Michael Sternbach

No, his number is 888. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/888_%28number%29

Just got the first season on DVD, but it's still waiting for Junko and me to finish watching another series.

When I happen to hear an unknown song I like somewhere, I try to remember a sentence or two, then I google them later. If I find the song (usually I do), I listen to it on Youtube. But mostly I watch martial arts related stuff on Youtube. I quite liked this funny short movie, featuring one of my teachers.

The war hasn't been won yet, brothers- and sisters-in-arms... We continue with chapter X:

This is the Emerald Tablet. It is widely considered to be the most important text of Western Alchemy. At one of its multiple levels, it's all about the manufacture of the Philosopher's Stone. (Isaac Newton's translation, emphasis my own.) Tis true without error, certain & most true. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing. And as all things have been & arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.

Your head could be considered a philosopher's stone.

Yeah, right, we have all sorts of esotericism on the forums. (I guess not all of us would agree on the exact definition of the word, but what does it matter...) Hope you enjoy!

Hello Amber, and welcome to the forums, Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. Thanks for the compliments! Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of the Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, Michael Sternbach and the TDB team

Merry Christmas, all you brave warriors on this thread!

Obviously. Objective reporting of the events in this war was next to non-existent, but this much should be clear. The question remains, where exactly is the Jade Princess held captive? And what did she have to go through with the lustrous dwarfs? Let's hope it won't be too gross even for TDB...

ilumairen, I did in fact take advantage of your incapacitating Stosh's army. Did you miss this post of mine?

In Hermetic symbolism, a stone often represents physical manifestation as such. So the Philosopher's Stone is something that exists on the physical plane, a crystallization of Spirit. And by "Philosopher", a natural philosopher was meant. It should be understood that philosophy once had a much wider scope than nowadays. It covered areas that are now the domain of natural science, but those were not considered inaccessible to philosophical or metaphysical reflection. Such a division was not made until the advent of the Scientific Revolution with its mechanization of the universe.

I think the problem is really that we can't agree on a scenario.

Stosh, It is clear that illumairen has turned against you and supports my cause with her considerable skills as both a fearless warrioress and a superb herbalist. Three against one... The situation looks very bad for you. Especially since your men are all incapacitated now, my spies kept informing me about their whereabouts (thank you, Daeluin! ) and my well trained soldiers are raiding your camp of snoring "warriors" as of this writing. And alas, there is NO reset button in a war.

The level of misinformation on this thread is unbelievable. It is well known that Stosh kidnapped the Jade Princess and left her to the lustrous dwarfs as an act of revenge on her father, his Majesty, my Emperor. He only started denying these established facts after realizing that his ally won't support him. This is the result of allying with someone whose intentions you don't know, something Sun Tzu clearly warned of. It is true that I can't trust Marblehead either, but I knew this from the start. And that my army has been beaten is just a ridiculous rumour. This kind of misinformation happens a lot in a war, to be sure. Just to clarify things forgood, I will ask will ask my wife to leave a post on this thread shortly.

According to CNN, she is held captive by lubricious dwarfs in a cave.

How funny, 馬布爾! I was going to say the same.

:D Deal! Let's see how well we can apply Sun Tzu in a little war game.

Marblehead already commented expertly and extensively on ch. IX: "The Army on the March", so I will limit myself to comment on selected paragraphs, or groups thereof. 1. Sun Tzu said: We come now to the question of encamping the army, and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains, and keep in the neighborhood of valleys. A good advice also to apply in daily life: Overcome problems quickly, and choose the way of least resistance. 3. After crossing a river, you should get far away from it. When you have overcome an addiction, illness, bad relationship, any kind of problem, it is advisable that you get some distance from it, psychologically and, in many cases, also physically. 7. In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern should be to get over them quickly, without any delay. Same concept as in crossing mountains. 13. When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground. Always recognize and make use of natural advantages. 14. When, in consequence of heavy rains up-country, a river which you wish to ford is swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until it subsides. When faced with insurmountable obstacles, rather than wasting your strength and putting yourself at risk, wait until the situation changes in your favour. 16. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to approach them; while we face them, we should let the enemy have them on his rear. By the same token, we should navigate our opponents into obstacles (including one of them into another). 18. When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of his position. When things in our life are quiet, this doesn't mean there can't be problems under the surface. Seeing those and acting on them when they are still small is one of the teachings of Lao Tzu. 19. When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke a battle, he is anxious for the other side to advance. 20. If his place of encampment is easy of access, he is tendering a bait. Sometimes it's best to deliberately offer the opponent an opening, so you know in advance where the opponent is likely to attack. Thus you are ready for it and can block and counter-attack immediately. At the same time, watch out when an opponent presents an opening; it might well be a trap. I remember a practice fight in my early Karate days. My black belt opponent held up his front hand untypically high, leaving his rib cage uncovered; I knew he was trying to bait me and didn't go for it. I waited until he came forward with a combination of faints, presenting further apparent openings, to which I likewise didn't react. Instead, I looked out for an unintended opening, which he gave me a split second later, then caught him by a dry simple reverse punch. He went: "Shit!" 21. Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows that the enemy is advancing. The appearance of a number of screens in the midst of thick grass means that the enemy wants to make us suspicious. 22. The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming. 23. When there is dust rising in a high column, it is the sign of chariots advancing; when the dust is low, but spread over a wide area, it betokens the approach of infantry. When it branches out in different directions, it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood. A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping. 24. Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to the attack are signs that he will retreat. 25. When the light chariots come out first and take up a position on the wings, it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle. Likewise in life, while avoiding paranoia, be attentive to early signs of trouble. Often, an opponent isn't even aware that they are giving something away in that manner. 26. Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. 27. When there is much running about and the soldiers fall into rank, it means that the critical moment has come. 28. When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is a lure. Be ready to read people's minds... 29. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food. 30. If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. 31. If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained and makes no effort to secure it, the soldiers are exhausted. ...and bodies (body language!). 33. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot. If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary. 34. When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots over the camp-fires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you may know that they are determined to fight to the death. 35. The sight of men whispering together in small knots or speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file. 36. Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources; too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress. Understand what is behind people's behaviour. 39. If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain facing ours for a long time without either joining battle or taking themselves off again, the situation is one that demands great vigilance and circumspection. As they are probably carefully setting up an attack - possibly keeping you in place while waiting for reinforcement. 42. If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless. 43. Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory. 44. If in training soldiers commands are habitually enforced, the army will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad. 45. If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual. This is an appeal to being clear and consequent.

Hey, is it my fault that I have to cross those daoforsaken marshlands in order to free the Jade Princess that you have kidnapped? Your words are just a red herring. You are obviously desperately trying to cover up your plan to ambush me in the marshlands which you know is your only remote chance to somewhat hurt me. And knowing this gives me the opportunity to ambush you. Needless to say, my highly trained elite soldiers would wipe the floor with your amateurish mercenaries anywhere any time - but I will gladly take the opportunity to reduce the risk of accidental casualties to nil, as I have invested plenty of time and money to educate them. Also, my soldiers won't have to lie in wait long, as my spies continuously inform me about your army's current position - which was incredibly easy to infiltrate. And just to top it off, Marblehead's soldiers are more than willing to support me now since you have publicly mocked them. Taking on two enemies at the same time, that would be most unwise, even if MH wouldn't have thoroughly studied The Art of War meanwhile in Sean Tzu's nefarious Dao school.

I haven't read through all the posts, but in response to the OP, I think there is an increased tendency in the collective consciousness to integrate the opposite sex within the psyche (Jung's Anima/Animus), in fact expressive of humanity's evolutionary alchemical process. There are of course always some individuals who take things to extremes, but a degree of psychological transgenderism is actually so common in females nowadays that almost nobody notices it any longer. If the trend continues, I won't be too surprised to watch little she-males playing with Or to hear about confusions in relationships like

It's probably true. Do you happen to have a reference for that? I'd love to read it! Trance was pretty much my favourite character in the series.

No matter how good your strategy, you can't win a war if your men are losers.

Obviously not.

Dream on, Stosh Tzu. Your men are poorly trained? Ha! Mine can break a brick without touching it! Except for the ones I use as a bait, those are expendable, of course.