I would really like to go to Italy one of these days. I frankly love Italian food and would relish a chance to visit the country and just sampling the local shops. Italy also has a rich culture with plenty of history and some great art, so it would be wonderful. About the food part...I just realized that I watched Rattoutli (spelling?) a few months ago. Wonder if that somehow factored into my thoughts?

I'm still a big fan of Rurouni Kenshin. I think that as long as the anime has a good story it will hang around somewhere. I still like Ranma a lot too, although with Inuyasha I'm not sure where to classify that one...

I would like to believe that God exists, but it's hard to ignore just how convenient the concept of God is used in society. Frankly, I suspect that people have a hard time believing that maybe there's just nothing after death and that death is permanent, hence mankind created the idea that there's someone immortal who will be able to care for people even after death. Let's see: In Greek mythology people go to reside with Hades after death in the underworld. In Christanity people either go the heaven or to hell, but there's somewhere to go. In Egypt, the soul travel beyond the gates to ther afterlife, hence all the food and gifts they are buried with (who say's you can't bring worldly posessions with you when you die?). In Islam people worship the great Allah, who will bless them with a great and eternal afterlife. In Buddhism and Hinduism people's may die, but the soul is immortal and wil be reborn in another guise. See a common thread here? No one is dead...dead. There's always something to do afterwords or somewhere to go. In some ways I almost see it as a way to rationalize death. If one has to die, then the belief that there's something after death makes the process of dying that much easier to accept. I'm not saying that God doesn't exist, but it just seems very convenient that most Gods in religion look like humans or are mostly humaniod in shape. So...maybe people created God in their own image (ducks and hides from protests). I want to believe in God very much, but having a strong science background I have a tough time believing that someone can just will something into existance. It turns everything I have ever learned on it's head. Let's not forget the last benefit here: being able to say "God told me to do this" means that you're always right. You can ignore all reason and evidence simply by saying "the divine told me to to this so all your mundane laws simply don't apply to me. Heck, I'm obeying a higher cause." So said the Kings who ruled by divine right, the crusaders who are out fighting for the divine cause, and people who blows themselves up so that they can enjoy the afterlife with God's blessing. Having priests or clerics call upon people to fight in the name of God is very powerful because you simply can't rationalize with these people; the guys fighting are probably not afraid of death and will do things they normally would not do because they "just know" what they will be rewarded in the afterlife. So, God can be used to mobilize the masses for some person's own political agenda (which I find terrifying). Oh yeah...was it Marx who said that religion was the opiate of the masses? I hope not but sometimes it's really hard to tell. So does God exist? I opt for a cautious yes I hope so but please offer me some rationality.

I am sure he is trying hard, but personally I do not support his platform and will be partying Jan 20. There are more lobbyists on capital hill then there are congress members and frankly, I think that all the tax breaks Bush is giving large corporations really needs to stop. There are many government programs that need funding such as education, law enforcement, infrastructure inspection and safety (we really don't need another bridge collapse). To continue to offer large tax breaks or to attempt to make them permanent will just increase the federal deficit and decrease funding to vital government projects. He came in with a federal surplus courtesy of president Clinton, but will leave the next president with the Iraqi SNAFU and many other problems and fewer resources to address them. Americans are getting irritated with his administration, I believe. I have seen stickers saying "Somewhere in Texas a village is missing it's idiot, My child is a honor student but my president is a moron, and somebody else for president." We can't blame the president for higher oil prices since the rest of the world has increased demand (India's new minicars...anyone?), but there is much that he could have done differently. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, but I can't wait for this guy to get out of office.

I admit freely that I love anime and games. It's surprising how many other people you'll met who also enjoy anime. It's like talking about computer or PSP/Wii/X-box games. Most people I know play games on some kind of platform and once the game discussion begins it's easy to make the jump to anime. I have met some pretty cool people who I would never have suspected if being anime fans this way.

I enjoy the violin, but sometimes it's really a lot of work and it can really hurt your fingertips if you practice a lot. Also, you can't have long nails which can be a bummer. Still, being in orchestra is great.

I have to vote for my cell phone too. Keeping in touch with people over the summer...

I vote for Tsunade. Not only is she physically powerful, she has a strong and willful personality well-suited for leadership. It takes a certain someone to stand up to the village elders and Sai's commander, and her encounter with Sora was just too funny.

Yes. My circle of friends often have different series so we swap. We're just really careful with how we take care of them so that we can return them in the shape that they were originally given in.

The question is a little vague... Animes are often rated on viewership, artistic direction, music composition, etc. Different anime score differently on the scales. if you think about movie reviews/Academy awards the categories are broken down right? If by just pure viewership, I would guess Naruto followed by Bleach.

Story over art. Period.

Yup. They think it's like cartoons...a big misconception, but suits me pretty well either way.

D. Grayman before Tsubasa. Great plot and and Lenalee handles her own fights.

I agree with Ryuurei. Tsunade is extremely powerful and Sakura looks like she's following in her mentor's shoes. On a lighter note I might add Rangiku Masumoto...she can be very dangerous in the right company and frankly, I'm surprised the tenth house is still standing with her around...

This questions is a little vague. Are you refer to schools, organizations, clubs, etc? Uniforms are at times mandatory. For instance, members of the armed forces should probably wear uniforms to designate rank and station so that in an instance when people must act quickly, commanders will be able to assess the competency and abilities of someone without having to know them personally just based on the designation on the uniform. Privates probably are taught a set of skills, corporals have another set of abilities above that, etc so that when an emergency happens and members from different companies are expected to work together, a commanding officer should be able to assume that whoever is wearing a certain uniform will be able to carry out specific tasks.
As to schools, absolutely not. It snuffs much of the individuality and uniqueness that students should be at liberty to express. Sometimes it cannot be helped if students are hiding weapons in baggy pants or overlarge jackets, but I strongly believe that school administrations should alllow their students a degree of freedom within reason. When I was in elementary school we had to wear uniforms on certain days and believe me, trying to pinpoint a friend out of a sea of blue and whites was truly bothersome.

Of course. It would make residency so much easier. I thought medical school was tough...
v wishes to appoint anyone to role of president?

Cid from FF VII because he KICKED THE HABIT by the time he showed up at Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts. THink about it...squamous cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, emphysema, COPD, not to mention that it will stain your teeth and put off all your friends because you stink. I think Cid from FF7 one of the coolest Cids in the series...seeing him in KH was an added bonus and seeing him without the cigerette was awesome. The question said coolest character, not coolest manga character...

No, there's no evidence that it will make someone more likely to pursue same sex relationships. There have been studies on children who grew up with same sex parents and they are not more likely to seek those relationships themselves upon adulthood than children who grew up in traditional families.

No problem, people are entitled to their opinions. People can say all sort of things about my anime...I just reserve the right to criticize their TV shows or movies.

Full Metal Alchemist
Naruto
Trigun - Love and Peace!

Hmmm.....meeting a real life Kenshin would be pretty neat. A guy who does the laundry, cleans, and cooks better than most people? You can send him our for groceries, and his ability to defend you if you just happen to run into a few thugs/muggers (cliche!) is a plus to boot.

Sometimes, if the manga is truly excellent. Besides, sometimes the anime will follow a different storyline or end prematurely while the manga keeps going ie Rurouni Kenshin, FMA.

I personally like Sakura from Naruto. I was a little annoyed with the typical love-struck girl syndrome in some of the earlier episodes, to be honest. Compared to two very well-developed characters, I think that her characterization suffered from being paired with two powerful teammates early on. Over the course of the series (now that Sasuke's out of the picture for a few/many fillers), her character has really become more polished and refined. It's seems that Sakura has developed a distinctive set of skills and can now hold her own against some powerful enemies, as well as truly use her abilities to bring her team closer to a common goal. I couldn't help but cheer like crazy when she finally developed a backbone and kicked her own set of shorts instead of sitting around waiting for the knight, fairy godmother, prince, whatever to rescue her for the umpteenth time. Being part of a group means sharing the same goals, undertaking the same risks, and sharing the same burdens, not benchwarming from the sidelines. Sakura H. rules!

Depends on how old the children are. I'd probably start off with Studio Gibli stuff such as Totoro or Laputa for the younger children. For anyone who appreciate interesting plots and action, or can follow a good story line, I would introduce Naruto or FMA.