Playing Socom II was awesome tonight. Had lots of fun playing with my friend Kevin. We kicked some ass, then got our asses kicked, and then kicked some ass again. I accidentally team killed two guys, and that's probably why I was demoted back down to ensign. That and the brutal ass kicking we received that one round. But I figure if I play more tomorrow I'll bring my rank back up.

It's 5:!5 and I haven't showered yet. I'm that awesome.

I have so much new Jpop music now thanks to PopJapan TV on the international channel. Now, just because it's called JPop doesn't mean it's call cutesy music. Orange Range is a rock band, and the Gospellers are kind of like an acapella or religious sounding group.

I just woke up at like 12:30. Well, I was awake off and on before then, but I didn't get out of bed until 12:30. Why? Because there's absolutely nothing for me to do. My typical weekday consists of going to class until noon and then taking a 3 hour nap just to kill time. I really need a job. I've been applying to a couple different places, hopefully some place will call me back for an interview or something.

Or you guys could just send me massive amounts of money. I wouldn't mind that at all.

So I can't sleep, and I'm hungry.

I don't understand the kiddies on DDR Freak. I mean, this one kid wants to write a research paper on DDR. Yay, great, weeee. Just because you like something (a lot) doesn't mean you should make it your entire life. In other words, don't write a research paper on it (for an 8th grade class). He's having trouble doing research because he doesn't know where to begin. He's not a college student, so it's not like he'll write some paper on the societal impact of the game, or the creation of a subculture or anything like that. No, he'll write about how his favorite song is a Captain Jack song and all the other kids call him gay because of it.

Seriously, there are plenty of other interesting topics out there that you can write about. I like DDR as well, but that doesn't mean I'm going to write a religious dissertation about how the arrows represent the four largest religions.

Time to revive this mofo.

Have you guys seen the whole gmail thing by google? It's pretty freaking sweet. I hope I get invited.

If you want to invite me, my email is theragingdragon[atsign]hotmail.com

Gather around kids, your King is going to bequeath (if you don't know this word, you're already screwed) some knowledge upon you. So pay attention, because I'm going to teach you how to get noticed on the internet. When I say "noticed" I mean in a positive way, not like how everyone looks at the idiot of the group with extreme pity.

First and foremost, probably the most important rule is this:

Do not be stupid.

For the love of ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY, do not be stupid. If you are stupid, then your chances decrease of having people notice you and not want you to die. This means typing correctly, using proper grammar, and all that. Some people can get away with it, but for the most part you look like a damn fool if you type like a retard. "But Your Holiness! I am expressing who I am by typing like a blithering idiot!" Of course you are, much like the tens of thousands of other 12 year old AOL kiddies out there. No matter what, if you seem like you're stupid, you won't be listened to.

Now, this brings up another point: for people to listen to you, you have to say something. Not surprisingly, people look at this as an opportunity to tell the world their life story, and share all their little secrets. While it's great that the internet allows people to be more open and not have to worry as much about stereotyping (depending on where you are), there is a BIG difference between sharing a funny story about your life and saying "WAH I NO HAVE TEH GIRLFRIEND I CRY," and then wondering why you still don't have that girlfriend. If you're going to speak, make it something that people actually want to listen to. Realize that the internet does not equal your real life, and that just because someone talks to you doesn't make them your best friend. Do this and you won't piss people off, and they might actually listen to you.

Yet another important thing that you must have if you'd like to get noticed on an internet forum is an avatar and a banner. You'll notice that the main people that get noticed all have one. Personally, I look at people's banner or avatar instead of looking at their name. It's faster and then I don't get blinded by the annoying special characters that so many people think are cute. Get a banner and an avatar, and make them good. Not necessarily good in that they took you 5 hours with your legally acquired copy of Photoshop, but good in that people like it. My "Hail the King" banner took me all of 5 minutes, and could have easily been drawn in paint by a 4 year old blind kid, and yet people loved it.

Like I mentioned, a lot of people will equate you to your banner or avatar. In order to be remembered, you have to give the crowd something that they'll remember you by. A witty line (Lox0r of Doom) a classic owning (THK! THK! THK!) or even declaring yourself King. You have to set yourself apart from the commoners of a message board, and make people realize that you're special, just like your mommy told you.

Now, you'll notice that you have to come off as at least somewhat arrogant to be noticed. It's not that everyone else is wrong, it's just that you're always right. Make sure that comes through in arguments, and don't EVER post something unless you know you're correct. People WILL call you on it, and you will get caught and ridiculed. Make sure that you present yourself as someone that cannot be phased by insults or arguments and people will (for the most part) leave you alone.

Just because you're not phased by insults doesn't necessarily mean that you can hand them out yourself. Another important thing to keep in mind is that breaking the rules isn't always the best way to get noticed. Yeah, there are a couple people that get noticed for breaking the rules and coming back 50 times, but for the most part everyone looks at them and laughs. Remember, you want to be noticed in a positive light, not like the common troll. Learn the rules of the board (this ties in to the "be smart" rule) and follow them. If the rules say don't flame, then don't flame. You can't be noticed if you're banned. However, if the rules let you do something, then feel free to do it, and incorporate the next factor: teh funney.

Without humor, you really don't have that much on the internet. And no, dead baby jokes and cliches are not humor. Trends and most stupid websites aren't humor. Humor is in the way you say things, and how you present it. The funny people get noticed because people come to the internet to relax and escape from all of the crap they have to put up with in real life. So if you present them more crap, why would they listen to you? Make them laugh, and you'll be set.

So in conclusion, being noticed really isn't that hard to do if you do it right. Not everyone will be noticed; not because they don't want to, but because they can't. There are some people out there that will never be the person that everyone looks at as a member of the 1337 group of forum members, but they can always hope. So go out and get noticed.

So, it has been WAY too long since I have posted. But such is life.

I've been going to Fark a lot recently. Funny site, provides most of my links to good news stories. If you see a tag that says "Boobies" or anything that is "NSFW," stay away. It's of the naked persuasion.

Rat Bots

So, does anyone else find this incredibly freaky?

First, the rat is just too cute to have a remote controlled computer stuck to its head.

Second, it's MIND CONTROL. Do you realize the implications of this?

I honestly don't see any good that could come out of this branch of research. Yes, I do understand that attaching a mind control unit to an animal could result in the ability to control them to go in to dangerous locations where humans are unable to go, or allow us to get a "bird's eye view" of the world from an actual bird. But why not just create robots that can do the same thing? I think it's great that science tries to push the limits and create new technology, but just because you CAN create something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. You'll notice the article points out the fact that rats are very similar to humans, that's why they are used in experimentations. So, in theory, some day a similar contraption could be used for humans. Who would give up freedom for intense pleasure for following commands?

Big Brother is watching you.

(Sorry for making this post so short, it's 3 AM and I have a final tomorrow)

Ok Folks I was going to Put Part II of the Animte topic but I feel like talking about something else.... and that is... Sterrotyping. ok first off I have this question. Why is their so much Hate with races? Why do people hate other races? im really curious about that... I see no reason for other races to hate each other... I really want some comments about that (NON OFFENSIVE COMMENTS! even though it will be hard to make a comment without being offensive I guess) Well anyway lets move on to Sterrotyping. Now EVERYBODY Sterrotypes. Hell Im even guilty of Sterrotyping. To tell you the truth though I think some of it goes too far.
Here is the one that Pisses me off the most:

"Black People are nothing but Stupid Ass Niggers"

Yes folks there are people who actually say the EXACT words. I seen it on message boards, I heard it from people's mouth's and hell even some blogs have the exact words. Now I am %100 Black Male. I scored a 1480 SAT score WHILE HUNG OVER, I had a pretty good GPA, I finnished tech school after high school in 4 months, and right now im in a second tier university studying Buisness with a minor in Computer Science. Now when I hear this I get really offended. Because Not ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE STUPID! Now don't get me wrong they are some dumb black people.. BUT there are some dumb white, Dumb asain, dumb hispanic and plenty other of dumb people. I remember having a debate about that on one of the message boards and this guy just brings up this article about Statistics and how that black people scored lower than whites on all these tests.. Ok im sorry I thinks Statistics is BullShit. If "Statistics" were true, hell I would be at Harvard university witha full ride scholarship and a big smile on my face while my sister would be at harvard medical school, full ride, a brownie, and a big smile. (There was a topic about Affirmative action and I had a heated debate about it and this girl bring up this "Statistic" by a harvard teacher saying that Blacks can get in with a 1050 SAT score while whites with a 1500+ SAT score were denied) Well I guess myself and my sister would be in the white group then because We are black and both of us got DENIED admission to Harvard. Well Affirmative action is another story on its own im going to go back on topic now. With this sterrotype It could be true ONLY because of this: My mother used to have a job called In-school scouting which is a program where she goes to different schools and teach the kids different things. Well one day I decided to go with my mother to one of the schools which was mostly a black school but had white teachers. When I saw the school and the classroom I was shocked. The teacher ALWAYS yelled at the kids and calling them names and even told one of them "Your going to grow up and be nothing, why don't you just drop out now and just live on the streets" (Folks I shit you not that is what that Bitch said) I told the kid not to listen to her AT ALL because she had no idea what she was talking about. That wasn't the worse part. During Gym Class the gym teacher told them they were going to play a game. Sounds pretty good right? Well The thing is that the game went like this: The kids had to line up agaisnt the wall, with their hands spread apart and their legs spread apart like they were getting searched and he made them stand there half the time. Oh thats not all folks, he even told the kids to put their hands behind their head and get on their knees as the "Second" Part of the game. (Now mind you folks the gym teacher was White and all the kids were Black). Im sorry but how can people be smart in a evironment where the teachers treat the kids like shit and the gym teacher likes to play cops all the damn time? I'm sorry but if we put white kids or asain kids in the same suitation with black teachers I bet that the results would be EXACTLY the same.

ugh this can go on forever.. its 6 in the morning and I need sleep cause my brain is mush right now. I will contiune this along with the Anime Part II tomorrow.

And now for something completely different.

This is a short story I wrote in Religion class. It was a very boring day, and I got inspired. I like it, so I figured you may too. Please do not take it without my permission.


     "Stop" the man called across the room, unsheathing his sword, dropping the scabbard to the cold, hard floor.
His long coat flowed around him like black angel's wings coming to a rest after a long flight.

     "Ah, the heroic Knight comes to slay the terrible Dragon." Slowly turning around, leaving behind the dismembered body on the altar, the two faced each other. The body, twisted and contorted was now unidentifiable due to the horrific deeds abruptly terminated. "You were always liked more by him," the Dragon spat, wiping the blood off his greasy hands. "Ironic how you're the one to fail his dying wish."

     "His wish was to protect the people, not butcher them" the Knight calmly replied.

     "It's all subject to interpretation" the Dragon countered, waving the topic away. "I assume you've come to kill me." The Butcher lifted his sword, studying it, nearly ignoring the man across the room who had interrupted his work. The blade was clean, sharp, and entered a dragon's mouth to attach to the ebony handle, carved in the shape of a dragon's body.

     "I've come to stop you. If I have to kill you, then I will." The Protector slowly started walking forward, circling to the side of the room, across from the Butcher.

     "If I must protect you from the darkness of the world like I did with the others, then so bet it" the Butcher turned to the Protector. The Dragon squared off with the Knight, and charged.

     Steel clashed upon steel as the two exchanged thrusts, parries and strikes. Sparks landed on the floor among droplets of sweat and tainted blood.

     Blades locked, Knight and Dragon engaged in a timeless test of strength. Teeth gritted, each stared into the other's eyes, staring the opposite man down.

     "He always was a fool for putting faith in you" the Dragon spoke through clenched teeth.

     The Knight simply replied by launching himself backwards, disengaging the blades, only to lunge forward again.

     The blades became a blur, ringing out in the dank silence of the chamber. The Butcher raised his sword up, slashing down towards the Protector's neck. Deflecting the blow, the Knight spun and drove his sword in to the belly of the beast. The Dragon gasped, startled as blood flowed over the Protector's blade.

     "...Father...would be proud of you..." the Dragon remarked as the Knight slowly withdrew his sword. "...I...love you...." he added as he crumpled to the cold cement floor.

     "...I love you too, brother." The Protector, the Knight, slowly walked out of the room, never turning back.

Sorry it's been awhile since the last update, I've been busy with all sorts of things. Parents came, doing stuff on the forums of DDRFreak.com...but now I have something to talk about.



That would be the new rating system for European games.

Can someone please explain to me just what the hell is going on?

So supposedly, in an effort to combat violent, mature games, Europe is going to have two things on each box. One will be an age indicator that will show various ages (7+, 12+, 16+, 18+) and will also have these...things on it to explain exactly what is in the game. Let's take a look at each of these seperately.

Violence: An exploding fist. Looks like they're cracking down on Iron Man.

Sex: ...WHAT? As if kids today aren't confused enough about what sex is, they have to go and have this. I can see it now.
Mom: "Son, this game has...two sets of feet...what does that mean?"
Son: "Uh...that you use your feet in the game?"
Mom: "Oh, sounds fine to me."

Drugs: Should be drawn a little more childish. Or they should have a couple pills next to some M&M's.

Fear: Spiderman is SCREWED.

Discrimination: I can't say this enough. SHORT PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE PICKED ON.

Bad Language: Dude looks like he's spitting out snakes or something.

So this is what Europe is going to eventually unleash upon their continent. And this brings me to another good point. How much do parents actually look at these when they buy a game for their kid? HARDLY EVER. I''ve seen kids go in to a game store with their mom and walk out with GTA3 and the mom didn't even ask if it was bad. Didn't look at the game or anything. Kid picked up the game, gave it to mommy, mommy paid. I'm sure some of those moms later saw what was really on the game and flipped out that a store would sell the game to the kid. GUESS WHAT? It wasn't the store's fault lady. The warning is there, YOU didn't look at it. I watched a TV special about violence in sports games. They had two parents watch their little kids play NFL Blitz. Both parents said "I never would have guessed it was this violent!" Then when shown the warning labels on the games, the dad said "...uh...I never looked at those, they sure are small and out of the way." The mom actually ADMITTED to never even looking. Are the labels placed out of the way? Yes, but in all honesty, what gaming company would want them to be smack dab in the middle of the box? All the other information is placed at the bottom on the back, why shouldn't the label explaining what's in it be back there? And there IS a label on the front in the corner as well. If you look at it while paying any bit of attention you'll see it. And shouldn't parents be involved with what their child is doing? If a kid says they want Grand Theft Auto 3, how about going online and looking up information for it? You'll quickly find people talking about blowing off other people's heads, and it will be a tip that MAYBE you shouldn't buy this for your kid. Just a thought.

So in the end, these people really need to learn how to be more involved with what's going on in their kid's life. Also, no one should expect everyone else to do the work for them. The warning label is there, spend an extra 5 seconds looking for it.