Godelsensei

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New] Faith [I]n.[/I] 1. [B]Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.[/B] 2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief. See Synonyms at trust. 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. 4. often Faith Christianity. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. 5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith. 6.[B] A set of principles or beliefs.[/B] Faith and religion are different things, Winter. Faith, as the dictionary states, is the belief in something's being correct. Faith isn't necessarily religious. You can have faith in the fact that KILLING=BAD. This is not necessarily a religious ideal. Religion is an organized form of worship. Attending some form of Church, or, as Baron suggested, eating buffalo on Thursday (for spiritual purposes *laughs*), are examples of religion. You do not have to sit in a church every Sunday and pray in order to have faith in a set of perfectly reasonable morals (that do not have to be spiritual, themselves). Our society, on a non-religious base, teaches us that we must not kill, steal etc... This has nothing to do with eating buffalo, ever. Let's [I]try[/I] to stay on topic. [I]Please?[/I][/FONT] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]o_o I actually went and read that latest post, Shinken, and I must say: the irrelevant issues people bring up are unimaginable. I wasn't referring to you, by the way._ _U This debate really isn't going anywhere: worse, it would seem that it has lost its original purpose. This is what happens when you challenge people's belief even to the slightest extent. Even if you're not challenging them, and directly saying you respect their beliefs, but don't want them force-fed to you, they jump to their own defence, as if they were being attacked. As far as I am concearned, religion is an irrelevant issue. What matters is a person's moral standards, and their acceptance of differences. There's a reason that it is illegal to ask what religion some one follows, when it comes to job interviews. People are too damn biased. The state (and its laws) is a communal thing, that all people, regardless of who or what they think is sitting in the clouds watching them, are part of. It can be applied to all people. Any specific religion cannot. Perhaps, if every one was of the same religion, it would be "right", simply because no one would care to think otherwise. But, as it is, we all have two options: 1. Go through life happily not caring whether or not some one believes in the same things as you do. [I]Or...[/I] 2. Get yourself worked up over something that you probably can't change anyway. The choice is yours.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Gomen ne, gomen ne...you'd be excited, too, Sasuke-kun. From now on, I will post, in red, when there is a manga spoiler present. Tuff? ^^ As for episode 76, [Spoiler]I wouldn't mind if it was a huge flashback. I mean, the part of the manga had me[/Spoiler][Color=Red]*Spoilerific*[/Color][Spoiler][I]crying my eyes out! T_T[/I] I was so mad at what Gaara's aunt did to him! It's not his fault he was born! She didn't have to go and [I]tell[/I] him how much she hated him! *cries*[/Spoiler] Aw, but Sasuke-kun, weren't you just "very unhappy"? Well, that was about something else, so yeah. I still find that line hilarious. *pat* EDIT: Btw, r2, you were right: you did sound like one of those people from the Herbal Essances commercials. O____.""[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I was thinking "Homestar Wunner!", as well, for the record. Highly amusing--I love the lingo dude. It reminds me of a Dilbert comic I read once... "Why do you say things that have no meaning??" "Duuuuuuuuuuude!" ^_^[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]^_^ Like it has been said: perfect picture. Akamaru looks like he is about to cry or something. Do dogs cry? Ah well... I don't get this mass obsession people have with Kiba not wearing his hood. I think he looks much better with it... Very cool.[/FONT][/COLOR]

Religion [I]n.[/I] 1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. 2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. 2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. 3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. 4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. Atheism [I]n.[/I] 1.Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. [COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Atheism is not a religion. A religion is an organized form of worship. This is not the issue at hand. Schools do not teach that there is no God, nor should they teach that their is one. Religion is a personal thing, and should not be imposed on others. Enough said. Schools teach children the scientific discoveries we have made as a species. One cannot call this teaching atheism in schools, as it is simply the sharing of knowledge. If teaching that disease is caused by germs, that our vision is based on the reflection of light, that water evaporates as oppose to dissapearing and countless other facts of life is considered "atheism", I am very glad that I am an "atheist". If one has a religion, that's fine and dandy, but this should not get in the way of seeking knowledge. If "God" "gave" you a brain, then it is only logical to use it. [I]"There was a time where people lived only for their faith, and the Church ruled. This time was called the Dark Ages.[/I][/FONT] [/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]But, r2vq, aren't we [I]supposed[/I] to be cynical? *blink blink* Never mind. Anyway, I agree with you, aside from the army thing. We don't need to go military to save our planet. And the Canadian wilderness thing. I trust you [I]have[/I], at some point been anywhere past Banff, and enjoyed it immensely? The parts of Canada that are not completely frozen over would be better off used for farming, but in a jam, we could move some housing there, I suppose. Anywhere past Banff, you've gotta be either deprived, stupid, or there in the name of science. >_> Anyhoo, the facts stand: we do not need to kill ourselves off in order to stop killing the planet. We have enough resources to support our growing numbers. We need to organize ourselves and act civil towards our fellow humans. As for us being an evil plague to existance in general...I have an idea: if you're so rooted on that, you can go drink a can of pesticyde. But I'd rather you didn't, as I have nothing against your being here. After all, you could probably put all that environmentalism to good use some day.^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I think my two biggest fears are 1)sharks and 2)being abandoned. I don't know why I am so scared of sharks. I mean, I swim in open (really deep *rolls eyes*) water all the time, and have never even had my toe bitten by a minoe (not that minoes really go about biting people's toes, but still). I guess it's more like a phobia, then, seeing as it is unexplained. I'm the friend who calls incessantly, and always has to be there. I guess I'm afraid of being left out or alone more than anything else. Because of this, I'm often worry about having offended people to any degree, whether it was deliberate or not. You probably wouldn't guess it, however...>_>[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]A little excited, are we? : D It's okay: you know how happy I was. *maniacal laughter* [Spoiler]Speaking of which, didn't you just LOVE the colouring PaintPixel did with Lee? That was [I]tres magnifique[/I]. Know what should happen? I think a whole bunch of the gennins should come and save Kiba, Akamaru and Shikamaru's *****. Not that I don't want to see Shikamaru's new technique, but I really am missing Shino, Ten-Ten, Sakura and the rest. : ( I also want to see Tsunade and Orochimaru have a final, one-on-one battle. After all: Tsunade's not old like Sarutobi, so it will be an even match, as long as she trains up a bit. A [I]real[/i] Hokage level battle would be even better than the first one! : D Then again, Orochimaru has a new body, so he might be in a weakened state right now, no? So Tsunade could have the upper hand. >_> Tsunade's the best.[/Spoiler] I would like to see Sakura learn some genjutsu, seeing as she is so talented in the area. I mean, if she can [Spoiler]complete Chuunin level stuff no problem[/Spoiler], why wont Kakashi teach her more?? I can't wait for the next chapter! [Spoiler]I just hope Lee-kun really is cured...T_T[/Spoiler][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]As it has been stated, anime can really mean any form of animation. However, it has come to mean Japanese animation, that is originally broadcast, and voiced, in Japan. Manga means "comic book", but we see it as purely Japanese. But does it really matter if it's Japanese or not? You can draw using a Japanese style, but produce a comic that is North American or European. It's a matter of quality of art and plot, as far as successful comic books go.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]It will, as James said, be a very, very long time before (if ever) all countries are on the same economic platform. While some countries are developing at an extremely rapid pace (i.e. China), others seem to be sitting in the middle of a rut (i.e. Haiti). It would take a computer the size of a skyscraper to preform all the functions of the human brain. That is, if you could figure out how to programm it accordingly, and build it. [I]"Will I dream, Dave?"[/I] Nope. In 100 years, the population is predicted to reach a head, like I stated in another thread, of about 8 billion, then slowly begin to decrease. I think one of the major problems of the future (in the West, at least), will be the rather lethargic lifestyle that us North Americans lead. I have some ideas about the internet: We are, really, at the begining stages of the 'net. There are very few things stopping us from pirating and scamming people. Among the millions of people who have perfectly good intentions online, there are still millions who do not. In maybe fifteen years, I think the Internet will really be less open, in a sense. Pirating will be dealt with in the same manner as shoplifting, there will be more security over the internet. The world of cyber space is still being organized, so to speak. Our children will be appalled and shocked when we tell them about how we used to pirate pretty much everything. Well, perhaps they wont be shocked. And maybe they'll be jealous, as oppose to appalled, but you get my drift. Neh? The rift between social classes is going to grow, as well, methinks. I also agree with the point that the US is going to no longer be at the top of the economic staircase. I'm not saying it's going to crumple into oblivion, however. Just that other countries are going to become more successful. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]FirePheonix, I hope it will come as a pleasant surprise to you that YES!, we do have the ability to feed the planet! : D You can stop fretting about that now. ^_~ Humans have all but mastered the art of agraculture over the past 20 000 years or so. Our main problem is that we're not 'spreading the wealth', so to speak. But I already said that (twice). As far as "muderous tendencies" go, humans are not at the top of the list. All sorts of creatures go as far as to eat their babies. Animals fight all the time, killing each other right, left and center. It's just that we do it on a bigger scale--that is, with weapons. Pollution is our biggest issue. Like I said: people who litter just suck infinately. It's like they find some sort of smug, mallicious joy out of doing whatever they can to make our planet dirty. I think I may have to go make an addition to the Head a splode. thread...>_> [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I agree with Shinken. And not just about the [I]itte ki masu[/I] thing. >_> While some values that are shared throughout most religions are also basic moral values of humanity [I]in general[/I], the church still has no business in state affairs. It would also seem that prisoners held in these religion-based prisons are given shorter time...? If you can tell me how that is at all correct (morally), via the use of [I]reason[/I], I will be amazed. Also, if the purpose of these institutions is to help the convicts "find Jesus", wouldn't it be indirectly implying that the religious prison system is useless? After all, they choose to go to these prisons because they've already "found Him". Right? That is, unless you count all those non-Christian individuals who are just after shorter time and a better prison environment. [/FONT] [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Harry]I'm glad you're overlooking the fact that we can easily make enough food on this earth for each person and as soon as China and India become more developed their booming population will stop also. Also in the grand scheme of thing,s 9/11, Gulf War 1, Gulf War 2 don't even make a dent in the population.[/QUOTE] [COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New] There is no question: we have the resources to support our population. In Canada alone, the unused land is unbelievable. No, I'm not talking about the frozen parts, but the fertile ones. Overpopulation is not an issue. Urban sprawl is...[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]What do you mean, should we be [I]allowed[/I] to exist? Is there some intergalactic superviser waiting to kick us off the "playing field"? Population projections predict (O_O aliteration!!!) that we are going to come to a head of about 8 billion in 100 years, then slowly begin to decrease in number. As for us being "allowed to exist", I think you're being rather unfair. Should the seven-foot-tall sixth grader be allowed to play basketball? Although I agree that we are being too harsh on our planet, I see no reason for any alleged deity to wipe us out. I take public transit whenever I can, throw my garbage in the proper receptical (and actively demand that others follow suit), recycle... I know it sounds rather pathetic, but it's still better than deliberately throwing trash on the ground. I hate people who litter--they just suck infinately.@_@ With the development of more environmentally-friendly methods of transport (i.e. hybrid cars, fuel cels [yes, they're working on fuel cels!!!: D] etc...), we are slowly progressing towards being less of a threat to ourselves. One of the main problems, however, is urban sprawl. This is where your population issue comes into play: too many people, living too far away, all needing to get somewhere at the same time. This clogs the roads, while the fumes from millions of cars are whisked away and about by the wind, into the lungs of the world. It's a matter of improving urban layout, educating third world countries about contraception, developing evironmetally friendly reasources... Despite our faults, I see no reason to banish us, as a species, from existance. After all, we've also done some very good things: developed medicines, mathematics and proper language... Just because we've, to an extent, surpassed the "live to reproduce" level of existance (as I see it, at least), it doesn't mean we're evil. EDIT: Woah, woah, woah. It would seem that a couple posts were made while I was making my own. Quite frankly, I am disgusted by your comments about 9/11. Like I stated before: it is NOT overpopulation. It is population density. We do not need to kill ourselves off in order to "save the world". We need to plan our living spaces more effectively. We need to deal with pollution more effectively. After that, it's a matter of keeping ourselves out of conflicts with ourselves, so we don't kill any of third parties (human or not) in the process. [I]"When I think of humanity, it's like Mother Nature played a mean joke on us. She wanted to see how long we'd last, with our little bodies and big brains. She made a joke out of us, so now we're getting back at her. And the gods are all like, 'Well, ****, that wasn't supposed to happen...' "[/I] [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Oooh!! I love the way you draw hair and clothing! Though the scan quality is sub-standard, with a little cleaning up (and colour), you would most definately have some top-notch stuff on your hands. I like the layout of your pictures, as well. However, I think you should pay a little more attention to proportion, as the individual in the second image looks slightly unbalanced. Or maybe my eyes are just funny. >_O Good job![/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]What programm are you using? If you're using Photoshop, I *highly* recomend looking into Smart Blur. It has saved me from many an editing-relating catastrophe. The font doesn't stand out enough against the background, which is pretty cool. I think it would look better if you gave it some sort of border. Not that I'm a border fiend, like some unnamed parties, but because it would fit here. Try adjusting the colours a bit--Goku looks incredibly saturated, due to the green background. Ja![/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I much preffer the second one. The entire image looks sharper and whatnot. I still think you could smoth the edges of the images a little, however... Overall: g'job.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I agree that subtitles should go nowhere beyond the bottom of the image. This includes "widescreen" formats, like Gunslinger Girl, which have funky little patterns along the top and bottom. That is: put the subtitles in the black beyond, please. I, myself, don't like dubbing, simply because it's not the way the show was meant to be seen. Neither are subs, but I'm doing my best to learn Japanese... I like being able to take things in at face value, not whatever twisted form dubbers make them (some dubbs are good, but most...*shudder*).[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Huh? Gumby, I think you are confused as to what an atheist is. So many religious people seem to approach atheism as a different kind of belief. I find this infinately irritating (aliteration! : D). Plain and simple, atheism is just a lack of belief in any form of devinity.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]A good story? Well, I think what's important, from the DM's perspective, is to make your characters feel stupid. I mean, what's not great about diverting attention from a tiny, little, majorly significant detail, then bringing it back to bite them in the *** later on? What's important is to make sure there is actually a plot. After all, you *are* basically coming up with a story. Only, it's interactive. You really need to know the people in order to plan the right campaign. A mix of hack'n'slash and logic seems to be working for my group. To this point, at least... Another thing is to be a DM who, though not entirely evil towards the PCs, is not going to submit to their every little whiney whim. (Whiney Wym. *laughs *** off*)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Azure, what I mean is that her parents are sort of...let's put it that they don't even want her playing online video games. I should have included that little detail._ _U From what I gather, they didn't believe her when she said it was legal to burn Ragnarok. I guess you sort of have to know the people in question--but still, you have to admit that is a really [B][I]bad[/I][/B] situation. As for the use of all the space on the CD...don't ask me. Ask Eduardo's brother. *blink blink* Goneral: I concur in full.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]I'm not supposed to retell this tale, as it has caused two of my friends a great deal of embarrassment, but I think I will any way. After all, who doesn't need a good laugh every so often? No one I know. Anyway, let's start this little story off by brushing upon the individuals involved. Let's call them Millcent and Eduardo. Millicent's parents are strongly against pirating, well, anything. They all but forbid her from introducing 'foreign material' to her computer. That is: Millicent's not allowed to download anything, aside from small pictures. She's not allowed to view anything anime related either, but you know...she manages. Eduardo is a computer fiend. He is on the computer for the duration of all his free time. He is utterly, irrevocably, obsessed with Ragnarok (I think the second vowel is an 'a'. Sorry if I got it wrong..._ _U). So, seeing as Millicent and Eduardo are friends, Eduardo decides to ask her to play Ragnarok with him online. Millicent thinks, "This sounds like fun--after all, Ed's always going on about how great this game is! I can hide it from the parental units no sweat!" So, she goes and downloads it. So, everything is going fine with the downloading (which takes a while, incidentally). Millicent downloads the game, and Eduardo asks her to burn a copy of it onto a CD for him, as he doesn't have a burner. Fair enough. "I'd love to, but I don't have any blanks at home." "That's okay; I'll swipe one of my brothers at lunch, then give it to you during fourth." Once again: fair enough. So, as planned, Eduardo goes home, sneaks a CD from his brother's desk, and gives it to Millicent. The two go home content. Upon arriving home, Millicent knows there's a limited amount of time before her parents get home. She has to burn this thing right away. So, she pops the blank (*blank*) CD into her drive. Now, keep in mind: this is Eduardo's 17-year-old brother's CD. Incidentally, it isn't blank. So, Millicent discovers that this CD is basically 50megs worth of "pr0n". In horror, she lunges to press the eject button. Her finger comes in contact with it, is greeted by a slight click. She waits. Nothing happens. She presses the button again. Nothing. Waits some more. Still nothing. Then, her mom walks in the front door and calls, cheerfully, "Millicent! Are you home?" Her mom then proceeds to enter the room, have a fit, and ground her for two weeks. They then spent two hours trying to pry the CD drive open, until Millicent's sister, Amelie, presses the button. Then, of course, the drive pops open as happily as ever, the offending disc glimmering in the desklamp light. I don't know if Eduardo's brother ever found out, but I don't think he did. After all, Ed's still alive. But really, how do you make an excuse for having your friend's, brother's porn in your CD drive, STUCK, because you agreed to do something you were, under no circumstances, allowed to do? Any other worst-case scenarios? I'd love to hear them. Read them. Whatever.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Is watching your friends carve intricate designs into themselves with knives, and not being able to get them to stop counted as "a situation"? My group of friends seemed to slip into a mutual state of depression, spurred by nothing in particular, for an unbearably long period of time. The result? Well, I think we're more mentally stable, but we've sort of been devided in half. As for what there is to do about it, I don't really know what to say. I, and one of my friends (the only one, other than myself, to not take part in said actions) tried everything. We tried approaching each of our group individually, and stating our concearns. This worked with the two reasonable individuals involved. As far as the other two went...well, we went through constant councelling. It didn't work. We tried for six months, and nothing worked. We just stopped trying after a point. Our situation was different from yours in that the one member of our group is very stuck in coming up with problems for herself. If your friend's dad was/is beating her, I think you have to go to the police. Which you already did, it would seem... Removing the issue at hand seems like the only real solution.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]"Having evolution shoved down their throats." Stating that evolution and religion are based on the same kind of belief is like saying that whipped cream and brussel sprouts are the same kind of dairy product. One is nice and foamy, there to make you feel good, and the other is something you have to accept, simply because it's good for you. Not to mention they can't even be brought to the same level. However, this isn't a debate over whether or not we evolved from nameless blobs floating in the vast oceans. The argument that people improve through finding religion is a new idea to me. The vast majority (80%, maybe...I'm not about to go through the wearying process of calculating this and debating with myself...) of the most intelligent people I know are atheists. However, this is personal experience, and cannot be applied to every one. Why should the church stay out of the school system? One could argue that religious schools bring children of the same faith together. And that is what is wrong with them--they're bringing children of different faiths apart. This point may seem irrelevant, but think about it: if you're constantly surrounded by people who follow your beliefs, what will you learn to think? That they, and they alone, are the right way to see things? In one school system, where there are no devisions (aside from inevitable ones brought upon by the students themselves) based on religion, race or social status, we learn to at least accept the views of others. I don't mean we outwardly tollerate them, but understand, inwardly, that they hold value, as well. As far as adultery goes, I am not talking about prostitution (which I am against). That is an entirely different issue. I'm talking about the mutual attraction between to people who happen to be married to others. I don't see why this should be illegal, but I do find it wrong (Simply because it means breaking your vows to stick with one person--unless you are divorcing or something, and are no longer really in a relationship, beyond legalities...) This isn't the issue at hand, however. There seems to be alot of misconception as to what atheism is. It is not a "belief", as so many people seem to interperate it. It's not a philosophy, either. It's not necessarily a strict acceptance of everything that can be proven scientifically (though science is the way to go, IMO). It's simply a lack of belief in any kind of "devine power". [/FONT][/COLOR]