kalon

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=Indigo][B]Name[/B]: Alex Abendroth [B]Age[/B]: 19 [B]Sex[/B]: Male [B]Location[/B]: Cambridge, Massachusetts [B]Appearance[/B]: Dark auburn hair frames his sharp-featured face. His eyes are a quite plain shade of brown, but they go well with his fair complexion. He stands at about 5'4", and weighs only 125 lbs. He has an overall look of frailty about him. No matter the weather, he wears a large black hoody that somewhat disguises his small frame. Personality: Alex is a shy individual, but does his best to overcome it, so people usually do not realize how nervous he is. He is a gentle, polite individual with a kind heart, and lacks most traits normally considered "manly." This has brought him a good deal of grief in his life. He has a fear of other people bordering on a disorder, but tries not to show it. This is why he loves books so much. He can escape into worlds unbound by the laws of Earth and almost become a different person. He is very intense in his reading and studies, sometimes forgoing food or a day or two in order to finish a novel. With all of his time going into books and studying, Alex is incredibly smart. So smart, in fact, that he won the National Merit Scholarship and a free pass into Harvard, where his course of studies focuses on English Literature. [B]Bio[/B]: Alex grew up with an alcoholic, abusive father. His mother died giving birth to him, and rather than treasure Alex as the last link to his wife, Alex's father hated him for murdering her. As Alex grew, his father was constantly disappointed in his son, whom he considered weak and feminine. Alex learned to live with it, and never let on that anything was wrong. That is, until he turned sixteen. When he was sixteen, Alex's father got drunk and shot Alex in his left arm. Alex had to go to the hospital, becuae, unlike bruises, you cannot take care of a gunshot wound by yourself. This lead to Alex being sent to live with his aunt and uncle, where he was able to live quietly. Despite all this, Alex never hated his father. He is now in his second year at Harvard, but has accepted his invitation from Dante Lui'ci because he sees it as the best opportunity he has had since his scholarship. [B]Greatest Desire[/B]: To live in seclusion with his basic needs fulfilled and an endless supply of books. [B]Greatest Fear[/B]: To be beaten to death.[/FONT][/COLOR]

It's been a while since I played, but for a blue mage to learn a monster's technique, the monster has to perform it on him. Best to take control of the monster with the Nu Mou Beast master class, and then use the desired attack. Make sure you do not have reflect or counter on the blue mage, though.

[quote name='r2vq][color=#007520]There was also [b]Rocko's Modern Life[/b'].[/color][/quote] I loved that show. I just found out the other day that Carlos Alazraqui was Rocko's voice, which means the man was one of my favorite actors even back then. There was this group of short cartoons called [b]O, Canada![/b], although I might have the title wrong. I wish I could find them now, they made such a big impression on me. The ones I remember most is one where [spoiler]a scientist invents a machine that instantly tranfers you from one place to another. You start in one box, and end up in the second box. A woman finds out what it really does is make an exact copy of you, meaning there would be two of you. The original in the starting box is zapped into nonexistence. Killed. So she gets the inventor of the machine to duplicate himself, but leave the kill timer with extra time. The inventor and his copy start circling each other, and then they can no longer tell who is the original to be killed. The woman has them play a game of chess to decide who is the copy. One scientist wins the game, and the woman says that only the original could have won. She and the scientist-clone shove the original into the box, and he gets zapped into nonexistence. Both the woman and the scientist-clone regret doing it immediately, and the scientist-clone loses all passion for the invention, realizing that it is wrong to take life. The woman then steps into the box and transports herself, killing her. Her clone steps out of the other box with a sense of new identity.[/spoiler] Man, I remember that way too well, but I was young, saw that same short about ten million times because I stayed up late and it was always on, and it really made an impression on me. No other cartoon I had seen did that. Although, the show probably wasn't meant for people my age at the time. [b]Tom and Jerry[/b] taught me how to spell before I ever started going to school. There was another cat trying to get rid of Jerry for Tom, but he couldn't. After being extremely frustrated, he crossed out a word on his mouse exterminator bag, and wrote the word cat. Tom then said, "C-A-T. Cat." And that taught me how to spell at around age four. [b]Courage the Cowardly Dog[/b] is still one of my favorites. It had a dark atmosphere, and drew from all sorts of fairy tales and random ideas. It had awesome characters and stories, more than you would expect from a children's cartoon show.

[quote name='DeadSeraphim][COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]Man, my parents weren't even married when I was born. Am I in the clear? [i]I think so[/i].[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] Join the club, dear, mine never married. As a principle, I believe people should be free to be with whomever they want. However, the culture factors into things when talking about places where arranged marriages are common, so I can understand some people being okay with it. In truth, I've begun to disfavor the concept of marriage altogether lately, the best thing about it being some tax cuts. But that's a whole other topic.

I did notice a few grammar mistakes. Forgive me for going all Grammar Nazi on you, but I plan to be an editor in the future. [quote name='duoikari']I gazed around my room, the ceiling was completely white and was made up of foam squares, there was a chair near my bed and a set of draws opposite my bed.[/quote] There should be either a semicolon after room and after squares, or you could make them into separate sentences, or you could put an "and" before the word "there." Also, I believe the ceiling tiles in a hospital are made of plaster, not foam, but correct me if I am wrong. [quote name='duoikari']When I tried to stand up I found myself loosing my balance //snippety// Thinking that I might loose my balance again //snips[/quote] It should be losing and lose, both with only one o. It's one of the common English grammar mistakes. [quote name='duoikari']It was rain hard, I saw....//snips again[/quote] It was rain[i]ing[/i] hard would be correct, and you have another run-on sentence. [quote name='duoikari']I remember the day I told them that I was a homosexually, I was only young at the time, I think I was about 15 at the time but I had been thinking about my sexuality before then. It was raining that day too, Mom was at work, helping to make people better in the hospital while my dad was at home.[/quote] Again, run-on sentences. And "homosexually" should be just "homosexual." [quote name='duoikari']He was prim and proper and treated people with the same amount of respect that they had for him, he was also a man that believe in his morals.[/quote] Run-on's, "believe" should be "believed." But also, a moral is a principle regarding what is right or wrong, and you don't define what his morals are. If you said the father was deeply conservative, or something to that effect, it would clear things up. [quote name='duoikari']?Antonio-o??? A almost shy voice bought me out of my daydream and I turned around and gazed towards the door. A tremendous fever came over me as I saw Quatre standing at the door. Hi dark blue eyes so glassy and wide, almost as if he was shocked to see me alive.[/quote] As said, I r a grammer natzi, so.... "A" ahould be "An" in the first instance, you forgot the s on "his." You could add the "His dark blue....see me alive" onto the end of the previous sentence by adding a comma after door, or put a "were" after eyes to make it into a complete sentence. [quote name='duoikari']He bite his bottom lips //snips[/quote] "Bite" should be "bit," and "lips" should be in the singular. [quote name='duoikari']snips// while he nuzzled his head into my chest weeped.[/quote] It should be "wept" instead of "weeped," or you could add a comma after chest and put weeping. Okay, I'm through going crazy on the grammar. Now for the story in general. There were a few places the wording felt redundant, but you expressed the mindset of the character well. People usually have layered emotions, so I liked how the father pitied Antonio rather than only being angry at him. It made it ring just a little truer. I was confused about why Antonio was in the hospital, so a little explanation on that would be appreciated. Is this a side story to another one?

[quote name='Doublehex']Take note that this is nothing more than a guess from someone who has listened to Ressurection a couple hundred times, but otherwise has no other base for this hypothesis. Anyways, it sounds asian to me.[/quote] Didn't know Asian was a language. :p Seriously, though. It depends on what song you are referring to. Some are in English, some are in Japanese, and a few are in Russian. I'm guessing you are thinking of Inner Universe, from the opening of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex? If so, that should be Russian, with a bit of English mixed in. Rise, from GitS: 2nd Gig, also uses a mix of Russian and English. It would be helpful to know exactly what song you mean.

Due to personal reasons, this is being removed.

I'm a high school sophomore, and I've never even dated or anything (sad, huh?), but most of my friends are pairing off together. I will say this: Go with someone who really cares for you, and if you get to a point where it's not working out, end it before one of you gets truly hurt. Good situation: My friend Waffles is going with a guy a grade older than her. They can be sort of annoying because they suck face all the time, but otherwise they're cute together. Her mom isn't too happy about the relationship, but Waffles' boyfriend is a really sweet guy, and they've been dating for about a year. Bad situation: My friend Gus broke up with my friend Rebecca, and is being a complete jerk to her. He said she wasn't giving enough of herself to the relationship, and now he won't even say hello to her in school, and he said to another friend that she was stalking him. She isn't. The point? One is an arrogant jerk, and the other is a nice, caring person. If you go with the one who is nice and cares about you, things have a better chance of working out. I think. Maybe this is only because I do not date yet, but I cannot understand why girls tend to pick idiot guys who are jerks to them, when there are so many sweet ones out there. Would someone explain that to me? I have no personal experience, so I don't think my opinion counts on this very much. :animesigh I'll go back to making friendship bracelets for Christmas now, geeky little girl that I am. (Would it be weird to give my guy friends friendship bracelets along with my girl friends?)

I ave no idea how I picked my old name (silver_blade), but I changed it recently to kalon because it is one of my favorite words. I like the spelling of it, I like the way it sounds, and I like its meaning. kalon, n. A beauty more than skin deep; moral beauty.

[quote name='Clurr][FONT=Arial']To those who have to go to school on Halloween, are you allowed to dress up during class?[/FONT][/quote] Our school specifically forbids dressing in costume on Halloween, which is very much (darn them for making me resort to such langauge) t3h suxors. But I think I might dress up in my suit (probably with the pants instead of the skirt just for practicality) and be a lawyer that day like I am in Mock Trial. What's more evil than a lawyer on Halloween? If I don't feel like doing that, though, I am pinning a tiny plasctic pumpkin to my chest with a pin from Hot Topic. For either of those I'll be wearing my glow-in-the-dark nail polish. Tis the awesome. I'm a sophomore now, which means I'm too old for trick-or-treating. Plus, my friends and I don't do parties, so I'll probably just stay home and do something with my mom, probably make caramel apples. I still carve a Jack-o-lantern with her every year, which is fun. We're going to go to one of the local places in town to get our pumpkin soon.

What are the weirdest things you/your friends/you and your friends do on a regular basis? My dear friends La-chan and I constantly talk about our non-sexuality (the state of being attracted to no one), how nonsexuals taste like kiwi, and treesexuality (take a guess on what that one means). I have one friend named Waffles, one called Gerty by everyone including the teachers, and I address one of my friends only as Vexen, while she calls me as Axel. Two friends are my "genin." They address me as Robin-sensei, and fight over who is my favorite genin. Fight as in they hit each other, until only stop when I say I like Sasuke better than either of them. I've been trying to get my friends into shonen-ai. For several days, my friend Vexen's mind exploded because the pairing of George Washington and William Howe entered her head and would not leave, and she just kept talking about it. My friend Gerty once bascially made out with a table. He also sat hunched on the cafeteria table at lunch and meowed and hissed like a cat for half the period. I scream out "Darn you global warming!" really, really loud if I am waiting outside school in the morning and don't like the weather. I also constantly pet people on the head as if they are kittens. My friend Tony tap danced on the two foot high lion statue in front of school. There's more, that is just all that comes immediately to mind. So what weird things do you all here at OB do?

There aren't many instances of CG movies that I care for. (I'm talking full CG animation, not effects.) Disney apparently isn't doing the hand-drawn animation movies at all anymore, and that just depresses me. What happened to films like The Little mermaid and The Fox and the Hound? There's an appeal to old time animation that current films don't have. Much like my posts tend to be, movies nowadays are repetitive. The only CG movie I've really liked in the past few years was Shrek, but that was good because of the story and the comedy and the acting, not because it wowed me with its effects. But of course, the big companies who know us so very well can see that we hate originality, and and that we really love to see computer generated fauna do the same things over and over and over again.

[quote name='Papa Smurf']What I'm saying is more like "The game is boring because it's a port." And being boring or being a port has absolutely nothing to do with how it may play.[/quote] Isn't "boring" a little much? If you played the WiiTP and never even heard of the GC version, then would it still make the WiiTP boring? I think it's all a matter of perspective. By that logic, playing something like GTA: San Andreas on Xbox makes it more boring than playing it on the PS2. [SIZE=1]Note: I never cared for GTA games, and I'm not comparing them to TLoZ, just using them as a port example.[/SIZE] [quote name='Papa Smurf']I criticize WiiTP because it's a simple port with some Wiimote functionality added in last-minute //snippity snip[/quote] I wouldn't call it last minute. It's been out for I don't know how many months that TP was going to the Wii. Nintendo had to reassure Zelda fans that it would even still be on the GameCube. I do, however, see you wanting one from the ground up, but there will at least be an improvement in the aim department with the bow and such. [quote name='Papa Smurf'] because let's face it...there's really no "must have killer app" in the launch titles.[/quote] How can you say there's no "must have killer app" when we're getting games like The Ant Bully and Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab?!

I. Adore. Kaori Yuki. And Cain, of course, is no exception. It's just so delightfully dark, and lovely, and twisted. I love the fact that there are self-contained episodes weaved into one intricate plot. And I've re-read Vol 1 and the chapters covered in Shojo Beat several (million) times without ever tiring of it. Besides the story and the artwork, there are the bishies. Call me shallow, but I fangirl so very much over Cain and Riff, especially in the chapters Black Sheep and Lion's Crest (I believe those are the right titles). Godchild is going to be released quarterly, which is about as often as I can by it. And I just saw on Shojo Beat's homepage that they are putting out the earlier volumes of Cain. The first is already out. I was so relieved to see that Viz was putting them out, because one of my friends had said TokyoPop acquired the rights to the ones before Godchild. I appreciate any Yuki manga, but I am not a fan of TokyoPop's translations. The style of those five earlier ones is different from Godchild, but it had been several years between the two. Her older manga was not as refined in terms of art, I think, but I am still going to squeee uncontrolably as soon as I get my hands on it. I think until then I'll just read the Lion's Crest chapter a gazillion more times.

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=Indigo][B]Name:[/B] Dominick Jenner [B]Age:[/B] 17 [B]Gender:[/B] Male, as far as he can tell from his books on anatomy. [B]Character:[/B] The Scholar [B]Personality:[/B] To most, he is simply lacking human emotion, a cold individual who would much rather save a book from a fire than a person. Much of his time is spent wrapped in the worlds formed of ink and paper. Dominick sees the world as one huge experiment, and enjoys reactions from people when he does or says something cruel. He cannot stand, however, for anyone to try to play with his mind. It is a most difficult task to engage him in a real conversation, because he is only interested in people when he can frighten them. He lacks respect for anyone. Despite having a cool exterior, Dominick is extremely passionate if someone is able to push him over the edge. [B]Evil Side's Personality:[/B] At the same time, both cheerier and crueler than Dominick. While Dominick will not normally harm someone physically, his other half tortures people with a smile on his face. He gleefully laughs while playing with his "subjects," trying to maximize the pain they feel, wanting to be as close as possible during their death. The Marquis de Sade's writing has nothing on Dominick's other half. [B]Appearance:[/B] Long fingers and scarred hands are usually covered by black leather gloves. His complexion is pale, almost sallow, with dark circles under his eyes from sleepless nights of reading and trying to distract himself from life. His hair is a mousy brown. He paid no attention to its length until he realized it got in his eyes when he read, so he hacked most of it away with a razor, leaving uneven spikes. If Dominick did not need his eyes to see, he would most likely gouge them out because he hates their bright blue hue. Whatever clothing he puts over his bony, small frame is black, usually EGA in style. The two article he always wears are a knee-length black coat with a large collar and cross buttons, and a black ring on his right thumb. [B]Writing Sample:[/B] The sound of early risers filled the streets below Dominick's window. Some laughter, some greetings to neighbors, some vendors calling out to their customers. All the charm of a small town which would be more correctly called a village. Dominick considered pouring oil in the streets and lighting everything on fire to shut them up, but reconsidered after he realized their screaming would be louder and more annoying. He left his books on the table and went to bathe. One of the servants, knowing his habits and the punishment he might inflict if dissatisfied, already had a bath drawn. He washed quickly, shivering when the water became cloudy with soap. Something long ago and blurry flickered across his mind, a vague feeling of hands holding him deep under murky water, and being unable to breath. A fuzzier, but newer memory came as well, a vague feeling of the color red. Both passed quickly, and Dominick blocked both of them from his mind. He dried, and dressed, and returned to his books. Today would be another day of solitude. His father ran a shipping business, and spent only a few hours at home each day, and none of them with Dominick. Not that the boy minded. He was content to study and torture the maids. A scream from the hallway reached his ears, causing a brief smile to curl his lips, then disappear just as quickly. The newest maid, he supposed, had just found the rabbit's head he left under the sheets in the guest bedroom. [B]Other Notes:[/B] He cannot stand to have physical contact with most people, just the thought of which makes him cringe. He also has an intense fear of water when he cannot see into it.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[U][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=751314#post751314]See the RP Thread for basic story summary.[/URL][/U] I'm trying this out as an experiment. I will start this out, but I will not be the one in control of the finish. You will. Or, that is, one of the six will. Everyone will have an equal control of the plot. When one player has control of where the story is going and they reach/finish a climax, then they will pass control on to another person. This means there will be six arcs to the story. When in control, you do not have to make a plot point overly drawn-out, just give an interesting twist. Having control, however, does not mean you can kill someone unless they want to be killed for some reason. This requires a little strategy beforehand. If you are the last to lead the RP, you need to figure out how to wrap things up. If you are third, you need to leave good clues that can be built upon later. The setting is vaguely Victorian, with a few dashes of science fantasy thrown in. I don't want anyone suddenly having the ability to cast spells, or an iPod, or anything like that. It's just a slighty more advanced version of the 1800s, with anachronisms and a lot more freethinking. If you want something for your character, but are not sure, just PM me or post it here.. This might sound complicated, but as I said, it is an experiment. And it does not have to be the most briliant piece of literature ever, just something to RP. Also, I highly suggest you be openminded to play this. I'm looking for characters who are somewhat different from the norm. If you want to make a character who is the product of incest, or abused, or a prostitute, feel free. Just don't go overboard and be all three. And this isn't to say you have to do that. I'm just leaving the options open for anyone who wants them. So, if you have anything to ask, suggest, or discuss, post it here.

[FONT=Book Antiqua][COLOR=Indigo][CENTER][I]Murderer. Stained. Dirtied. Bloody. Unclean.[/I] It whispers in your ear. [I]Murderer, stained, dirtied, bloody, unclean.[/I] You did not choose this path, but you shall be forced to walk it. [I]Murderer stained dirtied bloody unclean.[/I] Someone else is taking over, and you cannot help yourself at times. [I]murderer stained dirtied bloody unclean[/I] How strong is your will to overcome yourself? [I]murdererstaineddirtiedbloodyunclean[/I] So much death around and your hands... oh, your hands![/CENTER] A group of youths awoke in the middle of the night, huddled together with blood on their hands, and marks on their foreheads. The royalty, the scholar, the fortune teller, the acrobat, the apprentice, and the artist. Each unrelated to the other, except for the fate they now share. They have become experiments. They found themselves in a mansion both elegant and terrifying. Each had dreamlike memories of killing like raging beasts. They can feel it just beneath their veins, a force of utter darkness clawing at their insides, desperate to escape. They have become experiments, trapped in a twisted place with twisted people, and they are being made twisted themselves. There are others there, as well, but they are not there to help. The beasts inside them are the worst kind: they are the dark halves of their hearts. They must find a way to escape, and a way to cure the voice inside them screaming for them to bathe themselves in blood. And maybe, in the process, find who did this to them. -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ [B]Important Information in the [U][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=751315#post751315]Underground Thread.[/URL][/U][/B] You MUST read this. [B]Name:[/B] First and last, and middle if you would like. Basically anything, as long as I don't get any Ivor'y Eirquisquesylian Gryffindors. Try to have something the others can spell, please. [B]Age:[/B] 15 to 20 [B]Gender:[/B] If you wish to be something besides the general definition of male or female, go for it. [B]Character:[/B] This is either the royalty, the scholar, the fortune teller, the acrobat, or the apprentice. You may expand upon those roles however you wish. I will be playing the scholar, so do not sign up as that. [B]Personality:[/B] Nothing bright and sunshiny. You can be kind, but do not be chipper. [B]Evil Side's Personality:[/B] Key differences between your good and bad halves. Twist it to fit your character. If your dark side has any particular habits, list them. [B]Appearance:[/B] Same for good and bad sides. You change in personality only, not appearance. You may provide a picture (anime, real, whatever), but a good description serves just as well. [B]Writing Sample:[/B] I want at least three good paragraphs. Good and long are not synonyms. Give a snippet of your daily life, and incorporate some of your past into it. This is the main criterion for the RP. [B]Other Notes:[/B] Anything important that does not quite fit in the above areas but makes a difference in your character. This will be dark. Very dark. Once again, [i]dark[/i]. I shall post my character after someone else signs up.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='F.O.Y.][COLOR=DarkOrange]I have the soundtrack for [B].hack//LEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT [/B] and the [B]Rurouni Kenshin Best Theme Collection[/B], both slightly nerdier than [B]FLCL OST Volume 3[/B'].[/COLOR][/quote] I don't know if you can count those as nerdy when they're good music, but my geekiness is that I have all three FLCL soundtracks (Addict, King of Pirates, and the Vol. 3), the pillows' Penalty Life album, the GITS soundtrack for the first season, and the Serial Experiments Lain soundtrack (I still want to find the opening song from that show). I usually find artists through watching anime. And then I basically go into a joy-gasm when I look at my CLAMP South Side artbook, my Spirited Away artbook, my FMA artbook, and especially Angel Cage, my Kaori Yuki artbook. And I still wish I had more of 'em! Greedy, aren't I? *goes to huggle Kuroneko-sama plush*

And I'm proud to use it. Thank you so very much for the lovely set. Excuse while I fangirl squeal over it. *squee~eees* :love:

I don't usually have the cash to spend, but I do have a few things. I have an Edward Elric figure that was packaged with Vol. 4 of FullMetal Alchemist. It's only a few inches tall, but the detail is gorgeous, and it doesn't hurt that Ed's shirtless. I have a small Kuroneko-sama (cat from Trigun) stuffed animal and a Sesshoumaru (from InuYasha) plushie to play with. Sesshy is complete with a little felt Tenseiga and without the left arm. Kuroneko-sama's tail can be moved into different positions. Finally, I have a Konoha leaf hitai-ate (forehead protector from Naruto). I actually wear this, usually around the house because there aren't many occasions to wear it in, but I wore it school for final exams today, and it made me feel all focused. I'm hoping to get the fingerless gloves with the Konoha leaf symbol on them, too.

I would adore a set from the Count Cain series of Cain and Riff together. I prefer blues, violets, or reds (or any combination of them) for color. I do not want my username, but I would be most pleased if you put the phrase "Bids You All Adieu" on the banner, but without the quoatation marks and capitalized however you want. Also, maybe put "Earl of Poison" on the avatar. I would like the banner to be Cain/Riff, and the avatar to be just Cain. I had trouble finding pictures, but here are the best I could track down. They are listed favorite first, but I adore any of Yuki's art, so they are all good. [URL=http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i258/silver_blade_clone/FullCainRiff.jpg]Cain and Riff 1[/URL] [URL=http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i258/silver_blade_clone/left.jpg]Cain and Riff 2[/URL] [URL=http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i258/silver_blade_clone/cainlit.jpg]Cain 1[/URL] [URL=http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i258/silver_blade_clone/CCain-cain12.jpg]Cain 2[/URL] [URL=http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i258/silver_blade_clone/CCain-shitajiki3.jpg]Cain 3[/URL] You have no idea how grateful I would be if one of you lovely OB artists would make me a set. Kaori Yuki's lovely artwork deserves more than my feeble MS Paint Skills.

[quote=Chase Squires, AP writer, off of yahoo news]BAILEY, Colo. - A gunman took six girls hostage at the high school in this mountain town Wednesday, using them as human shields for hours before he shot and fatally wounded a girl and then killed himself as a SWAT team moved in, authorities said. The gunman, believed to be between 30 and 50 years old, was cornered with the girls in a second-floor classroom, and he released four of them, one by one. Park County Sheriff Fred Wegener said authorities decided to enter the school to save the two remaining hostages after the man cut off negotiations and set a deadline. He said the gunman had threatened the girls throughout the four-hour ordeal and had shielded himself with the hostages. The man was not immediately identified, and the sheriff was at a loss to explain a motive. "I don't know why he wanted to do this," Wegener said, his voice breaking. The wounded girl was taken to a Denver hospital in critical condition, but was declared dead, a hospital spokeswoman said. She did not release the girl's name. The last hostage was unharmed and talking with authorities. After the suspect entered the building, hundreds of students at Platte Canyon High School were evacuated in a scene that recalled the horror at Columbine, just a short drive away. Students said the bearded suspect wore a dark blue hooded sweat shirt and a camouflage backpack. The sheriff said the man threatened to set off a bomb he claimed to have in the backpack. The man was also toting a handgun. Tom Grigg said his 16-year-old son, Cassidy, was in a classroom when the man walked in, fired a gun and began telling some students to leave and others ? all girls ? to stay. "He stood them up at the blackboard," Grigg said. "He hand-picked the ones he wanted to get out." The gunman told Cassidy to leave, but he said he wanted to stay with the girls, Grigg said. "The guy flipped him around and put the gun in his face and said, 'It would be in your best interest to leave,'" Grigg said. Authorities had what they described as "sporadic" negotiations with the suspect and urged him to contact them for more discussion. Officers eventually crept close to the building, and there were reports of an explosion inside. Lynn Bigham, who said she was a family friend of the girl who died, said her friend had just turned 16. "She's real bubbly. Every time you see her, she gives you a hug," she said. The sight of students fleeing the high school in long lines, and of frantic parents scrambling to find their children, evoked memories of the 1999 attack on Columbine High School, where two students killed 13 people before committing suicide. Students described a chaotic scene inside after the intercom announced "code white" and everyone was told to stay in their classrooms. The high school and a nearby middle school were soon evacuated. Jefferson County authorities ? who also handled the attack at Columbine ? sent a bomb squad and SWAT team to the high school. "I'm just terrified. I'm terrified," said Sherry Husen, whose son plays on the high school football team and was told not to return to school from his part-time job. "I know so many kids in that school." Students from the two evacuated schools were taken to another school for a head count. Ambulances were parked in the end zone of the high school's football field, and a tank-like SWAT team vehicle was parked nearby on a closed highway. Parents pressed authorities for details but had little information on their children. Bill Twyford said he received a text message from his 15-year-old son, Billy, a student at the high school, at about 11:30 a.m. It said: "Hey there, there's a gun hijacking in school right now. I'm fine, bad situation though." Michael Owens, who has one son at the middle school and another in the high school, said the anxiety was worse because of the memory of Columbine. "Things that are out of your control," he said. "It's like an earthquake." Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was among the students slain at Columbine, said: "Any adult who holds kids hostage is reprehensible." The schools are in a narrow, winding canyon carved by the South Platte River about 35 miles southwest of Denver. They have an enrollment of about 770 students, with 460 in the high school. Husen's family moved to Bailey from suburban Denver about 14 years ago. "We moved up here for the mountain solitude, and I just never thought this would happen in this school, but it happens everywhere," she said.[/quote] Dear lord. Another school shooting, only it was not a student but an adult. And so close to Columbine. My sympathy goes out to the family and friends of the victim. They are lucky--if you can call anything in this sort of situation "luck"--that only one student was killed. This is pointless violence, and I can't understand what drives these people to do this. Apparently, no one else knows too much at the moment, either. Somehow, though, this sort of thing cannot shock me anymore. It seems like there is so much of this going on all the time that I am almost numb to it. Thoughts?

[quote name='F.O.Y.][COLOR=DarkOrange']1. My favorite band is Type O Negative[/COLOR][/quote] You listed them in a thread, so let's just hope they are the favorites.

I'll say your a size 13 just because I like 13. And I have a vague remembrance of that number used in the shoe thread...

People, feel free to find me horribly irreverent, but... My friend's cousin recently died, and he was someone she had only met maybe once at a family reunion or something, but she said she felt almost sadder than if a close family member had died because she lost out on knowing him. She is going to be in Florida this week for the funeral. The thing is, her family in Florida said that while my friend was there, they would take her and her parents to Sea World. A comment was made about how the funeral should take place [i]at[/i] Sea World with the whales and everything. She and I both started laughing. It's not really funny, but it was to us for some reason. I suppose it's terrible to find humor in this, but I believe that you can, to a certain extent, find some humor in every situation, and that laughter helps you cope with the pain. I do believe I heard a comedian once say that all comedy comes from pain, or something to that effect. When you think about it, most comedy does.