In my taking of "wise" & "smart", I'd prefer to be
wise.
Smart is nice & all, certainly by some standards I have been called such,
but I'd much rather be wise because in my experience being wise is a worldly
awareness & knowing that helps you & those around you.
I was once called wise by a friend for advice I gave & have often been asked
to give advice, I'm far from wise, but it'd be nice if I were. Though I suppose
a wise-person knows better than to even think such things
It all depends on your definitions of smart & wise, for me smart is useful
in a concentrated kind of way, but wise is useful in everyway.
Its all opinion/belief. What does it matter if you feel one way or the
other?
It is my opinion that god is a fiction of man, but that the universe is
infinitely more intangible than anything you might consider "god". Or
to put it another way, theres more to life than science & logic can show
you, but for me, god is a fiction.
Of course, doesn't make me right, but then arguing over this kind of thing is a
waste of your time, though it will be repeated for as long as there are humans I
don't doubt.
Do you go for free will & say its up to the person selling?
Or stand by the sanctity of love & intimacy?
Personally, were I in such a position as to become a prosy, I would choose not
to unless it really was neccessary (say to save someone with the money or
whatever) because I believe that intimacy is something for two people to share
when they have something, it needn't be something as grand as love, though
personally I can't imagine having a one-night stand, to me sex is much more than
a simple pleasureable act.
The thing is, with licensing comes legitimacy, come safeguards. What I mean is
that licensed prostitution is far safer than not. In the end, it still goes on,
so at least licensing it will allow those who sell their services some form of
security they currently lack & perhaps help towards removing the stigmas
that can see prostitutes suffering at the hands of the public.
For myself, make it legal, if only for the safety of those who have no other
choice (they do exist).
If you're looking for public opinion of "IT" girls, you're gonna find
a whole lot of negativity, & really thats the standard, "IT" folk
are percieved as shallow, self-absorbed & generally, pretty naff people.
Whether or not thats fair is another matter entirely
In my experience, the "IT" crowd aren't great, but I can see where
someone who is lamenting their position is coming from. Everyone else gets to be
themselves if their personalities are strong enough, & really just be happy,
having real friends & all the rest.
What I would say to you if you do feel truely uncomfortable with your position
is this;
Try just being yourself, are you such already? I don't know, but in the end, the
only people that matter in a person's life are those who accept them for who
they are. If you see clothes you like/feel comfortable in, then those are the
ones for you if you can afford them, doesn't matter if they cost a million, or a
penny, just be comfortable in your own skin.
Of course, this could get you out of the "clique" super fast, or start
a trend that could get old & end up the same as things are now. But you
should never, ever be someone you're not.
Say what you want if it hurts no-one.
Do what you want if it hurts no-one.
If it does hurt someone, well, sometimes it can't be helped, the important thing
is that you are you & that you're not trying to hurt anyone.
Building Nukes does not make you a threat to world peace, in this day & age
any country looking to get that ability is generally (with perhaps a few
exceptions) looking for something to safe guard them from the USA.
Of course, you have other countries whose only reason for their creation is to
destroy a long time enemy, ie Pakistan/Iran.
The fact of the matter however is that the true threat from Nukes comes from a
terrorist power smuggling some material into a country & then detonating it,
which wouldn't be all that difficult in many cases.
Whilst I would love for the world to be free of such things, it doesn't need
Nukes to destroy itself & there will likely come a day, perhaps tomorrow,
when something even worse is created by some scientist looking to create a
weapon that can be used to destroy those who threaten his/her country, whilst
doing it in such a way as to keep his/her country from harm or retaliation.
Part of moving on from this kind of thing is dealing with the hurt, if you
didn't feel anything now, then you probably wouldn't have been very attached to
him when you were togeather, you can't just flick a switch & make this kind
of thing go away, but it will with time.
You need to look at it like this;
Everything that happens makes you who you are, every mistake, every difficulty,
every success is a building block to the person you are & will be in the
future, sure its hard now, but you'll learn much from it & be better off for
it eventually.
Its hard, but you'll get through it, & though most of the guys you might
want to date are likely jerks, not all of us are so bad, with a world as large
as this, you've got a billion chances to meet the right person for you, whenever
that might be, so sit back, enjoy life & let it flow.
When we were younger my brother (4 years younger than me) would get in a lot of
fights, since I've been at Uni though we're fine when we're back home. I may not
like his choice of life style (little yob he is) but I get along with him &
we just have a laugh now. To those who fear they'll always be at war with their
siblings, don't panic, everyone gets fed up of it eventually
As for stories...
When we were little he would accidentally (read: on purpose) break what I was
making out of Lego (I loved Lego) as a result I would flip out & pound him
into the ground (wouldn't have been like that had my parents not taken his side
everytime) once or twice he nearly ended up in hospital, crybaby
As the years moved on I got more & more martial arty, whilst he got into
Rugby & stuff. As a result the last 5 years we lived togeather he was a foot
taller & much stronger.
It was always funny because my parents insisted he would one day get his own
back (again taking his side, when in fact I was ALWAYS baited into fighting him,
ah children...) & yet he never did. Despite his size & strength, he
never once came out on top (our fights got quite nasty towards the last few
years) & that was all down to my speed, he'd be really trying to kill me
sometimes & I'd just have a great time staying on my toes & taunting
him, then he'd get too close so I'd just get his arms behind his back & pin
him to the floor. That'd REALLY make him angry, but he could never do a
thing.
So really I'm lucky to be alive
lol
But the last year or so before Uni we were fine, & now I'm there, as I say,
we get along fine, in the end I was a swine to him when he provoked me into a
fight, I'd always go too far & as a result sometimes he got quite badly
hurt.
FyeKay just summed up several pretty accurate points I would have to
say...
Boris, you sound as if you have decided that all Muslims are terrorists, you're
not the only one, but the voice of a Radical is always louder than the voice of
a blind lemming...
I wouldn't have bothered posting in fact had it not been for Boris, I mean, come
on, you & a few others in here are seriously acting like a bunch of Bible
Bashing Red Necks, I half expect you to threaten people with pitchforks. Not
that there aren't those on "the other side" the Muhammed Comics thread
had one lovely chap suggest Al Qaeda attacking Denmark would be a good thing
(the idiot lives in Denmark interestingly).
Just, for the love of whatever god you do or don't follow, don't be so
horrifically close minded, I know this won't make a blind bit of difference to
those of you out there with some deep mob-style passion for swinging on those
who are different, but I gotta try...
No one person represents every member of a group, what you see on TV of Muslim's
burning embassies is not a representation of the whole but a minority, I know
thats difficult to believe thanks to the media, but just as not everyone in
America is as ignorant as yourselves & just as not every 14 year old with an
opinion feels the need to spew it blindly out of their ass, not every Muslim is
a Terrorist or a Radical, not every Englishman a stuck up toff with bad teeth
& not every difference of opinion a visceral attack on your beliefs &
society.
Just, chill okay? Seriously, I've been here a month or so & the tone of
posting in some cases has gone from open to "bomb the hell out of everyone,
they might be against us!".
Its really quite scary that so many people can think like this, mainly because I
fear none of you will grow out of it.
Dude, theres nothing wrong with being the nice guy. But sometimes you have to be
the guy who deals with a problem.
This guy is clearly not on the level, his treatment of Liz in particular is
wrong, & no one who treats you in this way is a friend. To call you his
puppets & such, I can't decide whether the guy is actually nuts, or just an
a-hole.
Either way, hes no friend to you, so you shouldn't waste your time being a
friend to him.
You & Liz have a thing going, you don't need someone whos out to wreck it,
whatever he might throw at you, if the two of you are really into each other, it
won't matter a single bit.
So, as with all such things, move on with the good, learn from the bad &
leave it behind.
I know of a middle aged couple who met online & are great togeather,
sometimes it can be very good, but both parties need to be mature & of
course, meet eventually.
I'm currently on what could be called a long distance relationship due to my
being in Japan on exchange, as such I can only talk to my gf of 3 years via the
internet, if you love someone, you'll make it work.
That said I personally don't go on the whole "online relationships"
thing, as I see it the internet changes most people & frankly, people who
get into that kind of thing would be much happier if they just went out &
met people in the flesh, I know for some it is hard, but as much as I have good
friends I have first met online, you'll only truely connect once you've met in
person because then there is no hiding the truth & whether or not you
believe it, you feel a lot subconciously about what a person is like when you
meet them in the flesh, online, you can't do that.
"aya, i live in denmark my parents are muslim,
i hope that bin laden will give denmark their stupid lesson"
Frankly I would like to see Tias banned from Minitokyo & preferably
repeatedly slapped for that comment about Bin Laden getting Denmark.
First of all, you live in Denmark you say, well wonderful, you & your family
could get caught in any attack there, wonder if you'd feel differently
then?
Second of all, I don't give two flying elephant droppings what your point of
view. Terrorism is wrong & you suggesting Denmark should be attacked is
causing me to expend great effort on not saying things for which I would be
banned.
You sir are a complete & utter jack ass & I seriously hope you grow up
because the world does not need more people with that attitude.
If I get muted for that, then fine, but please take a look at his post, I don't
feel that kind of comment is acceptable at all.
Finally, all those people prattling on about how Christians would react, look
around you, every day one of these lovely Islamic papers posts a hollocaust
denial sketch, or a funny picture of Jesus, which they have done for a LONG
time, no one batts an eyelid, you know why? Because they don't care what a small
minded bigot thinks & they are content to be the bigger men & live their
lives whilst others waste it on trying to get a rise out of someone.
Sure, some of those comics were inflamatory, but if you ACTUALLY TOOK THE TIME
TO UNDERSTAND & RESEARCH THE WHOLE SITUATION, you might be able to engage
your brains long enough to realise that the comics were drawn by TWELVE artists,
& represent very important issues regarding the Western thinking on Islam,
which I might point out needs to be addressed if people think all Muslims are
terrorists, because they are clearly not.
I have no godly idea why I keep coming back here & trying to batter this
into people but the fact of the matter is those Muslims who are reacting
violently to this are blatant hypocrits & mindless thugs looking for some
reason to destroy a few things.
Eugh, people.
merged: 02-19-2006 ~ 10:58am
Oh, & despite the Islamic rule on depictions of Muhammed, Muslims have been
recreating his image for centuries.
By all means, be offended by the 2 or 3 genuinely insulting images, but if
you're going to whine about all of them you might want to take a moment to step
out of the mob & use your brain, you know, that thing between your ears that
is meant to raise you above the level of animals.
Whilst GiTS suggests that she was born a girl (& therefore I go with her
being female, even if all that remains is a small part of her brain within that
cyborg chassis...
The only thing for me is, at the end of the First Gig, when everything is going
from frying pan to fire, Batou says:
"Whats the real reason you chose a female body?" Or something to that
affect. Of course that could be rationalised as him believing the male chassis
to be superior & just wanting whats best or him wanting her to be male so he
doesn't have to have feelings for her... Or hes gay...
Anyway, I think the way its put to the viewer Motoko was born female...
I love England because at its heart it was once great.
I love England because it produced great people who died for those to come &
in the case of WW2, because a true Englishman never renegs on a
promise.
I despise the majority of the people in my country because most of them are
racists/thugs/vandals & other assorted lowlife, fueled by a government who I
can't trust, but have no one better to be replaced with, a culture of Political
Correctness & Safety that suffocates the life from every single
activity.
I love England, but I do not love what it now is & what it promises to
become.
I love Japan though, of course time will affect even my rose tinted glasses, but
unless things drastically change, I hope to make it my home.
I'm off to Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima at the end of March, can't wait
I reconmend Sapporo though (Hokkaido) from what I've seen exploring, I'm
starting to think theres a good chance Evangelion was set around here, & the
city itself is beautiful & very enjoyable, plus, lots of mountain hotsprings
on your door, hot water + snow on your face. Magnificent
Ah, you actually mean a shop, guess O-sushi isn't an option really.
Yakitori is always good, & desert, you haven't had Ice cream till you've had
Japanese Ice Cream, though I'd be quite happy with one of the little sweet ball
thingies with a strawberry & filling, can't remember the name, or read the
package (learning katakana).
Well, you get ignorant people who will dislike you on the basis of a
generalisation everywhere mate, infact it is my opinion that plenty of Americans
do that very very well. I say that from experience.
But America isn't the only free country in the world, & if I had to place my
money on anywhere, my experiences are showing Japan as a clear favourite.
In my taking of "wise" & "smart", I'd prefer to be wise.
Smart is nice & all, certainly by some standards I have been called such, but I'd much rather be wise because in my experience being wise is a worldly awareness & knowing that helps you & those around you.
I was once called wise by a friend for advice I gave & have often been asked to give advice, I'm far from wise, but it'd be nice if I were. Though I suppose a wise-person knows better than to even think such things
It all depends on your definitions of smart & wise, for me smart is useful in a concentrated kind of way, but wise is useful in everyway.
Its all opinion/belief. What does it matter if you feel one way or the other?
It is my opinion that god is a fiction of man, but that the universe is infinitely more intangible than anything you might consider "god". Or to put it another way, theres more to life than science & logic can show you, but for me, god is a fiction.
Of course, doesn't make me right, but then arguing over this kind of thing is a waste of your time, though it will be repeated for as long as there are humans I don't doubt.
Spike at the end of Cowboy Bebop, nearly had me there...
But the one that did get me was at the end of Ghost in the Shell SAC 1st Gig, when the Tachikomas died saving Batou, I love those little guys.
Good question!
Do you go for free will & say its up to the person selling?
Or stand by the sanctity of love & intimacy?
Personally, were I in such a position as to become a prosy, I would choose not to unless it really was neccessary (say to save someone with the money or whatever) because I believe that intimacy is something for two people to share when they have something, it needn't be something as grand as love, though personally I can't imagine having a one-night stand, to me sex is much more than a simple pleasureable act.
The thing is, with licensing comes legitimacy, come safeguards. What I mean is that licensed prostitution is far safer than not. In the end, it still goes on, so at least licensing it will allow those who sell their services some form of security they currently lack & perhaps help towards removing the stigmas that can see prostitutes suffering at the hands of the public.
For myself, make it legal, if only for the safety of those who have no other choice (they do exist).
If you're looking for public opinion of "IT" girls, you're gonna find a whole lot of negativity, & really thats the standard, "IT" folk are percieved as shallow, self-absorbed & generally, pretty naff people. Whether or not thats fair is another matter entirely
In my experience, the "IT" crowd aren't great, but I can see where someone who is lamenting their position is coming from. Everyone else gets to be themselves if their personalities are strong enough, & really just be happy, having real friends & all the rest.
What I would say to you if you do feel truely uncomfortable with your position is this;
Try just being yourself, are you such already? I don't know, but in the end, the only people that matter in a person's life are those who accept them for who they are. If you see clothes you like/feel comfortable in, then those are the ones for you if you can afford them, doesn't matter if they cost a million, or a penny, just be comfortable in your own skin.
Of course, this could get you out of the "clique" super fast, or start a trend that could get old & end up the same as things are now. But you should never, ever be someone you're not.
Say what you want if it hurts no-one.
Do what you want if it hurts no-one.
If it does hurt someone, well, sometimes it can't be helped, the important thing is that you are you & that you're not trying to hurt anyone.
As long as I am in contact with water I am happy, preferably the sea/a shower/in the rain. Any of those 3 for me
Building Nukes does not make you a threat to world peace, in this day & age any country looking to get that ability is generally (with perhaps a few exceptions) looking for something to safe guard them from the USA.
Of course, you have other countries whose only reason for their creation is to destroy a long time enemy, ie Pakistan/Iran.
The fact of the matter however is that the true threat from Nukes comes from a terrorist power smuggling some material into a country & then detonating it, which wouldn't be all that difficult in many cases.
Whilst I would love for the world to be free of such things, it doesn't need Nukes to destroy itself & there will likely come a day, perhaps tomorrow, when something even worse is created by some scientist looking to create a weapon that can be used to destroy those who threaten his/her country, whilst doing it in such a way as to keep his/her country from harm or retaliation.
Part of moving on from this kind of thing is dealing with the hurt, if you didn't feel anything now, then you probably wouldn't have been very attached to him when you were togeather, you can't just flick a switch & make this kind of thing go away, but it will with time.
You need to look at it like this;
Everything that happens makes you who you are, every mistake, every difficulty, every success is a building block to the person you are & will be in the future, sure its hard now, but you'll learn much from it & be better off for it eventually.
Its hard, but you'll get through it, & though most of the guys you might want to date are likely jerks, not all of us are so bad, with a world as large as this, you've got a billion chances to meet the right person for you, whenever that might be, so sit back, enjoy life & let it flow.
Heh, I had to defend my lil bro several times...
Funny, you're at each others throats, but if someone else goes to hurt the sod, you're right there, as if to say;
"no one hurts them but me"
When we were younger my brother (4 years younger than me) would get in a lot of fights, since I've been at Uni though we're fine when we're back home. I may not like his choice of life style (little yob he is) but I get along with him & we just have a laugh now. To those who fear they'll always be at war with their siblings, don't panic, everyone gets fed up of it eventually
As for stories...
When we were little he would accidentally (read: on purpose) break what I was making out of Lego (I loved Lego) as a result I would flip out & pound him into the ground (wouldn't have been like that had my parents not taken his side everytime) once or twice he nearly ended up in hospital, crybaby
As the years moved on I got more & more martial arty, whilst he got into Rugby & stuff. As a result the last 5 years we lived togeather he was a foot taller & much stronger.
It was always funny because my parents insisted he would one day get his own back (again taking his side, when in fact I was ALWAYS baited into fighting him, ah children...) & yet he never did. Despite his size & strength, he never once came out on top (our fights got quite nasty towards the last few years) & that was all down to my speed, he'd be really trying to kill me sometimes & I'd just have a great time staying on my toes & taunting him, then he'd get too close so I'd just get his arms behind his back & pin him to the floor. That'd REALLY make him angry, but he could never do a thing.
So really I'm lucky to be alive
lol
But the last year or so before Uni we were fine, & now I'm there, as I say, we get along fine, in the end I was a swine to him when he provoked me into a fight, I'd always go too far & as a result sometimes he got quite badly hurt.
Woo, long posts...
I love milk, the creamier the better.
That said, Japanese milk is VERY strange it smells god awful, but tastes amazing!
I don't think Spain is the laughing stock of Europe mate, in fairness its so rarely mentioned in UK media...
FyeKay just summed up several pretty accurate points I would have to say...
Boris, you sound as if you have decided that all Muslims are terrorists, you're not the only one, but the voice of a Radical is always louder than the voice of a blind lemming...
I wouldn't have bothered posting in fact had it not been for Boris, I mean, come on, you & a few others in here are seriously acting like a bunch of Bible Bashing Red Necks, I half expect you to threaten people with pitchforks. Not that there aren't those on "the other side" the Muhammed Comics thread had one lovely chap suggest Al Qaeda attacking Denmark would be a good thing (the idiot lives in Denmark interestingly).
Just, for the love of whatever god you do or don't follow, don't be so horrifically close minded, I know this won't make a blind bit of difference to those of you out there with some deep mob-style passion for swinging on those who are different, but I gotta try...
No one person represents every member of a group, what you see on TV of Muslim's burning embassies is not a representation of the whole but a minority, I know thats difficult to believe thanks to the media, but just as not everyone in America is as ignorant as yourselves & just as not every 14 year old with an opinion feels the need to spew it blindly out of their ass, not every Muslim is a Terrorist or a Radical, not every Englishman a stuck up toff with bad teeth & not every difference of opinion a visceral attack on your beliefs & society.
Just, chill okay? Seriously, I've been here a month or so & the tone of posting in some cases has gone from open to "bomb the hell out of everyone, they might be against us!".
Its really quite scary that so many people can think like this, mainly because I fear none of you will grow out of it.
Dude, theres nothing wrong with being the nice guy. But sometimes you have to be the guy who deals with a problem.
This guy is clearly not on the level, his treatment of Liz in particular is wrong, & no one who treats you in this way is a friend. To call you his puppets & such, I can't decide whether the guy is actually nuts, or just an a-hole.
Either way, hes no friend to you, so you shouldn't waste your time being a friend to him.
You & Liz have a thing going, you don't need someone whos out to wreck it, whatever he might throw at you, if the two of you are really into each other, it won't matter a single bit.
So, as with all such things, move on with the good, learn from the bad & leave it behind.
I'm keeping one for my trip in Japan with Blogger, it beats writing the same stories out a million times for friends & family
It wasn't even a competition though.
The newspaper found that no one would illustrate a book for fear of Radical Muslim reprisal, so they asked the entire country to do a sketch.
12 people in the entire country sent one in.
Though as you say, the few that were unpleasant were aptly lived up to by the Radical section of Islam.
I know of a middle aged couple who met online & are great togeather, sometimes it can be very good, but both parties need to be mature & of course, meet eventually.
I'm currently on what could be called a long distance relationship due to my being in Japan on exchange, as such I can only talk to my gf of 3 years via the internet, if you love someone, you'll make it work.
That said I personally don't go on the whole "online relationships" thing, as I see it the internet changes most people & frankly, people who get into that kind of thing would be much happier if they just went out & met people in the flesh, I know for some it is hard, but as much as I have good friends I have first met online, you'll only truely connect once you've met in person because then there is no hiding the truth & whether or not you believe it, you feel a lot subconciously about what a person is like when you meet them in the flesh, online, you can't do that.
"aya, i live in denmark my parents are muslim,
i hope that bin laden will give denmark their stupid lesson"
Frankly I would like to see Tias banned from Minitokyo & preferably repeatedly slapped for that comment about Bin Laden getting Denmark.
First of all, you live in Denmark you say, well wonderful, you & your family could get caught in any attack there, wonder if you'd feel differently then?
Second of all, I don't give two flying elephant droppings what your point of view. Terrorism is wrong & you suggesting Denmark should be attacked is causing me to expend great effort on not saying things for which I would be banned.
You sir are a complete & utter jack ass & I seriously hope you grow up because the world does not need more people with that attitude.
If I get muted for that, then fine, but please take a look at his post, I don't feel that kind of comment is acceptable at all.
Finally, all those people prattling on about how Christians would react, look around you, every day one of these lovely Islamic papers posts a hollocaust denial sketch, or a funny picture of Jesus, which they have done for a LONG time, no one batts an eyelid, you know why? Because they don't care what a small minded bigot thinks & they are content to be the bigger men & live their lives whilst others waste it on trying to get a rise out of someone.
Sure, some of those comics were inflamatory, but if you ACTUALLY TOOK THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND & RESEARCH THE WHOLE SITUATION, you might be able to engage your brains long enough to realise that the comics were drawn by TWELVE artists, & represent very important issues regarding the Western thinking on Islam, which I might point out needs to be addressed if people think all Muslims are terrorists, because they are clearly not.
I have no godly idea why I keep coming back here & trying to batter this into people but the fact of the matter is those Muslims who are reacting violently to this are blatant hypocrits & mindless thugs looking for some reason to destroy a few things.
Eugh, people.
merged: 02-19-2006 ~ 10:58am
Oh, & despite the Islamic rule on depictions of Muhammed, Muslims have been recreating his image for centuries.
By all means, be offended by the 2 or 3 genuinely insulting images, but if you're going to whine about all of them you might want to take a moment to step out of the mob & use your brain, you know, that thing between your ears that is meant to raise you above the level of animals.
Whilst GiTS suggests that she was born a girl (& therefore I go with her being female, even if all that remains is a small part of her brain within that cyborg chassis...
The only thing for me is, at the end of the First Gig, when everything is going from frying pan to fire, Batou says:
"Whats the real reason you chose a female body?" Or something to that affect. Of course that could be rationalised as him believing the male chassis to be superior & just wanting whats best or him wanting her to be male so he doesn't have to have feelings for her... Or hes gay...
Anyway, I think the way its put to the viewer Motoko was born female...
I love England because at its heart it was once great.
I love England because it produced great people who died for those to come & in the case of WW2, because a true Englishman never renegs on a promise.
I despise the majority of the people in my country because most of them are racists/thugs/vandals & other assorted lowlife, fueled by a government who I can't trust, but have no one better to be replaced with, a culture of Political Correctness & Safety that suffocates the life from every single activity.
I love England, but I do not love what it now is & what it promises to become.
I love Japan though, of course time will affect even my rose tinted glasses, but unless things drastically change, I hope to make it my home.
I'm off to Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima at the end of March, can't wait
I reconmend Sapporo though (Hokkaido) from what I've seen exploring, I'm starting to think theres a good chance Evangelion was set around here, & the city itself is beautiful & very enjoyable, plus, lots of mountain hotsprings on your door, hot water + snow on your face. Magnificent
If you're going to get noodles, get Udong noodles.
Those fatties taste so damn good!
Ah, you actually mean a shop, guess O-sushi isn't an option really.
Yakitori is always good, & desert, you haven't had Ice cream till you've had Japanese Ice Cream, though I'd be quite happy with one of the little sweet ball thingies with a strawberry & filling, can't remember the name, or read the package (learning katakana).
Well, you get ignorant people who will dislike you on the basis of a generalisation everywhere mate, infact it is my opinion that plenty of Americans do that very very well. I say that from experience.
But America isn't the only free country in the world, & if I had to place my money on anywhere, my experiences are showing Japan as a clear favourite.