Videogames

Video games are a great way to relieve stress, especially if they are played with friends. Shooting zombies or dancing in Dance Dance Revolution really helps you lose the stress from school or work by distracting your mind for a while. I enjoy Role Playing Games the most like Fallout 3, or Dragon Age although for the computer I enjoy Real Time Strategy games such as Starcraft and Warcraft. The Final Fantasy series definitely takes the cake for being the best RPG series in my opinion. Playing alone is great but games really shine when you enjoy them with friends sharing in victories and defeats, going against one another or as partners.

Dungeons and Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy based RPG board game where the players take the place of the people in a story playing as the characters. The players have the option to do anything they could normally do in real life except in a setting other than the present where every action is determined by the roll of a die. The story could be one in space where the people playing are the crew of a ship exploring the galaxy. Or they could be living in a fantasy world where they cast spells, fight monsters, and perform heroic feats. This is a great game that uses the imagination of the players and the storytelling ability of the Dungeon Master who narrates the story using Non-Player Characters and quests. What I like the most about it is the imagination aspect of it. It stimulates the creative side of our brains and also the strategic side when dealing with problems in the story.

Anime and manga

Wikipedia: Anime in English usually refers to a style of animation originating in Japan, heavily influenced by the manga (Japanese comics) style and typically featuring characters with large eyes, big hair and elongated limbs, exaggerated facial expressions, brush-stroked outlines, limited motion and other distinctive features.
I am a huge fan of both anime and manga and spend a lot of free time watching or reading them. I enjoy shows such as Deathnote, Trigun, Excel Saga, and Baccano! which have great characters like Issac and Miria. I have only been to one convention which was Nan Desu Kan which takes place in Denver, CO but I have visited it twice so far and each time has been a fantastic experience. Each year the costumes are awesome and the vendor room is packed with shows and manga of all kinds allowing easy access to a large variety. The part I like most about the con is the AMV's that are submitted each year in a competition to see which one is the best in a certain category. The bad part, at least to me, is the fact that you can't get them some way after seeing a really good one. :(
Manga is the Japanese version of an American comic (unless it's the other way around O.O). These are awesome reads because the art in some of them is absolutely stunning. Berserk, for example, has astounding works of art for each of the scenes capturing very minute details and providing visuals that complement the writing extremely well. The mangas I have enjoyed reading the most are Berserk, Nausicaa, and Hellsing.

Here is a great anime and manga site to track what you have read and watched as well as rate them.myanimelist

Books

R.A. Salvatore is definitely the best fantasy author of all time. He is able to create very believable characters that keep you connected to them throughout his books. Even the villains of his book are very "full" characters making you think about them as people. Reading is a huge part of my life. I've always read since i was very little and enjoy fantasy adventure novels the most. Salvatore writes such novels and they are some of the best I've read. His main character for most of his novels is a Dark Elf named Drizzt who is trying to find his place in the world. Despised above ground for his heritage and cast out by his kin for his morals he travels to Icewind Dale to find his place among the theives and outcasts of the nation. The other author that i highly approve of is Robert Jorden the author of the Wheel of Time books. Don't go looking for his books unless you are willing to read 800-1000 page books. Above are some pictures of Drizzt and below are some covers from both authors.

Magic The Gathering

I started playing Magic around 6th grade when a new student came to school and introduced it to us. I've been playing since then and losing most of the time due to me making fun decks rather than good decks. Magic is complicated for beginners but is easier as you go on. The basic deck (Library) is comprised of creatures, sorceries, instants, and lands (Money) which pay for them. Each player starts at 20 life and your goal is to bring them to 0. Many people play Magic and Tournaments are held sometimes locally and nationally. Magic relies a lot on strategy and skill at combining cards to do combos. Here is a great site for Magic. I have recently stopped playing because all the newer editions that have been coming out, such as the new planeswalker cards which add to much of a new element to the game play, are incredibly cheap and totally destroy the essence of what the older players played for.

Music

I like lots of different genres of music ranging from The Beatles to Maximum The Hormone, a Japanese band. Anime music is pretty sweet and I attained the soundtrack from Mininova for Hellsing. I highly dislike Sublime (that's for my friends) heh heh heh....anyways I don't actually like Sublime. Music is also a big part of my life because it helps me get through school because I can listen to some good music on my Ipod while i do my work. Music is a great thing because it is a huge part of our culture and part of our everyday lives.One of my favorite musical artists is Hirasawa Susumu who did the songs below which are both from the movie Paprika.

Which are better, Ninjas, or Pirates?

It has been always debated if ninjas or pirates are better. Ninjas have on their side their cool clothes, infiltration and assassination skills, and their awesome weapons. Pirates have ships bedecked in cannons, bloodthirstiness, and booty. My view on this is that ninjas totally defeat pirates in everything except sea warfare. Ninjas are sweet because they sneak around climbing walls, running along rooftops, climbing grapples, and doing crazy jumping attacks and dodges. They also have sweet weapons like the Kisari-gama, throwing stars, grenades, poisoned caltrops, and recurve bows. They also have the coolest clothes that make no noise, are very easy to move in, and they blend into their surroundings. The greatest ninja ever is Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden. Below are cool pics of ninjas and a kisari-gama.