MMmmm Curry Rice.

Hey guys,

Welcome, welcome. Today's post is brought to you by Curry Rice. Whenever I want a quick bite of something delcious, I go straight for my packet of curry rice. Just one chunk, some boiling water, veggies, and rice, and I've got a full meal. And, for a limited time, if you eat the packet without cooking it, a genie will come and grant you three wishes. At least, it will grant your wishes until the hallucination runs out. Oh curry rice, for $2.50 a packet, anyone can have their own personal genie, and tasty meals on command!

Now that our sponsors are out of the way, let's sit down and talk. I'll tell you of the wonders of Hachinohe, and you can listen, and comment if you would be so kind. I'll even reply to your comments, so go ahead, type in the box. Come on... everyone's doing it. Peer pressure....

Ok, I'll start talking now. Typing. Whatever. Why was today sponsored by curry rice? Because that's what I had for lunch! With all of the mysteries cleared up, we can go full steam ahead.

This past weekend was pretty good. We were all supposed to go kayaking at Kabushima island, but it was rained out. So, that was done, and instead we all met up at 4 at Erin's house. We hung out for awhile, the usual shenanigans. DnD was a big part of the night. I guess, well, I guess it's time I do more than just write DnD, and it's time I put some explanation into what it actually is we're doing.

Warning: The following is a descent into extreme nerd-dome, enter, or skip, at your own peril.

Basically, I am the person in charge of the game. The official label is DM or GM, but I also go by "God," "His awesomeness," "The Holy, All-Powerful, Omnipotent One," or "El Duderino." I've created the world and the current dungeon my poor pawns- I mean, characters- are in. We've got a variety of characters from different backgrounds, different races, and different, erm, clothing (or lack of) preferences.

So, this past week, our brave companions entered "The spider room." Ironically, it started off with a fight between two of said companions. Xen (Natalie) got pissed off at Nameless (Wade) and gave him a huge slice across the chest with her war-axe. Wade got his hands on one of her swords, and threw it onto the huge 40 ft. diameter spider-web. Well, of course, the vibration across the spider-web caused a huge, poisonous spider to jump down, and so they began an awkward fight as they were trying to lay down wooden boards on the web to get to the other side. After a tough fight, they prevailed, decrypted a ritual scroll, and then entered a crystal pirate ship to cast the ritual. Unfortunately, this cause all of the lights to go out, and as we left, our adventurers heard shuffling sounds inside their ship.

And that is what happens in a typical round of the game.

After the game, we went to sleep at Erin's, woke up the next morning, and ended up going to to Kabushima Island- lovingly called "Birdshit Island." Over the course of seagull mating season, around 40,000 seagulls inhabit the island. When we got there, it was covered. They have free umbrellas you can use to prevent the seagulls from pooping on you. Although, seagull poop is actually pure good luck. Take the case of my dad, and also my grandma. Both were pooped on by seagulls, and both won money from the lottery on that same day. I still used an umbrella. There's a shrine on the top of the island, I would hate to be a monk at that temple. Too much poop-smell.

After the island, we went to an onsen. Seth's friend, Tamara, was in town, and it was her first time to the onsen. She's a new convert, and cannot wait to come back here for her study abroad. After the onsen, we hit up that restaurant next door. The healthy vegetable one that is supposed to detox you.

Ok, all of that blah blah is out of the way, what other things shall we talk about. Ah yes, I have written here that we'll talk about conformity right now. I find "non-conformists" stupid. I don't find non-conformists stupid, but those with the quotation marks around them do fit in my category. I find the concept annoying because many times the "non-conformists" all end up wearing the same clothing, have the same style, and listen to the same music. Case in point, Indie Rock people back in the US. I don't find them annoying at all, I tend to like some Indie music (though, it can get annoying when your Indie music isn't "Indie" enough for them, "Belle and Sebastian, they're too well-known, they're practically main-stream sell-outs."). But when someone with that distinct Indie style starts to claim everyone else is a conformist, I can't help but think of the groups of people they hang out with, who dress exactly the same, and the bands they are imitating.

So, now we're at this crossroad, where those who are dressing and acting "non-conformist" are actually just dressing and acting like a well-define group in the minority. Hmm. So what would make a non-conformist? Someone who wears normal clothes but doesn't prescribe to normal activities, actions, and so forth? Or someone who is actually dressed in a style that they made themselves (I'm talking, made the actually clothes with their own hands, because anything corporate-made would be conforming)? I am singling out clothes, music, and actions, because those are the things I associate with what I think most others associate with conformity (or lack thereof). Unfortunately, I don't think there is an actual answer to what is non-conformist, because we all conform, and don't conform, to a certain extent. So, perhaps the long-winded conclusion is: there is no "non-conformity," so define yourself by something else.

Ah, but there is one more aspect to this, a part of human nature, ne? What people desire, what they want to see and want to believe, they will. Us humans will actively search for the grains of what we want, and ignore that which doesn't support our claim. Take social psychology, it's really interesting the extent to which we'll do these things. Oh, and if a group of people want to believe something, the effect becomes that much stronger. Take a look at FOX news, for example. Well, actually, for the sake of your intelligence, don't. Take a look at The Daily Show, it'll give you a limited exposure to FOX, just enough to make you see it, but not too much to dumb you down. So, if you want to believe you are non-conformist, and you work hard to buy the clothes your friends/favorite bands do because they don't conform, then you can believe it.

Well, I'm glad we got that little chat done with. And now it's time for me to end this post. Adios.

-Me