Allamorph

[quote name='The Tentacle']Epic events that failed:[/quote] [font="Calibri"]The point of this thread has flown very far over your head.[/font] [quote name='The Tentacle']3. The Year 1997 - This was the year that the "End Day" occurred in the NES classic [b]Crystalis[/b], plunging the world into post-apocalyptic chaos.[/quote] [font="Calibri"]Also the fact that you're using only partially-known video game references instead of the plentiful and more readily-available science-fiction literary references is slightly depressing.[/font]

[FONT=Calibri]Part of the problem actually stems from an existing safety measure: the helmet. When football was first played, the helmet was little more than a thick leather cap. You ram anything headfirst with that on, you're going to give yourself a concussion anyway. Modern football did away with that helmet in favor of one that protects the skull better, but as a result there's less for a player to fear from charging a solid object head first. In factâ??provided my source gave me correct infoâ??players now are taught to lead with their heads instead of their shoulders because it's safer to do so. Also on a related note, the asinine rule where [url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/08/18/helmets/index.html"]a play is blown dead when a player loses their helmet[/url] is playing no small part. Which, granted, the rule is well-intentioned and certainly reasonable, since it's designed to protect a helmetless player from getting injured. But the inherent problem is that now a player can "get" a play stopped by losing their helmet, and that can wreak havoc on sack fumbles and interceptions and awesome rushes when a player breaks a tackle sans helmet and keeps going for twenty more yards and a touchdown. And the easiest way to get your helmet to come off quickly without physically removing the straps is to wear it looser and hit things with your head. So there's a lot of head usage. Big hits are a huge part of the entertainment side of football. Same with NASCAR and big blowout wrecks, and hockey and body-checks or rink-brawls. But along with that are [i]effective[/i] hits. If you hit someone hard, head on, give yourself a concussion, and you didn't tackle him in the process, your fans aren't going to be as happy. (His fans will love it, though.) Lead with the shoulder, hit hard and wrap him up, and you get the hard hit, the tackle, [i]and[/i] the safe factor all at the same time. So yes, while I consider the rule linked in my post to be an idiotic implementation of a good idea, I feel the decision to crack down on helmet-led hits is a good one and will go a long way to solving both problems. (Also note that the author of my linked article mentions a "nose-bloodied" player back to back with a "lacerated" player. A laceration is a medical term for a cut. Head cuts are bleeders. They look a lot worse than they are, typically. Concussions are a different story, but you're typically not going to die from a laceration unless it's a six-inch-deep gash or something grotesque like that.)[/FONT]

[font="Calibri"]I'm gradually gettin' back into checkin' this place more regularly. Also had a really nice conversation last night with some new/old guy in Guild Wars, only to find out that I am actually able to be on civil terms with Alex for longer than five minutes. First impressions, man. Only way to get rid of them is to wangle a way to have them all over again. [font="Verdana"][QUOTE=CaNz][/font][/font]I only see Allamorph pop up when I say something he feels the need to criticize. d:[/QUOTE] [FONT=Calibri]Dude you bring it on yourself. =P [/FONT]

[quote name='chibi-master'] [color="#ff0000"][size="7"][i][b]BEES.[/b][/i][/size][/color] [/quote][i][b][size="6"] [url="http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2243176"]OH DEAR LORD BEES[/url][/size][/b][/i]

[quote name='CaNz']better?[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Still missing the prepositional phrase. Good of you to actually formalise the if-then statement, though.[/FONT]

[quote name='CaNz']but you better not be feeling sorry because batman is an orphan. [/QUOTE] [FONT=Calibri]I don't think he's feeling sorry at all. I'm fairly certain he's significantly offended.[/FONT] [quote name='CaNz']if its wrong to make fun of a fictional[i] [/i]character the line seriously needs to be redrawn.[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]This sentence is missing a crucial prepositional phrase.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]My old computer now has ditched Vista for XP and is up and running mostly smoothly. It has been running image-heavy stuff for quite some time and not gone fritzy. Current known weirdness: [list][*]XP graphics cannot seem to handle this monitor for some reason. That doesn't seem logical to me.[*]No sound. That doesn't seem tolerable to me.[/list][/FONT]

[quote name='CaNz']oh goodness... why dont all you whiners drop out so Magus can get a better job! [/quote] [center][media][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji-cT58rgNc"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=Ji-cT58rgNc[/url][/media] [/center]

[quote name='James'][font="palatino linotype"]Perhaps there's a lack of education about how to think critically (Gallup suggests almost 50% of Americans believe in creationism - this alone bears out the idea that education is a big factor in mass credulity). [/font][/quote] [FONT=Calibri]I find this statement incredibly offensive and in rather poor taste. I do agree with the core idea preceding it, though. It's one thing to have obviously partial and slanted information flung at you left and right. It's quite another to swallow it when you know how lacking it is. However, if that's the case, wouldn't that make the mindset of the general media all the more reprehensible? After all, it's a lot easier to abuse the good faith of a six-year-old and deliberately mislead them than it is to do the same to a forty-five-year-old who's been around the block a few times and knows the usual approaches. That's really the main here. Sure, most of the people posting here are capable of ferreting out the tidbits of hard information contained in an hour of bull-shatted gum-flapping, but the [i]concern[/i] is why there is such a plethora of gum-flapped bullshit to begin with. It's like taking a difficult collegiate mathematics course where the professor didn't assign a book, spent all of every lecture going on and on about problems he enjoys doing (whether they're related material or not) or how the other teachers' methods are terrible, and then issues tests at the end of every month concerning the material you were supposed to learn but had no idea where to even begin to look to get it, let alone the ability to comprehend it on your own assuming you [i]had[/i] found it. By that point the student should be able to figure out how to get the reference material he might need, and he should probably be able to discern methods and procedures from the professor's haphazard examples, which he could then apply to other problems, but that doesn't have any bearing on the fact that the professor is [u]ignoring[/u] [u]his[/u] [u]responsibility[/u]. According to [color="#8b0000"]Kei[color="#000000"], young journalists are taught their responsibilities clearly: report the facts, inform the public, and allow the audience to make its own judgment. But what the mainstream media is doingâ??ostensibly in the name of ratings, or perhaps to get funding from one party or another, who knowsâ??is reporting not an informative discourse on a topic, but a persuasive[/color][/color] one, and that means that the public has to inform itself or risk making a conclusion without knowing the full details. And that is nothing short of flagrant irresponsibility.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]Completely unrelated, but the phrase "out of the mouths of babes" is coming to mind....[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]Congratulations, [color="#8b0000"]Boo[/color], you have just made an entire thread of tilder.[/FONT] [center][img]http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/Misc/lolz/situationalz/slowclap.jpg[/img] [/center]

[center][img]http://cheezfailbooking.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/funny-facebook-armed-forces.png[/img] [left] [FONT=Calibri]This is why you should never get off on feeling superior: someone who happens to be [i]your[/i] superior will probably find out and remind you just how much you're [i]not[/i].[/FONT] [/left][/center]

[quote name='Beretta']ASL? O_o...[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Yeah, I brought up that angle a while back. No one knew what I was talking about.[/FONT]

[quote name='sakazaki'][color="#2f4f4f"][size="2"][font="Tahoma"](I'm sorry if this post is in the wrong place...) I just transferred to a new school in the beginning of this year. Everything was going on really well since that. I prefer knowing and keeping a small circle of friends, so, in my new school, I met a few of them; eight friends that I love and trust dearly. I'm truly grateful for that. But recently, there is this one friend...let's name her as Kate for now...just thinking of her irritates me. She was tolerable at first but now, day after day, it seems harder and harder to cope with her attitude. She's not a bad person. She's just, I don't know. I feel very annoyed. My friends think the same way towards her too...[/font][/size][/color][/quote] [FONT=Calibri]So basically you're telling us that you formed your 'circle of friends' before you knew who you'd selected. Hunh.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]Quick time-check for all you guys: [i]Dead Fantasy[/i] has been an ongoing project of MontyOum's for several years now. [i]DF1[/i] was put up on Gametrailers in the second week of October, 2007 (see [url="http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/dead-fantasy-i/115884"]here[/url]), and, in fact, is his least favorite. He mentioned this (along with a comment that [i]DF2[/i] wasn't actually supposed to take place at all) in the notes section for [i]DF2[/i] [url="http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/dead-fantasy-ii/193489"]here[/url], which was posted towards the end of the following March. The main meat of his concept was actually 3, 4, and 5, with 1 essentially being a quick prologue and 2 upping the ante just a tad. Beyond that, keep in mind that Monty is [i]entirely self-taught[/i].[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri]Slight change of plans, [color="#800080"]Indi[/color]. Felt like I was controlling too much. Might be one or two details you'll want; otherwise, you know what to do.[/FONT]

[center][font=Arial][u][b][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bxst3UkW5w"]We Control[/url][/b][/u][/font][/center] [font=Calibri]Isen saw the question forming in the werecatâ??s eyes and, maintaining her pace, released her grips on the wooden sticks sheâ??d hidden in each of her sleeves. The dowels, four feet long and two fingers thick, slid smoothly into her hands, and she raised them in preemptive answer. The slight flicker of uncertainty she caught in his eyes pleased her. [b]â??I assume you have a reason for this,â?[/b] he remarked, his voice carefully hard. [b]â??Curiosity,â?[/b] she returned, adding archly, [b]â??...unless youâ??ve forgotten.â?[/b] Karl snorted his rebuttal. Drawing a thin leather band from a pocket on his coat, he tied back his hair, thrusting his Mark into sharp relief against his face. Isen frowned. [b]â??This is not a contest of spirit,â?[/b] she said, breaking her forward stride to circle him. [b]â??This is a duel between kinsmen. Their rules are not our rules.â?[/b] The younger feline nodded. [b]â??I remember.â?[/b] [b]â??We do not use the air.â?[/b] [b]â??I [i]remember[/i].â?[/b] [b]â??We do not use the air,â?[/b] she repeated sternly, cutting off his protest. [b]â??The earth is our only ally, as it ever has been. Only the wood may be used besides. The third killing strike declares the winner.â?[/b] He caught it with a deft spin of his fingers. [b]â??You donâ??t need to remindâ??â?[/b] Isen would not let him finish. Her toss had masked her advancing step, and she spun on it hard, using her momentum to deliver a crushing backhand that forced Karl to defend mid-retreat. She thrust at his chest and he swept her weapon aside, the strikeâ??s direction easily deflected, but her first attack had driven him to a two-handed stance, and she parried down his return cut, making him withdraw once more. To his credit, she thought as they stepped their dance, he wasnâ??t easily shaken. Though she was using a variety of blows designed to upset his rhythm, he didnâ??t flounder or try to reset himself. He knew when to yield; his retreats were balanced, one with his forms. A disrupted pattern was adapted into a new one, and he was even attempting an occasional confounding strike himself. Isen wouldnâ??t be affected, either, but it was clear to her that Karl knew his skills far too well to fall apart under sudden pressure, and she was giving as much ground as she took. But even though she respected his talent, this dance was too easy. She would have to up the tempo. Lightly blocking a vertical slash, Isen met his advancing step and countered, knocking his hands high over his head and stepping through under his guard to plant her left palm solidly in the center of his chest. Karl shifted to avoid the obvious trip attack, but he misjudged the strength of the blow and stumbled backwards, the upward angle of her punch robbing him of his footing and sending him crashing onto his back. His momentary shock amused her, but she showed none of it. Instead, she stared down at him with cold indifference. [b]â??Get up,â?[/b] she told him. [b]â??Only a cub rolls in the dirt.â?[/b] She tossed her dowel disdainfully onto his stomach and, reaching behind her head and into her coat, drew a third wooden object from between her shoulders. The weapon was shaped like her own katana; she lowered it to her side, down and away, without another word. Karlâ??s expression set. With a whirling kick, he recovered himself and leapt at her, bringing both weapons to bear with expert dexterity. Isenâ??s grip was now two-handed, but that was her swordâ??s designed purpose, and she fended off his furious flurry with tight, controlled cuts and slices. She knew her remark had riled him. She had intended it to. Her obvious disregard for his competence would have stung anyone, and though he was still very much in control of himself, she could sense the touch of a pent-up frustration in his movements now. That was good; that was what she wanted. She needed him angered, his internal balance disrupted. It was the only reliable way to force a Marked past the breakpoint of stress that would send them into a rage and still control them. In dozens of trials, not one Marked had passed without cracking, and those who did pass always proved to be pure. Then, her people had used the method to test for a hidden Mark after the vampires learned their facial tattoos were too obvious. Now, that wasnâ??t necessary. Now she was testing for his sanity. Let him believe she was like all the others, condemning him for a traitor for a misfortune beyond his control, a misfortune which could have seen any one of them in his place. They could only assume. [i]She[/i] would know. This part was delicate, though; a wrongly-timed barb could just as easily shut him down, and the opportunity ruined. Isen focused on forms only, always attacking and counter-attacking, but attempting to break his rhythms much less often. She needed him wounded, but also confident, sure that her accusation was specious and arrogant. He had to be comfortable. And now he showed what she was looking for: a slightly exaggerated pattern of movement in the last two attacks, as if there were invisible weights attached to the butts of his hands. He was used to this style as much as she was to hers, but his weapons were incomplete, and he would pay for the detail before he had time to correct it. His crossed dowels blocked and repelled her downward strike with a flick to either side, and when they parted she struck again. Karl twisted his pommels up as if to catch her blade with a phantom chain; he realised his error instantly, but it was an instant too late, and the wooden katana sliced through the opening and cracked against his collarbone. [b]â??One,â?[/b] said Isen. [b]â??Remember your tools.â?[/b] The werecat shook off the blow and attacked again with renewed vigor. He was very good, Isen acknowledged, as she dodged skilled kicks and that left little openings and parried seamless streams of assaults. More than once she was forced to abandon her two-handed defense for a brief burst of adroitness, or resort to unorthodox movements to keep his sticks at bay. A reverse-gripped block behind her back made her break eye contact, and a few steps later she had no choice but to spin away or take a knock. Her jibe had again hit home. Karlâ??s attacks, while still as precise and controlled as before, were now much flashier, designed to distract the mind and deceive the blade. Isen knew it to be a conscious act, done out of further frustration at a juvenile mistakeâ??which was again what she wanted. Turmoil could be conquered, but not if it kept changing sources just before it was subdued. The next timing wasnâ??t important, but Isen wasnâ??t sure when sheâ??d get an opportunity for it, or if sheâ??d have to create one herself. Karl was intensely focused on combat, and it was taking most of her concentration to stay ahead of him. He fell into a whirling vertical barrage, and she had her answer. She retreated with his advance until the third blow, and with a light leap for distance she crouched sideways on her left leg, her sword beside her as if sheathedâ??a [i]battōdō[/i] stance. Karl saw it, and as the backhand fourth strike cut through empty air he shortened his step to counter the striking draw he would have known was coming. Isen lunged, and again she saw astonishment in his eyes as her empty right hand caught his wrist. Her sword was in her left, and she stepped through, smashing the wooden blade into his solar plexus. [b]â??Two,â?[/b] she said coldly. She stepped away. [b]â??I thought the assassin would have trained you better. Is this how you show your worth as a lifesworn?â?[/b] Now he was angry, but Isen gave him no chance to reply. If he paused for a retort he could regain some control, and she couldnâ??t allow that. She harried him, forcing him farther and farther back, ignoring the sudden passion that appeared in his swordplay, minute errors that hadnâ??t been present beforeâ??if he saw her exploit them he would be thinking, and she had to maintain the emotional distraction, however slight. A feint and a fast parry struck her blow wrong, and her sword was torn from her grasp and sent high into the air. Karl seized the chance, shouting an exultant [b]â??One!,â?[/b] the dowel in his right hand whistling as it cut shoulder-to-ribs. Isen had already dropped, whipping her leg around to sweep him from his feet, and the strike again cut empty air. Karl rolled as he fellâ??as she would have doneâ??and she sprang forward, driving her shoulder into his back. He took the blow well and tumbled defensively, and Isen rolled another way. Leaping to her feet, she snatched her sword from the air mid-stride and reclosed the newly-opened gap, falling to one knee, her blade knifing down at Karlâ??s head. Karl hurled himself away just in time. Isen knelt there, examining her sword. The blade was buried three inches in the dirt. Again she had to give him credit; she had overextended herself and he had caught her doing it, and the past three seconds had been entirely instinct. She had come a hairâ??s breadth from killing him with a practice sword. [b]â??You should know better,â?[/b] she said at length, [b]â??than to cry an unmade kill.â?[/b] A glance to Karl and she knew he believed the blow deliberate. In truth it almost had beenâ??but when snow falls on a hunt, you hunt in the snow. She had a task to complete. Let the others assume. [i]She[/i] would know. [b]â??I am uncertain what to think,â?[/b] she went on at her kinsmanâ??s silence. [b]â??The assassin commands a fair measure of my companionâ??s respect. I doubt that respect is undeserved.â?[/b] She yanked the sword from the earth and stood. [b]â??But neither do our people strive for less than perfection in our craft. So I am left to wonder.â?[/b] She paused. [b]â??Does the assassin shelter you?â?[/b] [b]â??Whatâ??s your point,â?[/b] spat Karl. [b]â??That if you take a lord,â?[/b] Isen sneered, [b]â??you should at least do him justice!â?[/b] Her last words rose into a snarl, and she threw herself at him.[/font]

[FONT=Calibri][b][u]Protip for Everyone[/u]:[/b] If you want to buy tickets to a concert, try looking at the venue website (or calling the venue ticket office) first for an initial price check so you know when someone else is trying to rip you off. Second-party tickets could get you good deals. On the other hand, it could be an attempt to completely rip you off. Take, for instance, the upcoming Coheed & Cambria / Porcupine Tree concert at Minglewood Hall in Memphis. My friend, who heard about it and whose girlfriend is a huge C&C fan, asked me if I wanted to go and then quoted me a price of $80. I'd already been to the Minglewood website and knew their advanced ticket prices were $30, so I tell him so. Both of them are now flabbergasted. Additionally, I googled "tickets coheed and cambria minglewood hall" and found site after site after site offering The Best C&C Tickets at $80 and $110. When I hit the third of these sites, I started reading them.[/FONT] [quote][b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood haul[/color][/b] Tickets, even when unavailable from the venues, or Ticket Master can often be found at Ticket Luck. We consolidate the [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood hawl[/color][/b] tickets, and market them along with tickets for 82000 other events. While many other sellers market these same [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood harl[/color][/b] tickets, we provide low prices [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood hal[/color][/b] Tickets. Further, given that we are licensees of TrustE you have the peace of mind that while buying [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood har[/color][/b] tickets, your personal information will never be compromised. While buying [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood ha1[/color][/b] tickets, we know that security is important and that's why we are 'Hacker Safe' compliant giving you peace of mind. Whether you consider [b][color="#ff0000"]minglewood hlal[/color][/b] or any other tickets, do compare our prices, committment towards privacy and value.[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]This is just blatant. The rest of the atrocious spelling and grammatical stuff I can attribute to people being stupid, but this isn't even a consistent set of typos! It takes effort to misspell "hall" seven different ways. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's always telling you the truth.[/FONT]

[quote name='Lady Shy']Well, same counts for plenty of Christians who think homo marriage is wrong, but they just complain to their mates and all instead of taking action.[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]No, see, the reply I gave was for each sentence in turn. Just so happened that each reply was the same.[/FONT] [quote name='Lady Shy']You're missing "because they think it's wrong, so they want to prevent it."[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Not necessarily. Now, there are more than likely a handful of Christians (not counting the Westboro contingent, either as part of the handful or as Christians) who believe that it is their job to enforce a Godly approach to everyone else's life, but the rest of those who might agree with the idea are too socially conscious to attempt such an ostracising action, or are wise enough to know that doing so won't do any good. Otherwise, it's much easier to get people to bandwagon on the "____ is a threat to the integrity of our Christian nation" mantra, which is the first point. On a minor note, the word should probably not be 'prevent' but 'eliminate'.[/FONT] [quote name='Lady Shy']If you're convinced of something being a sin, the just thing to do would be to prevent it from happening.[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Not necessarily. If you know something to be a sin, the just thing to do is not to do it.[/FONT] [quote name='Lady Shy']If you knew someone was going to murder another person and you're able to prevent it by some means, wouldn't you do so?[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Not necessarily. After all, the death sentence is essentially a State-justified murder.[/FONT]

[quote name='Indi-Cat'] [quote name='CaNz']and there is no way i am creepy. creepy people have to invoke fear of some level... and no one is scared of me.[/quote] [color="#4b0082"][font="Arial"]Or that of disgust. Fear is not required to be creepy. [/font][/color][/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Disgust, revulsion, a general sentiment of abhorrence. You get the idea. Also, you mean [i]evoke[/i].[/FONT]

[quote name='Lady Shy']You're missing "because they think it's wrong, so they want to prevent it." If you're convinced of something being a sin, the just thing to do would be to prevent it from happening. If you knew someone was going to murder another person and you're able to prevent it by some means, wouldn't you do so?[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Not necessarily.[/FONT]

[quote name='CaNz']who sounds like more of a creeper. me, or an old dude who pretends to be seventeen on forums?[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]You. You really shouldn't make fun of [color="#8b0000"]Heaven's Cloud[color="#000000"] like that, either.[/color][/color][/FONT] [quote name='chibi-master'] [quote name='Gavin'][font="Tahoma"][size="2"]I also prefer eccentric to quirky.[/size][/font][/quote] But quirky is such a cuter word! [/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Overruled by the subordinate, dayumn.[/FONT]

[quote name='CaNz']so Allamorph how old are you again? seventeen?[/quote] [FONT=Calibri]No.[/FONT]

[quote name='Heaven's Cloud'][color="indigo"]Sigh...I'm not sure why churches care if gays can marry. Religious institutions don't have to acknowledge the marriage, just the federal and state government. [/color][/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Few reasons:[b] [/b][list][*][b]Misguided patriotism[/b] â?? There are a lot of church bodies who believe (maybe correctly, maybe not) that the US was established as a Christian nation, and they feel that decisions like these are a threat to their Christian heritage and doctrine and therefore a threat to the nation as a whole.[/list][list][*][b]Tradition upheaval[/b] â?? People don't like change. Plain and simple. Southern Baptists are notorious for this trait; trust me, I'm Baptist and live in the South so I sort of can't escape them. =P I've seen church bodies shredded by internal strife over disagreements, ranging from serious doctrinal interpretations to whether there's a barrier in front of the choir loft. It's nuts.[/list][list][*][b]Haters gonna hate[/b] â?? I shouldn't have to explain this one.[/list][/FONT]

[quote name='CaNz'] why does everyone i care about hide from me with Steph or kick me in the throat with an ostrich![/quote] [FONT=Calibri]'Cause you are one creepy-ass stalker-dude.[/FONT] [quote name='Sam'][color="#9932cc"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]Sanity is overrated. Everyone is insane to some extent.[/font][/color][/quote] [FONT=Calibri]Stop listening to the part of you that's saying that because it's the only part that's afraid. If everyone was insane, then no one would be. And since there are clearly insane people out there that means the if/then can't work. Just settle for quirky. Then you'll be good. [/FONT]