Heaven's Cloud

[color=indigo]Wow, I think your situation is pretty cut and dry. Right now the only thing you can do is ask Amy (gently) if she is considering a relationship with you or if she knows whether she wants a relationship with Jeff. Comfort her by reminding her that either way you?ll remain friends, you just don?t want to be stuck in limbo pining over what can never be. Right now it is really her time to decide what she wants to do, and you have to either await that decision or move on.[/color]

[color=indigo]So Mania just ended, here are my thoughts on the matches. I decided to grade everything on a one to five star scale, one being boring as hell and five being totally kick ***. I also thought I?d throw everything in spoilers just in case you don?t want to know the results quite yet. [spoiler] [b]Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Eddie Guerrero[/b] I think that something occurred at the beginning of this match that threw both competitors off of their game. I am not sure if Rey hurt his head on Eddie?s first arm drag take down or his new mask was bothering him and was distracting. Either way, the match seemed to slow down almost instantly. While Eddie wrestled as the ?heel? in the ring, at the end of the match both competitors shook hands and walked away. It was kind of a let down, I was hoping Eddie would get all fired up and turn into a bad guy. Anyway, the crisp, quick wrestling that both Rey and Eddie are known for just wasn?t there tonight, which made for a disappointing display. Not bad by any means, just disappointing. I?d give it two and a half stars. [b]Money in the Bag Ladder Match: winner Edge[/b] I had high hopes for this match and it delivered. The standout wrestler in this match? Shelton Benjamin. The guy was incredible and he had so many nice spots it was unbelievable: a running plancha over the top rope, a t-bone suplex on Edge off of the top of a ladder, and this incredibly sick flying clothesline while running up a ladder that was leaning at a forty five degree angle on another ladder (kinda hard to explain I guess). Another honorable mention goes to Benoit, who hit his diving head-butt off of the top of a ladder despite having a stitched up brow. The involvement of Kane was also much better than I expected, he added a nice dimension to the mix and even had a high spot of his own. This match definitely earned four stars. [b]Eugene, Hassan, Hogan altercation[/b] This was a nice bonus for viewers, and I cheesed out like the Hogan mark I am when his music hit. It is odd how much better he looks without that black scruff behind his mustache. [b]Undertaker defeated Randy Orton[/b] I thought this match was going to be a snoozer, sometimes it is nice to be wrong. Undertaker bumped for Orton, which is amazing. Both and guys went back and forth hitting some nice offense, and the match ended when Taker reversed out of a tombstone and hit a pile driver of his own. This was a solid three star match with plenty of action but nothing to really grab you and make you chant ?holy shitoli?. [b]Trish defeated Christ Hemme[/b] Meh, it wasn?t bad for what it was, a blatant eye candy fest. I am still upset that Hardy didn?t come in and plow down Christy, but I got to stare at Trish for a while. That?s always fun. I?ll give it one and a half stars, which is more than fair. [b]Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels[/b] Yeah, best match of the night. It started out with HBK taking Angle to the mat with several submission moves. Odd I know, and so did JR and King, because they mentioned it every five seconds. Anyway, there were a lot of quick exchanges and reversals before the match progressed into WWE?s main event style. Then it was high spots and hard shots galore when both men pulled out all the stops. It was a great match with Angle scoring a clean victory using the ankle lock. This match earned all five stars just because the two wrestlers could not have had a better match at this point in their careers. [b]Piper?s Pit with Austin and Carlito[/b] Boooorrrrrriiiingggg [b]Akebono defeated Big Show in a sumo match[/b] Double boring. This match was so pointless I will award it zero stars and wait for an apology from the WWE to arrive in the mail. [b]Cena defeated JBL[/b] I was hoping that John Cena would have a breakthrough performance tonight and solidify himself as not only a great entertainer, but a great wrestler. Unfortunately it didn?t happen. Cena sold for JBL the entire match and then, within a two-minute time frame, he hit his spots and won the gold. I also have no idea why he bit the title when he won? Did he think the gold was fake? Anyway, this was a two and a half star match, not bad, but not what it could have been. [b]Batista defeated Triple H[/b] Five minutes into the match I began to think Triple H would retain his belt. He was taking such a horrible beating that I figured some type of swerve would have to occur. Although the wrestling wasn?t spectacular, it was a fun match to watch and I though that having a slightly offbeat layout made it more interesting than it should have been. I?ll give it three and a half stars because it was the third best match on the card and much more enjoyable then I anticipated. [/spoiler] Final thoughts: It sucks that Paul London didn?t get his chance to shine, maybe next year. I also heard that there was a thirty-man rumble that wasn?t televised but will be on the DVD, which makes me glad that I went to a sports bar instead of shelling out fifty bucks for the ppv. It is kind of crappy that the WWE wants you to spend so much money on Wrestlemania and doesn?t even televise the full card.[/color]

[color=indigo]I don?t really watch a ton of sports. I will catch the Redskins when they are televised and I tend to watch quite a bit of college basketball (of course I listen to all of my sisters basketball games, god bless internet radio) but that is about it. I tend to watch odd things on ESPN, like the World?s Strongest Man and college wrestling or swimming, but I am not really an avid fan. I also watch a ton of pro wrestling, but I don?t think that really counts? In high school I swam and played basketball and tennis. In college I played competitive beer pong. I also played rec-league basketball, although sometimes it clashed with the competitive beer pong. For exercise now I spend a good deal of time lifting weights. I don?t lift to grow into a Herculean hunk; instead I lift for the distraction that exercise gives me from my day to day life. I?d like to get into a basketball league or play a little more tennis, however, my days of competitive beer pong seem to be over.[/color]

[QUOTE=Lalaith Ril][color=indigo] In my opinion the death penalty is something of a necessity in our society, because of the way we have structured it. In our lives we have written an eye for an eye, we believe the punishment should fit the action, and if the action is murder well then the punishment must then be punishment. [/color][/QUOTE] [color=indigo]I am by no means picking Lalaith Ril, I just want to use this statement to point out inconsistencies in America?s (my) legal system. If you are convicted of check fraud in North Carolina, no matter the amount, you will have a minimum of a one thousand dollar fee and eighty hours of community service. I know this for a fact because one of my old roommates stole my check book and wrote an $80 check in my name. While this was a jerk of a move by someone I thought was my friend, I would have just made him pay me back and maybe hit him?hard. Unfortunately I didn?t know he was the culprit until after the bank filed a police report, at which point it was out of my hands. If evaluated in a strictly monetary manner (including minimum wage compensation for the hours of community service worked) he paid almost $1500 for an $80 offence, and that is before lawyer fees are factored in. At the opposite end of the spectrum, is the death penalty a fitting punishment for someone that raped and murdered a person? It definitely isn?t an equal punishment. I guess I am in favor of abolishing the death penalty as long as it also incorporates general prison reform. Prisons have become too social, and instead of becoming a place for repentance and self reflection, it has become a school to further educate criminals in their trade. My biggest problem with the death penalty is that the system errors. When I wrote a paper on the subject in high school seventy-five people had been killed that had later been found innocent of their crimes. Sure, that isn?t a large margin of error, but it is enough to dissuade my faith in it.[/color]

[color=indigo]I can only write from the experience of having known dozens bisexuals throughout my life. I think bisexuality is more or less a phase. I?ll explain why I think the way I do. First, let?s just remove sex from the equation. Everybody has their kinks when it comes to sex and I believe that a lot of people experiment just to find out what turns them on and what turns them off. With sexual ?taboos? becoming less and less taboo as time progresses the line between homosexuality, bisexuality, and experimentation really blurs. Instead, let?s look at ?gay? and ?straight? in terms of a lifelong romantic relationship. Every bisexual that I have known has had an underlying preference as to which sex their life partner will be. Actually, every bisexual I know has ended up being homosexual. However, with homosexuality becoming almost fad-like, I am sure the opposite situation will begin to occur more often than it has in the past. Anyway, back to the point. Our society emphasizes two thoughts that can really confuse young (and not so young) people when it comes to sexual orientation. The first is the idea of a man and a woman being the basis of all relationships. From a young age the union of a man and a woman is hammered into our heads to the point where we believe that true happiness (love) lies within that relationship alone. Now say there is a boy who is gay, who is naturally attracted to men. From the time he was born he was told man and woman, man and woman, man and woman, but his heart tells him man and man, man and man, man and man. Is it any wonder that he is confused and experiments with relationships with both groups until he finds the one that best suits him? The second thought is that ?because you are different you are gay?. I think this idea, coupled with the idea that homosexuality is accepted but not really (making it almost defiant), is starting to make homosexuality fad-like. Young people that don?t quite know their place in the world want to be defiant and I think a lot of young people embrace bisexuality to be a part of a defiant, against the norm culture. Anyway, that is where my thoughts on bisexuality fall. Then again, I am just an observer perfectly confident in my heterosexuality, what do I know?[/color]

[color=indigo]Triple H vs. Batista In some respects I agree with Charles. After Randy Orton?s failed face push is the WWE ready to give the strap to someone so freshly turned? Last time they did that it blew up in their face. Right now the WWE has a pretty safe heel champion in Triple H, who can wrestle and cut pretty good promos, are they ready to pass along the championship belt to someone that may lack longevity? That being said, I think Batista gave one of the best promos that I have ever seen last night. While Randy Orton struggled to find his character and often mimicked the Rock?s old promos, Batista acts more like an ordinary person and less like a caricature. That simple line ?and two, you?re an asshole? summed up not only Batista?s feelings about Triple H, but mimed the sentiments of every wrestling fan in the world. Batista has incredible momentum and I really believe he will snag the belt from Triple H. That said, Batista has been given such a dominating push that it is going to be hard to figure out how to have him drop the belt in the future. A dominating run by Batista might end similarly to the Goldberg/taser debacle that occurred years ago in WCW. JBL vs. John Cena I have seen this exact feud before. Ted Debiase, the Million Dollar Man, vs. Hulk Hogan. Shoot, JBL even has a ?Virgil? in Orlando Jordan. That being stated, I still find this feud to be entertaining as hell. A ton of internet fans talk about how John Cena is growing stale, but I still enjoy listening to him on the mic. Sure, he isn?t as cutting or snide as he was when he was the heel, but his promos are a thousand times more entertaining than a Luther Reigns or Mark Jindrak match. My prediction is that JBL keeps the belt. I don?t think that John Cena will gain anymore popularity by taking the title at Mania and right now JBL is a fantastic heel champion. I say perpetuate the feud until Summer Slam. Trish vs. Christy Trish is going to win this one after Matt Hardy runs to the ring and plants Christy Hemme for stealing his signature finisher. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle I am pulling for the Olympic champ in this one, for no other reason than I am a huge Angle fan. This could be a great match. Randy Orton vs. Undertaker Taker is going to continue his Mania streak by planting the legend killer with a tombstone pile driver on either the steps or the entrance way. Orton needs surgery and this would explain his absence. On top of that, it would be a horrible move for the WWE to strip Undertaker of his Wrestle Mania record. Ladder Match The presence of Kane ruins this match for me. I agree that Edge will take this match, however Shelton Benjamin will steal the show. His wrestling as of late has been amazing. I really think the WWE is not using him correctly. Mysterio vs. Guerrerro I think Mysterio is going to steal this win sending Eddie off of the deep end. I think this will mark the beginning of a great 2005 feud between the two. Paul London vs. Chavo Guerrerro This match should be on the card. Not only should it be on the card it should last at least fifteen minutes. Paul London is one of the most talented wrestlers that the WWE has and he is so underutilized because of his size.[/color]

[color=indigo]I disagree. First, we should examine what the family means by responsive. Terri Shiavo has remained in a lower vegetative state for the past fifteen years. The responses that her family refers to are facial expressions, sweats, and rapid eye movements. From what I have read, these are common among nearly all coma patients. Since she suffered heart failure that led to severe brain damage she has been hooked up to feeding tubes and occasionally respirators when she was unable to breathe on her own. Michael Shiavo, as well as several of Terri?s cousins, state that she would not wish to remain alive in the condition that she is in. However, many of her other family members, including her parents, want to keep her alive in case she happens to awaken. Regardless of whether she comes to or not, her doctors all agree that her brain damage is so severe that she would remain in a vegetative state. This whole debacle is occurring because Terri did not have a written copy of what her wishes would be should this situation arise. About five years ago, when this issue was first getting media coverage, my whole family wrote down there wishes on what actions should be taken if this were to happen and put them in a safety deposit box. Personally, I would want my family to remove the feeding tubes if something similar happened to me I wouldn?t want to place such a tremendous burden on my family. Also, when I first read this story I found Michael to be quite the ?diabolical? (as Dagger put it) character. However, his wife has been in a coma for fifteen years and has little or no chance of coming out of it alive. I don?t know how wrong it is for him to have fallen in love again (he didn?t begin seeing his ?woman? until about five years ago) in love again after ten years? This whole ordeal about letting Terri die began eight years ago, so the fact that he has let the memory of his wife alive and well fade a bit doesn?t seem so heartless. I guess what I am trying to write is that both sides are just trying to do what they think is best for Terri. [/color]

[QUOTE=Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f] First, I mentioned the Qur'an was written down, [B]all of it was written down during the prophet's lifetime[/B]. The scribes memorized it and wrote it down, or the other way around. I'm sure if they just memorized it first, they would proofread what they had written with the prophet. People used cloth, tree bark, leaves and so on to write on. I'm guessing they had some sort of paper back then, but I'm not sure. But all these sheets were scattered, and they [B]were put together after the prophets death[/B]. They only existed in "book" form after he died. His death in a way was expected. In the last sermon he gave, he stated how he might not give another, which was true, becuase he died soon after. This sermon was given after the Qur'an was completely revealed. Now I know you might not believe in God, but I heard that God told him that he has completed his mission, and then Muhammad told this to the muslims. [/COLOR][/quote] [color=indigo]Historians would say that you are incorrect. In the writings Ka?b, Jabal, and Thabit, all three discuss how little of the Quran was written before Mohammed?s death. It is generally accepted by scholars that the written text of the Quran was collaborated upon by Mohammed?s followers. The fact that he prophesized so much right before his death makes it pretty improbable that the entire Quran was recorded before his death. Thabit is generally regarded as the person responsible for compiling the Quran into what it is today, piecing the majority of it together from his memory. He was asked to search out pieces of the Quran that he couldn?t remember by Bakr. Thabit was unsure about completing this task because he didn?t want to include information he was uncertain about. Anyway, this brings me back to my previous question, since the Quran was not written completely or compiled during Mohammed?s lifetime, with the exception of faith, how are you certain that the text wasn?t altered? [/color] [QUOTE=Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f]As far as the order of verses go, you can argue that the order might have changed, because in reality we're not sure. Because of my faith, I simply trust Muhammad's instructions for the order, and trust his companions to follow them. He'd say, "okay these verses are for chapter [blank]. We number our verses in today's Qur'ans, maybe they numbered them back then too. However, logically speaking, if the verses are indeed all mixed up, a chapter simply won't make sense, and as far as I've seen, the verses fit naturally with those before and after them. There is also a large amount of rhyming in the Qur'an, so when you see 20 verses all ending with the same sound, it just makes it more convincing that they belong to the same chapter. Actually, the idea that the surahs were revealed in such a mixed up order intrigues me. Don't you think a human would've been confused if a the first 5 verses were given, and then maybe two or three years later the rest of the verses were given? Wow, muhammad must have been the ultimate gunius to have accomplished this "scam". [/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=indigo]I disagree, especially if you take into account the abrogated verses. However, I will not harp on points because I don?t want a speculative versus faith based debate where nothing is accomplished. It isn't fair for me to say "what if the abrogated verse was intended in a different area of the Quran" because it is such a "what if" argument that I really don't feel strong enough about to push. I definitely reccomend that you investigate them for yourself though, they are quite interesting. [/color]

[COLOR=INDIGO]I think you are being far too defensive. I also think you are spending way too much time focusing on an argument of nit-picking with Siren over a pointless matter of linguistics. Anyway, I have no desire to trade snide remarks about whether or not a translation changes a text, nor do I have any further interest on pushing my previous statement that you cannot prove that the Quran is the word of God because you cannot prove that God exists with the exception of his validation is the Quran. That type of cyclical arguing gets too old to fast. Instead, I would like to read your responses on my previous post and some points that I intend to bring up in this post. As I have written before, I am not trying to change your beliefs; I just want to see how someone well read in Islamic ideology responds to questions that have been raised by historians and theologians. In several earlier posts you have stated that regardless of the linguistic issues, there is an original Quran, written in Arabic that was directly dictated by God through the prophet Mohammed. However, Surah 25.32 states ?We have rehearsed it to you in slow, gradual stages.? This remark is made because the Quran was not written all at once. Mohammed preached various aspects of the Quran over the final twenty-three years of his life. The teachings were later compiled by his followers and scribes. The surahs are not presented in chronological order, nor are they presented in the Quran in an order dictated by Mohammed. As I stated earlier, though I haven?t dedicated an abundance of time to the Quran, I have read and studied it a bit. It seems to me that if the passages were written in a different order some passages could be interpreted differently. What are your thoughts on this? It is known that the Quran was not written down until after Mohammed?s death because Mohammed and his followers put great stock in memorization. I guess the point I am getting at is that, much like the bible, the Quran is the teachings of a prophet as written by his disciples. Furthermore, it is known that Mohammed prophesized quite a bit immediately before his unexpected death. Since these prophecies were sudden do you think it is possible that his followers omitted some because they couldn?t be committed to memory? [/COLOR]

[color=indigo]I cannot believe that this thread is still active. Anyway, as far as the Quran remaining unmodified, I wonder, Chabichou, what you make of possible omitted texts and Mohammed?s abrogated verses? In Bukhari there are several statements where Abu Bakr writes that during the Quran?s compilation verses were revealed to be false by Allah and there by omitted. This was due to the fact that much of the Quran, especially during Mohammed?s latter years, were written on palm leaves. I would also like to touch on the abrogated verses in the Quran. Just a little side note for those who are not familiar with pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was a god with three daughters, al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat. The following segments are all from the tale commonly known in story book form as [b]The Flimsy Idols[/b]. Sura 53:19-20 states ?Have ye thought upon (about, of?[i]there is a brief description of what Siren meant when he said translating texts infallibly alter a document, three sources, three translations of one word[/i]) al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?? In every Quran today the following is (in some translation or another) written ?Are yours the males and his the females? That indeed were an unfair division.? This more or less helps to show that the three daughters were of flesh and not children of the true God, Allah. However, several early Muslim biographers wrote of the Mohammed?s original verse, one that was later replaced by Mohammed himself who stated he was overcome by Satan?s tongue. The verse was: ?These are the exalted cranes whose intercession is to be hoped for.? During Mohammed?s time in Arabia cranes were thought of as divine hosts and spiritual intermediaries. Therefore the line would symbolize that Allah did indeed have three daughters and they were his divine hosts. There were also four more similar verses that were accounted for in the Quran and later omitted and abrogated. Wakidi, al-Tabari, Ishaq all wrote about these abrogated verses and all are well respected early Muslim biographers. Personally, I don?t think the abrogated verses change the overall message of the Quran, but I also don?t think that the altered versions of the bibles change its overall meaning. Having read both texts (actually I took extremely boring history classes on both) I am under the assumption that the Quran was altered so it didn?t mimic some of the times and areas ?mythology? while the bible was altered more for the church?s own political gain. [/color]

[color=indigo]I enjoy Beck, although I cannot say that he cracks my top five at the moment, I have been looking forward to Guero for a little while now. Most of the reviews I have read are favorable though I don?t ever recall reading an unfavorable review of Beck?s work. From what I understand the album is supposed to be a bit more upbeat than Sea Change, which is pretty cool. Sea Change was a great album but I think Beck is at his best when he is a bit more funky. Anyway, I?ll have to pull out Mutations and give it a listen or two just to get into a Beck frame of mind before the album is released.[/color] Edit: Mutations is a much better album than Odelay...well, at least in my opinion it is, but hey, what is my opinion worth ($6.50, it was a rhetorical question).

[QUOTE=Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f]Well, obviously many people accused Muhammad of simply being very good with words. However, the beauty of the Quran is only [B]one[/B] of the many pieces of evidence that proves it's the word of God. I also stated how Muhammad knew of historical facts that no one in his region would know simply because they have never heard it. The Arabs didn't know a thing about all the prophets that came after Isaac. They had no access to books or people who did know of these prophets. Muhammad hadn't travelled out of Arabia either. In addition, what about all the references in the Quran to nature? There are many vivid and detailed discriptions of nature and the way things work, which all agree with modern science! Here are several examples: [/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=indigo]It doesn?t matter, Christians traveled the entire world over during that time spreading ideology, and Mohammad could have easily picked up the history from any number of places. Take, for example the tale of Noah and the tale of Gilgamesh. Both are similar stories written at approximately the same time, yet the probability that the Earth was completely flooded during mankind?s (and I am not referring to the legendary Mick Foley) existence is pretty much nil. It is cool that your unwavering faith has allowed you to interpret Mohammad?s words to mesh with modern science. However, what you are doing is no more relevant than a Christian sighting historical references that fit ?Revelations? or people believing Nostrodamos to be psychic. In the end you cannot definitively prove the Quran is the word of God because, to do that, you would have to be able to prove that God exists.[/color]

[color=indigo]I?d say that you really haven?t proven anything except that Mohammed was a cunning linguist. Your first error is that you cannot prove that God exists. All of your rhetoric lies in the assumption that the reader has a certain amount of spiritual faith and believes in the Old Testament or the Torah. Your second error is assuming that because a man displayed an unusual aptitude for speaking an excellent memory and a penchant for telling tales that he was God?s prophet. Nothing that you wrote is even close to being definitively convincing. I am by no means stating that Mohammed wasn?t God?s Prophet or that the Quran is not the word of God. I am just stating that, as entertaining and informative as your post is, you really don?t provide evidence proving your point.[/color]

[color=indigo]I know that I will be missing a ton of favorable covers, but here are a few that I can recall off of the top of my head. Pearl Jam covering The Door?s [b]Break On Through[/b]--There is a version out there featuring Ray Manzarek on the keyboard. It is phenomenal, and I really think that Eddie Vedder does a great job miming Morrison?s rebellious yet broken vocal inflection. It is definitely more of a tribute than an original take on a song. Stone Temple Pilots covering Def Leppard?s [b]Pour Some Sugar on Me[/b]?This was just a fun acoustic cover of Def Leppard?s ?classic? (obviously speculative, lol) power song. I believe it was first performed on STP?s Unplugged, an odd song to choose considering how popular depressing grunge ballads were at the time. Jimi Hendrix covering Bob Dylan?s [b]All Along the Watch Tower[/b]?Dylan once said that he should never have performed the song, instead he should have just given the lyric to Jimi. Is that a compliment or what? Nirvana covering David Bowie?s [b]The Man Who Sold the World[/b]?This was just such a fitting cover for Nirvana considering Cobain?s musical and social outlook. Plus, every good artist should cover a Bowie song once just to pay homage to the man. Puff Daddy sampling Led Zeppelin?s [b]Kashmir[/b]?Yeah, I am being sarcastic. Jimmy Page, are really that hard up for cash? I?ll add some more soon.[/color]

[color=indigo]Maybe it is just me, but this seems like a very broad question. Everyday the average person takes countless risks, after all, driving over the speed limit (driving period for that matter) is a risk. Just about any risk has the potential to be drastically life altering. Obviously we only focus on those risks that had large, visible consequences or large, visible payoffs. I guess what I am trying to hint at is that there are no risks, only decisions. Every decision you make effects every subsequent decision you make. Realistically, however, I view certain decisions to be risky, though I have found it is usually much more hazardous to postpone making a decision because of the potential ?risk? involved. [/color]

[color=indigo]My opinion isn?t all that far off the majority in that I doubt that either theories fit the bill. The good thing is that when a person dies they either move on to an afterlife where these mysteries are uncovered or they become a mound of rotting flesh and are privy to that particular type of apathy things that no longer exist have. [/COLOR]

[color=indigo]There is a lot of inaccurate information about Ninja and their typical purpose. More often then not (obviously there are exceptions to every rule) a ninja were orphans and runaways scoured from the eta and peasant farmer classes. Ninja clans specialized in forms of warfare that were often considered taboo by the samurai class, including poisons, bombs, and firearms. Because small groups of ninja often had to infiltrate large, well guarded castles and homes stealth was also an important factor in their training. There are tales of ninja being trained to crouch in one position for days at a time and using items like smoke bombs to disorient their targets. A ninja?s life training was usually for one mission and was not he/she was not expected to return from it alive. I am by no means stating that all ninja died during or immediately after their objective, it is simply thought that ninja were usually overwhelmed by samurai and guards immediately after or during their mission and they were slaughtered by the overwhelming force. Trying to figure out which group (samurai or ninja) was deadlier on an individual basis is pretty pointless. Considering both are trained in the art of war at a young age it would really just depend on their natural talent for fighting. On a large scale the samurai would have to be considered the more deadly of the two because there were so many more of them. As I stated in a similar thread years ago, I don?t find the lives of either group very appealing. It would be much better to live the life of a begging shugyosha (the equivalent of a wondering ronin or samurai hobo a.k.a student of the sword) then be a bloodied pawn for a superior.[/color]

[color=indigo]I never played any of the above games mentioned, although rolling across a busy interstate seems more suicidal then stupid. Even a stupid person knows not to roll across the freaking interstate. The dumbest game I ever played was Renegade for NES, man was that game horrible. The most dangerous game that my friends and I frequented was drunk wrestling. We would come back to the dorms late at night and have these huge WWE like wrestling matches. We would jump off of things and suplex each other and throw on locks and holds. There were broken bones and bloodied knees and general bruises and aches for weeks. The campus police were so worried about getting involved that all of the guys in my dorm had to attend a special meeting where a councilor came and told us that we would be kicked out if it continued. It was a good thing it was put to a halt. During one instance I took a power bomb off the top of a bunk bed and my lower back landed across the wooden backing a dorm couch. My entire back was purple for a week and I was lucky I wasn?t hurt really badly. Granted, I haven?t learned my lesson entirely because my friends and I still do occasionally have wrestling matches.[/color]

[color=indigo]Thoughts on my self image tend to vary day to day. Realistically I have a healthy (though slightly vain) view of myself. I know I am a good looking guy in that ?boy next door? type of way, and I workout quite a bit so I am always pretty healthy and fit looking. There are times when I wish my abs were more defined or my chest was bigger or my hair looked different, but nothing that I couldn?t work on or change if I really wanted to. My self doubt stems from my unrealistic views about how I want to look. I guess I watch too much pro wrestling because I often get it into my head that I should look more like a monstrous 6?4? brute whose muscular structure was carved out of granite. All of my disappointment comes from an image that I couldn?t possibly create. I actually find it fortunate that I compare myself to such an impossible measuring stick though. It makes it easy for me to think to myself ?hey, it is impossible to look that way so why worry about it, focus on the positive, your shoulders fit between a bathroom partition?. [/color]

[color=indigo]I have mixed opinions on this topic. On one hand I find it ridiculous for a person to put up a façade just to impress other people. On the other hand, can you really ?front?? Doesn?t acting like something you aren?t make you something else entirely, banishing the whole mythos of ?posing?? For example, John is a country music buff. However, a lot of John?s friends all dress in hip-hop inspired clothes, jerseys, baggies, the works. John likes the style of clothing, he likes the way it looks, so he adopts it as his own. At this point he isn?t a poser, he is just a guy wearing his preferred style of fashion and listening to his preferred style of music, nothing could be further from ?fronting?. However, his friends talk about hip-hop music all of the time, and because he now fits that image he is often included in the conversations. At first John doesn?t know a thing about hip-hop, but when his friends ask his opinions on the genre he nods and agrees that certain guys suck and certain guys are good, although he always feels and seems awkward when doing it. A bit of a façade is built. However, he gets a spark of interest in the genre and explores it, gradually discovering his own interests and disinterests. He becomes his own person, and the façade ends up growing strong and becoming a foundation for his new characteristics. I guess what I am getting at is there is such an emphasis on posers, on people?s fashion sense matching their music sense matching their personality. However, it seems that the only people that are concerned with these posers are people that fall into cookie cutter generic stereotypes. I think they worry that their lives will be less valid if they are not part of a distinct, organized herd arranged with some semblance of hierarchy. Oh yeah, to answer one of the initial questions, I front all of the time. I pretend to be an intelligent eclectic masculine yet fashionable arrogant guy. In reality I am only a sort of intelligent mostly eclectic testosterone driven more disheveled than fashionable vain guy. [/color]

[color=indigo]The first movie I was ever taken to was [b]Return of the Jedi[/b] and my parents tell me that I fell asleep half way through the flick. The first movie I remember seeing in the movie theater was [b]Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade[/b]. I am sure I had gone to a dozen movies between the ages of three and nine but I clearly remember going to my buddies birthday party and watching this movie. At nine, Indiana Jones was our hero, we must have watched the previous two movies dozens of times and I am sure we all had nightmares about the climactic scene in [b]Raiders of the Lost Arc[/b]. [/color]

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3] Rush are amazing. I think a lot of people brush them off because of the vocals. I know a lot of people who just find them annoying and that's the end of it... personally I don't mind them. Writing is excellent, as is the music itself. They have a pretty large amount of albums that I think are great and only a handful of average ones, really. [/QUOTE] [color=indigo]I have written it before, I cannot listen to Rush. Sure, their lyrics were well thought and, as far as musicality goes, they had incredible instrumentals. However, I think I would rather take a power drill to my noggin than listen to Getty Lee?s (didn?t know that was the singers name until I read the above post) voice. My ears just find it far to offensive. I guess it just proves that sometimes a person just doesn?t like a band, regardless of their attributes. I am a big fan of most of the bands already mentioned (though I am not terribly fond of Judas Priest, Motor Head, or The Alan Parson?s Project, and I can honestly say I have never listened (or at least recall listening) to Echo and the Bunnymen before) so I?ll skip over them and mention a few other bands that I really enjoy. First, The Band. It is odd that The Band isn?t played more on classic rock stations. From the late sixties to early seventies they were one of the most popular bands in the world, almost achieving similar success to that of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Like so many people that enjoy The Band, I was introduced to them through the Martin Scorsese?s [I]The Last Waltz[/I]. I grew fond of The Band due to the film, but I fell in love with their music because it is so damn good. I have always been a fan of The Allman Brother?s Band, and I think that at their prime they were the best mainstream jam band ever. Unfortunately the untimely death of Duane Allman and the on again off again commitments of Dicky Betts and Chuck Leavell hampered the band from writing the best possible songs they could have. Still they are quite awesome and I always wished the Duane had lived long enough to play with Chuck Leavell, if you are familiar with either of these two phenomenal musicians styles you will understand why.[/color]

[color=indigo]Once upon a time I had a desire to collect vinyl, but it kind of just faded away. I have a ton of records, although, like the vast majority of you stated, many of them were my parents (or aunts and uncles, shoot I have some great jazz albums from my grandparents). For awhile I bought records quite frequently, rarely sticking to any one genre. However, I realized that I didn?t really listen to my record player enough to justify all of these purchases so I decided to halt my habit. Every now and then (especially when I go through phases of listening to Rap and Hip Hop) the urge to buy vinyl creeps up on me, but I just can justify the cost?unless I see them for really cheap t a yard sale or something. Then it is kind of justifiable.[/color]

[color=indigo]Yeah, the [b]best[/b] way to tell a guy that you don?t want to date them is to simply say ?I?m sorry, I?m not interested in dating you?. However, I have asked out quite a few girls, and I have been turned down by roughly half (maybe a little over half) of them, yet I can count on one hand how many of them just replied with a ?no thanks?. The problem with saying things like ?I?d love to but?? is that you really build false hope for the guy. I know that I asked out this one girl in high school three or four times and she kept turning me down by saying things like ?If I wasn?t dating so and so?? or ?I just don?t want to date [i]anyone[/i] right now??. I probably wouldn?t have wasted so much time doting on her if she had just said ?no thanks?, although we did end up dating for a little while, so I guess my perseverance wasn?t all a waste (even though I have a feeling she asked me out because I had pretty much given up on her and wasn?t paying her any attention). [/color]

[color=indigo]Yes, do be careful when handling those strays. At the very least handle them with Spartan gloves. Anyway, I got a nice laugh out of that one. [/Color]