AzureWolf

[COLOR=blue]I... can't believe what I'm hearing. "Incest is wrong, but who are we to stop it from happening?!" Let's talk about social contract for a moment. Every society (something in which every person - especially if you can read this - is in) has a social contract. To say that one has no responsibility by this contract and can also willingly bring into it an irregular person is ludicrous. You are potentially creating a life that will more than likely suffer. I don't see how you CAN'T make that illegal. "You know what, it's wrong for people to strut around society naked, but who are we to stop them?" or "You know, it's pretty messed up for people to fling dung everywhere, but who are we to stop them?" How silly! There's no logic supporting "we have no right as a society that maintains each others' existence to make any compromise" (the statement itself even, I hope you realize, isn't logical in the least).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I think he meant "a short point with purpose than a lengthy post with no point." If that's the case, then I agree. I don't know if anyone's noticed, but there are quite a few members whose post size is large for the sake of being large. I've read posts that just go in circles until it ends and ultimately, you have a post that the thread neither benefited or was hurt from. You'll see this most in controversial threads, where someone wants to input their opinion and look big, but in actuality, they say nothing. "I have no strong feelings either way." However, because of the pointlessly large size of the post, people don't pick up on how pointless the post was, and go about praising it for its inertness. It's annoying to read so many of these, especially when you are skimming around for some good content.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I'm in the same boat as Lady A. I have the attention span of a - oh, look, a bird! I don't tend to have the "confused plot/story" phenomenon as the books I usually read are wholly different from one another. Some are abstract, having no story but only theory or concepts, others are stories, and still others are informational material. For instance, I'm currently reading [i]On Bullshit[/i] by Frankfurt; [i]Laser: the Inventor, the Nobel Laureate, and the Thirty-Year Patent War[/i] by Taylor; [i]Theories of Personalities[/i] by Schultz; [i]The Greatest Benefit to Mankind[/i] by Porter; [i]Piano for Dummies[/i]; and one other Piano book (and yes, these are for my leisure and not school). Well, in this case, only one of the books has a story (the Laser one). Even that, though, is just a dramatized retelling of true events. The point is, though, I might read a sci-fi book and some Renaissance book at the same time, but never two Renaissance books.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I'm still alive, and reading every post, but it feels useless posting since everyone discusses better than I do. T_T That, and I have no time, heh. Anyway, I just checked out AnimeFringe again. Everyone should really head over to this month's mailbox section to read only a fraction of the e-mails they recieved regarding FMA. Unfortunately, none of them really hit the problems with her article. Regardless, I thought it was amusing the way her arrogance can be seen just from her responses to these. *nods* It was such a promising article, but she just got too desperate. Ah well... As for Dagger's question about the end, the black screen and the credits rolling was the "alternative ending." They had a military-style theme at the beginning, which was suitable. Then they went back to the first ending song if I remember correctly. (OT: I don't think any ending works as well as the first one did/does.)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]There's a group of scientists that have had the world screaming for gay rights ever since they concluded that homosexuality is indeed genetic. While I fail to see how this justifies homosexuality since it's a "defect" and not an allele, the claim basically states that there's a gene on the X chromosome that codes for a particular protein used in a certain part of the brain (sorry for the lack of specifics). In the case of homosexuals, this gene is different (or altered, mutated, or defective), and so proper cerebral development is not possible, resulting in a sexually confused person. Of course, that's what the claim is. Some of the researchers believe that more than one gene on the X chromosome is responsible, making homosexuality a more complex genetic disorder (hinting at the concept of homosexuality being a type of anticipation and also a safety mechanism). However, those scientists that have done the research haven't really shown anything to prove it. They say they did research to determine whether or not sexual preference is predetermined by genes. But to date, their experimental method and data have not been released, so one can consider it merely speculation for the time being. It's been quite a few months since then - maybe even a year, so the study's specifics might have finally been released. I just haven't bothered to check up on those guys, heh. Box Hoy, that sounds like Freudian philosophy. I personally think that's a load of crock. While I agree that experiences and oneself can influence his/her sexual orientation, I don't think it's limited solely by your past experiences. Rather, I think it'd be interesting to see what was going on during the present, when a person realizes his/her sexuality. I'm betting that has just as much influence as past experiences, genetics, and ones' consciousness do.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Everyone has a different definition of incest. When it comes down to your immediate family, there's no doubt that it should be illegal. Even on a genetic/scientific level, one can consider it forbidden. However, things get a little sticky when you get to cousins and the extended family. I don't really approve of the marrying your cousin thing, but there's technically nothing wrong with it. It's a hard case, simply because there's no clear, flat-out deleterious problem. Also, it does depend on how close (genetically) they are to you. In fact, isn't that all it comes down to? O_o Maybe it's circumstantial? I imagine that if you didn't grow up with them, they'd be more attractive or something. *shrugs*[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Connection speed isn't really an issue when you are watching something weekly. However, that difference in speed really adds up when you download in bulk (i.e., an entire season/series at once). Also, you might not download movies all that often, since they range from 700 MBs to 4 GBs. So, if you are willing to sit down and watch only 1-3 episodes per week of an anime, a 38.8kbps connection is more than good enough.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]GIFs can only be 256 colors. You can pick which 256 colors, so it helps to have a small degree of "rainbow" on your banner if you want something animated or in GIF format for whatever reason. Also, GIFs (and PNGs) are the only file type that allow for transparency, and some automatically have black set as the color that is transparent. Maybe that's the problem?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]That really sucks, Dagger. At you least you took a bullet for other people who unknowingly went into that thread. What an evil thread that was... so many unnecessary victims... *nods* It took the right stuff to come out of there alive. Anyway, I didn't really see the events of episode 25 coming. However, there was one point where I thought about the possibility. I don't remember what episode # it was (it was a pretty early one), but it was the one where [SPOILER]the Fullmetal Alchemist officially fights the Flame Alchemist. When Hughes was the announcer, and he pulled up a picture of his daughter, I laughed, very amused. Then I thought, "Ah geez, it would really suck if he ended up dying." He's simply an amazing character, heh.[/SPOILER][/COLOR]

[quote name='Dagger']Last night's episode was kind of annoying. :animesigh[/quote][COLOR=blue]If anyone else said that, I would have immediately concluded that all the hype was why the conclusion seemed to sucked. People tend to impress or put more emphasis on things that aren't there. However, you know better. I say it was the bad dubbing. Overacting is just as bad as underacting. In this case, it made the scene much more dramatic than it was in the Japanese version. And with what little sample size we have (Lunox, you, and myself), it's looks like it was obvious that was the only thing that was on Ed's mind in that scene in the Japanese version, while the US version really overdoes dramatic moments (I'm pretty sure I complained about the terrible crying at the end of the chimera episode). You were very zealous and anxious about the scene, while both Lunox and I didn't put much emphasis on it. Also, I saw that episode where the voice actor seems to be choking, haha. One last thing I will say. Lunox pointed out that people complain that Ed never changes. This complaint might be, in part, due to the fact that [SPOILER]Ed has his goals, his morals, and virtues set in stone all for the sake of his brother. He'll be darned if anything - the truth or reality - will stop him from keeping his promise to his brother. All of this was etched on the day of their transgression[/SPOILER]. More elaboration might border on spoiler, and I'm not sure where I'm going with it, heh. Oh, and Lunox, I don't want any more of the movie revealed to me! =P Otherwise I would discuss it more. Although, I'm curious: [SPOILER]what does it matter what Al or Ed wear[/SPOILER]? O_o[/COLOR]

[QUOTE]I don't think that anime chick is actually in any anime... Ive never seen her.[/QUOTE][COLOR=blue]Correct. It's fanart for the Ragnarok Online game. This Crusader fanart is from a hentai CG set called X-Ration by some popular hentai artist (I think he goes by the name of "oxo" aka "hug kiss hug" O_o). He tends to draw very "meaty" characters, and if you could see the original picture, this one is quite chubby as well. I'd be the last one to complain about this color, but I really am sick of how blue these forums are. There's apparently more skins on the way, so there's no need to complain anymore since something is being done about it.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]For Japanese dubbing, everyone sounds the same to me. So I can't say I have much of a preference when it comes to the original dub. For the english, I would prefer not to recognize someone. If not for the fact that I don't want to picture someone other than the character onscreen, then for the fact that one is much more objective to dubbing quality. I hate it when I recognize a voice and can attach a face to it. It helps to not keep up with the names of people and actors, haha.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I have this one neat little parchment (all celtic style - paper and font), that has something similar to a reminder. It's entitled "On This Day" and says a ton of stuff that one should do. It's very neat and poetic: [i]"Mend a Quarrel. Search out a forgotten friend. Forego a debt."[/i] However, it ends rather erratically: [i]"Speak your love. Speak your love again. Speak your love once more."[/i] I know it's not music, but how you talk about "Open Your Heart" reminded me of it. As far as anime music goes, Naruto's "Go!!!" Opening must have been the most upbeat song I've heard for quite a while. Whenever I needed to pep myself up, I would put that song on. For some reason, it just hasn't had the same effect on me as it did four months before. "A Little Plate's Rondo" is a great song that I still put on from time to time. It has a "playful, relaxed" feel to it. It's nice to use whenever I am tense and need to take things a little less seriously. Although, like "Go!!!," this song hasn't really been hitting the spot for the past four months. As you can see, I can't find any anime music I can currently "connect" with. In fact, it's been hard for me to [B]any[/B] find music that I want to listen to. The only thing anime-related that I've been listening to as of late has been "Liar You Lie" by Yuki Kajiura from the Noir OST I. Everything else has been Celtic music, some (most?) of which spills into the New Age genre. Celtic does get mixed up with New Age every now and then (and vice versa), but I think that's because the two usually have the same "spirit" in mind. Also, a few Contemporary pieces are in my playlist. I don't think I'll ever get sick of Celtic/New Age. It's my "fail-safe" music, haha. If this question was asked four months earlier, I would have a much better anime-related answer. :-/[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Really? Mine's bigger. :p There's seriously no need to flaunt one's illegal warez. The first two volumes of the Elfen Lied DVD make for 10 GBs alone, and I've heard of people with Terrabytes of anime on their computers. Anyway, has anyone actually watched the series and have something to say on its behalf? I remember watching the first episode and getting utterly bored by both story and concept.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]There was a Zelda anime. It used to come on early TV. It was around the time WNYW and the rest were planning to disband from cablevision's service. It was pretty good, or at least I was very much into it. I guess because of the games, and I was always waiting for Zelda II to happen in the anime. ^^; I always thought the story for that was so cool. The only thing bad about the shows were the noses. God, Link had such a snowzer on him.[/COLOR] EDIT: *flips Senny the bird for posting faster*

[COLOR=blue]Compared to your normal writing, how do you write under pressure? You know, whether it be for a contest or under timed conditions, some aspects of writing do change. A timed situation is the worst for me. Writing something instead of typing it makes timing more annoying. I think I'd write much more strongly if I could type instead of write. In addition, my handwriting tends to be sloppier than usual. There are even degrees. If I'm not sure what to write, I'm really sloppy. On the other hand, if I'm confident about my ability to write about a topic, I write a little more normally. What's funny is that I don't normally brainstorm or prewrite for regular things, whereas that's exactly what I do for timed writing and non-computer stuff.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Easy there. You can't download it legally even if it isn't licensed here. There are some countries where that's probably true, but in the US, it's not. No one is going to go after you for downloading it, true, but it's nowhere near legal.[/COLOR]

[quote name='Lore']At my dorm, you have to swipe your ID to get into the building, and again to get to the section of the building where your room is (and yet again if you want to get into the computer lab).[/quote][COLOR=blue]Given the chance, I never swipe in. At Stevens, you have to swipe your card for every building (including dorms), and I used to. Then I went to the Office of Residence Life asking about why my ID wasn't working. They were like, "It's working. You were at the library at 5:27 PM, and before that at 3:11 PM. At around 4:25, you went to the computer center, and ten minutes ago you arrived in Howe (this building)." O_O I have a similar situation as Lore. The dorms are a pain to get into, and so everyone just lets everyone else in. There's one thing I can't stand, though, and that's in the cafeteria when people think you'll just open the backdoor for them so they can come in and get free food. Why get free food from the school cafeteria instead of somewhere better will always boggle my mind.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Lunox, could you tell me specifically what the three plotholes are? FMA more than likely has plotholes, but I was wondering what they were and couldn't find it explicitly stated. ^^; For the lame writing aspect, I'll say my piece in as few words as possible. You do need some background knowledge to fully appreciate FMA, and maybe without that knowledge, some of the writing is cheesy or lame. Certainly, there were times I didn't like what a character said, but I wouldn't call it a big deal or any reason to dislike an anime. That's like saying, "Oh, he said 'a' instead of 'the' in the 24 hours I've been watching this, so now it sucks." I also don't understand the poor planning of the last few episodes. I think if people didn't know that was where the anime deviated from the manga, no one would be the wiser and this complaint wouldn't exist. Again, I would prefer actual examples rather than talking abstractly. Those things are just minor complaints at best, IMO (unless there are actual examples). The character development aspect, however, is a really annoying argument. Not so much because Edward does change, but more so because of "what's so bad about no change?" Just because a character doesn't change, does that make it bad? Why? Explain. So far, I've read the review, and I've read a ton of other complaints. Every single (seemingly good) complaint is merely [url=http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aappeal+to+authority]an appeal to authority[/url] (second definition). Ok, great, FMA doesn't follow that little graph in your 3rd grade english book with beginning, rising action, climax, and resolution. So what? To draw a parallel, it's like asking someone why they don't like their air conditioner in the window and they respond with, "Because it's not on the floor. In the store, it was on the floor." I'm not going to elaborate any further unless someone doesn't understand where I'm with this. Here's the #1 clincher: show me a show that does follow the norm, that little 3rd grade textbook diagram. What few that do probably suck. Most shows have a variation on that simple diagram, where there are multiple rising actions and climaxes, one building on the other before one defined "rising action" even completes it's climax. FMA is one of them. More importantly, what one has to understand is that these elements of a story are intrinsic to all stories, even if they try not to be. That diagram is not a "this is how a [B]good[/B] story goes" guide, but just an unchangeable law someone noticed about stories. Honestly, all of these logically unsound arguments can be tossed at any show. To put it simply, I'd like to know the shows that those who complain about FMA consider good, and then will gladly expose the great deal of hypocrisy behind the person. Again, FMA isn't perfect. Like any show, there is more than enough to complain about. However, be wise enough to complain such that shows you do like don't have the same problems you dislike.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I think both of them are very nice. Borders are absolutely a must, though, as banners seem so weird without something surrounding them. That's all I recommend adding/changing for the first banner. As for the second banner, the pictures could be cleaner, and the one in the background could be smoother. It's not a big deal, but that's the only thing I can see improved upon. Border this one as well, IMO.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I wonder if Sara or Mimmi would agree with me, but I think Hikari in Haibane Renmei could have been removed from the show without any real impact to the quality or atmosphere of the series. Hikari does the least, and yet she appears to be the head of the Abandoned Home. Through most of the series what little tasks she does could have easily been passed on to one of the other main/supporting characters. Also, there's not much development or explanation for Hikari. Even Nemu, the sleepy one, has more story and substance than her.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]Actually, I find those "myths" to be shockingly true. If only you could have seen my myO post about the otaku who was looking for a girlfriend... I can't post the stuff here, unfortunately, as it's a little crude, and I have no desire to put up the files again. The point is, though, that there are way too many of these people. And while they may be a fraction of the anime community, they stand out too much. It's those people that non-anime fans take notice of. I have also met way too many people who believe that perfect love can only be achieved with anime characters and complain about how flawed reality is. It's a disturbing phenomenon when a person can't appreciate the beauty and splendor of other people.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]For pets (and humans even), I prefer descriptive names rather than something random. You know, a name that also describes what the animal looks like. That way, when you talk about it, there's no confusion as to whether you are talking about someone or a pet. You can even get a little creative with the names. For instance, I have (or had, before he found a mate) one brown-colored dove, and dubbed him Chocolate.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]I remember someone did mathematical research on Tetris. I don't remember who it was, nor what his algorithm looked like, but it was apparently sound. His conclusion based on his algorithm was that it was theoretically impossible to win in Tetris. By win, I merely mean never lose. The problem stemmed from one of the zig-zag pieces or something, as it created an absolutely certainty that a person would eventually "pile up" his side, even if we were to assume perfect moves and infinite playtime/health. False sense of hope seems like a negative to me. =P[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]The only time I get on OB late at night is if I wake up and decide to check my mail. I just don't stay up that late. The only reason I stay up until midnight now is [B]1.[/B] I don't get home until 10 and [B]2.[/B] Family Guy and Futurama. You know what would be cool, though? OB having a "night version" of itself. That'll get the insomniacs going! You know, like, the theme would have lights and fancy globes. The night scene will be more appealing to people and you'll find more people on, haha, and can be based on your time.[/COLOR]