visualkei

Just a reminder. It'll be nice to know where you are as to where your fashion comment is. You don't have to give specific details, something like Northeast US, Norway, Ireland, Libya, or anything like that will do. Thanks.

I'd like to know what's the fasion trend from where you're living. I'm no fashion guru, but I was thinking about how I may look alright here, but may totally be a dweeb if I were in another country. =P. Talk about what's in, what you like, and what you hate about your location's fashion, and what you're curious about in other places. I live in the United States, and I'm not going to talk about every little detail, someone else may elaborate on the fashion trends here, but there are a few things I'd like to ask about. Pants. For women. After being extinct since the 70s, flared jeans have been "in" for the past ten years here. Now almost no women wear big flares, instead, mostly small flares, boot-cut, and I've seen the skinny legged jeans trying to make a comeback. Low-ride jeans that come up to your hips or right below have been in for the past 3 years. For men. I've seen a few guys try wearing flared jeans, and it just doesn't look right to me. Wide-leg pants were in big time in the late nineties, but now, I guess you can say straight leg pants are in. For a major time during the past summers I've seen a lot of cargo shorts on every other fella. And every other guy I see wear pants a little big on him so that it slightly sags in the back. T-shirts are always in. I was just wondering about flares/wide-leg pants. I hear people don't wear them in Europe, just skinny legged jeans? Oh yeah, and a lot of women have been sporting tatoos in their lower back, or bluntly put, right above their butt-crack. I think those tatoos look really cheap, are in the wrong place, and I'd say that's the fashion trend I've disliked recently.

From what I understand of Shadow Blade's question, he's asking [B]what scares you [I]as a male or female[/I][/B]. So I suppose it's about what fears your have regarding the opposite sex? I'd have to say that I fear committment. I hate it when someone checks up on me. Even some friends, I can't keep them close because I can't stand having to talk on the phone with or see someone every day. So, if someone from the opposite sex is involved, I don't know how I will handle it. Thouggh I admit, I'm getting old, getting lonely, and I need a change. :animedepr

Well, I didn't know Gavin was in high school! I assumed you were some college student or graduate, I forgot what gave me that idea. Anywayz, yeah, I could've cared less about her. Then she suddenly dies one day, and all I got to say is, geez, that woman lead one turbulent life. I didn't see that one coming. I feel sorry for the kid she left behind. I think that the dispute about her late husband's money is still ongoing, would this mean that the money issue is settled for the other side?

[QUOTE=Swordsaint] Unfortunately, yes there are many out there who use this as an excuse for their behaviour. But they are seen most often because they make the biggest mess. The ones that actually try to better themselves aren't really likely to make the news like the ones who beat your friend. I am actually quite sorry to hear that because of this one event, you beleive the native peoples to be cowardly, hopless people when there actually are many out there that take hope and stand firm despite the ill actions of other people.[/QUOTE] Well put, [B]Swordsaint[/B]. I don't live in Canada, so I don't exactly know what's the impression white Canadians have about the natives there, except when I studied them for about a week in a college class. I've heard about the reservations over there, and the native's customs. It's hard living together when you have people from different cultures, and it takes a lot of time for both groups to adjust to each other, and things to level out. I'm a minority in the US, and whenever I see someone with the same ethnicity as mine doing something stupid, I think to myself, "Dammit, this is going to reflect on my ethnic group!" Like Swordsaint said, when you're a minority, the people who get the most attention, are the ones that make the biggest messes. =/

I want to know, how do you feel about meeting people on the internet-- in real life? Not just how you feel about it, but have you ever done it before? Do you telephone people you've met through the internet, though haven't met in real life? I think that meeting people online is really common, and becoming more... "normal." By normal, I mean that there's less stigma associated with it in the last 5 years. Thhis stigma I'm talking about is how it may be perceived as kind of... dorky. What do you guys think? Do you think there's even a stigma associated with meeting people online? As for me, I've never met anyone in real life that I met first on the internet. Except once, which was a coincidence that we were both at the same place. I've talked to someone on the phone before, but I did it once, when I was a teenager, and it made me uncomfortable. Honestly, the idea of meeting people through the internet still makes me a little uncomfortable, though I wish I don't feel that way.

I like mine Kettle Cooked style. It's sweet and I like it. OK, has anyone ever had this bag of Korean brand popcorn...? I don't know what the name of it is right now, but that popcorn is pretty neat. I guess it just depends on your tastes, some might think it's nasty. But it's popcorn without the kernel, and when you put it in your mouth, there's no chewing involved! It practically dissolves in your mouth, it's so soft.

[QUOTE=sakurasuka][FONT=Arial][size=1]I agree with nearly every aspect of your post except this bit. Online communication shouldn't be considered a prerequisite, or even first-step to real world interaction, as that would cause immense social deformity. The kiddos shouldn't be given keyboards and mouses 'till they know how to act and conversate in person. Who knows what sort of relations a 10-13 year old will foster with online strangers without first gaining proper knowledge of social interaction? But in the end, it is up to the parental figures of each child how often/when they're allowed online. Personally, I'm somewhat cyber-crippled. I never did make friends well as a child, Neopets boards became my crutch. Thankfully I'm not quite as socially awkward anymore, but I really do wish my mother would have regulated my internet conversations a bit more as a child. [/size][/FONT][/QUOTE] I think my statement has been taken out of context. What I mean is for normal children who have RL social experiences. They can use IM as a means to extend their social networking or choices of communication with others. I don't even want to imagine giving a kid a keyboard before sending them to pre-school. [QUOTE] [B]Boo:[/B] Maybe you were just socially awkward anyway. I can't say that internet improves you socially, but you can't completely blame your social awkwardness on the internet. It was probably just a way to be able to act social without the awkward situations that you'd normally have. [/QUOTE] I agree with Boo on this point, too. I don't think you should credit your social awkwardness so much to your dependence on the internet. The internet provided an additional choice for you to interact with others.

[B]Mnemonica:[/B] [QUOTE]Children exposed to impersonal communication at a young age, and who have had little exposure to face-to-face communication with people outside of their family, will be underdeveloped socially. And, if there are a large group of children who have grown up in roughly the same environment, and then became more involved in face-to-face communication later on, their 'impersonal social skills' would be transfered over to their 'real life' social skills.[/QUOTE] IM is impersonal, popular since the nineties, and there is a large number of children using it as a form of communication. I don't think it necessarily has a negative effect on developing social skills. Children can use impersonal communication as a step toward face-to-face communication. I'm not basing this on scientific research, just generalizing, but it's worth considering. There are other opportunities to socialize such as by going to school or doing extracurricular activities. Since there has been a rise in the emphasis on the importance of education, school has extended opportunities for children to participate in activities before/after school with other children. Not only that, but school goals have changed, with more emphasis on developing on socialization and cooperation skills in the past 10 years. This is where they often exchange IM information, communicate, and even network with each other, and each other's friends. I definately think that the internet has made it easy for children to gain and keep up with "friends." It's an additional tool they can use to communicate to other people. I do agree with you that if this is their main means of communication and they do not step out of their comfort zone, it will hurt their social skills development. But I think that for "normal" 12 year olds who use the internet, by the time they're 15, they've mastered how to navigate the internet and network with people by adding friends to their IM lists that they've accumulated. They still socialize as much the other "generations" did when they were our age, but they just have different means and choices now. I don't disagree with the general statement you made about asking a 12 year old today what they'd do w/o a computer, and they'll answer to be taken to the mall. The way I see it, though, more stores and entertainment places have grown in the U.S. in the past 2 decades giving kids more choices. Kids often meet kids up. They go to the mall or the movies together, and they're still with other kids. It doesn't say much about their socializing, just that the places in which they socialize are different.

Well, Adahn, since you've already stated some pros and cons for RL, and added that the pros and cons of IM is about the opposite, I'll just add a little more about IM. [B]Instant Messaging:[/B] [QUOTE] Some things you may have wished to hide will come out while speaking in person, and nothing said can be taken back once spoken. [/QUOTE] What I think is most advantageous about IM is that you always have the option of erasing what you've said before you press that "enter" button. Since IM is a written or typed message, there is a lot of room to edit what comes out before the other person reads it. In IM you can sound witty and intelligent if you wanted to. The person at the other end of the line didn't know that it took you 10 seconds to think of a smart reply (or do a quick online research), whereas in real life there is a wait time when your replies may seem too late to affect the moment. And in IM communication, you can delude yourself into believing what the person is actually like. All you see is what they've written, and it's up to you to interpret what it means. You can think that the smiley face that comes with the IM means that the person is being light-hearted, joking, or sincere. That person you're communicating with, their image is mostly up to you. By image I mean a sort of idea of what their personality is like if you were to never see or hear them speak. Yes, it's easy to conceal your identity with IM. It's also easy to be honest, because there's no RL social risks associated with IM. You can reveal a lot of things by talking through IM. There is a certain convenience with IM. It allows you to multitask or ignore someone without seeming you're ignoring them. All the while still "conversating" with them. [B]Real Life:[/B] It's just easier to hold back, restrain in real life. [QUOTE]Some things can be hidden or faked by noone, like a genuine smile.[/QUOTE] Sometimes, you don't need to communicate to people in words. It's great to have someone you know you can be around, and not have to say a single word. That's definately something you can't do with IM. Your identity in IM may be separate from RL, but it's an identity. You can't be one face all the time. There are a lot of pros and cons with each, and they're different ways of communicating. You can do without IM, but you can't do without RL. These are both ways to interact with other people, and it's up to you to shape what kind of identity you want in each.

I thought that was well-written, Adahn. You're basically saying that some people who suppress gays are hypocrites, but you made your point sound much nicer and more reasonable than what I just stated. It reminds me, I think my friend used the same Jesus quote when he was talking about legalizing gay marriages. This is probably my favorite part of it: [QUOTE]Disallowing gay marriage, I believe, will do little to stop people from being gay. It will, however, keep gay people from having faith in God. When an ideology oppresses a group, that group usually does not flock to follow that ideology. [/QUOTE] Now I know all gays aren't going to turn away from Christianity because of the attitudes they get. But when you have a big group of people from a religion condeming you, and saying that their or your God condemns you, you're going to get turned off in one way or another. It doesn't surprise me if Christian gays decide if they'll rather leave 'em than join 'em. I just got so confused writing more about your post... so I'm just going to leave it at that. Perhaps I'll post later when I'm awake. =D

[QUOTE=Adahn] [size=2]I'll state my point again to see if it gets through. The more that is not known about the disease, the better chance it has of being related to current medical knowledge. That potential still exists, and it would not exist if the cause were known, and no previous research was found to be related to it.[/size] ........ [size=2]As for ridding their daughter of the pain of menstruation...[/size] [size=2][/size] [size=2]Our society has been made to cause women to be ashamed of their bodies, especially menstruation. I myself know pain, even if not so often as women do, but I suspect much of that pain is a result of their upbringing. Perpetuating the idea that the parents have done good by ridding their daughter of the monthly curse only serves to further women's shame of their own bodies.[/size][/QUOTE] I understand what you're trying to say, and I would have to disagree. Knowing more about the disease and its cause would help you focus on the specifics of the disease and match with a cure. Knowing the cause of the disease can also lead to preventive strategies, and the necessity to find a cure wouldn't be as immediate if there are ways to prevent such a disease from occuring. The previous posts that agree with the parents' decision believe that what the parents did was in the girls' best interest. You see it as the parents making the kid suffer. Others see it as the parents allowing the child to suffer for a short time instead of suffering for a long time in the long run. A relatively short time of suffering was a way to prevent her from 40 years of bleeding off and on, not to mention all the physical pain. No one even brought up the social implications simply because it's hardly relevant in this discussion. I don't know about you, but where I'm from, commercials for sanitary napkins come on tv all the time. There's no shame associated with it, if there is, it's a personal thing. During puberty alot of girls are embarassed of their periods, but hey, this kid isn't going to go through puberty or have the mental capacity to know embarassment.

Oni-con. Simply because it's a big enough convention that'll be relatively close to where I live. I went to that, being my very first anime convention in '06, so I'll be back again in '07.

this would be a good time to throw away all those things you can't make up your mind whether to keep or not. it's kind of like a giant spring cleaning. and get as many people as you can to help, that's a given.

I really enjoy watching people who can dance, dance. And people who can't dance, dance. I envy people who know how to dance because I have no rhythm. Ever went to a club and watched someone who obviously can NOT dance, go wild dancing their heart out? Just seeing a terrible dancer do a bunch of weird stuff by himself like he's some sort of queen butterfly was so entertaining and satisfying to me, I even wanted him to approach me and dance with me! That movie called You've Got Served was terrible, but I kept replaying the dance battles. If I could learn any dance style, I guess I'd pick hip-hop, just because there's so much attitude! =P.

I remember this is a pretty famous graphic novel about WWII depicting Jews as mice and..... the Nazis as Cats? I read part of it a long time ago, but it didn't really get me going so I quit reading it. Isn't there a Maus II, too?

I'd say smoke in front of them almost nonchalantly is better than hiding and getting caught. Then they'll lecture/ask you, then you can explain. Bringing it up like that out of the blue sounds like you're doing something wrong and have to confess to them. Then again, you denied it in the first place, which I think lying is just making things worse, especially when your parents probably know you're smoking since they're questioning you. Maybe you should just quit and wouldn't have to worry about this.

Yes, the good ole days when I was the only kid in the neighborhood--besides my cousins that knew what anime was. One of my first obsessions was Ranma 1/2. I loved it so much. The tv series were so crappily animated but I thought it was funny. I looked forward to getting those flimsy Viz Video catalogs in the mail that had 90% Ranma in it, and like, 5 manga titles. hehe. I missed being a kid during those days, but that's about it. I think it's much better now. Don't have to pay an arm and a leg for much anime, much of it's on tv or downloadable through Internet. And you don't have to drive 100 miles to find a store that sells anime/manga.

Taking into consideration that I'm Asian American, I'd have to go to the future. Reason is because if I were in Asia in the past and present, or the West in the past, I'd be oppressed either way, hehe. I'd choose to be in the not-too-distant future as Kitchen Sink suggests; this is only if I'll have my current memories. The culture shock is taken into consideration. If I have new memories, then any future will do, I guess. Oh, the possibilities. =P

Lol. That was interesting. Even though it was a fan trailer, the maker did a really good job of putting it together. The drawn on beard cracked me up...

Well, I've been aware of the news for many yeeeeeears now... And I've seen sketches of a future movie. But I can't believe a [B]TRAILOR[/B] is out?!?!?!?!? Link me! I have to see this for myself.

[QUOTE=Chiyasha]Oh bloody yea, Audition is the best Japanese Horror film eva. That film is also my first Japanese film I've watched. It's best to avoid The Ring and The Grudge. They are just a bunch of scare-tactics kind of movies. First, I scream. Then, I see with boredom. The cycle repeats itself without notice until the end of the movie. Anybody knows Ichi the Killer? What's the movie about?[/QUOTE] I haven't seen Ichi the Killer the movie, but I've read some of the manga. It's about a delusional psycho weiner of a guy, Ichi, who freaks out and kills people when he feels that those people are bullies. He cries every time he kills someone, and he slashes them all up. He also gets off on seeing violence and S&M. Then there's this yakuza guy who can't get enough of torturing people, cutting himself up, and searches for Ichi. It's violent, violent, violent. I read the a lot of the manga, but I don't know if I have the stomache to watch it in live-action. It's really twisted, and seems like the writer is just coming up with stories so that he could draw people killing and torturing each other. I actually read a lot of the manga because I've never read anything like that and was curious. It was interesting at first, then sickening as the manga progressed.

To me Thanksgiving is another BREAK FROM SCHOOL where me and my cousins can hang out for a day. It's used to be we'd stay with our families during the day and hang out somewhere with each other around nighttime or so. Ever since we graduated high school, we've basically planned to get togethers at one another's house at around 7 pm. We eat turkey, and all the American stuff. One of my cousins is planning to get a giant moonwalk this year so we (ages 18-23) can all go crazy outside. Being with them is like being in high school again. Kinda. =D

[QUOTE=2006DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] I don't blame the kids... I also don't blame the parents for being at least mildly strict... take a look at America's schoo system - we don't put much pressure on our children at all, and we have TONS of dropouts. In Japan, dropping out is a big deal, while here it's commonplace.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] Well, we don't put much pressure on our children-- compared to the Japanese. I haven't been to school in Japan, or have first hand observation, so all I have to say is based on second hand information. As far as pressure, I think it's a parental thing. In the US whether you're under pressure is usually because your parents have high expectations of you regarding school. I think that having high expectations is good, but you shouldn't force kids to do and worry about adult things. Kids should have time to be kids. In Japan, I don't know. It seems like everyone has to go to school and keep doing better and better. It sounds like in Japanese schools, it's quite competitive. Your names are publicly posted from the most successful student to the least. Then you have all these middle schools and high schools that group you based on standardized test performance scores. Then there's this ideal track that you're expected to keep going on, and you better not fall off the choo-choo tracks. In the US, I think people generally have the impression that there more choices. If you don't graduate high school or if you don't go to college, you can always do [this other alternative]. I was always like WTF?!?! when my peers in high school casually said they weren't going to college and go to beauty school or something like that, but now that I think about it, college isn't for everyone. They didn't like school in the first place, they just wanted to work, and that choice is readily available for them, and their parents also think it's a decent choice. Where as in Japan it seems like authority figures drill into kids' minds that you're doomed if you don't succeed in schools. I can understand why parents there would put so much pressure on their kids, they just want the best for them... but this isn't always the best considering all the pressure there is.

Hehe, I giggled a little reading your posts. Especially [B]The13thMan'[/B]s post up there. I can tell you like your junk food HedonismBot. As far as this decline in the "quality" of junk food, I don't know if "quality" is the right word for this. I know you're concerned about [I]taste[/I]. YES, I do taste the difference when it says something like 30% less fat or less sugar, it tastes crappy. But with trans fat, I think they're just using a different oils to cook the food. I was watching the news the other day about trans fat, and most companies don't want to sacrifice the taste. The only reason why they're using alternative ingredients is because there is a crapload of other people out there demanding these corporations to use healthier ingredients. Besides the general demand, people are suing restaurants and companies because they're overweight from supposedly just eating their food. It's just easier to change the ingredients than deal with health accusations. On a side note, all this sugar-free or less fat stuff usually contain the same amount of calories. Calories is what counts if you're trying to lose weight. Like The13thMan said, markets are still saturated with heart clogging foods out there. So there's still a wide selection of junk food available for your consumption.