Raiha

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]It wasn't that Shali didn't love Milo, and enough to the point of desiring another child with him. It was that she was afraid someday he would disappear too. Or he would die like their first little daughter did. Younger than he should have been. She sighed and leaned against his broad shoulder, the muscles clearly defined from all of the exercise he got in the fields. Shali leaned back and stared against the wooden ceiling for a little longer, then turned over on her side in her customary position, clutching the quilts she'd embroidered for them. Lulled by the gentle sound of her husband's even breathing, she too slept. The first thing she woke up to was the still warm crease in the blankets that meant Milo wasn't yet out the door. She pulled her shirt on over her head and tied the strings of her skirt across her hips the way she always did. Today she would continue the monograms she'd been commissioned to finish by Friday. The rich couple down the way was making a gift of her work to their recently wed daughter. Part of her was pleased that her work would be seen everywhere in Orsys, and displayed publicly as part of the ceremony, but the other part of her was just a little wistful of the wealth they would have for the rest of their lives. Not that her life with Milo was particularly cruel or difficult. They had enough to eat, both had found a craft that did not tire or bore them excessively. And she quietly brushed her feet over the braided rug her sister had given her, and stepped into the kitchen. He'd already stoked the fire and she rolled his lunch into the cloth that had their names embroidered along the hem. Milo stepped in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.[/i] "Bread and ham for lunch?" "And a plum from my cousin's yard." "I hope it's as sweet as you." "Oh come off it. If you really have to ask, don't you-" [i]Milo leaned down and kissed Shali's lips. Gently, then harder as she pretended to push him away. Grabbing her wrists with his weaver's hands, he bent his head down to kiss her throat, then abruptly flipped her onto her stomach, pushed down across the kitchen table. Shali pulled the hem of her skirt up around her hips for him, and sighed to herself in a vague sense of pleasure and satisfaction as he shoved up against her. No shallow foreplay or afterplay cuddling for either of them, Milo laced up his pants as Shali rearranged her skirt, which had been twisted across her stomach awkwardly when he'd picked her up and pushed her against the hearth wall. HE snatched up his lunch and raced out the door with one last quick kiss as the bells tolled the start of the workday. Cleaning off the table with a wet cloth, Shali smirked to herself, vaguely smug, vaguely still hungry for more. She poured herself a glass of milk and looked out from the kitchen window. Her threads were waiting for her.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Eater Case Study: Dr. Kekland [center]~~~~~~~~[/center] We have successfully captured an Eater and studied it's psychological extensively. Research has concluded that at least in this particular case study, there is no intelligence near to that of a human's. The personality matrix of said Eater was so fractured as to virtually unrecognizable, with different traits and emotions and memories falling into one another. Their instability not only stems from multiple fractured personalities but also from a severe paranoia of discovery. The particular Eater we apprehended was caught after an extensive chase and more than ten times the usual dose of tranquilizers to sedate. Physically mutated into an excessively muscled yet agile creature, with the tell tale eyeshine present, this particular Eater bit off it's own tongue to kill itself when it eventually realized we were going to study it further. Why do I not give it a gender? Simply because it was not even recognizable as either male or female by the time we had caught it. Further details will be released as we continue our work.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Chibi had always liked cows. Their soulful doleful big brown eyes. Their charming waddling way of walking. All the black and white and tan horns and pink noses. It was wonderful to sit on the fences and watch the cows. Aimlessly wandering from tuft of grass to the shade of the beech trees. Little did she know that the impending doom that would soon befall her. It started in the morning. Her mother asked her to feed the chickens, and she bounded out the door with the pail of grain and mash for the chicks. Her brother then asked her to take the thermos of water to her father in the fields because he wanted to gather the eggs instead of make the trek out to the cow fields himself. And Chibi did, knowing that on the way back she could make a detour from going though the corn fields to the cow pastures instead. Nobody would have to know and she could probably just fake a lizard bite. Oh the follies of youth.[/i] "So you'll do it then?" "Course I will." "I think you'll just stare at the cows all afternoon. Someone else should do it." [i]She ticked off her fingers as she listed the ways that wouldn't work.[/i] "Ma's cooking lunch, Dad's already out there, you want to gather eggs, I don't mind the walk, and Cissi isn't going to get back from school for another month." "Oh whatever." [i]So there she was, lugging the heavy thermos of water, condensation beading around the metal rim, ignoring the mud clinging to her bare toes. And she skipped along happily despite the weight. On the way back however, while watching the cows, she was headed for the house, walking backwards all the while to keep the beasts in her view. Then she tripped, fell, and landed on a hoe. Then she died of a subdural hematoma. It was quite tragic.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Eclipsed Dreamer'][COLOR="Indigo"]nice advice, but.....................it's online.:animedepr[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]An online...martial arts course. Congratulations. This bit of news has skyrocketed to "Most Nonsensical Piece of Information" that I have heard today. And when you hear about the rest of my day you'll appreciate that.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]But a bail out [i]without[/i] substantial regulatory reforms will not work longterm. The two must be tied together, otherwise this will just happen again.[/font][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Alas, the bailout went down in a furious ball of flame and rhetorical childishness. The Republicans are furious with the Democrats, the Democrats are trying to make Republicans look racist, I am not worried in the least about the future since my money is all in one place- And in other news the market will bounce back. And the bailout that just failed just now was the worst I've ever seen. It was so vague, so full of potential fine print, and for the record, right in its preamble, it stomped all over the U.S. Constitution. Go see for yourself. It was appalling.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Either wear shoes meant for martial arts or tape your toes together. You'll break them most definitely on any variety of surfaces. Remember to stretch out your knees and joints because with tae-kwon-do, those will be the first to go. Always respect your teachers and those higher ranked than you even if they are complete jerks. Learn the proper way to kneel for hours on end without letting your legs go to sleep. It'll come in handy at ceremonies.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]These were from a photographer I met at Yaoi Con 08 just this past weekend. Kaede SMITH for the win![/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Shy'][size=1]Without going into a lot of specifics, my basic belief is that the economic system [i]does[/i] work. [/size][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]But remember kids, you have to specify that it's the 'free market' system that does work. When it's meddled with, and regulated and taxed and worried into the ground by nitpickery and bothering in the government things go badly. And now we pay for it. Sarbanes Oxley. Go find out for yourself what the government ordered the U.S.'s companies to do. And remember that economic problems can not be laid solely at the feet of the people who happen to be there right when things appear to be bad. That's right. I said appear. I think this situation isn't as bad as it's being portrayed. And that the media is trying to pull a fast on us. We'll see. Now won't we?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]My favorite birthday memory is overshadowed by negative ones, but what the heck we'll run with a few good ones. I even have a picture of one good one. ....which is too big to post here. My 18th birthday had a Twister competition and even though I was the birthday girl I still won with my innate grace and balance and ability to ignore people's arses in my face. HAH! And my recently passed 22nd birthday was an event that was not party filled and instead a romantic down the coast to Orange County from San Bernardino. A good friend took me to an expensive Cannery Row restaurant in Newport Beach and we ate good seafood and cremé brulee. Definitely a good time. I'm getting to the point where 18 and 21 are over. So now it's up to me to make good parties. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Crimson Spider']What my statements "come off" as is your responsibility, Raiha. I cannot be responsible for someone else's ability to take offense to my stance. If people want to mull over my statements with broad, inaccurate straw-man generalizations like "self denial" and "arbiter of understanding", that is something I cannot stop. [/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]It is not my responsibility to clarify the entirely questionable statements you make using your opinion as the Honest To God Truth. Do you even vaguely recall the part where you said and here I'll generally quote with a little paraphrasing: "The two greatest destroyers of understanding [...] blah blah blah?" Or has that left your mind entirely? You are responsible for what you say, and if it happens to be as clear as a cloudy morning over San Francisco Bay, then it's your responsibility to admit that you can't determine exactly what destroys understanding, what motivates everyone who gets a tattoo, and that you can't in fact be right about your opinions just because you happen to think of yourself as a "multi-cultural" adult male. Whether you are or not is now open to debate since you felt it necessary to validate yourself with that statement. Amazing. You're multi-cultural? You've been to every country on earth? Seen how people from all walks of life live their lives? Lived among them and learned the ways of the Chinese, European, Japanese, Pacific Islander, Native American etc etc etc? Tell us more about how this made you qualified to tell us what normal really means and when enough is enough.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Eclipsed Dreamer'][COLOR="Indigo"]Yes, but he didn't say that. That's kinda cold in my mind. Anyway..... no one's to judge who has enough tattoos. It's that person's opinion. So I'm thiniking in Crimson Spider's mind, he thinks that some people have more than enough tattoos. what's wrong with that? oh, and by the way.....rob rotten kinda freaks me out. and why is he flicking someone off again???:confused:[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Yes, he thinks people can have more than enough, but he can't be the one to tell people when they finally do have enough. And Rob Rotten is an adult industry kingpin. He can flip off whoever he wants. For more you can see his myspace [provided you're of age and it isn't illegal and your mother doesn't catch you]. There are some beautiful pictures of his work, his tattoos, and some of his skater gear. Again though, not a space for people under 18, or 17, or whatever the age of consent is in your state/county/province/principality.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Crimson Spider'] Now, Raiha, I am smart enough to realize that if there is something that is unpleasing to see, that I should avert my eyes. However, to do this requires acknowledgement that the unsaid thing is, indeed, displeasing to me. Whether or not I view someone who has it, then, is irrelevant; it is annoying regardless of my current exposure. The two greatest destroyers of understanding are Hypocrisy and the No True Scotsman fallacy. I would ask that everyone please evaluate what I say a little further.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Objection: Blanket statements up the yin-yang. First off, if you really are that smart you should probably rephrase your statements so they don't come off sounding like: "I am prejudiced against people with tattoos all over because they are obviously insane." Secondly who are you to judge when someone has enough tattoos? I've asked this before but since it's gone unanswered and you attempted to bury it under a snowstorm of self denial and righteous indignation I suppose it bears repeating. And because this isn't a thread about the two greatest destroyers of understanding and since you aren't the Arbiter of Understanding I suggest you leave off telling us what's what in the world of Understanding Destruction. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Crimson Spider']For the annoyance factor, I do not like having my senses assaulted with a barrage of unrelated information. If I eat chicken, I do not want every single spice in the kitchen dumped on it, for they will combine together and form a bitter and indistinguishable taste. If I am listening to music, I want rhythm and the ability to discern one instrument from another, otherwise the interference in the instruments will cause any uniqueness to be lost in a haze of white noise. If I am looking at a painting, I do not want to have every color mixed in to every spot, for they will interfere with each other and cause a brown color to emerge. It is the same with tattoos. People covered in tattoos that are too random (I have seen some rather elaborate mosaics before) to distinguish them as individual or a group at any distance but point blank range behave as large gray spot in my vision. Uncomfortable, unwelcomed, and meaningless "noise" in my vision.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Nobody asks you to stare at them for hours and hours. Are you saying you would not hold discourse with one covered in tattoos and piercings regardless of their intelligence? Rob Rotten is covered in tattoos and yet he's an intelligent [if morally void] human who is fun to talk to and talk business with. He's said it himself. He's a collector. He gets work done on himself from artists he's worked with and collaborated with on his movies. You'd be uncomfortable speaking to him? Or to the girls with mosaics on their backs?[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR="Red"] [SIZE="1"]~Disclaimer since you forgot to put one Raiha dear, we don't need you [I]adding[/I] to it either so I trimmed that one out. Anyway, don't look at the full version people if being flipped off offends you~ Indi[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[quote name='Indi'][COLOR="Indigo"]You know, for those people who claim to have been abducted and so forth and yet [I]don't actually drink[/I]. Saying someone had to have been drunk doesn't really address it very well. =P[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well those people tend to be schizophrenic or manic depressive or some other kind of insanity. It's quite tragic. But I've heard people on talk shoes talking about it and they all say the same thing. It's very disturbing actually because they're all completely assured that it's happened to them. And they always have friends who are 'completely normal but after it happened to them' blah blah blah. They're why we call them the 'tinfoil hat club.' The tinfoil keeps the aliens from READING THEIR MINDS![/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='James']I think when some people talk about being probed they're actually recalling a drunken night in a sleazy motel, rather than the interior of a space ship.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]*snerk* Well it's possible that other life may exist, but drawing on what I remember from my Astronomy courses, it'd probably be very different from ours. It's entirely possible that non carbon based life forms exist on other planets in other solar systems and not in our little unfashionable end of the Milky Way. Hypothetically they would be gas based, or enormous jellyfish style creatures. Personally I'd welcome those. I think I saw them in a Chronicles of Riddick comic...[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Eclipsed Dreamer'][COLOR="Indigo"]No, you're not at all wrong. I believe that people have a right to do whatever they want to their bodies, but also people should have respect for their bodies as well. the body wasn't made to be a canvas. a few tattoos and a few piercings are fine, as crimson spider said, but don't go overboard with it. when crimson spider said he was going to keep himself pure..........i agree. but i don't beleive that keeping yourself pure is arrogance against all piercings. if someone has the right to do with they want with their body, it's their right to keep themself pure, too; [I]without[/I] being arrogant.:catgirl:[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Pure implies you are somehow better than those with any sorts of modifications. You can respect your body while it is still inked and covered in tattoos. Not everyone with tattoos on their bodies is an utter fool. Keeping yourself unaltered, keeping yourself from needles and ink. Those are ways to say that you're just not comfortable with it yourself. How do you know what the body was and wasn't made for? Are you God? The Arbiter of all that is meant to be?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Crimson Spider']I plan to keep myself rather pure in regards to piercings. What annoys me is when people go on a crazy insane, unrestrained war against the plain for some claim to fame. The majority of people I know who do it don't have a theme. They just "sleeve out" with a bunch of random tattoos of cultural icons and common memes.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'm not sure where you're living right now, but it can't possibly be California. Even if they're just 'sleeving out' they're also using their body as a canvas, and that's its own art. That can be its own theme. And for the people I know who have many tattoos, many might look like random sleeves, but just because they don't take the time to go chapter and verse through every meaning with every line doesn't mean there isn't some. Saying you're going to keep yourself pure by the way, implies a sort of arrogance against all piercings and belies a sort of prejudice. Not that there's anything truly wrong with that, but on the other hand, it's a common theme among socially conservative people. Misunderstanding, partially a call to the "body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Am I wrong?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The doctor regarded me, then Mike, breathing shallow and fast under the starched and bleached sheets. He looked like he was going to say something, but I turned and sat again, tucking the sheets up against my brother's chest again. He didn't stir and the steady drip of the IV lines in his arms and hands made my heart tremor. I noticed my hands were shaking slightly and I tucked them under my legs and crossed them. I leaned back, murmuring the sutras for him under my breath, keeping time to the sound of the monitor's beeping. The hours passed very slowly, the tv silently blinked and flashed and struggled to make itself noticed. Kenso didn't call me, but I didn't mind. He had things to do. I had a brother to hold onto. Eventually I realized that I'd have to get home and get back to work. I stood, and checked out at the nurse's station. Mayella gave me a tired smile and I imagine mine wasn't any less exhausted. The parking structure was badly put together. I knew there had been attacks on women in the past, despite numerous strategically placed mirrors and the occasional patrol by useless rent-a-cops, but I wasn't feeling very sanguine about it. Clutching my purse like a newborn I nervously fished for my keys as I kept up a brisk pace. The sounds of cars rolling through the structure echoed and reverberated around the concrete and I forced myself to keep it at a walk instead of a run. But by the time I was finally in sight of my car it was too late. A hand clamped down on my mouth from behind and I felt my arms pinned to my sides. A voice, hoarse, whispered, came down to my ear and I went very still immediately.[/i] "That's right. Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself." [i]I didn't say anything in return, or even attempt to through the sweaty hand pressing my lips against my teeth so hard I could taste blood in the corner of my mouth. My purse was snatched from me by another pair of hands and I felt a blindfold being stretched across my eyes. Pushed into a car, slamming door, and I sat still. I could smell firing residue in the air, and the sound of someone fidgeting with the safety of a handgun, or at least I hoped it was a handgun. The car circled down to the exit and I sat patiently, silently, not sobbing just yet. Nobody had tried to rip my clothes off yet. Instead the car stopped after traveling for what felt like hours, but was probably only ten minutes. I was jerked out, and nobody spoke, but instead of hands on my mouth and arms, I could feel the muzzle of a gun pressed into the small of my back. Someone jerked me up a flight of stairs and I heard a door open and then slam shut as I was pulled through. Then I sat, and waited, and pressed my hands together under the wooden chair I'd been shoved against. Then I heard a voice. A thick accent I couldn't place, and the sound of a crazy calm that didn't belong.[/i] "What we did to your brother was regrettable. Killing little boys isn't high on our agenda. But I hope you believe me when I tell you that it was such a terrible accident." "...were the popped sutures also an accident?" [i]I heard movement, and then my vision exploded in white and red light. My ears rang from the slap, I don't know where from and I felt myself nearly tip out of the chair. Hushed whispers in a harsh tone came to me through the clanging in my head and then the voice spoke again.[/i] "Someone else is attacking your brother for reasons that have something to do with us. Not with him personally. Ask him what he saw if he ever wakes up. Then come to us." "You-" [i]I cut myself off. Someone had unzipped my purse and I heard a paper shuffling inside it. Then the sounds stopped, and I felt myself jerked upright again. Dragged out the door, down the stairs, across a walkway and back into the car. No gun this time, instead the voice had come with me this time.[/i] "You will be dropped off at a random location and find your own way home. Your car keys are still in your purse, and your car is safe where it is in the hospital. Remove the blindfold when you can no longer hear this car's engine." [i]I would've nodded, but the subtle hint of arrogance flashing through his voice seemed to know instinctively that I would obey. Eventually the car came to a stop, the brakes whining slightly with the effort and I stepped out of the car. Someone came with me, and then I felt the crush of a fist against my ribs, against my cheek, and my shoulders. As I dropped and curled up instinctively against the attack it stopped just as abruptly as it began. I heard the door slam and the engine sounds grow loud, then quiet again. I counted to ten and then raised a shaking hand to pull away the blindfold. The corner of Smith and 16th. Not my brother's territory, and I hurt too much to remember who. Dragging myself up the concrete steps of the nearest building, trying to get away from the street incase they came back and found me I held onto my purse straps with one hand and collapsed on the second flight of stairs attached to the apartment building. I was dimly aware of the sound of footsteps, and someone shouting something in Spanish, but everything seemed blurry. A hand on my shoulder made me flinch until I heard a voice and felt myself being gently turned over.[/i] "You Lil' Z's sister. Someone got you good." [i]My lower lip had already swollen up with blood and I mumbled something that I hoped sounded like "un huh." Instead I heard a girl's voice and felt myself being carried into an apartment. Then I felt a washcloth on my lip, a sting, and then a trickle of blood. A older looking Latina woman was leaning over me, patiently removing encrusted blood from my eyes and my right ear. I could hear male voices dimly, coming through almost randomly.[/i] "Kenso's...heina. ....bicho puta-" [i]She put her right hand on my eye and gently pulled it back to check the broken blood vessels, then released gently, satisfied.[/i] "I'm Roselia. My brother brought you here." "Brother?" "Eduardo." [i]My brain suddenly clicked and I reeled a little. Eduardo was a lieutenant in the Southsiders. My brother respected him enough to not get near his territory, and I felt myself shudder involuntarily. Then I remembered what I'd heard from work.[/i] "They don't rape women." "No. Not you especially. They know you neutral. They know you want to help kids." [i]By now my vision was focusing again and I could see a group of Southsiders sitting around the kitchen table playing cards and smoking so much they appeared to be surrounded by a personal fog. Eduardo himself stood up and walked over with less of a swagger than I expected.[/i] "My sister fix you up?" "Uh huh." "We drop you off at home then when you ready. You Kenso's heina?" [i]My face, however lopsided it looked, must've blushed through the bruises because he threw back his head and laughed. Then he chuckled just a little and helped me to stand up.[/i] "Come over and have a brew. Roselia'll make you somethin'." "Thanks." [i]One of his brothers stood up and let me sit at the table. Another handed me a Corona so cold it felt like it'd been stored on dry ice. Instead of opening it though I pressed it against my cheek and rested my elbows on the table, watching the men smoke and deal.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Pleas make your way there? Whatever. Anyway I made a village of weavers and shepherds if anyone wants to chill with me in said village. I need a husband?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Name: Shali Vervain Strae Age: 24 Gender: Female Village: Orsys; a village that specializes in weaving and textiles, but also in fine sewn goods. The ratio of sheep to humans is roughly 30:1, with a number of shepherds keeping things in order. Appearance: Always dresses simply, never showing off her own abilities on her body. She often wears black and purple together in a special weave her husband presented to her on their anniversary. Occupation: Seamstress; specializing in embroidery and has some knowledge of weaving. Background: Moved from Meton [Southern Montana] to Orsys [Idaho] for an arranged marriage with a weaver at the government's orders. Shali was relocated there when her talents with needle and thread became apparent in her teenage years. The government simply moved her to the closest village where she would be surrounded with the right materials to enhance her craft. In other words; she is rather busy. The move however was thinly disguised as a marriage between a weaver and sewer, with the only good news being that at least her man didn't drink, never beat her, and liked her cooking. Milo himself has been a sweet husband, but Shali keeps herself from growing too in love with him, because she knows it's only a matter of time before he's taken away from her. Her daughter was taken, the first they had when she was 19. But she's hoping this time she's pregnant again. Personality: Thoughtful, calm, contemplative, and slow to anger. Color: [color="purple"]Purple[/color] [/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='The13thMan'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]Wow... this sucks. You've just opened up a whole can of worms. And here i am, without my fishing pole! Instead, let me be blunt. Evolution > creationism. There's a lot of evidence for evolution, therefore, you are wrong. ;D[/FONT] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Objection: Subjective reasoning. Badgering a witness speaking in faith. Evolution and Creationism arguments can not be reduced to 'greater than' or 'equal to' or 'greater than or equal' to signs without infinite knowledge of life, the universe, and everything. And since you are lacking in said knowledge, you are wrong in your convictions that Sabrina is wrong. Got it memorized?[/FONT][/COLOR] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"]Ad hominem logical fallacy. Besides, i wasn't trying to be patronizing. i don't get the deal with the shift key, though... unless of course you're refering to the times i don't capitalize i. to which i respond... i don't care. =D get it? i'm still not using my shift key! sorry, sorry, i'm being a jerk now. feel free to call me on it.[/FONT] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]You're being a patronizing jerk, and a wrong act done in ignorance is still wrong. Ethical statement. If you're really sorry you'd do yourself a favor and jump-start the "shut up" filter that all guys are presented at conception. It doesn't start out turned on, so that might require a little effort on your part.[/FONT][/COLOR] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"] Beyond that, i don't know. [/font] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Ain't that the truth. If you answered Kuiper Belt, then go to the head of the class. If you didn't get that far in your Astronomy studies, go back and sit down.[/FONT][/COLOR] [font="trebuchet MS"]I never meant for this discussion to be so serious. I was only looking for other people's speculations and opinions. Of course speculation and opinion isn't worth much and isn't conclusive in any way. I think that's perfectly fine, given the subject. Even so, i do enjoy and appreciate all the opinions, even the skeptical ones. [/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]If you didn't want serious, you probably should have kept the tone light and friendly instead of accusatory and insulting. I.E. "Your feeble ideas on Creationism are nothing compared to my Science." If you wanted to express the enjoyment you receive from our indignant irritation at your absurdly pathetic logical hoop-jumping you could've just added a disclaimer to your signature. Something to the effect of: "Don't take me seriously, I love skeptics, Christians, animals, and logic. But only in the skeptical capacity."[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]You're also forgetting the part where we're also surrounded just outside our immediate solar system with enormous whizzing chunks of ices and toxic gases. Ten points if you can name for me this region that would probably prove a bit of an annoyance for any inter-galactic traveller. Just because Earth is a planet with life- and here even that begins to dissolve into a debatable topic- that doesn't mean that there can't be other planets with life. But since they have yet to engage us in any meaningful conversation and also appear to be pretty close-mouthed on the subject of whether or not we're even worth the time... ...It's a fairly safe bet we're better off discussing our more immediate problems. [Insert your own joke about dirty foreigners here].[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='The13thMan'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]Once again, Rach, you have failed to fully understand everything i've said. The existence of aliens isn't nearly as an extraordinary claim (if it actually is a claim) as you think that it is. [/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Careful now, being patronizing is a job best left to professionals and people that are generally more eloquent than you. Also helpful are people with working shift buttons on their keyboards, the ability to express opinions without being utterly convinced that differing ones are moronic, and possibly a full compliment of wits. But since you're lacking in all of the above I'll trot out the tired old one liner I had to use in Justin's thread last month or so. The most convincing proof to me thus far on the existence of aliens is that they've not tried to talk to us yet. And furthermore, gods and goddesses look strange no matter who conceives them. Jesus himself looks decidedly feminine in some renditions while hanging oddly clothed on the cross. Shiva the Pacific has a closed third eye and Shiva of Destruction has it opened. Hathor is merely a cow and woman combined into one. That's been thought up by furry artists around the world. It doesn't take aliens to imagine what gods and goddesses look like. Key word there being [b]imagination.[/b][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh I dunno, let's see. [b]Chinese New Year?[/b] Yeah that'd be my favorite. All the relatives, all the red envelopes, all of the hot pot and egg with soy sauce and sesame oil and bingshuei and taosaobao and gwo tieh and- You get the idea. It's The New Year as the moon dictates. Respect it. Know it. Love it.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I don't hate my job. Data entry and the occasional scathing e-mail written for my boss's sake to angry ex girlfriends [aka Pepper Potts but Chinese] is a rather cathartic job. I get to write, and do mindless number plugging and nonsense like that. However I'm also involved with a network marketing business that I can't link you to here for you to rip apart and insult as "La Pyramida" so what the heck. If you want to know you can ask me elsewhere. Now the business I own/am a part of is all about health first and profit later so in short, it's something I can sell without feeling like a dirty whore doing. It's not for everyone, not for lazy, uninspired, or un-teachable little snots. So you could say that while a lot of people join and try it, they ultimately fail at it because they didn't try. ANYWAY. I suppose I could tell you all I have the answer but at the risk of being attacked for sounding intolerably smug, I guess you could say I only have the answer for people who'd care to ask. The job I have now is all about wages. But the network marketing business I'm in can be summed up in two words, which I think nobody has yet to type into this thread. However they are why I'm doing this business with an eye towards profit instead of just wage. [b]Time Freedom[/b] [/FONT][/COLOR]