outlawstar69

I think part of the reason why the activity might not seem as much, would be how the user base has changed - I remember logging on quite frequently at one point, back in the day... but after getting a job, a girlfriend, investing time in other interests, certain things just fall by the wayside. Life's different at 23 than it was at 17, with all that entails. Lord, I don't know how I ever had the time to put into World of Warcraft, when I was still in school - it's been weeks since I even bothered to log on, and I think I've been the same level for a good 4 months now. Yet, I find myself happily enjoying other things - I'm nearly done with Dragon Age, Advance Wars Dual Strike, and have knocked out several books along the way. As for membership to the site... so long as there's a core group of users that contribute, I suppose that's what matters - that feeling of community. I'm not sure why I opted to log in today of all days, but it's comforting to see familiar names of the members whose posts I always enjoyed reading.

Now what I would like to see, would be an attempt to carry out an experiment, based on the Creationism argument. Design a complex, but basic in function machine, that is able to reproduce itself using it's surrounding materials. The blueprints and the code, can vary from one generation to the next; an element of randomness thrown in there for the basic mutation factor - and I propose that we ship it off to a planet similar to our own, with varying resources to pursue. If all goes well, they should be able to adapt and eventually vary wildly from one variation to the next. True, it might take a long time to see results... but I don't see anyone solving the argument here on Earth anytime soon. Besides, every thousand years or so, we can have fun by seeing what they do, when we send select messages about their origin to select members, to tell everyone else.

Something I'm curious about, here: When did the messy argument begin where you had to take sides, between those who advocated science, and those who advocated religion? I suppose it goes beyond ID vs Evolution*, but haven't there a few (long) period of time when places of religious study, and places of scientific research went hand in hand? In so far as the thread's topic goes, I would consider myself to be religious, but also a man of science - growing up, I never saw them as mutually exclusive. So long as [I]something[/I] is driving the urge to learn, I'm all for it. Be it the desire to simply Know the answers because of curiosity or the furthering of the Scientific Process, or in reverence to how a universe like ours could have been created by an omnipotent being (I think it's pretty cool, anyway), and seeking to understand that. *fixed

It all started in the near future; a faceless baby born who could speak. Not just words, he evoked, but Ideas - he talked, held up by caregiver after caregiver, and people Listened... listened, too much. At first, he was a celebrity, gaining mass approval ratings higher than any politician. He suggested the idea that he indeed, become one - and who could argue, with the innocence of the newborn? It wasn't long, before a mass cult revered him; when things became... so wrong. Like mindless herds, they followed; regardless of what he said - How could the Miracle Leader, ever say anything to lead them astray? The skies grew red, and it stopped raining everywhere across the lands. Unbelievers were shot on sight, and wild packs of dogs roamed the street; worse than wolves, because they feared no man, considering each straggler a meal for the Pack. Hunger, death lay everywhere... but not panic, since all was right, for those who believed in the Leader. Status, monuments, and temples were built, and a golden throne made. There grew to be, that more blood than water ran through the streets; watering the festering crops that remained. Not one of his believers said anything, when he finally grew a face. They couldn't, since they had to give up their own, the sacrifice needed. What dreams, what folly... ********* Now the real question is, do you think this was this inspired by the new multivitamin pills I was taking ( 8 a day ), or the 3 weeks of fasting for Ramadan previous to this?

I remember that ship, back when I was a freshman - and incidentally, one of my sisters is also going through that this fall. There were maybe 3 kids from my high school who I kinda knew, who had gone on to the same college - so no luck there. I ended up realizing that aside from them, no one else had any clue who I was, preconceptions or otherwise... so I learned to open my mouth and say hello to pretty much everyone, in a friendly sort of way. Depending on what your dorm is like, you may very well make friends by simply leaving your door open, and playing games / watching anime. That's how I met quite a few people; for there's nothing like walking down the hall, and hearing the music from Trigun, and popping in to chat :p

I suppose I was lucky, in being able to find a job before graduation. I graduated just a few weeks ago, and here I am; already in a different state. I start work, on Monday :X

[quote name='AzureWolf']You could have a shirt that says "I'm an Islamic extremist and I'm only on this flight to hijack it" and they won't suspect you in the least - provided you are something other than Middle Eastern.[/QUOTE] Oh snap - there goes my first choice in aviation apparel.

Exactly! Thinking about how and why we communicate, we don't use radios and such to talk face to face, with people very close by - that's what our voice is for. When you get past the range that you can hear someone, is where long distance communications come into play. If a race where to have evolved along the course of, oh let's say intra species telepathy, which wasn't bounded by distance as our voices are - then it could be assumed, that the reason why we can't pick up any radio signals or what have you is because they never needed to use them. That, or they've already evolved past the point when most races consider mass broadcasting into the stars to be unneeded noise pollution XD

For those of you who clicked on this without knowing what it was, takarazuka is the name of a Japanese dance company that uses an exclusively female cast - for [I]all[/I] the roles. This would also be the reference made in Ouran, with the Zuka club :p They are quite popular in Japan, with nearly 90% of their fans being women (who seem to love how nearly all the positive masculine traits they look for, are represented by these women) - but unfortunately, they are almost unheard of here. I have a good friend, who absolutely adores them - specifically, the Hanagumi (flower troupe), and a performer named Sumire Haruno; along with some of their performances - including Phantom of the Opera, Elisabeth, Rose of Versailles, Palermo, and Utakata no Koi. Alas, as she lamented, it's almost impossible to buy their soundtracks or dvds over here, let alone find anything subtitled. (I looked.) So, for the japan-o-philes on this forum, I pose this question to you: Do you know of any resources / places, where an American can find things related to the takrazuka, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? The biggest thing going against buying stuff with the online retailers who will buy stuff from Japan for you, then ship it over internationally is the sheer cost - nearly 100 US dollars, for a single dvd. I dunno if that's because of the falling dollar, the higher cost of living in Japan, or just the kind of market it is, but for college students, that is quite expensive - not impossible, but it never hurts to look for something a bit easier on the budget. Any thoughts or advice?

The person I'm rooming with in our dorm, has been notorious these past few years for his "beaver dam" of schtuff that piles up where ever he lives. If unchecked, a corner of the room is just permanently [I]gone[/I], till the end of the year. Thankfully, my penchant in being somewhat neat has rubbed off, and there is only about a 2X2 square of his stuff laying around. However, as he's brought up... he hasn't started making his cosplay for Tekkoshocon, yet - and since he's going as Angemon (including buffing up to get ripped, for the ladies), there will be [I]many[/I] feathers, I'm sure of it o_o

Haha, I remember posting in one of the versions of this thread a while back... so here's another go at it ^_^ Back when I was in 6th grade, the grade school I was in had just gotten internet - this was about 9 years ago; so the internet was still rather new to kids my age in the rural area we lived in. My sister was a year older, and in the high school - I knew she had gotten an email address, so I finally came into the 7th grade, I asked her to help me make one, since I had no idea how to go about it :P When I asked her to help me set one up, she explained how you could make the name anything you want - that was when Outlaw Star, the anime we all know and love, was first airing on Cartoon Network - and I had fallen in love with it. Particularly Melfina, but... *cough cough* Where were we? Ah, yes - so I said I really liked that series; and she came up with outlawstar69 -- it's a motif I've been using ever since; with slight changes for aim (outlawstar86te). If you see a forum or user name somewhere that has either of those usages... then that's me. Wow... remembering that almost makes me feel old, since Outlaw Star is considered a classic anymore.

I have an Arabic name as well, and have long given up hope that it will ever be pronounced right, on someone's first try. "Taurik", which is how my mom decided to spell it, is pronounced "Tar-rick" -- yet, no matter how many times I correct people, they can't wrap their tongues around it... both in high school [I]and[/I] in college. As of now, current ways I hear my name from professors and some friends are Torick, Tareek, Turok... *gives up*

When I was in my Human Sexuality class, I did a group report on Cohabitation. In short... the way society is evolving, people are more comfortable with this than they used to be. Be forewarned though, people who live together before marriage are more likely to split up than married couples who didn't... I send you the presentation we made, but I doubt you care enough. We did get a 92 on it though. :)

[QUOTE=Neuvoxraiha][COLOR=DarkOrchid] Favorite male assassin? I don't think I can limit myself to one, so I'll say Knives. Only he's not really an assassin, he's just insane.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] If you read the manga, there's a ton of backstory that to me at least, says Knives isn't insane - he just takes revenge to a whole 'nother level. My favorite assassin would be from another Nightow work, Gungrave. Brandon Heat is an ace assassin, hands down. What else can you say about a mobster hitman who comes back from the dead with a new name: Beyond the Grave?

Being at Otakon yesterday, I was able to attend a premier of a show called Hare+Guu ? I had seen shots of it in various music videos, but I had not heard it's name nor had I heard what it was about at the time. Hare+Guu is... really hard to describe, to say the least. A good short description can be found on it's [URL= http:///www.hareguu.com/welcome/]site[/URL] , but to give a very brief attempt, Hare is a young boy living in the jungle with his mother, and when the viillage finds a pretty young girl named Guu with no parents, Hare's mother takes her in. Guu's pretty apperances are deceiving though, as her real expression and demeanor are sullen and dark, to say the least. Also, she seems to, for lack of a better term, eat everything - and I mean everything. She's not normal, or at least that's what frightened Hare is thinking. I won't say any more lest I spoil anything. Based on the two episodes they showed us, the show is completely off the top - hallf the things that made me laugh, I had no idea that they were coming, and I was glad that I able to watch it. Has anyone else seen, or at least heard of this anime?