Brasil

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by wrist cutter [/i] [B]It's a lack of self-control, period. Don't try to come up with some "it's genetic" excuse, or anything of the sort. God forbid we ever blame ourselves for our own stupidity. [/B][/QUOTE] We could call it human nature. It's human nature to look for something bigger and better. We're sexual beings...like the song says, "We're all sexual people, trying to hold back these feelings for SOOOO long. But if you feel, like I feel baby, c'mon, oh c'mon...let's get it on..." Our naughty bits are fun, we shouldn't hate them, and we shouldn't hate the fact that they're there and reacting to sexual stimuli.

Kill Adam opened up a totally new genre of RP. I wouldn't be worried about the influx of Mature or R-rated RPs, hopefully they'll be handled with maturity. It's cool to see RP experimentation, though. People trying new things, not sticking to the same old, same old, opening their minds to new ideas. Good stuff.

?The Stranger In A Strange Land? Julian Bradbury stood anxiously at the crossroads, looking to the horizon, scanning for the yellow dragon that would soon scoop him up and transport him to a world he, until today, had never known. He fidgeted with his cap. It was too tight; his guardian had fastened the straps wide of the marked slot. The straps choked him slightly. Perhaps Julian Bradbury felt the straps were to blame for the mild limit of oxygen, or perhaps Julian was just a little scared of what he was about to face. The wind blew against his face. It was a crisp wind, biting his face mildly. Julian felt a chill run down his body, and held his coat closer to his person. He glanced back at his dwelling. He so wished to run back there, to the warmth of familiarity. He felt safe there and already felt longing for it. But he was at the age of journey, and his guardian would not hear of any fear or trepidation. Julian was of proper age to venture out of the quarters and could no longer stay there all day. He was to journey now, and the yellow dragon was to begin his journey with him. Julian looked up at the sky. Gray clouds hung overhead; the sun was not shining. A few winged creatures circled ahead. Vultures, Julian thought. He hoped those birds weren?t circling for him, for he was young, and only starting his journey. But his time to cease was not here, and would not be here for a longest time. Even with the knowledge of his youth, Julian still found himself leery of those birds. The idea of the vultures picking at his eyes sent piercing and paralyzing fear through him. Julian quickly looked back to the crossroads, back to the distance, hoping to catch sight of the yellow dragon. He wished it would arrive now, as the birds still circled. Julian patted his satchel, making sure his scribing materials were present. It would not be favorable if his scribing books were missing on the first day of his journey, as it is certain he would find things to write about and make record of. As he looked up from his satchel, he caught sight of a monstrous yellow dragon on the horizon. The yellow dragon approached at a speed Julian had never witnessed before, gliding to a gentle stop at Julian?s side. The dragon rider smiled at Julian, extending his hand and bidding him aboard. Julian stood still for a moment, unsure of his readiness for such a step, but the dragon rider smiled and motioned pleasantly for him to step up onto the yellow dragon. Julian?s apprehension melted away. The yellow dragon started off again, Julian riding comfortably up front. What strange but wondrous journey this will be.

Burnt-Out Angel Azrael was getting bored. He was getting restless. He was tired of his dead-end job. Sure, he was working for the biggest boss this side of Eternity, but that didn?t change the fact that the work was monotonous and dull. It?s not that Azrael wasn?t good at what he did, certainly not. He was the best Angel Of Death the company had ever seen or had the pleasure of employing. But the pleasure was all theirs, and Azrael was now bored with his work. He had slain countless droves of mortals, sent so many to their graves, and that was getting really old. He had lost track of how many mortals he had sent to another plane of existence. He estimated somewhere around a couple of million, but figured he stopped counting around the first hundred-thousand. The victims?sorry, the [i]punished ones[/i], weren?t individuals anymore. They weren?t people with families, and dogs, and cars, and houses, and friends. No, they were just a graph on the chart; just tick marks on the blackboard; dollars on a paycheck. Azrael didn?t see their faces anymore. Frankly, he no longer cared. He worked for the pay now, earning his wage like every other angel.

The unfortunate part about entertainment is that everyone has his or her own political agenda. You're not wrong, necessarily, in wanting a music CD free of political propaganda or propaganda in general; you're just being a little idealistic. Really, I can't think of any songs off the top of my head that don't have some sort of personal agenda in them...Weird Al might be the least "agenda-ed" artist. He mocks so much that I don't know if we can place him on a side of anything. Entertainers feel the need to express themselves, as everyone does, but they have a more powerful and bigger soapbox to stand on. The trick is, to not get aggravated when Michael Moore says "shame on you, Mister Bush." at the Emmys, but to realize he's just a pretentious fat-*** enjoying his time in the sun. Such is the case with most entertainers. Look at Sinead O'Connor. She had her time in the spotlight, ripped up a picture of the Pope, and as far as I can recall, her career died after that. Public reaction to agenda really depends on the topic of the agenda. Michael Moore and Sinead O'Connor are those with [i]controversial[/i] agendas, so of course we're going to ask them to shut up occasionally. I blame the political and personal agenda disaster on the times. Artists and entertainers are much more superliminal, often outright saying what they feel, not bothering to say it...artistically. Now look at The Beatles (they're fresh in my head), they had a political/personal agenda that was far more intense than Moore, but they presented their agenda in such a way that people respect them for what they do, and in such a way that people just vegging (like you want to do) can sit back and listen to a merry tune of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. John Lennon's Imagine. [quote]Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky, Imagine all the people living for today... Imagine there's no countries, It isnt hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, No religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace... Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man, Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say Im a dreamer, but Im not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, And the world will live as one.[/quote] That can be interpeted as Socialist propaganda. It strives for a society free of hierarchy, religion, social barriers, and division. If Lennon was indeed encouraging Socialism, and if people realized that back then, Lennon would have been in even deeper **** than just saying "We're bigger than Jesus." Socialism is essentially, the stepping stone to Communism. For Lennon to be openly encouraging Socialism in the 60s, during the Cold War Era, during the Red Scare paranoia, The Beatles would have been totally outcast. But why weren't they? Cause Lennon was wily, subtle, subliminal. He had a definite political agenda, but he presented it in a way that required people to read between the lines to see it. You have every right to be annoyed, because artists and entertainers are treating the public like morons, openly saying what they feel, blatantly coming out with their opinions. That doesn't make for good music or entertainment. That's why I love the Daily Show. It makes fun of the morons in the public light, satirizing the fools.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by FirePheonix727 [/i] [B]first of all, I would APPRECIATE IT if Mitch and Asuka would stop ARGUING ON MY THREAD! Second, poisentongue........................................................................................................................ damnit, what can I say about that logic? But Jesus, man where did you get the spare time to find out all of THAT? It's a funny thing.. I always thought that song was a little strange, but putting it into terms like that............... that's just......................... well, I can't describe it man. Even if it is a little.... informing, that just kinda takes the magic out of that song..... AND DONT GET ON ME ABOUT READING SPOILERS!! [/B][/QUOTE] Well, in part, it's because I'm an English major and enjoy writing literary interpretation. I'm a bit sadomasochistic in that respect. And uh...I had heard Come Together on the radio a few days ago, noticed one suggestive sentence on there, and decided to check it out. Turns out, looks like I was right lol. I just ran a search for "STD information" on google.com. That public health awareness page was one of the first listings. Those who know me are aware of my intuition about and skill with deviant sexual innuendo. I basically live in it. My writing is filled with it, and I've found that studying Shakespeare and Walt Whitman can really open your eyes to the wilyness (sp?) of subtle sexuality in writing.

I might repeat some things Queen Asuka has said, so...yeah. The term, "classic," seems to be tossed around loosely these days. Really, I think it's lost all meaning when movies like...Legally Blonde are being labeled as "Instant Comedic Classic!!!" The way I look at it, a "classic" needs to have a certain level of...filmmaking expertise. Not only looking at special effects, but also direction, cinematography, writing, characterization. I mean, if we look at Star Wars, the Original Trilogy is classic. Undeniably classic. It leaves an indelible mark on filmmaking. It's directed competently, filmed competently, written competently. It's done [i]well[/i]. Looking at the Prequels, they suck no matter what. Destro, the Prequels are not "just more good movie's without any real special special effects." I agree that they feature no "really special" special effects, but they are certainly not good movies. The writing is awful, the direction is...blind, and the acting is like cardboard. (Jake Lloyd? Give me a break. Hayden Christensen? Please. Natalie Portman? Wha?) Even Yoda sucked (to put it bluntly, lol). His CG was horrid, his dialogue worse, and he lacked the..."realness" of his muppet self in Empire Strikes Back. But enough about Star Wars. Original Trilogy=classic because of high-caliber moviemaking. My list of classics include: Nosferatu. King Kong (1933). Casablanca. The Graduate. Taxi Driver. This Is Spinal Tap. When Harry Met Sally. ****Two of those are Rob Reiner films...hmmm**** Those are high-caliber films...classics. Unsurpassed as of today in terms of scope, presentation, idea, and most importantly, [i]audience connection[/i]. What movies I don't consider classics: Generally most romantic comedy, excluding When Harry Met Sally. X2. It's typical action/adventure comic book fare. It's an example of what not to do in a screenplay. The Matrix (1 and 2). I do not feel they're perfect films and they don't knock my skirt up like Spinal Tap does. M1 is a fun movie and a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but it's by no means "classic," and Reloaded is...poorly, poorly executed. There is a distinct difference between M1 and Reloaded, both in tone, material, and presentation. The Wachowskis made M1 as a movie. They made Reloaded as an pretentious, self-puffing essay. Not classic, just...imperfection. There were some good ideas in Reloaded, Smith especially (that was a genius subplot), but the movie falls so flat. So, in order for a movie to be considered "classic" in my book, it has to be a well-rounded picture, not lopsided to one idea, not lopsided to one scene.

The Beatles. Awesome band, but totally obsessed with drugs. You all have heard Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (LSD) and the song is indeed describing an acid trip (not that I know from experience heh). But I?m going to take Come Together and show just how deviant The Beatles were. Kiddies, if you are not prepared for what I?m about to say, DO NOT read further. I will NOT be held accountable for what reactions you have should you choose to disregard this disclaimer. By reading what is hidden by spoiler tags, you are lifting any responsibility that I may have. Please, if you do choose to read this, BE MATURE. [spoiler][quote][b][center]Come Together[/center][/b] Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller He got hair down to his knee Got to be a joker he just do what he please He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola He say "I know you, you know me" One thing I can tell you is you got to be free Come together right now over me He bag production he got walrus gumboot He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker He got feet down below his knee Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease Come together right now over me He roller-coaster he got early warning He got muddy water he one mojo filter He say "One and one and one is three" Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see Come together right now over me[/quote] Firstly, I believe the ?He? of the song has Gonorrhea. [url]http://www.ashastd.org/stdfaqs/gonorrhea.html[/url] Some symptoms of Gonorrhea are swelling and discharge of the eyes, should the virus spread there. ?If gonorrhea infects the eye, men and women might experience conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyelid lining). Symptoms of conjunctivitis include redness, itching, and discharge from the eye.? Keeping this symptom in mind, re-read the first stanza. ?He got joo-joo eyeball.? What does ?joo-joo? sound like? Firstly, the alliteration is eerily similar to ?conjunctivitis.? There are heavy ?J? sounds throughout the words. The word ?joo-joo? gives a feel of fluid escaping in a disgusting and vile mess. It?s a runny word, almost a sticky word, and after realizing the alliterative similarities, ?He? has Gonorrhea. Now, ?grooving up slowly? and ?hair down to his knee.? For those of you that have had fellatio performed on you, what are the two main physical feelings? Your body grooves up slowly, working into a rhythm with the?performer, and the performer?s hair is most certainly down to your knees. Next stanza: ?He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola He say "I know you, you know me" One thing I can tell you is you got to be free Come together right now over me? Shoeshine. What is shoeshine used for? To protect your shoes. A protective surface as to prevent damage. What also fits this definition? Condom. Thus, ?He? is not wearing a condom. ?Monkey finger.? What would be?a finger in this sense? Yes, the member. What does monkey skin often feel like? Rubbery and rough. Now examine this description: a syphilis chancre that is hard or rubbery. The ?monkey finger? is in fact a member infected with syphilitic warts. ?Shoot coca-cola.? The reference is obvious. Shooting coke. Chances are then, dirty needles, un-sterilized equipment, making a situation easy for diseases to be transmitted. ?I know you, you know me.? What is a classic definition of ?knowing?? You guessed it. Sexual action. ?Come together right now over me.? He is telling the woman to orgasm as she rides him. Next stanza: ?Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease Come together right now over me.? What is ?armchair?? Another reference to the woman riding him. Think of it as sitting in a chair. ?Can feel his disease.? This has a few interpretations. 1) The woman can feel the sores forming on herself. 2) She can feel something wrong as she is riding him. Regardless, ?disease? is STD. And I covered ?come together? already. Next stanza: ?He say "One and one and one is three? Can we say, swingers? Threesomes? Sexual adventure, increasing the chances of STD transmittal.[/spoiler]

The Marxist Pythonians. EDIT: Added a border. Heh.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Charles [/i] [B]Not in South Jersey. Mos' of us ain't speak with no accent like that. We smoov. You can specifically tell that North Jersey is nothing like South Jersey when you used the word beautiful to describe it. But, maybe that's because I live so close to Philadelphia. Or should I say Smelladelphia? No? South Filthy? You know, the only place where a mayor can rise in the polls after and only after the Philadelphia police discover an FBI bug in his office? Okay. ^_^;; Let it be known to all, Charles lives in "Anytown" USA. Because, really, that's what Pennsuaken is. To its credit, it is a much more desirable place to live than neighboring Cinnaminson, though. [/B][/QUOTE] Hehehe. Nice one, Charles. Real subtle. Very nice. I used to reside in Cinnaminson. Now it is Cinnaminsonia. We are a peace-loving nation...okay, I'm lying. We want to destroy the Delranian Republic and annex Riverton. It is our destiny. All joking aside, Charles hit it pretty well. Take any town along the Delaware River/Route 130 area..."Anytown USA." It's pretty much the same town cloned 4 times. It's like...a demented Pleasantville. For a further description, [url]http://www.geocities.com/crumblord/Cinnaminsonia.html[/url]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mitch [/i] [B][size=1] If someone lives in their mind, they are still bound by the rules inside of their mind. This is not freedom. They are still bound the chemical interactions of the brain. They are still bound by something. "The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." Okay. Breaking this down piece-by-piece. Is there an abscence of necessity in the mind? No. Your brain will feed you the hunger of food and varying things. Scratch that. Coercion? That's not scratched. In your mind you're your own boss. Constraint? If one is inside their mind, they are constraining. They are living away from the full implications of life. They are living in a dream world. I'd call this "constraining." I'd call this holding back. But then there's this "in choice and action" part. It still isn't relevant..if you are constraining something, you are holding back some choice or action. You aren't living the way you should. Life isn't meant to be lived internally. It's meant to be lived both inward and outward. So scratch that as well. It doesn't make sense. You're still bound to your humanness inside your brain. This isn't freedom. You're still enslaved by some implication, some interdiction; that of your own consciousness. Nothingness. Non-existence. These are the only things that are true freedom. These are the only things having "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." And I also suggest that you seek the help of a psychologist. You're too happy. You're a zealot whereas I'm a pragmatist.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] "If someone lives in their mind, they are still bound by the rules inside of their mind. This is not freedom. They are still bound the chemical interactions of the brain. They are still bound by something." Mitch, you're still not thinking outside the box. If you achieve total mental potential, your body doesn't matter. Chemicals don't matter. If you achieve ultimate freedom, then you are no longer weighed down with trivial things like physicality. You can keep talking about chemicals and such, and I'll keep telling you that chemicals don't matter when you've achieved pure consciousness. [quote]"The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. Okay. Breaking this down piece-by-piece. Is there an abscence of necessity in the mind? No. Your brain will feed you the hunger of food and varying things. Scratch that. Coercion? That's not scratched. In your mind you're your own boss. Constraint? If one is inside their mind, they are constraining. They are living away from the full implications of life. They are living in a dream world. I'd call this "constraining." I'd call this holding back. But then there's this "in choice and action" part. It still isn't relevant..if you are constraining something, you are holding back some choice or action. You aren't living the way you should. Life isn't meant to be lived internally. It's meant to be lived both inward and outward. So scratch that as well.[/quote] --- "Is there an abscence of necessity in the mind? No. Your brain will feed you the hunger of food and varying things." You're limiting yourself here. You're still basing your ideas on a world built on physical rules. That's not very abstract of you. :) --- "Coercion? That's not scratched. In your mind you're your own boss." Precisely. You understand that, why not the rest? --- "Constraint? If one is inside their mind, they are constraining. They are living away from the full implications of life. They are living in a dream world. I'd call this "constraining." I'd call this holding back. But then there's this "in choice and action" part. It still isn't relevant..if you are constraining something, you are holding back some choice or action. You aren't living the way you should. Life isn't meant to be lived internally. It's meant to be lived both inward and outward." Again, you're limiting yourself to the physical realm, locking yourself into physicality. You are not open to the idea of pure consciousness. Pure consciousness, might I add, is the ultimate step of being. You achieve pure consciousness when you have mastered the physical realm. Look at Buddhism or Hinduism. That's pure consciousness. Mitch, I think your problem is, you don't like things that aren't what you think. You need to broaden your horizons and not limit yourself to a belief of only the physical and none in the mind. The mind is infinitely more powerful than any physical weapon or feat of physical strength. The Matrix was on last night...much better than I remember it to be, probably because I was comparing it to Reloaded. The Matrix was a movie. Reloaded wasn't. What's the point of bringing in The Matrix, you ask? "Free your mind." "Don't think you are, know you are." Meaning, stop limiting yourself, dammnit (lol). Think outside the box. Stop thinking about something and know it for once. There's a phrase..."being and becoming." You're still in the process of "becoming." No offence. EDIT: ?And I also suggest that you seek the help of a psychologist. You're too happy. You're a zealot whereas I'm a pragmatist.? I look on the bright side of things, and have achieved Computational Capacity. That?s your definition of ?too happy?? You?re tossing around ?pragmatist? there. You?re not based in reality. You believe you know more about life and the world than those who have experienced it? You curse your writing instructors off because you?re offended when they give you some important and sensible editing advice? Forgive me if I fail to see how you?re grounded in reality. EDIT2: Baron, I'll talk to you over AIM. This has gotten Off-Topic and if I further reply, it will just go more Off-Topic.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mitch [/i] [B][size=1] Living inside your mind is still not nothingness. It is still not ""the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." Only non-existence, in my thinking, can be that.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Mitch, NO. If one is truly able to live within one's mind, then they are MOST DEFINITELY of "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." Unlocked mental potential is the ultimate form of freedom. Think about it. When one is able to live within one's mind, they are free. They have escaped EVERY necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. In essence, it's a transcendence of physical rules...a pure consciousness...the kind of consciousness that's capable of traveling the universe, much like Star-Child. In a sense, it's very similar to Neo, too. Neo becomes...Neo achieves full potential and thus is not limited by any rules or constraints. Also, "freedom" is NOT nothingness, for the very fact that freedom in one's mind is not nothingness. "The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action" is not nothingness, far from it, in fact. It is purity of life. The core essence of what life is or should be. And you are saying that the core of life is nothingness? You are depressed. I suggest you seek counseling.

?The Man Known As Travis? Travis Dobbs. The name isn?t much to look at, but there is more than just the name. The man behind the name is so much more. You may look at his name and think, ?Boy, is he boring.? Not at all. There are many layers to the man known as Travis Dobbs. For example, did you know that he doesn?t know any martial arts? Do you know that he?s not considered deadly, but yet the British Secret Service classifies him as a lethal weapon? Do you know why? I certainly don?t, but I suspect it has something to do with his secretive nature. He has been leading two lives. In one, he is a mild-mannered reporter who pays his rent and taxes, assists the elderly, cleans up after himself, and generally is a well-behaved gentleman. He respects his female co-reporters, opens the door for them, and even gets them coffee. Each person who meets Travis is amazed at how polite and reserved he is. They are amazed that there could be someone that nice and that concerned with others? well-being. Travis Dobbs? reporter is an anomaly. How could someone be that nice all the time? Surely there must be more than just this nerdy-looking, timid, meek reporter, right? Correct. As said before, Travis Dobbs leads two lives. The first is the boring, mild-mannered reporter named Ken Silverback, but the secret life, Travis? second home, is that of mystery, intrigue, danger, sex, violence, and trips to the Zoo. Travis Dobbs is a secret agent. Actually, no. He used to be a secret agent, employed with the BSS, but the life of a mercenary is much more fun. Though Travis enjoyed the British life, excitement was lacking. Being a secret agent did allow for trips to exotic locations, where he would have relations with many, many beautiful exotic women, but after his third bout with conjunctivitis of the groin, Travis decided the spy game was not for him and withdrew from the BSS. When he became a free agent, the recruitment offers came pouring in. Okay, maybe it was only one or two, and more like a trickle. BUT, regardless of how many or how few agencies tried to recruit Travis Dobbs, he refused. He was on sabbatical in Italy and would not be disturbed by spies and their kin. Travis sat in an Old Italian restaurant, musing over a bottle of red or a bottle of white. He supposed it all depended on his appetite. He looked over the menu, checking out the cute Italian waitresses. Boy, they were beautiful. Travis felt tightness in his pants and was quickly reminded of his previous venereal diseases. His eyes shifted back to the menu. One must be weary in Italy, as the espionage industry is more alive in Rome than anywhere on the globe. As Travis? eyes scanned over the menu, they failed to notice a fat man entering from the kitchen. The fat man held something at his side, something that glinted in the light, possessing a surface of a metal and reflective nature. Travis stirred his coffee nonchalantly, adding just a spoonful of sugar to the wonderful brew. He lifted his spoon, shaking off the droplets of the caffeine mixture and saw a most frightening reflection of a fat man coming at him with a butcher knife. Travis kicked his chair out of the way, being sure to take one last sip before the coffee was flung into the fat man?s face. The coffee scalded the fat man spectacularly with a hiss that was drowned out only by the fat man?s screams. Travis kicked the fat man in the groin, sending him to the floor. A plate of lasagna caught Travis? eye, then smashed down onto the fat man?s head. The fat man was still moving, so the frying pan came next. The fat man stopped moving after that and Travis made a hasty exit. You?d be surprised what kind of reactions you get in Italy when you kill a fat man in an Italian restaurant. No reaction. Weird, huh? He killed a man in a public place, but nobody said anything! I guess it?s OK now that Michael Corleone did it. Travis reached his villa, his mind racing with possibilities. It had been a long time since he killed a man, and it felt just as, if not more, marvelously delicious, even more delicious than the pasta he had eaten earlier. It was then that he decided to go back to work. He contemplated going back to the BSS, or maybe accepting a position at another agency, but loved the excitement of being on his own, being his own boss. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to do freelance assassination. He was going to be Travis Dobbs, Professional Killer. He wanted a particular style, too. Something sensual yet strong, comforting yet violent. He had always been fond of the snakes at the Zoo, marveling at their grace and purity. He especially loved spending time in front of the Cobras and Vipers. Separated, they were mere annoyances--paperweights, if you will--but together they were deadly. They could down a man in seconds. Travis loved this idea more and more. He would become a snake, a majestic killer, and one whose eyes were as strong as the venom of the tongue. He recalled the ancient man he had met in China, the one who had given him a special leather case with that special inscription on the side. It was an ancient Chinese proverb. Travis unzipped a special compartment of his suitcase, pulling out the leather case. He looked at it in awe. It was beautiful, even more beautiful than the cute Italian waitress of earlier in the story. The leather was aged to perfection; even more perfect than the wine Travis had sipped earlier. Travis ran his fingers over it; stopping at the inscribed calligraphy. It said: ?Within holds the tools of destruction, Within this case resides anti-construction. Within lay weapons from an earlier day, Weapons that are not for play. These are the deadlies, These are the killers, To be held when the holder is here, To be held when the holder is near. Unlatch the clasp to accept Cobra and Viper.? The lock unsnapped easily, and the case opened, revealing a pair of the most glorious handguns Travis had ever seen. They glowed, sending waves of golden light dancing in Travis? eyes. Cobra and Viper were light for their strength, sliding into Travis? holsters. He looked into the mirror, and realized who he was: TwinSnakes.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mitch [/i] [B][size=1] Just look at PT's sig. Tell me something doesn't need to be done and I'll slap you full of slaps and clap my name all over your halo. Or something.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Got an issue? Here's a tissue. Life is teh suck. Get a helmet, buck. Mitch, stop being a little *****. (Hey, that rhymes! You must hate it because of that!) ;) Seriously, I ignore your pointless and inane posts (and there have been a few lately), why not ignore my (supposedly) pointless and (supposedly) inane signature? There are more important things than getting pissy over a sig, Mitch, including becoming an actual writer and not just being someone who thinks of themself as a writer (

I took the liberty of giving you a hand. Reworked your design in Paint. Stuff can be done with it. ;) EDIT: I'll go through what I typed, as to clarify my point (though it was quite clear and understandable) [quote]1) Try using Impact font. It's the closest font I've seen to the KILL BILL lettering. 2) Mix a bit of brown into the yellow background, then smudge pen (I think that's the pen) the entire thing, or apply a scratch and noise filter. It's not bad, but it does need work. 3) I understand your comedic intent, but even comedy/parody needs a "genre grounding." Genre Grounding means a parody that still resides in the space of its source material, making it a believable comedic endeavor and not an imitation...like the original designer/writer COULD have designed/written it for fun. So, concentrate on Genre Grounding, rework the font, rework the color, and you should have a pretty nifty banner. And others have already mentioned BMP, so yeah.[/quote] 1) When you use the text tool, a window should pop-up, having pull-down menus for FONT, FONT SIZE, etc. Click the one for FONT SIZE, then find the font called IMPACT. It looks like you were using Arial, which doesn't fit KILL BILL. Impact is the closest style the public has to duplicate the KILL BILL lettering. After putting the text down, select your airbrush tool, and select white as your color. Airbrush over the lettering in a few sprays across. That should give you a neat roughed-up look to the lettering. Now, click EDIT up top, then SELECT ALL. Cut the document to the clipboard. Onto step 2. 2) Background. This starts with selecting a custom color from the color blocks down bottom. Doubleclick on any of the color boxes down there, and then click on custom color in the following window. Just get a balance between yellow and brown, then fill the background of your document with it. After filling the background with your custom color, go BACK INTO the custom color configuration and get a yellow/brown mix that's lighter than the first custom color you chose. Now, go back to your document, select your new custom color and select the airbrush tool, with the airbrush tool on the largest setting. Zoom into the document as closely as possible, then spray the airbrush onto the document. Try to get it in even columns. On average, there are 3 bursts top to bottom. That should give you a neat roughed-up effect to the background. Now, paste the lettering in. You'll have some white splotches here and there, so zoom in all the way and use the pencil tool to get rid of them, by either coloring them black or sucking up the yellowish/brown around there and coloring them with that. I believe that's all I did to get it. Good luck.

::nods:: Try using Impact font. It's the closest font I've seen to the KILL BILL lettering. Mix a bit of brown into the yellow background, then smudge pen (I think that's the pen) the entire thing, or apply a scratch and noise filter. It's not bad, but it does need work. I understand your comedic intent, but even comedy/parody needs a "genre grounding." Genre Grounding means a parody that still resides in the space of its source material, making it a believable comedic endeavor and not an imitation...like the original designer/writer COULD have designed/written it for fun. So, concentrate on Genre Grounding, rework the font, rework the color, and you should have a pretty nifty banner. And others have already mentioned BMP, so yeah.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Zidargh [/i] [B][color=silver]I don't know about the single player aspect, I really enjoy KotOR so I recommend that, also if you want an interesting, more realistic RPG, Shenmue 2's for you. As you are interested in a simple Mulitplayer, try [i]Kung Fu Chaos[/i] that leaves room for button mashing, it's simple and humorously enjoyable with cartoon graphics, according to a friend that is. See I did some very own research for you, ^_^. Hope I helped.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Zidargh, you read my mind. I now have an Xbox, purchased it last Friday. I got KOTOR and Deathrow (in which I immediately cheated to unlock everything). I rented Kung Fu Chaos and ToeJam and Earl yesterday, both of which are insanely fun. The lunacy of KFC is remarkable. Nutty directors, collapsing levels, even the mini-games are hilarious ([spoiler]saving falling stuntmen as they're thrown out from a second-story barfight!!![/spoiler]). TJ&E has that demented sense of humor that I love (little girls having to punish their teddies...). I figure Kung Fu Chaos and ToeJam and Earl are going to be my next purchases. But what disappoints me about Xbox, lack of FPS. The only one I'd play is Timesplitters 2, but I have it for cube. Any FPS suggestions? It doesn't have to be revolutionary or ground-breaking, but it has to be fun, possibly in keeping with the lunatic multiplayer excitement of KFC or Deathrow.

Is this a not-so-subtle hint to shorten my siggy? lol. I'll shorten it, to set a shining example in these dark times. Look well, Alex, for it is your sacred quest to shorten your siggy. I'm not bothered by long sigs, in fact, I enjoy seeing what kind if idiotic AIM excerpts people put in there. But, if the majority wants their browsers to display better, then I agree to trim my sig, much like how women trim certain areas, I will trim my special area.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by lea2385 [/i] [B][COLOR=royalblue] the other night, i was watching a news show (dont remember what it was called, but, it had dan rather as an interviewer) anyways, they were interviewing toby keith, a country singer. i wasnt paying any attention, untill they were talking about his controversial lyrics of late. toby keith sang some lyrics of a new song that he wrote, something about taliban... what shocked me was when his lyrics started to sound like he was making fun of the islamic relgion! dan rather picked up on the tone, and asked "your lyrics sound like your demeaning the islamic relgion....what do you say to that?" toby keith said "hey, its what all of america feels" *grins hugely* do you thing that freedome of speech can be taken too far? take into consideration, jon stewart of the daily show, and southpark. they make fun of contorversial issues, but, most people find them funny.... what do you guys think?[/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] 1) Toby Keith = just as stupid as the Dixie Chicks. I now throwout whatever credibility he MAY have had simply because he disagreed with Dixie Chicks. [quote][commercialized patriotism]"hey, its what all of america feels" *grins hugely*[/commercialized patriotism][/quote] That comment is from what the southern folk like to call, a "grinning fool." The song is nothing new, nothing original. The rhymes are painfully trite, too. Charles, you and I think alike a bit too much these days. Keith is exploiting the majority's opinion. Hell, I don't even think the...what's the correct term these days...Pro-War? Pro-Bush? Anti-terrorist? Anti-Afghan? Anti-Taliban? Pro-Life? Whatever those still-supporting-the-"US of A"-going-and-blowing-the-living-****-out-of-a-foreign-land want to call themselves this month, I think there's more of a balance now of anti vs pro. Last I checked a few different surveys, the difference was within 8%. Of course, surveys aren't totally representational of the whole, as a group of 2000 could have been surveyed, and 2000 is certainly not the number of people in this country. But anyway, I think it is incredibly pompous of Keith to say that. He, like many other musicians and entertainers, is still trying to capitalize off of a 2 year old historical event, preying on (some) of the public's fears, to write what? This. [quote]Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) (Toby Keith) American girls and American guys We'll always stand up and salute We'll always recongnize When we see Old Glory flying there's alot of men dead So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our head My daddy served in the Army when he lost his right eye But he flew a flag out in our yard till the day that he died He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister, and me To grow up and live happy in the land of the free Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack A mighty sucker punch came flying in from somewhere in the back Soon as we could see clearly through our big, black eye Man,we lite up your world like the 4th of July Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist And the eagle will fly and its gonna be hell When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you Brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue Justice will be served and the battle will rage This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage You'll be sorry that you messed with the US of A Cause we'll put a boot in your *** it's the American way Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist And the eagle will fly and its gonna be hell When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you Brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue Ohhh Of the red, white, and blue Ohhh[/quote] Even ignoring "Freedom of Speech," this song should not be aired. It's simply terrible writing, and if radio stations are indeed giving this crap airtime, then that's the crime, not a country bumpkin expressing his [i]opinion[/i], however horribly inane it might be. As for South Park and Daily Show, great shows. They inject fun into current issues, they show...a humanity to boorish news. I actually make a note of one of my teacher prep classes here at Rutgers. The class...sucks. The teacher is more or less, a robot, and she is in the position to teach US how to teach. The class material is boring enough as it is (we've talked about the same thing since September...), but the way she presents it makes it even more drab. Now, how does this relate to South Park and Daily Show? If my instructor had the performance sensibilities and humor of SP and DS, the class would rock. That's an important part of teaching. You need to ENGAGE your students. This is where SP and DS are actually educational. They present issues, inform us, but yet entertain so that we are more inclined to watch. I go to DS and CNN Headline News for most of my news. I can't stand FoxNews. Once in a blue moon will I flip on MSNBC. I love DS for another reason, too. They KNOW their material is ridiculous and thus camp it up. How often do you see a serious subject on DS? Not too often, lol. On FoxNews, they don't seem to realize how ridiculous they sound. That bugs me. About Freedom of Speech, it's like alcohol: It needs to be taken in moderation. Come to think of it, Freedom of Speech IS alcohol. When you imbibe large amounts of beer, what happens? You exercise more Freedom of Speech. And what do we say when people use something to an extreme? They're getting drunk on it. Drunk on power, for example. Yes. Freedom of Speech is alcohol, to be taken in moderation.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Vegitto4 [/i] [B]Cloricus is from Austrailia(sp?). Homecoming is the fall formal for most highschools. It is supposed to be a celebration for college freshman to return home to see old friends. It has gotten way out of hand, so now it's not even for that anymore. There is typically a homecoming football game the night before, and it is supposed to be against a team that that school would beat. This is not always the case however. Such as My game. That's pretty much it Understand it now cloricus? [/B][/QUOTE] Vegitto, I do agree with you that homecoming has gotten out of hand, but the "college freshmen returning home" thing still happens. In my hometown especially, if I happen to make it to the homecoming football game, there are quite a few alumni there. But yes, Spirit Week, Homecoming Game, Homecoming Dance, getting shoved into a cafeteria (that's how it was at good ole Cinnaminson)...whooptiedoo, lol. It's odd, but I see more of my alumni people at Music Department concerts. Interesting, because at an event "Homecoming," in which alumni generally show up in mass numbers, there are very few alumni compared to a musical concert in the winter or spring...very strange. Homecoming at my high school was usually all bark and no bite. The build-up to this fall dance was MASSIVE, as every Spirit Week is. I go as far as to say, overhyped. I'm not as easily impressed as others--something REALLY needs to be exceptional for me to get my skirt knocked up, and Spirit Week and Homecoming just...never did anything for me.

Let's examine the game, shall we? 1) Announced a long while back. 2) Delayed a lot. 3) Pretty much NO advertising...meaning a "hush hush" release. 4) Upon release, it was a budget title, meaning 20 dollars or less. When a video game meets those 4 criteria, it's a very safe bet that the game is inferior. I figure it's a weekend rental. The show was hilarious...up to a point. Then it just got ridiculous, so I'm not really eager to play the mediocre (most likely) video game adaptation of a mediocre show.

Very nice work. The colors are bold, crisp and very...colorful. lol. I do see what you mean by the cropping issue. The outline of the orange hair still has a bit of...grime on it. I don't know if PSP does layers, but if it does, you can still rework that isolation. My only crit is about the lettering. I'd say raise the opacity of the lettering, get "Kenshin" to show more starkly against the red outfit. If you do have layers, move the lettering to the front. If it's pure white, turn the opacity down a bit. Find a balance between the "Kenshin" and "Kaoru." Nice work, though. Kudos. 9/10

One thing...the problem [i]might[/i] stem from cookie settings on your browser. I've been having banner trouble on Rutgers computers...stuff not animating, not showing, etc. I'm pretty sure Rutgers has a different cookie setting, denying certain browser abilities. Just a thought.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Molleta [/i] [B][color=green]I was that girl in high school, music drama, debate. Oh yeah, I was cool...*saracasm* I did choir half way through college too. I love it still. As to tha allocation of unds, true arts don't get enough money, but nothing does right now. Seeing as all threse activities at the Jr. high/high school level are elective, mandatory things come first: books, science supplies, electricity bills... States are crunched right now, and there's no where for money to come from. If I had my way, music of some kind, even if it is an appreciation class would be required. The world is dreary without art.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] "I was that girl in high school, music drama, debate. Oh yeah, I was cool...*saracasm*" If I was able to be cool in high school, then anyone can be cool. ;) Our experiences are eerily similar, Molleta. I was a huge Drama Geek/Music Dork. The music hall/auditorium was my second home, especially on those uber-hot days in May and June. While the rest of your unfortunate [non-music] classmates are sweltering in the unbearable heat throughout the rest of the school, you can escape down to the nice, cool, relaxing Chorus room...a room that never drops below and never rises above 65 degrees. :D I was in my high school choir for 3 years, never achieving any particular choral honor, but my name was known throughout the music hall. Let's just say I, along with 3 of my music friends, left our mark on that music department. To this day, we are still spoken of in LEGEND. Really awesome stuff. The Big Four is legendary. Thanks to RPCrazy spreading the good Estonian Gospel, I live on in the halls of CHS Music. The trees whisper of adventures long ago, Relaying events teeming with electricity. The walls occasionally pulse, still feeling the Strain of the enormity of The Big Four. We were giants, and our footprints Are forever marked into the ceiling Of that long and gracious Music Hall. The Band Room houses memories Of insectoid attackers, both live and plastic, The live buzzing and tormenting The Big Four. We thus tried to slay, but After spending a long while In our attempts to kill the buzzy beast, We ask, "Just how many high school seniors does it take to kill a fruit fly?" The answer, we all concluded, "More than four." What be the plastic insectoid? It be the hidden Transformers of Scott, The Transformers that Paul had hidden Numerous times, sending them into Countless nooks and crannies, Eager for Scott to then go search for them. These searches were legendary, For Scott was one of The Big Four. Who am I? I am the one who announced our presence. I was the barker, I was the bard. It is I who have recorded our adventures, But not only I. Scott has taken a hand in the scribing, Crafting film epic about our janitor, The one and only Charlie Wollack. We did have a joyous time in music, And our marks were left very well, As we knew how to leave marks. After all, we would not have been Righteous Cinnaminsonians If we had no knowledge of how to Leave notice of our presence. Those walking the hall may detect an, An aroma of an odd nature, They may hear a scratching coming from High in the rafters. We have been there. They are hearing what we inflicted. By chance, should one examine the organ pit, They would find a most secret area, A restricted place only privy to those With Python in them. Stores of uniforms and weapons could be found there, But only we, The Big Four, know of the secrets buried within, Buried below the stage, And only we have knowledge to unlock the treasurestore. Though our funding was most lacking, We still achieved much backing, Through blackmail and the like. Our footage is disturbing, Videos no man nor woman should endure, But kick yourself now, come inside, and lock the door, As we show you what we found. Cross-dressings, sexual advance, Many discarded pairs of pants. Intragender kissing, Sight of the camera they were missing, And now they pay us fifties every week. As you can or cannot see, There are ways to get money, You just need the camera to record.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Charles [/i] [B]But, it might prove useful if you would provide us with a specific genre of games you?re interested in. That way I?ll able to narrow down my suggestions and save myself the time of describing titles you might not even have the faintest interest in. [/B][/QUOTE] lol. Good call, Charles. Let's see... Considering that the Xbox will be primarily singleplayer use, a stellar singleplayer game is required. I figure KOTOR fills that. I'm going to be spending a lot of time...playing with myself (LOL), as the deathmatches with my gaming compatriots are few and far between. As for the multi aspect...my friends and I love arcade style gameplay, with a healthy dose of comedic, cartoon violence liberally added on. I find that we have the most fun with almost...button mashers...games that are furiously intensive and leave us little time to breathe. Our motto is..."Fast games, fast women, fast fingers."