SunfallE

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I?ve run into the type of prompts you are talking about. I always argued with my teachers over them since I don?t have a favorite season, as there are things about each one that I like. Some were understanding and others just told me to pick one and just ?write? about it. The one that annoys me the most I have yet to see on a written exam, but it always seems to pop up in questionnaires designed for getting to know one another. ?What is your favorite ice cream?? I always laugh at that one since I?m allergic to milk and have never liked ice cream. [/COLOR] :p

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Great lesson. ^_^ I have two questions. First you mentioned that you can download brush packs. Where would you go to get them? I?ve been playing with the various brushes to get different effects but I would love to add more brushes to my current set. Second could you elaborate on what you mean by properly placed lighting effects? I?ve only done simple things like change the level of how dark or light my pictures are. [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Gavin][SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.[/SIZE] [SIZE=1]Not to be offensive SunfallE, but I find that to be a wee bit suspicious, if an aunt of mine said she wanted my pay check, and that "God" told her I was to clean her house for her then I'd want fairly damning proof that's she's not just lazy and after my money. I'm not doubting what you say, I'm just doubting whether or not your aunt is genuinely schizophrenic. As for the second person, I think the argument may be a little trivial, but the other person seems to be making a huge deal of it and being selfish in only considering her wants. In my own experience most disagreements can be solved either immediately after the transgression has occurred, if people are willing to be civil about it, or after a period of time when everyone has settle down. I have more than a few arguments with my mother over very trivial things, generally stupid things that we really shouldn't be arguing over but it can get very frustrating when neither side is willing to accept the other's point of view. I don't think there's really an unsolvable argument, the kind of argument that would set people against one another for the rest of their lives, it just takes time and eventually both parties have to let bygones be bygones.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] [COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]No worry, I?m not offended. ^_~ Perhaps if I explain my aunts situation a little better it will make more sense. I had just had another argument regarding the other person so I was feeling a little flustered when I wrote the initial post. The thing with my aunt actually had me believing she was just lazy and wanted everyone to do everything for her. For as long as I can remember she has always claimed that God spoke to her. She was claiming God spoke to her all the time, trying to go grocery shopping with her was a nightmare since she would stand in front of something simple like Tuna cans on the shelf and wait for God to tell her what brand to get. I didn?t even consider that it might be a mental condition until three years ago when she divorced her husband. It was pretty ugly since they had a huge custody fight over the kids and as a result of that fight my aunt had to undergo psychological assessment before the court would even consider giving her custody of the children. You see she already had a record with both the police and the state as she had been turned in by her neighbors many times for neglecting her children. My uncle was a pilot in the Air Force so he was gone all the time but he quit that job and got another so he could get custody of the children and take care of them. It was during the custody battle that it was determined that she was most likely suffering from a mild form of schizophrenia and that she needed treatment. Not only did she refuse to believe it, but she lost custody of the kids since the court wouldn?t give her custody of the children unless she was treated and was regularly reviewed to make sure the treatment was working. Since she has refused to be fully evaluated it is possible that she really isn?t schizophrenic. Anyway, thanks for responding. ^_^ Now all I need to do is keep working on resolving the second issue. I was feeling discouraged since it?s been seven months and we still haven?t reached an agreement. >_< Hopefully we will reach the point where like you said, it will become a matter of letting bygones be bygones. I hadn?t thought of that, it just felt like it was going to stick around forever. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Have you ever run into a disagreement with someone that you couldn?t solve? Lately it seems like I keep having disagreements with the people in my life and no matter how hard I try to understand their point of view, we just can?t come to any form of agreement. For example I have an aunt who suffers from a form of schizophrenia where she actually hears a voice in her head that she thinks is God, at least I think that?s what the doctor said it was it could be something else. Anyway, the disagreement we have is that she thinks the doctor is lying and refuses to take any type of medication and I think she should take the medicine. Since she thinks God is telling her that I should be giving her my paychecks and coming over to her house every week to clean it for her, I no longer even call or visit her. I simply got tired of trying to get her to follow the doctors advise and take the medication she needs. Or another example, thinking that people have to get your permission to use their own belongings or to even share them with someone else. By share I mean letting someone read one of your books or play one of your games. To me it sounds silly, but the other person tells you that you are deliberately trying to hurt them by sharing with others. And they mean it because they themselves wouldn?t share with you. If they had an art book, it wouldn?t matter that you have the same art book, they would get mad if you used the same picture to say make a wallpaper or e-card. I?m not talking about plagiarizing, but about a situation where you scanned the picture and made it, but the other person gets furious with you because they want to be the only one to ever use it. Or because you made one first, the fact that you didn?t even know they planned on making one doesn?t matter. To me it just seems completely ridiculous to even be disagreeing over it. Am I dealing with people who are selfish? Are the disagreements trivial? Or am I the one who is unwilling to work it out? Should I take back the book I am letting someone else read or remove the wallpaper since the other person was going to make one with the same picture? I am sure that all of you have had similar disagreements. The one with my aunt was crystal clear and easy to solve, but the others are harder since the person is making himself or herself out to be the victim and that I am deliberately trying to hurt them. It frustrates me as I have tried to work it out for the past seven months and even when I try to work out a compromise the other refuses to agree on a middle ground. So what disagreements have you had to deal with? Were they solvable? Do you think if one keeps trying you will eventually find a solution? Or do you think there are ones that just can?t be solved? So tell me, what serious or ridiculous disagreements have you had lately? I know I?m not alone, but I feel like it. So please, tell me about yours. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Brasil[/B] Why? Cause anyone who knows all 20,000+ members well enough to be able to determine that most of us are [I]mediocre[/I] must have an impressive memory. I know I couldn?t keep all the details of each member clear enough to be able to determine that the majority of them are mediocre. :animestun [B]SunfallE[/B] Why? Well being one of the members who joined in 2005 I contributed to the base of mediocre members here at OB! Was I boring? Don?t know. My job kept me away from home most of last year and therefore the Internet as well so I wasn?t on enough to find out. But to be able to contribute to the base of mediocre members here, well surely that?s nifty! :p [B]Seasonal Banner Changes[/B] Why? Not only was it great fun on Halloween, but also the Christmas banner Contest produced some amazing banners made by the talented members here. I certainly hope the banner changes become a regular thing. [B]OtakuBoards Survivor: Game On![/B] Why? Even though I never tried out for the thread, it?s been great fun to read. All the members have done such a great job with their posting and Sandy?s done such an awesome job of keeping it interesting. [B]The OB Staff[/B] Why? Because they do such an awesome job, their hard work makes OB one of the best run boards I have ever seen on the Internet. I certainly couldn?t imagine this place without them. Awesome job! [B] ChibiHorsewoman[/B] Why? You can always count on her to spice things up with the wacky and fun threads she starts. Why is that nifty? She must have started over 80 threads last year alone! [B]The members of OB[/B] Why? Because all of you are certainly the most amazing people I?ve ever met at an online forum and where would OB be with out all of you? [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Although I think pacifism is a good idea, it doesn?t work unless both parties are willing to work together to reach a peaceful solution. I certainly think it should be tried first, but it?s foolish to let someone take over just because you don?t want to fight. Like your example of the bullies, if someone refuses to stop then by all means I think you should fight back. Although I think war can never be truly ?justified? I certainly see nothing wrong with defending yourself. I certainly see nothing fun about being used as a doormat by someone else. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Amber pulled back into the shadows of the upper rafters of the abandoned warehouse. There was just barely enough cover to keep her from being seen from below. She sighed, all that work getting set up, the weeks of carefully probing their systems, hacking one level at a time, gone, just like that. She ignored the sound of U.N.I.T?s men searching the abandoned warehouse for any traces of her. Unless they knew she wasn?t human they would never think to look for her up in the rafters. The sound of blood dripping onto one of the rafters caught her attention. The makeshift bandage she had quickly tied onto her left arm where one of the bullets had grazed her was completely soaked all the way through. If there was one thing she really hated, it was being shot at. Now all she needed to do was find something else to use as a bandage. When she had been running from them she had grabbed something from a clothesline in her path. Movement from the green sash tied around her waist caught her eye; it would certainly do a better job than the small kitchen towel she was using. She undid the sash around her waist and set it gently on the metal rafter in front of her. Careful to avoid blood dripping down to the floor below, she removed the makeshift bandage and set it next to her sash. She picked up the green sash and after grimacing at the thought of ruining the beautiful green silk material she quickly bandaged the wound. She wrapped it several times using the entire length of the sash. She didn?t want any blood to soak through this time. Even a child would know something was up in the rafters if they found fresh blood on the floor. The sound of papers rustling seemed abnormally loud to Amber as she emptied her small pack that was attached to her waist. She quickly stuffed her identification papers into her shorts back pocket and then picked up the bloody bandage and put it in her pack. The inner lining was waterproof and should keep any more blood from getting on stuff. Then she cleaned up the blood on the metal rafter as best as she could without the proper materials. Later once U.N.I.T left the area she would return with some bleach to destroy any traces of her blood. A shout from below caused her to freeze. Amber held her breath but it was only the members of U.N.I.T. leaving the area. She smiled to herself as she heard them leaving the building. Obviously they didn?t realize she could fly and since the stairs in the warehouse had long since collapsed there wasn?t any way for them to even explore the narrow walkways among the metal rafters. Still it wouldn?t do to be careless. It would be dark soon, she would wait for the cover of darkness to leave the building and go to retrieve her other belongings that were in the locker at the train station. Amber cautiously peered down, keeping back in the shadows so she wouldn?t been seen, the last of the men searching for her exited the building and she heard the clear sound of doors opening and closing and then that of vehicles as they drove away. Amber sighed. True she had managed to hack into quite a few of U.N.I.T.?s systems, but she hadn?t been able to finish hacking into their most top-secret files. And to top it off, she?d managed to get herself shot this time. At least it was just a flesh wound and thankfully she healed quite a bit quicker than humans did. Within a week it would be completely gone. She wouldn?t even have a scar. But it still throbbed painfully. She sighed again softly. Now with U.N.I.T. on the alert it would take a lot longer than a few weeks to get set up again to hack into their systems. And it would be equally as difficult to move around town, as the local authorities would probably be looking for her as well. She sighed again and settled in to wait for night to fall.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Most of the nice guys I have known have been gay, so there hasn't been an issue of them being underappreciated by me. We've both been there for eachother when things didn't work out. But I agree with the rant as I've seen some of the nice straight guys get treated like that and I often find myself wanting to strangle the stupid girl who does that to them. I had a roomate a while back who was like that, using other guys and never realizing that they were exactly the type of guy they whined about wanting to meet. [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Aaryanna][COLOR=DarkOrange]All right, now for a question. Have you ever had a dream where you realized you were dreaming while you were in the middle of the dream? I had one of those the other night and boy was it weird! [/COLOR][/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Yes, I?ve had several dreams like that. They really are quite weird. Its called Lucid Dreaming. I was reading a book about it the other day called ?Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming? Here?s my next question: If physics can predict lottery numbers, why are they still working? Seems to me that they really can?t predict the numbers or someone would have already used the information to make money. [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Raya][COLOR=#F76590]Question:[/COLOR] Do you think it's right for people to sue fastfood chains because food there makes them fat?[/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I?m of two minds about that. I think the lawsuits are stupid and at the same time I?ve done a little reading and the Food administration in America is corrupt in representing what?s safe and healthy to eat. A huge amount of our food is processed to make things cheaper to produce and to make it tastier so people will want more. And fast-food companies deliberately target children when they advertise so I find the whole thing a bit disgusting. They don?t care about people?s health, but about making money.[/COLOR] [QUOTE=Sage Kaley]But! I have a question everyone! Do you have a weird snack or just a slightly odd snack that everyone thinks you are crazy for liking? [/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Well I don?t think it?s weird but my friends do. I like to have dill pickles as a snack. Everyone I know only has them on sandwhiches but they are just so yummy to eat by themselves. ^_^[/COLOR] [quote name='celestialcharm][COLOR=DarkOrchid']I have another question! How does the tax system work in America? I just went there today, and some clothes had tax, and others did not! Why is it like that?[/COLOR][/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I think the tax system is designed to confuse the world as well as those of us who are Americans. ^_~ I do know that many taxes are determined by the state. For example Utah taxes you on your food where in California there isn?t any tax on the food. [/COLOR] [quote name='sakurasuka][SIZE=1']My question- Pepsi or Coke?[/SIZE][/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Neither. I prefer Dr. Pepper. ^_~[/COLOR] [COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Now for a new question. Do you ever wonder why people stay in a relationship when the other person is physically abusive? I see people do it and I just don?t understand why they stick around. Every time I?ve had a boyfriend like that I?ve always ended the relationship.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Looks like there?s been quite the debate going on here. I?ll just skip that and answer the general questions; otherwise I?ll be here for an hour responding to everything. ^_~[/COLOR][QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][font=lucida calligraphy][color=darkviolet]I'm asking people's opinions on homosexuality. Is it learned or inherited? Is it moral? Does it prevent you from being a good parent? Should gay couples be allowed to adopt? Should same sex marriages be legalized? Please share your MATURE well thought out opinions. [/color][/font][/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I think that homosexuality can be both learned and inherited. I don?t mean to be confusing, but even though I believe it is primarily inherited I also believe that there are those out there who choose to be that way or have learned to be that way from following the example of others. Though I suppose those who choose to be that way probably aren?t being true to themselves. I?ve run into lots of gay guys who tried to follow what they learned and got married to women, but it didn?t change the fact that they were gay and for many of them they ended up divorced. I hear so many arguments that being gay is immoral and I just can?t agree with it. No matter how you look at it the documents people use to back up their claim that being gay is immoral were written by a human at one point and it?s foolish to assume that just because something is written it must be true. I am referring to any religious text or material that claims? being gay is wrong. In my opinion one?s sexual preference doesn?t affect one?s ability to be a good parent. I?ve seen so many horrible parents that were straight and not gay. If the assumption that being gay meant you were a bad parent then why are straight people bad parents as well? I think that gay couples should be allowed to adopt. If they have the financial means and have passed any checks that are required then by all means they should be able to adopt children. As for marriage, I definitely think they should be allowed to get married. I really don?t understand why so many people object to it. If I were to follow that logic then we should ban all types of marriage since so many religions like to think that unless you are married by their traditions you are living in sin. It just seems to me that denying them marriage is just another form of discrimination. I could spend hours discussing the things that at one time was considered unthinkable and wrong and yet today it is considered normal. [/COLOR]

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']My guilty pleasure would have to be banning people. . . . That is all. :modrod:[/color][/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Hehe, I'll have to add watching Des in action to my list. ^_~ Seriously though one of my favorite guilty pleasures is singing. Anytime I hear a song that I know some of the lyrics to it I find myself wanting to sing along with it. And my favorite one is to pull out my old science fiction videos and watch them. I love watching older shows like the first Dr.Who or Star Trek. ^_^[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Name:[/B] Amber Wilkey [B]Age: [/B]Unknown. She appears to be 17 years old [B]Gender: [/B]Female [B]Race: [/B]Unknown. Amber can?t remember her past, she knows she?s not human but she doesn?t know what she is. [B]Origin:[/B] Unknown. Amber knows she isn?t from Earth but she doesn?t remember where she?s originally from. [B]Items/Gadgets: [/B] Amber has only one thing from when she was found five years ago, a blue crystal stone on a golden chain. It is the only link to her past. Whether or not the stone is more than a simple necklace is a mystery to her. [B]Special Skills/Abilities:[/B] Amber is a natural at writing computer programs and hacking into other people?s systems. She has been searching to find any clues to her past and so far she has yet to find a system she couldn?t hack into. She is exceptionally strong and at will can summon fairy like shimmering wings and fly. Though she rarely does that as the one time she did she was taken in by the government to be studied and experimented on. If she hadn?t been as strong as she was she would still be there caged in the laboratory in America. [B]Position:[/B] Amber is currently in London hunting down clues to her past. She has a vague memory of seeing a blue police box and is looking for where she would have seen one. Currently she is working on hacking U.N.I.T?s computer systems looking for clues as checking the local government files has proven to be a dead end. [B]OCC:[/B] Depending on how you want to do the story, she could be recruited by U.N.I.T for her skills, just play a part of the story, or even become one of the Doctor?s companions. If you accept me for the story, just let me know which area you think the character would be best at. I tried to write it so she would fit all three categories. [B]Appearance:[/B] [URL=http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/1548/amberwilkey021ph.jpg ][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Amber[/COLOR][/URL] [B]Personality: [/B] Amber is very outgoing and cheerful. She gives the impression of being a bit on the dimwitted side though she is actually quite smart. She deliberately dresses in an outrageous fashion, as people tend to not take her very seriously and underestimate her. She is hard working and dedicated and fiercely loyal to those who have earned her trust. Her biggest downfall is she can be careless if she is pursing a lead to her past, as she wants to know who she is so badly that she will often ignore warning signs that she is in over her head. She has narrowly avoided being caught by numerous governments around the world, as she is wanted for breaking into top-secret computer systems. [B]Biography: [/B] Amber closed all the curtains to her flat and activated the security systems she had installed. She was about to attempt the most dangerous hack she had done so far. She checked the monitors to make sure everything was working and once she checked the views on the monitors showing the alley, and the other sides of her flat she went back to her computer screen, the words U.N.I.T filling the whole screen. If she had done her homework correctly, today she would finally get into their most top-secret files. Surely one of them would have something that would help her find where she was from. It had been five years since she woke up in the small town of Tooele Utah. Before that day she could remember nothing of her past, except the image in her mind of a blue box that had the words Police Box along the top edge and a body that looked more like blue doors with windows on each side. She also remembered that there was a light on top that flashed. But beyond that she could remember nothing else. The only possession she had other than the clothes on her back was a blue crystal stone on a gold chain. At first it hadn?t mattered that she didn?t know who she was. The people were kind and a caring family took her in giving her a place to live. They gave her the name Amber Wilkey and for a while she didn?t care about who she was. For one year she was blissfully unaware of the differences between her and the others. Then [I]it [/I]happened during a hiking trip with her family in the mountains. At first it was like any other normal trip except every time they were near the edge of any cliff or drop off she felt the urge to just jump off. She explained it to her adoptive parents but they misunderstood and thought she wanted to commit suicide. Amber didn?t know how to explain to them that she felt no desire to die. So she dropped the subject. It seemed that her new adoptive parents had forgotten the conversation until on the way back they had to hike within ten feet of a steep cliff. As they were walking a part of the trail broke off taking her new father with it. Amber?s new family were frozen in panic and shock but Amber just ran to the edge and jumped after her father. Instinctively she willed herself to catch him, somehow knowing that he could not catch himself. Twenty feet short of the bottom of the cliff Amber caught her father and carried him back up to where the rest of her new family was waiting. She would never forget their even more shocked expressions when they realized that she had shimmering wings. It was never the same after than. And shortly after the incident Men in Black came and took her away from her new family. To a dark and cold place. Amber shook her head; she didn?t want to think about what happened after that. If she had known what the American government had in mind she would have flown away instead of going with them on that day. She continued hacking her way through screen after screen of information in the U.N.I.T. mainframe computer. Right now was not the time to be thinking about what little of her past that she could remember. She hadn?t been in America for several years now. Not since her research lead her to London in search of the Police Box she could remember. The last Police Box that looked like the one in her memories had been at the Barnet By-Pass back in 1981, but there were rumors of another one that would mysteriously appear and then disappear in different locations through out London. So far she had been unable to confirm any of the rumors. Nervously Amber once again checked the monitors of her security system. So far no one seemed to have detected her hacking attempt. Still she was wary, as she didn?t want to be caught by U.N.I.T. So far every government system she had hacked into had gone undetected, or so she thought, they could be keeping quiet so she wouldn?t run. There was still that absurd warrant from America for her arrest in regards to the murder of employees in the lab she had been locked up in. It didn?t matter that she had not killed anyone; as far as the rest of the world was concerned she was a dangerous criminal. Amber was down to the last encryption when she felt the tiniest vibration through her flat. Alarmed she looked at the monitors. But nothing was showing. Amber looked closer for any clues that she had been discovered. To her surprise it seemed that some of the plants close to her home were moving from a slight wind but those farther away were still. It took a moment and then it hit. They were coming to get her from above! She hadn?t installed a camera to look up! As if to confirm her suspicions she heard and felt the vibration of several people landing on her roof quietly. Amber swore under her breath and turned to the computer. She quickly pulled up the program to delete everything on the computer and executed the program. Amber wanted to scream! She had been so close to finally hacking into the top-secret files! Amber got up and left the room. She then ran quietly into her bedroom and grabbed her small pack that fastened to her belt. In it was her identification papers and the key to the locker she had rented at a nearby train station. She was too smart to keep much with her in the flat. Now it was a matter of somehow sneaking away. If they were above her it would be impossible to escape without being seen. Why hadn?t she heard them? Amber sighed, it had to be U.N.I.T. they must have discovered her hacking attempts into their system. Only U.N.I.T. or the government would have the money to own stealth helicopters for coming after her. Amber swore again. She was probably surrounded. Amber crept towards the back door that went into the alley. They would still see her leaving, but it was the best route to take, as at least the surrounding buildings would give her some cover if they should start shooting at her. If she was lucky she would not only escape but avoid being shot too. Amber listened to the men on the roof and waited for the right moment to make a break for it. [B]OCC:[/B] If there's anything you want changed just let me know. ^_^ [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Not including the current debate going on, I really see no need to allow swearwords on OtakuBoards. The quality of posts already make this site less Kid friendly. Like James says this is a public place and in general swearing is not considered acceptable behavior. Personally I really have no problem with swearing, I worked as a Semi-Truck driver for a while so I?m use to hearing all sorts of interesting expressions. But I really think it?s just not needed here. It?s one thing to express how you feel and not be censored and yet another to be courteous towards others and where I live people are offended by any type of swearing, so I don?t use cuss words. I?m sure that many other places and jobs and social environments frown upon swearing so it?s really something that I think doesn?t belong here. I also agree with James in that you can use your myOtaku page to express how you really feel, I know I?ve seen plenty of members who do. Truthfully I really prefer well written posts verses the short post saying my day was **** as the former takes more thought and effort where the latter falls on the easy path of well know shortcuts for expressing how you feel.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]The storyline would be tricky, but fun. You could always take a specific storyline from Doctor Who and then spin off in a direction that the show didn?t cover. There are certainly plenty of storylines to consider from the series. But then that?s part of the problem I?m sure since there are so many of them. I haven?t seen any of the newest Doctor Who since it?s not aired where I live in America. But I?ve seen nearly all the episodes of the first seven. So I?m definitely interested in being part of it if you?ll have me. [/COLOR]

[quote name='cruxisseraphim']Can anyone give me the link the a rei picture I can use for my sig. Also,could you find one for my avatar? Thank ya! :animesmil[/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Interesting request, just one problem with it, which anime is Rei from? I can think of several animes that have a character named Rei. So knowing which one you are referring too would make it easier to respond. [/COLOR]

[QUOTE=freeziepleasy]Will it be acceptable if I post up a sketch of a drawing I'm working on, and then later on post up the drawing when I'm finished? So, in other words, I'll have two pics of the same drawing, except one of them is unfinished and the other is the finished version. Basically two different "stages" of the same drawing. Is that allowed? If anyone can answer that, it'd be great 'cause I've got a sketch in submission already and I'm planning to put up the final version when I'm done inking and everything. Thanks.[/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen] I don't know what the official word on it is, but I know plenty of artists who do it, myself included. I have one line art drawing that I later colored and then submitted again. I'd be interested in knowing the answer to that question as well.[/COLOR]

[quote name='dposse']it is fixed!!! ^__^[/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I don't know about that. >_< theOtaku.com does load but certain things like new wallpapers and fan art that is submitted are not showing. You can put a new one in and you get the message saying it was accepted, but it doesn't show on the main page or in the wallpaper section of your myOtaku site. So I guess it's only partly fixed.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen][B]Retribution:[/B] First of all I really like the simplicity of your piece. It?s like using graphic visuals to represent statistics. The black being what society sees and the pink saying don?t just see us as a number. I could easily see this image used by organizations that wants to promote the importance of families. With your image on the front and inside the brochure the same image with families of all colors and words in all of them. A ?we see you and your family? instead of numbers approach. What I don?t care for is that the picture is not completely clean, there?s some jaggedness to the edges of the families and the words in the pink one are a bit hard to read. Still it?s an excellent concept and I like it a lot. [B]Kitty:[/B] The thing I like most about your picture is that it?s completely unconventional. It?s a great concept and really quite cute. The choice of pictures goes well together and the little heart looks great. I love the concept, as families are more than just people as pets are often a very important part of people?s life and those who have them often consider their dog or other pet as a family member. What I don?t care for is that part of Faye?s arm appears to be missing. I also do not care for the bottom picture, as it is grainy and pixilated. I still love the whole idea though. In the end my vote goes to [B]Retribution.[/B][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Since this thread was already here I thought I would use it to report an issue with theOtaku.com. I'm sure that you are already aware of it but I get this every time I try to go to the page: [B]A database error has occured. An e-mail has already been dispatched to us regarding the error and will be fixed promptly. The error returned: An error occured while executing a query.[/B] It was working fine earlier today so it's only been this afternoon that I've gotten this message. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I never really had a boogy man fear when I was a kid. The thing that frightened me was lightening and thunderstorms. It was pretty to watch but I was convinced the lightening was going to hit me. I do have a lot of nightmares, but they don?t keep me from sleeping either. I just think to myself ?that was interesting? and turn over and go back to sleep. And I?ve had some pretty wacky freaky dreams. Just imagine a Steven King Horror film and that pretty much sums it up. In fact I had one just the other night. I never tell my friends or family the details though since it tends to freak them out. The one and only time I had a dream that freaked me out so much that I ran to my grandmother in the middle of the night was when I was 15. (I was visiting her at the time) My brother had died just a few months ago and I dreamed that he came back to life as a demon. One where he had a human torso but the rest of his body was a huge snake. Just thinking about that particular dream really freaked me out for quite a while. Now that I?m older that dream of my brother no longer bothers me, but like I said, I still have nightmares, or rather what most people consider a nightmare, but I don?t lose any sleep or get freaked out by them. [/COLOR][quote name='Kirika']Well, when I was little, and when The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was new, I was scared of those ReDeads. Almost every day at night, after playing a little bit, I'd run into bed with the covers completely over me, thinking that the ReDeads were out to get me XD[/quote][COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]If we were to list Adult Boogy man type fears, I?ll admit those ReDeads in Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker kind of creep me out. I know they aren?t real but my heart starts racing and I?m always relieved that they are dead. LOL! [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]The thing I love most about Christmas is the music. Once thanksgiving is over I listen to pretty much nothing else until Christmas is over. As for traditions in my family, we will bake a lot of cookies and give them to our neighbors and we also get together on Christmas Eve to open one gift each. If we have time then we also go sledding somewhere in the mountains, or simply drive up as high as we can to take lots of pictures of us playing in the snow. Also if we are able to get together the day after thanksgiving we all go together to pick out a tree and bring it home and decorate it together. I love going and picking out a Christmas tree with my family. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Honestly Alcohol is no one?s friend. It?s just a temporary release from reality and once you are sober again the reality still exists. Like Retribution said based on your previous topics it sounds like you have having a really hard time. It?s hard to know just what you are looking for with your initial post as other than explaining a bit of what is going on your only question is ?Who here likes Alcohol?? It doesn?t really leave much room for discussion other than a yes I do and no I don?t reply. I agree with what a lot of the others are saying, alcoholism not only hurts you, but others around you, even strangers you have never met. Not only are you risking killing yourself if you drive you also run the risk of killing others as well. There's also the risk of Alcohol poisoning or getting permenant brain damage or even dying from having too much at one time. I?d try to find other escapes like games, scrapbooking, writing poetry, etc. If you keep trying different things you are bound to find something you enjoy doing. Counseling might be a good idea to help you feel better too. You?ll never know if you don?t try it. I also agree with persocomblues in respect to the lack of response to this thread. If it?s not helping you in any way then like persocomblues said why did you start it? You don?t have to answer, but I am curious. As for the actual question in your initial post about ?Who here likes Alcohol?? My answer is I do not. I?ve lost a family member because someone was driving drunk. Do you really want to come back to reality and find out that you killed someone? I?m not saying that you do drive after drinking, but it?s something you might want to think about the next time you want to escape from reality using Alcohol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Here?s an anime one. ^_^ I?ve got a few non-anime ones in mind too, if I can just find the picture I need to scan. [/COLOR] [IMG]http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/8094/otakuboardschristmasbanner028j.jpg[/IMG] [COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]EDIT: I found one of the pictures I needed to scan for the non-anime banners, so here it is. ^_^ It's from a picture I took of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park a few years ago. [/COLOR] [IMG]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1081/otakuboardschristmasbanner032w.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=James][font=franklin gothic medium]I don't know about the issue specifically with OtakuBoards, but I can tell you that one of our four servers has been acting up lately. I am not certain, but whenever that server acts up, OtakuBoards doesn't load for me, nor do myOtaku comments. Yet regular myOtaku pages do. So I assume that the sites encountering problems are located on the problematic server. But don't quote me on that. I am aware, though, that we've recently taken steps to fix some issues on the problematic server. As a result, some of the bugs that were occurring in myOtaku have now been fixed. However there does still seem to be some issues with the server going down now and then. Unfortunately I can't offer you anything more specific than that. Adam or Justin are welcome to post if they have more information. I can only tell you that we are aware of recent server troubles and we are attempting to fix the problems that have cropped up.[/font][/QUOTE] [COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]I am assuming that you are still having issues as the past week I get page can't be found, access denied, operation timed out, database errors, and pages that other than the background don't load. >_< I've pretty much not even bothered very much with any of the Otaku sites as they all have given me grief lately. I was finally able to do a little today, but it's still slow and pages don't want to load. Anyway, I hope it's fixed soon. I like visiting the people here. ^_^ EDIT: I take it back as everything just started working again. ^_^[/COLOR]