Shinken

I wrote a death poem too, but not the same kind of thing, I guess (I meant it in the old samurai fashion). But I think this one's kinda funny, in a morbid sense.

Good luck, Cloricus. I checked the guy's site, and couldn't find his address. But I'm finding that this sort of thing is happening more and more: People creating entire organizations about things they know nothing about, and thus creating problems for everybody. With religion, it's a little bit more forgiveable, but with something as simple as a computer.... Wow.

Wow, this guy is almost as bad as the good folks over at Objective. According to this guy, I'M a hacker. Let's see.... I've got Comet Cursor, Flash, and I NEED UPGRADES ON MY COMPUTER!!! And I'm also a part of that dangerous Otaku organization... ;) :devil: :demon: Wow. See, this is what happens when you OVER-RAISE your kids like this guy obviously did. Plus, he believed that a little kid knew what was going on with the computer. *sheesh*

If you've visited my MyOtaku recently, you'll have noticed my concern over a certain corner of the internet, run by a fundamentalist Evangelical group known as Objective (I think). These people, through many articles, have slandered and degraded many religions and denominations, and have also suggested less-than-legal tactics to force their version of the "Truth" to mostly minors. For example: [url]http://objective.jesussave.us/halloween.html[/url] In this article, 'Dr.' Troy Franklin gives a tactic to "spread the word" to "unsaved" children- Take off candy wrappers, tamper with them (write on them), put them back on, and hand them out to little kids. :nervous: Last time I checked, wasn't this illegal? And these guys think that their cause is 'righteous'. They also go as far as to call other non-evangelical religions (including Christian denominations like Catholicism) "ignorant" and the like. This is hypocrisy to the max ², and I can't stand it. Then there's the part where they completely trample upon everything this country stands for in their attempt to get their own way ( [url]http://objective.jesussave.us/godlyflag.html[/url] ) And, last but not least, there's this guy: [url]http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0016/0016_01.asp[/url] Now THIS is ridiculous, offensive, and ignorant. This person's comic portrays Buddhists as oppressive, money-hoarding, all-around evil people that worship Buddha as God. This is BLATANTLY FALSE. Buddhists do not worship Buddha. AT ALL. They simply give thanks to him for showing them the path to Enlightenment. He also contradicts his own religion, because as far as I know, God is a forgiving deity, right? Then why would he send a Buddhist to hell simply for being a Buddhist? I thought he forgave those who didn't know about him... So, basically, I just want to hear everybody's opinion on these people, and the legality of some of the stuff on Objective, especially (because I doubt some of it is specifically legal). Oh, and just so you know, I'm a Buddhist/Christian hybrid, which explains my defense of both religions. (Plus, it'll give you guys something to gossip about later. ;) ) PS: If you have anything to say to these people, I suggest you do so. Although, you might not get a response. My (BUDDHIST) friend and I have sent them e-mails over the past few days, all civil, and have gotten NO responses. Extremely disappointing, yet expected.

FINALLY!!! We got him! And, cloricus, how can you not think this is a good thing? The guy's tortured his own people for decades, and he's been arrested. Can you find ONE bad aspect of this? Good luck. Oh, and Boba Fett, there's one thing I'd have to disagree with: he should be tried in an American court, in my opinion. Because, let's face it, a lot of these people are still scared of him. Then there are those who're still behind him. So, bring him here.

As you all know, I'm a [b] BIG [/b]Rurouni Kenshin fan. So, naturally, I purchased Tales of the Meiji for X-Mas. My only question is this: WHAT DID I BUY??? (I don't wanna know the plot, for obvious reasons, but just a little background info. Like; When does this take place, how many more 'Tales' are there, etc.) :worried: PLEASE NO SPOILERS.:worried:

Myself, I'd have to recommend Linkin Park: Live in Texas DVD/CD. This is the best Linkin park CD by far (at least in my opinion), mainly because this is [i] pure Linkin Park[/i] with no digital enhancements at all. The vocals are superb, and the DVD has some pretty cool scenes. (It's also got more songs than the CD). I give it a 10/10, and you should give it (or get it).

Personally, I wanna take Kendo. Unfortunately, the nearest dojo is about two-three hours away, so, no go. Hey, did anyone see Xtreme Martial Arts on Discovery Channel? My friend is going to be fighting either Mike or Matt from XMA in a Nationals cometition.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KharBevNor [/i] [B]The only way I could get my parents to stop ridiculing my liking for anime was to FORCE them to watch Grave of the Fireflies. that shut them up pretty damned quick. [/B][/QUOTE] That sounds like a good idea... ;) How'd they react? (Just curious-this might work for me, as well)

My folks consider anime to be nothing more than a cartoon for little kids; and therein lies the problem. See, here in the States (and in most other places, for that matter), if it's animated, it's considered nothing more than childish, and not even worth looking at (mostly by adults). In Japan, adults tend to look past the animation and look more at the underlying story, the drama, etc. Although I'd have to agree with the fact that some anime that kids shouldn't watch, well... they watch it anyways. And the reason is partly our fault. Again, we think that all anime is 'kiddie toons', and nothing more (for the most part- there are many exceptions, just not as much as we would like). So, we play anime right along with Dexter's Laboratory and the like. Then, when the adults actually sit down and watch the thing, they realize that it wasn't made specifically for children. Of course, by that time, the kids are hooked- a problem. Sort of. (Hey, at least they like anime now, right? :blush: ) If you ask me, anime is great (otherwise I wouldn't be here), and more people should watch it. But I do kind of agree with the previous 'Pearl Harbor' reference, in that some older adults will say to me when I tell them about Japanese anime: "If you're gonna read/watch something stupid like that, why not do it THE AMERICAN WAY, like Spider-Man or Bat-Man? Waste your time PATRIOTICALLY!". :rolleyes: Does it's origin have ANYTHING to do with the quality of the story? I think not. So, in short, the problem that people have with anime is this: they don't bother to look [i]underneath[/i] the anime cels. (Kinda crappy analogy, but work with me, people.)

I also bought it just today, and I thought that Hikaru no Go was great. I really like Hikaru's hair, and then the entire manga just got better as you read along. I'm kinda interested in Go now, but the problem is where to find a board (I'm not allowed to purchase via the internet. :bawl: ). But, that's beside the point. Hikaru no Go, despite the lack of ninjas, saiyans, or millenium puzzles, is one of the best mangas in the entire SJ repetoire.

Personally, I pretty much dislike PETA, and for one reason: in an e-mail debate I was having with them (completely civilized, no name-slinging), they called me a meat-eating gorilla. Now, I like gorillas, and I like meat. But calling me that? Not very nice... Anyways, I disagree with PETA on pretty much every level. They say that human beings evolved to eat fruits, berries, leaves, etc. ONLY. But when I asked the person (the same one who called me a gorilla) why we have the same canine teeth that all carnivorous animals do.

That's weird. I've got mine set horizontally, so the only problem I have is the eternally annoying Disc Read Error (the console equivalent to the Blue Screen of Death- I've got a comic about this, but the link's down right now...). The reason for the Disc Read Error, I think, is that I bought the first model PS2. Luckily, I believe they fixed the problem with a new model (ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE other than the fixed problem) which I'm getting for X-Mas! *sweeeet* Good luck with that tray. If it doesn't fix, just keep it horizontal.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Lady Katana [/i] [B][color=darkblue]Our school is currently [i]trying[/i] to be that strict. The backpack searches they issue when you come in have gotten a lot more serious lately. They also have a no-pass policy in effect and if you need to go to the restroom or something, you have to have an administrative escort. It's all very stupid, as none of it actually works. The only thing that does is the new "Hall Sweep" rule, where if you come tardy to 1st period, you automatically get a parent conference and if your parents don't come, you get sent to Juvenile for truancy. If you're caught skipping from 2nd-6th, you're automatically suspended for three days. They've already caught over 100 people. It's my assumption that all this is to prevent school violence and to have kids actually come to class. I can understand this to a certain extent, but its largely a big waste of time and effort. I guess that's my roundabout way of saying she wasn't exaggerating. ^^;[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Holy crap, that's strict. Juvenile?! I have one thing to say to you; Get out as fast as you can! :worried: In my school, it's not that strict, so you don't really have much to worry about. The only annoying rule applies to the Middle School (since I'm in 10th, I don't have to worry about it! :box: ) . They don't let you carry your backpacks anywhere in the middle school, except to your locker, and out the door. In the high school, backpacks are a necessity. Again, HOLY CRAP THAT'S STRICT. I wouldn't last a day in that school. (Is it, like, a military academy or something? Juvenile is just way too harsh for missing a period of school.)

Well, I've been experiencing deja-vu constantly, on more than one level. The most common is when I'm sitting in school thinking, 'didn't we do this yesterday?'. But then again, there's the other kind of deja-vu, which everyone has at least once in their lifetime. For example, one time I was just sitting on the bus, and I looked out the window at some bush/small tree/shrub. Then, deja-vu. An image flashed in my head of a man bursting out of a bush right in front of me. What was weird was that the guy had a katana in his hand. O_O Hey, maybe reincarnation is real. I, for one think it is, but hey- you never know. *X-Files Theme Song*

Unfortunately for me, I'm stuck in upstate NY, so that not only means that I don't have Japanese as a language course option, but I also know very few people who won't laugh at you/punch you when you mention anime and the like. So, in short, a Japanese fan club would have little to no chance of taking off up here. However, I've got a suggestion: on the Independent Film Channel (Channel 550 for DirecTV) they have samurai flicks on every saturday (Zatoichi, Akira Kurosawa... Toshiro Mifune RULES!), and I've noticed that it really helps with the language. You occasionally learn new words, and it helps with sentence structure. The bottom line: NY BLOWS! (Good luck with the Japanese Club)

My CD would consist of: [u]Disturbed[/u] Prayer Liberate Stupify [u]Linkin Park[/u] Any and all songs [u]P.O.D. [/u] Sleeping Awake [u]Godsmack[/u] Serenity I Stand Alone There's a whole crapload of other songs I'd want to have on there, but I don't want to be clogging up OtakuBoards... The list could go on forever! (Oh, and I can't forget the Rurouni Kenshin song 'Heart of Sword'.)

Myself, I was thinking of getting a yin-yang on one shoulder, and the sign from the Disturbed 'Prayer' CD on the other. Then, I might get a line of kanji going down my spine. Maybe an oriental dragon in a circle on my outer ankle. One thing I am definitely going to get is the kanji for water on my left hand, and the one for fire on my right.

Personally, I don't think that [spoiler]Neo is dead[/spoiler], because, as it was previously posted, Oracle and the Architect expect to see him again. Also, when we see Neo being transported by the machine platform, we see it in what I'll call [spoiler]"Blind Neo-Vision".[/spoiler] And, if you've seen the movie, you know that he sees [spoiler]people as bright light figures (well, lighter than the rest of the area).[/spoiler] When he was sitting on the platform in [spoiler]"Blind Neo-Vision",[/spoiler] he is glowing. This, to me, signifies that Neo [spoiler]lives.[/spoiler] Which is good. Other than that, all I can say has already been said; Matrix Revolutions is the best movie in the franchise, and the Matrix is the best franchise EVER. [color=darkblue]Remember to use spoiler tags, Battosai. --Manic[/color]

Note: I would have just posted this in the same thread as part 1, but I couldn't find it after ten minutes of searching. Enjoy my Matrix fanfic part 2. [i]Control Z ? Elucidation -Josh Pawlikowski Whatever lay outside his door, it knew he was there. Yamato crouched in the corner, ready to spring upon whomever came through the door. His muscles tensed as he saw the doorknob begin to turn. To his amazement, and relief, it stopped turning. Then a sense of dread set in as he wondered why it had stopped. "Yamato, don't be afraid. We're here to help you." Came a deep, grainy voice from behind the door. Yamato, while cautious, sensed something in his tone that made him feel that he wasn't lying. He began to respond, but caught himself before the words escaped his lips. "It's alright, Yamato. We aren't your enemies. We know you're probably confused, and we know you want some answers." The voice came again. "Probably?!" Yamato muttered under his breath. "I'm scared out of my mind?" "As we all were, when we first found out." Replied the voice. Yamato's eyes widened in confusion; how had the man heard him? He could barely hear himself, especially over the pounding of his pulse in his ears. "But we learned to cope, and we can help you do the same. All you have to do is trust us." Yamato's fear and apprehension were replaced by intrigue. Whoever 'we' were, they seemed to know what he was going through. "Found out what?" Yamato said, stepping away from the corner and in front of his door. The doorknob turned once again, and the door swung open. The voice belonged to a tall, bald, intimidating man dressed in a black leather trenchcoat and black pants. His skin was a pale, ghostly shade of white, making him stand out in the dark of the room. Behind him and to the left stood another man, dressed in a similar fashion, but entirely in dark gray. He was Asian, with short black hair and gray-and-black sunglasses; which was odd, considering there was no light in the room. On Yamato's left stood another person, though he could not determine any details other than more black clothes, due to the fact that all but the person's shoulder was hidden behind the wall. "Don't be afraid. Like I said, we're not here to harm you. We're here to help you," said the man closest to Yamato. "My name is? well, you can call me Bodd." The man suddenly took on an air of familiarity. In truth, he seemed almost friendly. "And my name is-" the Asian man was cut off by a ringing tone, which ended quickly. "As I was saying, my name is Henshin." He shook Yamato's hand, though he didn't really notice. He was far too stunned and confused to take all this in. "Wh-what about the other guy?" Yamato mumbled, pointing to the door. To his surprise, the figure was no longer there. "He? had to go to a meeting." The one named Henshin said with a smirk. "Never mind that. What we need to do is get you out of here. They may come back?" Bodd said, looking to the window. Yamato turned in the same direction and, to his relief, there was no one there. Henshin turned and walked out of the room, and Bodd followed suit. He stopped at the doorway, craning his neck and looking Yamato in the eye. "You'd better hurry." Yamato, even more perplexed than previously, followed the two men out of the room, down the hall, and onto his front lawn. "I know this might be a bit much to ask, but would you guys mind telling me just what is going on here?!" Yamato asked in an irritated manner. "I'm afraid it'll have to wait, Yamato. We've got company!" Henshin said as the three ran down the street. They came to a halt, and Yamato's heart leapt into his throat at what he saw. There was a group of ten men in black suits and glasses, two of which were Yamato's attackers. "Hello boys!" said one of the two attackers (O'Ryan? Shinson? Yamato wasn't sure). "Beautiful night for a stroll?" he said in a nonchalant tone. "Isn't it, though, Agent O'Ryan?" Henshin boomed, glaring at the ten men. "Agents??" Yamato said to himself. "I'll explain later," Bodd said, not taking his eyes off of the war party in front of him. "If you value your lives, I'd suggest you leave now." "They don't value anything, Bodd. You of all people should know that by now." Henshin turned to his comrade. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you?" O'Ryan said, grinning as he paced back and forth in front of his grim-faced companions. "You see, that's what I don't like about you humans. You're all so sure of yourself, arrogant, really. You think that, because you made us, you are our superiors. Soon, you'll learn your lesson." "Silence, O'Ryan! We're not here for? idle chit-chat." Said Shinson, the other prominent Agent. "I'd love to continue this interesting dialogue, but I'm afraid my partner is all business. So? goodbye." O'Ryan snapped his fingers, and the other eight Agents began to march forward. "Henshin, get him out of here!" Bodd yelled, leaping into the air and landing in front of the Asian man. "You sure you'll be all right?" "It doesn't matter, now go!" Bodd took a defensive stance as the Agents formed a circle around him. One of them stepped forward, sending a kick in Bodd's direction. It was blocked, and Bodd responded with a punch to the chest that sent the Agent hurtling over the heads of the other Agents, crashing into the wall behind them and leaving a large crater. Then, things heated up a bit. All the Agents attacked at once, assaulting the man with a barrage of punches and kicks. As gracefully as a dancer, Bodd evaded each blow with prodigious agility. One Agent planted a polished black shoe firmly in Bodd's chest; unfortunately for him, Bodd was unscathed. He grabbed the Agent's outstretched limb and with Herculean strength, swung him around and around, sending the other Agents airborne. Soon, a cloud of dust was forming in the air as bricks and mortar tumbled down upon the broken forms of the Agents, who were now too beaten to stand. "Your turn, O'Ryan." Bodd said, turning around. To his surprise, neither O'Ryan nor his partner were in the area. Bodd was furious at himself, cursing as he ran down the alleyway Yamato and Henshin had taken. Henshin's heart was in his throat as he ran down the alleyway, constantly checking behind him for pursuers. He could hear Yamato's frantic gasps for breath echoing off of the moist brick walls. "Would you?. Would you mind telling me what's going on here? Who are those guys? Why me?" Yamato asked hurriedly between breaths. Henshin slowed to a halt in front of him, and Yamato could see him tense up. "It's gonna have to wait, kid?" Henshin held his arm back, motioning for Yamato to stay out of his way. Over the man's shoulder, Yamato could see the Agent named Shinson blocking their path. Almost immediately Henshin sprang into action, leaping towards Shinson with an onslaught of shuto chops, kicks, and punches that would put even Bruce Lee to shame. Shinson dodged each and every maneuver without even moving his feet. A punch flew past his head, and the Agent responded with a blow to the ribs that sent Henshin soaring into the air. Henshin bounded off of the walls, with the Agent following suit and gaining fast. Yamato stood in amazement as a light rain soon turned into a steady downpour. As soon as the duel had begun, it went out of sight and on to the rooftops. A midair kick hit Henshin in the spine, pain shooting through his entire body as he tumbled to the hard cement of the roof. He rolled into a defensive crouch as Agent Shinson landed in front of him and sent a polished black shoe straight into Henshin's face, causing him even more pain as he landed on his back. He tasted blood in his mouth as he flipped back to his feet and sent a kick at the Agent's face. To his chagrin, it missed. Luckily, he had an ace in the rabbit hole. He performed a scissor-kick technique; he rammed his leg into Shinson's ribs and brought him to the ground. The Agent rolled backwards and leapt at Henshin, tackling him. The both of them crashed into the side of the stairwell; Henshin thought he felt his rib crack. "Why? do you want him?" Henshin asked, clutching his side as he shoved off his attacker. "That's none of your concern." The black-haired man replied. Before Henshin had time to blink, the Agent was upon him. Shinson punched with both hands at Henshin's head, attempting a finishing move. Luckily, the man ducked and kicked the Agent in the chin, sending him flying towards the edge of the building. He flipped and somersaulted in the air, landing on the very edge of the roof. Looking back as he teetered precariously on the precipice, Shinson failed to notice one important factor in his staying on the building; the steel-toed size nine shoe rocketing towards him. Henshin's attack landed with a thud, his enemy falling to the ground many stories below. He heard the impact of concrete and 'flesh', and did not need to prove his victory. Henshin hurdled over the edge of the building, landing in the alleyway below. It took a great deal of concentration to send the force of the landing back into the ground, especially due to the wounds he had sustained during his spar with Shinson. He recovered, however, and regained an upright posture. Immediately, the pride he felt in defeating an Agent vanished at what met his eyes; Agent O'Ryan descending upon an unsuspecting Yamato. And judging from the Agent's speed, there was nothing Henshin could do but watch? [/i]

Inspired by Penny Arcade, I decided to make a few comics concerning certain issues I see in life. So, I had my friend Steve post them on his site (he spruced the text up a bit), and I'm gonna have more eventually. I was just wondering what everybody thought of them. Here's the first link; [url]http://www.noyuo.com/comics/11-3-03.jpg[/url] Please reply, my ego is weak...

Yeah, I'm a fan of Disturbed. They just seem to be more intelligent than most other bands. Plus, their lyrics are more introspective than most. The same could be said for Linkin Park, Godsmack, POD, and Cold. But, to get back on topic, Disturbed is one of the greatest bands ever. I love their new CD. OOH_AH_AH_AH_AH!!!

O_O Whoa. It's not fair, James. [i]I[/i] wanted to say those things! (Although I probably wouldn't have put it as well as you, or had so much proof) I'd definitely have to agree with my new best friend James here; Going into Iraq was the right thing to do. Plain. And. Simple. I hate to reiterate here, but the comparison of Iraq as a little kid on the playground just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I don't see any kids walking around with a slingshot loaded with anthrax in their back pocket. I also fail to see how the United States are the [i]true[/i] agressors here. Yes, we did make a pre-emptive strike, and no, everybody didn't back us up. But even so, wasn't it the right thing to do, getting Saddam out of his position? Just look at the man's record, and see what I mean. (A record which James probably has memorized. ;) )

I too know perfect English, because OMG IT'S MY NATIVE LANGUAGE. I, too, know spanish, and I also am trying to teach myself Japanese because my school only offers Spanish, French, and Latin. In case you're wondering why the spotty selection; I live in Upstate NY. >_< (MAN, I wanna move to Japan)

QUOTE: Yes, Saddam has done terrible, terrible things. But don't we have people like that in America too? They just don't have the position of power that Saddam did. Yet, they still commit terrible crimes. Wouldn't it better for us to clean up our side of the street before we go on someone elses? ____________________________________________________ I'd have to disagree with you there, Karma. I will admit that there are people on or beyond Saddam's level of atrocious behavior, but there is one major difference here; they don't have as much power to do so, and they don't have that many people to do that two. (Okay, two differences). Saddam had a whole nation under his control, and if you didn't do what he wanted, you died. And if he wanted you to die, then that was that. He could use his soldiers to force people to surrender to these atrocities, or he simply lied to them to get them to accept. In the States, there aren't any political figures massing people together and then chopping off heads or mustard-gassing them. I don't mean to sound arrogant, pompous, or anything, but it just doesn't happen here. At least, not on those scales. Sure, there are your Ted Kazinskis (sp?), but that's a relatively rare tragedy. Saddam Hussein has a long track record of atrocities and misdoings. [url]http://www.navyseals.com/community/articles/article.cfm?id=1828[/url] Click and see what I mean. So, in short, I'd have to say that before we try and clean up our blacktop street, we should pave somebody else's dirt roads.