Balmon

Yeah - they've signed back on for new seasons - Good news for ALL!

I'm not sure how new you guys are to OB - and I don't mean to do the moderator's job - but since I am a MAJOR fan of GitS and do not know when I will get a chance to watch them - I would ask that you guys make use of the spoiler tags for ANYTHING that happens in the episodes - or I WILL hunt you down :) Glad you're enjoying the episodes. Phil

I think it may be from a System of a Down song. By the way - since Box Hoy hasn't replied yet - I don't think he's even checking on people's comments... or not replying anyway. p

You know - no offense - while I'm sure your job is exhausting, that's not what I would consider being pushed to your limits. I mean, trying to escape from being buried alive under an avalanche, or doing the Tour de France, those things I would consider being pushed to your limits... while your job is tiring, and probably extremely draining, it's not quite the same thing. Yeah... and get a new job.

Thanks for the critique - very useful. Before I continue, I'd like to thank doukeshi03 again for making the Sig for me - he certainly did a masterful job. The Matrix effect, F.Y.I., is from Ghost in the Shell - that's also where the character is from - you know, the guy on both avatar and Sig? :) I personally like the balance (HA!) of Aramaki's face with the name across the front... I don't like an overabundance of pics. Anyway - whoever posts next - PLEASE review Zeta's Avatar and Sig ABOVE. ABOVE.

I'm sure this thread is fine - as long as people continue giving reasons for their ratings other than, "I don't like it." Avatar - It looks like it would be cool... if I could make it out. It's pretty bloody tiny. But I like the fact that you added some lettering to it. Sig - The pic is intensely squished - I hate seeing that effect... where images our warped out of propotion. The seemingly random colours for the words on there are also a little disturbing... there doesn't seem to be any particular colour scheme. I like the pic, the words are fine, but none of it seems to be drawn together into a cohesive unit. Rating: 7 1/2

Sorry to hear about the predicament. What I can say for certain is that Glade won't be helping you much. I would highly suggest - unless you want to take a fly swatter and run around your house all day - just going out and getting a full can of Rid-a-bug, or whatever it is you have. Or two. Spray your entire house, open a window where you might have a screen on it, and then you and your brother should take an extended walk in the park while the bug-kiiller works its magic. :) Phil EDIT: *hangs head in shame* You're right Solo... it would be just spreading harmful chemicals.... *stifles cry* I'm SORRY... so very sorry....

Hey-o I like it. It's EXTREMELY romantic in style - but it's definitely not bad. What you DO definitely need to work on is grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The only feasible way I would see that happening is if you went over it with a large comb, and then a fine-tooth comb, and then re-read it again. Simple things like spaces after periods and commas... the spelling of words like stared, not starred, and capitilization of words after some above-mentioned punctuation. If you cleaned up the look of things, and EDITED your writing properly, I think it would be a great start to your story. If you have any question or whatnot - since it's always easier for me to help through example than through just telling you, please feel free to PM. Phil

They are NOT hot at all. Two average-looking lesbians - that was the marketing ploy. Somehow - it flew... about a foot off the ground. Everyday I wake up hoping that the general public has a better grasp of utter and complete media/commercial manipulation than they actually do. And their music, since I want to re-iterate what has already been eloquently mentioned - SUCKS. phil

[QUOTE=Vash IDK]Okay, while I'm sure there are going to be many who will disagree with me, I feel like I really need to say this. I believe that we all can be pushed to some pretty extreme limits, but in no way on earth does anyone want to die. Even if they are alone. Nobody who is sane would ever take their own life. Humans were created with the desire to live. We also have hope. And no one can take that away. Everything around us can be falling apart, but a person who is strong, and believes in life and its worth, would never take their life away. And I make sure I say this speaking of ones who would be doing well, only because there are some who are not well, and suffers, that do indeed take their own life. Am I belittling them? No, I am simply saying one who is sane, would NEVER take their own life away. Now if I confused anyone, sorry about that ;)[/QUOTE] Of course I'm going to HAVE to reply to this one. While I"m sure sanity does play a large part for a number of suicide attempts and subsequent deaths, I DO NOT believe that insanity is the sole cause of these attempts. There are any number of sane people who have committed suicide, Vash. Hope does not equate to sanity, and, of course (as equality goes) nor vice versa. We are talking about two totally different ideas here. One is an relatively abstract ideal, while the other is almost scientific. Someone who feels they have no reason to live, may be perfectly sane, but may still feel as though they would be better off dead. That are any number of perfectly reasonable paths that a person's mind could take towards that end, for any varied amount of situations. Vash - your statement is far too simplistic, and requires a little more elaboration as to its specifics... unless that is EXACTLY what you mean. Are you saying that people who suffer extreme and utter pain from diseases are insane because they want to stop the suffering? I hate to use that as an example, because it IS so often used, but in your case, it is the kind of example that might cause you to reconsider. These are people who are perfectly sound in mind, but whose bodies have been ravaged beyond our wildest imaginations. How can you tell these people that they must be crazy in order to want to end their pain? While these people obviously understand the sanctity and importance of life, they also understand the concept of enjoyment of life - there must be a balance that is struck between living, and just being alive. If the aspect of just staying alive outweighs and overpowers the possibility of actually living, than what would they be preserving? EDIT: I forgot to add - since this isn't exactly a discussion about suicide - we should continue any conversations about this in PM - or on another thread phil

Prolly FFX - followed by FFVII - and then FFIII. My only major issue with FFVII was the materia system - you could have one character develop a Steal materia, for example, and when you'd mastered it, just "pass it on" to another character... that's silly. That REALLY doesn't make a lot of sense - it made learning skills far to easy. Another example, for those of you who still know what I'm talking about, I equipped Cid EARLY in the game with as many HP plus and MP plus materia as his weapons would allow (since his weapons had the largest ridiculous number of unlinked slots) and just mastered all of them with relative ease. Then I just passed on the materia to other characters... I mean... so simple! Materia learned and mastered by one character should have to stay with that character... or there should've been at least some sort of penalty for moving them around. FFX was great - amazing graphics - fantastic summons - greattttttt characters - and I LOVED the sphere grid. THAT was an amazing skills tree - characters could learn each other's skills, but it involved a lengthy traveling process (usually) to go do it. The story was also great - the only thing that allowed was Titus' voice... And III, well, that was just a great game. Hilarious secret characters, a great diversity in skills, and of course, a fantastic storyline. The only reason I place it 3rd is because if I were to play it now, the graphics would put me to sleep. I'm a product of the times... :) EDIT: At 3:00 AM, I TOTALLY forgot to mention the game that WingNut has so thoughtfully brought back to mind - Final Fantasy Tactics. Now THAT is a game I can go back to over and over. Despite some major flaws... (There are two types of battles - the random ones as you travel from map point to map point, and the set story line battles. While the random battle monsters have levels equalling your highest level character [thereby increasing their attack power, health, etc., etc.], the storyline battle characters exist at set levels. So, if you've played the game as many times as I have and were feeling vicious, you could level up LIKE MAD in the beginning of the game, and then proceed through the rest of it like a cakewalk. A CAKEWALK. But, all in all, a fantastic skills and class system - it's a shame that FFT:Advanced only came out for GBA. While I'm not how good of a game it was, at least it was sequel. Also, FFT is NOT for the typical Final Fantasy fan, which is a shame, because the concept is absolutely fantastic. Thanks Wingnut

"That's my stapler.... my... my... that... that... my...my.. that's my stapler." Sorry - that's the line, and other ones like that, are the ones that keep running throuhg my head from that movie. Was a bizarre trip, no? I absolutely loved that movie, which is odd because I walked in thinking it was going to be a bust, but... and contrary to what Semjaza said... it's allure for me WAS the fact that the characters were portrayed in such a way... almost like it WAS animated. But it wasn't done outlandishly so... but certainly enough so for me to think it. I also think it was just the perfect ultra-version of cubicle life - and probably not that far from it. This sort of parody of the white-collar job was exactly what North America needed in.... 1999? phil

I think we all have times where we wish we WERE totally alone - a place where no one could bother us... But those times are few and are between... and if they're more common for you, then something's not right and you should fix it - either your attitude, or your environment. (I believe) humans are inherently social animals, and as such, would not be able to function effectively on an island, alone. Not effectively in terms of efficiency with regards to the economics of energy, and resources, or any of that business - but effectively with regards to... why would they be functioning? To what effect? None really. I'll take one second to answer the question actually posed: In terms of purely practical issues, I'm pretty inept when it comes to survival skills, so I'd probably die fairly quickly. But back to my original statements, not only do I believe we are inherently social animals, I believe that's they only way we can keep our sanity... or at least... keep track of where our sanity is headed :) And for those people on OB who say they prefer being alone, or what-have-you.... well - I just can't believe that, frankly. If you enjoy being alone so much, and if you prefer it over interacting with people - why the hell are you here posting on this site? So you can read your own writing on the internet? There's a Chinese saying that goes like this: Shared happiness is double happiness, Shared sorrow is halved sorrow. Except of course, in Chinese and not English. I don't think there's ANYONE in this world who lives to be unhappy - on the contrary - we live in pursuit of happiness, no? For you Americans out there, it's an inalienable right - and that's on paper too! And happiness is a dish best served to pleasant company. I'll leave this post at that. No real conclusion, because I'm too tired to think of one, and I think I've made my point...

I did a quick search of this thread and couldn't find anyone who mentioned this movie: The Grave of the Fireflies. I'd advise you all to go check it out. It's not chockfull of fantastical creatures, or karate-chopping, samurai-sword swinging mofos, but it's one of the most endearing movies I'm ever seen. It's beautiful in its presentation - the dialogue is very intelligent and poignant - and best of all, it made me cry.... and not in disgust. Go rent it or buy it. Phil

No no no no no - let's get one thing straight :) I'm the Original Irish Bartender AND Asian Classical Pianist. I definitely am neither the first Irish Bartender (and that's only because I work in an Irish pub, where everyone is Irish), nor am I the first Asian Classical Pianist (that doesn't require much explanation). What I probably am, though, is the first combination of both. At least, I've taken the title. Glad the suggestion helped - I'm in love with the rhetorical, hilarious, witty, dialogue (DON'T GET A DUBBED version - I personally am a proponent of the original dialogue, with subtitles), the stunning visuals/animations, the complexity of the issues they discuss (among them, robotic implants in human bodies... and they don't just grace the issue - it's a real, honest-to-goodness central issue of the entire anime series), the complexity of the characters (their humanity, especially - which is funny, because... well... watch it), and last but NOT least, the amazing score. I cannot TELL you HOW well scored that series is. The music and visuals are SO well matched, it almost befuddles the mind. There are times in the series that can get you so emotionally worked up - in anger, or sadness - it's almost unbelievable. OH - The other thing you should get - I happened to read this review of this anime movie the other night, when I was looking for something else, and at first I thought to myself... this sounds like a really stupid anime... why is it rated the best movie ever.... OMIGOD - I REMEMBER THIS. And then it hit me. The Grave of the Fireflies. I saw it once YEARS ago in the middle of the night... I remember being amazed because though it was like 3:00 in the morning, and despite my tiredness, SOMETHING kept me up and watching this film about a young girl and her younger sister (I think a younger sister). I remember crying - or, as other guys would say, I might've teared up... - and thinking to myself... I need to get a copy of this. Years later, I still haven't, and I actually managed to forget about it. But since reading the review, which I came across through sheer serendipity, my search is renewed, though I don't think I'm going to have to look far. That's all. GitS:SC - and Grave of the Fireflies

4 words... maybe 6 Ghost in the Shell: StandAlone Complex Episodes. OK - 7 (possibly 8 if you don't squish StandAlone together) The first season - 26 episodes - came out on DVD... I think... a while ago. GET THEM. Any questions? PM Phil

[quote name='Eli']Not to be rude, but I take it you're going to die for someone just because they look good? -_-[/quote] Thank you, Eli, for saying what I've wanted to say all day in response to this thread. Phil

Hi there I dunno much at all about visual arts - but the first banner(while i LOVE the image) has got that weird squishy effect to it... unless my comp is off. It looks like the image was stretched and flattened. Am I on drugs? Phil

OK.... I'm going to assume that was a joke. HAHA. Alright - serious posts only please. P EDIT: Semi-serious is acceptable - but give us SOME information that is relevant to your actual life.

I hate too be an immediate party-pooper - but I will anyway. Until the situation actually comes up - you'll never know what you are truly willing to do when faced with death. So, the thread is a nice idea, but frankly, what you say now won't necessarily be what you'll say when the gun is pointed in your direction. p

[QUOTE=Jokopoko][COLOR=TEAL][SIZE=1]I certainly agree with you on that point Phil. ENT is a good sci-fi just not a good Star Trek ^_^;;, but back to the RPG. Thanks for the feed-back, now I know I have at least three people interested in the idea [Which is more than zero ^_^;;] but what I need help with now is giving the RPG a premise. Not like a [I]"These are the voyagers of the Starship Brightstar"[/I], nothing like. Something more along the lines of what the ship is/does and the overall mission for the crew. I've already said that the players would only play the senior staff so there would only be nine or so people and the senior staff as I see it would be something like this: [list] [*]Captain [CO] [*]Executive Officer [XO] [*]Second Officer [SO] [*]Chief Science Officer [CSO] [*]Cheif Medical Officer [CMO] [*]Chief Enginner [CE] [*]Chief of Security/Tactical [COS/T] [*]Cheif of Operations [COO] [*]Cheif Helmsmen [CH] [Possible] [/list] Thats all that come to mind right now, if anyone else has any they feel would be a good addition to the list feel free to recommend them.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] I especially like how you changed your spelling of Chief halfway through... just covering all of your bases? :) You're missing a super-smart non-biological entity that either desires human emotions or retorts with constantly sarcastic wit, and either an empath, or human with a complete lack of empathy... either of which must be utterly beautiful... what else... :D Sorry - just a little humour for those who get what I'm saying. I think the list is pretty succint. That's quite a knowledge you have of rank and designations... As far as premise is concerned... they've done the ship lost in space bit... the exploring ship bit... the... hovering in space bit.... what can we do that's different? I think your best bet is to emulate TNG - maybe right in the middle of a war? You could toss it in just at the outset of a war, before anyone knows what's happening... um... cause I agree - a "These are the voyages of the..." wouldn't work especially well on an RPG, where people need some sort of direction. To sum that whole paragraph up - I have no idea what you should do, and have no good ideas, but I agree with you that you should do something. :) I should have given this more thought before I posted, but I'm getting anxious just thinking about this!

Frankly - I would love it. I'd jump on in a second. That's all I gotta' say about that. Oh wait. I think as long as it's run well, it should be a hit. However, I think it would be essential that the people posting have a fairly good idea of most of the Star Trek series. Yes? No? EDIT: I should rephrase... they should have a fairly good idea of some of the Star Trek series. I've watched most of the episodes of both ST: The Next Generation, and Voyager, but only a handful of Deep-Space Nine and the originals. I don't consider Enterprise as a worthy member of the Star Trek series. It would save on a lot of explaining really. Phil

I saw the movie about a year ago. Not the AMAZING-FANTASTICALLY-STUPENDOUS film it's being touted as, but nonetheless, entertaining. My roommate, who's really big into Asian films, freaked out when he first heard about it (in North America). Boy, did I surprise him when I handed him the DVD a couple of days later. :) I guess the best way to market the film is to pretend like it's just been made... but at the same time, somewhat deceiving. I just saw a SNEAK PREVIEW on Extra the other night, and couldn't believe how they spoke about it; as though it was just coming out now... weird. Phil

All I can say is... how ridiculously disturbing it is to go from reading that sad, sad, story, and then scrolling down to see Bean's maniacal smile. Great story - very effective prose. Phil

What to say? The dream is interesting... but you really hammer unnecessarily at our heads with the repeated descriptions of blood and gore - also with the blinding light. Though I can appreciate the effect, it is somewhat monotonous. A little more substance to the quantity of words there would be nice. Also, a LOT of people like to make use of Dante's Inferno, that is, the title, and not put any intelligent thought into their use of the name. How are you planning on making use of Dante's actual work? Phil