Plucky

I'll just say it. Federal response to this tragedy has been so slow because Bush could care less about blacks. If this had hit and destroyed Galveston or some other good 'ol boy Texas gulf city, response would have been immediate. This is the end for Bush. He is an embarrasment to America and her people. His handling of this tragedy has been pathetic. Ocean learned American culture from watching Happy Days and Oprah. Americans learn about the British from Hugh Grant. The thing is, Ocean actually thinks he's an expert on a place he's never lived from reading uber-liberal blogs a

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/09/01/katrina.warming.ap/index.html

Quote: Originally posted by yoroshiku onegai shimasu: (Actually I can remember a fair few "verbal attacks on Britain" and "political jabs" after those bombings in London. It might help to go back and read that.) I only read the first few pages of that thread and don't remember reading anything like that. I do remember Ocean attacking the US and Bush on that thread, however. I might even say he was justified in that case. To blame Bush for a NATURAL DISASTER is just ludicrous, however, especially considering things are still getting worse in New Orleans. The blanket attacks on the Amer

Would you please tell me what Bush had to do with New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina? YOU made it political. YOU are the one making sweeping generalizations about the American public. Quote: But I expect the voters will be pursuaded it was Iran's fault, or that it was the good Lord's retribution for tolerating gays I know sarcasm is in full effect here (or is it?). What in the hell does this have to do with the hurricane victims? Are you insinuating that ALL Americans are sheep? Quote: Let's hope that some sodomite in Crawford TX tempts God to cause Katrina to take a

Quote: Originally posted by Ocean11: There's only about a millimetre of space between you and Fox, the home of cynicism and hate. Umm, hello? Pot, meet kettle. Your reading comprehension is abysmal. Yeah, I'm a HUGE fan of Fox News Quote: Correcting all the factual inaccuracies and deliberate half-truths in your rant would fill a page of this thread, so I won't bother. Nice cop-out. Why don't you just do it point by point. It's not like you're stressed for time. I mean, when you post 50 times a day on a message board....... So, let's hear it. I've lost all respect fo

Quote: its interesting that the Yukon and Alaska are neighbours but look quite different yet the same at same time Both the Yukon and Alaska are HUGE. The terrain varies greatly over both. People think of AK and usually think mountains, glaciers, snow, etc... when in fact a large portion is low wetlands in the valleys between the mountain chains. Taiga and tundra dominate the northern Arctic plain past the Brooks Range. These areas are still beautiful in their own way. I love the Yukon also. I love the open areas, the vastness of the landscape and the rugged beauty. I hope to be able

Ocean - you are a prick. Your generalizations about Americans are so off-base. Go ahead and be pissed and bitter about Bush but leave the people that have been affected by this tragedy out of your political hate rants. Better yet, why don't you focus your hostility on your little bitch of a country that licks Bush's shoes. That must mean all English are cold-hearted, moronic conformists since Blair is Bush's puppet. I HATE George W and his gaggle of village idiots. BUT, I'm intelligent enough to recognize that this disaster is not Bush's fault. Okay, he did cut funding to the

This is one of my favorite pics from the trip even though it's not that great of quality. I just like the feelings it evokes. This was my first hike after my knee surgery and I had so much fun out there. We had met some cool people from Manhattan and DC and we all decided to go for a hike at 10pm (to avoid the heat and smoke - we had plenty of light). It was fun freaking them out about bears while we were out there and we did see plenty of bear signs (claw marks, bear poo, broken shrubs and bushes..) It was beautiful terrain and the smoky haze made it spooky. Oh yeah, this was Denali also

This is the view leaving Valdez harbor. We were going out to catch us some coho/silver salmon in Prince William Sound (yep, where the oil spill took place). I haven't processed any of the other mt and glacier pics yet, so here are some random shots. This is also just outside Valdez. Check out all of the pink salmon or 'humpies' spawning in the creek! It was nuts! The first bear I've ever seen in the wild! I've lived most of my life outdoors but had never seen a bear. So cool! This is a young Grizzly Bear in Denali NP.

Hey all, I just got back from a week-long camping trip with a friend that came out to visit. We did a few days at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park and then drove to Valdez for the scenery and some salmon fishing. All in all, it was a great time! Unfortunately, it's fire season in Alaska right now and there was quite a bit of smoke in the air making a lot of the pictures hazy. To keep with the snow theme, most of these will be of some of the glaciers we saw and visited This is a glacier coming out the southside of the Alaska Range. I liked how it contrasted with the surro

Quote: mr soubriquet, i think one i predicted for indonesia on 4 aug is 75% correct earthquake has occured on 4 aug in indonesia whose magnitude was 5.8 even some sites shows 6.0 .yes this one was not as strong as i was expecting it to be over 6.5. You're a frickin' quack. Predicting eq's in Japan and Indo is like predicting whether or not Oprah will go for the twinky. It's gonna happen often. Do you have any formal geologic training? We got 5.5+'s every month in Misawa thanks to our proximity to Hokkaido and the fault that runs south of there. Oh, and that dasterdly 8.3 mag quake.

http://www.newsreview.info/article/20050731/FEATURES02/108010034/-1/FEATURES This is an article on my good friend John. It just came out last week in my hometown's newspaper. We roomed together in college, played basketball together in high school (he was our teams center), and we had tons of great times pranking people and just having fun. Not to mention all of the outdoor activities and adventures we shared. John made a HUGE impact in my life and got me in to skiing, mt biking and climbing. I don't think he knows and I don't think I've ever expressed to him how much of an impa

Quote: Originally posted by Fattwins: you should always pack an e-sewing kit on a trip like yours dude. 2 needles and 50m of thread takes up 3cmx1cm of space lol - FT is right! Saved myself a few times with my 'gay' little sewing kit. Hmm, bad experiences with gear. Well, might as well go right to the top - I've blown out two pairs of Rossignol skis. I'm talking destroyed them on rocks that should have just taken a chunk. My K2's have always been solid. Solomons too. Dynastar also. No probs with those brands. Shoots, My Kelty 4 season tent is bomb-proof, my North Face 0F d

I could care less. I start caring when some oriental dude starts doing some 'full metal jacket' kung fu on me. Western media killed obnoxious behaviour........

America...............F... Yeah!!!!!!!

Deal with it. Most people here do. I hated the flights, but dealt. There is nothing wrong with getting off of a plane in San Francisco and being pissy. Everyone in that whole city is on the rag anyway. I can't sleep on planes. The closest I came to sleeping on a trans-Pacific flight was on China Airlines. The commies kept waking me up though! If I don't want or need a hot towel, don't shake my #$%#^% arm! The rice pudding was good though Stiff upper lip folks...stiff upper lip. Apparently, it solves all problems.

Quote: Originally posted by torihada: This is very Japanese as they drive through the night, surf, sleep and drink and drive back late on Sunday, shagged out for Monday am. Welcome to my college years in Oregon, USA. Winter (Nov - May) skiing, the rest of the time, surfing. Sounds like a couple of my J buddies. Many surfers in the US don't live the Cali/Hawaiian lifestyle...... Just sayin'.........

Quote: Originally posted by happyhappy: Anyone seen Charlie & the Chocolate Factory yet? I'm (hopefully) seeing it tomorrow. It's gonna be raining and cold, so what the hell? I also plan to see that Star Wars thingy ma jigger I live a bit far from the theater, so I got to get 'em while I can. I'll report back......... I'm really worried about the spare holding out on my Jeep though. I blew a tire today....... the spare is a decade old, so........ No new tire untile Monday.

I watched 'Constantine' last night starring Keanu R. That was a very entertaining movie! I'm not Catholic, but I enjoy seeing other interpretations regarding the mythology of the religion. The whole lucifer/God thing was compelling. For a keanu film, two thumbs way up!

Quote: Originally posted by Oyuki kigan: I am finally walking today! No more crutches! Congratulations Oyuki! Awesome! Keep up with the re-hab and keep stretching! I'm 6 weeks ahead of schedule now My knee feels good, but in an ouchy sort of way. You know what I mean? It just feels right now. The wonders a knee cap in the right place can do!

Quote: Originally posted by kris kenzel: I take it as a supplement daily, a knee surgeon recommended it to a mate of mine, who did his knee in while playing tennis. I've been taking the stuff for 3 years. Lot of good it did me! It's all about genetics and the activities you have done or choose to do currently. As far as strengthening the muscles around your knee.....yeah, right. I have tree trunks for legs and it didn't help me at all. I work out too (took 2 years off in Japan - you ever see a rural Japanese weight room?). Anyway.... I work out responsibly (now), I stretch,

Doesn't the Japanese language have like a bajillion ways to describe numbers of things? Different method for elevator floors, different method for age, different method for how many pairs of panties are in a vending machine....... It seems kind of whack to me. Maybe counting is the one portion of the English language that is easy to learn?

Quote: Originally posted by sava: plucky: that's some expensive pizza Are you familiar with J-Bros Pizza? That's what we called it at least. There was one in Misawa we ordered from all the time. Man, it was quite funny trying to communicate how we wanted our pizzas over the phone (they delivered, that's why we got it). We got some really odd stuff a few times! But bloody 'ell was it expensive! 5,000 yen + for two large (Nippon style), three topping pizzas! Good stuff though usually. Especially after a long day of skiing and post-slope beers.

Quote: Country is awful, don't get it at all. Is it widely popular in the States, or are there just certain regions that are heavily into it? It's pretty pervasive these days - meaning it's spread everywhere. Country anymore is just pop music. Real country music is good stuff. Old Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. The new stuff sucks. I actually just dislike all pop music in general. Even the 'new' American punk is just pop drivel. See 'Good Charolette' for reference. I had never been a big fan of bluegrass music until two weeks ago. I had travelled north to do some laundry. On

Quote: Originally posted by blindlemon: were you ill after eating it? No, it was actually really good. We were also really hungry, so our perceptions about the food could have been skewed towards the favorable. I still don't know if it was miscommunication or what. I've been in plenty of places where they speak no English, I speak little Japanese but I get what I want. Chalk it up to an odd experience!