WE CAN CHANGE! WE JUST CAN'T CONTROL!

I'm starting to think that it really is impossible to change yourself deliberately. But of course in my natural insanity I have tried hard to find some way to work around this problem.

Of course I will have to use anime to illustrate the point, because this is supposed to be an Anime Thermos.

Pictured above is Sae Nakata a character in a lesser known anime called Amagami SS which I enjoy. Sae struggled in her arc with her shyness and couldn't do simple things like buy bread and talk to people. Kind of pathetic but also a real cutie. Her arc touched me because it addressed the prospect of changing one self to act like the person you've always wanted to be. I love Sae because I relate to her struggle. Always wishing to be a different kind of person so I could finally grab the things I want most.

But unfortunately when pondering the nature of Psychology I've reached the rather disturbing conclusion that you really can't choose to change yourself. The human brain simply doesn't have a mechanism to rewire itself according to our hopes and dreams. That's why we get trapped in habits and routines; because a combination of genes, chemicals, and experiences brought each of our brains to a certain wiring structure that prompts and inhibits certain behaviors at certain times.

But hell, I still want to believe in change and in the inspiring messages of Anime because that's how my brain is wired sooooo I'm determined to get around this somehow the way Urahara got around ten years of Bankai training with his man shaped doohickey that let's you get Bankai in Three friggin days. So here's what I figured: Anime actually has some good examples to show us how this works pretty well. I mean anime heroes don't just get up and decide to do things in as much a random manner as I and probably many others may have been led to believe. People do change in life and they do it because they received something that prompted and stimulated the change.

That's what happened to Sae after all. The whole plot of her story is that the male lead; Junichi got to know her after helping her get the food she wanted and ultimately became involved with her pursuit of a job as a waitress. It was Junichi with some help from his sister Miya who helped provide the guidance and experiences that Sae needed to break out of her "Shy Shell" as I so creatively like to call it.

There are many more examples of this situation:

Like Naruto who wanted to become Hokage because he was an orphan hated for his CLOSE association with the Nine Tails, or Lelouch vi Brittania who despised his father and country for the despicable things they did, or all the main characters of Bleach after the Vandenreich tore the Soul Society apart and freaking killed Yamamoto! And Kenpachi specifically who grew more mature and level headed after his bout with Unohana and the formal passing of the title KENPACHI. Hell, Bleach alone has a slew of examples that all have something very important in common.

                                                                     FORCE!!!
Something or another happens in the lives of anime characters that forces the change! It's actually a lot like real life in this regard. We've all heard real life stories about growth and learning through trauma and difficulty and I think there is something to be learned from that. We don't really bother changing much in life unless we HAVE TO. Because that's the nature of the brain: "If it ain't broke don't fix it.". That's not just an opinion, that is the basis of brain function. It's actually a scientific fact that the brain, being a biological entity whose purpose is to keep you alive, likes to do things efficiently. That means that nothing gets done unless there is some compelling force insisting upon it. And if you think about it, it makes sense when you consider how important the story and the conflict is to any anime/manga or other entertainment medium. The success of the characters is in no small part dependent on whether or not we care about what they're going through, and in fact the experiences and challenges they face often define who that character is and who they will become as they develop.

I took Krav Maga for 5 years because I felt weak and scared growing up in a world where killers sniped random civillians, destroyed the World Trade Centers and killed thousands of American citizens, I kicked ass and got an A in my Experimental Psychology class full of complex equations and analyses because I failed the first exam and it terrified me that this class with a high failure rate might claim my life next...

Even Anime Thermos only exists because...

HOW THE HELL DO I NOT WRITE ABOUT THIS!?

Hold on...Candice Catnipp is distracting me...seriously with the tongue and everything...I hope she somehow turns coat and becomes a hero because I'm loving her right now. THE THUNDER! Did I mention her name is CANDICE CATNIPP? Freaking incredible.

But I hope this is helping you see why change is so hard. Because we need to see that what we choose to do actually matters. If I write a blog I need to see the view counter go up and I need to see you readers up voting my stuff. And when I saw that I actually have a second follower recently that got me really excited! I don't just do this for nothing you know, even if I'm not getting paid I'm still looking for meaning, purpose, and results!

The point is we all need things to latch onto and strive for. You can't just decide to change at random because it's unlikely that you'll really want it enough or feel confident enough to actually follow through. We need things that stimulate us, I once had a Psychology teacher in Sensation and Perception who taught us that any and all stimuli actually causes the organism perceiving it to CHANGE. This means that every new experience really does change you. You may not have full control but when you try new things you become a new version of you so the key is not just to keep trying but to keep trying differently each time. If you can diversify your experience of life enough, eventually you're bound to become a much happier person because of everything that you learn along the way.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

WHAT IF "NARUTO" WAS ABOUT HINATA?

Try picturing this:

One caveat though...try replacing that fool in the middle with my girl here:

I think Hinata is actually a fantastic candidate for being cast as the titular character of the very show she stars in as a supporter. In fact I would even go so far as to say that it was a wasted opportunity not to make the popular anime all about her! Unfortunately, it appears that my opinion conflicts with the tried and true tropes that are the staples of successful anime and manga. Naruto is a male protagonist with a never give up attitude and is incredibly stubborn. In the face of adversity he simply responds with a cocky attitude about how he won't quit and will absolutely lay the smack down on everybody that tries to do wrong and mess with his dreams and his friends and often goes through some kind of miraculous power up at the climax when it looks like he's going down. You know...like Luffy, Ichigo Kurosaki, Kirito from SAO, Lelouch vi Brittania, the great Goku himself, Natsu, Erza, Gray,Lucy, Edward Elric annnnnd you get it right? The serious popular protagonists who are often males(not always) for some reason?



There are understandable reasons why popular anime and manga have certain things in common. I mean if it ain't broke don't fix it right? But it's not about anything being broken necessarily. It's about what anime is supposed to really be about and how the business side of it contradicts that spirit in a perhaps, unnecessary way.

Anime inspires me because it breaks molds and helps me to believe in greater things than what I thought were possible. It opens my eyes to new ideas and even helps me to embrace things that in normal circumstances would be uncomfortable to me like homosexuality or religion(Perhaps I'll write more on that in the future. Show some support if you're interested!).

My affinity for Hinata though is that she is more like a real human being than most characters. Generally when one speaks of making fictional characters more realistic and relatable it typically refers to having character flaws and weaknesses that people can understand and sympathize with.

But there is another component to making a hero realistic which is that they CAN'T BE TOO HEROIC! I'm referring to the fact that writers have a tendency to really push their main characters into the role of the hero or the savior that has to ultimately rise to the challenge and become the great person he or she was meant to be. But to me that is starting to seem increasingly artificial and forced.

Hokage is the title of the leader and protector the the Hidden Leaf Village. Naruto goes on and on about becoming Hokage to make it clear that he is supposed to be the hero that fixes everything...

Hinata is not heroic nor is she all that inspiring even as she enters Shippuuden. She is a pathetic little girl with a crush on a cocky trouble making boy. This is important, because a big part of good characters is relatability. And I imagine that most of us, if we're truly being honest with ourselves probably don't think that we're big heroes destined to change/save the world. Oh sure, we might want to be like that, which is why we love our over the top heroes, but we probably don't see ourselves as really being like them.

No, most of us are like Hinata, or Rock Lee, or maybe even Shikamaru. But that is the very reason why they don't get more prominent roles in the stories. They're too much like us real people so they can't work as super heroes. But I don't understand that, in a work of fiction couldn't writers just...you know...make them into heroes? I'm guessing the problem is that it's a little too risky to venture a more unique approach to story telling. It's safer to stick with the tropes that have a reputation for turning out adventures that the audience loves.

But let me talk about why I think Hinata in particular would make a great main character. Hinata started out as a shy young girl born to a strict family. She, along with her younger sister were made to practice their martial arts on a daily basis. They were expected to produce good results always. But there was a problem... Hinata just sucked. For whatever reason her younger sister out shined her because she couldn't bring herself to push her limits...Hinata would fall often, but rather than pick herself up and keep working she would crawl away and pout...ashamed of her weaknesses. For these reasons Hinata was sent to school for Ninjutsu and put under the tutelage of a Jounin named Kurenai Yuuki. But life just got harder for her, for she still found struggle and failure in her training and studies...

Bullies from class are beating on her one day, making fun of her and picking on her...just because she's an easy target to vent their frustrations and cover their own insecurities. She's crying loudly, begging for mercy and then...NARUTO CRASHES IN! She'd seen him around before always shooting his mouth off about becoming hokage and proving himself. She had always envied his confidence and ambition and now...he was defending her! 

Now don't you tell me that wasn't a fantastic setup for a great story about a weak and unlikely heroine who could one day rise to greatness. I wasn't even trying that hard to write that story intro! Hinata's character pretty much just gave it to me(I drew from her canon back ground story.)! And yet, her story gets the back seat and Naruto's grand standing ambition establishes him as the central character. Because he has all the traditional staples of a hero and Hinata does not. But I feel that this fact makes him less interesting and relatable. The orphan wanting justice and dignity, discovering he has a greater destiny and that his heritage is actually quite prestigious, gaining the power he needs to succeed because he used his will power to build it up. The same old song and dance, I think it's starting to get boring hearing that story over and over again. I want Hinata's story! I want to see an anime where a character like her has to deal with being a weak little girl(And I do want a female protagonist for this.) by working hard and fixating on some inspiration(Like Hinata did with Naruto.). 

I mean hell, Hinata's not even the main character but I still find the development that she gets to be really compelling and heartwarming. Her fight with Neji in the first series was sooo epic as she finally took a stand with encouragement from her crush, even talking smack right back to Neji because he was putting her down. She stole the show when she stood up to Pain to save Naruto and even instigated his rage fueled power boost, sacrificing herself in the process without concern for death. And in the battle with Obito and Madara she sees Naruto wavering in his resolve(Despite the fact that stubborn resolve is his specialty...)and literally smacks the sense back into him! Even after her cousin had just been killed in combat!

I'm sure that many people(If not all) have felt the weakness of Hinata and very few of us have felt truly confident of reaching the level of Hokage. But that's why Hinata and those like her can be our real heroes. I would love to see a story where a "Hinata" has to cope with the pain of wanting to contribute and only finally pushing forward by the drive of her inspiration. To see her fail time and again but still insist on trying, because one day...one day...one day she's got to do it. She would keep us hoping and praying all the way until the end: Come on girl! Come on! You can do this! Don't you dare quit on us! GET...BACK...UP! Because that's exactly what we want to hear. When we fall, which we often do...every one of us, we don't want to hear boos and put downs. We want people to believe in us and cheer us on. That's why we would love Hinata as a heroine, because we would cheer for her and because in a sense it would be like cheering for ourselves...and not only that...but because we would feel that if she finally achieves her dreams...it would prove that we can achieve ours as well...and that's what we want from our heroes. 

 The epicness and impressiveness of this scene was precisely because we knew that Hinata's actions were made of insanity born of love. Personally I didn't really feel compelled by the typical "Defend the world from evil." premise which has been done to death. What, really got my blood boiling was Hinata versus Pain! You go girl!

                                        HIT HIM! HIT HIM! COME ON HINATA GET HIM!

My God it hurts to see her trying so hard...please hurry before Pain...!

                                         NO! NO! NO! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!

You see this was the stuff that really compelled me and made me feel like I was watching/reading a kick ass anime/manga. So why not just write the whole story using this gold mine of material? Just use the characters and basic story ideas that inspire these amazing moments. Oh, sure you're still not going to churn out perfection every single time, but there would be a vast improvement none the less. 

So there you go! This is my bid to get a Naruto revamp. Only this time the series is called "HINATA!" a story all about how Hinata Hyuga...ah okay you know it's probably too late to petition for a Naruto revamp. But come on guys! There must be someone out there who can make this idea happen. Give me a Hinata heroine!!!

Anime: Beauty Easier To See?

Hello everyone!

I am back to writing on Anime Thermos because with the acquisition of more time and inspiration I am ready to get back to doing more of what I love!

                                                     An Image To Symbolize Renewal


In recent times I've been facing a variety of struggles. In trying to finish up school while also seeking meaningful employment, I have found that the two problems exacerbate one another and so on top of the problems each one gives independently, they together produce further challenges in tandem that they would not produce if contended with separately. But upon looking at a beautiful clear sky for the purpose of spacing out and relieving my mind of daily struggles I came to a realization. A realization of how hard it is to see the greatness, epicness, and heroism of ourselves especially in our most dire straits.

Notice the wheelchair;notice the greatness and beauty.

Notice how special this image is.

I often watch anime with a sense that I am watching something that expresses my deepest and most beloved ideals, dreams, and aspirations. Like someone reached into my heart, took all of my best materials and started making the great collection of entertainment called Anime. 

The thing about anime is that the artistry of the animation, the intelligence of the script writing, and the emotional power of the story telling give us a sensation of grandness and awe as we witness the characters live out their adventurous lives. I've noticed to myself that when I watch anime I often see parallels between what the characters are going through and what I know real people like myself experience on a day to day basis. And yet...the feeling often seems to be very different. When a character struggles with his or her weaknesses and failures and resolves to push forward it feels inspiring and looks awesome. They're heroes for the way they face adversity like that! 

One anime I love is Habun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora, it's a lesser known anime consisting of only six episodes...or so I remember. It's about a boy and a girl who meet in a hospital together and fall in love. Let me tell you, for a six episode show about two sick kids in a hospital it is a pretty great story. There isn't even any magical power or science fiction crap in it. It's a pure romance story. Yuichi is hospitalized for having a fairly serious yet totally treatable condition and comes across Rika, a girl with an illness that will in all liklihood cause her to die very soon...the way it killed her father before her. 

I understand the feelings that go along with this fear of imminent death. Not long ago I had a bad cancer scare with my mother sitting in the waiting room...waiting for the surgery to be over...waiting for the doctor to tell us...was it nothing? Or was it the worst possible thing? Will she be okay?

When facing such a challenge as the reality of my mother's mortality I could have been compared to an anime character like Yuichi or Rika. But if you would have made such a comparison out loud to me I probably would've been gravely offended. I was in no mood for making light of such a situation like that!

And yet when I watched this anime I was drawn in and inspired. Feeling like: "Yes, this is how you face adversity...this is how you rise to the occasion against all odds! Go Yuichi! Go Rika! Pursue your love! Support each other even though you known Rika may not have much time at all!"

I love anime for giving me this kind of inspiration. And yet so very often when my adventures come to face me. And whenever I have a challenge to test me...I don't treat it like my own anime adventure. I don't treat it like an anime heroes chance to shine. I treat it like a burden instead. I treat my adversity like I just think that life is kicking me around for no good reason at all.

Because very often that's exactly what I think. It's so easy to cheer on a fictional hero who manga writers have trained us to count on when it comes to pulling a victory out of their asses. Using sheer will power!

But when we look at life through our own eyes and see our own trouble, our feelings get the better of us so that we often forget what we hoped for and what we believed in at the start. Sobered up by the ugly truths of life. We're really not so very different from anime characters...er um supernatural powers notwithstanding of course. We just think differently watching a show or reading manga then we do when we're doing...how shall I say it...our business of life. Work, school, surprises, etc. etc.

Anime and manga forces you to think differently. The way it focuses all attention on a single character's life and experience. Nobody's doing that for you in real life. Look at this pic for example: 

Hell, look at any of the pics on this post and really admire them. Now tell me, is there any reason why real people couldn't recreate the scenes in the pics I'm using in their normal lives? I'd wager that the average person could totally do any of the things the above characters are doing here. But how many of you, while working as a waiter or waitress could feel like you're beaming and shining the way Kaoru Tanamachi is? How many of you could stand under a beautiful night sky overlooking a city and feel like there is elegance and meaning in your lives while facing a life threatening illness? How many mothers can push around a crippled young daughter and smile and laugh with her like life is going to be ten times better in the future despite her disability. 

Waitressing is a hard job, a crippled daughter with her mother makes for a harder life, and a lover with a deadly illness makes for one of the most difficult lives and deaths of all...but these are things many of us go through. Those of us that haven't may be in for a shock later because you never know what might happen. I mean just yesterday as of this writing there was an active shooting at a mall near my house!  A mall I've been to many times!

We love our anime heroes and cheer them on. We want them to persist and even when they fail we still love them. Yet we count ourselves out far too easily when we face the same storms they did. We let our positive and strong anime minds revert back to our negative and weak "realistic minds". 

I wanted to share these thoughts with you because, for one I think many people feel the same way. And for two I think that this is something we need to be conscious of in order to get better at life. So I'm going to offer some slightly different things in this post than I have in any previous one. I'm going to continue talking about anime and having fun. But I'm also going to try to inject practical and useful stuff in here to try and help all of you who read these posts. Hopefully I can provide tangible and useful support rather than just the typical emotionally sensitive yet vague and lofty support you often get from writings about idyllic lives!

Advice Section 1-Forming Groups

1 Tea Club)There are a number of realistic ideas for forming social groups that I've learned about from anime.

From Amagami SS I was quite fond of the Rihoko arc due in large part to the inclusion of Rihoko's tea club and it's two interesting and funny upperclassmen Manaka and Ruriko. As simple as the premise was the presence of interesting characters that could always provide an entertaining afternoon actually got me pretty well on board with the idea of a tea club. Now I know legitimate Tea Clubs in Japan do a lot of highly skilled mixing of serious tea brews and have a lot of rules about specific ceremonies. If you have the discipline for that then more power to you! But you could also just make up your own ceremonies or games you could play. But the important thing is to build your group identity around a common bond so that the group becomes passionate about what they do and thus will build trust, loyalty, and group customs. In fact if you invented your own ceremonies that would make the bond all the stronger as it would be something unique to your gang!

2-Lost Arts Club) Anime often depicts ancient Japanese styles of combat, ceremonies, mythologies and the like. I've often thought to myself that if would be fantastic to organize a disciplined group around martial arts, especially with respect to the old Bushido code and the honor and trust of samurais. That kind of thing could probable do a lot of good in our world and would make all its members feel proud, strong, and happy.Plus developing skills our world typically doesn't get to see would be incredibly exciting! And for those who are not so physical, you could take on an ambition like one that I still hope to achieve. Once I can afford the resources and learn the techniques I'm going to try to make my own old-style Japanese clothes like Kimono, Hakama, and Yukata. 

Advice Section 2-Self-Improvement

1 Training) I have good news for you! YOU ARE NOT PERFECT! I hope you understand what I'm implying when I say that. There is so much out there for you to learn and do! I personally would have a lot of respect for someone who mastered archery or marksmanship. If your good at sewing clothes I'd appreciate a few pointers. The thing is, your going to have to have faith that you are a great person for diligently working of tedious things. Concentrate on honing your craft and you can go far and live an epic life. Life right now I'm honing both my writing skills and my public relations skills as I post blogs that entertain and hopefully assist people. As for your tedious and hard training think of it like...A Time Skip! Sawyer7mage is an anime enthusiast youtuber of whom I am a casual fan. In one video he's advising about what to do in the face of rejection  and it simplifies his advice by say that you essentially have to go on a time skip. So when your dealing with what you think of as boring and tedious crap, just imagine that this is the part of the anime that you don't see. The time skips and the spans of time between where the scenes are cut together for a great show. These parts may be unseen and not very grand but they are an invaluable part of the whole show. They will set you up for greatness!

The Final Words

2 Look For Beauty) Anime and Manga are designed so you can easily see the beauty of what's happening even during the hard times. But in your own life you have to deliberately look for the beauty in your life. Be thankful for the existence of your life and your loved ones. Admire a starry night sky every once in a while, and take time to savor your meals. You have to appreciate yourself and everything you have, even if you don't have that much. Find something to hold onto and keep going. Find the beauty in your own life and hold on to it!

Anime Thermos Developments!

Hello everyone!

As you may or may not have noticed Anime Thermos has been on a lengthy hiatus. But fear not!

It is not dead yet! Though I don't know how long it will truly be able to live I am determined to put out some new material soon! I'd say in the next couple weeks.

Stay tuned!!!!

Anime:Failing Tests and Acing Life!

This'll be my first Poke'mon reference!

I was involved in a discussion recently in my summer class with a classmate and a teacher about how tests that you have to take in school are really unreliable in terms of determining whether or not someone is qualified to actually do something. My teacher as it turns out, agreed very much. You see when you have to undergo formal assessments in life like written tests, interviews, applications, probationary periods and other such things, those assessments are designed more so for the convenience of the test giver often to the disadvantage of the test takers.

The ultimate goal of formal testing is to filter out the hordes of applicants vying for some kind of position. But unfortunately, as efficient as this process is it comes at the price of not being able to accurately judge individual skill and ability and passes judgement on people based on a few general factors. Believe it or not a lot of resumes get thrown out without even being looked at because at first glance they just didn't seem interesting or special...

Anime helps encourage our psyches' when we have to face this terrible reality however. Like with the cases of Ash Ketchum. Tell me, how does Ash win a lot of his gym badges? Think about it. He won on a fluke with Brock when the sprinklers broke, Misty's sisters just gave him a badge out of gratitude, Sabrina gave Ash a badge because he made her laugh when her whole life she never even smiled, Erica gives him a badge for putting out a fire Team Rocket started even though it wasn't clear he was going to win the gym battle, and with Giovanni well I don't really remember but he got it under some bullshit circumstances...

So what the hell?! Ash won like two gym battles and yet got all eight gym badges! That's not how the system is supposed to work!

                                          I bet he earned every one of them properly though!

I'm sure many of us have this nagging feeling that I have that we're being underestimated. It's been said that we judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, but others judge us by what we have already done. Which is damn right, and damn ridiculous because everyone of us starts life out having done absolutely nothing...then we have to prove ourselves on a pre-existing standard that is based on someone's interpretation of how skill and potential ought to be tested.

So yea, we don't really like the way we're assessed so harshly because we all know the world could be so much better than it is. Everything that should be yours could be yours would be yours if they only knew!

The world is so unfair...

Black Lagoon give another example of this with Rock being a peon who got into college a year later and got his ass kicked by his bosses on a daily basis. His only grip on sanity being the hope of rising to the top one day. But true to the arrogant nature of the system, his company throws Rocks life away to protect the special interests of the elite superiors. Rock is totally a failure of life's tests here. He obviously couldn't manage to do what his bosses did to get ahead and now his life is as good as lost. But, then something exciting happens! Rock hits his breaking point, becoming enraged at how everyone thinks they can just get their merry way at his expense. Well Rock decides he's had enough of this shit, and do you know what he does? I'll tell you...get ready if you're sure you want to know I'm about to say it...

Rock starts Acing life: After a bit of arguing with the Black Lagoon crew he manages to come up with a brilliant and insane strategy to take on a gunship that's preparing to make Swiss cheese out of the Black Lagoon and it's crew. They basically decide to charge headfirst at the enemy chopper and drive the torpedo boat right off a sunken ship turned stunt ramp to launch right up to the helicopter and blow it away with a torpedo turned surface to air missile! 

About here is where I got hooked on the show.

And how could I forget Naruto. Both the titular character as well as Shikamaru both prove that even if you're not too good in school you can still kick life's ass. Naruto went into the Chuunin exams dumb, deaf, and blind. Without knowing what he was in for he insisted that he wouldn't cheat (missing the point of the first exam) and that he would move forward full throttle to the tenth question despite not having answered even one of the previous nine. As it turns out Naruto's inspirational determination was the correct answer to the tenth and only important question in the entire test. As a result Naruto and the remaining group all pass the first exam!

Now a part of me called bullshit on this whole thing, especially in light of Ibiki musing about how he passed a candidate that didn't answer a single question. But on the other hand I felt a sense that this bullshit was actually serving justice, because it was giving a foolish underdog a fair chance to succeed in life based on the merits of his determination and positive character.

My father took an entrance exam for a technical school called Chubb Institute a long time ago and he BARELY made the cut to get in...yet during his whole time there he made straight A's. My mother who did not go to college was stifled in her previous job when she was lied to about receiving a management position she was promised and had it given to someone else and then some college graduates took up the positions of manager and director of operations...mom later left that place and got her management job at a smarter place who could appreciate her ability. 

So in my life I've have plenty of experience with people not getting the credit and opportunity they deserve simply because they don't meet the FORMAL BS requirements. That's why I get all warm and fuzzy inside whenever my heroes of anime can get past the failed tests and ace life itself. Even better than Naruto's example was Shikamaru who apparently only did poorly in school because it was a drag for him (I tend to agree...) but when his intelligence was tested under the guise of a game it turned out he was a genius and he proved it in the Chuunin exam battle segment! Now on that note I'd say that there's an idea they should incorporate into real world tests. Similar to how the Chuunin exams test real world ninja skills, real life tests should actually allow you to demonstrate your abilities in action rather than relying on paperwork and applications. 

I say that people really need more opportunity in life to show everyone what they're capable of because we are so much more than what we are given the chance to reveal. That's the message that I think anime communicates and it's one that I want to reiterate. Give people the chance to be the best they can be, and let's find out just how far we can push the limits of life. 

I like the idea of being in such a position as picture here. ;)

Anime Thermos News

Not ready to post another blog just yet. I'll keep going as long as I can but I want to have the best stuff possible.


Thanks!

Anime Thermos Mission Part 2

 Well things have been going well I'd say. Though I still have a long way to go. I've made a few changes to my attitude and made a few decisions about what I'm going to do with my life. First I'll address the objectives I laid out last time in this blog.


As far as acquiring a kimono I did some searching around and determined that there is a severe lack of good looking men's kimono's available. It seems to me that the market focuses on making gorgeous feminine kimono's for the ladies and gets a bit stingy when it comes to making the men look good. So, I've decided to resolve this problem by going back to the old project of just making my own Japanese style clothing.

I'm shooting for an image like this guy...yea.

 On the next point I've found a very good way of introducing the spirit of anime inspiration by way of tried and true Japanese philosophy. I've advertised to family and friends recently about the high respectability of the Japanese culture. I cited to them a documentary I watched on the making of the Katana which was really great. The discipline and meticulous pursuit of perfection and reliability in everything they pursue. It takes half a year for a team of highly experienced experts to produce one single katana blade.


 I also like to alert people to the legacies of the Japanese. There is actually a Japanese inn that has been run by the same family for 1300 years! Not only that but while there were five sword schools in Japan in the 14th century, there are still only those five standing today! The discipline, the legacy, and the dedication are astounding. By points like these I can truly make a case that the inspirations I've gotten from Japanese made entertainment in manga and anime are not simply childish fantasies.

Anime features Katana wielders so much because of the greatness they are and the greatness that gives birth to them!

Also, I've made a decision about myself that is of the utmost importance. I have to train myself to be a far better human being if I am going to have any hope of success in rising above this world...

By my calculations the man I am now is only one one billionth of the man I need to be. The problem is that there are serious obstacles and opponents to overcome in order for any subculture to rise to prominence and be at least tolerated and hopefully respected. Unfortunately there is no hope of this unless strong men and women rise to the challenge and can manage to hold confidence in the face of adversity. This can only be accomplished if said men and women can build enough strength to bear the burden. I intend to be the first of these fighters. The dream life can't be lived unless the nightmare battle is fought and won first and foremost.

 Recently I have been inspired with some heroic visions that make me feel that I can do it after all.

Ultear

Ul from Fairy Tail has become on of my favorite anime characters in spite of the fact that I'm only on episode 18 of that anime. She earned my respect so quickly because of the few short flashbacks in which I saw her raise two kids and seal the darkness of the traumatized Gray along with the great monster Deliora by making a badass and epic sacrifice of turning herself into an Iced Shell and doing it with a missing leg replaced by a prosthetic Ice one. I love this character immensely. It says a hell of a lot when a character can give so much quality with such a short amount of screen time.

Such quality... ;)

 I'm also rapidly coming to identify with and love Rikuo from Nurarihyon no Mago in both his incarnations...

Mostly the badass demon incarnation but I do like both...

 Great strength, rationality, and gentleness with a concern for his allies even though they are subordinate to him. Actually, because of the bad taste authority has left in my mouth through my life I tend to like any character in authority who is kind and caring to his/her subordinates.

 I am now engaging on a mission with three main parts to it. Number one is that I must build my strength in body and spirit and intellect to the highest caliber that I can achieve as long as I am living. Number two is that I will seek out true friends who will be my trusted and beloved allies in the adventure of life who will be by my side and I at their side as we build ourselves up to greatness. Finally, number three is that this group once formed is to embark on a life long quest to liberate the world from stingy outdated rules and regulations and advance the world on a creative, fun, and meaningful path with friendship, love, and family.

The goal is actually quite simple, but it's challenging because it requires a courageous step into unknown worlds. 

 I have written out carefully thought out principles that I hope will serve as a personal guide for me. Hopefully if they are good enough they will serve others as well. I have them laid out here:

Values (Operationalization)

Honesty, Integrity, and Trust: It is necessary for people to formally agree in direct, clear, and personal communication upon the standards and demands of one's relationships to others and responsibilities for ones position(s) in the community.

Discipline: We believe in decisiveness. we live by the decisions we make or fail to make and all decisions and promises must be followed through with maximum energy and effort.

Humility: We are all vulnerable to both failure and misfortune, to proclaim otherwise either publicly or within ones heart is to embrace a self-comforting yet ultimately unhealthy illusion which spawns arrogance and instills in people contemptuous and rude attitudes towards one another.

Compassion: Humility is understanding our own weakness' and vulnerabilities, while compassion is understanding weakness' and vulnerabilities in others. We must confess recognition of the challenges that our fellow humans must face, and help and forgive them insofar as it is reasonable to do so.

Zeal and Zest: We must decide to spend all of our time in healthy, productive, and fulfilling pursuits which promote happiness and love. We must always look for a way do survive and thrive especially after having failed at something!

Simplicity: We must maintain our health and the positive mindset needed to be the best we can be and so we must never push ourselves too hard or too fast with excessive complexity and overly numerous or strenuous tasks. If stress is a part of your life that is normal, but if stress defines your life it is too much. Success achieved by losing more than what is to be gained is simply a waste.

Unity:Individuals are of great importance, this is true of all individuals and so we must care deeply both for ourselves and those whose lives we connect with. People shall speak and act for the most positive possible outcomes for everyone including themselves.

Legacy: Whatever we know and learn will be passed down to newer/younger members of our family to carry on after we are no longer able to.

Spirituality: A reverence for the Universe and a belief in power within the soul. We assert that life must have meaning and value and that some higher power is at work in our lives. For who can account for the meaning of life without invoking some supreme universal force? The universe has a soul!

Statement of Purpose

We will work hard to learn as much as we can and build the highest quality things that make life of the greatest achievable quality. Furthermore, we will bond with one another through mutually beneficial speech and action that creates shared memories. Finally, we confess recognition that every reward demands a sacrifice and that this is an inescapable dilemma of life that serves to give our lives meaning. We will sacrifice what we must to reap the rewards that are of greater worth!

I've begun with the summer class I'm taking now, the CLEP test I'm taking in Spanish at the end of this month, and the surge in ebay selling I've begun doing. All of this developed within the past two weeks in accordance with my claim on this blog back then!!!

I'm going to learn Spanish and I'm going to do serious research and writing in my class. On top of that I'm starting to rekindle my profit making ability with my salesmanship. On top of this I am additionally going to restart my martial arts practice. I've got five years of formal training but then fell out of it for economic reasons. But now I'm taking it up again as a hobby on my own time with my own creative training methods. 

I am so very proud and excited that I've managed to work up the nerve to set forth on this endeavor to rise above my usual mediocrity. I pray that in time I will have a life that grows brighter and brighter with each passing day, with my happiness and power seeping into all who are around me!

Let's see this become reality!

Wish me well everyone!