Raiha

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']And here I was the one who inflicted the torture on others when I was first learning to play the cello when I was younger. I'm the only one in my family who took music in any form and my older brothers seemed to be convinced that I was trying to destroy their eardrums. Their answer to my needing to practice was to complain to our parents and find new places to hide my cello.[/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh dear god. How big was your house? As I recall a cello case is roughly the size of a coffin. For a teenager. See this is why I'm glad I played on a baby grand piano. There's not enough room in any house to easily hide such a device. And on the other hand at least you were playing a cello and not a piccolo. Good luck hiding that one. Although we have this massive crawl space underneath the garage stairs that might work for an instrument of any size unless it's a double bass or possibly a timpani set.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Anomaly'][FONT="Georgia"] The most absolutely torturous part of my musical "career" were scales. If you don't know 'em, they sound ugly. And, just my luck, I never really bothered to learn them. And lady luck further decided not to look in my favour when scale testing became a major part of testing for me in high school. Memorizing orders of sharps and flats sucked enough, but playing them? Good grief. Somehow, I managed to finish with a very decent grade, all things considering.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Scale testing is normal for virtually every instrument on earth besides possibly the drums? And believe me, I know what scales are supposed to sound like but unfortunately my brother's scales sound like no scales I've ever heard. Even in jazz music. Oh yes, CK? The point is to talk about musical instruments that you've been tortured by as a product of someone else's playing, not fingernails on a chalkboard.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I'd like to think that my childhood piano playing wasn't detrimental to the mental health of others. After the initial two years of hell I finally began to play tunes recognizable by others and actually enjoyed. But now I'm 22 and I'm not forced to practice by my overbearing parents. I can play whenever I want and whatever I want and I tend to have a pretty good time doing it too. Besides, they now have my 10 year old brother to dragoon into playing but god help us, it's not the piano. It's the trumpet. And while I know he's a beginner, as in one year of experience only, listening to him play is like listening to AND watching a train slowly crash into a retaining wall. For half an hour every other day my eardrums are assailed by sounds that I would like to consider as music, but the stuff makes the angels as well as me weep. And not with joy. I'm considering finding some sound canceling headphones. Mildly expensive, but still completely worth it. Do you have siblings that play instruments that drive you insane? Did you ever have to play music that was a horrible experience for all within hearing range? You poor things.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I start off blazing a trail through the Drudge Report and then play the archived Libertarian Talk Radio that I download in the afternoon and play it while I do my data entry work. I occasionally cross check AP reports with sound bytes I hear on the radio just to see how the spin is going and for fun I google "Obama and Messiah" and see what the new news is on his Second Ascension. Occasionally I read the Washington Times and the Economist as well as the Wall Street Journal when Dad brings one home from work. Apparently I'm the only one in the house who cares. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][IMG]http://www.elite-clan.org/news/data/upimages/Starcraft-Sarah-Kerrigan.jpg[/IMG] Oh hey look, it's me after someone posted something moronic in the Lounge.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Hakuna Matata, dude. It's be like spaghetti with legs.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]And fuzz. ........The only spaghetti with fuzz that I've come close to eating was the molded spaghetti I didn't look at before I started microwaving it. Opps.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]There's something ironic about reading a vampire book because of the heartwarming ending. Let's see, now that I'm home I can re read all of those classic children's books my siblings are reading. Right now it's [b]On The Shores Of Silver Lake[/b] by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I recommend the series to anyone who somehow skipped it somewhere in their childhood. Her straightforward and forthright style of writing is refreshing and encouraging. There's hope for you yet.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]There are four kinds of love according to the venerable C.S. Lewis. [b]Storge love[/b]: Familiar love, usually between family members. Sometimes you can have too much, and this is usually when your parents call you out on something in front of others because they love you, not because they're being mean. The love of shared values. [b]Agape love[/b]: The love of giving. When you have agape love, it makes you do things like breakfast in bed for your wife, or doing the chores at a friend's house for them. Good love to have between two people in a romantic relationship. [b]Philia love[/b]: The love between friends, brotherhood. Also sometimes shared values that lead to shared love, and a good kind of love to have in a relationship. [b]Eros love[/b]: Just what it sounds like. Indistinguishable from lust at most times. The love of emotional and physical attraction. Doesn't involve a lot of intellectual processes or shared values. It's the immediate attraction and the physical desire for another. Not bad to start a relationship, but if there's no agape or philia, your relationship will burn out pretty fast.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Aaryanna'][COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"]lolwut?!? Speak for yourself! I spend my summers reading as many books as I can get my hands on for entertainment. I never get tired of doing that. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]High five girl! ......I do that too. The library is so nice and quiet and air conditioned. But more pizza. Now that I'm home with my parents, I can use my mother's bread making machine. And her terra cotta stone baking disc. Home made pizza dough, rising and baking in the oven is one of the better smells we've had from the kitchen all week. And then there's the home made pesto sauce she uses with fresh basil form the window. Does anyone else like special non tomato based sauces on their pizza? What with the salmonella advent in the U.S. our family is veering away from tomatoes.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][center][b]Said the sun to the shine, come shadow what you find.[/center][/b] In the dimmer light a stand of poplars, A trace of light trickles down, Through strands of leaves and slender branches, I look up into the light, Not blinding just yet. The clouds roll over again, And then again, Then the light swells up again, Breaking through, Breaking in, Breaking out. The gathering warmth, Growing all the time, While the branches sway again, And scatter the light, Across the face, Against the skin. [i]Challenge: A 800 word story about a living dead girl.[/i][/FONT] [/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I have this bizarre tendency to make my own pizzas and say 'bugger you all' to the over priced pizza companies around me. That and they don't tend to have root beer on tap and I can't eat pizza without A&W root beer. It's just not the same... But when I temporarily loose my mind and go down to the local Round Table Pizza, I have an itemized list of pizza toppings I always love. Listed in no particular serious order. [CENTER]Mushrooms, thinly sliced. Light mozerella, too much can ruin a good thing. White sauce, i.e. alfredo. Diced chicken, also thinly done, thick is bad. Italian sausage, not too spicy. Olives, black and in bits. [/CENTER] I adore mushrooms by the way. Possibly to the point of insanity. Just color me Hobbit.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Allow me to put on my Philsophizing pants. *mmm, snug* Love is the attraction of one to the particular preciousness of another. Love is more than action, more than words, more than pretty much most other things. Love is what keeps you from putting a gun between your teeth. Of course on the other hand, the line between insanity and love is rather blurry. But that's okay and we should all just relax when you consider that love is more than the warm mushy feeling you get when your significant other looks at you a particular way.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Tahoma"]Changing Residence today. Should be back online by tomorrow assuming I don't crash on the 500 mile trip home. It IS Friday the 13th after all.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Andrew'][size=1]I'm really partial to anything that has maybe Vampires, magic or some kind of fantasy setting. Never hurts to have a little horror/scares in there either![/size][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][b]Darklost[/b] and [b]Time Of Feasting.[/b] Both are rather adult, both make Anne Rice look like a schoolgirl. A rank beginner. A poseur. You'll thank me later.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[FONT="Times New Roman"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][i][b]Data Stream Interrupted - Shut Down Commenced. Restart. Begin Data Stream 8473[/b] Feyri glared at El Morpheus behind her black cowl, tattoos like tears streaming down her face, her hands marked as well underneath the flowing sleeves of her own particular order. She howled aloud, raising her lightsaber, the violet light scattering in El Morpheus's vision. With a quick move, she surged forward, taking kick from the last Jedi standing, straight into the gut, she flew over his head and didn't correct in time to avoid the bulkhead directly behind him. From his vantage point, Gallen raised one hand and threw up a gathering of pure power, the Force fueled by anger and fear crashing into El Morpheus. Reacting on pure instinct, the Force moved in response to the Jedi's unconscious command and formed just around the surface of his skin, deflecting the attack and dispersing the power across his body. A mild tingle, but not strong enough to drive the breath from him like the attack intended. He turned and caught Feyri's attack with his right lightsaber, pushing away Gallen's second Force attack with his left. Almost lazily, he shoved against a line of Force that seemed to nestle in his palm, inner light fueling it, making it visible. The lightsaber he'd picked up from the fallen Sith glowed once, then pulsed with blue, a mirror to his own. Gallen snarled at the sight and drew his lightsaber, finally joining into a physical attack, his downward chop easily brushed aside by El Morpheus's instinctive response, the sound of their clashing jangling in his ears. The Jedi swept downwards, then up again, forcing both Gallen and Feyri to maneuver in front of him. Gallen pushed forward with both lightsaber and Force, Feyri's attack not dissimilar form his own and El Morpheus would've fallen back, but instead rolled with their attack and arched backwards in a leap. Using the momentum of their attack, he turned, set, and thrust forward while still in midair, the blades striking deep into his enemy's shoulders. At first he wasn't aware of the sound of the hollow clapping, his own breath cutting out every other sound. But as Feyri fell, and Gallen immediately after, he found himself staring up into the hectic eyeshine of their master. The clapping continued, as his steps echoed against the starkly dull walls.[/i] "Well done El Morpheus. You've vanquished every single one of my poor, unfortunate apprentices. What will you do now?" [i]The voice, coming from the shadowed face of the Sith, came to the Jedi as if through a long tunnel. Even though he was only a bare 10 feet away, he sounded as if he were going further back all the time. Perhaps it was his body's recognition that his hearing was no longer necessary, perhaps it was merely the exhaustion, but El Morpheus couldn't find himself caring. The refugees had fled, well beyond the reach of the dark lords. And perhaps that was why El Morpheus felt himself growing lighter all the while, as if the Force was taking away the heaviness of his physical frame. His own voice moved across his lips, smiling all the while, the joy palpable.[/i] "I've done what I needed to do. Now all that's left is to die." [i]His laughter was soft, soothing even to his own ears, and the Sith lord's arrogant smile wavered for an instant. Then it moved back full force, and his arms moved forward, lightning arcing across his fingertips towards El Morpheus. Making no move to defend himself, he simply let his arms drop to either side, his lightsaber's shutting off in the same movement. The power lanced across his throat and face, knocking him back, his body flopping lifelessly to the ground. Both weapons dropped, the clang of metal on metal the last sound in the world. In a place of bliss and infinite quiet warmth of the void, El Morpheus felt, rather than heard, the voices of those who had gone before him whispering. He turned his head to listen, but that too was only an echo of the past. There was no head, no corporeality, no flesh stretched across his frame. Merely the Force. [/i][/COLOR][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] Here's a recent pic of meh from our Baloon Fest. Enjoy.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]What's a Balloon fest...? .......does it involve a lot of helium sounding voices?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Stephanie'][size=1] And yes, I [b]was[/b] unofficially sexy before.[/size][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]But now you're part of the club. You can wear our jackets now. Or...something.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Finally, my Humanities 300 series class is applicable to the modern...world. [URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=e3_sML4prLE"]The Concierto De Aranjuez[/URL] By Joaquin Rodrigo. Capable of making fully grown men cry, provided they are Spaniards. And when played in class through a massive sound system, made me and about half the girls tear up.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Clurr'][FONT="Arial"] Besides, I don't own any non-denim bottoms. Other than sweatpants. So I went with the lesser of two evils.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]When you get a job most likely the power of CHRIST will compel you to buy slacks. Black Dickies or Dockers, and Chinos. Tan, taupe, etc. You'll need these. Always.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]I was going to say NEVER WEAR JEANS TO AN INTERVIEW! .......but now it's too late. Oh god what have I done?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial] And I do [I]not[/I] believe it would be positive advertisement for the larping community.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Dear god no. I believe that "The Guild," findable at [url=www.watchtheguild.com]WatchTheGuild[/url] is QUITE sufficient.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Aceburner'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"] Anyway, here's the first request: I'm almost absolutely sure I have seen a Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon in which Wile E. Coyote speaks. Could anyone tell me the name of said cartoon if it exists?[/FONT][/QUOTE] [FONT="Times New Roman"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"]It involves Bugs Bunny and "Are you in, genius?" One of the older ones but I know I've seen it before too. Rats. I hate this.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] Yeah, who the hell was John Nance Garner? But the VP gets as much power as the President wants him to (i.e. Bush), so there's no telling. Not that Obama would ever give Clinton power as VP, lol. [/font][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][LEFT][FONT="Times New Roman"]Are you kidding me? She'd wrest whatever power she could get when he wasn't looking. The minute he left the cage door open she'd go wrangle as much capital as she could. That and I also heard that Michelle and Hillary get along about as well as rival celebrities do. Kinda like when Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie got into it. Or something like that. Either way I can't imagine living in a house in which those two harpies resided. Oh goodness it would be just so .....fun.[/FONT][/LEFT][/COLOR]

[quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson]Yeah, Truman and Johnson didn't get much out of their V.P. slots.[/color][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Exceptions to the rule? That as expected I think Truman and Johnson were both maniacs running wild waving their arms in the air and changing policies based on.... Oh who knows? Besides, that warm spit comment came from Truman originally. And then on West Wing too... But anyway, I'd like to broach the subject of the rumored tape of Michelle Obama. Ranting against America and 'Whitey.' Supposedly it exists in the hands of the Clintons, is devastating in the sense that the rant goes on for oh...half an hour? And the setting was a Rainbow PUSH Coalition panel for women at Trinity Church, in which the crowd goads her on and gets excited which in turn spurs a supposed scream fest in which Michelle Obama blames every problem in Africa on America. Fascinating I know, even if it doesn't exist. The thing is, this rumor is coming from everywhere, not just the radical right wing. Wouldn't it be frightening if she used it as blackmail to get a position of power? I wouldn't put that past her, much less baby eating and virgin sacrifices.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Retribution'][font=Arial]Generally speaking, that?s how it works in America. Runner up usually gets the VP nomination as a sort of reconciliatory gesture.[/font][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]But as we all know, the VP seat is about as useful and meaningful to someone as a bucket of warm spit. Just look back at Al Gore. James Quayle. Walter Mondale. Nelson Rockefeller. Who the hell were they? Oh well.[/FONT][/COLOR]