Honduo (虹é?“) or Honduo Hsien Tsung (虹é?“仙宗) belongs to the Energy Implantation tradition (æ ½æŽ¥æ³•é–€) of the Chinese Taoist psychophysical cultivation system (é?“家性命雙修). The Energy Implantation tradition is the less known of various Taoist cultivation schools because of the way in which it has been passed down from generation to generation.
The practice itself is based on daily meditation and exercise, one-on-one mentoring and group practice among disciples. Its aims include Total Health, Spiritual Advancement and Afterlife Readiness. Honduo claims not to be affiliated to any of the mainstream religions, but is most akin to the philosophy of .
The cultivation process emphasises Qi (Vital Ether) circulation, fostering of Primordial Qi and reversion to the Pure Yang Body, among other things, and health benefits come as a byproduct of this process (unlike ). A distinctive feature of this process is the transmission of the Master's energy (known as the Protonumen Energy 元神能�) directly into the disciple's body. This, therefore, involves "External Enabling Force" (他力) and has put Honduo at the centre of a centuries-old debate within the Taoist community regarding total self-reliance versus partial reliance on this external expedient.
The current grandmaster of Honduo is Taiwan-based Mr Wu Ming-ta (�明�), a controversial figure in the religious circles and among various human energy cultivation schools. Wu and his followers claim to have the power to detect and locate, unaided, specific zones in human brain that correspond to permanent or fleeting states and activities, both physical and mental, and to decipher the empirical justifications of many religious tenets, particularly those of Buddhism and Taoism. These claims have not been been corroborated by systematic scientific studies or accepted by mainstream religious denominations, although Wu claims that his findings are in support of advances in neuroscience.
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The practice itself is based on daily meditation and exercise, one-on-one mentoring and group practice among disciples. Its aims include Total Health, Spiritual Advancement and Afterlife Readiness. Honduo claims not to be affiliated to any of the mainstream religions, but is most akin to the philosophy of .
The cultivation process emphasises Qi (Vital Ether) circulation, fostering of Primordial Qi and reversion to the Pure Yang Body, among other things, and health benefits come as a byproduct of this process (unlike ). A distinctive feature of this process is the transmission of the Master's energy (known as the Protonumen Energy 元神能�) directly into the disciple's body. This, therefore, involves "External Enabling Force" (他力) and has put Honduo at the centre of a centuries-old debate within the Taoist community regarding total self-reliance versus partial reliance on this external expedient.
The current grandmaster of Honduo is Taiwan-based Mr Wu Ming-ta (�明�), a controversial figure in the religious circles and among various human energy cultivation schools. Wu and his followers claim to have the power to detect and locate, unaided, specific zones in human brain that correspond to permanent or fleeting states and activities, both physical and mental, and to decipher the empirical justifications of many religious tenets, particularly those of Buddhism and Taoism. These claims have not been been corroborated by systematic scientific studies or accepted by mainstream religious denominations, although Wu claims that his findings are in support of advances in neuroscience.
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Ned Grossberg is the name of a recurring villain on the Max Headroom TV series. Grossberg was played by Charles Rocket.
In the UK telefilm "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future" upon which the American series was based, the character was called Grosman and was played by Nickolas Grace. Rocket portrayed Grossberg as an American yuppie with a characteristic facial (and neck-stretching) twitch.
In the pilot episode, Grossberg is the chairman of Network 23, a major city television station with the highest rated investigative news show in town, hosted by Edison Carter. In the Max Headroom world, real-time ratings equal advertising dollars, and advertisements have replaced stocks as the measure of corporate worth.
Grossberg, with his secret prodigy Bryce Lynch, develop a rapid-speed advertising delivery medium known as Blipverts, which condenses a full advertisement into a few seconds. When Carter discovers that Blipverts are killing people, Grossberg orders Lynch to prevent Carter from getting out of the building. Knocked unconscious, Carter's memories are extracted into a computer by Lynch in order to determine whether Carter uncovered Grossberg's knowledge of the danger of Blipverts. The resulting computer file of the memory-extraction process becomes Max Headroom, making Grossberg directly responsible for the creation of the character.
In the end, Grossberg is publicly exposed as responsible for the Blipverts scandal, and is removed as chairman of Network 23.
A few episodes later, in Grossberg's Return Grossberg reappears as a board member of Network 66. Again, he invents a dubious advertising medium and convinces the chairman of the network to adopt it. When the advertising method is shown to be a complete fraud, the resulting public reaction against the network leads to the chairman being removed, and Grossberg manages to resume the chairmanship.
Grossberg, Ned
In the UK telefilm "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future" upon which the American series was based, the character was called Grosman and was played by Nickolas Grace. Rocket portrayed Grossberg as an American yuppie with a characteristic facial (and neck-stretching) twitch.
In the pilot episode, Grossberg is the chairman of Network 23, a major city television station with the highest rated investigative news show in town, hosted by Edison Carter. In the Max Headroom world, real-time ratings equal advertising dollars, and advertisements have replaced stocks as the measure of corporate worth.
Grossberg, with his secret prodigy Bryce Lynch, develop a rapid-speed advertising delivery medium known as Blipverts, which condenses a full advertisement into a few seconds. When Carter discovers that Blipverts are killing people, Grossberg orders Lynch to prevent Carter from getting out of the building. Knocked unconscious, Carter's memories are extracted into a computer by Lynch in order to determine whether Carter uncovered Grossberg's knowledge of the danger of Blipverts. The resulting computer file of the memory-extraction process becomes Max Headroom, making Grossberg directly responsible for the creation of the character.
In the end, Grossberg is publicly exposed as responsible for the Blipverts scandal, and is removed as chairman of Network 23.
A few episodes later, in Grossberg's Return Grossberg reappears as a board member of Network 66. Again, he invents a dubious advertising medium and convinces the chairman of the network to adopt it. When the advertising method is shown to be a complete fraud, the resulting public reaction against the network leads to the chairman being removed, and Grossberg manages to resume the chairmanship.
Grossberg, Ned
Evangelion ReDeath is a fandub parody of Hideaki Anno's hit anime and manga series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The fanparody was produced by Studio Sokodei and debuted on February 25, 2000. ReDeath was recently remastered as Evangelion ReDeath ReDux, which has new audio and better quality video footage.
Synopsis
"It doesn’t bother Shinji that his father (who might be a pimp) thinks giant robots are babe magnets. It doesn’t bother him that he shares an apartment with a strangely masculine German girl. It doesn’t even bother him that the world may be coming to an end thanks to a long forgotten Prince song. The only thing on Shinji’s mind is the nookie, whatever that is. No one said adolescence was easy."
Goofs
Early in "ReDeath," clips from Evangelion: Death and Rebirth are shown of Shinji and several other characters playing musical instruments. A title screen briefly states the music they are playing is Tchaikovsky's "Contesana Padawana." In fact, the audio used is from the "Royal Festival Hall Concert" skit on Another Monty Python Record , with the music being from Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (the title is a misinterpretation of the wording of the second movement, "Canzonetta: Andante").
Synopsis
"It doesn’t bother Shinji that his father (who might be a pimp) thinks giant robots are babe magnets. It doesn’t bother him that he shares an apartment with a strangely masculine German girl. It doesn’t even bother him that the world may be coming to an end thanks to a long forgotten Prince song. The only thing on Shinji’s mind is the nookie, whatever that is. No one said adolescence was easy."
Goofs
Early in "ReDeath," clips from Evangelion: Death and Rebirth are shown of Shinji and several other characters playing musical instruments. A title screen briefly states the music they are playing is Tchaikovsky's "Contesana Padawana." In fact, the audio used is from the "Royal Festival Hall Concert" skit on Another Monty Python Record , with the music being from Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (the title is a misinterpretation of the wording of the second movement, "Canzonetta: Andante").
This Is Otakudom, created by No.N.D.E. Fanfilms, is a widely-distributed anime fandub and a popular example of fan parody that satirizes the foibles of American anime fans. The 2006 release of the group's second movie, S.T.E.A.M., renewed interest and sparked showings of both movies at anime conventions around the nation. Due to the popularity of the first, the second movie is often referred to as Otakudom II, to provide a frame of reference (the plots are not related).
Since the films are so long (over 50 minutes each) and the budget so non-existent, the team decided that online distribution was not feasible (Otakudom was released before widespread use of bittorrent). This limited online availability left anime convention screenings as the primary distribution method.
This is Otakudom
Using footage from several anime series, most notably Fushigi Yūgi, combined with originally recorded voice acting, the first movie tells the story of Suzie Sweetrie and her friends, members of a high school anime club who decide on a whim to attend the Otakon anime convention in Baltimore. After Suzie tricks a goth friend into putting them up in a hotel room on his credit card, the convention goes well for the group until the ruse is discovered. Then the group is kicked out of their room and has to scramble for alternate lodgings and volunteer at various convention activities as compensation. Making matters worse, an attractive gay man attempts to seduce Suzie's boyfriend in a yaoi panel.
During its 52 minute running time, the film satirizes numerous things about anime fans and conventions, including cosplay, room stuffing, con suites, and the dangers of volunteering. It also includes several fake trailers for anime versions of real movies, such as Fight Club and Army of Darkness.
It opens with a humorous statement in which the producers acknowledge they are committing a copyright violation and ask the owners of the original footage not to sue them. No known legal action against the producers has been contemplated.
This is Otakudom played for the first time at Otakon 2001.
S.T.E.A.M. (Otakudom II)
The No.N.D.E team finished S.T.E.A.M. in early 2006, a second fan parody of similar style to 'This is Otakudom', but with a new concept/plot. While it is considered a sequel to 'Otakudom' by some, and frequently referred to as 'Otakudom II', the stories are not connected. S.T.E.A.M. was conceptualized from a single line in 'Otakudom', when one of the characters claims "Water plus heat equals steam. The world can be saved by steam." (itself a reference to a line in Ninja High School)
The story centers on a Superfriends-like crime fighting group known as S.T.E.A.M. (sometimes pronounced 'S-Team'), tasked with foiling the evil plans of a certain group of criminal 'masterminds'.
Like Otakudom, it is dubbed over with original voice acting, but is longer, taking up 80 minutes. The movie includes footage and music from a multitude of sources, including Read or Die, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma, Dragonball Z, and many more.
Otakon showed an almost completed version in 2005 and Tekkoshocon showed a completed version in April 2006. Project A-Kon 17 showed a completed version in June 2006.
Since the films are so long (over 50 minutes each) and the budget so non-existent, the team decided that online distribution was not feasible (Otakudom was released before widespread use of bittorrent). This limited online availability left anime convention screenings as the primary distribution method.
This is Otakudom
Using footage from several anime series, most notably Fushigi Yūgi, combined with originally recorded voice acting, the first movie tells the story of Suzie Sweetrie and her friends, members of a high school anime club who decide on a whim to attend the Otakon anime convention in Baltimore. After Suzie tricks a goth friend into putting them up in a hotel room on his credit card, the convention goes well for the group until the ruse is discovered. Then the group is kicked out of their room and has to scramble for alternate lodgings and volunteer at various convention activities as compensation. Making matters worse, an attractive gay man attempts to seduce Suzie's boyfriend in a yaoi panel.
During its 52 minute running time, the film satirizes numerous things about anime fans and conventions, including cosplay, room stuffing, con suites, and the dangers of volunteering. It also includes several fake trailers for anime versions of real movies, such as Fight Club and Army of Darkness.
It opens with a humorous statement in which the producers acknowledge they are committing a copyright violation and ask the owners of the original footage not to sue them. No known legal action against the producers has been contemplated.
This is Otakudom played for the first time at Otakon 2001.
S.T.E.A.M. (Otakudom II)
The No.N.D.E team finished S.T.E.A.M. in early 2006, a second fan parody of similar style to 'This is Otakudom', but with a new concept/plot. While it is considered a sequel to 'Otakudom' by some, and frequently referred to as 'Otakudom II', the stories are not connected. S.T.E.A.M. was conceptualized from a single line in 'Otakudom', when one of the characters claims "Water plus heat equals steam. The world can be saved by steam." (itself a reference to a line in Ninja High School)
The story centers on a Superfriends-like crime fighting group known as S.T.E.A.M. (sometimes pronounced 'S-Team'), tasked with foiling the evil plans of a certain group of criminal 'masterminds'.
Like Otakudom, it is dubbed over with original voice acting, but is longer, taking up 80 minutes. The movie includes footage and music from a multitude of sources, including Read or Die, Rurouni Kenshin, Ranma, Dragonball Z, and many more.
Otakon showed an almost completed version in 2005 and Tekkoshocon showed a completed version in April 2006. Project A-Kon 17 showed a completed version in June 2006.