Shizukanako

Legendary Abs for the gut. Its old, but you can find a PDF floating around somewhere on the web. Its very fast and effective. Hindu pushups, incline pushups, bench dips, pull ups, chin ups. Bike, sprints, and walking for legs and cardio. I use dumbells for tricep pullovers, and e-z curl bar for biceps. I try to not rely on external things for exercise as much as possible, just so I can workout reliably when I am not at home. And lots of stretching.

Either totally sci-fi alien language, or a mold for objects of that shape. That's all the guesses I have

We talking about the first series, which developed its own anime story, or Fullmental Alchemist: Brotherhood, which follows the manga pretty much word for word?

I have only seen the first series, and Conquerors of Shambala. I'd like to see the 2nd, but I don't get much time for entertainment atm. And the bulk of it seems to be going to this site, heh. So much to read.

I've seen enough of this in my home country (india) which interestingly is considered a "harvest ground" for "saving souls". Whats really bad is that many evangelical groups operate in subversive ways in rural areas, among borderline illiterate people and try to cenvert them using sneaky techniques...

 

As far as muslim countries are concerned...i think they are right about preventing organised conversion campaigns. There should be laws against tht everywhere. However there should be freedom to practice religion as an inividual freedom, so long as it does not involve organised proselytizing and conversion. If one gets to a stage in their lif where any particular religion is attractive for valid reasons, they should be free to choose...but not in the way it is done by destroying native cultures and traditions.

"Organizing" is bad how? Speaking freely is speaking freely, whether its is spur of the moment or planned with a group of 50 people a week in advance. I'd sooner run the risk of hearing something I did not want to on the street and walking away, than having to worry about whether sharing my ideas was legal or not. Just because you dont like a particular freedom, is not a good reason to surrender it to the government, because I doubt you'll ever get it back.

Is there any risk to your life or well-being if you challenge these missionaries intellectually? If not, have them account for what they are saying, since you see them often enough. Threatening people with Hell is wrong. Find out who they work through and lodge a complaint. Educate the people that they are dealing with. Just standing by and being angry isn't helping anything.

"Destroying native cultures and traditions" sounds a bit far-fetched, unless these missionaries are going beyond exchanging ideas. And honestly, if they are that rooted in their native culture, I doubt they will be swayed by other ideas.

I know someone will probably want to take this the wrong way, but please understand that what I mean here is purely from a point of thought, not a condemnation of anyone's culture. If their beliefs are so feeble that they become spooked by someone telling them they are going to Hell, what good was their belief to begin with? I'd be willing to bet that even though these people are under-educated, they still possess a reasonable degree of insight and wisdom, possibly more so. More than likely they are just poor and see Christianity as a way out, especially since the missionaries are most probably handing out food and medical care.

 

While human settlements have been found in the area dating back as far as 9000 years and hardcore "Christian" historians claim them as proof of Nazareth, nothing has been found to prove the existence of an actual city called Nazareth, or even a settlement called Nazareth, at the time of Jesus. No roads,villas, theatres, and especially noteworthy....no synagogues!

 

Nazareth would not have had any major ammenities, because it was pretty much a slum, from what I've learned. John 1:45-46 kind of corroborates this: "45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

静かな子

Full Metal Alchemist really did it for me. It'll keep you busy though, with 51 episodes. Starts off kinda simple and goofy, but really picks up along the way. Ghost in the Shell I thought was decent. There were a few episodes of Cowboy Bebop that I found really moving, but not many. Samurai Champloo was pretty decent. Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke were good. Also found that my public library (in the middle of nowhere) has a couple hundred anime DVD's, all pretty much standard 2 hour movies. Many don't appeal to me, but some of the non-actiony, drama type were oddly interesting. Wish I could remember the names . . . but just an idea to check your library. I like free stuff.

静かな子

Evangelists spew this kind of crap in non-christian countries to try and convert the indigenous populations. And of course it is complete bullshit!

Lake of fire my ass! They do it everywhere except in muslim countries. You know why? Tats because the muslim countries wont tolerate this bs and the proselytizers miht end up in a real lake of fire...

 

I'm sure some minority of evangelists do, and its always the bad ones that get the attention, just like any other group. Most missionaries (and I have known a few) do not attempt to coerce anyone. But really, who wants to report on what the charity I volunteer at is doing, when Fred Phelps is so much juicier?

Muslim countries vary in what they permit to be said, but they are fairly universal in that you dont get to say much at all promoting ANY non-Muslim faith. I really hope you don't see that as positive.

Well said.

but who can't love a cat with a tie on?!

People with spiders in their souls

Mark,this doesn't qualify as historical evidence.I can write some scriptures right now with my own mythologies about santa clause,travel to the dessert,hide the scriptures in a cave.Then, a thousand years from now some crack head, heroin junkie will find my scriptures in the cave,translate them and start some weird santa clause religion.

St Nicholas wasnt real either?

Business Cat!

Nope. I likes it too much.

I would have to think Jesus was real. It would seem kind of odd for all the Disciples to endure agonizing deaths (with the exception of John) for someone that they fabricated. Unless you are suggesting that they were fabricated as well.

I have many of the same issues, including the divorced parents (they divorced when I was 9 months) and the lack of motivation to complete things.

A few things that helped me out:

1) Set a fairly rigid schedule. I do all my training (physical, mental, spiritual) at the same times every day. Some days I don't feel like doing it, but I do anyway. When I don't want to, I remember what my Sifu once told me;"Dude, you got to kick that ************ in the ****". Not the most eloquent philosophy, but when I am at that level, its pretty much the only thing that works.

2) Examine yourself honestly for your strengths, and pursue them. There is something in your life that you absolutely love to do, are good at, and is useful to others who are willing to pay for that skill/service. Sometimes its just hard to recognize. Focus on it until you find it. I had a horrible tendency to chase anything shiny rather than focus on my strength.

3) Remove time-sinks from daily activities. Everyone needs some recreation time, but watch that it doesn't take over. If it becomes addictive, just remove it entirely. I will never look back and say "I wish I had wasted more time doing X".　I used to kill quite a bit of time doing useless things, that could have been spent improving myself.

I hope this was helpful!

静かな子

A teacher must pay rent, buy food and clothing, and do everything else that a non-teacher does.

Very good arguments from opposing viewpoints. And this is exactly why nothing will ever change. An almost even split in our populace, and almost all candidates being voted in by the same 2 party system who never agree on anything. The system is too bogged down in bureaucracy, and is too broken to change, IMO. Its like one of those giant fat guys that cant get out of his room, and he's either going to die or the fire department will break down the wall and haul him out.

saw the first Star Wars movie

^ this

Reading Lord of the Rings trilogy a few years later sealed it.

Only three things to do. Move away, endure it, or try to change it.

To me, becoming involved in politics at any level seems like opening a portal to someplace evil. I used to be quite a fan and follower of politics, and the whole "my team is good, your team is bad" mindset. After becoming more open to what the other side said and felt, it seemed to me that my side was just as awful, only in a slightly different way.

So, I removed myself from the political arena completely out of disgust. Now after several years of sitting outside of their mayhem, I can no longer tell who is who. I mean, they say completely different things, and make different promises, but it all just ends up in the same place. The type of people in power will (most likely) always be in power. To want power and hold on to power, you have to be ambitious.

So, now I "sit in the center while yes and no chase each other around the circumference" ( a little Chuang Tzu paraphrase).

To me, it seems that to involve oneself is at the risk of losing self. To merely stay and do nothing changes nothing around you. To move away, you just move to another corrupt government (but possibly one safer or more conducive to a healthy lifestyle).

"but these are troubled times and I want everyone to just get along and live in a more harmonious and balanced way."

Times always have trouble, and you can't change others. No matter what changes are made from the outside, there will still be some who want to impose their will forcefully.

These are just my observations; I don't know if they help with what you are looking for. Its hard to say what I personally would do in that situation since I am not in it. I do know that I personally will not live somewhere that I do not feel safe, or it is not quiet. I lived and played in NYC when I was younger, and I loved it. Now, reflecting back, I could never do it again, and cant see how people do it.

I am new here. Been reading a bit and found some useful (to me) discussions. I look forward to more. See you in the forums!

静かな子