AzureWolf

[QUOTE=Kendoka_wannabe]lets see.... the whole "sensei first name" thing That is americanization I heard somebody say they took "American Karate" What do you call that? I'm not talking about the martial arts themselves. I'm talking about the way they're taught. If I ever called Okawara Sensei "Sensei Tom" he might just expel me from the dojo. I'm not talking about the evolution of martial arts.[/QUOTE][COLOR=maroon]Is it all about the whole first name thing? And as scary as it is, some people do have "Pete" as their last name. I mean, it's unlikely, but hey, don't count out the possibility. Also, if you really want to nitpick that badly about something I consider trivial (hey, maybe it's not: maybe the last name tradition has some deep, spiritual meaning I'm missing), then you should realize that Japanese people have their last/family/sur name first. Also, unlike here, people in Japan are referred to by their family name unless further distinction is required, so the last name in Japan is as casual a name as a given name here. You can "Americanize" that two ways: you can either figure the family name is important and say "Sensei LASTNAME" or you can figure that it is just the first name in the person's full name that matters, so when an American tries to keep the tradition of "Sensei FIRSTNAME" he'll use his given name and not his family name. See the conundrum? Flip your name or flip what is said in Japanese? You're going to get people complaining one way or the other. They should just change their names into Japanese names completely and that'll solve things, haha.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Kendoka_wannabe']Hopefully someday there will be no more Fraudulent Dojo's mocking centuries of tradition by Americanizing Japanese Martial arts.[/quote][COLOR=maroon]I would just like to comment on this part of your complaint, about "Americanizing" Japanese MA. There's no such thing. It's true that, ever since Japan came out of its closet life, MA has been splitting and changing. However, Japan isn't unique in this sense: you can see in Chinese MA and even Korean MA (which is fairly new) that there are "traditional" and "modern/contemporary" branches. Breaking them further, you'll see "practical" and "performance" styles. This is in response to the actual use of MA. To use an example, when Japan went to war and attempted traditional Iaido on its foreign rivals, they discovered to their surprise that the opponent won't wait for them to "properly" rise before they attacked. In regards to something you should be familiar with, as cool, hard, and impressive as it is to kick high, it really is not practical to do so in a real fight. Look at Vish Tsun (sp?, sounds like "Wing Chun"): not a single high kick is taught. I like the changes that have come about in all MA. Why? Because by universalizing things, you find out what truly is the right path to defeat someone, and even the right path to impress someone, lol. Out of this, we have gotten seriously outrageous styles, such as Krav Magrav (sp?) and the other side of the spectrum which I can't think of.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Sara][color=#b0000b][size=1]Successful ninjas need to be stealthy, and stealth typically does not lend itself to fame. This is why the ninja-crowd is so screwed trying to find cool, successful ninjas--if someone is a successful ninja, [i]no one knows about it[/i]. That's the mark of success.[/size'][/color][/quote] [COLOR=maroon]Actually, if one actually tries to look at the story instead of the breasts in Dead of Alive, the ninja world there, although hidden from everyone else, is pretty public between clans, such as missing ninjas, famous ninjas, ninjas you shouldn't really #### with if you want to live tomorrow, and even trying to kill the messenger (as well as the one you are sending the message to!). So yeah, although a closed circle, all the information about ninjas is easily accessible to ninjas. I'm not joking, check out DOA and you'll see! And I although I still haven't come up with anything better yet, I have something of a little better note, Sara: Ryu can do a really awesome backflip! [i]OFF A WALL! OFF AN EFFIN' WALL![/i] Take that![/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]Oh wow, that's really quite clever, and surprisingly enough, I DO have dill! I was wondering, does the easy and fun foods have to be healthy in any sort of way? If not, then sinfully I've got a great mix of of [b]ice cream and pocky "chop" sticks[/b] fits the bill. Make sure the ice cream is fairly solid, not too solid, but just the right consistency. Also, try to make the flavor of your pocky sticks contrast with that of the ice cream. So if you go for vanilla ice cream, grab chocolate covered pocky sticks, and vice versa. Anyway, the name of the dish is pretty self-explanatory, but it's surprisingly good.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]People call them graphic novels to increase the appeal, sound more sophisticated than they are, and put them on par with the reading novels they aren't worthy of being on the same shelf with. But really, how good are they? Now I'm not bashing manga, as I love it as the next person. However, as I read more and more, I'm beginning to realize that in terms of quality, there's just something about the nature of mangas that keep them from being ever as good as a quality book. The level of immersion is just so poor in manga as compared to that of a book. I guess it might be because of the focus: in a book, you are focused on one word/line at a time, whereas in a manga, you are forced to distribute your focus. Now in terms of story quality, I would say both novels and graphic novels are amazing. It's just the surprising feeling of limitation I've been experiencing with manga that has made me consider that maybe it's not the best storytelling method around. Thoughts?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]It's a trick question everyone. See, you have to think outside the box! What I would do is look for one of the many plotholes existent in FMA, and from there find a way to bring the person back (provided they died before their time - if that's possible) without losing a penny, nevermind a body part. Spoiler sidenote: [SPOILER]Hehe, Scar's brother lost his wang, hehe...[/SPOILER][/COLOR]

[quote name='hentai#1']mines pretty simpple since I'm content with everything else at the moment, but I do want the naruto fillers to stop sooner rather than waiting till october.[/quote][COLOR=maroon]Whoa, hold the phone. They are STILL going at the fillers?! Dang, it must be almost a year now since I've seen a Naruto episode... That's crazy. As for me, I want things delivered through Canada from the US faster. For God's sake, my violin does NOT contain a bomb in it... It's been at customs for at least a week now. What the hell are they doing with it?[/COLOR]

[color=maroon]I was showing my friend theOtaku and when we went there, the page was all a mess. We realized it was because he uses Opera. I tried it out on my computer too to make sure it wasn't just him, and sure enough, Opera can't seem to show theOtaku correctly. Thought you should know...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]Believe it or not (no pun intended), there's actually an entire website dedicated to these cute stories: [url=http://www.iusedtobelieve.com/]I Used to Believe[/url] Some stories are creative, some are universally common, some are just down right wtf-ish, heh.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]In my opinion and experience with college peeps I hang out with, people deal with depression in different ways. Most people seem to get out the depression the fastest and the best being around others, talking it out, or just slumming about together. Others, however, get out of depression better themselves, by being alone, giving them a chance to clear their mind, and soring things out. For me, it depends on the type of depression, but be in the company of my friends helps the most.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]HIV is the virus' name, AIDS is the disease that arises when the virus successful frags all your CD4 T-cells (most of which are helper T-cells, which recruit the rest of the immune system via cytokines). Anyway, I wanted to tell you that although I'm no scientist, I strongly feel that a cure is on the horizon (by horizon, I mean tens of years - 10, 20, 30, etc.). There are people who are immune to HIV, apparently descendants of those who had the bubonic plague and survived. They have messed up CD4 receptors. HIV uses correct CD4 receptors to target and enter T-cells. Messed up CD4 receptors mean that the HIV can't enter and infect. Mark my words: the answer is in stem cells. Although hindered, more and more stem cell research is being done. It's only a matter of time before we take down this juggernaut of a epidemic.[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Retribution][size=1]It doesn't matter what the rest of the population is doing. Just because other people wouldn't tolerate the difference doesn't mean that it's alright to shun those different from you. No, statistics don't matter when you're talking about acceptance of the difference. Sure, everyone knows that there are homosexuals, and the entire point is that it doesn't matter whether it's a choice or biological. The point is that despite [i]how[/i] a person became homosexual, [i]they are homosexual and you must accept that.[/i] I'm just trying to say that it doesn't matter if I have a sixth digit or if I'm 600 pounds overweight. What matters is that you accept that there is a difference between us and regard me as equal to you.[/size][/QUOTE][COLOR=maroon]I never said anything about shunning people who are different. I only talked about categorizing things as either "wrong" or "just different." How do you know if something is "wrong" versus simply "different?" That's usually a matter of "what's the norm." That was my point. If half the population had a sixth finger, it would be seen as different. If only one person did, you cannot help but admit that it would be seen as "something is wrong." Accepting a difference is very hard if you know nothing about it. Despite how a person became overweight - choice or biological - they are overweight. Very true, and I do accept that fact. I also accept the fact that it's NOT ok to be fat. How they became fat, what it means to be fat, etc. will create my basis for judging the trait in question. If I ever do see a 600+ person, I will think, "he should lose weight because being fat is not good for him." I'm not going to point and say "fatty fat fat" or anything, haha. No shunning! So yes, it means they need to lose weight, because there is something "off" about them. That's what my analogy entails. Yes, I'm saying exactly what it sounds like: there could be something wrong with someone who is homosexual. I know it's a scary thought, but the truth isn't always the nicest thing. The more we discover, we will either find homosexuality as just different, or we may find that it is just plain wrong (which I think is the big scare factor and why people vehemently demand that scientists stop looking to explain/research homosexuality and simply remain ignorant - it is bliss, afterall). And I honestly don't see how a person with a sixth digit or 600 pounds more than me could ever be regarded as my equal. They are granted all the same rights and opportunities, yes, but they are NOT my equal. Sure, I could [i]pretend[/i] they are my equal, that the sixth digit doesn't interfere with the person's functioning in - say - writing, or that the fat person won't have an increased risk for cancer and suffers from sleep apnea, and maybe that'll take care of their emotional trauma, but that's simply not true, and you can see what problems that will bring about. I think, while hard to swallow, the truth works better in almost every situation, and when someone can confront that thing that is wrong with them, everyone, especially that individual in society, benefits. They aren't equal: they are different. They have equal rights, but are still different. This is why it's so important to realize differences: to become tolerant, not blind.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]Yeah, what Dagger said, btw. I'm not saying the statistic is flat-out wrong, but don't balance any other assertions on it is all. It's fine to tell, but don't flag it as proof of anything. [quote name='Sandy']My last point was that the percentage doesn't really matter. Even if homosexuals were only 0,00001% of the population, that still doesn't allow anybody to discriminate us.[/quote]I'm willing to accept that, but why call me on it? Why not call the person who first mentioned the percentage? Is it because I made a point to disprove a false statistic that supported homosexuality? The fact that you didn't say anything when someone brought out the statistic in support of homosexuality, but then said it's pointless in the first place when it's disproven... I don't know, I strongly feel you should be telling the person who brought it up and not me. =( Secondly, statistics [B]are[/B] important. If there was only one person who was gay, that'd be considered an anomaly, and easily considered wrong. Think about it: when only one person is different from EVERYONE else, would you honestly (HONESTLY) say he's just different and not consider that there's something wrong with him? To illustrate, if one person had a sixth digit on his finger and made him do things differently (or, if I phrase it otherwise, incorrectly), then would you call it a deformity or an adaptation (or something else entirely)? If a person is 600 pounds overweight, would you say he's perfectly normal? Overweight is a term that only works if you have a reference, which is a NORMAL weight. We now know that a good percentage of people overweight are overweight due to heredity, and so people are more accepting of that. And even if you personally would tolerate, think about the rest of the population: would they? I'm betting that's a big no. We need to know the norm in order to understand the norm, its deviations, and why those deviations occur. Staying ignorant of matters like this doesn't increase tolerance, it hinders it.[quote name='Lunox']I have no idea why a physical trauma such as a nuclear bomb or flood or earthquake would make people gay, but when I was talking about homosexuality rising from traumatic experiences, I was leaning more towards like... guys who didn't have a strong father figure or something.[/quote] A lack of a father figure doesn't seem to affect children much. Hell, it seems like there is no effect on children whatsoever (in regards to sexual orientation, of course). If you want an explanation, no one knows for sure, but Freud posits it as the fact that the child will project the father figure onto the closest male figure in the child's life, and so you have the whole Oedipus Complex and Castration Anxiety happening anyway, and on to a normal, heterosexual male. Freud attributed sexual orientation to events much earlier in life (yes, he believed it was environmental, not biological), and so the type of trauma we're talking about wouldn't affect the child's sexual orientation (once again, according to Freud, not me).[quote name='Lunox']Also, there have been some sort of study that claimed that approximately 60% of the population was bisexual to a certain degree, but most people are 'straight' due to societal ideas and standards. I guess this can tie back to Ancient Greece's ideas of beauty in both genders, although it would be a loose tie to point out. I actually don't know what to think of this, other than the fact that I can find plenty members of both genders to be beautiful, but I label myself as straight.[/quote] O_o Lunox, you talk about the hardest effin' stuff... *scratches head* There's a lot of ways to address this I guess. I'll just toss a bunch of stuff out there and hopefully something will stick and address your comment. XD Bisexuality... that's a toughie. Physiologically, there's support for this orientation arising in gay people (and ONLY gay people) affected by society. There's a pair of nuclei in the hypothalamus, referred to in psychology and neuroscience as "the sexually dimorphic nuclei," which is simply a fancy way of saying "nuclei that have two possible forms based on your sexual orientation." Straight women have one form, straight men have the other. Homosexual men - that's right - have the same form as straight women. Bisexual men? Currently [B]without exception[/B], have the form of straight women (i.e., they are physiologically gay men). Bisexual women? I don't know. However, if it's the same as straight women, that would raise a whole slew of questions and ideas about sexuality and sexual orientation. If it is the same as straight women's, then that could mean the form females have is simply more ambivalent. [i]Just on the aside, as you can see, nothing on this matter is solid at all. Expect more fluff and philosophical BS than any definitive, hard science, because that's really all either side has at the moment.[/i] I think it was Freud who said that bisexuals are sexually active people - straight or gay - who just have an excess of libido and so it "overflows" onto the other gender. They are 100% straight or gay, but they have so much sexual energy that they think they are attracted to the other sex. Bisexuals usually do prefer one gender, so there's that to consider. *shrugs* But the point of me telling you about Freud is that there are many prevailing theories, and no one has the right theory pegged. Some people see sexual orientation as a spectrum, a gradient, where everyone is somewhere in the middle, never in the extremes; while others see it as distinct, one or the other, not both (like my man Freud). Was I anywhere in the ballpark with what you were talking about? [quote name='Lunox']And I was thinking back to why homophobia started mostly when Christianity spread all throughout western Europe. Was it simply because the monotheistic leaders wanted to eradicate all practices exclusive to polythesitic views? Since gay sex in ancient history is often linked to religious practices in polytheistic religions, I guess the theory could work... *shrug* This would also tie into how homophobia in cultures that accepted gay sex grew only after encounters with Europeans and western society. [/quote] O_o ... ... Bloody hell. See, it's times like these that make me regret not caring about any of my history classes, haha. This is PURE, unadulterated speculation, but aside from what Dagger talked about in regards to the difference between love of another man and love of a woman during Greek times (which were considered different levels and for different reasons - not even the same kind of love), wouldn't it be safe to say that European cultures and possibly other cultures around the world shunned homosexuality? I mean, I know old societies where homosexuality was allowed, praised, or simply tolerated have been put on the spotlight since this issue has been getting bigger, but I'm rather confident in believing that more cultures did not accept homosexuality than what the media would have you believe. But again, I have no clue. [B]My take-home message to anyone who doesn't want to rummage through all my bantering: no one knows anything for sure. Anyone who says "it's biological" is blindly accepting something that hasn't even been proven. Anyone who says "it's choice" is also going on faith. Whether it's right or wrong, that's worth discussing, but be careful not to fall for fake "scientific" data![/b][/COLOR]

[quote name='Dagger']Secondly, I don't think your question can ever be answered (unless we get a couple of genius statisticians to go back through time, and even then there'd be problems). But it's worth noting that going by what James said, cultural values or what's deemed societally acceptable shouldn't have an affect on the actual percentage. What they would affect is the number of people who come out to others or even understand that they're gay.[/quote] [COLOR=maroon]I'm not arguing with anything you said, but I just would like to emphasize that [B]this assertion is only true if we ASSUME homosexuality to be 100% biological with no environmental factors affecting it[/B], which is far from being totally proven. In fact, research and other studies have been pushing towards the opposite. I'm not sure if Lunox is talking about the same statistical study, but when there was a big traumatic incident (was it the nuclear bomb? flood? earthquake? I can't remember), the frequency of gay people increased notably. That is to say, most women who were pregnant and had this strong emotional shock gave birth to homosexuals. Remember, we're talking about sexual orientation, not gender identity - people tend to confuse the two and believe that if there's support for one being nature/nurture, it supports the other as nature/nurture. NO. A big NO. ^^; While there isn't anything proven, it's just been shown time and time again that there's a greater likelihood of a person being gay if their mother had some trauma while pregnant. Person-to-person interviews asking mothers of gay people more than not give light to emotionally unstable shocks, such as abusive husband, husband leaving, robbery at gunpoint, etc. However, [B]this does not mean all gay people arise from a shocking incident their moms experienced[/B]. In fact, interviews are very questionable, because it could very well be the way you ask the questions. "Did you have anything emotionally disturbing that could have made your child gay?" "Why yes, yes I did now that I think about it." (INSERT FABRICATION HERE) Also, a control group, where mothers of straight people were interviewed, has not been done, so they could too more often than not have trauma during pregnancy, making the point moot. I'm not going to elaborate on the other point, because either somewhere in this thread or another one, someone's done it before. Anyway, the environment of hormones prenatally seems to have greater say than genetics, but again, that's recent studies, which haven't undergone great scrutiny yet. Also, I'm not sure who started the "10% in all populations are gay" claim, but that's so bogus it's not even funny. It's just as ludicrous as the "100% of guys masturbate" claim. Ask yourself: how could we determine this if people don't admit it? So we obviously can't ask, because some people won't tell. How else can we do it? Genetics? Nope, because there's nothing 100% known about what genes do in terms of sexuality. Now, expand this "study" to other parts of the world where it'd be even harder to "experiment." XD So really, it's a speculation with no real basis! Before embracing any "scientific fact," ask yourself the "science" behind it, and you'll realize how little science really knows, and how much of it is just the religion of science people blindly follow.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]I'm surprised that they would discuss alcoholism in an AP psychology course, but hey, I'm no expert. I just think alcoholism doesn't give you any real insight because it's really simple (RELATIVELY really simple). Anyway, they aren't socially acceptable because that's why they are considered to have an illness. That's not to say they shouldn't be shunned, but they do need help, whether they help themselves, others do, or even drugs, some form of correctiveness is required. I don't know how that question can bring much to table. I don't think anyone is going to say, "yes, they are perfectly acceptable and normal people in society," or "no, they should be put into a closet," but hey, I could be wrong.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]It's worth noting that some... "perculars" vary with region, race, etc. Take the "penis at 12" phenomenon, where a person who has ambiguous genitalia suddenly becomes a completely normal male at puberty. The good stuff descends, wang is prominent, and so forth. Of course, the tribal society where this happens has social habits that accomodate this possibilty and so there is no psychological trauma or problem for the child. He becomes a perfectly normal guy, has kids, etc. I'm just trying to add that, while the numbers are relatively low compared to - say - six billion people, I think it's still worth addressing because, however small, it helps each individual - even people distinctly male or female - live their life.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Sara][color=#b0000b][size=1]What are the requirements for your senior project? We didn't have such things at my school, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.[/size'][/color][/quote][COLOR=maroon]The way Ryoko talks about it, it sounds like it's almost like graduating with a thesis. You know, write a paper/documentary/whatever and get the little thing on your bachelor's degree, but in this case, it's just your high school diploma. I don't think you should go to Japan just to do a senior project. If you are going to Japan, there are a myriad of things to do, not just stuff that you can put on paper. If you are going to go, just keep in mind not to try to do ONLY things pertaining to your project.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=maroon]Every Saturday, without fail, I clean my room, do my laundry, and procrastinate. I guess that doesn't count, but you would not believe how necessary it is for me to do those things. My friend and I have a "month in review" session where we see how we've progressed (in whatever we were doing that month). Then we set out plans for the upcoming month. There aren't any solid goals, but just things we would want to do (i.e., go to the gym more often - not how often, just more often). Also, if what we did the previous month was worthwhile, we try to continue it (but we usually don't, haha). Rinse, repeat.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=red]Believe it or not, the origin of the extra points or weighted system is pretty shallow. After Honors/AP courses were instituted, you would frequently find the valedictorian of a school being someone who did not take these courses. So the snooty attention-seekers whined and whined and whined. Certainly, the schools didn't want students to avoid these courses (yes, a truly tough choice - get people to notice you as a smarty-pants valedictorian, or learn something for yourself :rolleyes: ), so enter the point system. I think it's good that people are starting to realize the stupidity of the point system, and also the fact that it only serves to sour things when you get into college anyway. Face facts: life isn't fair, and in college, biz-tech majors are always going to get similar grades for significantly less effort, knowledge, and competence. And more importantly, people in high school and beyond should really consider why they are going to college.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]My personal philosophy is "if it doesn't rhyme, then it's not a poem." Just be frank with yourself: if it's not rhyming, then you are either writing fragments or sentences. Which is just fine, mind you, but don't call it poetry (DISCLAIMER: that's just my stance on the matter). Also, it's not just rhyme, but rhythm. You can't just have fifty syllables rhyming with a three syllable verse. It doesn't work. Being able to be convey yourself with these "restrictions" (they really aren't, IMO) is what makes you a poet.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]First of all, gender identity and sexual orientation are NOT synonymous. Gender identity refers to that core feeling inside of you, what you consider yourself to be. There have been cases where guys feel that, deep down inside, that nature has done them wrong and that they should have been girls (and vice versa). I personally have never heard of someone who does not know what they feel inside of themselves. Sexual orientation is who you are attracted to, and everyone knows the story with this boring "I'm gay, I'm bi, I'm not gay, I'm not bi" drama. Anyway, [url]www.isna.org[/url] is the place that can help you best if not some psychiatrist or physician you can meet in person. The Intersex Society of North America is probably the best resource for people trying to learn about the problem of having only two sexes, as well as for people who can't pinpoint themselves in some way.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]I had a little bit of interest in the film when I saw the commercial for it, but after hearing that the idiot Wachowski brothers were directing it, that died pretty quickly. I'm all up for giving people second chances, but they had three, and they ####ed all of them up. I can just buy two bulls, and collect Wachowski quality films from their ###es. (if you can't tell, I thought the Matrix sucked, and yeah, I blame the directors) =P[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]There's a difference between being confused with your sexuality and having an identity crisis. Of course, you are unsure of both your gender identity and your sexuality, so I guess it doesn't matter in your case, haha. Anyways, I highly recommend [url=http://www.isna.org/]ISNA[/url] if you are genuinely seeking help. They can probably help you out better than any hack here (including me).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]I experienced an interesting performance by the infamous Evasons (you can read about mine and Terry's [url=http://ceruleanmist.digital-memoirs.net/2006/02/03/93/]here[/url] if you are so interested) and it got me thinking: how many people are into this psychic mumbo-jumbo? I know it's the latest craze to merge science and religion, and be like, all spiritual but with a logical basis or whatever, but the psychic phenomenon is a bit... stupid? My experiences with psychics, mind readers, and tarot readers has been a mixed bag: some are very precise and convincing (the Evasons being the most unbelieveably amazing of the bunch), while others are obviously full of it. In conclusion, I think it's just a magic trick, where I'm just missing the trick behind the colorful performance. But I don't have much basis or experience to go on. Being a psychology minor helps, but really, not by much. So what are your experiences and conclusions?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=green]They are really beautiful. I am a huge fan of nature photography, so I'm a bit biased. However, I would say that there doesn't appear to be focus in some of the pictures. You know, a central thing or something that you are trying to capture. I mean, the ones where you have the insect or whatever on it, that makes perfect sense, but for the others (and even those, to some degree) don't feel like you are trying to show us anything. Like, there's nothing that stands out. I don't know how to fix that (or if it even can be fixed), but that's just how I feel about them.[/COLOR]