tattoi nobori

I love the Gorillaz! But to tell the truth, my enthusiasm is probably due in equal part to Jamie Hewlett's involvement in the project. (I'm a HUGE Tank Girl fan...) I was really hoping they'd have a new album out by now! tch. I really want a helmet like Noodle's... ?_?

I broke both of my scaphoid bones the first time I went snowboarding... It's a little bone in the wrist that looks like a cashew nut. But for such a small thing, it sure hurt like crazy! Didn't stop me, though. I've been riding for five seasons now... ?_? (Salomon Classic 155, Burton Twin 150, Liquid something-or-other 160)

[quote]Johnny Cash is the original bad *** who wasn't afraid to push the limits. He will be sorely missed.[/quote] Johnny Cash is my hero; the guy just didn't care what anybody [url=http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~kamikaze/Audio/cash-ad.php]thought[/url] about him! ?_? I loved his new album, and now I think it's about the perfect way to go out, for the man in black.

I've seen the first few episodes of the anime, and it just rocks.. ?_? I was a little disappointed with just how closely the anime followed the manga, in terms of storyboarding... I mean, most of the time it's literally shot-for-shot. But the animation is pretty well done, and the action sequences are great! Also, the voice actors are quite good, which lends a lot to the timing and overall feel of the anime. One of my recent favorites, for sure!

There's a [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27992]FAQ[/url] in the Banner/Avatar Request forum for this, it should answer your question. One thing I might mention.. You're going to make a lot of people very upset if you succeed in including that Creech picture in your sig! That thing is [b]huge[/b]! ?_?

Well, this almost guaranteed to get deleted as spam, but I just wanted to say that! I know I'm pretty new around here, but it's great to have a community like this to escape to, when life in meatspace gets rough. (As it does pretty darn often, unfortunately.) S'anyway, thanks all! Just keep doing what you're doing... ?_?

Wow... I'm amazed at how many responses there are to this post, and how forthright you all are about a subject this personal! The way I came up, my family was always really distant, emotionally, so I sorta assumed that nobody talked about stuff like this. I mean, that's great! I'm just suprised... Otaku rock the emotional sincerity! ?_? Hum... cry... I guess the last time I cried was at the end of Session 26... That probably sounds ridiculous after all the heavy stuff you guys have been dropping in this thread, but I just couldn't believe it ended like that, and it struck me as being a pretty good analogue for life as I've known it so far. Tch. (dammit, I'm getting misty. Is it weird to empathize this much with a character in an anime?)

If you subscribe to Kurzweil's view of things, there are seven [url=http://www.kurzweiltech.com/l192.htm]stages[/url] in the life-cycle of a technology. Technologies like [url=http://www.labelgate.com]LabelGate[/url], DivX, and Disney's new EZ-D format belong to the fifth stage, or "False Pretenders". This refers to any upstart technology that threatens to eclipse the older model, in this case traditional CDs and DVDs. When first introduced, CDs were pretty much untouchable in terms of piracy, because CD-burners were a long way off for the consumer market, and recording to tape was too time-consuming to pose a major threat. But the digital media industries recognize that things are changing: A platter (obfuscation) just isn't going to protect your data anymore. The fact is, CDs and DVDs are on the verge of obsolesence. Don't get me wrong, they're infinitely better than magnetic media of any kind, and I own large stacks of both -- but the future is data without boundaries or platforms, where your new copy of the Cowboy Bebop movie is available on your laptop in London, even though the original resides on your server in Atlanta. I believe that the next technology to mature and thrive long-term in this arena will be something like [url=http://www.keitaide-music.org/SpecialFeature/3/index-e.html]Keitai[/url], using heavy-duty, private key encryption to verify a user's "right" to play, move, and copy digital music and movies. Note that I didn't say I believe Keitai's model would be the one to reach maturity. I don't. But there are technologies waiting in the wings (IPv6, methanol fuel cells, low-power surface emitting lasers, etc.) that promise phenomenal growth and increase in functionality for the internet in our daily lives, and the only way to protect your data in this "next step" will be with some [b]seriously[/b] big [url=http://www.pgpi.org]prime numbers[/url]. ?_? It only makes sense that you'll use the same keys used to protect your identity and money, to play your music. In my mind, the future looks pretty darn cool... We just have to wade through these stupid "pretenders" to get there.

An outsider's perspective on DDR: I work as a waiter in a restaraunt built into the mall here, that happens to be right across the hall from the arcade.. And sometimes when it's slow, we'll watch the kids playing DDR Extreme. Having never played the game, I must admit I've had more than a few laughs at the expense of these poor rhythm-deprived suburban white kids, pounding out their dances like they're stomping bugs. There are a few that we recognize as regulars, that bring their own towels, water bottles, and electric fans into the arcade for 8-hour sessions! I'd pretty much written it off as ridiculous... Until they put up a big poster advertising a tourney, and suddenly all these kids who REALLY know how to dance are in the arcade all the time, practicing! There's two in particular, who will crank it up to some amazing AAA-rated song and do it perfectly, doing spins and knee-drops and [url=http://www.bboy.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5996&papass=&sort=1&thecat=2]six-steps[/url]. Needless to say, I have a newfound respect for all of you who can constrain yourselves to dancing on a pad that small, and make it look good! ?_? (For myself, I learned to "dance" in the pit at a Rancid show, so I'm pretty much hopeless for DDR.) Anyway, kudos! I'll definitely be watching, when that tourney goes down...

AFI rocks! They've been a favorite of mine since Answer That And Stay Fashionable, though their sound (and Davey's look) has changed quite a bit since then... ?_? I've only seen them once in concert (Warped, Atlanta 2001) and they're def. top five, for intense live shows!

[quote]What does the name MXPX stand for?[/quote] MxPx stands for Magnified Plaid. They chose the name because if you look at a plaid shirt under magnification, it's a bunch of little crosses. (Although they don't bill themselves as a "Christian band", Mike, Tom, and Yuri are Christians.)

[quote]And The Ramones killing disco? Haha! That has got to be the most annoying stereotype of punk music ever coined: punk rock was created as a rebellion to disco.[/quote] Actually, I think I'll accede that point. I get pretty defensive when someone bashes the Ramones, so I say things I don't really mean. Like the disco thing. ?_? But I will take exception to the other thing: The earliest major influences of punk can be traced to the beat movement of the late 60's, and specifically to Andy Warhol's art/anarchy project, Factory. So while the first Punk bands hit the mainstream a few years after disco was born, the origins and attitudes go back much farther. I think you'd agree that it would have been a pretty shallow thing, if punk were created purely as a backlash to club dance music.

[center][SIZE=1][color=red] A sudden stillness Herald of the gath'ring storm War comes to Omi A lone raven cries: Treachery! The ancient pact Is now abandoned ---------- From distant mountains His troop arrayed for battle Tokugawa comes Nobunaga's sword Bright steel flashing in the sun Razor of heaven Across the river Once an ally, no longer: Nagamasa waits ---------- Dawn breaks on Oda Bright banners wave in the breeze The soldiers muster Three armies march out At the banks of the Ane The waters run red [/color][/SIZE][/center] A haiku retelling of the battle of Anegawa. ?_? Could someone rate this, please?

How on earth can you say the Ramones are overrated? I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but hopefully it goes without saying that just about every punk band listed so far wouldn't sound the way they do, without the Ramones' (and others) influences. That's like saying the Beatles were a fad, ignoring that both bands single-handedly changed the face of music in their time. The Beatles challenged a music industry built on throwaway singles by equally disposeable stars, and the Ramones killed disco. History will thank them. ?_?

[center][SIZE=1][color=red] This noble banner, Flipping lightly in the wind: A proud heritage. [/color][/SIZE][/center]

How do you know they were married? I never gathered that from the series, though I guess I could have overlooked it. I know there's a huge amount of back story revealed in all those tiny flash-backs, I guess I'll have to watch it through...*again*... ?_? In response to your question, Silent, I was massively surprised by the ending! Surprised, and then (much later) quite satisfied with it. As others in this thread have said, it was really the most appropriate way to end the series. ... -MAN-, what a bloody great anime! ?_?

Heatguy rocks! ?_? I picked up volume 1 after I read a review in Newtype magazine, and I've watched it through several times... Great animation, good voice actors. Satelight (the production company) has really outdone themselves with this one. You're right in saying that the vampire, isn't. "Vampire" is a title, like "Godfather". It refers to the current head of the Leonelli's, the most powerful (but certainly not the only!) crime family in Judoh City. And Boma... Boma's just badass. ?_? Boma is a convict who escaped from a maximum-security prison where his features were altered, with sugery and gene therapy, to resemble a wolf. He wears a necklace that projects a hologram of a normal human head onto his shoulders, so he can walk around and not tip everybody off that he's like that. I really enjoyed the first disc, and I'm looking forward to the rest! Sucks that we have to wait so long, and kids in Japan can just turn on the TV and see this stuff everyday...

Apparently I'm in the minority on this one, but I was really disappointed with T3. I heard early on that Mr. Cameron wasn't going to be involved in the production except to design the characters, so I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the other two... But I wasn't expecting the plot to be as thrown-together as it was. Very little character development, nothing much to tie it to T2, no suspense, really. I'll go see T4 if Cameron directs, but otherwise I'm pretty much done with this franchise.

On the other hand of course, you could just get one of [url=http://www.mikosw.co.uk/assets/images/lamarzoccolinea.jpg]these[/url]... ?_?

I'm right there with you, man. I'm a sophmore in college, and between classes and working two jobs at the mall, I'm getting my butt kicked! ?_? I guess the best advice I could give you is: cut back on the coffee or sodas to like two cups/cans a day, and get some aerobic excersize every day, even if it's just walking a mile at a brisk pace. As you get your heart-rate up, and decrease your reliance on stimulants like sugar and caffeine, you'll have more energy, and it will last longer than a caffeine boost. Hope that helps!

I'm afraid I've yet to see the Anime, but from everything I hear, I guess I should make the effort. The manga is one of my favorites though! The artwork is just stellar, I find myself going back over pages I've read, looking for details I might have missed in the illustrations. (And no, not just -those- illustrations! ?_?) I'm also happy with how they've structured the story arcs in the manga, taking their time in revealing more of Chi's *ahem* history, and abilities. As I've said before, I'll be first in line to trade in my Mac, when the Persocom Chobits hit the market! ?_?

Since .zip is an acceptable file extension for post attatchments, you can download WinZip (for PC) or Stuffit 7.x (for Mac) and compress multiple files into a single .zip archive.

My brother's fond of: "Hey, are those space pants? 'Cause that a** is out of this world!"

Hi all! I wanted to get your opinion about what to do in a certain situation: I enjoy doing banners/avatars for people, and I guess I'm doing ok, because I had someone PM me to ask if I would make them a banner. The problem is, this person wants it exactly like a banner I did for someone else, custom to their spec, with only a change of name. I tried to explain that their request wouldn't be fair to the recipient of the original banner, and that I enjoy doing new layouts and characters for each person... But they fired back that it was for a different 'board, so it was alright. So what do you guys (and gals) think? Would it be good or bad netiquette to tweak this banner as requested, if it's going to be used on a different 'board? It occurs to me that a large number of OB'ers are probably also members of different anime forums, so the banner is likely to be viewed by some of the same people, with both names. In that case, it seems like I would have taken something away from my original recipient, since our avatars/banners are the only things people reading our post have to associate with us as a person, besides what we write. Thanks in advance for your feedback! ?_?

Well, I could vamp on for a while on what "punk rock" is, once was, etc. But I guess I'll just say that yes, I like Blink, Sum, Boxcar, and Linkin Park. Grilled, in a hearty mushroom sauce. ?_?