*Highlights* - History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi

GUY INCOG says:

History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi is a manga that I recently began reading which turns out to be quite excellent. Kenichi is a book lover who has just entered high school, but he is often bullied by others. One day, he became good friends with the new transfer student, Fuurinji Miu, who was also looking for a friend. Kenichi was shocked at how powerful she is at first, but he is still somehow attracted to her. the story follows the two as they attend school, grow into adults, and battle brutal street gangs.





To be honest, I can't quite put a finger on what I find so alluring about this manga. Perhaps the wistful innocence of adolescence or the admirable discipline with which they pursue their study of martial arts. Perhaps the plot twists that leave you guessing at every turn. I can say, without exaggeration, that this manga could be the War and Peace of our generation.








The artwork is also fantastic. The line work is phenomenal and the coloring is simply superb. But even after all that, even after I extol each of the individual virtues of the series, words still cannot convey the excellence of this series. It simply has to be read.




















For an enigmatic, enthralling adventure, I give it the highest rating awarded by the RGC. If you're not reading History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi right now, you're doing it wrong.

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Sodom

I entered college a naive, thin, intellectual young man full of curiosity and regard for his fellow man. This lasted roughly two months. I went from breaking-dancing and doing research at leading laboratories in high school to drinking obscene amounts, having zero initiative, and overall learning just how much fun life can really be.

How has college changed me? I gained about 30 pounds. I'd never had to diet before in my life since I ate reasonable meals and exercised regularly in addition to dancing or participating in sports. In college, I ate cookies for 3 meals a day, pizza for the other two, and endeavored to establish a me-shaped indentation in my bed so I could rest more securely as I played video games.

In high school, I was surrounded by intellectual powerhouses and considered myself their peer if not their better. In college, I played Kings and played Kings and played Kings. One term I literally realized towards the end of the term, that I had attended a class where attendance counted a total of two times.

I like to think that I entered college a kinder, gentler soul, only to have the patience poked out of me.

With all of that said, I enjoyed my college experience and treasure the appreciation for vice that I acquired there.

A journal excerpt:

A: You should take up smoking.
Me: I know!! It’s so cheap here. You can get a pack of cigarettes and a lighter for like 50 cents. And I’ll be so much cooler!
A: Yup. And once you start smoking you’ll have completed all the vices.
Me: Not really. I still have to do drugs and prostitution.
A: And incest. Don’t forget about incest.
Me: No… I think I’ll just skip that one…
A: No way! You’ve got to do them all!

Read more...

The Growing Pains of College

You ARE a Liar if you think college didn't change you. I mean college did a full overhaul on me, leaving me a gloriously battered banshee male whore with only a semblance of dignity.

... ... I'm seriously kidding... seriously! Come on now.

College DID make me bitter and a much more negative person. Besides seeing my academic performance and moral character slip in college, I also had to constantly deal with obliviously ignorant and judgmental peers. Combine that with the fact that I initially felt many of my relationships were shallow and you get a very frustrated, unhappy person. Eventually, I came to accept that not all people are willing to be for you what you want them to be (even if it would be better for them).

College also made me more confrontational!! After having several "problems" with professors and classmates, I was forced to realize I am my BIGGEST Advocate. Calling meetings with profs and sometimes deans to reconcile issues, getting classmates together to discuss and resolve conflicts, etc. I LEARNED that even if all the facts and "positives" are on your side, people are often stubborn JUST TO BE and require a more aggressive, direct approach.  And I can/have the right to dish it.

I learned to speak my honest thoughts to my friends, for their sake.

I realized that sometimes people change for the worse, and there's nothing you can do about it.

I became much more impulsive, living in "the now" by senior year (I even embraced pong senior year...HERPES CENTRAL *see this post*). 

College changed me in a lot of ways that I'm still trying to fully understand. Most obviously, I became more social. Before college I was a proud functioning introvert who enjoyed spending time alone. These days, I still spend much of my time solo, but I can at least feign excitement and comfort in social settings.

On the opposite end, college severely damaged my self-confidence and belief in my abilities. Being confronted with failure on so many fronts has that affect on a person. Fortunately, the real world has managed to rebuild or put into perspective a lot of what college tore down.

I didn't really dig deep for this entry because it's tricky/I hate talking about it. There were so many changes, and I hated most of them. Even today, I find myself trying to reverse the effects 4 years had on me.

It was still worth it. I grew a ton, and learned through the pain ... ugh

Be well, Read more...

Brokedown Blogger

Who or what am I? I don't have a damn clue...


I'm afraid but I'm not. Someday this new Me will emerge and I'll realize that this is the person I should have been all along and everything will be wonderful. I look back at who I was pre-college and I see the things in me that I used to love and cherish. My strength, confidence, positivity, and belief in myself have all diminished to varying degrees. These changes began my first term of Dartmouth which was a terrible one in terms of my education. Poor grades and, for the first time in my life, struggling to make it destroyed all of those things, and it would take the rest of my time at college to slowly begin to gain them back. The realization that I was no longer a whiz kid and that I was simply average killed me…I miss that old Me but I appreciate the many things I’ve gained and I’m sure down the road…I’ll realize the trade-off was worth it. I’m more open-minded, understanding, considerate now and that stubborn bull-headedness is always diminishing. My mean-spiritness and manipulative nature are also beginning to wane, so it’s all good.

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Physically- I gained too much weight from drinking and partying and non-stop snacking and ordering of fast food. The end.
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God I was stupid!!!! I thought I’d walk into college and upon recieving my degree, I’d be an expert in X field and ready to go out there and do everything. I thought I’d be able to write my own paychecks and that companies would be fighting over me! Needless to say, I’m no longer that naive and I realize what it takes to make it in this world. 50 years ago, this degree would have taken me so far, but now, now you can’t even get a job at McDonald’s without a college degree it seems. I will say this though, I can do anything. No … I’m serious. Liberal Arts colleges are wonderful for that kind of thing. I feel that I have the skill sets to place me in any industry and I would easily be able to perform well. Balancing all of my activities and differing jobs with 10-week school terms all honed my time management and prioritization skills. My grades weren't amazing, but I know that if I didn't work 15-20 hours a week and used a portion of that time to study, I would be much higher up on the GPA scale. I envied those people who didn't work at all, but I know that if I had to work full time to support myself in law school, as many people do, I could do so easily and still maintain.

College changed me and made me a slightly better person in society’s eyes in that I care more for others and that I am compassionate, understanding and more considerate. I think before I speak – trying my best not to offend while still stating my ideas. My “don’t give a F@$*” attitude has subsided and been replaced by one where I still don’t let others define me but I’m less harsh and abrasive in my actions, and words. The only things I want back are my confidence in myself and my belief that I am smart and not just average. Working towards regaining those and then I think I’ll be complete! Read more...

Outside the Bat Cave

Changes? O yes, I've changed. College has definitely changed me. Freshman Fifteen? More like FRESHMAN FIFTY.

Ok no, not that much. But my mom was looking for an emaciated me coming off that bus the first Thanksgiving break and didn't recognize me because I had gained weight. To her disappointment, I replaced homecooking with fatty American food instead of wasting away pining for Mommy's cooking.

Superficial physical changes are minor things that comes with growing up. Mental and emotional changes run a little deeper.

I've always lived in a bubble. Did I grow up pain-free? No. Did my mother shelter me too much? Some would say that, but she also didn't shy away from warning me about the darkness of human nature. Even with all the afterschool specials and the hokey family values shows like Boy Meets World and Full House, I still decided that bad things like drugs and bullies don't exist in my world. A bit of a defense mechanism.

All that changed in college. Slowly, I let a little more into my bubble. Now, I'm not saying that I was out getting drugged up, sexed up, and F'd up. I'm just saying that I let my guard down and let go of a lot of my naivete. In the process, I've learned a lot more about the world and about myself. I think I see the world with completely different eyes now. My innate NYer paranoia is reinforced but hopefully that means that I tread upon this world with more caution.

Am I still me after college? I think the core ME is still here. I have more or less the same set of values I've always had, except now I have experience flexing my moral muscles and seen more things to develop ideas about other things I've never had to deal with before.

I might cry a little easier because I'm not so afraid of ALL "weak" emotions, but I am a stronger person for coming to grips with being true to myself. The world is a big place. Too many things out there piss me off. If I carry a big enough stick, I won't have to speak too loudly. I will go far. I will learn plenty even with my bubble keeping me warm and sane. But a big stick is still a big stick. I'm not so afraid to look beyond that bubble anymore. I can't thank my friends enough for holding my hand while I do that. Read more...

A Tale of Two Cities

I can't decide between UVA and Berkeley for law school.

I jetted over to Berkeley last week and spent an interesting 24 hours there, and it's awesome and not so awesome. The people are sharp. They are interesting and they are passionate. I met some black people there and the community is so much more awesome than in college that it's amazing. More mature and warmer. What difference a few years and a more developed sense of self can make. The campus itself is nice, It's in the Bay Area, wonderful job placement, fantastic weather. Essentially, the only downside is that it's in a relatively poor city so you lose a sense of a beautiful concrete world surrounding campus.

UVA. is. beautiful. Like no joke. Berkeley is nice but with UVA they sat down and said "Let's build a campus that the whole world will love". It's nestled in Charlottesville, rated the best city in America to live in. Excellent job placement. Essentially the only downside is that it's not in California, and it was out of the running for so long that I didn't do much research on it.

It's inaccurate to say that I haven't decided though. I intend to use a very basic formula to determine where to go.
If Berkeley debt > n + 5000 where n = UVA debt; then UVA; else Berkeley.

Whichever choice I make, I'm sure that I'll be going to a top notch institution where I'll have an excellent time. Until I graduate and look upon the utter ruin that is the legal field. No more investment banks means no more crazy M&A work which may lead to a permanent shrinking of the field. Would suck to graduate into a world that needs half the lawyers it did before.
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Not Interested...Thanks Anyway!

My generation is full of assholes and self-centered people...


and I love it!!!!!! We should embrace it. We are the ME ME ME generation. Quite frankly, we just don’t give a damn if it doesn’t have an impact on us. Think about it. Everyone’s out to get us and harm us (which is often true) and everything has to be cutthroat to succeed.


Yesterday, as I was walking downtown, an older gentleman (used loosely) stopped me to chat me up. I had my ‘leave me alone’ face on and rearing to go, but not everyone gets the hint. You should smile more, he said, you have such a beautiful smile. Blah blah blah. All the while, I’m kicking myself for not putting my Zune headphones in and turning my music up. After he got the hint, I did indeed put in my headphones and ignored everyone that stopped me or asked me anything and continued to walk. Granted, I’m just a bitch who doesn’t like talking to random old men that stop me on the street to flirt but, you have to admit that you can’t pass three people on the street without seeing at least one of them with the familiar white headphones in their ears. We don’t care…we don’t want to hear what you have to say…and I love it. The days of being polite, even when you don’t want to, are over. I don’t have to talk to the old woman next to me on the plane and look at pictures of her cats; I just sit down, put my headphones in and close my eyes. I don’t have to listen to the people who scream on the streets about the end of the world coming and that I need to repent. I don’t have to hear cars beeping, sirens, construction, or the general city hubbub. I can let the sounds of [insert artist name] carry me through the day.


Cell phones are similar. Most people will have a cell phone and an IPOD on them and at any given time, one of the two is active. Now me personally, I try not to use my cell phone in crowded public spaces such as a bus or anything like that. Due to other people’s conversations and general noise, either you can’t hear what that person says or they can’t hear you and you have to be loud as hell. I’d rather not have the whole world in on my conversation. I thought about this yesterday on my long commute home because some annoying ass guy sat behind me and proceeded to talk on his cell phone LOUDLY the entire ride. I mean…I now know this guy’s work and school schedule and what clubs he goes to on weekends. Even the type of men that he likes. Now…when I ride public transportation – such as subways – I expect that I’m going to hear all kinds of crap. But this…this is a more expensive form of transportation. It’s more like a shuttle bus (we pay like $100 a month…opposed to like $50 for MARTA) which is known for being a smooth and quiet ride. Usually the people on there are working adults who are mature and respect others. So the entire bus is dead silent except for this guy. The bus driver politely tells him to be quiet over the intercom…he just talks over her intercom speech and decides to stay at that volume. She tells him again…he’s louder now. A third time…LOUDER. Not to mention this kid has to be on meth. The whole ride, he is kneeing my seat and bumping it much like an excited child does to their parent on the way to the park or something. I tell him to stop several times but he must be too giddy about that cute guy he met and can’t. Needless to say, when he gets up to leave, everyone applauds and shouts “get off the bus!!!!!!” which he doesn’t even hear because he’s so entranced in his conversation.

The more technological this world gets…the less human interaction required there is. We are being moved towards a seemingly anti-social era and I’m not too opposed. Soon we wont actually ever have to set foot in an office (can’t wait- please let that be here by the time I’m done with law school!) or anything like that. Hell…most people date, make friends, keep in touch with old friends, and shop online already…soon we wont have to leave the damn house! The more convenient it is for me…the better!

I guess you can tell that I’m not nostalgic for the pre-internet way of doing things lol. Looking forward to the future! Read more...

SPRING BREAK!!!

I cannot tell you how happy I am that spring break is right around the corner...no. In fact, I've turned the corner called The Weekend and Spring Break is just a few storefronts down. WOOH!!! SPRING BREAK!!!

In college, it was always nice to have Spring Break. I never went anywhere except right back home and my friends from most other colleges already had their Spring Break. The only reason why I looked forward to them is because it meant the end of another brutal 10 week term.

In high school, it meant a time for me to catch up on studying and just to catch a little breather. Did I do any school work? Not until the Friday or Saturday before the end of Spring Break, but breathing is very nice. I like breathing...

Now...WORK...OMG. A break from BOOGERS!!!!


I don't know how other working folks deal without Spring Break, Winter Break, Mid-winter Break...and whatever time there is between school, summer school, and school again. I almost always went to summer tutoring school so I'm fine with getting through the summer indoors. BUT DAMN!!! I now know why teachers fight so hard for those benefits!!!

Siigh...but of course, as usual, my days "off" will be laden with family obligations. Time to get yanked left and right for things that don't really involve me.

Another downside...I don't get paid for these days off. I need to find a real job.

Anyway...Just something I found about education...COLLEGE education..or rather, some insight on college life as it revolves around the classroom...
Enjoy! and then ponder. Then lemme know what you think in that comment box! Can't wait for your 2 cents!!! =)



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Don't Knock it Till You Tried It

I hung out with family this past week...

Is this how it's supposed to be? Bruises on my legs and knees, cuts all over my hands, a huge bump on my forehead, and a trip the hospital!? Also, why did they have to knock her over? She hit her head on the concrete floor...

Well before I go into the details of what happened, I just had a random thought I wanted to mention.

I'm a pretty understanding/accepting person, and I think Fruit (that's right, apples, oranges, pears) is one of things that reinforced this trait. I'm not crazy, I simply enjoy finding connections. Hear me out:

When I was 6/7 I recall my Aunt coming over with a strange, almost scary, looking fruit - the KIWI. I was repulsed by its hairy exterior and almost afraid to touch it. Cutting the fruit open and revealing its neon green "meat" and pitch black seeds worried me even more. Nevertheless, after some coaching, I took a bite and fell in love. The inside taste, which IS most important, wiped out all superficial concerns based on external characteristics. Eventually, I even learned to appreciate the soft, bristly hairs on the Kiwi as...cute? maybe just neat.

This idea of internal value trumping external appearance was reiterated to me when I first ate Honeydew Melon, Sweet Plantains (they look like they're ROTTING BANANAS), stringy mangos, etc. Aside from being healthy, fruit, especially "exotic fruit," teaches children a lot about embracing imperfections and not judging a book by it's cover.  Coconuts are another good example...never tried one though.

Enough of that, now back to the family wounds...

No, I was not abused this weekend. I spent much of the past week with family and it was actually quite pleasant...aside from the injuries. Yesterday, I spent the day putting in a new ceiling with my father. My hands have never looked or felt so rough! While I was annoyed I had to help out, I've found that these little interactions with my father help strengthen the barely visible bond we have. Neither of us communicates well with the other, so the rare occasions where we spend hours together really help our relationship. As much as my brain might be thinking "man, I could be blogging (HA) or applying for a job (HAHA)," my heart is telling me I need to be interacting with and helping my father ... for the sake of our relationship/family and in respect to our mortality.

On Wednesday, my Aunt was accidentally knocked over at work and hit her head on the concrete floor. My sister and I rushed to the hospital to make sure all was okay. She ended up being fine, so we checked my Aunt out and enjoyed a nice lunch together before taking her home...this lunch and our discussion may be the reason why I apply for grad school in 2010.

Then on Saturday my Mom, Dad, Sister, and I all went to breakfast together, and although it was tough for me, it was great for the family. We all made an agreement a few weeks prior to consciously try and communicate better with one another. You would have to understand my family in order to know why such an agreement was necessary. Communication and displays of affection were just never really strong in my household. Very little was overtly expressed growing up, so 15 years later not much has/had changed.  Even so, everyone in my family recognized the need for it.

As my mom put it, "We are not promised tomorrow." "We've been blessed to all be alive and healthy together for this long.  Let's enjoy our time together."

This ugly and honest thought impacted me somewhat significantly. Now, I'm struggling to defeat decades of emotion/conditioning in order to strengthen my family connection and avoid having regrets...

It all begins with communication. Love and understanding rise and fall with communication... ... and fruit (smile).

Have a delicious, eye-opening Kiwi and 

Be Well, Read more...

*Highlights* - Great 5-Min Movies pt. 4

MUSECATTO says:

This week, we're concluding our "Great 5-Minute Movies" series with three flicks about HIGHLY dysfunctional families. You thought yours was bad? Have a look, and enjoy:

She's got some nerve - a Low Down Dirty Shame... and he's just as bad!


Hey, they all look alike, right?


This guy may earn the award for WORST FATHER EVER!


These films were pretty good, but I'm in a great mood right now, so how about some grade inflation? Just pretend you go to Harvard; they're used to it! 5 stars, Cum Laude:

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*Highlights* - The Pink Stinger

SOUTHERN SUBSTANCE says:

Lol. I happened to come across this little...creation...while reading about dumb products that were aimed at women. I don't really know what to say...! This is a very powerful stun-gun in the shape of tampons. Many things wrong with this here... I mean...think about it. One day you need a tampon and woops!... You just killed any chance that you might one day have kids. That's IF you lived.

While I think that women should protect themselves at all costs, I personally dont want to have a stun gun on me. I'm clumsy, forgetful, and I often reach into my purse without looking at whats in there. Just dig around til I find what I need. Imagine the bad things that could happen!





For double the protection:

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*Highlights* - He Eats HOOKS for Breakfast!!!

GOTHAM DAYS says:

No, I'm not talking about any up and coming rapper or anything. Trust, if I was on a tip like that, I'd be running a production company and banking serious cash.

I'm talking about this SEA WORM that ate through a trap full of metal hooks. Who does that?!?! Ugh...his name is BARRY



It seemed he was quite a nuisance at an aquarium. They moved him to his own display so he won't destroy anything else. What stops him from eating through the glass?

How grossed out I am:

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