Choose your own adventure: Kenjutsu

[Gadianton]

You pull up to a stoplight with your windows down and to your left, a middle-aged Japanese man pulls up to the light with his windows also down, and he's listening to some traditional music. Or maybe it's more like this, as perhaps he finds turning his thoughts to the lakes of Japan relaxing during the heavy traffic. The music is at a polite volume, but it is audible, and you're thinking, this is kind of strange. Suddenly, his music is overpowered by the subwoofers and throaty exhaust of a Ford F-150 with an 18-inch lift pulling up to your right. The truck is 0-dark-thirty mirror black. The windows are down and you recognize the cacophony emanating from the cab as Bleed by Meshuggah. You keep your eyes ahead, not thinking much of it, until -- gulp. In horror, it comes to your mind that on this very morning, your SO affixed a Biden/Harris campaign sticker to the bumper of your Nissan Sentra. It was for fun, as you're not terribly political, but yes, you did vote for Biden. Perhaps they didn't notice? you whisper to yourself. You keep your eyes ahead and suddenly, the loud music stops.

Two contentious male voices are revealed as the occupants of the truck to your right. Their concern is with each other, and from what you can make of it, the argument is over which one is going to give it to other one in the rear, and which one is going to be taking it balling.

The arguing stops.

"Hey, what's that?" the driver says, and it's audible to you. He kills his engine.

He might be referring to the folk music coming from the mid-teens model BMW to your left, but you just don't know. One way out of this might be to glance over at the car to your left and chuckle briefly, implying to the occupants of the truck that you think the music is silly and maybe your mutual appreciation of metal-style music will get you off the hook. But then, maybe you're overthinking things, and maybe getting a look at the guys in the truck will give you a better idea of what you're up against.

Do you:

1) turn to your left and chuckle.
2) turn to your right and stare into the cab of the black truck.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I turn to the right because I damned love Messhuggah.

- Doc

And Gojira.

[Moksha]

You rev your engine and honk your horn to alert all concerned that you will play music from the pinnacle of its evolutionary height, without regard to any strange divergence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ZL5AxmK_A

You then proceed through the green light, after looking both ways, past the Meiji Restoration.

[Dr. Shades]

You then proceed through the green light, after looking both ways, past the Meiji Restoration.

The Meiji Restoration is a time period, not a place.

[Res Ipsa]

I turn to the right because I damned love Messhuggah.

- Doc

And Gojira.

Metal’s not my thing, but I also turn to my right.

[Moksha]

You then proceed through the green light, after looking both ways, past the Meiji Restoration.

The Meiji Restoration is a time period, not a place.

Not if you are driving a DeLorean with a flux capacitor,1.21 Gigawatts, and a bottle of Grey Poupon.