Xander Harris

Well, I personally really liked The World Is Not Enough. Picking up on what Siren was talking about, I think this movie did manage to carry the post-cold-war/emerging modernity theme forward. The movie deals with nuclear proliferation, oil and terrorism. Unfortunately, it suffers because the second Bond girl (can't remember her name... I think it was Christmas something...) can't act worth a ****. [Spoiler]And my all-time favorite Bond line comes at the end. "You can't kill me, mister Bond, you'd miss me!" "I never miss" [/spoiler] but they should have ended the movie there. The extended sequence w/ the submarine just felt like overkill. Still, I think this is a good Bond movie, and would recommend that everyone see it. I saw Goldeneye waaay back in the day. I want to see it again now, in light of what Siren was talking about, and see if I get more out of it. Die Another Day sucked so bad... I don't even know where to start on the criticism... it's just pretty much a piece of crap. Tomorrow Never Dies was a fun Bond pic with a smokin hot asian Bond girl, but I think TWINE is better IMHO.

Take a very warm shower or bath about an hour before you plan to sleep. This is not merely a relaxation technique. After the shower/bath, your body's internal temperature will actually drop a little, which gives a feeling of sleepiness. Then listen to relaxing music and read something difficult. I recommend anything related to physics or advanced philosophy. You are bound to go to sleep. If you try that and it doesn't work, try sleep aid pills. If that doesn't work, or it does work but you need to be on them for more than 2 weeks, go see a doctor, because there may be something seriously wrong with you. Also, don't drink any caffeine, or eat any chocolate or spicy foods. Stick with bland, normal foods. Hope it gets better soon, James Bierly

Huh? Valentine's day happened? Already? Oh yeah, I guess it did. Time flies. I finally obtained some left over heart candy yesterday, so I am happy...

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1] You're referring to the Ocean Group, right? Admittedly, a number of their dubs do kind of suck, but others are nothing short of excellent (i.e. Soul Taker and Infinite Ryvius). The problem is that it ends up feeling like something of a lottery. Gundam SEED's dub, for example, pretty much murdered my interest in the series... it had its good points, but after a while the mediocre/poor performances just came to outweigh the strong ones in my mind. ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] Sigh. Why do they always have to dub stuff before they put it on CN... I am watching the Japanese version right now, and I must say I love all the voice actors... besides, it might help our nation's youth's plummeting reading skills if they had to watch Naruto with subtitles... Also, I REALLY hope they put Naruto on adult swim instead of Toonami. If they try to edit out the blood, the fights will look rediculously choppy and edited... Ja mata, James Bierly

I identify a bit with Naruto. A somewhat quirky person who sometimes has trouble getting people to take him seriously who wants to be known for his deeds. I think Naruto's go-get-em enthusiastic attitude is something to aspire to as well.

Never watch Spirited Away before bed. You will have the strangest dreams ever. I know I did...

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]Sounds like a bootleg to me. ^_^;; Amazon's marketplace dealers are kind of notorious for this--when it comes to the ratio of legitimate products to bootlegs, they really aren't much more reliable than eBay. If the item you got has the series spread over three DVDs, or is listed as all-region (region-free), it's definitely a bootleg. Japanese anime DVDs are almost always far more expensive than American anime DVDs, and very few come with English subtitles. ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] *Xander Harris gets worried...* So, uh, can I get arrested for buying it then? *hopes there are no government agents reading the boards*

[QUOTE=Dragonboym2] A Van cosplayer was walking around, and out of nowhere, I heard a girl's voice cry out "Lord Van! LORD VAAAAAANNNNN!!" And a Merle cosplayer ran out a room, and lept ontop of Van. "OhlordvanIwassoscaredIthoughttheykilledyouneverleavemeagain!" She babbled. I walked over. "You two know eachother?" I asked. "No." Van said. I just laughed. :laugh: Dragonboym2[/QUOTE] I would have paid money to see that. Although if I were paying, they would do it in Japanese "Van-Sama!! Van-SAAAMAA!!" lol BTW, you realize you managed to answer both my questions with one example? Cosplay and glomps, all wrapped up in a feline encounter. Yay. You're my hero. James Bierly

[quote name='Arcadia] Well, that, and the music. Good lord, the [i]music[/i']. [/size][/quote] Yes. The music for Escaflowne is unbelievable. I really love the opening theme, especially. It's one of the few anime theme songs I sat through for every episode. The poetic words fit the story and the characters so well. The music throughout the series is top notch, and makes the music in things like Rurouni Kenshin sound second rate and repetitive. However, I noticed that the composer stole a few bars here and there from the Empire Strikes Back soundtrack. But they are dang good bars to steal. I really think that this series would be worth it for the music alone, even if the animation and story weren't so good. The animation is top notch, and often downright breathtaking, as Escaflowne swoops and soars above fabulous vistas. The use of 'emotion effects' as I like to call them (people's eyes getting all big and cartoony and such, not sure what the real name for this is) are few and far between, and carefully chosen. Usually, only Merle uses these. The character designs are all excellent and expressive. I especially liked how... normal Hitomi's character design seemed. She isn't some uber-babe anime heroine, but rather just an ordinary girl with powers she can hardly understand in a world beyond anything she thought possible. The battles are well choreographed and believable within the context of the world. Powerful themes of destiny and free will, playing God, true love versus destined love, the moral quandry of the warrior, guilt, love vs. hate, and the deepest wishes of mankind run throughout the series. If I ever teach a Philosophy Through Anime class, this will be one of my primary sources. Also, I challenge anyone not to have a deep emotional response to at least one of these characters. I highly recommend you watch this series in Japanese with English subtitles. Most of the English voice actors and actresses are o.k., but the person doing Hitomi is horrid. Ditto for Merle. The Japanese voice actresses are infinately better. [Quote=Dagger]Hmm... I don't think an Escaflowne "collection 1" exists, which makes me suspect that whatever you're looking at is a bootleg. Bandai has released Escaflowne in various forms over the years: there's an out-of-print box set that contains all eight DVDs plus an action figure or something, but your chances of locating that are almost nil (besides, it's quite expensive). Toward the end of last year, they came out with a much cheaper bundle/DVD brick type of thing (again containing all eight discs), which had weird packaging but was considerably cheaper. However, this was a holidays-only collection, and I think it's already been pulled from some online retailers. So while you might be able to find it in a brick-and-mortar store, your chance of running into a copy would be slim. Basically, unless you're able to track down an inexpensive legit copy of the old box set, the singles are probably your best bet. You'll still be able to get the more recent collection if you buy it right away, but it's not going to hang around forever. If you can afford the all-at-once expense, I'd advise purchasing that. I believe it also includes the Escaflowne movie. ~Dagger~ [/quote] Hm. I'm not quite sure what ya'll are talking about here, but I got a new copy of the full series on DVD from a second party dealer on Amazon.com... I don't think Amazon dealers sell bootlegs, although I think what I have is a version released in Japan and not the U.S., since most of the writing on the box is Japanese... whattya think??

[QUOTE=Shy][size=1]OtakuBoards Rule #1: If you ask to become a mod, it will never happen. -Shy[/size][/QUOTE] Hmmm. That brings some interesting notions to my mind... if someone WANTS to be a mod, and they were replying to this thread, then they would have to say they don't want to be a mod. But if they say that than chances are they won't get asked to mod. So, the way I see it, anyone who replies to this thread (who isn't a mod already) and wants to BE a mod is screwed the second they hit 'submit reply.' ;) Seriously? I think being a mod would be a lot of fun. But I think if I were to try to mod a board, I would end up spending so much time doing so that my real life would suffer. Or I wouldn't give the internet board the time it deserves because of real world concerns. In other words, I would either be a crappy mod or a crappy human being. Either way I would lose. But I do really appreciate the mods on OB. The fact that it is a relatively spam-free forum with quality posts encouraged and a friendly and helpful staff is the main reason I (and I'm sure many others) keep showing up here. So yeah, you guys are great. Keep up the good work. (and I'm not just trying to get brownie points :p . I really mean it) EDIT: Question: Do mods around here get paid? Do they get dental insurance? Paid vacation? If so, I recant everything I said in this post. Forget it ever existed and send me an application!!!

Amen. Conan O'Brian is the greatest of the late night talk show hosts. Everyone I know who has seen him agrees. My personal favorite is 'Frankenstein wastes a minute of our time' lol I also really appreciate his ability to use physical comedy and performance skills to compensate when jokes fall flat.

[QUOTE=Corey][size=1] When I first got here I feared James just about as much as I feared a broken bone or a night in jail.[/size][/QUOTE] lol. When I first came here I wasn't scared of James, just confused when my real life friends would be talking about OB and would mention his name. I always thought they were talking about me :p As far as 'playing mod' goes, I guess the problem is that it is so hard to define. Where does the line between being helpful and playing mod fall? No one wants to be accused of playing mod, but no one wants to feel they can't talk helpfully to newbies either. Personal story: I know I recently had a hard time trying to decide whether or not to reply to one thread, because I wasn't sure if it would be considered playing mod or not. I wanted to reply because the guy reminded me of someone I know in real life, felt kind of sorry for the guy, and I wanted to try to encourage him. I finally decided to reply because I thought the thread could maybe have potential as a 'what makes a good thread' thread, and might not end up being closed Alas, it was closed, but Panda didn't yell at me for 'playing mod' so I guess I made the right decision... (of course, it might also just be a sign that Panda is a really nice person ;) ) I think I was only accused of playing mod once, when I was still kind of new around here. I had seen a lot of other people replying to bad newbie threads, and I thought it was the thing to do lol... I guess it seems to me that if you are replying to something that you know will be closed, then you are playing mod. But if you think there's a chance you can turn it into a useful thread in some way (like I thought could be done in the example above) then it is o.k. to reply. Am I right about this? I need to go eat lunch. James Bierly

[QUOTE=Panda]I love going to conventions and taking pictures of cosplayers. I have a little story I told on myO after Anime Expo last year. I was sitting with some industry-type people up front at the Masquerade and there was a Gravitation cosplay group. All the people around me were the people who work in the anime industry...so basically "suits". They were there since it was work. The MC announced it was going to be Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck. I let out this really loud fan girl squeal. I was the only one to do that up front. Only the fans in the back of the room reacted the same way. Everyone around me just looked at me like I had lost my mind. Oh well. As for cosplaying I have dressed up as Lynn Minmei from Macross. Red full length Chinese dress and I even put my hair in buns. This was back when I had really long hair and could make that cheesy hairstyle she has with the buns. I also have a costume for the "video girl" from Battle Royale. You know, the girl in the orange shirt that explains the rules to the kids in the Battle Royale movie. I know I have pictures somewhere, I will have to find them. Cosplay is fun especially when someone recognizes you. Many cosplayers put hours and hours into their costumes which are simply amazing. As for glomping. I give bear hugs, nice friendly bear hugs. I am not agressive when it comes to hugs. Here's a picture I took before the Masquerade in 2003 of a Spirited Away troupe. Their costumes were absolutely amazing. I wish I could have taken a picture of the entire group. Great cosplayers. [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/Panda_chan_/misc/spirit.jpg[/IMG] Those costumes rocked my socks![/center][/QUOTE] Why were the 'suits' so dispassionate? I think if I was getting paid to go to Anime conventions I'd be ecstatic, not blase. That's gotta be one of the greatest jobs in the world, lol. I think some people convince themselves that their lives are boring, and just can't recognize a good thing when they have it. Nice pic, btw. I guess a lot of people put lots of effort into these costumes, to get them so realistic looking. I could never make costumes that good, myself, since my art skills are horrible, but I appreciate the amount of skill and dedication that goes into making things that good. James Bierly

[quote name='Adahn]I wholeheartedly disagree. I think the opposite is true, but with a slight change. [b]Anyone you'd live for, you love.[/b] Any person can give up his/her life, but does anyone stop and think about how the person you love feels? If you truly love them, and they love you, you'd be willing to do anything to live for them. Making them happy is your sole motivation in life, and dying for them will cause them the greatest pain ever. If one of us [b]HAD [/b']to die, and the other would have to go on living, I would suffer the burden of life without her.[/quote] Hmm. I think you are spot on when you say that love is living for someone or something. I think it's easier to die for someone or something than to truly live for them. The decision to die for someone takes just a moment to make, and then it's all over. But if you are living for someone or something, than everything you do, everything you say, should be honoring to them. You may love your SO, but if you ever have lustful thoughts, even for a second, about another man/women you have ceased to be living for that person. You may say you live for your God (or whatever you worship) but if you are not living every moment of every day according to the way that diety would have you live, than you cannot truly say you are living for them. Personally (and yes, this is a religious belief. Ignore the next paragraph if you so desire), I believe that we can have love in this world, but it is not perfect love. In the next life, when we are made like Christ, we will have perfect love. Until then it will not be perfect. But a world with love, even imperfect love, is infinitely better than a world without. Till the lion lies down with the lamb, James Bierly

[QUOTE=Yume Tenshi]Who else here thinks Valentine's Day is a waste of time? It's the same old thing you spend $100 on a gift and then two days later you brake up. i may sound like a loser who can't get a boyfriend but im not i just don't want to waste my time to get my heart broken and to brake someone heart to. Like when im in school i see everyone kissing and saying they love each other and then a week later they brake up never talk to each other again and there still crying saying they loved them and how could they. In my P.O.V i think we should all give up on LOVE.[/QUOTE] I think valentines day is a great idea for a holiday... for people in a serious relationship. I don't think people who aren't in a serious relationship should be throwing that much money at each other, and I don't think think that people in a real serious relationship will feel the need to spend lots of money on each other to 'prove' their love. So as far as expensive gifts go, Valentine's Day is stupid. But the idea of a holiday to celebrate love and commitment and take your SO out for a nice dinner appeals to the hopeless romantic in me. :love: But, as I am single, it will be another lonely Valentines Day for me :( EDIT: I almost forgot! Valentines day is a GREAT holiday! Why? You get those awesome little heart candies that have the funny little sayings on them. The white and yellow ones are best, IMHO. Yay for little heart candies. Love is all you need, James Bierly

Hmmm. This is a tricky question. I don't think the lead up to the war was handled properly. I think a lot of the President's logic was faulty, and the intelligence was crap. However, the question you are asking is not if we were justified in going in there in the first place, but if the sacrifices are worth it for the goal. As I hear reports of thousands of Iraqis turning out to vote today, I think I'd have to say yes. A free, democratic, and pro-US Iraq could be a powerful weapon in the War On Terror. And whatever the US motives for toppling him really were, getting rid of Saddam was most certainly a good thing. In the end, I would say yes, most definately the costs are worth it. Although in the end I do hate to see our troops die and our deficit go up, the optimist in me sees value in the sacrifice. But only time will tell... James Bierly

[QUOTE=Dragonboym2]I cosplayed for the first time that year. I was Hero Yui from Gundam Wing. Not many people looked at me though. XD. Besides, it gets hot in Baltimore. It was what, 97 degrees, maybe? So, the tank top and shorts were a good idea. Well, one girl got excited to see me? "Are you Hero Yui?!" she asked excitedly. "Yeah, that's me. I mean..(Hero Voice) that is correct." "Can I hug you?!" "Sure. I mean (Hero voice) very well." And so she did. "I hugged Hero!" she sang. But last year, I got alot of attention because I was dressed as Goku of DBZ. :) Life was good. But what does "Glomph" stand for? Mike[/QUOTE] I guess Glomph is like people hugging each other super hard so they sometimes fall over. I'm sorta picturing Merle jumping on Van in Escaflowne... I actually think Goku would be one of the easier costumes to make, as well as fun and easily recognizable by anyone who hasn't been living under a box.

[QUOTE=Lore][color=#ff6600] I've dressed up as Princess Fiona (from [i]Shrek[/i]) and Charlie Chaplin, so there's not much special emphasis on "cosplay," really. [/color][/QUOTE] Tangent: Charlie Chaplin was the man. To make a career out of comedy without speaking (o.k., so he talked in the later years, but that was after he was already famous) takes some mad skills. [quote name='Methusalah']I glomp people a lot, it's in my nature. I remember knocking down one of my friends when she gave me a present, I just kind of sat on her for a while...very amusing.[/quote] LOL. I bet the look on her face was priceless... And people shouldn't make fun of others for having fun. Digimon costumes rock!! [quote name='Lore]I dressed up as Chihiro (from [i]Spirited Away[/i']) during Homecoming week last year. Costume day, great fun. I had pink scrubs and a little soot sprite made of black pipe cleaners. It was actually pretty cute, and I probably have a picture at home somewhere.[/quote] That's really cool, heh. Can you believe I still haven't seen [I]Spirited Away[/I]? However, last night I saw someone going to watch it, and I put it on my mental list of things to do in the next week or two. I might as well answer my own question while I'm at it. I have a bad habit of starting threads but then never answering the question myself. I've never dressed up as a cosplay Anime character (hence my investigation of the subject, and my starting the thread). I won a prize for dressing up as Zorro as a little kid. Still have pieces of the costume. Recently made a really shoddy vampire costume out of a black shirt and cape for a Live Action RPG event I was running (my first, and so far only, time trying something like that. It was a lot of fun for everyone, though, so I count it as one of my greatest RPG successes. Anyhow, that was another tangent, in case no one realized it). Oh! And I dressed up as a Area 51 interrogator for Heemstra Harvest Day. Our floor had the Sci-Fi theme, so we used the sub-basement as Area 51. We interrogated groups of people about suspected alien activity, then sprayed silly string on them. That was fun, and the majority of our guests seemed to enjoy our performance. That's just about all the dressing up I can think of that I've done off the top of my head. [quote name='Lore']More like, "fun character, easy costume, yay!"[/quote] lol. Words to live by. It deserved it's own quote box. Hooray for answering my own question for a change, James Bierly

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet']I'm guessing 1st Corinthians, but I don't know the passage or verses. It's a very common reading to do at Christian weddings.[/color][/quote] Half a cookie for knowing the book. :p The chapter is 13.

I've only started seriously watching Anime the past year or so, but on message boards I kept seeing the term "Cosplay" come up. Curious as to what it was, I went over to good old wikipedia [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay[/url] Huh. Interesting... So, the topic of the day is: How many of you folks have actually dressed up like Anime characters? *continues reading wikipedia article* And how many of you, ahem, 'glomp' each other? Investigating Otaku Sub-Culture, James Bierly

[QUOTE=ETJ]ok, i've only made 2 posts yet already a freind says i'll be barred within the month. your thoughts please. hmmm... this really is spam, isn't it? does this add to the bet one way? does this mean i'll lose? *ponders* well, if so, what does that mean* *stops talking to self* *talks to you* hi *waves* *you take 2 steps back* *i'm not surprised*[/QUOTE] Heh. That made me laugh. You look like you might have a sense of humor. That's good. Try thinking about what you post a little before you post it. Always try to write things that could cause further discussion. Use basic grammer and spelling skills (which I'm fairly certain I didn't do in that sentance). And be polite to everyone. Do that, and you ought to be able to stick around awhile :) Always happy to see new faces, James Bierly

See, the lack of a "spam-board" and the presence instead of a properly moderated Lounge area for quality off-topic discussions is the primary reason I come here. There is no point just posting random garbage on the net, if you don't think it will lead to meaningful discussion, insight or entertainment. That's why OB remains one of the jewels of internet message boards, imho. The administrative commitment to quality.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. [B]Definition of Love:[/B] [I]Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. [/I] Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I tried to think of a way to put that in my own words, but I think the original said it best. Cookie to the person who knows the reference for this ;)

I don't think that ethnic discrimination will ever be completely eradicated. It's one of the bad things that are part of fallen human nature. I don't know about China, but I know racial discrimination most certainly is still an issue in America. Only naive people think otherwise. For instance, I am a white caucasian. When we moved out to Iowa, I was discriminated against and harrassed because I was not dutch. Even here on a Christian campus that prides itself on diversity and open-mindedness, a friend of mine from India says she encountered a fair amount of racial intolerance during her first few years here. The older dutch people in the Iowan small towns propogate racial stereotypes against the incoming Hispanic population, and feel threatened by them. (and I'm sure I will carry some nasty stereotypes about small Dutch towns for the rest of my life) A couple years back, a couple kids in our town attempted robbery by shooting themselves and claiming the store was robbed. They said that it was "Two Mexicans" who did the shooting. The next day, my friend Angela (who is hispanic) felt overwhelmed by people whose anti-hispanic sentiment had been stirred up by the incident. To the disgrace of our entire community, I don't think there was anyone who didn't buy the "Two Mexicans" story hook line and sinker, until the forensics investigators proved it wrong. Racial discrimination is one of the most disgusting things in the world, but I don't think it will ever completely cease to be an issue. It is one of those social ills we will always have to strive against. Grace and peace, James Bierly

Well, my family has moved around a lot. I started my life off in New Hampshire, then we moved to New York and moved around a couple of times there. Finally, we came out to Iowa. Until last summer, I would say that was the furthest I had traveled. But last summer I went to Mexico with my Spanish class. That was an experience... [QUOTE=MyOtaku Archives]Mexico was fun. Lots and lots of walking, but fun. A few amusing annectodes from Mexico, which are far funnier when I tell them in person with my Mexican accent, but are hopefully at least mildly entertaining as prose: Everyone in Mexico wants to sell you something, and everyone is a tour guide. One fellow took us around to his mother's, father's, Aunt's, Uncle's, and distant relation's shops, and wouldn't take 'no, we would rather find our own path' as an answer. At the end of our little side-treck he says 'You give me dollar for being good boy? I take plastic money too!' Thongs are immensely popular in Mexico City. Every block had a vendor with a great big bin of lingerie, and a crowd of women swarming around it and digging in like they were looking for gold. I swear, they must not wash their underwear there, just buy it fresh every morning, with the amount of stuff those vendors were selling. And there is pirated music and movies everywhere. Those street vendors had DVDs of movies that had only just been released in the U.S. Some guy walked up to one of my friends and offered him cocaine.[/QUOTE] I forgot a few things back when I wrote that, though. Such as the fact that it's almost easier to find alchohol than it is to find pop. And anyone can buy the stuff. And the time the guy tried to sell us a handmade blanket at the pyramids. "One dolla'!" He yells. "One Dalla'!" "One Dollar!?!" we ask him. "Yes, one dolla'" he replies. We walk over to him and start examining the blanket. It is of very nice quality... "One dollar, you said?" we ask him again. "Yes," he replies, "fifty and ONE DOLLA'" I wonder if he had been quietly saying the fifty earlier, too. Either way, it was a clever trick for luring customers. But we didn't buy the blanket. ;) Other noteworthy places I've been to but didn't have to travel terribly far for include Niagara Falls and the Six Flags in New Jersey (which weren't too far away while I was in NY). Since coming out to Iowa I've been to Minneapolis/St. Paul a couple of times and down to Des Moines once. Both take a couple of hours of driving to get to, but aren't really all that far away. When we went out east a couple summers ago to visit relatives, I went to Hershey's Park and the Pennsylvania capitol building. That's about it for my travels. James Bierly