Okay, so I'm sick and totally amped up on DayQuil, which is like, HELLO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE and I have to wonder why I just don't slam down some DayQuil every damn day. My head feels all fuzzy. It's cool.

So I'm torn. Between two loves. Subaru WRX sedan or Acura RSX Type S? The first time I bought a new car, the Integra GS-R won hands down, like no sweat dude, this is the CAR! But now, it's not so easy. I want a different driving experience and while the RSX is different it's still an Acura. I also want more room for people and things, which the Acura doesn't have. But the Subaru doesn't have the same interior amenities or the same reliability. But it's a turbo AWD car and it's fast! It's ugly too, which is kinda neat.

Neither are, of course, a 350Z, which is my unattainable love, my darling, my baby. Which would make me angry and bitter and aggressive if the DayQuil wasn't so fucking awesome and everythings all, like, cool, and stuff. Whoa. I gotta go home now and hit the Walgreens on the way for more DayQuil and some of that kickass NightQuil, which is even better.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
--Sir Winston Churchill

I'm SO totally impressed with Rurouni Kenshin. I've reached a huge story arch in the series that pits Kenshin against Shishio, a man who became the manslayer after Kenshin. Shishio's ambition is to throw the Meiji government into turmoil so he can create his own power in Japan. The government can't move against him because it would show weakness to other countries, but one of the main reasons is the officials fear for their own lives after Shishio has the Minister of the Interior assassinated (which really did occur in Japanese history). Shishio's version of Japan has him reigning using fear to keep people in line.

Kenshin has to leave Tokyo and his friends behind to become a wanderer again, and he makes his way to Kyoto to find Shishio. Kenshin knows he might have to become the manslayer again to kill Shishio, but he also knows that his presence in Toyko puts his friends in danger, and he as to leave to protect them.

Kaoru, Yahiko and Sanosuke are havin' none of that, though. Kaoru is heartbroken that Kenshin left (in a great episode, where they finally at least hug) and she and Yahiko set off for Kyoto. Sanosuke makes his own way to Kyoto, thinking that Kenshin left him behind because Sanosuke is a liability...his skills as a fighter are nowhere on the level of Kenshin and Shishio, as one of Kenshin's foes, Saito, leads Sanosuke to believe. Saito is one of Kenshin's greatest enemies from the Imperialistic revolution and has hunted Kenshin down. He seriously wounded Sanosuke and might have killed Kenshin if the greater evil of Shishio didn't rear it's head and turn Kenshin and Saito into uneasy allies.

Saito is an interesting foe because he isn't really a bad guy. He wants what is best for Japan and his motto is to "elimate evil immediately." After Kenshin leaves, he goads Sanosuke into a fist fight to show how superior Saito and men like him and Kenshin are. Sanosuke gets angry and bitter, and heads to Kyoto to prove Kenshin wrong. On the way, he trains to get stronger, to become the best fighter in Japan, which was really Saito's goal all along, knowing that Kenshin would need strong, loyal allies at his side to fight Shishio. And Saito knows that Sanosuke is a really good fighter, but must get better for the fight ahead.

Rurouni Kenshin is horribly addicting. I've been though at least 30 episodes and this Shishio story arch is much longer than the 2-3 episode archs that preceeded it. Shishio is being set up to be Kenshin's enemy for quite some time and it will be interesting to see how the funny, peaceful man that Kenshin has become deals with tapping into the manslayer to fight this new evil that threatens to crush Japan.

I think I'm becoming addicted to anime. I'm in the midst of going through all 20 DVDs of Rurouni Kenshin on Netflix...I'm up to disk 5. It's a little strange at first, with a lot of goofiness mixed in with serious stuff, but I'm really getting into the series. It's about a wandering swordsman, Himura Kenshin, who used to be known as Battousai the Manslayer during the Imperialist revolution that brought about the Meiji Era 10 years prior. An assassin during the revolution, Kenshin, as we meet him in the series, has given up the life of being a manslayer and has vowed to use his skills to help people. One of the ways he does this is to promise not to use his sword to kill, so he uses a reverse-blade sword...the blade is on the inside of the sword and the outside is dull. That idea is pretty neat in itself.

Kenshin meets a couple people along the way and hangs around Kamiya Kaoru, assistant master of a swordfighting dojo, Myoujin Yahiko, a young orphaned apprentice at the dojo and Sagara Sanosuke, a fighter for hire. These four are the main characters of the series and each character develops in their own way. The animation is pretty good, but whenever a character gets mad or hurt in a humorous situation, the animation is really exagerrated. It took some getting used to, but the serious storylines more htan make up for it.

I will be watching a lot of anime for the next couple of months via Netflix...it's really good stuff and I never thought I'd be a fan, but I gave it a try and now I'm hooked.

So, anyone out there feel we have a better chance of finding Bush Inc.'s famed WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION in Sammy Sosa's corked bat than in big, bad Iraq? I do! I do!

More like weapons of mass deception. Interesting news keeps creeping up about the real reasons we went to war and how our intelligence was not only incorrect, but that Bush Inc. probably knew all along that WMD didn't really exist, not in any way that made them "mass" or "destructive" or in the least bit any more dangerous than your run of the mill Big Mac. People are starting to question if Bush Inc. completely mislead the nation in their reasons for invading Iraq. More people are coming forward, claiming pressure or that WMD was just a political reason, not a real reason.

Of course, some of us had this sneaking suspicion before the invasion even began, but most redneck Merakuns called us unpatriotic.

Your president and his staff may have lied to the nation, took us to war and cost 100's of American lives for their own greedy interests. Think about that for awhile. And they wanted to impeach Clinton for getting a BJ. Fuck that crazy shit.

I've decided to ease up on my religious bent this week and go back to an always fun and never-ending source of pure enjoyment: the federal government.

Take a gander at a recent article on the Democratic Underground regarding the lunatics in charge of our country. These are people you'd probably never think to invite over for a dinner party or go see a movie or have a BBQ with out of fear that they might attach themselves to your neck with their tiny little alien razor teeth and suck your body dry of its soul. And they're running YOUR country!

I don't know how I turned out this way: frightenly concerned about the welfare and future of our country -- issues like the economy and our depleted social security retirement funds, civil rights and the use of the Constitution as doodle paper, our aggressive imperialistic foreign policies -- but I say if something has really gotten me to take notice and care, then it must be pretty important because I'm far happier being a lazy person without a care in the world.

The folks in charge now and their conservative, almost facist, views, truly should scare the shit out of anyone with two brain cells to rub together to spark a thought. This is government by people you wouldn't leave alone with your children. This is government by people who might, just might, eat your cat. This is government by people who are, by all counts, stupider than your average 12-year-old. This is a government that harbors racists. This is government by the ultimate inner circle, concerned with handing out favors to make their friends (read as not 99.99999% of the American people) richer while prostituting ideals like "liberty," "freedom," and "democracy" to justify their heinous actions. Basically, America is getting bent over like a skinny white tax-evader in a maximum security prison. Ouch.

Oh, and if the motley fools that run our country aren't enough to depress you, then consider the recent relaxation of FCC restrictions that will now allow megalomedia conglomerates to own multiple media outlets in the same market. So, instead of Clear Channel pumping mind-numbing conserative talk show crap on just one radio station in your town, they can now do it on eight radio stations. And they can own up to 3 major television networks in one area. Oh, and a major newspaper. And a cable TV station. Hello...does this scare anyone? Do you really believe the media is objective and varied and speaks with the voices of all Americans? If you do, then PYHOYA (pullyourheadoutofyourass) and take a good look at things to come. You'll start hearing the same messages, from seemingly several different sources, all owned by one corporation, and don't for a moment think that that corporation is by any means liberal or compassionate or socially conscious or morally responsible.

We're in a huge pile of shit. But just keep waving your American flags and smiling your fake, unknowing, thoughtless, soulless smiles, you puling ass-backward Merakun public. The less you think, the deeper in we go.

Let's continue with Jesus theme by looking at another website that celebrates the glory of all that is holy and Jesus-like. Well, almost. Visit www.jesusoftheweek.com for a humorous look at some serious Jesus crap. Praise be!

Jesus loves you! He's also touching you inappropriately!

Jesus as your own personal, creepy stalker.

Apparently, Jesus is a slightly pudgy ex-hair band psycho-stalker who likes to spy on people like jugglers and welders. Jugglers? Perhaps it's the artist's own personal fetish.

*shudder*

My friend showed me this little gem of a website last Friday: tardblog. Yes, you will end up laughing at the misadventures of the mentally disabled and kids with severe behavioral disorders, but then again, you could just drink yourself into a stupor and ram dull bowling hall pencils into your eyes in order to keep yourself from going insane in this mad, mad world. You pick. I'll laugh at tards.

I proved last night that the old adage is true: "even the sun shines on a dog's ass every once in awhile...now pull up your pants." I entered a free online 7-card stud tournament last night for the usual shits and grins. You can't beat free poker. Anyway, something like 1074 enter to win 8 spots in a weekly invite-only tourney for those who place 1-8 in the freeroll tournaments. I'm not a stud player, but I figure I'll dink around for an hour and practice my elite poker skills.

Five hours and $1,600,000 in play chips later, I end up winning the thing. Out of 1074 people, random Jen wins. I was just pleased to make it to the top table, never mind win. Hell, I expected to go out early and get some sleep, but nooooo. Even when I got the top table and we were all guaranteed spots in the tourney next week, I tried to go all in (hard to do with $365,000) and go to bed, but I kept winning. So I then decided to not to fuck around, but win the fucking thing. I pretty much bullied the last active guy out, which is easy to do with you've got $800,000 more chips, but when you keep getting dealt AAK or QQK, you can't do anything but raise $30,000. The war of attrition works. One of my friends was watching and remarked that pigs would be flying and hell would be frozen over today.

Now I'm entered into an invite-only Hold 'Em tourney next Sunday to win...dun, dun, DUN...$100. I figure screw the $100...I'll live off the glory of my 7-card stud victory for quite some time. And yes, this will be rubbed in the faces of my poker-playing friends for years to come. So Duy and Scott, watch out. Bow down to the glory that is The Jen! All hail me!

Just don't ask me to play Omaha Hi/Lo, because that's a game I still can't figure out. *sigh*