Adult Anime??

Since I was younger, I was never interested in cartoons. Even though the typical thing on Saturday mornings for young children to watch were cartoons till the afternoon. I always preferred life-like shows with actual people. I never even tried to watch anime. The mere format of the cartoon discouraged me from checking it out. The square-ish facial features and odd landscapes were definitely not my thing. I have never even heard of Adult Anime until class. It completely shocked me.

I was really impressed with the story line. Compared to what American Anime plot lines seem to be, Spirited Away has a convincing plot line that includes real life story lines. American Anime is much more childish and simplistic. Ranted I have only watched one day of Spirited Away but it definitely appeals to adults. The facial features are still square-ish and the scenery is still similar to American style, but the plot was one step closer to something I could enjoy.

Anime definitely appeals to the people who want a cultural experience and appreciate the supernatural. I do not actually know a lot about anime but it always seems to focus are supernatural occurrences: ghosts, spirits, magic, etc. To someone who appreciates and enjoys real life story lines, anime loses my interest fast. Watching spirits come alive and talking animals is not engaging and entertaining because I cannot see myself in the shoes of the characters. Once the spirits came alive in Spirited Away, I lost some interest. It was drawn beautifully and the plot carried itself it just was not what appeals to someone like me.

Spirited Away is heavily based on a supernatural experience. From the wind “pushing” the little girl into the tunnel to needing to eat fruit to become real again, the plot relies on supernatural elements. I always find it impressive for one writer to be so creative to create and enhance all of the supernatural and magical elements in a short film or movie. It is a very complex organization of supernatural experiences and pieces, which come together to create the whole story.

Anime is certainly a way to broaden your cultural appreciate. It takes a closer look at oriental cultures where anime is the star of the television shows. For me, watching anime almost seems like a history lesson because you could learn so much bout cultures that I honestly know very little about. I see landscapes and architecture found abundantly in China and Japan through a carton show. After all my talk about not liking anime, I have enjoyed this film so far. Somehow the introductions of the characters and the beginning of the story drew me in kept me wrapped in the supernatural story. I caught myself getting nervous when the little girl was flying down the old, wooden stairs all-alone. I am interested in seeing how it all plays out, even if I cannot watch the entire movie. The experience of watching my first anime movie has slightly changed my perspective on the rest of the anime world.

Need an Attitude Adjustment?

It is amazing to think about the power our minds have over so many different aspects of our being. The mind controls how we feel pain, how we assess problems, and how we respond in certain situations. Not only do we make decisions based on logic, but also our actions as human beings unconsciously depend on particular primitive feelings and emotions. Although it is impossible to fully control the outcome of any given situation, one thing that can be applied is the power of positive thinking.

Our brains sometimes automatically pick out all of the negative things about something, even if no such things really exist. It seems almost too easy to obsess over flaws, but the difference between brooding over our problems and moving ahead is tremendous. Some people will only ever focus on the bad, which in turn creates a toxic environment that is truly contagious. In the sphere of health, nothing can contribute as much to a sense of well-being as a positive mental attitude. It is something that is renewing when everything is already spent. Positivity creates vigor and optimism, which is generated through the mind, which runs its course throughout the body. It generates an atmosphere where everyone feels refreshed and enthusiastic enough to keep on going. It may seem corny to say that the power of positivity lies in believing you can do anything, regardless what the circumstance, standing strong through all situations of life, not being afraid to live, and being willing to learn from everything that life throws at you but, the fact of the matter is that no one ever got anywhere by constantly telling themselves they didn’t have what it takes to achieve their goals.

From personal experience, there have been many circumstances where a simple difference in my state of mind has been made the difference between success and personal defeat. As an athlete, I have learned that nothing can stop the person with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the person with the wrong mental attitude. Even coaches, reporters, and sport psychologists are constantly inundating the print media with critiques on the mental side of coaching and playing, such as "the psychology of winning," "the mind-set of successful coaches," "the mental side of hitting," etc. All athletes are physically limited to some extent, but their attitude can enhance their chances for success. Attitude is almost a type of the filter through which a person can perceive and assess difficult situations and overcome them. Positivity is evident in people and general and athletes that enjoy what they do in both practice and games, and they generally see potential in every circumstance. Whether the situation is negative or positive, they find some way to gain inspiration or wisdom from it. Even a defeat will inspire them to work harder and longer to succeed the next time out.

With excessive evidence that a certain positive state of mind and attitude leads to victory, it could be said that this is the key to success in all terms of life and not just sports.

Is America's Pastime Becoming "Juiced"?

In a world full of athletes, everyone is trying to get a “leg up” in their different sports. For example, really good high school tennis players are leaving their respective high schools to go to tennis schools where they go to learn from well-known tennis coaches, play tennis, and also attend school. Another example of trying to get a “leg up” on the competition is soccer players in high school choosing to rather play for nationally ranked club teams than compete on their high school teams to try to win a state ring. Everybody is trying to play with and against the very best competition. One way that Major League Baseball players try to get ahead of the competition is by using illegal steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Many baseball players are being questioned about whether or not they have used these drugs at some point during their careers. Baseball players such as Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and many more players are accused of taking steroids. Jose Canseco already confessed of taking steroids and even wrote a book about other players taking steroids. Major League Baseball players should defiantly not use steroids that enhance their performance, even if they are legal, because it hurts the sport. If a few players decide to use steroids then every other player is going to start using steroids also in order to keep up with the few players that started to use them in the first place. This will then have an effect on all levels of baseball such as Triple A, Double A, Single A, and other minor league divisions. The use of steroids could even trickle down to the college and high school levels. Baseball would then be a steroid infested league. Kids of all ages look up to these major league players and grow up wanting to be just like their favorite players. We do not need the kids of the world looking up to role models that cheat their ways through baseball. I know for myself that baseball is a much better sport when there are no performance enhancing drugs or steroids involved and I would like to see it continue to be drug free. Baseball is America’s pastime and today’s game should continue to be like the sport like it was in the pastime.