well enough. Nobody is catering to them, making laws to justify their unwillingness to learn. I don't see Food Pavilion people being fired for not learning Mandarin or Russian. I don't hear about people being denied a job because they aren't fluent in Taglog.

I want a law that makes English mandatory for everyone living here. Make them learn it! Oh, you can't speak English? Sorry, we can't hire you. Learn English; it'll be easier.

I'm not saying people need to speak it perfectly. I give huge kudos to all immigrants who make an effort. They're cool. It's the ones that don't even bother that piss me the hell off. But then they're a product of our own doing. Why should they learn, when the bleeding hearts and PC police are out there making it easy for them not to?

Dance Crazy

Well, I finished working on another short story fom the Supercomic Gekijoh. This one focuses on Sophia and Albel. It's funny. Not nearly as funny as the pudding one, but entertaining enough. Sorry for the errors. I've done the best I could with my meager Japanese skills. Play nice, folks!

Catastrophe in the Making

Last year I bought one of those battery back up things for my computer. It's set to shut down the computer whenever there's a power outage. Today I discovered that I'd somehow set the 'alarm' to go off when that happens. I didn't even know the thing had an alarm. So there I was burning some CD's and playing a videogame (I'm a great multi-tasker) when this god awful screeching beep noise goes off. Scared the hell out of me.

Incidently, I dropped the controller to my game. The lights went on and off, I lost all the effort I'd put into leveling up Hector and his innocent devil too. But my computer was still burning CD's. However, there was this note and a counter--akin to a self distruct timer--telling me that my computer was going to go into hibernation mode if I didn't tell it not to. I made it to the computer in time to stop it from shutting down and screwing up my cd. After that I didn't pay much attention to what had cause the power surge.

That is, until I noticed by downloads were going incredibly slow and my connection to the wireless router was at the bare minimum. Curious, I went to check the hub and noticed that it wasn't even on! Everything had been unplugged from the main computer in the dining room.

Eh?

My dad has been at work. Doing what, I have no friggen clue; but whenever he starts messing with the computer I shudder. He has a knack for making things a billion times more complicated than they need to be. I'd ask what's going on, but he's not speaking to me right now (or probably ever again), not that it would get me very far anyway.

*sigh*

For the longest time I've considered calling the cable company and seeing if they'd give me my own internet connection. I don't know how that would work though, or if it's even possible. I just hate being at the mercy of the hub computer, which belongs to my mother and father.

So how am I writing this right now? *smile* That's a seceret!

****

Edit:

Fixed it! Now I hope the house doesn't burn down.

Jackie is at it again!

This time his target is teh root ov all ebil! Japan! He even wrote a letter!

Never mind that the games he convulses about are American made games. Doesn't matter! Because SONY is Japanese!

*sigh*

Stupid....2343@#$32sdfs....

Arggh! I hate it when you just start a game and get stuck only an hour to two into it! Then I kick myself for not buying the cheat guide. Damn. I'll have to pick it up on Monday. Unless anyone can tell me how in the hell I'm suppose to break down the first gate in the new Castlevaina game. Jesus. I get destroyed by the cannons every time. It's really pissing me off.

To make matters worse, I head on over the Gamefaqs to see if anyone has had the same problem. I find a small thread and stare at it blankly. Then I remember why I don't go there anymore. Does anyone over there have half a brain? I mean, finding one or two people there that can string together coherent thought must be like finding out your dog shits gold. *sigh*

I'm gonna go watch TV. It's not like I don't have 'time' or anything these next few weeks. :P

EDIT:

Oooh...you sit in the chair and man the cannon yourself! *heee*

I made it!

Today was the last day of work! Yay! Yaaaaaay! Two months off! Well, except for Mondays. Still have to work those days, but no big deal. Now I can get back to working on my various projects and enjoy being a total bum! I'm so happy! No pissy customers. No whining co-workers. No drama.

*sigh* It's bliss.

I'll get really bored in about a month though. Ha ha! Two months of no work is about all I can take. But I honestly can't express my relief here. I even got unemployment squared away today! I was only on hold 30 minutes! A new record! :P

*edited*

Simba's Last Stand

A lion rallies for a final attack as a hunter takes shots at him. I bet that guy totally shit his pants.

Teh Ebil

Strike Fear with Disease!

Why is this even being debated? Why do right-wing fundies need to turn everything into "OMGOHNOEZ promotion of sex in my Alphabits!!1one!"? What the hell will they do if an AIDS vaccine is ever found? Tell everyone mandatory vaccines of a deadly disease are ridiculous because everyone will hump in one big orgy?

Christ on a cracker...

I'm pissed that there's even a forum about this. It shouldn't be debated. Here we have the potential to take out a major cause of cervical cancer (HPV) and the fundies are freaking out that kids will see it as free pass to boink each other. Right. So it's a good idea to use a potentially deadly disease to terrify kids into being abstinent.

I'd like to take this moment to say, "It's not working". Kids are having sex. They'll always have sex. Even some of those 'good 'lil Christian girls" are having sex. They were having sex decades ago, only then, they hid it better. And STDs weren't born yesterday. They've been around a long time. People got them then, people get them now.

People are going to screw. You might not like it, but it's the truth. Denying a preventive vaccine for a disease that kills thousands of women each year is idiotic, and if you ask me irresponsible. I don't know about you, but if a cure for a deadly disease drops into my hand, I feel an obligation to use it immediately--on everyone!

Here are a few thoughts. How about letting schools teach sex ed? And I'm not talking about just the 'what goes where' crap I got in high school. Teach them about STDs, safe sex, birth control, and the implications of both disease and pregnancy on a teenager's life. I'm not saying go out and tell kids it's okay, but arm them with the information they need to make responsible choices. Giving them a death sentence is pretty harsh; and that's exactly what's going on here with this debate over the HPV vaccine.

Parents need to step up to the plate too. A lot of parents shy away from the 'sex talk'. Here, in American, sex is dirty and evil! Kids shouldn't think about it! It's wrong! It's immoral! Christ, teenagers are going to think about it people...especially boys. It's the parent’s job to talk with their kids about this stuff too. Just sending them to church or telling them "Wait until you're married" isn't going to cut it. Answer their questions, explain things to them. No need to be graphic or crude, but be honest--it's the right, and responsible, thing to do.

My kid is 11. He knows what sex is, though he doesn't get how it all fits together yet. When he asks me questions, I answer them the best I can. I'm not embarrassed. He's growing up, seeing things on TV and hearing stuff from other kids at school. The other day, he asked what an STD was (he happened to see one of those stupid herpes commercials on TV--if I had herpes, I wouldn't look that happy...). Anyway, I told him what they were, how people got them, how bad a lot of them were, and how a lot of them aren't curable. He's still young, but as the questions come, I'll answer them. That's my job.

If this goes through, I'll probably get my son vaccinated. Does this mean I'm telling him it's okay to have sex when he becomes a teen? No. I'm pretty certain they won't be handing out certificates that say, "HPV free! Go have sex now!” It's just another disease, sexually transmitted or not--and I think as a society, we have a responsibility to prevent the spread of it.

You might bend over backwards to teach your kid your morals and values, but you never, ever, know what the future holds. You could be the best Christian/Parent in the world, but still end up standing by your daughter's hospital bed as she takes her last breath from a disease YOU could have prevented. And yes, it'll be YOUR fault. Congratulations, you killed your kid with your ignorance. Good job. Where are your morals now, asshole?

Countdown begins

Well, the countdown has seriously began. In three days, I'll officially be laid off work. Two weeks earlier than the norm (four weeks sooner than managment predicted), but I knew it was coming. My lay off is only temporary (and partial). I'll return to work January 1st, and I still have to work 10 hours a week to keep up my medical benifits. I love lay off, but I HATE dealing with the unemployment office.

*sigh*

Once that's out of the way, I'll be ready to do pretty much nothing for the next two months. *heh* I'll work on TMTB again and pick up on some of my other projects I've had to set aside these past few weeks. Oh, and I'll play lots of videogames. :)

Halloween came and went. My son did a little trick or treating, but called it a night after two stops. LMAO! I was a bit startled, but we've never been big on trick or treating. He opted to skip out on the neighbors houses and just went home.

My cat is currently destroying my house. Everyone else has left for work and I can hear her ravaging the helium bat balloon my son got from my grandma...I'm afraid to go look in the bathroom too, since I heard her in there a few minutes ago. *shakes head*