John

I got a letter or two like that in high school, and I think they really hype up the exclusivity of those things; I'm not even sure how accurate the teacher recommendation thing is, although I never really peered into it too deeply. I'm sure it's legit, of course, but 1200 bucks is a lot of money, and you seem pretty anxious to go. I'd encourage you not to get over-eager and to consider whether this trip will give you the experience you're looking for in Japan (remember, there will probably be more opportunities for you to take a trip there if you keep looking). But if you really think it will, and you're willing to dedicate yourself to raising the money, then bon voyage. :d

I haven't listened to them a whole lot lately, but there's no band I'm more attached to than [B]Hum[/B]. They were a hugely powerful group that, despite having a pretty accessible sound and a big hit single in 1995 with "Stars", never got nearly the recognition that I and many others think they deserved. So all my recommendations for this post will be Hum songs. I spent about half an hour trying to accurately and concisely describe my feelings on the first song, to no avail. I know that's the kind of thing you're looking for in this thread, Sara, but sadly I think all I can really do is give some cursory information about each song as far as things you might want to pay particular attention to. [B]I Hate It Too[/B] ([URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=-PTRYkPBirE"]YouTube[/URL]) ([URL="http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Hum/I-Hate-It-Too.html"]lyrics[/URL]) Deals with frontman Matt Talbot's struggles with alcohol and relationshi--no, don't scroll past yet! I know they're worn-out rock tropes, but I promise there's nothing overwrought or cliched about how he handles the topics. [B]If You Are To Bloom[/B] ([URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=5leudffkWjY"]YouTube[/URL]) ([URL="http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/H/humlyrics/humifyouaretobloomlyrics.htm"]lyrics[/URL]) This song is about Talbot's son, who died shortly after birth. It's completely heartwrenching. Also a good example of his talent for layering guitars. [B]Stars[/B] ([URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rfbn3ieVUYU&feature=related"]YouTube[/URL]) ([URL="http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Hum/Stars.html"]lyrics[/URL]) Hum's one hit, which was apparently obnoxiously popular back in the day. It's not as emotionally taxing as the stuff above, but the imagery is still vivid, and the music is... pretty huge. The video, like all of theirs that I've seen, fails to convey any of that, so do yourself a favor and just listen.

What are you trying to prove with this thread?

Right now I'm listening to [I]Slanted and Enchanted[/I] by Pavement. It's a pretty great record, but it doesn't really embody the things I think made Pavement so great as much as their later albums. It's definitely a precursor to the rest of their discography, and shows that the band was still hanging onto their influences more than they would be later. [quote name='Whoa, Mann'][SIZE=1][COLOR=hotPink]I give alot of props to Japanther, for being a two man band with skills.. I suggest anyone that likes noisey, sometimes mathy crap, try and listen to the bands as listed.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote] Turn Japanther off.

[IMG]http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9421/holumks5.png[/IMG] [I]Colonization of Deep Space[/I] is the fifth full-length album released so far this year by the British experimental band Holum. The album has received favorable reviews so far, especially in comparison with their previous album, last week's atrocious [I]Snate Frain[/I]. Most of the tracks on [I]Deep Space[/I] are previously-unreleased songs from their live show, including the crowd favorite, "Ain't Got No More Love No More", which consists of the vocalist sneezing several times. In one interview, when asked to explain the album's cover, the band pulled blindfolds out of each other's pockets and covered their eyes with them. The trumpet player then cried for the rest of the interview.

Des, you're the ****ing man.

[IMG]http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7526/nrecge7.jpg[/IMG] [I]...For Time is Short[/I] is the sophomore effort from New York-based indie pop trio National Railway Equipment Company. Three days after its release, a Pitchfork Media employee was found to have died of electrocution after drooling excessively onto his keyboard whilst listening to the album, inciting a lawsuit from the company. This factor, combined with the recent theft of all of the band's cardigans on their recent tour with Seabear, has caused the band to go on an indefinite hiatus.

[quote name='Blitz_Kid']Wow almost alot of misspell word in this thread here.[/quote] I counted twenty. A neeeew record! As for the game, I'm intrigued, even though I'm not a big RPG fan. So many games make me wish I had a PS2.

[I]Brighten the Corners[/I] by Pavement. I've said many times that it was my introduction to good music, and it's definitely the most accessible Pavement album I've ever heard--one of the most accessible non-mainstream albums I've heard period, really--so it was an ideal starting point. I don't know exactly how many times I went through it, but I think there were a few months after I discovered it when it might've been [I]all[/I] I listened to. I've been pretty burned out on it since, so I actually don't remember most of it anymore.

[quote name='Shinmaru'][URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=GuTw6Ekho0g"][B]Video of all the Final Smashes.[/B][/URL] Some of them I don't like much (Ness/Lucas, Peach, Donkey Kong), some of them I like a lot (Link, Marth, Ike, Wario), and others I like just because they're awesome-looking attacks (Samus/Zero Suit Samus, Solid Snake, Zelda/Shiek... man, **** it, lots of them look awesome). One I really don't know what to make of, though, is Luigi's. WTF? lol[/quote] Hahaha, Luigi's final is so badass. Though I have to say, I'm [I]very[/I] disappointed that Ness got PSI Starstrike instead of PSI Rockin'.

[B]David Bowie[/B] ****ing [I]duh[/I]. [B] Miki Berenyi[/B] (Lush) I want Lush to reform so I can be her man-groupie and we could go back to the van and she could just sing to me all night. [B]Chris Cornell[/B] (Soundgarden, other bands that don't matter) [quote name='Panache'][B]Chris Cornell[/B] of [U]Soundgarden,Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave[/U] Chris is just plain great .It seems as if people just can't get enough of his voice. He has an amazing soft sounding voice and an an epic angry almost violent voice.[/quote] No "almost". Cornell's voice can leave bruises.

I stopped reading after the site said "pwnage". The meaning and even pronunciation of words have always changed, and now it's happening on the internet for the first time and faster. But everything's faster on the net. It's all the communication we've had for centuries ramped up to hyperspeed. A lot people, like the guy who made that site, just refuse to accept this, that's all.

[B]The Bucket List[/B] [B]-[/B] I only saw it because I was going to the movies with my family. The previews made it look abominable, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was just very bad. Definitely one of Jack Nicholson's worst displays of acting ever. (Not that I've seen a lot of Jack Nicholson movies; it's just that he couldn't possibly have done much worse than this and still have a career.) [B]Hot Fuzz - [/B][I]Finally[/I] saw it last week, and wow. This movie is a standard of viewer satisfaction by which all other movies should be measured. At all times, the film gives you what you want, even if you didn't know you wanted it, and never compromises its integrity in the process; it's like the Andrew W.K. of action comedies. I also found it more satisfying than Sean of the Dead, because I didn't have the zombie flick background to really enjoy that one to its fullest. [B]Veggietales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything -[/B] Saw this one with my youth group yesterday. Unlike a lot of today's CG movies that tend to blur the line between a children's and adult's movie, this is definitely one for the kids. Given that, I don't think there's much to say. lol [B]Cloverfield -[/B] **** the critics, Cloverfield was very good. As everyone's said, the handheld style was the clincher for the film, and it wouldn't have had much of its power without it. Hud was a great character choice for the cameraman, and all of them being average, lame college kids was a boon rather than a problem and shortened the distance between them and the viewers and translated their emotions to me very well. For example, one of the most powerful moments in the movie for me was when [spoiler]Hud gets a shot of the monster coming straight towards them in the street, when it suddenly starts getting barraged with fire from the military right behind them. It was so damn loud and intense and seemingly real that when Hud started screaming like a doofus for a few minutes, I almost felt inclined to scream right along with him.[/spoiler]

[quote name='Pumpkin'][SIZE=2][FONT=tahoma][COLOR=#ff3366]I got a seasonal job at Walmart to make ends meat seeing as how I'm on my own and in college.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE][/quote] [IMG]http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/45/endsmeatfv5.jpg[/IMG]

Anyone could've told you that bringing big chains into a town generally benefits the economy, and I think things like a chain store's resultant cultural conditioning, a lack of variety (and sometimes quality) in products, and the issue of the national/global effects of what a corporation like Wal-Mart does with the massive amount of money we give it are maybe more important than the immediate economic effects. Fortunately, the internet fixes everything. We're buying a lot more from websites, which seem to be a somewhat more balanced market (so far), and so we might eventually just use actual stores for things like clothes and groceries, which, while they can be bought online, are usually better to pick out in person.

I literally can't afford to have senioritis, lol. I need whatever scholarships I can get to pay for college, so I really can't slack off. In fact, I'm doing better with my work this year than I ever have.

I finally got ahold of Mario Kart DS (why the hell did nobody in town have it?). It's been a very long time since I played an MK game, and now I'm starting to realize I suck. But I'd still love to race against anybody here. Contact me on AIM if you want to go at it. MKDS: 519814-257841

Most of [I]I Get Wet[/I] by Andrew W.K. can really get my blood moving and put me in a state of "who cares, rock 'n roll". Man, brilliant album. [I]Loveless[/I] by My Bloody Valentine has a sedative effect on me that's peculiarly consistent. Then there's a few things that can get me sad for a little while, like Slint and a few Bowie songs ("Life on Mars?", "Rock 'n Roll Suicide", etc.).

[quote name='Drifting soul']I'm really looking foreward to this movie. Whenever I look at that promotional picture I go 'awww' and want to hug him, even though he's a robot. Pixar attempting a movie without speech is daring but daring films are the best.[/quote] Daring? Not really. Pixar has done numerous shorts without speaking parts, so they've certainly got the method down, and whether it gets critical acclaim or not, they're pretty much guaranteed to get a good return on any movie they do because of the weight of their name and the dependability of children/family audiences.

It looks like it's going to be one of Pixar's good movies--it's directed by the guy who did Finding Nemo, and the music, from what I can tell in the previews, sounds really fun. And at any rate, movies without dialogue tend to be pretty cute (Triplets of Belleville, anyone?).

I just picked up a DS and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass with the help of leftover Christmas money. I plan to get MK:DS as soon as stores around here restock it, as well. Phantom Hourglass John! - 4296 1896 1633

[quote name='Frog Brigade']This topic suffers from a severe lack of Rowsdower! [URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4L2lwQiAkA[/URL][/quote] I see your Rowsdower and raise you Mitchell. [url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=JJDzZj4rG3s[/url] So, anyone who's been paying attention knows that the first CT release has been out for a few weeks now. I haven't gotten around to ordering it yet, but I guarantee you I will. Also, I don't know what happened with the movie choice: in the StarWars.com interview, Joel seemed certain they were going to get [I]Zardoz[/I], but they ended up doing another movie, the original title of which escapes me (they had to retitle it for the CT release as [I]The Oozing Skull[/I] to differentiate it from the original movie). Needless to say, that disappointed me, but maybe it's for the best that I don't get to see Sean Connery in nothing but a red rubber band.

[quote name='Revelation'][SIZE=1][COLOR=#8b008b][B]What is it?[/B] [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=54015"]The Complaint[/URL] [B]Why is it NIFTY?[/B] Created by [B]silpheedpilot[/B], at the time of thread known as [B]AC!D!C[/B]; it was a thread that created a fire in the OtakuBoards. It wasn?t put out quickly nor was it ignored. This fire spread and people caught on to what was going on, their eyes opening to certain things that have been swept under the rug. Due to this thread, the OB have had several mishaps but overall because of this thread, there have been efforts to create a better OB. Understandable that the Staff has been trying, but with the help of [B]The Complaint[/B], Staff has been trying HARDER than before. [Though I could be wrong about this entire thing. So sue me.][/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote] Wrong year. The Complaint already made it in last year's 50, but for a much sounder reason: [quote=Nifty Fifty '07][SIZE=2][COLOR=#000000]"It reminds me of that part in The Truman Show where someone accidentally opens a false wall allowing Truman to see a group of secretive people with mysterious doings. Except in this thread, the wall fell over because one of the people in the room was bumbling around scratching his ***, then when it was open everyone started yelling at him and everyone on the outside saw it and started laughing until the ones on the inside started throwing hissy fits at them and finally just took off their paper hats and disbanded their secret club. "So you can see the similarity there, I think."[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote]

I could've sworn I had posted in a Bioshock thread on here, but maybe it was on GS. My experience with Bioshock was kinda tragic. I rented it to play on my friend's (who lives just above me) 360, and, not expecting to buy it, put it on Easy so I could enjoy as much of the storyline and as many cool plasmids as possible before taking it back. Stupid, stupid idea. Turned out I liked it enough to go ahead and buy it, but I was far enough into the game at that point that it would've been a hassle to start it all over on a higher difficulty, and I didn't want to change the difficulty in the middle of the game (which seems like a silly feature to me anyway) because I wanted to see how the difficulty of one section compares to that of another. So I went ahead and finished it on Easy, which took a lot out of the game on a few levels. For one, I very rarely worried about ammo, and there were even many plasmids and a few weapons that I really didn't use once or twice--in fact, on Easy I probably could've made it through using only weapons, save for a boss every once in a while. And just as importantly, a lot of the tension was lost. I mean, not nearly all of it--regardless of difficulty level, this game has tons of [I]brilliantly[/I] scary moments--but I guess I didn't feel like a shipwrecked survivor trapped in an underwater dystopia fighting off savage genetic mutants as much as I should've, lol. Still, it's a really good game, and I hope I get around to playing through it again sometime.

[quote name='Deus ex Machina'][COLOR=DarkOrange]Damn ugly woman and her non-music... ever since that one video I was never able to say 'kawaii' without feeling bad.[/COLOR][/quote] You should never have been able to say "kawaii" without feeling bad.