Nony

Heck, I'll bite, if only cause I have the perfect actor to present. [center][IMG]http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/02/03/michaelcaine_narrowweb__300x451,0.jpg[/IMG] [b]Michael Caine[/b][/center] Yes, I would do an old man. >> Not only was he Mr. Scrooge in [i]Muppet Christmas Carol[/i] (my first instance seeing him), but he also starred in such classics as [i]Dirty Rotten Scoundrels[/i], [i]Secondhand Lions[/i] (omg, squeeeee), and the recent Batman films. Seriously, he's such a great actor (in my eyes at least) and his accent is great. You gotta love him for trying to put on a Southern accent in [i]Secondhand Lions[/i] too.

I'll have to put my lot in with 'Gome here. Honestly, I'm not so much upset at Obama winning as I am at the fanatics who keep going on about it. Plus, I have a great story about my sister being in England, and upon striking up a conversation with an older black man which inevitably led to politics which eventually ended in him calling her a racist for no bloody good reason. Stories like that are what piss me off and make me wish we could just move on and start uniting for goodness' sakes. The only comfort has been in South Park's genius lampoon of the whole ordeal.

Favorite piece of dialogue: "Hey Ash." "Yeah, Misty?" "The doctors told me that you have cancer." "Ohhh... is that some sort of new Pokemon that can't be found in the Johto region?" "No, it's cancer." That had me lawling in my seat.

Gosh, Shin. Another harem? XP Although I will admit, they [i]are[/i] fun to make. Speaking of which... [URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Monkey-chan/myanimeharem2.png][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Monkey-chan/myanimeharem2thumb.png[/IMG][/URL] (Plz to be clicking on the pic for full version.) [b]Shino[/b] - The reason I am a fantard. To transplant something from my theO blog: "Shino - with her kind yet completely human heart and very real sadness, her realistic relationships with others in her online universe 'The World', and her admittedly attractive character design - is truly worth it indeed." Also, she's voiced by Kari Wahlgren (in the games) and Kaori Nazuka. Nice~ [b]Anemone[/b] - Anemone is an interesting character. Completely insane (for good reason), really no good reason for a person to like her... yet I loves her. It helps she is voiced by the awesome Kari Wahlgren though. [size=-3]Dominic x Anemone FTW. >.>[/size] [b]Neese[/b] - I think I just like the priestly female types. lol Gosh. Although her story in Record of Lodoss War ain't entirely original ([spoiler]Priestess possessed by Godess of Destruction much?[/spoiler]), I found the innocence of her character quite attractive. [b]Ai Tanabe[/b] - I cannot say this enough: [i]More people need to watch[/i] Planetes[i]. It's good, gashsplurnit.[/i] Moving on... Tanabe is another one of those sweetly naive types, expressing the virtues of love, blah blah blah. But, if you've seen [i]Planetes[/i], you know why it's done so masterfully and how there's plenty good reason to like this girl. [b]Fuu[/b] - Gosh, finally a female lead who isn't a sideline girl! Plus, Kari Wahlgren again. Wee. [b]Nia[/b] - Such a huge Mary Sue, really. Yet there's not that feeling of dis-enlikenment that often comes with the Mary Sue. Face it, Nia' s just adorable. (And again, kid!Nia is on purpose.) [b]Yoko[/b] - Strong female character? Yes plz. Good sensible character development leading to said strength? Ohgoshyesthankyou! [b]Tabby[/b] - Such obvious fanservice. I mean, catgirl [i]and[/i] giant breasticles? Yet I like her character. Again, a bit of the innocent/naive type; I can't help but like her though.

I watch the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series, for obvious reasons (ie, it's hilarious). I've also kept up with .hack//Roots Abridged, just cause I'm such a fantard for the series and have always wanted people to make fun of it properly and I finally found someone who could. And now, thanks to Gavin, I'll have to keep up with DBZ Abridged. That was some reeeeally funny stuff right thar. I was literally lol'ing.

Alrighty, fine. I'll post my "All Male Friend Circle" here as well. :P [center][url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Monkey-chan/myanimeharem.png][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Monkey-chan/myanimeharemthumb.png[/IMG][/URL][/center] [b]Van Fanel[/b] - The way I describe this guy is "short, dark and handsome". I have overall superficial reasons for liking him, although his character growth is attractive in its own way. ;) [b]Kurogane[/b] - He sends shivers down my fangirl spine, let's just put it that way. Maybe I like the grumpy handsome types? >//> [b]Dominic[/b] - Dominiiiic!

Oh no, I'm not claiming he got elected based off a certain population that may or may not have voted for him just because he's black. I'm saying such a thing is unfortunate; I would prefer they did so purely on policies alone. And I agree with you; I think to a certain extent it didn't matter who the Democratic candidate was. People just didn't want anything that could be compared to Bush, which (unfortunately) means less popularity for the Republican side.

[quote name='Darren']The same can be said for those who voted [I]for[/I] Obama just because of his race. I know a lot of people here who voted for him just because he's black and that really infuriates me! Seriously, learn the policies that a candidate has before you vote.[/QUOTE] Oh yeah, totally! I bet a lot of people did that too, which is unfortunate. I guess as long as they also agreed with his policies, it's not as bad, but honestly. :/ And I agree with you about backing up the President, whether or not you voted for 'em, until they royally screw up. I'm not gonna be a sore loser, just a slight skeptic for now. lol

I have a liberal friend who said she would cry if McCain won. XP Now, I think that's a little unfair, for whoever might've won in this case. I won't go into despair over Obama's win unless he really starts to screw up the country. Honestly, I just hope he (not to mention Congress) does his job well and doesn't get too carried away.

[quote name='Nathan'][FONT="Arial"]I can guarantee that for many of us who are Democrats, it was all about policy and not irrelevant details like gender, race or age.[/FONT][/QUOTE] And I thank you for that. I certainly hope the same is true for all Americans; Republican, Democrat, and all the parties inbetween.

This is something that has bothered me about people who are against McCain. I hate the excuse that you shouldn't have voted for McCain because of his age. If you're going to vote against a candidate, let it be because you disagree with their policies, not because of their gender, age or race.

I'm watching Obama's speech right now as I slack off from homework. I didn't vote for the man, but I wish him all the best and hope he lives up to half the standards set upon him by the American people. XP

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium][url]http://obama-mccain.info/index-obama-mccain.php[/url][/font][/QUOTE] Thanks [i]so[/i] much for posting that link, James. I've been wanting the same type of resource myself; something that is overall unbiased and just gives you the facts without all this idiotic mudslinging. Now that I've read their (supposed) positions on the issues, I'm more confident now in my decision. Thanks again!

[b]Lunar: Dragon Song[/b] for the DS is one of the worst games I've played in recent memory. What kind of RPG doesn't allow you to [i]strategically[/i] choose which enemies to attack? Plus, the added annoyance of losing HP from running. I couldn't even get past the first part of the game, just so awful.

I'm currently practicing Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryuu Iaido. It's basically quick draw sword play. Although it concentrates mainly on the form, my sensei also likes to teach the functionality, which I quite like. We do use real swords, but it's pretty safe as long as you know what you're doing. I've been practicing Iaido for two or three years now, and it's pretty fun seeing new students coming in and remembering that I used to be that clueless too. XP The style itself has been around for nearly 450 years, which is pretty amazing. For more info than I could ever give on the subject, go to this website: [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C5%8D_Jikiden_Eishin-ry%C5%AB][color=red][link][/color][/URL] (Yes, it's a wikipedia link, but it does give a good summary of the waza sets we perform, so I approve for now.)

It's not so much that God allows you to do whatever you want and you just get a free pass. It's more like God will forgive it, but we should still try and play nice with the other kids. And really, skimming through these mountain of posts, I just have one last thing to say: Please think before you post implications that being religious means getting brainwashed by religious leaders. You don't need religion to be influenced by others. Think about that when you're posting your own thoughts, claiming that Christians are uncapable of coming to any intelligently-founded beliefs of their own. Basically: Play nice, children. ;P

[quote name='TimeChaser']You can still be free to disagree and see things from the way your beliefs tell you to, because that is your right. Allowing other people to enjoy their rights is not an absolute restriction of your opinion. But why can that opinion be translated into laws for all of us, when we don't all believe the same thing? Why should I respect a law based in a certain religious viewpoint, when I am not of that religion? Making laws based on any one particular interpretation of religion is a dangerous step back toward theocracy.[/QUOTE] I don't think we're anywhere near becoming a theocracy. I still stand by my earlier statement that if the majority of a population leans towards one religion, then naturally the laws will reflect at least some of those views. The issue is whether those views are very clearly biased towards said religion (such as any mention of God in a law). From what I can understand, you're basically saying, "Why should I follow a law I disagree with?" Well, if you disagree with it, there are ways to change it. And now, very quickly, touching on the issue of gay marriage, I don't approve [i]religious[/i] gay marriage; basically, if a church decides to marry two gay people together, I disagree with that. However, if people want to get a governmental marriage, I don't care as much. That's the opinion I have right now, anyway. [quote name='Allamorph']Pure fact? Yes. Whole darn thing. (As long as we can make certain there weren't additions made to the text, Beowulf style. Yeesh.) [I]Applicable?[/I] Ehh. Laws against eating pigs and other unclean animals were overtly struck in one of Peter's visions. (Acts, I believe.) Laws governing not shaving beards or sideburns are also rather silly. So yes, discrimination based on time and purpose is necessary.[/QUOTE] Ahh yes, thank you for clarifying, Alla. That's what I was trying to get across. No, not trying to say parts of the Bible are untrustworthy, just that all the laws are not necessarily applicable to today.

This thread seems to have transformed from just a question of homosexuality being right or wrong to one of gay marriage being acceptable or not. Although the two are interrelated, I'd like to address the former option a bit more. But first, I want to reply to this: [quote name='TimeChaser']Since most of the argument against homosexuals being allowed to marry is couched in religious belief, I see this as a clear violation of the separation of Church and State. You cannot make laws that are clearly biased toward a particular religious view.[/QUOTE] Separation of church and state simply means the government can't support any particular religion; basically, the Founding Fathers didn't want another Church of England happening. But, if it just so happens that the majority of Americans are religious, then the laws will naturally reflect that and I don't consider that a violation of the separation of church and state at all. The problem that often comes about when people use the separation of church and state argument is the implication that people who happen to be religious are not allowed to hold their own points of views if those views also happen to be something their religion teaches. Everyone has their own set of morals. Everyone has an idea of what they think is right. To deny someone else that right to vote for what they consider is right would be discriminating. From there, it's a decision of whether or not what we're voting for or against may not be discriminatory in the first place. In regards to the morality of being homosexual, I like the statement Allamorph made awhile back: "Hating the sin, loving the sinner." That's my personal viewpoint, and it just so happens to lie within the realms of Christian theology. The argument that Christians shouldn't follow rules and/or guidelines set in the Bible because it was written ages ago is a ridiculous argument. Of course we shouldn't take [i]everything[/i] the Bible states as pure fact; some of the things written in there were very cultural and specific to the time. But then there is also a lot of things in there that are still applicable to our day and can be used for our continued benefit. Although human thought may seem to change, human beings have pretty much been the same throughout history. That's the major reason I could give for why the morals given in the Bible are still good ones to keep today. And now that leads me into the homosexual rights issue. Again, it's more about loving the sinner and hating the sin than anything. As I believe Crimson implied before, if we think someone is doing something we believe to be unhealthy, we'll try to stop them. One of the questions of being homosexual is a matter of health. In the same way that I would discourage a prostitute to sleep with strange men, so would I do for homosexuals. It's partly about misusing sex and abusing the person's body. Why does religious theology warn against sex before marriage? Because there are serious health benefits if someone sleeps with a lot of people and doesn't protect themself. We have condoms nowadays to help prevent things like AIDS, so that helps. But then, when we move from health benefits - which should seem clear to anyone, religious or not - to questions of morality, that's really when we tread in dangerous territory. Obviously, not everyone's going to agree with me, but I believe that morally homosexuality is wrong. This doesn't mean I hate people who are gay or that I judge them as more "sinful" than anyone else. It's rather straightfoward, I think. Similarly, I would think it morally wrong for someone to have sex before marriage, yet plenty would also disagree with me there. But I believe following these moral "laws" is also a form of keeping oneself healthy. And from there, I'm not quite sure how to expand my argument, at least for now. Just as a note: there's a lot of things I would say are morally wrong and I wish people wouldn't do, such as stealing, murder, greed, etc etc.

I took piano lessons for a couple years back when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I really enjoyed it then and seemed genuinely good at it; plus, I have fond memories of the teacher and the little piano recitals we would hold. Writing little dinky songs was pretty enjoyable too. But, after moving from California to Washington, it was hard to keep up with it. I tried taking lessons with my church pastor, but I didn't have passion for it any longer. I do regret quitting and would love to pick it up again. I can still play basic songs, but I want to further myself so I can learn more complicated things, not to mention learning how to play some piano pieces from .hack.

Oh my, there are quite a few anime that have been gripping from the very start and soon after started a fan obsession with the series. For the sake of keeping the post relatively short, I'll only list a few important ones. [B]Pokémon[/B] was definitely my first. It was a very appealing series for a 10 year old kid, and even now I still really love and appreciate the innocence of those first few seasons. After that, I would say [B]InuYasha[/B] was one that, from the airing of the first episode on Adult Swim in 2002, I didn't stand a chance. It was my first real soiree into the world of anime, so it of course filled my virgin eyes with wonder. Plus, the first two seasons were and still are excellent. Next, I would have to go for the obvious and list [b].hack[/b]. There was the original airing of SIGN way back when that got me interested in the franchise as a whole and sparked an obsession with it, even though I had only seen one episode and would not proceed to finish the series until at least a year later. There is also a very specific experience with [B].hack//Roots[/B] that got me going. I remember being so excited to watch the first episode, that when I finally did manage to make it through the first three minutes of it before getting cut off due to mother needing the computer, I immediately went and pre-ordered the soundtrack and hopped around the house like a bunny rabbit. All thanks to the one song that played in those first three minutes, [i]dwindled bible[/i]. I don't think I could come up with a better example of an anime gripping you from the very start.

[center][b].hack//Roots[/b] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Monkey-chan/screenshot1.jpg[/IMG][/center] Need I imply just what they're doing so conveniently out of frame there?

I guess this counts for this discussion, although I'm obsessed with the franchise as a whole, not just the games. ".hack" Yes, I own all the original four games (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, Quarantine; usually shortened to IMOQ) and the most recent G.U. titles (Rebirth, Reminisce, Redemption). Yes, I actually finished all the IMOQ games, and I become quite sad when I hear people never finished Quarantine because it's honestly one of the most touching endings for anything I've ever seen. Yes, I enjoyed Redemption even though the game was rather underdeveloped, although I chalk that up to Shino finally becoming a playable character in that installment and I'm extremely obsessed with her. I'm certainly obsessed enough to know all the basics of the storyline and I would even say a good amount of the more obscure facts. It helps that I follow not just the games but the anime series, various novel and manga releases, soundtracks, etc etc. Oh, and for those who want to know more about .hack or really [i]anything[/i] concering the .hack universe, just go to the [URL=http://dothack.wikia.com][color=red].hack wiki[/color][/URL].

I'm seeing a common theme here. People keep saying they would have their anime in English first to basically avoid a crappy dub later. However, under the "guidelines" set by the original question, he said "if you had an unlimited budget." That would likely include dubbing, if you so wished it. I really wouldn't care if I dubbed any imaginary anime of my own into English or Japanese first. The exciting part would be actually creating the story itself. I would put a lot more effort into that area, rather than worrying about localization. If I could pick [i]any[/i] animation studio, I'd likely go for Madhouse. I just like their stuff. The other important thing would be the music. I wouldn't pick Kajiura, simply because all her work ends up sounding the same to me. Kanno would be a better choice. I might add more to this later. Very interesting question, I must say.

No, I'm pretty sure it's advertised as megabytes. I have the same connection, Comcast High-Speed. As with Aaryanna, it never seems to go much higher than 1.5 MB, but I'm not complaining. In fact, I don't know how I was even able to deal with dial-up before! The only times it gets super-slow is when my brother has just been playing WoW. Usually a good Restart will fix that though.

Darnit, beat me to .hack//SIGN. Don't forget to add "1 sip every time someone says 'Key of the Twilight'".