N00b Intro (long?)

[Geirr]

OK, is that a 'radiation' symbol, or a teeny-weeny reel of audio tape?

Anyways, I'm new on this forum - I've been an SF fan for many years and got into anime a few years later on in the program. I am glad to have found this community because in my experience there is quite a bit of hostility against Christians in those fandom circles - I guess that means it's our witness field despite being a bit rocky at times ...

Demographically, I'm probably on the high side for anime - I'm in my early 40's, happily married to a VERY strong Christian. We are rather conservative, traditional Catholics (we prefer the Latin Mass where available - this also helps with latin lyrics such as the battle music in 'MAI Hime.') I know that Christendom is divided in its opinion of Catholicism, and I don't want to open that centuries-old can of worms here, but feel free to PM me if you want to chat theology. I'm no expert, nor degreed in letters, but the Bible says 'iron sharpens iron,' and maybe we can improve our own and each other's faiths as long as we remember the context of Two or More Gathered in His Name... Other than that I run in Linux and dont do IRC or AIM, or MS-based stuff - please use regular, old-fashioned , coal-fired, steam power ASCII text. Yes, I also do own and use abacusses and slide rules too, for practice.

Anyways, one of the reasons I joined this forum is that I am hoping to identify CLEAN and WHOLESOME anime and other entertainment. I've pretty much given up on American TV shows, and I don't buy cable because I do not wish to support an entertainment industry so adverse to Christian values (Yeah, I know there's Christian programming, but until I can get those stations a la carte withouth subsidizing CBS, HBO, PBS, plus getting a bunch of stations I don't really want - sports shows, cooking, etc, - then I don't watch and I don't PAY. That plus I grew up watching free TV, and that's a habit I'll keep. You can probably guess that I will -NOT- be getting an XM radio either - radio is free from the the ground up - except you might have to buy a few replacement vacuum tubes from time to time.)

The last American TV show we watched was 'Babylon 5,' (ended 1997/1998?) and after that we looked around for other shows we thought we'd enjoy or find thought--provoking but we didn't find anything. Then, based on heresay, we pretty much kept away from US TV - from the DeGeneres kiss onward through 'Desparate Housewives,' etc. The new spate of 'survival' and 'reality' shows just doesn't interest me in the slightest. B5 did have one remarkable element - a VERY romantic courtship which was entirely CHASTE. Probably one of the most emotionally uplifting story arcs I'd seen in 20 years.

So I've been watching lots of ANIME instead of TV for the past few years. (Whee!)

Meanwhile, I don't mind some violence, if it fits with the story, but I don't like excessive gore or gratuitous bouncies. I mostly don't go for horror genres unless there's soem sort of campy/comedy element to it, like in Hellsing - the TINY dots ont the guy's glasses, that insane .454 Casull hand-canon, plus Vicrtoria firing a 30mm INSIDE a building ... cracked me up. About as far as I'll go in the horrer genre is a show like Petite Cossette, which strangely enough, includes some startling Christian allegory (I am being careful about spoiling) not only with visual references to the Crucifiction, but also the notion of an innovent man willingly choosing pain and suffering caused by the sin of another, all as a sign of LOVE. Whoa, anybody for Good Friday, here?

I also like shows like 'Bleach,' which set up one or more afterlife worlds, but are only touching on those concepts (such as 'Soul Society') to provide a playground for the characters or a set of final goals: boy gets girl, a good deed for the day releases a tortured soul to the repose it longs for (Purgatory parallel?) or how to apologize/make up for a person who is dead now when you realize that what you said or did while he/she was still around was REALLY STOOPID of YOU at the time and you only realize he/she was right after you're alone in this world now ...

I also like Japanese historical period stuff even though they often rely on Japanese mythology or animistic superstitions to tell the tale (OK, plus it's a reasonable excuse for special effects.) Examples I liked are The Hakkenden, Otogi Zoushi, and now Basilisk. But although I liked RK, I let it go after the Kyoto arc, because I didn't like wrecking a historically plausible story by turning it into 'X' but in the year 1900 or so. If you're going to get historically silly with spiritism, why not go for Sakura Taisen with those amusing steam-powered, pastel colored mecha while you're at it.

A parting shot on RK: It was interesting that as a story of personal redemption, RK challenges the Japanese cultural notion of suicide as a way to regain honor, Kenshin chooses to undo past mistakes with his will to live as long as he can doing the right things. Although not a Christian character, In rejecting ritual suicide and resolving to live better in the rest of his days (he even foils another minor character's attempt at ritual suicide,) Kenshin backs himself into a very Christian, pro-life position unawares ...

Oh, and I am fiendishly pro-sub anti-dub. My goal is to use the subtitles as a crutch until I can get good enough at Japanese to watch raw anime!

And I like making AMV's.

- G

[Kaligraphic]

Ave, good Penguin! Welcome to CAA. I'm Kaligraphic, a local expert in random things. Now, I must ask the question which has sparked numerous holy wars: emacs or vi? (Personally, I use vi, but I can see how emacs could be preferable for some people.)

[Alice]

I don't know what either one is. ^-^

Welcome, Geirr!!

[Kaligraphic]

People ask me "Kalvin, why don't you have cable?" and I say to them, "I do have cable. In fact, I have many cables, neatly coiled and sorted."

[Geirr]

the question which has sparked numerous holy wars: emacs or vi?

NIETHER - (I don't program; I'm a MECHANICAL engineer!) I use 'nedit' when that sort of need arises. I have used both vi and emacs in the past, in the dusty mongo mainframe days, (OK and on a SPARC-1) and that was in vi. )

Now, I -did- do an AMV a few years ago in which I superimposed

# rm -rf *

on Motoko Kusanagi's visor so it made it look like she was typing THAT into a system - followed by Cyberdoll Kei taking a spazz.

When it showed at a con AMV competition, just about NOBODY got it (not surprising, it went by pretty quick,) BUT I did -indeed- hear one guy gasp "From ROOT!?!" so at least ONE person GOT IT.

- G

[Mr. SmartyPants]

you like hai-hime and bleach?

WOAH! ME TOO!

i really love the music in mai-hime, and bleach roooccckkks

[Kaligraphic]

Geirr, I like you already.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Geirr, I like you already.

agreed!

[Geirr]

Just fir fun, here's a snippet I sent in for "AMV Hell 3"

http://www.ados.com/~guy1656/amv-hell-3/geirr-el-barb-xvid.avi

(I will take this down after mid-July.)

- G

[Ingemar]

OK, is that a 'radiation' symbol, or a teeny-weeny reel of audio tape?

You tell me.

Anyways, I'm new on this forum - I've been an SF fan for many years and got into anime a few years later on in the program. I am glad to have found this community because in my experience there is quite a bit of hostility against Christians in those fandom circles - I guess that means it's our witness field despite being a bit rocky at times ...

Acckk, don't remind me. Getting into an argument with those snooty, 17-yr. old nihilists is something I wish to forget as well. Has it ever happened that a discussion about Christianity devolved into a discussion of the religious overtones in Xenogears?

Demographically, I'm probably on the high side for anime - I'm in my early 40's, happily married to a VERY strong Christian.

Bah, don't worry about it. So is my cousin.

We are rather conservative, traditional Catholics (we prefer the Latin Mass where available - this also helps with latin lyrics such as the battle music in 'MAI Hime.')

Not sure about MAI Hime, as I've never watched it. But despite my blatant, flaming Protestantism, I would love to celebrate the Tridentine Mass.

I know that Christendom is divided in its opinion of Catholicism,

All I know is that the PC side to take is that the old Catholics were repressive imperialists and the contemporary Catholics are lumbering dinosaurs. Thankfully, I detest PC.

and I don't want to open that centuries-old can of worms here,

No? How the heck will you catch a Coelocanth?

but feel free to PM me if you want to chat theology.

Better yet, duke it out on theologyweb.com. You can debate all sorts of deep things that can get you banned here in a heartbeat.

I'm no expert, nor degreed in letters, but the Bible says 'iron sharpens iron,' and maybe we can improve our own and each other's faiths as long as we remember the context of Two or More Gathered in His Name... Other than that I run in Linux and dont do IRC or AIM, or MS-based stuff - please use regular, old-fashioned , coal-fired, steam power ASCII text. Yes, I also do own and use abacusses and slide rules too, for practice.

And I prefer rattan sticks to those silly katanas those whippersnappers use.

Anyways, one of the reasons I joined this forum is that I am hoping to identify CLEAN and WHOLESOME anime and other entertainment. I've pretty much given up on American TV shows, and I don't buy cable because I do not wish to support an entertainment industry so adverse to Christian values (Yeah, I know there's Christian programming, but until I can get those stations a la carte withouth subsidizing CBS, HBO, PBS, plus getting a bunch of stations I don't really want - sports shows, cooking, etc, - then I don't watch and I don't PAY. That plus I grew up watching free TV, and that's a habit I'll keep. You can probably guess that I will -NOT- be getting an XM radio either - radio is free from the the ground up - except you might have to buy a few replacement vacuum tubes from time to time.)

Can't argue with the reasoning there. Why pay $50 a month to watch only two channels out of 200? Of course, you'll be missing ETWN--I won't, I'm not Catholic.

One Jewish blogger I know gave up television altogether--yes, even network--in 1998. TV really is a conditioned need. This may sound paranoid, but if the Gummint (Government) tries to take control of our brains via TV, that's a good enough reason to stop watching. Heck, Will and Grace is good enough a reason too. I am no homophobe, but this critically-acclaimed show is just...inane.

The last American TV show we watched was 'Babylon 5,' (ended 1997/1998?) and after that we looked around for other shows we thought we'd enjoy or find thought--provoking but we didn't find anything. Then, based on heresay, we pretty much kept away from US TV - from the DeGeneres kiss onward through 'Desparate Housewives,' etc. The new spate of 'survival' and 'reality' shows just doesn't interest me in the slightest. B5 did have one remarkable element - a VERY romantic courtship which was entirely CHASTE. Probably one of the most emotionally uplifting story arcs I'd seen in 20 years.

Gahh, if only I weren't repelled by the StarTrek-esqueness of it all...

So I've been watching lots of ANIME instead of TV for the past few years. (Whee!)

This is, after all, NOT the "Christian Will and Grace Alliance." Somehow, I don't think that would work unless this were an Episcopalian-run forum.

Meanwhile, I don't mind some violence, if it fits with the story, but I don't like excessive gore or gratuitous bouncies. I mostly don't go for horror genres unless there's soem sort of campy/comedy element to it, like in Hellsing - the TINY dots ont the guy's glasses, that insane .454 Casull hand-canon, plus Vicrtoria firing a 30mm INSIDE a building ... cracked me up. About as far as I'll go in the horrer genre is a show like Petite Cossette, which strangely enough, includes some startling Christian allegory (I am being careful about spoiling) not only with visual references to the Crucifiction, but also the notion of an innovent man willingly choosing pain and suffering caused by the sin of another, all as a sign of LOVE. Whoa, anybody for Good Friday, here?

Interesting. Sorry, but that's the best reply I could find.

If you're going to get historically silly with spiritism, why not go for Sakura Taisen with those amusing steam-powered, pastel colored mecha while you're at it.

Well, it IS animation, so they could do whatever they want *has never watched ST, but knows the series was based on a Sega Saturn RPG.

A parting shot on RK: It was interesting that as a story of personal redemption, RK challenges the Japanese cultural notion of suicide as a way to regain honor, Kenshin chooses to undo past mistakes with his will to live as long as he can doing the right things. Although not a Christian character, In rejecting ritual suicide and resolving to live better in the rest of his days (he even foils another minor character's attempt at ritual suicide,) Kenshin backs himself into a very Christian, pro-life position unawares ...

I was also put on by this apparently countercultural viewpoint, and wondered if Watsuki really was a closet Catholic. I was surprised that during a period when ritual suicide was in vogue and performed up the wah-zoo, (Japanese schoolchildren are actually still encouraged to kill themselves when they do poorly at school) Kenshin takes an alternate, better path. "New covenant", anyone? Thish shows him more as a Christ-figure, in addition to his devotion to help the helpless. And my gosh, the SCAR!!!

Oh, and I am fiendishly pro-sub anti-dub. My goal is to use the subtitles as a crutch until I can get good enough at Japanese to watch raw anime!

I fiendishly do not care, because I'm spiteful. If you have ever read Dostoevsky's Notes From Underground, the only difference between me and the narrator is that I don't speak Russian.

And I like making AMV's.

- G

This has already been well established.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Heck, Will and Grace is good enough a reason too. I am no homophobe, but this critically-acclaimed show is just...inane.

not to mention that show steryotypes homosexuals beyond belief

commercials are all like "EVERYONE's talking about this this this! and that that that!"

ugh... sickens me

[shooraijin]

Ave, good Penguin! Welcome to CAA. I'm Kaligraphic, a local expert in random things. Now, I must ask the question which has sparked numerous holy wars: emacs or vi? (Personally, I use vi, but I can see how emacs could be preferable for some people.)

vi. I can't see how emacs could be preferable to anyone. From a recent newsgroup "war":

me> emacs is like using a Mercedes to swat a fly.
Martijn, fellow vi freak> ... without petrol

Hajimemashite, Geirr.

# rm -rf *

Worse if it were / ...