Adora

[quote name='DeathBug']You mean, like place political and economic pressure on the Soviet Union, hastening it's collapse?[/quote] Actually, I was more referring to the Communist Witchunts in Hollywood America that ruined so many people's lives and were just another hideous wave of persecution of lateral thinkers in the media who spoke out against the status quo. I was more referring to his training and arming of the Contra and Mujahedeen forces in this world, responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities ever (Chile, anyone? The [i]first[/i] September 11th? Afghanistan now under worse rule than Taliban? Ring any bells?). Or maybe those lovely arms deals he did with Iraq... [quote]Yeah, it was all Mrs. Reagan who influenced Bush's decision.. I'm sure the majority of the Republican party and a good chunk of their constituency being against stem-cell research had absolutly nothing to do with it. Do you think before opening your mouth?[/quote] Yes, I do. And I think about how utterly stupid that dancing puppet is there up on the stage, and how easily he is influenced by anyone who mentions half a less-than-five-letters word at him. [quote]The man deserved to die for an economic system? One that [i]worked[/i]?[/quote] Oh yes, deregulation has just worked [i]oh so well[/i] hasn't it? What do you think is allowing businesses to outsource to cheaper countries like India and Taiwan, exactly? Mandate my ***.

[quote name='Xander Harris']Alrighty then, since no one here seems to know a thing about Reagan's policies, here's the Reader's Digest version:[/quote] Unfortunately, I know too much about Raegan's policies to be able to respect him as a human being or a politician. I will not deny he had a great impact on the US and the rest of the world. I will not deny he did some great (as in large, far-reaching in their consequences) things in his life. That does not change my overall opinion on the way he effected this world. Thus, my comments before. Maybe *now* though, Bushy will re-neg on his deals not to ban stem-cell research outright. Dear Mrs Raegan only prevented him doing so by whinging because poor Ronny had a disease they're investigating the techniques in. Boo fricken hoo. The man invented Raeganomics, so as far as I'm concerned, I hope he burns in the icy farthest region of Dante's hell.

Hijikata and Souji from Peacemaker. Because the only way Nanae Chrono could make it more blatant is if she actually had a picture of the two making out somewhere in the series or something. Souji acts and treats Hiji in a way only a lover could (talking back to Hiji-san, even though he is his superior and commander, "waking him up" in the mornings and giving him massages, getting him to take him shopping and buy him sweets) and Hijikata is [i]so[/i] protective of Souji (ala: the way he goes all ga-ga after the Ikeda-ya incident, or the adorable "100 spankings, no dinner!" 'punishment' for stealing Hiji-san's book of haikus) so it's very adorable, but never blatant.

First of all, I think you should seriously consider dropping the weed. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulemia are problems greatly compounded with psychological issues and mental disease, which is a very dangerous combination when you put it with marijuana. It also won't be helping if you are also depressed or on meds. Marijuana, like a lot of soft drugs, doesn't change your mood, but heightens the one you already have. So if you are seriously depressed, and you do weed, you're not helping yourself at all. Eating disorders are all about control. Control over yourself and, in secondard cases, over others. A professional therapist can help you with these issues, and how to overcome them so you can develop a normal eating habits and a normal "relationship" with food (I hate to use that r word, but it was the only way I could think to phrase it properly). "Just because everyone is fat around me" is a bad excuse and avoiding the real issue at the heart of the matter. So yes, professional help is what you need. If, to get that help, you need to reveal it to someone close to you such as a relative, then you should. Tell your mother again, tell her how bad it is, and, well, hope she handles it like a mature human being (though yes, some parents dont) and helps you get therapy. And your boyfriend obviously wasn't worth it, if he couldn't handle it.

[i]FINALLY[/i]. I was waiting for him to drop off the perch.

Oh, that's a tough one. At first I read this thread and thought "Which anime chara would you want to be so you could also be a couple with x anime character" and I was going to say "Touya so I can shag Yukito" >:D but then I realised I was wrong. *scratches her head* Anthy, because I'm sure, hiding beneath the scheming and pretend-submissive thing she does, she has a very very wicked sense of humour. A very wicked sense of humour that I *love*. Also, I have a fascination with sorceresses/witches. And only heaven knows what the sex would be like. On a straighter note, I think "dating" Tastunosuke Ichimura would be fun. He's the typical nice guy who always puts himself out to help others and really needs some nice person to do the same for him. :) And it would be fun corrupting him in the bedroom. Mwuahahahahaha XD I'm one of those weird kinds of girls who prefers the nice guys over the arseholes in this world, oh, and I like the bookish types. So Tastu-nii fills the criteria perfectly. He could do my tax returns for me as well, so I wouldn't have to pay a stupid accountant! Well, all of that and he's cute as a button as well ^^. That's all I can think of right now.

[b]Fine![/b] You lot can have Hakkai and Gojyo, I'll keep my Kenren and Tenpou *giggles and snuggles them*. (For anyone who doesn't know, Kenren & Tenpou= Gojyo & Hakkai's previous divine incarnations in Heaven out of Saiyuki Gaiden. And apparently, they're canon lovers too :D Heeheeheehee) But yes, I am a big fan of Minekura's work (mmmm Wild Adapter *drools*), and my Saiyuki scanlations and manga are some of my most prized posessions. The anime I'm kinda meh about, since they're obviously marketing it to a different audience, and the animation sometimes slacks off a bit. But it's still good. Also, I adore it, simply because Journey to the West has always been one of my all-time favourite stories ever, and so any incarnation of it I love! Yay Monkey! Oh and (edit) Reloaded is extra stories Minekura did of the bunch post-Gensomaden I think. Gaiden is a "prequel" detailing the groups lives' in heaven 500 years ago. It starts when Konzen gets lumped with looking after Goku, which creates much hilarity, and eventually angst and violence. You also meet Kenren and Tenpou, and Nataku as well. And of course, Kanzeon, hermaphrodite freak that she/he is... One of the best sites online for this stuff is [url=http://bane-huntress.co.uk/OffLicence/Manga-Review.html]Demon Off Licence[/url], so if you're looking for Minekura stuff, that's the place to go. ^^

Sorry to say, you're doing it wrong. When you scan it, the first thing you do, in Photoshop, is (after cleaning and resizing, obviously) duplicate the background layer. Once you have a duplicate, delete the old locked background layer. Now you take the new layer, set it to multiply, and then just work on all your colouring layers beneath that. It's much easier, and if you want to do highlights over the top of the line layer, you just make a new layer over the top of it and work on that. Making the colouring layers are limiting though. You can only work on one layer, and if you do make any others above/below it, you have to set them to multiply too, and you can't be lazy with colouring in the lines (which is crappy for someone as sloppy as me). It's easier to just do it with the line layer.

Heh, even though I don't like Harry Potter, I think Harry x Draco is one of the cutest things ever.

On the original pieces: I like the blue one, but the one of Chris from War of Genesis is a bit... odd, because of the green, and it's not very clean. It simply doesn't suit him, or match the blue, so it's good you chose a different scheme. I've never seen the little chick before, though she suits the blue a little better. Where did you get her picture from?

Okay, and did you set the line-layer to multiply?

I have two goldfish. One is a white one called Seraph Akira Kurosawa. He's very tough. He survived some weird disease that wiped out the last batch I had (I had he and 4 others, who all died). The other one is an orange one called Pudge II. He's very fat. Yes, I call my pets after my favourite pop-culture references. ph33r

[quote name='cloricus']If you will note no one wasted the time saying that because it was so openly blatant. Think about it.[/quote] Well ex-cuse me if I don't underestimate the stupidty of the human condition!

Heh, anyway... [url=http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v93/TheAnimeSchoolgirl/satoshi.jpg][color=DeepSkyBlue]A little thing of Satoshi from DNAngel I did[/color][/url], and am trying to work into a decent CD cover. Which is proving rather difficult since I suck at that sort of design stuff (if anyone wants to help me work on it, I will lavish you with love and affection). But I like the picture a lot anyway (pretty good for a quick sketch and photoshop on a sunday afternoon ^^) and just thought you guys might too. NO FRICKEN STEALY! OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH MY HORDE OF SHINOBI SLOTHS AND KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY!

Hmmm, well, considering his dress, perhaps a house/city setting would be good? Or maybe a specifically modern Japanese one, like a Tokyo light-crossing or something?

A few questions: Did you colour on a seperate layers to the lines? (I can't tell from the JPG optimisation). Did you scan the picture in and then colour it, or draw it totally digitally?

Hmm, I like the sig better than the avatar, but that's only because of the little fact that I think the lighting flare in the avatar (which I know is in the cap and all) overpowers it a little bit. But apart from that, they're very good ^^

[quote name='Solo Tremaine']But you remember Mysterious Cities of Gold?! That's amazing. I thought I was the only one around who knew about it, heh. That was probably the very first non-US/UK animation I'd seen. I loved the storyline and the characters- everything about it just stood out that much more than the other TV programmes that were around. I liked He-Man and Thundercats, but MCOG actually had a real, long and diverse story to it. But as it was a Franco-Japanese animation, I'm not sure how strongly it counts as anime. But there is a sequel to it currently in production...[/quote] OMg really? YAY FOR NOSTALGIA! I'll be interested to see how they do it. Also, dunno if anyone here knows anything about it, but there was a "foreign" (I don't know if it was anime, specifically) cartoon when I was a kid called "The Twins of Destiny". That was another one I really liked. I think it was a part French production as well. [quote]But I know what you mean about aesthetics- I'm the same way inclined. As much as people tell me Akira's a 'classic masterpiece', I don't want to watch it because I don't really like the style it's drawn in. I was even a little cautious about Castle in the Sky, but I was glad I bought it again anyway. A lot of modern animes are going for the thinner, spikier, slightly more mature and elegant look than the older, rounded ones though, so I'm happy.[/quote] Yeah... it's funny that. See, I call it "shoujoisation". Which I know sounds weird, but if you see the progression of dominant styles through the history of manga and anime, the whole style and form that most Western anime fans know as "anime" now has only come about through the integration of underground shoujo styles into the mainstream since the 60's. You still get stuff that's very much the old-style stuff though, like Tenisu no Oujisama (well, the manga at least, the anime is a lot different... mmm Oshitari) and GTO, but the stuff that seems to stand the test of time (like the numerous Gundam series) is very shoujo in its art influence (especially SEED. Heh, if Kira and Arthun were any cuter, they'd give me cavities! ^^). Shows & manga like Akira very much hark back to some of the very early styles, and even Gekinga (adult, more realistic manga). I really preferred the Akira manga though, because I had issues with watching the animated style of that art, but also it just did the story SO much better (I mean, the anime left out the entire subject of the gender issues, which was a very large part of the manga). So yeah. But anyway, a little variety never hurts anything. Maybe in another 20 or so years the art styles will change again.

I know this isn't a comfortable thought, but a good deal of self-harmers (eating disorders, physical hurters, emotional masochists) have been abused sexually somehow, and deal with the pain that way. "Because I'm bored" is not the real reason. It could be other kinds of pain though, and I do hope it is, simply because dealing with sexual abuse in society is not an easy thing for anyone involved. I think you should talk to her about it, ask her the [i]real[/i] reason she started, and try and get her back in therapy. And be there for her. You obviously feel greatly for her, and want to help. And that's great.

1) You can spend hours watching the sunlight shine on the leaves of a fig tree 2) You can spend hours giggling at the magpies eating stuff in your garden 3) You can watch the Gay-Dancing-Spiderman site for hours. 4) You can watch the floaters on your eyes for hours.

[QUOTE=Adora] [size=1]Please add more detail to your posts. Considering what I've seen of yours already this is a little odd. I know the subject matter doesn't leave a lot to actually say, but you could give details about what you thought of the anime then/what you think of it and your tastes now, etc. Just things to flesh it out a bit. -Solo[/size][/QUOTE] Ahh, well, sorry, my bad. "I was 4 and it was Astro Boy and it was love at first sight." That's the truth. I got hooked very quickly on the aesthetics of the animation, since it was like nothing I had seen before, in both execution and design. I'm still horribly shallow in that respect; if the art and animation in an anime is no good, I can't watch it. No matter how good the story is. Also, I liked the stories, obviously. I've always been into SF, so that probably also explains the attraction. There were other animes and weird cartoons on when I was that age too. Stuff like the Lost Cities of Gold and Spartacus and the Sun Under the Sea (French production) but they just didn't have that same kick (yeah, I got addicted :) ) that Astro did. Now they're showing the new Astro Boy series on TV, I'm a very happy fangirl. So, um, is that enough?

Oh yes. I'm just drooling over this one. I've heard about the music; is it done by Kanno as well? To say the least, Jin looks totally badass. :D And Muugen just looks quite crazy-cool.

I was 4 and it was Astro Boy and it was love at first sight. [COLOR=#503F86][SIZE=1][b]Please add more detail to your posts. Considering what I've seen of yours already this is a little odd. I know the subject matter doesn't leave a lot to actually say, but you could give details about what you thought of the anime then/what you think of it and your tastes now, etc. Just things to flesh it out a bit. -Solo[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]

[quote name='NashvilleDream']How would you introduce Anime to someone who has only been exposed to "American" cartoons (i.e. ed edd & eddy, Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy) and/or those TV show things like umm... uh... (I don't know many, Let's see if I can even remember one, shall we) Seinfield and Smallville(I have no idea what this kinda thing is, I just get earfulls at school) and stuff like that? (If you can even keep up through all the parenthases)[/quote] Ehhh, tough one. Depends on who I'm explaining it to. Recently I had to inform someone who just knew it as "Weird Japanese Cartoons" that no, they weren't [i]all[/i] about tentacle porn and schoolgirls which is the common stereotype. Since this guy is a tad...er... intellectual, I've given him a copy of [i]Kino's Journe[/i]y. Also, because we met through a Matrix fanboard (no comments) I've suggested he check out[i] Ghost in the Shell[/i] (including [i]Innocence[/i], when it comes out) and a few other D&M SF titles. But, say, with my parents, they really really like [i]Porco Rosso[/i], so I'm going to take them to see the Ghibli Festival touring soon, and some of Ghibli's less-weirder ones (they said they appreciated [i]Sen to Chihiro[/i]... but found it a tad annoying after a while). Depending on your 8th grader audience, you'd need the right stuff. If it's all boys, eh, y'know, go for the stuff that'd appeal to them. Girls are harder. Teenage girls are...well...teenage girls. A lot of them probably won't like it, no matter what you show them. But it may still be difficult, if the kids were raised on Western-cartoons. Stuff that is considered "adult" here is different from "adult" in other countries, obviously. "Adult" in Japan means [i]very[/i] deep & meaningful, or about topics that would concern adults, like business and patriotism and military and such (like most gekinga's) or complex relationship saga's. "Adult" in the West tends to mean anything with too much sex, violence and controversial topics in it (makes us all look a tad immature, doesn't it?). Or just total irreverence, like Futurama (woot! Bender is my god!). But it's probably good to avoid the overly Japanese stuff, like Azumanga Daioh. There is stuff in there that even [i]I[/i] don't get. *shudders*

[quote name='Dagger IX1']You know what to expect, right?[/quote] Of course. No anime is exactly like its manga, as no movie is exactly like its book. :) And you shut cher mouth about Weiß Kreuz!