DBZ Uncensored: E-mail

So you want to e-mail me, eh?

PLEASE NOTE: I am no longer working on this site. The DBZOA has been kind enough to host it, but I have moved on to other things. The following is my "old" e-mail FAQ, which I have left on the site for posterity because most of this still applies.
If you would like to get in touch with me, no problem, but again, the site is out of my hands now. Any mistakes or omissions will stay as they are. DBZ Uncensored is an imperfect, unfinished work, and it will remain as I left it. My address may change between now and whenever the site disappears. If your e-mail bounces back, you can check my homepage at http://cpsaros.tripod.com for the current one.

**********

If you've ever e-mailed me before from this site, then you know that this section hasn't always been here. Used to be that you'd just click on Chaozu's cute li'l face, and off you went to send me whatever the heck your mind could come up with.
Well, that was fine for a while, but as with most web sites that have been open for any amount of time, the day has come for me to ask you to please consider a few guidelines before gracing my mailbox with your presence.
I'm not doing this to be impolite or disrespectful; I am, in fact, putting this here to prevent myself from being impolite and/or disrespectful. Things could get ugly if you catch me on a bad day, and ask a question that I've answered ten thousand times before. I don't want to be rude or brusque, so please just read this page before sending off whatever it is you want to send.
Before I go on, I would like to thank anyone and everyone that has ever taken the time to e-mail me. I am grateful beyond expression for the comments, suggestions, and inspiring words of encouragement that I have been sent since this site opened. The mail I get is what makes it all worthwhile, what makes me realize that I did not, and am not, wasting my time with this whole thing. I did this site for the benefit of the fans and no other reason, so your letters are, in fact, the greatest reward I have received, or ever wanted, for creating this Web site. I have come home from terrible days at school or work, only to have those days completely changed for the better by what I find in my mailbox. I continue to be encouraged and inspired daily by the intelligence, helpfulness, and enthusiasm of my fellow fans, and I look forward to what we'll accomplish together in the future.
OK, enough with the mushy stuff. Now you hear my lecture!

The DBZ Uncensored FAQ

This is not one of those fake FAQ's where the writer just makes up a bunch of questions that he'd like to answer, this is a list of stuff that I really do get asked a lot. Some of it is here for your own infomation, and some of it is here so that I might be spared the agony of answering these questions over and over again.
And it is not finished yet. There are still a few questions and answers I want to add that I can't remember at the moment, and I'm sure more will come up as time goes on. I'll let you know in the updates section when I add something here, and YOU DAMN WELL BETTER READ IT WHEN I DO!!

How do I submit an opinion?

You don't. I am no longer accepting new opinion essays (read why). The page is now just an archive.

Can I get the original Japanese DBZ episodes from you? (or) Where do I get subbed/untranslated DBZ episodes?

First question: NO! I'M SORRY, BUT I AM NOT COPYING OR SELLING MY TAPES! I DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR RESOURCES! PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU PEOPLE, STOP ASKING ME THIS!!!!
Second question: The original Japanese version is now commercially available on DVD from FUNimation. Yes, they've still got a long way to go before the whole series is released, and there are no VHS tapes, but this is now the only legal way to obtain ANY original Japanese episodes. And in my opinion, it is the only way worth pursuing. You can try hunting for fansubs/full episodes if you like, but I myself wouldn't know where to look.

How did you become a fan of DBZ? Where did you get the Japanese versions?

OK, it's two different questions, but this answer takes care of both. Sorry about the length of this, feel free to skip it if you don't plan on asking me this question.
I was first introduced to DB back in Spring of 1994, when my brother Derrick rented Movie #2 (The Worlds Strongest Guy) from a video store in San Jose's Japantown. We were both aware of the show's existence prior to that through anime magazines and word-of-mouth, and my brother was captivated by the art style and the concept of a show about "a family of martial artists." So he and his friend Paul watched the tape that night, totally under its spell. Here's the funny part: I was completely disinterested in it. From the few glances I caught here and there, I thought it was annoying and weird, and not what I considered quality anime.
That summer, Paul moved to LA, and came back a few months later with a carload of videotapes. Apparently he had discovered a video store down there that rented DBZ episodes, and he bootlegged the hell out of them. He had everything from the appearance of Trunks to the middle of the Ma-jin Boo saga, over one hundred and fifty episodes in all. Then something rather disgusting happened. Paul and Derrick would get up, watch DBZ ALL DAY, go to sleep, then start again the next morning. This went on for weeks. I, of course, got caught up in it and was finally turned after about 30 episodes. The copies were horrendous, none of us spoke a lick of Japanese, and we had missed about half the series, but dammit, it didn't matter, this show was friggin' cool. And so, I too joined them in watching DBZ for a living.
We eventually got through all of those episodes, and went back to living like respectable human beings again. Fall '95 came, along with FUNimation's US dub of Dragon Ball, which I watched with some interest. But it was when "their" DBZ premiered the next year that I truly became a rabid fan of Toriyama's masterpiece. When I heard these new voices on characters that were so familiar to me... when I saw that every drop of blood was being sanitized... and the other dimension.... THAT was the last straw. It all just made me appreciate the original so much more, and I realized that I actually treasured my memories from two years before of sitting there like a subhuman vegetable for hours on end, staring at this show I didn't understand. How dare this "FUNimation" SCREW with my memories!
The next March, the original Japanese version began airing on the International Channel, and I started down the long road of taping every episode up to Trunks' first appearance, where Paul's bootlegs began. After three years, I've finally reached that point and beyond, but I'm still watching faithfully every week... even though I've seen just about everything from here on.

Tell me more about the International Channel. How do I get it? What channel is it?

I know three things about IC, no more, no less. First, it is a nationally-broadcast cable station that not many cable or satellite systems subscribe to. In TCI of Santa Cruz County, it is channel 69, but that will (of course) be different depending on where you live. Second, I know that they show raw Japanese DBZ Sunday at 6pm Pacific, 9 Eastern. Third, I know that fact number two makes me very happy.
I don't know anything else, sorry! But I'm sure going to IC's website should be able to fill you in on anything else. More questions? Ask them.

[Insert miscellaneous Dragon Ball (Z) (GT) plot question here]

I actually like answering these kinds of questions, I really do. But again, I strongly urge you to take the issue to alt.fan.dragonball BEFORE coming to me. You'll get several answers, rather than just one, and there are people there who actually know what they're talking about. I'll warn you right now, I'm not afraid of just making stuff up if I don't know the real answer.

Would you please link to my site? (and) Can I link to yours?
First question: I no longer take link requests, period. If you want me to check out your site, go ahead and send me the link.
Second question: Of course you can link to my site! Why would I want to fight more hits???

Who is this "Lunch" person?

I mention this character in the episode comparisons, mainly in reference to the fact that each and every frame of her has been carefully deleted from FUNimation's DBZ. This is primarily due to the fact that since they skipped most of the original Dragon Ball series, her character was never introduced to US audiences. Therefore, her presence in Z would be confusing to say the least if FUNimation had left those scenes in. People keep asking me who she is since I offered to tell anyone who wanted to know, but rather than answering this over and over on an individual basis, I thought I'd just put it here.
Lunch is a minor character who shows up in the story just before Goku's first Tenkaichibudoukai, and hangs out at the Kame house. Her schtick is that most of the time she is a gentle, cute young girl, but when she sneezes, her hair turns blond and she becomes a vicious, gun-toting maniac. (Prototype for Super Saiya-jin? Hmm...) As the story progresses, Lunch falls in love with Tenshinhan, but that isn't developed much, and her character fades into disuse. By the time DB ends, she has virtually disappeared, and only makes cameo appearances in Z and GT.

I sent you mail, and you didn't respond. You're a dick, and I hate you.

Hey, that's not a question! Well, what can I say? My e-mail box is constantly backed up to a ridiculous extent, and not a day goes by that I don't get a hefty stack of e-mail about this site, or Dragon Ball, or whatever. The truth is that I hardly ever respond to my e-mail anymore. Over the years, I've gotten somewhat tired of answering (or even reading) it. This is partly because the messages people send are too often either pointless, overly long, overly unreadable, or like they came off of an assembly line. I swear, there must be a "Form Letter for E-mailing Chris Psaros" out there somewhere.
But having said all that, I find that e-mail is pretty much the only way that I know what anybody thinks of me and what I do, so it's still very important to me. And sometimes.... wow... people just send me the greatest things. Then of course there's all that stuff I said up at the top of this page. So basically I have a love/hate relationship with my e-mail, and while I may bitch about it, I am still a little sad when I check for new messages to find that there are none.
Now, onto how to get a reply...
You almost certainly won't. Don't take it personally, I don't even respond to my friends and family most of the time. But if your letter is brief, legible, coherent, to the point, and contains a question (a GOOD question, mind you) you'll have a much better chance of hearing from me. And it should be a question NOT answered in the FAQ or elsewhere on the site. Do some hunting around first! Consider e-mailing me about it an absolute LAST resort. I am utterly amazed how many people STILL ask me questions that are answered right here on this page. I'm sorry if that's the way it has to be, but it just isn't humanly possible to respond to all of my mail anymore like it was back when I first opened the site.
Requests for images, pictures, sounds, video game tips, or anything that requires work on my part will be immediately sent to the next dimension. Guys, I love you, and (most of the time) I enjoy working on this site for you, but I will NOT be your personal slave. If you want something, go find it yourself. This seems like common sense to me, but you'd be surprised (I always am) how often I get mail from people demanding that I send them stuff.
Lastly, I need to emphasize that if I don't reply to your mail, it doesn't mean that I'm ignoring you or that I didn't thoroughly enjoy what you had to say. I still read each and everything I get, so when you hit that "send" button, you can feel confident that I will ingest your message with full attention.
In any case, please don't bug me for a reply. In fact, the lack of a reply is the Chris Psaros way of showing my UNDYING LOVE for you and everything you stand for. I respond at completely random times for completely random reasons, but most likely your message will just end up as little more than a blip in my trash folder. Unless it's really good, in which case I will love you even more and place your message into my special archive of joy. But even then you still probably won't get a response.

What is your ICQ/AOL IM number? Will you add me to your contact list?

I don't have AOL IM, but I DO have ICQ, and I was indeed stupid enough to use my real name and say "SURE, OK!" when they asked if I wanted to be listed in the directory. The issue is that I only use ICQ AT work, and I only use it FOR work. It's not even installed on my home computer. In other words, PLEASE DO NOT ICQ ME ASKING TO BE ADDED TO MY CONTACT LIST. I receive about 5 of these requests every week, and if I were to chat with every random stranger who requested it, I'd spend my entire time at work doing so. My boss would probably frown upon that.
So just pretend I don't have ICQ, and that everything I wrote above was a joke of some sort.

Can I help you with your site?

You know, people ask me this A LOT, especially during those long "dry spells" (heh) but to be honest, I'm not looking for any sort of outside submissions right now. I realize that the episode comparisons, layout, etc. etc. would get done a lot faster (and there'd be a lot more updates) if I farmed all the work out to other people, but for me this site is a very, very personal thing. I feel like someone else doing the work would be no different than if I wanted to draw a picture and someone else drew it for me. I do this because it's... the thing that I do, and it wouldn't even make sense to me if someone else were to participate.
But thanks for the offers!

When are you gonna update your site? UPDATE YOUR SITE!!!

Stop. For the love of all things, just stop bugging me about updating. I've had quite enough of this insufferable boobery over the years, and why I have been chosen to bear the mantle of so much angry impatience is a question that I often tearfully cast to the heavens. I mean, I love you guys and all, and I do find it very flattering that you're so anxious to read more of my inane crap, but this is ridiculous. I'll update when I get time! And a large gulf between updates is far preferable than the site shutting down entirely, isn't it??? Slow and steady wins the race.

Do you actually expect people to read this WHOLE THING before sending you mail? My God man, do you EVER shut up? If brevity is the soul of wit, then you are utterly witless, my friend!

You're right. I was expecting this to be a lot shorter than it turned out. People shouldn't have to read all of this nonsense to send me a simple "I like your site" message. Oh well, I don't deserve you guys.

So, if you've read the above FAQ,
or at least skimmed over it to get the general idea.
AND NO IMAGES/SOUNDS/VIDEOS WITHOUT ASKING FIRST, PLEASE!!
You now have permission to...

E-mail me!

*So you want to e-mail me, eh?*
PLEASE NOTE: I am no longer working on this site. The DBZOA has been kind enough to host it, but I have moved on to other things. The following is my "old" e-mail FAQ, which I have left on the site for posterity because most of this still applies. If you would like to get in touch with me, no problem, but again, the site is out of my hands now. Any mistakes or omissions will stay as they are. DBZ Uncensored is an imperfect, unfinished work, and it will remain as I left it. My address may change between now and whenever the site disappears. If your e-mail bounces back, you can check my homepage at http://cpsaros.tripod.com for the current one. ********** If you've ever e-mailed me before from this site, then you know that this section hasn't always been here. Used to be that you'd just click on Chaozu's cute li'l face, and off you went to send me whatever the heck your mind could come up with. Well, that was fine for a while, but as with most web sites that have been open for any amount of time, the day has come for me to ask you to please consider a few guidelines before gracing my mailbox with your presence. I'm not doing this to be impolite or disrespectful; I am, in fact, putting this here to prevent myself from being impolite and/or disrespectful. Things could get ugly if you catch me on a bad day, and ask a question that I've answered ten thousand times before. I don't want to be rude or brusque, so please just read this page before sending off whatever it is you want to send. Before I go on, I would like to thank anyone and everyone that has ever taken the time to e-mail me. I am grateful beyond expression for the comments, suggestions, and inspiring words of encouragement that I have been sent since this site opened. The mail I get is what makes it all worthwhile, what makes me realize that I did not, and am not, wasting my time with this whole thing. I did this site for the benefit of the fans and no other reason, so your letters are, in fact, the greatest reward I have received, or ever wanted, for creating this Web site. I have come home from terrible days at school or work, only to have those days completely changed for the better by what I find in my mailbox. I continue to be encouraged and inspired daily by the intelligence, helpfulness, and enthusiasm of my fellow fans, and I look forward to what we'll accomplish together in the future. OK, enough with the mushy stuff. Now you hear my lecture!
*The DBZ Uncensored FAQ*
This is not one of those fake FAQ's where the writer just makes up a bunch of questions that he'd like to answer, this is a list of stuff that I really do get asked a lot. Some of it is here for your own infomation, and some of it is here so that I might be spared the agony of answering these questions over and over again. And it is not finished yet. There are still a few questions and answers I want to add that I can't remember at the moment, and I'm sure more will come up as time goes on. I'll let you know in the updates section when I add something here, and YOU DAMN WELL BETTER READ IT WHEN I DO!!
	How do I submit an opinion?
	You don't. I am no longer accepting new opinion essays (read why). The page is now just an archive.
	Can I get the original Japanese DBZ episodes from you? (or) Where do I get subbed/untranslated DBZ episodes?
	First question: NO! I'M SORRY, BUT I AM NOT COPYING OR SELLING MY TAPES! I DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR RESOURCES! PLEASE, I AM BEGGING YOU PEOPLE, STOP ASKING ME THIS!!!! Second question: The original Japanese version is now commercially available on DVD from FUNimation. Yes, they've still got a long way to go before the whole series is released, and there are no VHS tapes, but this is now the only legal way to obtain ANY original Japanese episodes. And in my opinion, it is the only way worth pursuing. You can try hunting for fansubs/full episodes if you like, but I myself wouldn't know where to look.
	How did you become a fan of DBZ? Where did you get the Japanese versions?
	OK, it's two different questions, but this answer takes care of both. Sorry about the length of this, feel free to skip it if you don't plan on asking me this question. I was first introduced to DB back in Spring of 1994, when my brother Derrick rented Movie #2 (The Worlds Strongest Guy) from a video store in San Jose's Japantown. We were both aware of the show's existence prior to that through anime magazines and word-of-mouth, and my brother was captivated by the art style and the concept of a show about "a family of martial artists." So he and his friend Paul watched the tape that night, totally under its spell. Here's the funny part: I was completely disinterested in it. From the few glances I caught here and there, I thought it was annoying and weird, and not what I considered quality anime. That summer, Paul moved to LA, and came back a few months later with a carload of videotapes. Apparently he had discovered a video store down there that rented DBZ episodes, and he bootlegged the hell out of them. He had everything from the appearance of Trunks to the middle of the Ma-jin Boo saga, over one hundred and fifty episodes in all. Then something rather disgusting happened. Paul and Derrick would get up, watch DBZ ALL DAY, go to sleep, then start again the next morning. This went on for weeks. I, of course, got caught up in it and was finally turned after about 30 episodes. The copies were horrendous, none of us spoke a lick of Japanese, and we had missed about half the series, but dammit, it didn't matter, this show was friggin' cool. And so, I too joined them in watching DBZ for a living. We eventually got through all of those episodes, and went back to living like respectable human beings again. Fall '95 came, along with FUNimation's US dub of Dragon Ball, which I watched with some interest. But it was when "their" DBZ premiered the next year that I truly became a rabid fan of Toriyama's masterpiece. When I heard these new voices on characters that were so familiar to me... when I saw that every drop of blood was being sanitized... and the other dimension.... THAT was the last straw. It all just made me appreciate the original so much more, and I realized that I actually treasured my memories from two years before of sitting there like a subhuman vegetable for hours on end, staring at this show I didn't understand. How dare this "FUNimation" SCREW with my memories! The next March, the original Japanese version began airing on the International Channel, and I started down the long road of taping every episode up to Trunks' first appearance, where Paul's bootlegs began. After three years, I've finally reached that point and beyond, but I'm still watching faithfully every week... even though I've seen just about everything from here on.
	Tell me more about the International Channel. How do I get it? What channel is it?
	I know three things about IC, no more, no less. First, it is a nationally-broadcast cable station that not many cable or satellite systems subscribe to. In TCI of Santa Cruz County, it is channel 69, but that will (of course) be different depending on where you live. Second, I know that they show raw Japanese DBZ Sunday at 6pm Pacific, 9 Eastern. Third, I know that fact number two makes me very happy. I don't know anything else, sorry! But I'm sure going to IC's website should be able to fill you in on anything else. More questions? Ask them.
	[Insert miscellaneous Dragon Ball (Z) (GT) plot question here]
	I actually like answering these kinds of questions, I really do. But again, I strongly urge you to take the issue to alt.fan.dragonball BEFORE coming to me. You'll get several answers, rather than just one, and there are people there who actually know what they're talking about. I'll warn you right now, I'm not afraid of just making stuff up if I don't know the real answer.
	Would you please link to my site? (and) Can I link to yours?
	First question: I no longer take link requests, period. If you want me to check out your site, go ahead and send me the link. Second question: Of course you can link to my site! Why would I want to fight more hits???
	Who is this "Lunch" person?
	I mention this character in the episode comparisons, mainly in reference to the fact that each and every frame of her has been carefully deleted from FUNimation's DBZ. This is primarily due to the fact that since they skipped most of the original Dragon Ball series, her character was never introduced to US audiences. Therefore, her presence in Z would be confusing to say the least if FUNimation had left those scenes in. People keep asking me who she is since I offered to tell anyone who wanted to know, but rather than answering this over and over on an individual basis, I thought I'd just put it here. Lunch is a minor character who shows up in the story just before Goku's first Tenkaichibudoukai, and hangs out at the Kame house. Her schtick is that most of the time she is a gentle, cute young girl, but when she sneezes, her hair turns blond and she becomes a vicious, gun-toting maniac. (Prototype for Super Saiya-jin? Hmm...) As the story progresses, Lunch falls in love with Tenshinhan, but that isn't developed much, and her character fades into disuse. By the time DB ends, she has virtually disappeared, and only makes cameo appearances in Z and GT.
	I sent you mail, and you didn't respond. You're a dick, and I hate you.
	Hey, that's not a question! Well, what can I say? My e-mail box is constantly backed up to a ridiculous extent, and not a day goes by that I don't get a hefty stack of e-mail about this site, or Dragon Ball, or whatever. The truth is that I hardly ever respond to my e-mail anymore. Over the years, I've gotten somewhat tired of answering (or even reading) it. This is partly because the messages people send are too often either pointless, overly long, overly unreadable, or like they came off of an assembly line. I swear, there must be a "Form Letter for E-mailing Chris Psaros" out there somewhere. But having said all that, I find that e-mail is pretty much the only way that I know what anybody thinks of me and what I do, so it's still very important to me. And sometimes.... wow... people just send me the greatest things. Then of course there's all that stuff I said up at the top of this page. So basically I have a love/hate relationship with my e-mail, and while I may bitch about it, I am still a little sad when I check for new messages to find that there are none. Now, onto how to get a reply... You almost certainly won't. Don't take it personally, I don't even respond to my friends and family most of the time. But if your letter is brief, legible, coherent, to the point, and contains a question (a GOOD question, mind you) you'll have a much better chance of hearing from me. And it should be a question NOT answered in the FAQ or elsewhere on the site. Do some hunting around first! Consider e-mailing me about it an absolute LAST resort. I am utterly amazed how many people STILL ask me questions that are answered right here on this page. I'm sorry if that's the way it has to be, but it just isn't humanly possible to respond to all of my mail anymore like it was back when I first opened the site. Requests for images, pictures, sounds, video game tips, or anything that requires work on my part will be immediately sent to the next dimension. Guys, I love you, and (most of the time) I enjoy working on this site for you, but I will NOT be your personal slave. If you want something, go find it yourself. This seems like common sense to me, but you'd be surprised (I always am) how often I get mail from people demanding that I send them stuff. Lastly, I need to emphasize that if I don't reply to your mail, it doesn't mean that I'm ignoring you or that I didn't thoroughly enjoy what you had to say. I still read each and everything I get, so when you hit that "send" button, you can feel confident that I will ingest your message with full attention. In any case, please don't bug me for a reply. In fact, the lack of a reply is the Chris Psaros way of showing my UNDYING LOVE for you and everything you stand for. I respond at completely random times for completely random reasons, but most likely your message will just end up as little more than a blip in my trash folder. Unless it's really good, in which case I will love you even more and place your message into my special archive of joy. But even then you still probably won't get a response.
	What is your ICQ/AOL IM number? Will you add me to your contact list?
	I don't have AOL IM, but I DO have ICQ, and I was indeed stupid enough to use my real name and say "SURE, OK!" when they asked if I wanted to be listed in the directory. The issue is that I only use ICQ AT work, and I only use it FOR work. It's not even installed on my home computer. In other words, PLEASE DO NOT ICQ ME ASKING TO BE ADDED TO MY CONTACT LIST. I receive about 5 of these requests every week, and if I were to chat with every random stranger who requested it, I'd spend my entire time at work doing so. My boss would probably frown upon that. So just pretend I don't have ICQ, and that everything I wrote above was a joke of some sort.
	Can I help you with your site?
	You know, people ask me this A LOT, especially during those long "dry spells" (heh) but to be honest, I'm not looking for any sort of outside submissions right now. I realize that the episode comparisons, layout, etc. etc. would get done a lot faster (and there'd be a lot more updates) if I farmed all the work out to other people, but for me this site is a very, very personal thing. I feel like someone else doing the work would be no different than if I wanted to draw a picture and someone else drew it for me. I do this because it's... the thing that I do, and it wouldn't even make sense to me if someone else were to participate. But thanks for the offers!
	When are you gonna update your site? UPDATE YOUR SITE!!!
	Stop. For the love of all things, just stop bugging me about updating. I've had quite enough of this insufferable boobery over the years, and why I have been chosen to bear the mantle of so much angry impatience is a question that I often tearfully cast to the heavens. I mean, I love you guys and all, and I do find it very flattering that you're so anxious to read more of my inane crap, but this is ridiculous. I'll update when I get time! And a large gulf between updates is far preferable than the site shutting down entirely, isn't it??? Slow and steady wins the race.
	Do you actually expect people to read this WHOLE THING before sending you mail? My God man, do you EVER shut up? If brevity is the soul of wit, then you are utterly witless, my friend!
	You're right. I was expecting this to be a lot shorter than it turned out. People shouldn't have to read all of this nonsense to send me a simple "I like your site" message. Oh well, I don't deserve you guys.
So, if you've read the above FAQ, or at least skimmed over it to get the general idea. AND NO IMAGES/SOUNDS/VIDEOS WITHOUT ASKING FIRST, PLEASE!! You now have permission to... E-mail me!