Panda

[quote name='tiffanyxii']Do you think anime influences you as a person? if so, how?[/quote] Oh yes most definitely. Several of my life decisions have hinged upon anime. When I was little I grew up watching Robotech. Robotech was one of the first Japanese animes brought over to the States and converted to US tastes. In a time ruled by Hanna Barbera, Robotech was years ahead of everything else out there. It had a very adult feel to it which I loved since most animation back in the mid 1980's we just for kids. I fell in love with the soap opera stylings of the story line. At that point I fell totally in love with the idea that pilots were very attractive. Pilots were my equalivalent to a knight in shining armor. They were protrayed as being brave heroes who would risk their lives to rescue those in need. I know this is where my real life love of pilots came from- directly from watching years of Robotech. Needless to say I married a flight instructor. I have also started freelance writing concentrating on anime themed articles. I have always believed that you should follow a career path of something you love doing. I enjoy writing and I love anime. Put the two together and you have a fun combination of work and play. [quote name='tiffanyxii']Why is it that more and more western viewers are interested in anime?^[/quote] I believe that more and more western viewers are interested in anime because of several reasons. Many of us have grown up watching it. Now the first generations of anime fans are having children who are growing up watching anime. Thus the pattern of anime fandom continues. Large conventions and anime that can be picked up almost anywhere they sell DVDs makes it much more accessible to the viewing public. No longer out of sight out of mind. Anime is all around and on television almost any hour of the day. Anime also has a wide range of different styles for different demographics. If you want action adventure you are covered. If you want a love story, anime has got that covered too. Grade schoolers to adults, anime has something for everyone to enjoy. Only a few animated programs are made in the west that are geared for adults. Animes appeal here in the States I believe has a lot to do with the wide range of anime for each of the different demographics.

[quote name='Sea Of Chaos666']I belive you should not cry unless your truly misreble.[/quote] Crying doesn't necessarily mean you are sad. Many people, myself included, will cry when really happy. When my best friend got married I started to cry when they were saying their vows to each other. It was an amazing and wonderful time and I was overcome with happiness for them. I was filled with happiness for her and cried on her special day. I cried tears of joy when my husband proposed to me. I cried but it was all better than good, it was great. Crying to me is associated with both good and bad things. I wouldn't want to go my whole life without crying.

[quote name='Scott T. Kidd and Cheryl L. Meyer']Moses Lake, Washington. On February 2, 1996, Barry Loukaitis, a 14 year-old Caucasian male, walked into his algebra class at Frontier Junior High School with a rifle and shot and killed two male students, one of whom had repeatedly teased Loukaitis in the past. He then randomly fired another shot into the center of the classroom, seriously injuring a female student. Loukaitis then shot and killed his math teacher as she headed to the aid of the wounded students. Hearing the commotion, a physical education teacher entered the classroom. Loukaitis planned to take a hostage as protection so he could safely exit the school. The physical education teacher volunteered to be the hostage. As Loukaitis placed a plastic bag over the muzzle of the rifle to be placed in the mouth of the teacher, the teacher wrestled the weapon away from him.[/quote] Speaking of open campus in Washington state, Moses Lake High School has an open campus but Frontier where this happened is a closed campus. Being a small town I know most of the people who were involved in this event. The teacher who wrestled the weapon away was one of my former teachers. It was bizarre to think that this could happen in my little hometown. If someone wants to go to school and cause trouble they will find a way. Like Tony said, we are just now starting to see it more in the media. Because of that we now have more laws on the books when a situation occurs. I don't think the schools are safer. We just now realized how dangerous they have always been. There are always going to be crazy kids and wacko teachers. I just think in the past we didn't want to see it. Kinda like the other "safe" places and people that we now know are not safe (ie bad priests, bad cops, bad day cares, bad hospitals, etc..). The world is a dangerous place but that doesn't mean we should live in fear.

Group projects for me were always a mixed bag. I have been in groups that really did a great job and made the experience a great time. For example in my AP English class we decided to write a song about "Animal Farm" and set it to the music of "Ode to Joy". Myself and 4 other members who played instruments did the music and the other members in the group sang the song. We had a great time doing it since out group had those who were musically inclined. On the otherside of that there was a group project in Physiology where there were members who didn't want to help with the necropsy of a cat. It's understandable in this case with people having issues, but that just increased the work load for the other members of the group. I guess if you care about your grade the fear of slackers in the group project causes more stress. If you are on the other end, the one who doesn't care, you have a chance to actually get a good grade for once. If anything it does give you the real life experience of the working world. There are always going to be slackers in the work place and working on group projects gives you a small taste of that world.

Time is your best friend when it comes to a broken heart. Everyday it will get a bit easier. Eventually you will think about him less and less. Unfortunately there is no magic pill you can take to make the hurt go away. You just have to give it some time. Keep doing things like having fun with your friends and family. Don't just sit around and sulk. I am not a fan of jumping back into a relationship. Rebound relationships very rarely work in my opinion. It seems like a lot of people think getting a new boyfriend/girlfriend will help you forget the last relationship. I don't think that is the case. I think all it does is give the new person an expectation to live up too and be compared against. In other words, they are going to have some big shoes to fill. Time, give it time, that is my advice.

When I quit my first job I was moving to a new job with better hours and pay. I gave my notice and did my last two weeks then I was out of there! My first job was working as a cashier at a movie theater. I went home every night smelling like popcorn. The hours I had been working usually got me home after midnight which made going to school and homework a bit more difficult to keep up. I felt kind of sad leaving my first job since it was a fun job. I got to watch all the movies for free and also got free passes to give to my friends and family. Unfortunately the long late night hours and low pay didn't help me save up money for college. I had to move on. In the end, I had to do what would be best for me. Even though I enjoyed my job things had to change. For me the best was moving on to a new job with better hours and more pay.

This topic is very broad and vague. What exactly do you want people to discuss? Art? Politics? Music? Philosophy? Religion? Technology? Without knowing exactly what you want to discuss it is going to be difficult to start a conversation. Each of these areas have different timelines as to what is considered Postmodern. For example the music postmodern era is from 1945 to the present. I am closing this topic due to the vague nature of your post. If you would like to add more information and fix your spelling I will be willing to re-open this thread. Just PM me and I will re-open it after you add more information. Thanks! Panda

Let's not get too upset over the discussion of the holiday. Love it or hate it, everyone has their opinions on Valentine's Day as well as any holiday. Let's just all stick with the topic which is how was your Valentine's Day. :) My Valentine's Day was pretty much uneventful. I slept in for most of the morning since I was up until 4am that morning, so I was pretty tired. When I did get up I made myself some brunch and watched some television. My hubby came home early from work to spend the day with me. He bought me 2 chocolate bars. I am not a big fan of the holiday so they were just plain Hershey's chocolate bars not one of those Valentine themed candies. He made me dinner and we watched anime together. All and all it was a nice day.

I just hate it when... - I go to the store to pick up an item and leave the store with everything but the one item I went there to purchase. - People make fun of someone because of their age/race/creed/gender or whatever just so they can make themselves feel "superior". - Mean people on message boards flame people because the internet is the only place they have guts to act that way. - People get away with murder because of some stupid loophole in the law. - People park in handicapped parking spots who aren't handicapped. - I forget important dates and events. - My arthritis flares up and makes me irritable. - People with noisy kids/ ringing cell phones in a movie theater don't go out into the lobby. - Pop up ads and spam flood my computer. - People use spammy, mean and/or unreadable responses to threads. - I sit down on a seat in a public place and it is moist. - I am at a club/dance/party and guys "accidently" grab my chest. - My lists of "hates" becomes longer than anyone elses.

Live action anime movie is the dream and nightmare of all anime fans. I wonder how Cameron's Alita will turn out. I am guessing very Terminator-esque but I will wait to see the final product before making any decisions. Hopefully he will do the series justice. I think the discussion of live action anime series has been a long standing one. Go to any anime fan message board and you will find someone starting a thread about a live action version of their favorite anime and who the perfect cast would be. I know for ages people have been discussing the "dream cast" of a live action Macross. As for the Eva movie what I had heard about it, character name changes and stuff I am worried of what direction it will take. Eva fans, much like any group of hardcore fans, are going to be very difficult to please. As for live action I know that Boogiepop Phantom is having a live action release. There was also talk of a live action version of Witch Hunter Robin that was/is suppose to be on the Sci-Fi Network.

Favorite teachers...now there is a walk down memory lane. [u]Mr. Martinez my fourth grade teacher.[/u] He was so cool. Up until I ended up in his class all my teachers had been very matronly. Mr. Martinez was pretty much right out of college. He was still young and lots of fun. I think that he really made school fun. Plus he was cute too! [u]Mr. Anderson my fifth grade teacher.[/u] Mr. A was the teacher all fifth graders wanted to have as a teacher. He would tell jokes and always make the kids laugh. At the school talent show he actually performed. The only teacher to do so. He danced and sang. He had an over the top personality that just rocked. It was great having a teacher that wasn't a stick in the mud like some of the other teachers. [u]Mr. Rogers my Anthropology instructor in college.[/u] By the second day of class, he already learned all the students names. He actually cared about each and every one of his students. He was a great instructor that I learned a lot from. Even today he still remembers me. His caring showed through in his teaching. His class was very tough but he made the atmosphere very laid back and comfortable. He is a great teacher.

I love you all enough to say I wouldn't wish any of you to be stuck on a desert island with me. As many of you know I an not the healthiest person in the world and without my medications I am pretty much a lost cause. There is only one member who could handle being trapped with me on a desert island and that is the guy I would want with me. The only member I would want with me would be [b]Novapup[/b] (my husband) because he can put up with my whining. He is also pretty crafty when it comes to surviving in the wilds. Back before I got sick we would go camping all the time. When I say camp I don't mean with a camper or cabin. Just up in the mountains. Catch your own fish with a fishing pole you make yourself. Not only can he take care of himself but he can take care of me. He has a world of life experiences that make him a great compainion. Oh and he is an EMT so first aid is covered.

I am addicted to the internet. I feel absolutely awful when the server goes down and I can't get my "fix". I feel like I am missing out on important things like emails and the happenings of the message boards that I visit. I really do think of my internet habit as an addiction. What can I say, I am a junkie.

[quote name='Shinmaru']I was neither.[/quote] Shin, you aren't foolin' anyone. I know you are a Pirate Pimp deep down inside. ;) I live in an area where there are tons of cowboys. Wrangers and Carhartts. Gallons of Stetson. Rodeo and country music. I live in a very rural area so the "romance" of cowboys is a bit lost on me. Now pirates on the other hand, I love pirates. Pirates rock my socks. What other criminal is so sexy and uber-cool? None. They totally rock. Cowboys can't hold a candle to the suave-ness of pirates! Pirates all the way. After all we have an official "Talk like a Pirate Day" in September!! Do we have "Talk like a Cowboy Day"? I don't think so! Pirates > Cowboys.

It's because of the server move. Adam posted this message on the front page of theOtaku about it. [QUOTE=Adam]Don't worry... We're undergoing a VERY complicated server move right now. We know there are errors everywhere and ask you to please be patient. Everything should hopefully be normal and perfect by tomorrow morning. [/QUOTE] We just have to keep on keepin' on until the move is completed. :D

I am in an interracial relationship. I am Japanese and my husband is of German decent. I never even think about being an interracial couple. One of my friends mentioned it over dinner one night and John and I just looked at each other like, "Oh yeah, I guess we are!". Needless to say we never really think about it. In our day and age I don't think it is as much of a taboo, but there are still people with issues. Some are vocal while others keep it on the downlow. As long as people think their race is superior there will be issues with interracial relationships.

My mom's older brother had an arranged marriage in Japan. My mom said the first time she met her sisiter-in-law was when she moved into the family home. Traditional Japanese families have the eldest son living at home with his parents. Basically his wife helps take care of the husband's family. My aunt and uncle are very happily married and now live in the United States. My mom teases my big brother she is going to Japan to get him a wife. I seriously doubt she would, but with her family history it does make me worry. I am glad I am not the eldest son in the family!

This makes me think of the movie "Alive". One problem with eating humans and that is the same problem the cattle have when eating other cattle- Mad Cow Disease. This can also happen with people. I saw a documentary on cannibals in my cultural anthropology class in college and the "mad cow-like" disease that some of the members of the village suffer from. It comes mostly from eating uncooked brain but from what is known about this condition it is really terrible. It's like watching those mad cow videos of the cows stumbling around and shaking...but with people instead. If worse came down to worse I think I could eat a cat, dog, bugs or other creatures. I would opt to eat veggies first but if I had no other choice then I would eat meat. Humans, I don't think I could. But if someone wanted to eat my dead body I wouldn't have a problem with it.

satan665 and Morpheus, let's keep this discussion civil. There is no need to insult the intellegence of the other. I would hate to see this interesting discussion turn into a flame war. Now back on topic: I find many vegetarian receipes very tasty. I enjoy eatting tofu and see nothing wrong with it. Tofu is yummy in my opinion! Gardenburgers and Boca Burgers are good as well. I don't think I could ever go vegan since I enjoy eating fish and poultry. I am not sure why Pumpkin quoted my other post since I never said anything about the Bible. I only agreed with James about our teeth. We have teeth for both meat and veggies. That can easily be see by looking in the mirror and smiling. I am also not vegetarian as I stated in that quoted post. I guess I need clarification on if that post was directed at me or not.

There are many thing to consider when opening your own business. You need to get and pay for your UBI number not to mention your local business license fees and permits. There are all the state and federal taxes you have to pay for quarterly and/or yearly. You have to have secure vendors to purchase your stock- if they are international you have import fees to add in. Employees and all the wonderful taxes and stuff that goes along with that such as benefits and health care. We can't forget all the odds and ends like phones, computers, utilities. Also, are you are going to have a brick-and-mortar store, one based off the internet or both? Don't forget to consider things like shrinkage and insurance! No matter where you are you need to make sure there is a demand for your product. There is no way in the world I would open up an anime store in my hometown. It is a farming community that has about 16,000 people. Country music and monster trucks are what's popular here. There is no way this community could support such a specialized store. Rule of thumb is that with any business you will be loosing money for at least the first 2 years. If you start turning a profit after that you have a chance. Now I am not trying to rain on your parade but you really need to think about all the actual business involved. If you are willing to take the risk and open up a business you need to make sure to have what is popular and things are "exclusive". The exclusive things would be the items that you can't just pick up at the local video store or comic book store. Events that would be cool would be gaming events, card tournaments and guest visits from those in the industry. Make your customers feel special and they will support your business. FYI: I have my own business license and ran my own business while in college. It was fun but a lot of work!

Ozy reminded me of a story dealing with Fresca. My hubby got carded (asked for ID) when buying Fresca once. He put a 6 pack on the counter and the clerk asked for picture ID. He just looked at the guy and said "Why?". The clerk said I am not going to sell you anything til I see your ID. The next guy in line said. "It's Fresca." The clerk then looked again and said that he thought it was Busch beer. :rolleyes: I do have another question for everyone. Has anyone tried that [b]Turkey and Gravy[/b] flavored Jones Soda Company soda? They only make it during the Thanksgiving holiday and it always sells out. It just sounds gross to me but I would like to know if anyone has tried it! I am still looking for that Panda soda too...anyone tried that?

Here is some information from the International Vegetarian Union (IVU): [u]Vegan:[/u] excludes animal flesh (meat, poultry, fish and seafood), animal products (eggs and dairy), and usually excludes honey and the wearing and use of animal products (leather, silk, wool, lanolin, gelatin...). The major vegan societies all disallow honey, but some "vegans" still use it. Some "vegans" also refuse to eat yeast products. [u]Dietary Vegan: [/u]follows a vegan diet, but doesn't necessarily try and exclude non-food uses of animals. [u]Vegetarian:[/u] For the purpose of membership of IVU, vegetarianism includes veganism and is defined as the practice of not eating meat, poultry or fish or their by-products, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs. Often broken down further into OVO-LACTO, and LACTO. Vegetarians may or may not try and minimize their non food use of animals like vegans. [u]Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian:[/u] same as VEGAN, but also eats eggs and milk products. This is the most 'popular' form of Vegetarianism. [u]Lacto Vegetarian:[/u] Same as VEGAN, but also eats milk products. [u]Veggie[/u] -- Shortened nick-name for a VEGETARIAN; often includes VEGANs. [u]Strict vegetarian:[/u] originally meant vegan, now can mean vegan or vegetarian. [u]Semi-Vegetarian:[/u] Eats less meat than average person. See also PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN. [u]Pseudo-Vegetarian:[/u] Claims to be vegetarian, but isn't. Often used by VEGETARIANS to describe SEMI-VEGETARIANs, and PESCETARIANs. [u]Pescetarian:[/u] Similar to VEGETARIAN, but also consumes fish. (often is a person avoiding factory-farming techniques...) See also PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN. [u]Fruitarian:[/u] Same as VEGAN, but only eats foods that don't kill the plant (apples can be picked without killing plant, carrots cannot). [u]Vegetable Consumer:[/u] Means anyone who consumes vegetables. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN. [u]Herbivore:[/u] Mainly eats grass or plants. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN. [u]Plant-Eater:[/u] Mainly eats plants. Not necessarily a VEGETARIAN. [u]Nonmeat-Eater:[/u] Does not eat meat. Most definitions do not consider fish, fowl or seafood to be meat. Animal fats and oils, bonemeal and skin are not considered meat. [u]Kosher:[/u] Made according to a complex set of Jewish dietary laws. Does not imply VEGAN in any case. Does not imply OVO-LACTO VEGETARIAN in any case. Even KOSHER products containing milk products may contain some types of animals which are not considered 'meat'. [u]Pareve/Parve:[/u] One category in KOSHER dietary laws. Made without meat or milk products or their derivatives. Eggs and true fish are pareve, shellfish are not. [u]Nondairy:[/u] Does not have enough percentage of milkfat to be called dairy. May actually contain milk or milk derivatives. [u]Nonmeat:[/u] Made without meat. May include eggs, milk, cheese. Sometimes even included animal fats, seafood, fish, fowl. Hope that helps give more information about all the groups, subgroups and definitions. I am sure there are probably more groups but at least you have a list to start looking at.

Wow, I am Nifty! I am really honored to be included in the list. I am also happy to see a couple of my nominations made the list as well as one of my quotes. Thank you Shy and the Nifty Fifty Committee! This really was an interesting community wide event. I am very much looking forward to what you have up your sleeves for the next event. Kudos to Shy and the committee for a great event. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

Favorite anime convention memories. There are so many it is hard to think about them all. I had dinner with Rebecca Forstadt (VA in Robotech, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Cowboy Bebop) and met Richard Cox (VA for Ranma and Inu Yasha) and Miriam Sirois (VA for Akane Tendo in Ranma 1/2) at a private VIZ party. If anyone has the last box set of Ranma 1/2 on the extras they show clips from that party. That was really exciting. But I would have to say that my favorite memory is from Anime Expo 2003. I am a big fan of Robotech and got to meet a bunch of the guys who work for Harmony Gold who I am a proud to say are close friends. One of the guys who I became friends with I think I talk to him on the phone about 4 days a week just to visit! It is very exciting to be on the "inside" of the company that made the series that got me into the anime fandom. That year I also won a life sized Lynn Minmei poster! I should have had Rebecca Forstadt sign it for me. Oops! I am really looking forward to AX this year since it is also going to be the 20th anniversary of Robotech so they are throwing a con within a con. Robocon 20 is going on at the same time! Woo hoo! This is going to add more great memories. I love anime conventions.

Well this looks like a fun little topic! I find myself attracted to bishies who are completely opposite of the guys I am attracted to in real life. Well, mostly different than the guys I have been attracted to in real life. I think I like these guys because they are dangerous bad boys where in real life I am married to, well, the guy you take home to meet the parents. I also think that liking anime bad boys is much safer than liking a bad boy in real life. Those ones in real life are trouble and will leave you only with a broken heart. Anime bad boys you can dream about and they don't break your heart! Now here is a couple of examples of the guys I like. [u]Genjo Sanzo from Saiyuki:[/u] Tall thin blonde. He smokes too much, drinks too much and has a terribly negative attitude to top it off. [u]Eiri Yuki from Gravitation:[/u] Tall thin blonde. He smokes too much, drinks too much and has a terribly negative attitude to top it off. Hmm, I sense a pattern here. What can I say, I love those tall thin blonde bishies with bad attitudes. I really think they just need the right girl to come along. I think I can handle that job. ;)