John

[quote name='Lunox'][FONT=trebuchet ms] Ok. I'll go get my cat ears and purple wig.[/FONT][/quote][IMG]http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6590/wizardrobe.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/4333/wizardhatn.jpg[/IMG] Ready when you are.

Oh good, Sara's still around occasionally, that must mean it's still cool to be here.

My opinion on Quest is pretty conflicted. On [I]The Low-End Theory, [/I]Shaheed's beats are fantastic, but Phife and Tip's lyrics--which almost solely consist of them talking about how great their lyrics are--border on Kanye levels of arrogance. I really want to like that album, but the more I listen, the less I can stand the blatant hypocrisy. Also, Tip has no idea what "abstract" means. From the cursory glances I've given [I]Midnight Marauders[/I], it seems to be a bit more inventive lyrically and varied tonally.

[quote name='Nerdsy'][COLOR=deeppink]Hip hop you say?[/COLOR][/quote] I see your Conchords and raise you a Boosh: [center][youtube]BAirI7x2w1E[/youtube][/center]

[quote name='Lunox'][FONT=trebuchet ms]I have all the recent, mainstream popular artists[/FONT][/quote] 1. Delete all of this 2. Replace with Edan, '90s hardcore, and anything with Prince Paul 3. Win

[quote name='Magus'][B]Shenmue[/B]. The setting is peaceful, so to speak. The thought of being in a game where martial arts is the focal point (and no guns) would be really nice. Not to mention it's pretty realistic in terms of martial arts.[/quote] I dunno, if I wanted my life to be dominated by quicktime events and inane, repetitive mini"games", I'd just go get a job on an assembly line. Also, to anyone suggesting Pokemon: you really think you'd enjoy living in a world that revolves around capturing wild animals, brainwashing them, and forcing them to kick, punch, burn, scratch, freeze, electrocute, and EAT THE DREAMS OF each other? You are sick. No, I think the most appropriate answer here is Mario Party. Really, [I]your entire life is a freaking party[/I]. Just try and top that.

[quote name='chibi-master']Imagine someone hit you in the nether-regions with a hammer. Now imagine the intense pains and aching you'd feel. Well, that's a fraction of the pain and aching I feel right now.[/quote] You have no concept of the mind-rending vortex of pain that is getting hit in the nads with a hammer.

So what you guys are saying is, this movie wasn't good?

For the first time ever, I have to do my taxes myself. I had never really considered how ****ing complicated this crap would have to be to prompt an entire market based on paying other people to file for you, but oh, now I'm all too well aware. And yes, I know today is the 15th, but there are some additional forms I didn't have yesterday that I need before I can finish. Also I'm a procrastinator.

[quote name='Vicky'][SIZE=1]Not in anyway trying to break down religion, but the majority of things in Christianity (and all of the four Abrahamic religions for that matter) come from ancient past times. Horus, an Egyptian God, was born in December, had 13 followers, was born of the virgin mother, performed miracles and was crucified, buried, and rose (then ascended) on the third day. Sound familiar? There are thousands of exact stories of hundreds of Gods and myths based around the same tale. It's very much based on stars.[/SIZE][/quote] Protip: [spoiler][I]Zeitgeist[/I] sucked.[/spoiler]

Yes. Yes, he is. [quote name='Jax Rhapsody']Your probably not gonna be able to safely come out and ask him. Although he may not hav ebeen reading it. Probably just curious by the tittle. I have been known to randomly pick up mana just to see if theres nudity in it.[/quote][IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5025/breakingnewswhat.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/5025/breakingnewswhat.jpg[/IMG]

There's probably a lot more to it than what that article reported. I find it very hard to believe that two different courts could rule in favor of the daughter unless there was at least some evidence that the father may have done something wrong. But that, of course, wouldn't make for as good a new story.

[CENTER][IMG]http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2774/lajetee.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER] Just got finished watching Chris Marker's [I]La Jetée[/I] on its awesome Criterion Collection DVD, which also included another one of his films, [I]Sans Soleil[/I], which I didn't feel like watching. [I]La Jet[/I][I]ée[/I] is a 1962 French scifi film about a prisoner who is subjected to time travel experiments. Instead of traditional film, the story is told through voiceover narration and a montage of photos in a sort of Ken Burns documentary style, except not. It takes a few minutes to get accustomed to the style, but once you do, it really makes the atmosphere of the film. And at only half an hour in length, the effect doesn't get worn out before the movie's over. Recommended watching.

I'm jumping into this thread late, I know, but my analysis is cool enough to make up for it. [quote name='Shy'][SIZE=1]The things that 'worked' had nothing to do with him at all, and were a testament to the real 'visionaries' of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons two decades ago. Snyder's only signature on this are the exaggerated slow-motion action/sex scenes, and a handful of shallow performances throughout. Conversely, it's his willingness to preserve the source material at all costs that let Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach truly shine.[/SIZE][/quote] This is exactly right. Everything I enjoyed about the film consisted of things carbon-copied from the comic that evoked memories of when I read it a few years ago, and (almost) every decision Snyder made to deviate from the comic gave me further evidence that he's got a lot more 13-year-old fanboy in him than mature film director. I could give a lot of examples of this, but I'll just choose one case in point. [spoiler]In the comic, the rape scene mostly consisted of one, maybe two, shots to Silk Spectre's stomach from The Comedian before he bent her over the pool table. It was an intense and sickening scene, and for all the right reasons. But Snyder's version had Comedian wailing on her for something like a full minute before pinning her down, with as many deliberately candid shots of her goods that Snyder could cram in between the punches. It wasn't gritty or emotive, it was sadistic exploitation as much as could possibly be managed within the context of the adaptation.[/spoiler] Even when he's trying his hardest to stick to the source material--and his earnest effort did show, at least--Snyder obviously can't get past his immature tits'n'violence tendencies. Between this and the overdone action and sex scenes that Shy brought up, Snyder's directorial tendencies are enough to make me wonder if the comic book version of [I]300[/I] actually consisted mostly of several fine gentlemen chatting and sipping tea. To his credit, though (or not, because he wasn't a screenwriter), I think the alternate ending worked wonderfully. Or at least as wonderfully as it possibly could have. The original ending would have required so much setup, foreshadowing, and extra story arcs to work that it couldn't conceivably have fit into the movie, which is already packed to the brim with information. Within the confines of the medium, this new solution really makes a lot of sense and was handled very gracefully. I wasn't unhappy with it in the least. And as far as sticking to the source material, he mostly did a pretty fantastic job. Most of it seemed to be about shot-for-panel, and the meticulous accuracy of it impressed me. Of course, it was a still a stupid move that neglected all the unique features of both media and rendered the film a little soulless, but hey, at least they had faith in the source material and were dedicated enough to pull an adaptation as literal and accurate as that. So yeah, I'll say this much: [I]Watchmen[/I] was as good a film adaptation as man-child Zack Snyder could have possibly managed; he absolutely tapped his full potential. And it wasn't inconceivably far off from the best adaptation that [I]any[/I] director could have managed. But here's the big, unavoidable reality: [B][I]Watchmen[/I] can never work as a movie[/B]. It doesn't play by the same rules as other comics, which are merely visual stories lending themselves to legitimate reincarnations through various media. It's a tribute to, sendup of, and experiment within the superhero comics genre and comic books in general. Not only were the length and breadth of its plot form-fitted for the medium, but its narrative structure, visual style, and even (especially?) the very fact of its existence gain their significance from the fact that [I]Watchmen[/I] is written as a comic book. When you make it into a film, it's not just little "extraneous" storylines that are removed, the entire work's identity is drastically altered. Really, the only way I can conceive of putting the comic on the silver screen successfully is to produce a film that is intended and advertised as a reinterpretation of [I]Watchmen[/I], not an adaptation. An adaptation, in this case, is dishonest, and anyone who sees the film without reading the comic probably thinks they've gained a pretty good understanding of the work by doing so, and why shouldn't they? Film is usually pretty good for adaptations of narrative works, and I feel the same way about lots of works of which I've only seen the film version. It's usually not the whole picture, yeah, but it's pretty much the same thing, abridged and given the illusion of life that is peculiar to film. But it doesn't work like that with [I]Watchmen[/I], and it's a shame that there are people who might have read the comic were it not for the fact that they think they've gotten pretty much the same thing, if not more, by watching the film. Also, the music was butt.

[IMG]http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/2228/catinquisition.jpg[/IMG] "Is that a nostalgia thread? I think that's a nostalgia thread."

[quote name='Lunox'][FONT=trebuchet ms] Bose, because quality beats coolness.[/FONT][/quote] Bose is like the Mac of headphones--they're good, but not good enough to justify their price. They are hella comfortable, though. [IMG]http://www.mrgadget.com.au/catalog/images/Sennheiser_HD215_Closed_Stereo_Monitoring_Headphones.jpg[/IMG] Here are my headphones, Sennheiser HD215's. I don't think they look very cool at all, but they gave me a lot of bang for my buck (also, I just don't think most headphones look very cool period). If they're your style, though, you can get them for $50 and they should satisfy for a long time. Judging from the fact that you like the idea of anime-themed headphones, [URL="http://www.skullcandy.com/"][COLOR=Gray]Skull Candy[/COLOR][/URL] might appeal to you.

[quote name='TheDumbening']WHY DOES NOBODY UNDERSTAND THEY'RE GREATNESS[/quote] A-freaking-men. There are so many great underground bands like Queen, the Rolling Stones, and Radiohead that continue to fly under everybody's radar despite their great talent.

[quote name='Lunox'][FONT=trebuchet ms] America wouldn't be able to handle the [URL="http://superdickery.com/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Aseduction-index&id=35%3Abatmans-not-gay-hes-not-dammit&option=com_content&Itemid=36"][U]gay overtones[/U][/URL]. God I love that site! [/FONT][/quote] Two words: Joker, boner. Considering that they got through TDK without that influence looming in the background, I think it'd be fair to give Robin a shot.

It doesn't make any sense to believe that any of those videos were real. The first one required only a malnourished actor and a pair of special contact lenses (or even easier, some quick work in AfterEffects or just some setting on the camera). The second one was just short of an all-out joke. The ghost's arms seem to be made out of clothes hangers or something, lol. The third one uses the same effect as in that fake video you showed, just done more professionally (just because a college kid with ten minutes and a copy of AfterEffects can't do it doesn't mean it isn't possible lol). Bottom line: if it can be explained through normal means, then there is no reason to assume a paranormal explanation.

At first I'm inclined to say "no", but then I think of it this way: the only way the future could be revealed to someone without it changing is if that person were either unable or unwilling to change it. The only situation I can think of where I'd be unable to change my death is if it occurred right after I found out about it, before I had time to react. So more than likely, if my death were revealed to me, it'd be one that I was satisfied enough with for me not to change it. While on the other hand, if I chose not to have my death revealed to me, all the unpleasant deaths (or more accurately, all the deaths that I wouldn't be ok with) would still be possibilities. The real clincher, though, is that if I knew when and how I was going to die, I'd be free to do a lot more things I otherwise wouldn't, knowing I'd live through it. This is especially true if in my death I'm not paralyzed, braindead, imprisoned, or otherwise reduced to a permanently worsened life. Hell, if I knew I wouldn't be caught or crippled by it I might even go in for vigilantism. [quote name='Vicky'][SIZE=1]And about a day before, I'd probably go on a mass spree with a baseball bat and break the legs of everyone who asked me whether I'm a boy or girl (or something along those lines).[/SIZE][/quote] Don't you think they'd stop after the first one? Not much of a spree, if you ask me.

What James said. I really don't get the whole hubbub over root canals; when they did it to me, I didn't feel a thing during or afterwards. I've had an excavation (like James, a molar to make room for my wisdom teeth), and it freaked me out a lot more. No pain during the operation, of course, and not much afterwards since I was smart enough to pop some pills quickly, but having a guy shove a tiny crowbar between my teeth and pry until I felt something break in my mouth was pretty intense.

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Mostly, I let the guys at Rifftrax and MST3K do that job for me, but I do know the joy of bad movies. For my friend's birthday, we found an old Japanese monster movie called [I]Frankenstein Conquers the World[/I], which had surprisingly little to do with Frankenstein, the world, or conquering of any kind. We had a good time with it. Oh, the same day, the same friend who had found that movie in his collection and I watched [I]Howard the Duck[/I], which we completely lost it to.

[quote name='Korey'][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]"Hey Korey, you want a Coke?" "Sure." "What kind?" "Pepsi" Yeah, you don't know 'bout us Texans. ;)[/FONT][/quote] Nah, that goes for pretty much the entire south at least up to Oklahoma. I was raised calling everything Coke, but when I moved to Kansas I knew I'd have to change to either "pop" or "soda," or nobody would ever understand me (I chose "soda" since I have a few ounces of dignity).

Kansas is pretty neutral in terms of regional accent or slang, which makes it all the weirder when I hear someone saying the one genuine oddity that I'm familiar with here, "warsh" (in place of "wash"). Quite often I'll hear someone conversing like a completely normal, competent person, and suddenly when they mention that they have to go home and "WARSH some clothes," it's like a thick-browed, overall-wearing redneck just jumped out of their mouth and sucker-punched me. What the hell? [quote name='Sabrina'][FONT=Tahoma]Probably the biggest or weirdest slang for me is the lack of swearing. If you're serious about your faith, you don't do it.[/FONT][/quote] Don't you get me started.