Delta

[COLOR=#35425e][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]"Nits make lice so you gotta kill 'em soon as you spot 'em." Or so the old saying goes. You're old enough to see these problems before you. Why not take care of them [b]now[/b]? [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425E][FONT="Palatino Linotype"][b]HxC:[/b] I think the first one's the best of the lot. It made good use of blocks, lines and color to force flow. With a little tweaking, this could become great material for a banner or a splash. However, I am of the opinion that you should omit the text altogether, mainly because it breaks up that great white-blue-black transition. But if you really want to keep the text, then may I suggest using a different font? A nice, unobtrusive pixel font with a bit of glow would work best, I think, if it's positioned somewhere near the center of all those black rays. Just look at [b]jigglyness[/b]'s works to see what I mean. [b]Kanji Swirls:[/b] Again, good use of lines, but the sketches could've been oriented in such a way that the arms mimic the direction of the rays. I'm not sure about the color scheme though; I feel that one should try to keep the colors as complementary as possible if you plan on applying them all over your piece. Try setting up a Gradient Map over your piece (Layers->New Adjustment Layer->Gradient Map) and apply a pre-made 3-color gradient; looks nice, doesn't it? [b]Digital Evolution:[/b] Now instead of blocks, you used vines and twigs to set up flow. It would have worked had it not been for the rough, criss-crossing hatches all over your piece. They cover up the lovely images in the background and makes your piece look a bit, ah, [i]overdone[/i]. The roses too; I think it would be better if you tilt them in the same direction as the flow so that it doesn't look like they're waging a war against the encroaching vines and twigs. Putting them in the same corner as the vines will make it look like they're part of a bouquet. Really elegant, IMO. Oh, hey. Can I use [i]Kanji Swirls[/i] for my newest project? Pretty please? [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]Gavin, not "bitter and shallow." They just respond more strongly to first impressions, yeah? What I mean is that when we see such a couple down the street, most of us will be asking our share of whys and hows but only a few are actually going to point at them and elevate the question to hot topic level. Evaluation of an individual's character at first sight is an instinctive trait of humans, no matter how much one believes that he/she is free from biases.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e]I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew where my parents hid our presents. So yeah, John, no Christmas coal for me. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#354253][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]^ Like Hershey's Cookies and Cream, only with dark and milk chocolate. Yum! I'd probably be a fist-sized lump of ultra-sweet milk chocolate filled with orange creme in a really violent shade of [color=#FF5300]orange[/color], and mint creme (which I imagine would look like [COLOR="Lime"]monster goo[/COLOR]). As my inner core, I want a little plastic egg with a collectible toy animal inside. Like those Kinder Surprise Eggs, only my toys will not be made out of plastic. My slaves will cast them in glass and ceramic and will hand-etch a sonnet in each animal bum. This chocolate will then be nestled in strips of torn Golden Tickets and placed inside an orange spherical tin can. A green satin ribbon wrapped once around the tin, and a tag that says "[I]XOXO, Easter Bunny[/I]" in gold, glittering script will complete the package. +=+=+ Well, I do love chocolates filled with orange and mint creme, and though I've yet to try both fillings in one bite, I think they would taste interesting together... in an odd sort of way. And who doesn't like Kinder Surprise Eggs?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[color=#35425e]I was never fond of sending emails and IM's. I'd much rather write people notes than wait for them to log on. One could almost always tell how the person feels by his/her penmanship, so it makes them [i]HAHAHA[/i]s more believable than [i]yeah, lol[/i].[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e]I was actually waiting for [spoiler]Kuze and Gouda[/spoiler] to come out and say at least a profound line or two. But that didn't happen even though their pictures were plastered in every SSS poster released a year ago. Thank God for [spoiler]the return of Proto and the Tachikomas[/spoiler] though. [spoiler]The abduction system was brilliant, and though I first felt that Koshiki's confession was a bit Scooby Doo-ish, they managed to make his story lead back to the attempted assassination, the abductions and the Kifu Aged.[/spoiler] Amazing how they wind up with three different stories with the stand alone complex theme.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425E][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]The towheaded boy in Cabin 11 had been waiting by the door for the witch with the cart and had placed his order even before the cart came to a full stop. [COLOR="Sienna"]?I'll have a couple of those Chocolate Frogs and half a bag of Bertie Bott's, please,?[/COLOR] he said. [COLOR="Sienna"]?How 'bout you, Rigel??[/COLOR] The cabin has only one other occupant, a dark-haired boy whose head hung low over a large, scarlet book on his lap. He looked up from his book long enough for the witch to take a good look at him. This boy, Rigel, despite his unusual hair color and other signs of a few year's seniority, looked extraordinarily like the other boy. And when he stood up to take a closer look at the sweets, he was tall enough to bump his head on the overhead storage bin. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Have you got anything new, miss??[/COLOR] he asked as he bent down to examine the lower racks of the cart. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Any of those Pepper Imps they got at Hogsmeade??[/COLOR] It wasn't the first time she was asked that question today; the children in the first car wanted Pepper Imps too. [COLOR="Sienna"]?No, I'm afraid we won't be selling those on the Hogwarts Express as smoking in our cabins is against the regulations,?[/COLOR] went the well-rehearsed explanation. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Now how about something we have? Pumpkin juice, perhaps??[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]?Pumpkin juice sounds great,?[/COLOR] Rigel said, nodding. The boy paused for a moment to fish for coins in his pocket. ?[COLOR="Sienna"]And a bag of everything, please.?[/COLOR] It took a while for the witch to collect everything the older boy bought. By the time she finished, a small crowd of students had formed around the cart as they tried to squeeze their trunks past it. She handed two large bags to the young man and retrieved from his gloved hand 3 Galleons and a few Knuts (plus an extra Sickle for her troubles). The two boys smiled and nodded at the witch and she rolled her cart away. Then, without much regard to the care put in packing the sweets, Rigel dumped the bags' contents on to the seat beside him and proceeded to divide them into two lots. He stuffed half the stash into his trunk, stuck a piece of pumpkin pasty into his owl's cage (Arthur hooted his thanks), and packed the rest in one of the bags. This bag he then tossed to the younger boy, who caught it squarely in the chest. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Happy birthday, Nick!? [/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]?I'll tell Mum that you're spoiling my appetite,?[/COLOR] Nick said while opening a Chocolate Frog. But before popping it into his mouth, he gave the Rigel a big grin that showed off the really prominent gap in his teeth. [COLOR="Sienna"]?But thanks anyway!?[/COLOR] Rigel picked up a stray Ice Mice that had found its way to the floor. [COLOR="Sienna"]?You'd better not finish all tho--? [/COLOR] A girl with cropped silver hair popped her head into their cabin. From the stripes on her gray pullover, Nick could see that she was from Slytherin, although from what year, he couldn't guess. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Hey, Rigel!?[/COLOR] greeted the girl. She plopped down next to the older boy, who offered her the Ice Mice in his hand. [COLOR="Sienna"]?First Dueling Club meeting this Saturday, did you hear?? ?No. I doubt Alastor's owl could've flown the whole stretch from his house to mine.?[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]?Well, now you know!?[/COLOR] the girl said, popping the Ice Mice into her mouth. After shivering slightly from the wriggling sweet, she finally noticed the boy across her. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Oh hey...?[/COLOR] She looked at Rigel then back to the boy. [COLOR="Sienna"]?You're Nick, right? First year in Hogwarts??[/COLOR] [COLOR="Sienna"]?Yeah!?[/COLOR] She stood up, straightened her black robe and tapped the House crest on it. [COLOR="Sienna"]?Well, I do hope the Hat puts you in Slytherin. You belong there, you know,?[/COLOR] she said with an extra wink. Then with a nod towards Rigel, said: [COLOR="Sienna"]?Well, Ravenclaw's fine too.?[/COLOR] Rigel raised an eyebrow at the girl as she stepped back to the corridor, laughing. He looked outside his window for a quick scan of the platform ([COLOR="Sienna"]?Nope, no Ravenclaws yet,?[/COLOR] said he) then promptly turned his attention back to his book.[/FONT][/COLOR]

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[COLOR=#35425e]Hello! I hope this is alright. Do write back for changes. [IMG]http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8549/bloodyrose2ai4.jpg[/IMG][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e]Lionheart, can I suggest some rules regarding our schedules? [B]Core Subjects[/B] 1) Core and optional subjects will be taken twice a week, at most. We can't have any of these taught thrice a week because then there'd be no more timeslots left for the other years (remember, these subjects are taught by a single professor). 2) They should be held at regular intervals, like Tuesdays and Thursdays 2nd period or Double Subjects during Fridays. If we scatter all these classes around (i.e. Charms held on Tuesday 2nd period then Friday 4th period), we'll get more of these schedule overlaps. 3) For 6th and 7th years, they can only take these provided that they qualify for N.E.W.T. levels. That's why they have tons of free time. 4) Classes may be shared by students of different houses but [B]not[/B] by two different years. We can't have them 1st years on a Potions class for 7th years now, can we? I've attached a summary of the schedules set so far so you can see why we can't have triple subjects. ++++++++ Ah, so complicated. Maybe we should just drop the whole schedule thing and just set dates for the Quidditch matches and the Hogsmeade visits. :D[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e]Hello! [IMG]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4830/bloodyrosedo0.jpg[/IMG] Do you want a matching banner?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#354253][quote name='The13thMan'][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Take this case for example: The woman wants an abortion and the man does not. What should happen? Who should have the say? It is her body... she would have to go through the months of bearing the child. Is that enough to give her the right to terminate the child's "life" when the father says otherwise? The fact that society expects a man to be supportive of whatever the women wants is a little off in my opinion. But only a tiny bit. Don't get me wrong. =D I just think instead of society expecting cooperation it should expect deliberation in this case. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Ah, but a woman CAN get through those 9 months without the child's father. There might be tears shed and letters burnt, but the fact is that after fertilization, [i]the man simply becomes useless[/i]. We're more like black widows than penguins, in this sense. Support can't take away morning nausea, support can't keep stretch marks from appearing, support can't take away the risks of birthing, support can't heal C-section and episiotomy lacerations. And because of that, I believe that the father's decision has no leverage on the issue. After all, it's not his body that gets exposed to the risks involved before, during and after birthing. A tremendous amount of stress put on a woman's body during pregnancy. The chemicals in her body go haywire and she has to be extra-careful not to do anything that might trigger miscarriage. It's almost like being a grounded adolescent with hyperactive hormones. Then there's the birthing itself. Not all women are fortunate enough to have easy deliveries. Procedures like C-section and episiotomy require surgery and exposes mothers to the risk of uncontrolled bleeding and infection, among others. Add to that side-effects like post-partum depression, sexual dysfunction and perineal trauma and you've got yourself a cocktail for a changed woman. You can't say "Oh, she can just put the baby up for adoption." Birthing is nothing like your daily ten minutes in the crapper. So there you go. More reasons to hug your mom more often. ;)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425e]I'd like to claim the 30th spot.[/color]

[COLOR=#35425e]^ We didn't see a Ravenclaw representative in the Triwizard Tournament now, did we? :( Oh, and having a Hufflepuff student/teacher would be great. Having a sinister one would be just [i]precious[/i].[/COLOr]

[COLOR=#35425e]I used to go to this beach every day when I was a kid. It's one of them rocky beaches made out of old coral stacks with 3-8 feet deep pools that get exposed during low tide. I'd jump into a pool and try to kick those little blue fishies away from me because I hate touching live fish. It was the closest I could get to communing with marine wildlife, and perhaps the best way to relive certain scenes from [i]The Little Mermaid[/i]. And because it's rocky, I didn't have to worry about sand getting anywhere near my nether regions. I did have to think about how I can pull up and out of the pool though, but my dad and cousins were always there to give me a boost up. Definitely one of the best beaches I've been to. One of the things I love about the beach is that my toenails come out squeaky clean after standing in the water for some time. Also, no shampoo can make my hair as soft and tangle-free like seawater does. I love, love, love the beach! Alright, pictures! [URL=http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=panglaoeo9.jpg][IMG]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6286/panglaoeo9.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sipalayhz8.jpg][IMG]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2938/sipalayhz8.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] The first is a *small* picture of what just might be the worst stretch of sand in the island of Panglao, Philippines. All those black patches in the water are seagrass, a whole lawn of them. I hate seagrass. Crabs love them, and I fear I might contract some sort of disease if I step on them. Nevertheless, some of them dead, floating seaweeds are pretty handy if you're trying to scare the wits out of a beach newbie. The second picture was taken by my friend a year ago during our fieldwork. See the touches of brown near the white caps? That's fine sand, and that's the reason why I didn't like this beach. I was dead tired but I couldn't plant my bum on the shallow parts 'cause then I'd get sand in my pockets. I had to go further out, make like a jellyfish and bob up and down with the waves. Really boring. The sand was soft though, and it doesn't get too hot even at noon. By the end of the day, we were playing tag and doing cartwheels and getting drunk on the beach. Hey [b]Rachmaninoff[/b], ever been to one of them glowing beaches in Oregon?[/color]

[COLOR=#35425E][b]Stalking[/b] A lovely and therapeutic pastime for those who have a tendency to obsess over things gifted with the ability to move.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#35425E][b]Name:[/b] Rigel Rosier [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Age:[/b] 16 [b]Year:[/b] 5 [b]House:[/b] Ravenclaw [b]Wand:[/b] Rowan and dragon heartstring. At 8 and 1/2 inches long, its length looks even more abbreviated when seen with its lanky wizard. [b]Familiar:[/b] A small fussy owl that answers to the name "Arthur". He's only good for sending letters; thank heavens most howlers are too heavy for it to carry. [b]Appearance:[/b] When it comes to looks, Rigel is every bit a Rosier. He inherited his father's watery grey eyes and unusual hair color -- an even, dark grey shade that's not quite black yet not a single bit elderly in appearance. His ruddy cheeks bring a burst of color to his livid complexion, a rosiness that looks especially shocking after a few minutes of flying. Upon closer inspection, it appears that his nose is bent a little to the left, and his thin lips are nearly the same color as his pale skin. How these features managed to combine into a fine-looking face is one of the reasons why he is easy to spot in a crowd. ...Well, other than the fact that he towers over other Ravenclaws in his year (or the next higher year, for that matter). Rigel is quite tall for a sixteen year old and would often be mistaken for a wizard of legal age. An accident in his third-year Potions class burned the skin clear off his right palm so he now never goes anywhere without a pair of gloves. [b]Bio and Personality:[/b] Ambition, resourcefulness and a fine lineage, not to mention a knack for derision -- one wonders why Rigel was placed in Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin. Rigel is the eldest of Cepheus Rosier and Agatha Crouch's two sons. Expectations ran high for the first-born; problem was, he was unable to cast even dead simple spells. Try as he may, whatever wizarding was in his blood simply didn't manifest. Because of his inability to perform practical magic, he resigned himself to the study of magic as a theory, hoping that he would come across something that will help him with magic's applied aspect. Cepheus and Agatha staunchly refused to admit that Rigel was a Squib. They were impressed with the depth of his comprehension regarding the history and intermediate theories of magic. When his Hogwarts admission letter failed to show up when he turned eleven, Agatha just clucked her tongue, smiled and said that his son was a late bloomer. Then on his son's twelfth birthday, Cepheus awoke to a din of victorious hoots from their backyard. He found Rigel zipping across their mandrake patch on a broomstick, chasing after the owl who delivered the first of his many presents. Later that day, Rigel was able to correctly guess all seventeen of his birthday presents, and was confident enough to predict the arrival of one more. His eighteenth present arrived by owl halfway through his dinner party, and it came in the form of a sealed envelope from Hogwarts: finally, his letter of admission. Every year he tries out for a place in Ravenclaw's Quidditch team and every year he gets turned down. [i]He's a decent flyer[/i], the captain would say, [i]but he could not dodge them Bludgers even if they flew at half-speed[/i]. So with Quidditch out of the question (for the most part of the year, anyway), Rigel found himself signing up for the Dueling Club. Though a gentleman when it comes to dueling, he never fails to put up a good, dirty fight whenever his dueling partner goes out of bounds. In his fourth year, Rigel chased a Gryffindor student to the lake for deliberately splashing him with a potion. They both ended up in the infirmary -- he had scales pulled off his skin while his partner regrew the bones in his wand arm. Ask him what he thinks of the Minister of Magic and he'll probably say "His incompetency can only be matched by the number of crinkles on his grotesque mug." His choice of words are quite tart for someone from Ravenclaw, but his statements are never without bases. As part of his plan to become the youngest Minister of Magic (and he isn't the least bit shy to admit it), he familiarized himself with the Ministry's history and now keeps a close watch on its activities. For hours he would pore through the Daily Prophet with quill and parchment in hand, and note every detail of the latest Ministry news with fanatical fervor. His other pursuit also suffers the same amount of attention: a worn, pie-stained copy of [i]The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection[/i] lies buried under other books by Trimble and Viridian on his bed. And though he doesn't admit it, the same pie stains appear through all of the library's Lockhart books except, of course, [i]Magical Me[/i]. Having read all of those material, it would be natural to assume that Defense Against the Dark Arts is his best subject. [i]Nope, not DADA[/i], some girls would say. [i]With that cute face of his, clearly, he's best in Charms.[/i] [b]Assignments for the next year:[/b] Defense Against the Dark Arts [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- none. buy: Curses and Countercurses, Viridian[/i][/color][/size] History of Magic [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- discuss the most potent curse ever used on Egyptian tombs[/i][/color][/size] Transfiguration [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- enumerate features that are retained through an Animagus' transformation[/i][/color][/size] Charms [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- look up charms used on common room doors[/i][/color][/size] Potions [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- running low on lacewings. [/i][/color][/size] Astronomy [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- can't map movement of Jupiter b/c tonight's occultation[/i][/color][/size] Herbology [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- artemisia looking good[/i][/color][/size] Divination [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- what my palms say about 5th year. will use cards instead. IMPORTANT: find cards[/i][/color][/size] Arithmancy [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- remember: 6385, Row 90[/i][/color][/size] Ancient Runes [SIZE=1][color=#8C6239][i]- homework 5 inches short. will draw bigger illustrations next time.[/i][/color][/size][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#656446]That would be a set of Kerokerokeroppi memorabilia including a bowl, a tray and a small bucket, all of which I [i]clearly[/i] have no use for. But I don't regret buying them 'cause I recently recycled the tray and the bowl as a gift for my kid brother, and the bucket as a container for my writing instruments. I think Sanrio's going to have a clearance sale soon so I may have to update this post in the near future.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#656446]If you want readable text, I think fonts with flat, tapered serifs are the way to go. The blocky slab serifs of the font you used (Sylfaen?) look rather off when set against the soft, curvy lines of the background picture. I would use plain ol' [I]Garamond[/I] or [I]Sanford[/I] for "London"; they're wider than Georgia or Sylfaen and have nearly-circular O's (very nice, IMO). [I]Minion[/I] at 85% its normal height looks lovely too. Then for "Ladies of", maybe a wide font with less pronounced serifs like [I]Salernomi J[/I] (80-85% height, just to thicken up the stresses) looks best.[/COLOR]

[color=#656446][img]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/64/kaedeaviwi1.jpg[/img] [img]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/525/kaedezm5.jpg[/img] Love him.[/color]

[color=#656446][img]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6205/glutamatefu6.jpg[/img] [img]http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2731/glutamatebanhk2.jpg[/img][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#656446][SIZE=1][b]Jeremiah:[/b] The orientation of your laptop screen and the quality of the ambient light only matter when you're matching colors by eye (NEVER DO THAT), not when you're using the Eyedropper tool. Always use the Eyedropper tool (or whatever its equivalent is) to sample colors. Then take the time to view the color information and note the color's hexadecimal code. That hexcode corresponds to the exact shade you must use to make the transition between the preceding image to your submission look seamless. My guess is that you sacrificed image quality for a smaller file size, thus the artifacts in the in your piece and the record-breaking 67-kilobyte(!) image. For the most economical package, that is, good image quality and small file size, use PNG format if you have clean and wide fields of the same color (for example, vectored pieces or your latest submission), and JPEG or GIF with more colorful and complex images. But if you really want a fool-proof way to preserve the colors and the quality, I recommend saving the image in PNG format. Never mind the large file size; 56k users have been fairly warned anyway. ========== #12 [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/electric-sheep.jpg]Sheep in the Big City[/url][/SIZE][/COLOR]

See you in two months, everyone! Oh, and my love letter for y'all: #7 Otakuboards

[COLOR=#656446]Hey guys! We've got just under 4 days to submit all our pieces! Remember: May 27! (!!!) Also, [b]#7 Otakuboards[/b] claimed. (!)[/COLOR]