Sir Kyle

[SIZE=1]Jimi Hendrix is pretty good. You've got to respect a guy who learned to play the guitar upside down and could still OWN pretty much everyone solo wise. He was also a great blues artist. I'd also say that when I see Justin King, I see one of the most skilled technical guitarists ever. Go to justinking.com and check out some of his videos. He is amazing. You give him any piece of music and he could play it without even trying, he's that good. And Billy from Green Day, I don't really think he's that good. There's one thing to be said about being a great performer, and another about being a great musician. Personally (and this is purely my point of view) but a great musician is one who is greatly skilled with their instrument (or instruments for the best of the best) and can play anything you throw at them. They know everything there is to know about their instrument of choice and can make it sound great whatever the occasion. Justin King is a great musician. Esteban is a great musician. Billy Joe? Plays a lot of power chords in a new style punk band. I'm not doubting his ability to perform and sell records (God knows his band has done it more than once) but a great guitarist? Not to me. IMO.[/SIZE]

You guys live pretty close to New York there. I live here in the midwest so it was like 3 and a half hours of plane rides to get over there but that's alright, I got to see it at least once in my lifetime. And by the way, how are you guys enjoying your death blizzards and freezing cold up there? Here in Nebraska, where you'd usually have more snow than you have up there right now, it's a nice 50+ degrees, maybe even hitting 60 pretty soon here. I know I'm enjoying it, for once in my life. Winter here is usually brutal.

[quote name='Baron Samedi][SIZE=1']I envy rich people.[/SIZE][/quote] I agree verily. I don't understand where some of these parents are pulling their thousands and thousands of dollars from and how they can just spend it like that, but I guess it happened and if I complain then people will just call me jealous. Anyway, I didn't get a computer or a car or any video games of anything cool like that. I got: A t-shirt PJ Pants A picture in a cheap frame Lord of the Rings DVD And a few Christmas cards. Yeah, didn't pull in too much of a good haul this year but it happens, I can't complain. I have my family and the care enough to sacrifice their small amount saved up on me and for that, I'm eternally thankful. I suppose Christmas is more about that though, to me anyway. I'll just keep on keeping on.

[SIZE=1]I think Seinfeld definitely was a great show. It deserved every accolade it recieved, in my opinion, due to the style of comedy used. It was more dry and everyday style, like something that could happen to anyone. I do think that Frasier was overrated, though not a lot. I just didn't like the richy smugness that it seemed to be pulling off every episode and I don't really agree with it being the "smartest show on television." I didn't mind it too much though, it was good at times. The Real World on MTV, being watched as much as it is which makes it seem good when looking at the ratings, is actually pretty stupid. The concept was decent back in the day when they first started it, but like 15 citites later it's become too cut and dry and is both a has been show and just plain idiotic. My two cents.[/SIZE]

Did you get to visit Broadway and see a show perchance? When I visited New York (it's been nearly 3 years now) I went and saw Les Miserables and it was pretty good IMO. Brodway as a whole is pretty sweet though. And I really wish I could visit the city again. I agree with your feeling of it being "unreal" and huge. I live in Nebraska here so I don't get to see the really big city often and being in New York was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen in my entire life. No wonder people call it "The Greatest City in the World." I almost believe it.

Green Day is a pretty decent band in my opinion. Playing lots of easy licks and power chords isn't too hard, but the ability to make songs out of them that have great hooks and are pleasing to most people is more so. More power to them I suppose. I won't be buying their album because I don't really ever go out and buy music. I'm more of a pirate myself but that's something completely beside the point. Green Day is alright, I guess. If they can make millions off their records, then they're obviously doing something right but in my opinion aren't any greater than your average band.

[SIZE=1]I don't know if I'd call Invader Zim that old of a show really. Ren and Stimpy, yes, but Zim? Hardly. Of course to you youngins out there, Zim being first aired in 2001 could seem like a long time ago, but some of you I suppose were just being born or don't remember when Ren and Stimpy first aired on Nickelodeon back in 1991. Nick was cool back in those days with shows like Wild and Crazy Kids, Salute Your Shorts, Pete and Pete, All That, Guts, R&S, Hey Dude, Doug, Rugrats, etc. As time went on, though, Nick started selling out to a supposed image of kids today and if you try and watch Nick you'll see that you can't watch it for more than an hour before you wonder who you are and what year it is. Ren and Stimpy was always a cool show. It may seem disgusting but it's just cartoony humor, kind of like those shows were meant to be rather than stupid things (in my opinion) like Chalk Zone and other dumb shows to that point. Ren and Stimpy was cooler when their original creators had the rights to the shows but when Nick stepped in in the 2nd season and fired him and his crew, the show went downhill in a hurry. I wouldn't say a similar thing happened with Zim because Nick never fired anyone, it's just that ratings were abysmal and they decided to cut their losses and toss the show before they lost anymore money. It's a shame when a decent (I'm not ever gonna say great of even good) show like Zim get's shipped out and cancelled but it happens. Nick these days anyways. If only we had old school Nick back (around the R&S era up to even 6-7 years ago), then we'd be in business again.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]It looks like I'm one of the less ambitious patrons that resides around these boards these days. Everyone wants to do this or that, become rich and or famous and have a cool degree with all sorts of specialized crap everywhere. I thought that was the way it was going to turn out for me, too, but I don't think that's going to be how it ends up when it's all said and done. I first realized that I was losing my ambition when I graduated high school and I didn't recieve ANY fricken scholarships and one little measley $500 grant from the state. If you know anything about college, it costs a little more than 500 bucks a year to go. Hell, it usually costs more than 500 dollars to buy books, let alone tuition and room and board. I was a 3.5 GPA student in high school, I got a 29 on my ACT and still, I got jack crap for money to go to school. I filled out tons of scholarship applications, wrote tons of essays (with my Honors/AP English teachings aiding me) and still, nothing. My family isn't rich by any means, but according to the government, I get no grant money anyway. So I finally make it to college and I'm paying for it out of my pocket. I have to work part-time and go to school full-time so it's somewhat tought but still managable. At first I was all like "YIPPEE! College is great! I'm gonna major in Psychology and become a therapist and be rich and YAY ME!" Until I realized that college is a lot tougher than high school if you don't want to try very hard. It became apparent that college probably isn't for me but I'm going to stick with it until I don't think I can make it any longer. My goal is basically just to say that I have a college education because that alone is better than most of my family can say about themselves. At first, my goal was to become a computer scientist. Then I discovered that that took way too much math for someone like me who isn't very math saavy, plus when I took a programming class in high school that didn't go over very well. Then I was decided I wanted to major in Psychology (which I still am now) but when I found out that way higher level classes were going to be too tough on me (especially graduate courses), I decided against getting anything past a bachelor's degree. Some of you might be thinking "What the heck's he gonna do with a BA in Psychology?" Good question since I can't do much with it. In fact, I'm probably going to become a Firefighter/Paramedic for a career and though I don't need a college education to do that, I figure that it can't hurt. So yeah, looks like I'm gonna get a college degree so I can become a firefighter. Making 30 grand a year ain't that bad though. Do you really need a ton of money anyway?[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Darius_Stomu].........................Well....what is there to say about...ummm....interesting people...? From what I see, that project was either: A.) Done by a school of morons. B.) Done by people who're still confused about their sexuality. C.) Are just trying to piss the teacher off. D.) All the above. None of their handwriting was very pretty either...[/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Well, seeing as they're all JAPANESE students, it's not very surprising that this is the result of a teacher's exercise with them. Even though almost all Japanese students are required to take English classes, not many of them do very well in them or when they get out of school, don't use it enough to remember it. Just think about it. Learning Japanese to someone who predominately speaks English is a VERY tough task as is going the opposite way, I wager. I took Japanese myself for 2 years in high school and I have taken at least one class here in college and I still can't write that well to save my life. Sure, I can make some sentences up and put them in bubbles too like these students did, but I'm sure they'd make fun of my Japanese just as much as their English is laughable. So you see, these kids aren't morons, I don't know where you got confused about their sexuality, and are most likely not trying to piss their teachers off. These kids were given an assignment to write up a comic strip in the best English they know and then submit it. English isn't easy to learn, man, it's one of the toughest languages out there. Perhaps when you write a picture perfect Japanese comic strip that is funny, well thought out, and everyone loves and no one makes fun of, then maybe you can make fun of these kids all you want to.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Oh come on man, there's nothing wrong with Beethoven and other classical composers. They make music, and beautiful complex music at that, and are very talented and good at it. If you tried to go an figure out all of the theory that goes into each different symphony or movement or concerto that these men write, either your head would explode or you'd give up before you even started. And he did some of his stuff while he was going deaf. How can a guy who can hardly hear anymore make something that lasts as a classic for centuries as one of the greatest things ever composed? I don't know, you may not like the sounds they create and may hate listening to every second of a wonderful movement, but at least give the guys some credit. It's hard work and they've created masterpieces. And on that note, I really don't hate that much of anything. In all reality, I can stand and tolerate pretty much anything thrown my way so I don't worry about it too much.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interestingly enough, I was thinking the same thing as Fyodark here. Especially if you can get one of your friends that plays guitar real well (if any of your friends can) to back you up with a little blues stylin', it ought to rock hard. Or, if you just want to be solo and really steal the show, I don't know what to tell you exactly. I don't know your range as a singer and I haven't heard your voice to perhaps suggest something that might go with your talent well. That aside, though, all I can say is bring something that is really captivating and something you know will get the crowd's attention. Typically, slower and more dramatic tunes will get the job done. Something that might be sad but turns out happy in the end and something that requires you to really belt it out and sing your heart out will most definitely get the crowd's attention. Just suggestions, though. I'd say go with what you know and what you're comfortable with. Make it yours and you're sure to be a hit.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Farto the Magic][QUOTE=ScirosDarkblade]These fluctuations will be so extreme (and happen every 100000 years, which is really frequent!!) that after a certain point they will engulf both Earth and even Mars, totally frying both planets. QUOTE] [COLOR=DarkRed] Uhhh...I don't mean to question you, but, if Earth is billions of years old, then why wouldn't we have been destroyed lots of times. I mean, if the sun turns into a red giant every 100000 years, wouldn't we be dead?[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]He means that when the sun reaches that stage in it's life then it will begin it's flucuation. Right now, the sun as we know it is classified as a "G" Class star, I think it's a G2 type star if I remember from my college astronomy class. Basically, stars are classified by their size/color/magnitude. Out star, the sun, is in the G class which is pretty much middle of the road in star terms being not overly large but not the smallest star by any means. I think the classes of stars go by class O, B, A, F, G, K,and M with the O class stars being the bluest and largest of the bunch while the M starts are more towards the red side of the spectrum. The heat and intensity of the star also determines it's color and class, blue things are more approaching the higher wavelengths in the spectrum so they are hotter while the reds are approaching the lower wavelengths so they are cooler (relatively speaking of course.) The hotter and larger he star, the faster it burns it's hydrogen supply that it aquires when it is born. These large O class stars which are thousands of times the size of our own sun are known to use their amount of hydrogen in as little as 10 million years. What happens is the stars use the intense heat in the core to fuse the hydrogen ions together with each other to release energy and to keep the star going, in the process making the star hotter and making helium in the process. As the star uses up all it's hydrogen, the energy of the star increases and the size of the star increases as well . When the core runs out of hydrogen, the intense gravitational force released when the core cannot support itself any longer in fact increases the amount of heat and energy. As the heat increases, the size of the star increases due to the expansion of the outer shell but on the overall, the heat is very widely dispersed so the average surface temperature is much less than that of our present day sun. Anyways, yes, our sun will undergo this type of transformation when is reaches the end of it's about 10 billion year lifespan. The same goes for the larger stars that only take about 10 million years to go through life but much more frequently. The sun will expand and will most certainly engulf Mercury and Venus, perhaps even the Earth and Mars on its way to it's ultimate end. Like Sciros stated, the state of the star at this point in it's life is very erratic and will go through many changes in a relatively quick sort of way until it reaches one of a few ends. For our sun, the most likely lifespan would be something like this: Sun is born and goes through it's main sequence as a yellow dwaf star (dwarf is used to describe main sequence stars), expands into a red giant and eventually shrinks into a white dwarf when it's nuclear fires finally stop burning and stays that way for a good amount of time afterward. A white dwarf is about the size of our Earth, maybe a bit smaller, but much more dense because all of the matter from the original sun is contained in that small mass. Or, if the star is huge and very volatile (like giant bluish stars), they instead will grown to even more massive proportions over time and will eventually become red supergiants. From that huge form (which is so tremendous and large that it's hard to actually imagine) the star will go supernova and release a massive amount of energy with it's violent and excellent death. From that, you will get either a neutron star from the remnants of the star or in really large cases, a black hole will form. Unfortuately, nothing like a black hole wll ever form with the death of our own sun. Anyways, that's kind of a real basic take on the death of stars and such. As for our world ending, if all of this actually goes down, life on earth would be long gone by the time the sun were to end it's regular life span. The sun has, according to modern science, gone through about 5 billion years of it's life and has another 5 billion years or so left to go until it succumbs to lack of hydrogen and such. Personally, I have another view on how the world will end and what will happen to all of us, but it's religious and I'm sure you all don't really need to hear it. I'm sure you've already heard it before and I don't want to bore/offend anyone so I'll just leave it at that.[/SIZE]

I suggest you look down a little ways. There is already a topic covering the Dawn of the Dead and it's still relatively new so you should be able to discuss all you want over there.

[SIZE=1]Try this. [URL=http://livefromcern.web.cern.ch/livefromcern/antimatter/][U]Click Here[/U][/URL] or [URL=http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast29may_1m.htm][U]Click Here[/U][/URL] These are two good sites that should give you everything you need to know about antimatter. I don't know how you could have searched the entire Web and through a whole bunch of search engines and not find anything. Maybe you weren't looking too hard because I'm pretty sure I found both of these sites in under 30 seconds by typing it into google.com. Both of these sites use science to explain the basis of anti-matter and matter so your question should be answered.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Well Semjaza, have you ever heard of the band Cursive? This band, but mostly on their newest album, manages to incorporate both the cello AND the organ into most of their tracks to make a VERY excellent album. I figure you might have heard of them since you are in the Chicago area (I assume, I think I read that somewhere) and they are a big Midwestern band based out of Omaha, Nebraska, Good sounds, if you need the hookup and you haven't heard it already, contact me, I'm all over it. And going back to image again, I understand your point about being a rock star and not caring about what you look like since it doesn't matter much. I just kind of like that "garage" look in a band because most of my favorite bands follow that trend and pull it off wonderfully. I suppose it just shrugs off most bad generalizations and predispositions and allows people to hear their music first and foremost rather than seeing their image and setting. I don't know, it can work both ways. It's been proven afterall.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Indeed, that was what I thought you were talking about when you said you liked a little bit of the ole' falmboyancy in your bands. Personally, once again, I would find those guys to have a very outrageous image and would be less apt to remember any songs they ever wrote. But hey, if they're good and the music is great, then be as out there as you want! And yes, I'm pretty sure this will be my last post on the off-topic dragging of the feet here. ::zips mouth shut and waits for more informative and creative replies::[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Heh, in all reality it makes little difference to me wheter or not they want to dress really out there or like they would going to class one day, personally. I really think the sound of the music and the art speak for themselves. I just wouldn't want them to be MEGA falmboyant. I have nothing against a little flare here and there, it just seems that some bands try TOO hard (in my opinion) to make a statement with their appearance. Take, for example, the band SlipKnot. They have all those masks and all those jumpsuits and stuff, not your regular everyday dress. Take also Wes the ex-guitarist of Limp Bizkit. Radical looks every single time he took stage. These are just examples but the point I'm getting at is even though these images make me remember them even more (I'll never forget those SlipKnot guys) the problem is that that's ALL I can remember them for. I can't remember any SlipKnot songs ever standing out a ton nor can I remember any of Wes' guitar lines because the image was almost too overpowering. Ah well, to each his own I suppose.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hmmmm, very interesting topic indeed Mr. Azazel. I've never really thought of what I'd like to do in this sort of category, but now that you bring it up, I think I've got something in mind. [U][B]Vocals [/B][/U] Though I cannot sing myself (God only blessed me with some instrument playing ability, none whatsoever in the singing category), this is one of the most important parts of the band in my opinion. I would require AT LEAST 2 of the members be able to carry a tune and be able to both harmonize and have a wide range of sound. A couple good tenors of a good tenor and bass would suffice just fine. I'm not looking for a rapping type sound (though that could come up in a few of the songs) but more of a "singy" type of sound if that makes any sense. Think a combo between Maroon 5/311/Sublime thing and you'd have a great idea of how I'd like it to work. And hey, if the rest of the band members could carry a tune, the more merrier. [U][B] Guitars[/B][/U] I don't really know how many people would actually be in the band, but I'd shoot for 4-5 probably. You really don't need any more, but less is tough to operate effectively. I'm pretty sure, though, that the magic number in my band would be 5 members. With that amount, I'd definitely have 2 guitarists. One for the lead and one for the rhythm. This wouldn't be the permanent setup though, as I'd like my two guitarists to be able to interchange roles and do both when necessary. At some points, like a bass heavy song for example, both of them could go rhythm and occasional lead to give the bassist the spotlight while in others they could both go crazy and solo the hell out of the song. Whatever the setup, though, I'd love them to have good fundamental skills and intense knowledge of music and of their acoustic counterpart so they could do just about anything I asked of them. [U][B]Bass[/B] [/U] One of the coolest yet under appreciated parts of the band, there should never be more than one bassist in a band. As such, I would only have 1. The bassist would have to be VERY skilled at the instrument since my music would feature tougher bass lines and would let the player take the spotlight more often than the average bassist. Think Flea from the RHCP with a dash of Bob Marley to make my perfect bass player. [U][B]Percussion and Others [/B][/U] I would have one permanent set drummer that would keep the beat of the band alive and ticking. He doesn't have to have any sort of fancy drum set as he won't be nearly as featured as some others are. There is no need for extra toms, cymbals, or a double bass so this drummer wouldn't have to be the greatest thing to ever walk the earth. He would still have to have a great internal rhythm and be very adaptable since my song style would fluctuate highly, but wouldn't have to work nearly as hard as the bassist would relatively. The other member of the band, the 5th member so far (We've got 2 guitars, a bass, and a drummer) would play keyboard/synth/piano or any backup percussion instruments that might be needed in the sing (bongo, maraccas, cowbell, whatever) and would be the last little bit of glue holding the band together. He would need an intense knowledge of music and be able to add that little extra flavor to the band that would set it apart from any other out there. [U][B]Image and Sound[/B][/U] I'd let the guys in the band decide what they want to look like, but if I HAVE to pick something, they wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. I'm a huge fan of bands that look like regular everyday people and don't try too hard to make a statement with their image. Jeans and T-Shirts with a variety of other cool yet casual items would make their image up as well as anything from scruffy hair to being clean cut, as long as they wouldn't really stand out in a crowd when not playing. Their sound would also be a lot like the image they are associated with. Once again, think of 311, Pomeroy, Maroon 5, Third Eye Blind, or Sublime and you'd have an idea of what kind of songs you'd be hearing. They'd be that new punkish/ska/reggae/cool tunes that would make your foot tap and head nod but would hardly EVER be very hard music. Very easy to listen to and very catchy would be the name of the game here. Very nice topic here, I really enjoyed thinking of all this stuff.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Well, I can't say I was ever (or ever will be) part of a drum and bugle corps. The time investment is something out of this world and the art is hardly appreciated enough in this country to merit me ever trying out for any of the different corps. This doesn't mean I don't admire every single person who is a part of these organizations. In fact, I think you people are some of the hardest working people of any profession, and I do know what it's like since I've been a member of marching band for 5+ years now. The reason I say it isn't appreciated enough is the fact that though these events can draw relatively large crowds (like you said, 30 grand +) there are still a majority of people around who either don't care for it or don't even know it exists. It's too bad, too, since this is one of the most exciting things to go and watch when you have a free weekend. I have personally been to a DCI competition tour that was held in the Omaha area and I was thoroughly impressed by the clean fundamentals and wonderful sound produced by each corps. I was a drum major in my high school's marching band at that time (last year I believe) and though I knew a thing or two about marching, these guys blew me away. Very impressive. Oh, and you haven't lived until you've performed for 80,000 fans. 30,000 is great, but nearly triple that is even better. I'm part of the Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band and every saturday on gameday in the fall, we march and play for the massive sea of red that fills Memorial Stadium. The sight is almost too much and the sounds of the crowd cheering is so loud that you can hear it literally for miles. You should try it sometime, you'd love it. ;) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Indeed, they actually have a fairly large following up here in Omaha/Lincoln Nebraska. For what reason exactly, I don't know, but I do know that they tour relentlessly around the Midwest which may lend to their popularity. They've got some good songs on their CDs that are quite catchy and they easily sold nearly 20,000 copies of their LPs and EPs. Pretty good for an indie band I think. Yeah, they've got that style that you either hate or like a lot. In my case, I'm a huge fan of their style since it so closely resembles 311's sound and I've always been a fan of those guys. And not to stray off topic or anything, but seeing as you are in Manhattan, KS, are you perchance a KSU student? If you are, I congratulate your sports teams for mostly sticking it to the Huskers up here (I go to NU if you didn't gather as much.) Don't worry though, we'll get you guys next year ;) And if you don't go to KSU, disregard I guess.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][quote name='Harry']Aren't you a little young to be raging against the machine already?[/quote] You, my friend, are awesome. Indeed, it seems you are a bit too young be raging against society in all its splendor but who am I to judge? Anyways Chrono, I suggest that you get used to it REAL fast since this is the way it's going to be for the rest of your life. Business is business, as they say, and as technology evolves daily and lets people make a buck, then it shall be done. Just sit back, relax, and welcome to the world. Psssst. KnightOfTheRose. It's grammar, not grammer. No offense meant or anything, but that's how it's spelled. One of the most common spelling errors of all, it always happens to be made with the worst timing. Just for future reference ;)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I must agree with the aforementioned notion of hard work. Hard work, in fact, is probably one of the most admirable traits a person can have in my eyes. The reason I see it this way lies in the method in which I was raised. When I was born, the very year in fact, my dad's taxes read that he made $0. That's right nothing. All of it was spent on family expenses, taxes for working as a self-employed man, and anything else I can't think of right at the moment. We lived on the edge of poverty and I was only the first child. But as time went on (and I gained a pair of sister siblings) my dad worked his butt off for 50-60+ hours per week to support his family and still made time to spend with his kids. Nowadays, my dad makes nearly 70-80 grand per year as opposed to nothing 18 years ago when I was born. It may have taken him nearly 20 years to do it, but with hard work he proved that you can make it in this world and it is possibly to succeed. I also admire honesty in a person. There's nothing worse than when someone lies compulsively or is just the "sugarcoating" type that can never lay it out straight to someone. A little bit of humility and humbleness is also a HUGE plus in my eyes. I really don't enjoy pompous and arrogant people who are full of themselves and think of no one else but themselves. What I DON'T admire is as follows: Laziness, Being Conceited, Pompousness, Arrogance, Superiority complex, Intense racism/hatred/predjudice. Also, I don't enjoy people who have immense amounts of wealth in their life and COMPLAIN about how hard life is. Don't get me started on how much worse you could be off that you are now. People who are born into money (Hilton sisters come to mind) have no idea what it's like to work hard just to get by everyday of your life. ::stops his ranting before he gets any more steamed::[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I can't remember if I'm supposed to do this or not, but I found this link to all sorts of popular piano sheet music. [URL=http://w3m.fateback.com/]Click Here[/URL] Just a future warning I guess, just go to google.com to find this stuff. I highly doubt you actually searched everywhere for it since I was able to find this in UNDER 2 MINUTES. Not that hard, and just so you know, you can find almost anything off of google. Another solution for you is to travel to your local music store and actually BUY the sheet music for a relatively cheap price. But since you asked so nicely in a strange error ridden way, I'll help. Your Welcome.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Semjaza Azazel']I don't know how bad I can feel for someone who had owned that many cars by your age.[/quote] [SIZE=1]Indeed, that was my initial sentiment. Sorry Hells fire, I mean no offense and in all reality I'm probably just a bitter person, but if you've been able to own all those cars and they've all been newer models, I give you little sympathy. I guess it's just because when I was 16 I had to buy my first (and as of today only car) and I'm older than you by over half a year. It's a beat up old Pontiac Grand Am from 1991 and it's all I could afford off my minimum wage job since my parents didn't (and still don't) have the financial resources to help me out. When you only have one car (with only liability insurance to boot), you learn to be quite the careful driver. I've only had one skirmish with the law which is pretty good for my demographic and all it amounted to was a small speeding fine. I've never been in an accident and I hope that it will be a long time till I do. I can't afford to wreck my car; I can't afford a new car because I have to pay for college and my liability insurance won't buy me a new car, it just covers injury. Perhaps that's what you need to do to become a more responsible driver (and this would go for your sister too.) Just own one car (preferably one you bought with your own hard earned money for the sake of pride and care for your car) and pay for all the amenities of said car. I am almost sure that if you do this you'll be a much more wary driver and you'll be reluctant to drive recklessly like many teenagers do. And also, have it where when the car may get damaged that you have to front the cash to pay for it sans parent's assistance. Once again, reducing recklessness. I guess, just lay the law down to your student and make them listen and learn from you. If they don't, then let them take care of it themselves; no use in trying if they're letting your words go in one ear and out the other. And be thankful that you have all those cars and have all the priveledges and opportunites in front of you. There are others who can barely afford one car (like myself) and others even who have never get to own 1 car (let alone 7 by age 18) and have to rely on public transportation all their lives. You have it very good.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Just curious as to what everyone who reads these boards does musically themselves. Personally, I have been a musician since the 5th grade (I'm now in college so it's been a few years.) When I say musician, for myself I mean that I've played at least one musical instrument since that time and that I can read music and understand nearly all elements of theory. I play the trombone and it's most definitely my primary instrument. This is what I started on back when I got into music and I've played it for over 9 years now. It's what I learned every aspect of music on and I'm glad to say that I'm fairly good at it. During high school, I worked my way up to first chair in both the jazz band and in the concert band and from there when I went away to college, I joined the marching band here and that's what I've been doing ever since. Also, I play the guitar and bass guitar. I don't have nearly as much experience and skill with these instruments as I do with the trombone, but I play here and there. I enjoy my Ibanez Talman the most of all since it was my first guitar and has sounded great ever since I picked it up. I find it really great if someone is able to play a musical instrument because it's such a wonderful art and it's a shame more people don't play something than there is right now. I also find that people who are musicians (whether they sing or they play) are "better" (purely opinion) critics of all types of music. With experience and actually knowing all the hard work it takes to learn an instrument you realize how much talent bands have and that no one really "sucks" so to speak. So what do you guys bring to the table? Do you play an instrument or instruments, do you sing, do you do both, or do you just sit back and let others do that for your listening pleasure?[/SIZE]