durendal

Ryuki, if you have not yet seen the last story arc of Naruto (prior to Shippuden), you might get pissed by how the show was directed. As the story arc involves a chase, which was panned out into several episodes, literally prolonging the arc. What could have been finished in a few episodes was stretched to cover a seasons worth of episodes. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Shippuden is actually the time jump, and we see the group years after the last incident with Naruto and Sasuke. Storywise, it shows a lot of conspiracy theories, which I kinda enjoyed. But animation wise, I did not enjoy it, because the animation just turned dragonball. They are prolonging one episode to the point of being irritating. Of course this is my opinion. But for me, after watching a few episodes of Shippuden, I stopped watching and read the manga instead.

Well, something to lighten the mood:

I like Cat's in the Cradle, better than Cats steven, IMHO. Anyway, why don't we go retro. The Touch by Stan Bush: And my Favorite Dare also by Stan Bush http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAESo2uv-po

Well, this person is a manager of a retail store. Think B & Q or Home Depot. I would like to use self help books from authors like Jack Welch (7 habits etc etc) and others, but I have never read them, nor do I like to read them. And I don't want to force others to do something that I'm not willing to do. Or should I? Too bad about Dickens though, since his Great Expectations is one of the best books that I have ever read. I'll consider Geroge Orwel and William Golding. I've always wanted to read Lord of the Flies, but never got around to it. Also, I don't think books by Dan Brown with a movie would be appropriate, since I am requiring this person to discuss with me the book, said person just might watch the movie instead. I'll consider his other books, but those books are rather expensive. I don't want to lend a good book only to be returned to me in tatters. I happen to be very particular about the condition of my books.

Yes, thank you, that is exactly what I intended in offering the book reading. I can see no other way of improving this persons English than to force them to read. Seminars about proper english usage were already conducted but to no avail, especially when there is no initiative on the person concerned. At least by forcefully making a person read, subconsciously, the grammar and usage might stick due to familiarity.

Ah, thanks for the book suggestions. This person however is not an "anime fan", or fan of anything that we all have in common. Not to mention internet is not available to this person. I've considered lending Narnia but this person has children. So any fantasy book that I give might be read by the children. I'm thinking about anything Charles Dickens. Literary classics that no average kid will be reading today. Also, when dealing with people, I don't like to sugar coat things. So I tell this person directly the facts and the impacts it has on other things. I don't have this kind of problem with other people and other people of the same position are in different locations, so forming a book club is not really viable. The tendency with people is that the more you pamper them the more they will get used to you, making it difficult for you later on to reprimand a person. No matter how nice you are to your people, there comes a limit where you need to show your fangs in order for them not to abuse your kindness. Additionally, no, this initiative is not something I would consider honourable. To be completely honest, I'm very irritated with the English, especially when communicating with the other departments, it's embarrassing.

Wow, 3 years warranty? Our warranty normally lasts for 1 year, and if we buy converted consoles, meaning they can play english or japanese games (pirated), it shortens to 6 months. Perhaps when you bought it they would require you to send in the warrant card or something. Maybe your xbox was put on the shelf for a long time, which is why when you bought it, your warranty was already running. I know that when you purchase appliances there is the warranty card which you need to fill up and send to the manufacturer to verify that you just got the unit, and not a few months ago when the retailer got it.

If your saving money to buy a new one, then why not upgrade it to an Xbox 360? Or that's already the 360? When you get to a point where you need to do certain things for your console to work, that means it's nearing the end of its life cycle. During my PSX days, I had to tilt my console sideways, even upside down on some occassions for it to work. Unfortunately, this trick doesn't seem to work on my PS2. How long have you been using that Xbox and what's your average play time per day? Maybe your xbox has already outlived it's normal usage capacity.

Yeah, that is somewhat my predicament, this person reports to me. Being in a country where English is a second language, I find it odd that this person's ability to speak enlgish is somewhat hampered. In college, even though English is not our first language, it is universally used. When communicating via email, we use English. Our company policy is in English. I mean, even common directional street signs are in English. I have already dealt with some of this persons short comings before. Heck I practically made this person cry. But in the end, after all the drama, coaching and reprimanding, there was a significant improvement. You might say there was a 180 degree turn around. And I'm even proud to say, that even the other department managers have shunned this person, bypassing this person for promotion many times. Some have even given up on changing the said person and left this person in a stagnant position. I took a risk and promoted this person and now is one of the top performers. Of course that is after all hell I gave this person. But the English speaking issue is not completely work related, nor was it a strict requirement. What I'm afraid of is when they are presenting a Business Review, they might find it difficult to present properly. Not to mention that they are presenting to the owners. Similar to the last Business Review we had. I required this person to send me a script, which I had to modify heavily. Luckily the owners didn't ask much questions and this person managed to breeze thought the presentation. I just want to give this person a chance to improve, not for performance or anything work related. What I want to improve is something more of a personal development which might be useful even after this person has left the company. I'm actually thinking of lending this person an english novel. Let this person read it, analyze and require this person to tell me what the story is about. This way said person would be immersed in the English Language, learn the structure of the english thru example, deepen the understanding of the language and improve vocabulary. In your honest opinion, what would be the recommended book to start with?

When they approach you with their propaganda with full passion? Just nod in agreement. I don't think there is anything you can say to put some sense into those kinds of people. Pretty much like everyone else who is full of vigor and enthusiam about what they are representing.

Ah, an Xbox. A console that I've never even touched yet. With your Xbox faulty, at least there are a lot more other things that you can do. And yes, I think that most next gen games uses too much space. Just look at the PSX, the first gen came out the size of a large bible. A few years later, you get one the size of a small notebook. The same thing with the PS2, first release was bulky, but the re-release was very slim and light. I wonder how small the re-release of the PS3 will get. I don't think I've ever seen an Xbox light.

Just thought I'd ask some opinions regarding dealing with subordinates. I have this subordinate who is very, very poor in English. How poor you say? This is what that person said: "I just like to follow the status of supplier because until they will not entry in our store." I totally understand what it meant. But do you? I'm not really particular in punctuation, conjunctions or any of all that "Proper English" stuff. But the grammar is just plain terrible. We usually don't use English on a daily basis, but when it comes to dealing with foreign clients and customers, you cannot avoid but speak in English. Now imagine yourself talking to this person, will you be frustrated or will you laugh out loud? This person is a college graduate mind you. I guess what I wanted to ask is which method do you think might work best in improving this persons English? And how would you feel if you spoke with this person. Just trying to get some insights so I could convey to this person what a foreigner would feel if they made a conversation.

LOL! This really made me laugh.

Plants are living things. This is basic biology. People seem to take plants for granted simply because they cannot act on their own. Nobody seems to notice that there are thousands of plant species on the planet and more and more species become extinct, yet nobody seems to care. Also, predation is a natural process that is required in order to keep the balance not only in the food chain, but as well as nature itself. If lizards, spiders or any other living creatures that would eat mosquitos stopped eating them, imagine how many swarms of mosquito will plaque us. Perhaps climate change might be related to the extinction of certain animals.

Most of the vegans that I know chose to be one due to health reasons and not moral reasons. it is true that eating mainly vegetables is healthier. But the drawback about eating vegetables only is that they have lesser burst of energy. For one thing, if they don't want to condemn the animals to die for human consumption, then that means they are condoning that the said animal die for predatory consumption from other predators out there. And if they vehemently forbids the killing of animals for consumption, then I guess we have to feed vegetables to all the animals in the zoo. I wonder what the Lion, the Wolf, the Tiger and all the other carnivores would feel. If humans should stop eating meat, then perhaps the animals should stop too. I really don't get those animal activist. Sure, they want to preserve the lives of animals whose race is endangered. I'm fine with all that. I'm even fine with animal activists that condemns slaugthering animals for fashion (fur). But Chickens, pork and beef? That's just absurd and as you say, hypocrisy. I find that those people who use "morality" for their cause are just as immoral as the issue they are campaigning agaisnt. And I'm talking generally about activists. As the saying goes, too much of anything is bad for you.

This is my favorite piece from Chopin's Nocturne. Nocturne in C sharp Minor. Although this version was a bit faster, I still loved it. His Vibrato is mesmerizing.

Hmm Breaking Benjamin eh. I'm not an avid visitor of HJU. Well, here's one song that I'd like. I like how they animate some of the parts here. edit: Okay, that was the spoof version. This is the original version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EXxMlIExpo next time, I'm going to view the whole video before I post.

Just finished re-watching Gurren Lagann. Damn, such awesome and epic hot bloodedness!!!

Ho hum.... I'd imagine not everyone would like this song. This piece is particularly sad.

Could you be referring to the Executive Producer? I'm not really very familiar with the terms and the responsibilities, but aren't the Executive Producers the one that shells out the budget for the movies?

I'm currently watching Yama Onna Kabe Onna. I like the story, but hasn't gotten to the point where I get Hook, line and sinker. I'm watching it for Misaki Itoh, one of my favorite actress.

Ah yes, I have seen that interview. I think it was more of a speech. The producers wanted him to write a script that would involve giant mechanical spiders. The producer wasn't able to produce a superman movie, but instead Wild Wild West came out. But with your example, sometimes the director would have more authority on this. He could change the script whenever he wants. Example would be Batman & Robin. What kind of idiot would wear a costume with Nipples? Cheesy one liners? There are a lot of things wrong with that movie but I'm not gonna start. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you say producers, you are referring to the creative team as a whole. If one critical production team has issues with the overall direction of the movie, he could just refuse to participate. Perhaps this is another reason why so many titles from different media, even though very popular, has not seen the light of the silver screen. Like what Kevin Smith said about the superman movie. Everybody knows who superman is. Now what kind of director or writer would want to work on a superman movie has elements that are absolutely inconsistent with the concept? This is probably the reason why the new superman movie came out so late.

I hope you don't mind if I correct you a bit. But Piccollo was a major villain when Goku was still young. These were the times that the terms Saiyans or Nemiks did not exists. It was only later that Piccollo became an ally of Goku. (this was after the time skip, even then, at first they still regarded Picollo as a villain). This is where opinions come in. I cannot say that your idea would be right or wrong, because these are your opinions. Consider that there are millions of people in the world who have their own opinions. Although you and me might not enjoy dragonball, I have spoken to many people who have enjoyed Dragonball Evolution. Also, the time being close to midnight (Christmas Eve) in our region, I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Yes, that is indeed true. The quality of the movie does not solely depend on one person but the efforts of many. What use would be a good script if the director fails to deliver what movie goers expect. Also, what good would be a great director if the script is lacking. There are many opinions about different films, the same can be said for the makers of films, since there are producers, directors, writers and etc. No one single factor can make a film a box office success. In the case of Dragonball, even though it has the name, it lacked the grand vision from the part of the movie makers to make it a success. On the part of Transformers, again, they have the name, however, the creative team behind the movie managed to get the compositions right to have a box office success. However, even though it was a box office success, there are still many long time fans that hated the "bayformers".