Hello there, decided to make this current from when I last did a bio.

Name: John Carter

From: Not Mars

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Occupation: Military

Location: Changes with the politics

Hobbies: Reading, Online Gaming, Anime, Manga

Well, as you all can see, I am currently interesed in Naruto for the time being. Here begins the seemingly mandatory Naruto rant:

First off, I think Kishimoto hs a good idea of where his story is going, regardless of whether we like where it is now or not. I will not insult his name on that account, even if I don't agree with where he has taken it right now. It irritates me that many fans and fanfic writers seem to think that he lost his way and should flip back to where it should be. That irritates me, even if I myself have found plot holes you can bury a semi in. Then again, there are a lot of good manga that are the same.

It must have to do with the limitations he has to work with, even if he's trying to fill in the holes now.

Anime wise, I accept it as a separate canon, even if the non-filler stuff follows the manga fairly well. There is a lot more development in the anime, for the simple fact that they can pick Kishimoto's brain for things he wished he could have added into the maga if he didn't have the weekly serialization forcing him to triage what goes in, and what gets left for the fanbooks and such.

As for the characters, well...

Naruto, there have been disertations on how tragic his childhood was. Aside from social isolation, relative neglect, and not having a family; WHAT & TRAGEDY?! He had a rough deal, true, but that doesn't mean he had it as bad as some say. I sympathize with him, but I don't pity him. He'd shove a Rasengan up my ass if I did.

Sasuke: Talk about a failed/tragic hero type. The poor bastard had all it took to be one, or at leant an anti-hero type, and he is throwing it all away. I consider him a fool, who is all too easily manipulated. He's not evil, nor is he beyond redemption, but I do consider him a fool.

Some words of "wisdom: (Most by me, and I know the providers of some)

Making friends is easy, just act like you're interested in what they're interested in. Making enemies is even easier, just admit you don't give a damn.

If saying more with less makes you more intelligent, then most politicians should go back to grade school.

The problem with a foolproof plan is the abundance of fools willing to challenge it.

Getting dealt a poor hand is no excuse for you to do nothing to improve your life. The worst hand can win a poker game with the proper mindset.

If you didn't vote, then don't complain about how things are so bad. You refused to make a choice, and thus chose to let others who don't care about you to make it for you.

There is no such situation in existence where you have no choice in the matter. Refusing to choose is not only a choice, but the most idiotic one people constantly make.

It never ceases to amaze me how the so called 'experts' constantly think their expertise actually matters and can determine things. It never ceases to amuse me when the same 'experts' are proven wrong time after time. This is doubly so in the case of people.

Stupidity is the only universal capital crime. -Lazarus Long from Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough for Love

When you get down to it, war is the ultimate practice in stupidity and failure.

People are more resistant to change than the tides, and will do everything in their power to return things to an idealized past that never was. If you don't believe me, look at how our parents and grandparents claim that their time was better than ours, and ignore the fact that the present is a direct consequence of the past.

The irony of success is that the most successful failed to do so constantly until they learned enough from their mistakes.

Education won't make you rich or successful. It will only give you the tools to do so. Everything else is up to you.

A college education is worth only as much of it as you actually apply. For most people, unfortunately, it means that the paper their diploma was printed on is the most expensive slip of paper they own.

Wisdom comes from the realization that until you question everything you have learned; you have learned nothing.

Knowledge is useless without the willingness to use it.

When it comes to opportunity, do not ask for advice. If you can't recognize it for what it is, no ammount of advice will help you.

The purpose of a 'Self-Help' book: To remind you about how you can't think for yourself.

Most people are poor because they are afraid to think for themselves and decide to change.

There is no easy path to success. Anyone who claims there is, should be sent to the proctologist to cure their cranial-rectal insertion.

Leadership is the art of getting people to follow you while convinced it was their idea in the first place.

Trying something means you expect it to fail, and hope it doesn't.

Doing something means you expect it to work, and hope it does.

Succeeding at something means you don't fear failure.

Politicians claim to have perfect solutions for everything. They have failed to solve most things, and the few they did were far from perfect.

Hypocrisy comes from a willingness to compromise on all things.