Godelsensei

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Your like those naive classmates of mine who freak about signing their own test papers every now and again. It's practice for when you become a ninja and need to keep things secret.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Here's chapter two. I'm not very good at dialogue, so sorry if this is rather stiff and overwhelmingly...boring.[/FONT][/COLOR] The bar smelled of cigarette smoke, so she decided that they would sit outside. Nobuhiro, not caring, agreed. Then, as they considered what drinks they might order, he realized something. ?You haven?t told me your name yet.? Her eyebrows knit the slightest bit together and she laughed a little. ?I guess I haven?t.? Then, she extended a hand across the table, which he shook, and continued: ?My name is?Winnie.? She paused. ?Winnie Montgomery. Yoroshiku.? ?Yoroshiku. You know my name, I think.? ?Toue Nobuhiro.? He nodded in response and turned to give the waiter their drink orders. They came quickly. ?So, Winnie-san, what?re you doing in Japan?? ?Living, mostly.? She took a sip of her drink and turned her gaze towards the street. Even though it was nearly midnight now, there were still many, many people out, doing pretty much everything they?d do during the day, except maybe going to work. ?I?m in the place two doors down from Takashi-san. I moved there a couple of weeks ago; I?m still getting settled in, but it?s not like I?m unused to big cities.? ?You?re from a big metropolis, then?? ?Biggest in the country.? She smiled over the rim of her beer mug. ?New York?? ?No! You didn?t honestly think I was American, did you?? An expression of annoyance crossed her face briefly, then she smiled again. ?I?m Canadian. I?m from Toronto.? ?Ahh. Kanada-jin desu ka? Naruhodo. Is it as cold as they say?? ?Only with wind-chill. Thanks to Global Warming, the weather fluctuates a lot, anyway. You work with Takashi-san?? ?Yeah.? He smiled awkwardly. ?I draw?backgrounds.? ?You must have a lot of fans, then.? ?Not really. It isn?t like any one knows what I look like.? ?Well, I?m sure you have lots of fans who are vaguely aware you exist, then. Backgrounds are very important, after all. I have friends who would be very jealous to know I live next door to a real mangaka and went drinking with one of his assistants.? Nobuhiro raised an eyebrow, taken aback. ?Why? Are your friends ten-year-olds?? ?No, they?re gai-jin. You?d be surprised.? She smirked a smirk that gave the impression of a very subtle wink: thus, the smirk made him feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. He blinked a couple of times before speaking again. ?So?what do you do, then?? ?Aside from go drinking? Eh. I guess you could say I?m an author. I have a couple of books published?in English, of course.? ?That?s too bad?I don?t speak English.? ?Not a word?? ?Not a word.? ?That?s funny; I thought it was a compulsory subject in school here?? ?It is. That doesn?t mean I learned any.? ?Ahh.? He thought he detected a hint of disappointment in her voice or face, or possibly both, but was unsure. ?Takashi-san speaks English. That?s probably why we became friends so quickly; it?s nice having some one to talk to in your own language when you?re away from home. He read one of my manuscripts the other day for me. It?s not finished yet. That was that envelope you might have noticed.? He nodded; he had noticed, for some reason. Probably because he?d noticed a lot about her in those two or three moments at Watanabe?s apartment, namely the diving neckline of her shirt, but thinking of that made him redden the slightest bit. He looked away, at a store across the street, thankful for the semi-dark?s keeping his emotions somewhat masked. For that was something he was rather bad at. She was wearing a grey sweater and a streamline green skirt that came down to her knees now, and he was fairly certain she had changed her nose-stud. ?What do you write about, Winnie-san?? ?I write plain old, boring fiction books,? she admitted. ?I lost my knack for fantasy a while ago; I don?t know why, really. You read at all?? ?Not really, no. I don?t?do much, I guess.? Neither of them said anything for a while, as the contents of their mugs began to diminish at a slightly faster rate. It was as though they had covered all mandatory conversation and didn?t have anything else to discuss . He was somehow reminded of times he?d received first instant messages from people he barely knew. ?Hey, want to go hit the arcade?? ?What?? ?Come on, I haven?t played DDR in ages.? [COLOR=Gray] [FONT=Courier New]And here's chapter [i]three[/i]...!!! I like how this one turned out, even if it's a rather tad cliche. Oh well. : )[/FONT][/COLOR] [b]"That would be very nice of you, Toue-san."[/b] Winnie was grinning like a five-years? child on her birthday, or quite possibly Christmas. She hiccupped and giggled, a red flush once again coming over her cheeks and neck. The line she walked in was not quite straight and he found it was better if he led her as far from the street as possible by the elbow every so often. It was two in the morning and he was regretting having agreed to go anywhere past the first bar. She had won three games in a row playing Dance Dance Revolution at the nearest arcade, against three different teenagers, all of whom seemed genuinely shocked by her doing so. Then, she had insisted on their hitting another bar, across the street. Nobuhiro decided it was a good thing they had walked. ?Winnie-san, I do not know whether it is more surprising to me that you were able to drink that much and still be standing, or that you didn?t mind paying for it all.? She stumbled, but caught herself. ?This is nothing: you should have seen me at my friend?s birthday party last year.? Another, slightly longer, series of giggles. ?I passed out in the middle of her kitchen floor after?? ?We?re back at my place now, Winnie-san. Did you notice?? ?Yes?? ?I don?t think you should drive any more tonight, Winnie-san.? He led her up the steps awkwardly, noticing that she was allowing him to carry more of her weight than any point since he?d had to physically keep her from falling flat on her face. ?You can sleep on my couch, if you don?t mind the mess.? ?That?s good, because I don?t think I should drive anywhere either.? She seated herself, rather clumsily, on the steps leading upstairs as soon as they were inside. ?I?m going to have a bitching headache in the morning.? ?What?? ?Oh, nothing.? She massaged her temples with her fingers letting the weight of her head rest on them at the same time. ?Damn?sorry, Toue-san, but do you have anything for a headache?? ?Hai, but I think you should drink something first.? She looked up at him blearily. ?No more alcohol. I?ll make some tea.? ?That would be very nice of you, Toue-san.? He heard her take her shoes off?that is, he heard the gentle thud of them hitting the ground. He had noticed that they had a rather substantial heal to them, which only managed to dwarf him in comparison to her even more. By the time Winnie had sobered up a little and they were both sitting on the chesterfield, having said very little since arriving back at his home, she noticed a photo on his coffee table. She set her tea down and picked up the framed photo. ?Are these your daughters, Toue-san?? Her voice no longer had the typical drunken slur to it: something that half amazed, half impressed him. ?No, those are my nieces. My sister?s kids.? ?They?re very cute.? She set the picture down again and glanced at the digital clock that sat on a shelf at the other side of the medium-sized room. ?Oh, Christ, Toue-san, I?m sorry. It?s almost four in the morning. Sorry about getting pissed on you like that?it?s sort of a bad habit of mine.? ?That?s okay, I guess.? He finished the remainder of his tea in one larger-than-usual gulp and made his way over to the kitchen. Setting it down in the sink, he said, ?I?m going to bed now. There?s an extra blanket or two in the cupboard under the stairs if you?re cold.? ?Thanks.? Within minutes, the house was completely dark and silent but for the sound of breathing. Nobuhiro slept with the slightest of smiles on his face.

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]The difference between fanboys and posers has been established by Skippedry-chan and Azure-jiji, so I'll just muse: [i]It's like the difference between Indy fans and Emo fans.[/i] [/FONT] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I'm pretty sure the show will cover all of the manga because certain unnamed parties have done enough to make it obvious they're milking the series at many-a-point. Taking the popularity of Naruto into consideration, this makes sense, marketing-wise. As long as they can keep a stable number of viewers, I'm pretty sure the show will go on. Also, the manga's already at quite a length, and though I hate to think it, 'twill have to end sooner or later. Let's hope it's later. >_> Oh, and by the way... I used to try and watch the dubbs on my DVDs first, and they were just all so bad, barring Mononoke, I gave up for good. Also, artistically, I can't stand for it. u.u[/FONT][/COLOR] [size=1][color=navy]Here's your second post. -Dag[/color][/size] [COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Friends, peers, and complete strangers, the time has come to don our white robes, find a worthy second, and crack out the slightly smaller yaiba we keep at our respective sides. It's [i]seppuku[/i] at dawn, and never was their a more earth-shattering reason... Naruto is [i]almost[/i] most definately about to be licensed. (Hit the link on Narutofan for details.)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Fricken dubbies. If Naruto's ever dubbed into English, I think a good number of fans will be forced to commit simultanious seppuku. X_x [i]Anyway[/i]... (More 100% spoiler-tagged to save time. Sorry, Azure-jiji, but I'm talking manga again. xP) [Spoiler]Jaa...I, of course, was boundlessly excited when I realized that chapter 235 was being released early. However, this does mean that there wont be any Naruto this Friday, which shall make me sad tomorrow. I thought the ending of the fight was extremely powerful; the man had us convinced one of them was going to die (and most people were probably thinking Sasuke), then he had us thinking it was Naruto, then it turned out it was neither of them. Even though I can't stand him, the newest installment showed us something new about Sasuke: he is capable of deciding things for himself, instead of simply following along with what some one else has told him to do. Up to this point, it's either been "Itachi Itachi Itachi" or "Orochimaru Orochimaru Orochimaru", so this particular plot-twist was very satisfying. The loss of his hitai-ate and the fact that the leaf symbol was crossed out sends a very strong message that he's on his own now. He's most likely going to come back one day, however, as Kakashi no doubt kept the thing. : ) And Pakkun's back. That dog creeps me out. O_o"[/spoiler][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]This is the first of a series of short pieces I plan on writing about a couple of characters you'll meet if you read this post in its entirety. I've never lived in Japan, of course, so I can't give you a 100% accurate reprisentation of Japanese society. (I've read many books about Japan that take place a few hundred years ago, and the rest of my knowledge comes from comic books, anime, and stereotypes. Psh.) Yeah, so quit being a purist and enjoy. (I'll leave the story part in verdana, as it tends to be easier to look at in large quantities than Courier New in grey.)[/FONT][/COLOR] Toue Nobuhiro was not a tall man. In fact, he was quite short, a fact he blamed primarily (if not entirely) on his Japanese heritage. He had never been made acutely aware of his lack of height (for his head only reached five feet, seven inches higher than the ground) until now, however. Nobuhiro had been born and raised in a small village in rural Japan. He had failed every English class and exam he?d ever taken, and could not say or understand more of it than any newborn baby. He had never really watched very many movies, having grown up without electricity, and rarely read. He was too caught up in spending countless hours on end every week inking other people?s weekly comics. Nobuhiro drew backgrounds for a living, and this fact had eventually led to him, for the first time in his life, realizing how short he was. The woman was taller than him by several inches, something that could not have been very drastically assisted by her flat-bottomed flip-flops. Her hair was a shade of purple that would have gotten a student all but expelled from any respectable Japanese school, and she had several holes through various parts of her face. The tank top she was wearing revealed rather a lot of cleavage, and he found he had little to say to her but ?Ano?ohiyogouzaimasu.? She nodded her own greeting and turned back to the man he had come to ask a rather important work-related question of. He was momentarily surprised by her rudeness, then recalled her still-visible white skin and round eyes that were facing away from him, and shoved his hands into his pockets. Amerika-jin yo, he thought: She must be an American. After several minutes had passed, Watanabe-sensei apologized to him for keeping him waiting and the woman left, a yellow envelope under her arm. ?I?m sorry for bothering you at home, but you weren?t answering your phone, you see?? Nobuhiro trailed off, glancing towards the door briefly before looking back at the older man in front of him. ?I?ve been having problems with that. It seems a custodian cut my phone-line when he was repairing something.? Nobuhiro asked his question eventually and left, having refused the offer of something to drink. There were bags under the mangaka?s eyes: Give the man some peace, he thought. Just as Nobuhiro was about to enter the elevator, the lights flickered. He glanced upwards in surprise, only to watch them fade out again. They did not come back to life, and neither did the hum of the air-conditioning. A young girl poked her head out of a door, looked both ways down the hall, then called back inside. ?The hall lights are off, too! Is the phone working?? Nobuhiro decided he would not step into the elevator, the doors of which were still wide open, trying to be inviting. He followed the signs that directed him towards the stairs. He passed Watanabe?s apartment on the way, and considered asking him if his phone was working, but left the idea behind after deciding it would be too mean on his part. The stairwell was dark. Very dark. But for the basically useless emergency lights that lined the steps at even, ten-meter-or-so intervals, one would have thought it was the third Word War, and the city was trying to avoid being seen from the air. Nevertheless, he took a step forward. Whether it was the mostly-dark or his shoes that were half a size too big or the fact that he wasn?t paying attention, the next conscious thought the rather short man had was, Why am I lying in a position that must be doing awful things to my joints and why at the bottom of a poorly-lit stairwell, of all places? He heard the slap-thud of a person in flat-bottomed sandals with only one strap, bound towards the front of the shoe, hurrying down stairs. ?Daijoubu desu ka?!? He glanced upwards while trying to lift himself back to his feet from his rather precarious position at the edge of another series of steps by propping himself up, onto his left arm, but failed. ?Shi-shimatta?!? Pain scorched through his forearm and he gave up on trying to get up again, for fear he might actually fall down the second flight of stairs the third collapse around. The woman was squatting next to him, asking if he needed help in accented but flawless Japanese. ?Oh, why am I asking? Look at your wrist! That?s just plain gross.? Nobuhiro missed all of this, as it was in what may or may not have been English, but, indeed, his wrist was twisted in a way that would have sent all but the strongest stomach into a violent state of relieving itself of its contents by the same passage it attained it. ?I?m going to get you a doctor,? she said, sternly. Then, as an after thought, she added, ?Isha,? presumably so he would know what she was going on about, patted his if-not-unscathed-less-so arm gently with the tips of her fingers, and stood up. Apparently, some one?s phone was working, as a few men showed up shortly to see if he was crippled for life and to carry him away on a stretcher. Thankful that the power had only gone out in two buildings?undoubtedly thanks to the shoddy work of another (or perhaps the same) custodian?Nobuhiro put on a pot of coffee with his awkward right hand. He let his eyes wonder towards the photograph of he and his sister at a restaurant in Kyoto?taken on her birthday?and smiled faintly. Then the doorbell rang, and he jumped. [COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I'll be updating this every few days or so, ideally. If any one cares for it, that is.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]It's better to discipline every one who shoves a guy into a locker, regardless of whether or not they were provoked, than to let any degree of bullying slip because of "extenuating circumstances".[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I've been wondering this for a while, and thought this might be the appropriate thread, seeing as the topic is basically my question. A few months ago, I bought a wallscroll on a whym, simply because I thought it was just that pretty. However, it has been bugging me as to what anime this image is from, of late. The image is of two male characters, one of which is a small child. The older one looks like he might be anywhere between fiteen and 25. At the bottom of the picture is the sillouette of a character in a raggedy cape, holding a staff. There is a rather large cross on a chain blowing in the wind, presumably hung from his neck. Their is a large, full moon in the background of the picture, and the kid has a fang, which leads me to think either DEMONS! Or VAMPIRES! My friend, upon seeing it after I bought it, promptly said, "Oooo...those brothers who turn into demons at night!" but didn't seem to know anything else. The whole thing has a vamp-y mood to it. Sorry for being rather vague, but it's the best I could do while digital camera-less. : /[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New][quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Ah-ha, you also got fooled by that "Naruto Preview" thing, huh? Well, it was labelled properly, so it's our own fault for not taking heed.[/COLOR][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote] Oh, it was [i]not[/i]! (Serves me right for downloading things directly off the server without looking into what they are first, I guess. : / ) I do agree that the filler episodes 1) suck and 2) make no sense. It pissed me off that some crummy little Ironman-wannabe could outrun Konoha's Orochimaru-, Kyuubi-, and Insane Inner-Self-powered cell seven to such a degree. And why the hell didn't Naruto just [Spoiler]ask Sakura for a weapon?! Or use a shuriken from his [i]other[/i] pouch?!![/Spoiler] If I were Kishimoto, I'd be T_T-ing my keyboard to hell right now. T_T

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Er. What Skip said. [i]Plus...[/i] With shows like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, a large degree of the mood of the entire show is reflected by the music genre. It's because of the blues that Bebop manages to seem almost like it takes place during the early 1900's and because of the hip-hop that Champloo manages to seem modern, in a more samurai-tastic sort of way. : 3 Also, if a show sports a particularly fabulous track (take Sadness and Sorrow, for example), it can add another thing to make the anime all the more memorable. Would any one even [i]remember[/i] ol' Haku and Zabuza if we weren't treated to that tear-jerking death theme? Being one of I don't know how many who have spent hours on end trying to transpose the Paranoia Agent ED for piano, I know how much of an effect good music can have on a series.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Why, ROD, of course! Even my father, who knows nothing of anime, commented on how amazing the animation was. He sat down to watch it with me because it was the only movie that came out perfectly un-pixilated on the projector. The motion is so fluid, it makes me want to cry. T_T And, of course, Paranoia Agent, because of how unbelievably [i]realisitc[/i] the characters look. The "frog man" (yes, I remember that post, Skippedry : P) is so ugly it's [i]inspiring[/i].[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]"More." And my second word was "mine". Nice, huh?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Bush told Kerry he [Kerry] wasn't ready to run the world. It's funny, because if it was up to the world, the Kerry/Bush support ratio would be 5:1.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Has any one mentioned Shingetsutan Tsukihime yet? I discovered this series by downloading the file with the most tongue-twisting name on AnimeSuki. It's a 12-epper that was based on a hentai video game, revolving around the life of an amnesiac teenager named Shiki. Few vampire stories manage to be nicely berreft of [typical] angst, and few series manage to completely avoid the weak, slutty female characters in their entirety. Great show. You watch [i]now[/i]. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Chapter 233! I'll just spoiler-tag this whole thing. [Spoiler]Maybe I am going insane, but I detected some shounen-ai undertones in that last chapter. Nothing big, of course, and that's not what made that chapter so great, but still. When I saw that giant ball of "ceramic" (hey, it looked ceramic : / ) chakra, I actually said, "Holy ****!" I told any one who commented on the length of the battle to me that I knew Kishimoto would end it on a very emotional, touching note, without dragging the battle on into the horizon. I guess Sasuke was a lost cause, after all. Maybe he'll turn to unrestrained, arbitrary evil like his brother? ^__^[/spoiler] Oh. Sorry for double-posting. I didn't realize I was doing it at the time. The thread needed revival, anyway, methinks.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I think situations sometimes just build up, regardless of whether you have a negative viewpoint or not. It's like the time my friend borrowed a "blank" CD from my other friend, and it turned out it was full of porn. Then, the CD-drive jammed and wouldn't open. Then, her mom came home. Didn't happen to me, but it's an example I find rather humourous.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I'm not surprised no one's mentioned one of my personal favourites, NaruTaru, seeing as no one seems to have heard of it, and those who have think it is entirely like the first episode. (No one will ever know what is with the first episode of NaruTaru, but I guess it filters away alot of fans. *sigh*) This series may not have "gorgeous" animation or character designs (though I'm rather partial to Shiina's hair, myself^^), but is extremely--[i]extremely[/i]--thought-provoking and, well, disturbing. It's a great show that I love dearly and try and force people to watch whenever I get the chance. Sadly, alot of folks get bored after an ep or two. Losers. Another series that no one seems to have heard of (or if they have, watch) is Paranoia Agent. In fact, I do believe that every fan of Paranoia Agent I have ever met, online or off, was introduced to the title by none other than Godel, herself. Even. Skippedry. *gasps of shock and horror* I haven't noticed any discussion involving this series, aside from that of one or two fans who have been fans for a while, and no one ever seems to mention having started downloading it of late. I don't know why, seeing as it has realistically "gorgeous" (that word always sounds silly to me for some, reason : / ) animation and a plot that makes your brain hurt. People ought to subject their minds to random spurts of incomprehensibility more often; it keeps you from going senile early, I imagine.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]The banning of literature is rediculous. While there are certain books that are not appropriate for school etc... environments (ie porn in a high-school library), there is no reason why the author should be smothered by zealots, soccer-moms with nothing better to do, or authoritarian governments. You have to understand, the people who want to ban Harry Potter are morons who seem to believe that magic is real, and that it can be called upon by the flick of the wrist. Trying to identify with morons is always fruitless. Some people just need to be laughed at until they get the message that no one cares. Edit: Just remembered: check my sig. I've got the method society needs to deal with the issue covered right there.^^ [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I play both the violin and piano, which means I understand all those silly G-string jokes people titter about now and then. Psh. I'm not very good at either, but I've been playing the piano since I was five or six. (I can, however, play Sadness & Sorrow almost perfectly by this point.) Due to the extreme coolness of the music teacher who wrote all the music we play in class (he had to retire, which sucks), we play Asian pop songs alot. 'Sgreat fun. I guess music isn't really my forte.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Everything's rated 'R' in America. Even Collateral. O_o" But anyway... I think rating systems are important when it comes to movies that contain graphic violence and sex because parents aren't always with their children. Even if the rating system was removed, as Transtic Nerve suggested, and we were simply provided with a warning, it wouldn't be acceptable to have ten year olds going in to see porn flicks or people having their arms ripped off and being beaten to death with them (though the latter is so unrealistic, no one would take it seriously--but I think my point gets across). Movie ratings are weird sometimes, but I think it's for the greater good. I find it kind of funny, however, that the content in movies rated PG-13 would only phase those under eight. Maybe. The whole system is skewed by five years or so.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Rather reminds me of Talking to Americans. "Will you sign this petition that is put forward to ban seal hunting in Alberta?" You should watch that reel some time; I'm sure it's filtered to showcase the morons, but it sure is funny. : ) (I suppose it ties into the assignment at hand because it shows how people don't think about what they are being told.) I think people automatically assume that any one with a clipboard must be serious about what they are saying. Which is rather silly. I'm not a student of psyche, but I love your idea for a project. Be sure to keep us posted on its results, eh Buggie?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]It's so intense, you had me half-expecting something along the lines of, "And then the forwardmost frontsman let out a great yawn and they all concluded that it was a silly thing to waste time doing, and went home early for dinner." Heh. Gives me an idea for a piece, actually. I like the way you managed to make it rhyme without making it silly. Very commendable. u.u[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]In Avril Lavigne's defense, I don't see any of you making millions of dollars off of selling music when you could just as easily sell your *** and boobs. People like to screw themselves against popular music because they think it makes them different. I don't listen to her music, but I don't go out of my way to declare her unoriginal and an embarrassment to the music industry. That's silly.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]The other day, when out for dinner (I had a very nice club sandwich and fries with gravy, if you care.) I sat across from a television mounted towards the ceiling. This meant that, while waiting for my aformentioned dinner, I had little to do but watch Smackdown without sound while a group of guys a few tables down made particularly loud comments on what was going on during it. At one point, they marched out a pair of "school girls" who were dressed in tastelessly mini skirts and shirts that exposed the better part of their stomachs and boobs, and, well, it was [i]wrestling[/i]. You know the story. You could blow this off [i]as[/i] wrestling, justifying it by the fact that most of the men walk around in narry but their underwear (though they don't hump the borders of the ring), and that wrestling is basically tasteless, so I'll move on to another example. Music. Hong Hing made a particularly accurate observation of the modern-day music industry in a recent post on her [URL=http://www.myotaku.com/mew_wem]myO[/URL] a few days ago (during which we learned some particularly useful advice to do with maintaining the condition of your new bedsheets), so I urge you to, as Sara would say, kip along to that. But, to get back on track, I don't think showing rich, brawny, bling-covered men surrounded by women in naught but their bras and panties is much in the way of closing the gender gap when it comes to representation of people in the entertainment media. (That's [i]if[/i] the director of the particular video in question was decent enough to leave them in any clothing [i]at all[/i].) In children's TV shows, girls are more often than not represented as boy-crazy and spending hours primping their hair and "imperfect" 12-year-old faces. As far as news anchors and whatnot go, however, I detect no prejiduce when it comes to weighing the value of what a man or woman might say, unless they are particularly screwed towards a specific viewpoint. Covering stories involving men and women is, however, slightly skewed, I think. You hear mostly about women being killed, raped, or abducted, but rarely about them committing crimes. But that could be due to the fact that girls and boys have gender stereotypes and roles so engrained into their psyche that boys think it's "manly" to be violent and play around with guns. Statistcally, the most dangerous state of being in North America is male between the ages of 18 and 24. That could be due to hormones, but messages beaten into little kids' skulls since the age of 3 probably has something significant to do with it.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Japan_86][COLOR=Navy']How could I act like a whole country? Is that humanly possible?[/COLOR][/quote] [COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New] Forget about [i]one[/i] country--you'd have to act like 86 of 'em all at once. I suppose you'd just have to wear expensive clothes, think you're better than everybody else, and be really short, in your case, as far as the world outside Japan's impression goes. Hm...[/FONT] [/COLOR]