Gavin

[SIZE=1]I saw Memento a few weeks back and I have to admit it was one of the most confusing films I have seen in a long time. The first time I watched the film, I was left wondering exactly what the heck I had just seen, although subsequent viewings did make it a lot more clearer. Overall though I did very much enjoy the film, the story itself was top-notch, and the way it was told in reverse was a very interesting choice. [spoiler]The way that everyone was using Leonard's disability against him, as to further the plotline was also great. You'd think you had someone figured out and then BAM !!, something would happen and you wouldn't have any idea what was going on.[/spoiler] I have to admit though that until now I wasn't really sure whether or not Leonard has made up the [spoiler]Sammy Jenkin's character, and whether or not it had been Leonard who's wife had been the diabetic and subsequently died as a test to see if Leonard was really unable to make new memories.[/spoiler] Although I only had the film for one night and was still only semi-sure about what I thought was going on, though I guess that's just the impact of the film.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I was rather surprised and a little saddened that there wasn't already a thread on this subject, seeing that it's been all over the news for what appears to be the twenty-four hours. As many people know the Holy Father's already weakened health has been steadily declining again over the last 24 hours, what began with a urinary infection has led to septic shock [blood poisoning], cardio circulatory shutdown, unstable blood pressure and renal failure. The Vatican has denied vigorously that the 84 Holy Father has not lapsed into a coma as stated by certain reports , he is as stated by Dr Navarro-Valls "Still lucid, fully conscious and extraordinarily serene", they do admit that the Holy Father?s condition has worsened. However the Pontiff has decided not to return to hospital in Rome and instead is staying inside the Vatican City, the Pope appears to have made his peace with God and is preparing to pass on as reflected by Irish Bishop John Magee the Pontiff's former Private Secretary. [quote]?The fact he has not gone back (to the hospital) shows he is serenely carrying the cross and ready to give up and to say, ?It is finished??[/quote] These words are also echoed by Dr Navarro-Valls who has stated: [quote]?This is surely an image I have never seen in these 26 years?[/quote] The Pope has been granted the Sacrament of the Sick and the Dying, previously known as The Last Rites, it is believed that the Holy Father?s condition is very grave and these are his last days. As a Roman Catholic I have already been to Church today in order to give my prayers to God in the hope that if the Pope is to pass on that he shall have a death as he had a life, peaceful, noble and dignified. Pope John Paul II has been the great Pope of the 20th and 21st centuries, and may he know the love of Christ as he knew the love of billions of people across the globe. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Heh heh, so many great laughs, what kind of a mirthless grey place would it be without DragonWarrior and his Douglas Adam's styled comedy. My favourite comedy would have to [b]Pirates of Otakuboards[/b] as it was one of my debut in a comedy role outside my normal serious role-playing in the Arena. [b]The Educational Adventures of DW and Shinmaru: Christopher Columbus[/b], [b]Syk3's Guide to Modding Your *** Off[/b] and [b]The Legend of Otaku Hollow [PG-13][/b] would also rate very high on the list of Classic DW comedy. It' funny that because we share the same first name, some people might mistake me for the lead character in some of your older stories, although that's not likely to happen is it ?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I?ve always been a huge fan of the Worms series and it sounds like it could be a light hearted and yet really good RPG if it was done right, perhaps people could add their own touches by using Worms they actually have and use in their games. On the storyline front it wouldn?t be hugely difficult to come up with some kind of wacky, zany scheme for Boggy Pete, although that does sound like a job for OB?s resident wacky, zany Evildoer DragonWarrior. Still I?d love to give it a go once it was all done, probably be a great lot of fun for the Old School Worms fan, [[i]Dibs the Ninja Rope and Dynamite[/i]]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. It definitely sounds like a good idea once it's been fleshed out, even though the whole story of the Clone Wars is going to be resolved when Episode III comes out in a little over 6 weeks. However I think that it could be the character interaction which would make it an interesting RPG, to get to see it from the points of view from Jedi, Clone Troopers and a Bounty Hunter. The Jedi bound to protect the Republic, the Clone Troopers created to protect the Republic and a Bounty Hunter paid for his services, all would have different motivations and it would be definitely interesting to see how it pans out. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting, Recently I have to admit that the [B]Knights of the Old Republic[/B] or [B]KOTOR[/B] series confiscated my life, as like Desbreko I experienced the "[I]Just one more Hour[/I]" syndrome. I'm not sure whether it was because KOTOR I was my first PC RPG, or whether it was because it was so filled with the mystique of the Star Wars Universe but it really did appeal to me. I played it into the wee hours of the morning when I first go it, although I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed that it ended after only about 27 hours as I was hoping it would last a bit longer. Then when KOTOR II came along I was swept up once again, although I personally didn't find it to be as good a game as before it was still riveting my first time through it. Maybe it's because the game had a case of a lot of bugs, or perhaps it's because the ending portion of the game feels rather rushed [care of a LucasArts 12 month development schedule] but it did feel a slightly lesser game to it's older brother. When I was younger however there was one great addictive game in the form of [B]Pokémon Blue[/B], I remember dedicating at least 19 hours to it in a single day and still enjoy to odd Pokémon related romp with the new games, although Sapphire was a slight bit of a disappointment. I think Pokémon was one of those games that everyone got addicted to quickly because there was that element of singular and yet co-operative play to it, I go both Red and Blue for Christmas when they game out and my brother and I dedicated at least 150 hours to it between us over the course of Christmas. However before even Pokémon Blue there was the ultimate addiction of [B]Super Mario[/B] for the N.E.S., I can't have been more than 6 at the time but it was definitely one of those games that you could never put down, perhaps it was because it was one of my earliest gaming experiences but it really was something special. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I have to admit that I've always been against the Death Penalty, even thought it's been abolished in Ireland for the better part of forty years if I remember correctly. Chaos does bring up a good point in the fact that those who state "[I]Lock them up and throw away the key[/I]", aren't facing that there is a serious cost to maintaining prisons. However I honestly feel that a society cannot claim to be civilised if it activity executes it's own citizens, no matter what their crime, and as such simply stating that "[I]Executing them is cheaper than keeping them locked up[/I]" in not a valid point. That is not to say however that I don't believe that people who commit crimes should be just given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again, people who do commit violent crimes should be given punishment in proportion to the crime. It is sickening to think that in my own home country a person who murders someone else will probably only face a sentence of eight years, if not less because of parole. However there is of course the fact that people are genuinely repentant for what they?ve done and that should be taken into account. Even though I'm not in favour of the death penalty I believe that there should be mandatory minimum prison sentences for offences and that the reflect the severity of the crime, i.e. a murderer should be given at least 20 years to show that they have committed a heinous crime, though there would also have to be room for extenuating circumstances. Yes I did waffle a lot there and to be honest I could probably sum up what I?ve said up there in a few words: No Death Penalty, but longer periods of incarceration for crimes, or make them more proportionate to the crime itself. If a person has committed serial murder and is likely to again then those people should be locked up for the rest of their natural lives and damn the cost, just because they have acted like animals does not mean we can put them down like one. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I purposely stayed away from posting in this thread because of the complications that arose from Terri's situation. I personally wasn't sure what who and what was right in that situation, if Terri herself had been able to say whether or not she wanted to die then it would have resolved the whole thing but sadly that did not happen. As a Catholic I suppose had she said she wanted to die it would have been considered suicide, or perhaps it wouldn't have been, I'm not 100% sure on that. Had it been considered a suicide I suppose I still don't know where I would have stood, was it right to keep her alive using artificial means if there was no hope of recovering ? Would that not have been to increase her suffering ? I just don't know, and I somehow feel as though I'm lost part of my faith by having these doubt. I never really felt that Terri's husband was the bad guy, he felt as if he were doing what was right for his wife, what he has said she wand, and that's all we have to go on. Her parents on the other hand wanted their daughter kept alive and I can very much sympathise with that, there really was nobody definitely in the right or wrong in this situation, they both felt that they were doing what was right for Terri. However I did not feel that it was right for Terri's situation to be thrown out into the political arena, without all the facts being given. It was a family dispute between the people who loved Terri, and to bring it outside and into the international spotlight was not really a fair thing to do. I don't think that Terri went in to most pleasant way possible, but to have given her a lethal injection would be to introduce euthanasia, it's a situation really which has no winners and I at least hope that Terri has gone on to somewhere better.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I have to agree completely with Zidargh, when I first joined OB in September 2001 I was an atrociously bad poster, and often did little more than post spam. However given a bit of time I began to realise that my posts could be better and sought to emulate those with well written, punctuated and altogether good posts. Three and a half years later and I feel that I've changed, although just looking at my old posts makes me cringe. To be honest I don't actually think that OB's Mods are all that strict, although I don't visit the Anime Lounge and that's seemingly where some of the worst cases of spam are. I've found that most of the other role-playing sites I've come across are very leniently Moderated and are typically filled with two-lined, smiley-ridden posts.[/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Zeta]With the Day coming ever nearer, I felt the need to bring back this topic. What does everyone think of the trailer? Not the teaser, but [i]the[/i] trailer. I myself find it great. I watch it at least once a day. For anyone who hasn't seen it, visit the official site now. I am curious as to what OBers think of Palpatine's age? How old do ya'll think he is? I'll post what I think in a bit, bit busy right now. ^_^;;[/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]YES, FIRST POST OF PAGE 100 !! Newbish glee aside, I've watched both trailers on StarWars.com a few times, and they really do make me salivate for the day I can actually go in and see the final installation of the film series I've been waiting over 13 years to see finished. [spoiler]My favourite scene of the Proper Trailer would have to be Palpatine's "Are you threatening me Master Jedi" line and the ensuing action. However the teaser trailers best bit is definitely our first glimpse and sound of Lord Vader's triumphant return.[/spoiler] I don't think we can actually determine Palpatine's exact age, as he uses Sith magic to transfer his "soul" from one clone body to another. The corruption of his Dark Side power causes his bodies to age prematurely and as such getting and exact age would be a rather difficult thing to do. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I have to admit the more I read about what happened, much of it coming from elfpirate, I do feel quite sorry for the young man at the centre of the shooting. I've seen the devastating effects such loneliness can cause in a person firsthand, and I guess this was just the final outcome of that misery. My heart-felt condolences go out to the families of the victims, the remaining family of the shooter and the people of the community. Hopefully with time the wounds of this tragedy can be healed, and perhaps may it serve as a deterrent to prevent other people from performing similar acts.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well I've been watching [B]Sky One UK's[/B] reconstruction of the Michael Jackson trial since it started, and I have to admit that my belief that he is innocent has only been reinforced by what I've seen. From the reconstruction of the testimonies of the two Arviso Boys [Gavin and Star] I have to admit that the amount of times they're proven to have changed their statements and in Star's case lied altogether does make me hope Jackson can walk away from this one with his head held high.[/SIZE]

[B][SIZE=1]Reporter:[/B] The champion of the "[I]World's Fastest Urine Drinker[/I]" looked despondent today after realising he would never again get a woman...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I thought I might meander in here at some stage, though I meant to actually do so on Saint Patrick's Day. I just noted a few mistakes in some of what people have posted in regard to Saint Patrick and Irish history and myths, so I'll correct what I can to set the picture straight. [/SIZE] [QUOTE=elfpirate][b][b] My family was part o' the "snakes" that St. Patrick drove out o' Ireland... and more accurately, he made it impossible for my family to hold on to their traditional religious beliefs and more or less forcefully converted them into the Irish Christians o' the time.[/b] [b]Because o' this, a lot o' my Druidic history and many o' the Druidic traditions were lost.:( [/b][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Patrick himself actually never advocated violence in his conversion of the Irish people from Paganism to Catholicism. What happened was that when an Irish Chief was converted [the Chief of a family clan], all his family would convert to the same religion as him. The same practice happened with Constantine and the Roman Empire, Catholicism spread like wildfire in Ireland after that and the Druids as a faith were extinguished. As per his driving of the snakes from Ireland, I'm not sure how accurate that is, perhaps like wolves in Ireland the climate changed and they could no longer survive. [/SIZE] [QUOTE=elfpirate][b]The Irish had [i]all[/i] their instruments taken away and music itself was forbidden, as well as dancing...basically, everything Celtic, Druidic, and inherently "Irish" was forbidden.[/b] [b]With no instruments to be had, the Irish (the wonderfully stubborn ***** that we are) decided that they were going to make music anyway, creating the beat with their stomping and tapping-- and the melody with their voices... [/b] [b]I believe (though I'm not[i] entirely[/I] sure about this) that the stiff-back, arms- rigid way of performing the dance was to avoid the attention of the Brits... after all, from a distance, they appeared to barely move...so it wasn't likely for them to be accused o' dancing. :animesmil Yay, sneaky, stubborn, Irish folks![/b] On a side note, Irish dancing was the inspiration for the birth of tap-dancing. An African American man (sorry, but I've forgotten his name for the moment) watched the Irish immigrants in America celebrating and dancing. He thought it was really cool that such wonderful rhythms could be created with just the feet, but he thought it looked retarded to not move the upper body and arms-- thus, he came up with what is now tap-dancing.[/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I've dealt with this in reply with Mistress Roxie.[/SIZE] [QUOTE=MistressRoxie][color=green]This goes way back to the time when the British were persecuting the Irish (thus some of the hostilities today, along with OTHER reasons). The English wouldn't let the Irish do anything - even dancing was forbidden. That's a dumb thing to tell the Irish. So instead, they would tap their beat to the rhythm of the music - technically not dancing. Gradually, it evolved into the step dance with those crazy feet movements.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Most of this is correct, the English themselves were actually invited into Ireland by King Diarmuid of Leinster, who being denied the title of [I]Ard Rí[/I] or High King [[I]Ard[/I] = High, [I]Rí[/I] = King] sought aid from King Henry II of England to defeat the other Kings in order to control the country. King Henry dispatched Richard de Claire [later known as Strongbow] in order to aid Diarmuid, who promised Strongbow his daughter as a reward for his aid [thus seeding him as the next King of Leinster]. Diarmuid never succeeded in becoming High King, however as King of Leinster himself, Strongbow did, this lead to English rule over Ireland as Diarmuid had sworn his allegiance to Henry II, and Strongbow was a Norman Knight who served Henry. This pretty much lead to the whole English being in control of Ireland, although there is much, much too much history for me to go through. Suffice to say the English established their power base in Dublin, and defeated Irish rebellions on a fairly regular basis because of superior arms, tactics and numbers. However that in itself is a gross simplification, and actually in Henry II time it was the Normans who ruled England [I think], and it was them who forbade Irish activities [again I think]. The English began to persecute the Irish after Henry VII came to power, mainly because much of the Irish remained Catholics and the English were Anglicans. Later the English introduced the Penal Laws which stripped Catholics of a lot of their rights as citizens, which along with general persecutions and hangings, and in the 1920 the introduction of the infamous Black and Tans. Again this has been a huge simplification of Irish History, if you're interested in the subject there are plenty of books on the subject that go into fair greater detail. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]For Kazuya, hiring hookers was more dangerous than he thought...[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. I've had that kind of Déjà Vu feeling many, many times before but I can distinctly remember stuff from my dreams happening in the future, sort of precognition. I have only ever once had a kind of "vision" during my waking hours happen, or at least will happen [that I know for sure] and that involves telephones in my late granduncle's house. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Suppose I'd better get on to the summary listing on my addictions, although they seem quite tame compared to some of the rest. [b]I] Milk and Toast:[/b] My staple meal at home, I simply cannot go a day without having at least one portion. [b]II] Beginning posts with Interesting, most interesting:[/b] More out of habit than addiction, this has become my catchphrase on OB as "Indeed" became my catchphrase on AIM. [b]III] Science Fiction Books:[/b] I do love a good bit of Science Fiction, in fact I've just begun reading [B]Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy[/B] and though it's part comedy, it's still very enjoyable. [b]IV] Otakuboards:[/b] A pretty obvious one but I just can't seem to leave, even though I don't actually want to. There have been times where I've been gone for months and still come back and had a great time, it's a combination of a lot of things but OB is a diamond among Boards.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Jurassic Park and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III are the two earlier films I can remember, but since both were released in early 1993 I'm fairly sure that neither was my first film. However I can't remember what my first film was so I'll just have to stick with them, Jurassic Park scared the ever-loving crap out of me as a child. TMNT III is quite vague although any time I think about it it brings a smile to my face, subconscious nostalgia I guess. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][B]Soldier:[/B] Hey I thought the Colonel said we were going to the Bahamas ?[/SIZE]

[size=1]I meant to reply here sooner but my so called ?social life? reared it?s ugly head over the last fortnight or so. [center]---------------[/center] [i]Kane's mind raced as Arano gave forth all the details about this new threat, a threat of this magnitude had only ever once been faced in his lifetime, and that "threat" decided to turn tail and run before facing the might of the Saiya-Jin. However as powerful as Furiza had been, this new enemy was decisively deadlier, one warrior sufficiently powerful could destroy an entire planet, but an army of weak being, incredible in size might possibly overwhelm them through exhaustion and numbers. Kane raised his right had to his chin, stroking it with his thumb and index finger, military strategy was best left to Command, but this was no mere planet clearing, this was the possible annihilation of the Saiya-Jin race. Once Arano had imparted all the details of the impending disaster Kane merely stared at him in thought, he made no movements, only sighing deeply as he took it all in.[/I] [b]Kane:[/b] I?m going to assume that the general populace of Vegetasei is not aware of this threat ? [b]Arano:[/b] That is correct. [i]Kane sighed again, deeper than the first time, he knew that if all was done properly then they?d have little to worry about, the Saiya-Jin had some of the most brilliant commanders in all of the Universe, but that didn?t stop him thinking of the worst case scenario.[/i] [b]Kane:[/b] [[i]Slowly[/i]] You mentioned something about a brother ? [b]Arano:[/b] Yes, Gaul, I don?t think he?s ready yet to face this threat as would other, older warriors. [b]Kane:[/b] I understand, I?ll keep an eye on him, but I?ll not be his sitter. [b]Arano:[/b] I wasn?t asking you to be... [i]He pondered what he was being asked to do, it was odd that with relations such as Burori and Turles that Arano was asking Kane to keep an eye on the little sod, he had better things to do on the battlefield than look after a kid. Still if Arano wanted him to do it then there was more than likely a good reason, that and there was a good reward for doing it. Between the property and wealth he was being offered for taking part, he supposed watching the back of Gaul would probably be covered by something else, perhaps a favour for sometime down the road, or perhaps something a little more tangible right now. He stroked his chin once more before raising his glass to his mouth again, it was a lot to take in, 3 hours ago the Saiya-Jin had been the most powerful and feared race in the galaxy, now there were facing possible defeat.[/i] [b]Arano:[/b] ...however I am prepared to offer you something in return. [b]Kane:[/b] I only want one thing in return sir... [i]Arano raised his eye at the use of the word sir, it had been the first time he?d used it in their conversation[/I] [b]Kane:[/b] ...and I think it would be of benefit to you as well. [b]Arano:[/b] And that would be ? [b]Kane:[/b] To be blunt sir, I was command of Black Operations. [b]Arano:[/b] [[i]Chuckling[/i]] And where is the benefit to me in this ? [b]Kane:[/b] As you well know many of the commanders at Black Operations find me to be insolent, complaining that I don?t respect the chain of Command. However sir it is my opinion that many of these men are in fact morons who are not fit to supervise the department in a time like this, they are fools who got their positions by favours and father?s friends. With respect if they were to be replaced with a more proficient commander there would be a benefit to the military as a whole. [b]Arano:[/b] Ah so be ?you? you were referring not just to me, but the entire military. What you are asking is quite a request Kane, Commander Adanis and his staff have had an high success rate over the last four decades, however you would argue that the only threat they?ve ever really faced was Furiza. You realise I will probably have to explain this to his Highness, he may have objections to it due to what you called ?favours and father?s friends?. Return in an hours and I will give you your answer. [i]Kane rose from his seat, wondering exactly what that answer would be...[/i][/size]

[SIZE=1]An excellent little series Gavynn, easily one of my favourites that you've done so far. I have to admit I'm a little torn as to who my favourite character is, it's a split decision between Ferk and Lawyerton as both are great characters, I'm very much looking forward to the return of Oblivior too. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hmm well I was hoping that this might have gone on slightly longer, considering Episode III draws ever closer. I finally saw the trailer to the film about forty minutes ago and was completely blown away, I've been honestly giddy with excitement since I saw it. The clip was only about twenty second long but it really does instil a sense that this will the the film we've been waiting to see for the last six years. Since we were taling about what EU novels would be good in "[I]Young Indiana Jones[/I]" style I'd be eager to see the Jedi Academy Series, I've always had a liking for Kyp Duron. I'd also perhaps like to see maybe film versons of the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight videogame series, as many of you know I'm a big Kyle Katarn fan, and many of them hve quite good plotlines. A small thought cropped into my mind as I was about to finish this, since Lucas is very big on adding and subtracting scenes to his films after they've been released, what changes would you make to the New Trilogy ? If we could keep it to small things, even though I'd love if they removed Jar-Jar it would have a dynamic change on the films. My only changes would be: In Episode I change the Yoda Puppet to the CGI Yoda used in Episodes II and III, I think the CGI version looks far, far better and more animated than the puppet. Bring back Jeremy Bulloch as Boba/Jango Fett, his voice was by far superior to, but then they'd probably have to cast in two new actors to replace Temuera Morrison and the boy who played Young Boba. I just found Morrison's voice to be a poor replacement for Bulloch's and it be a small but significant improvement. And other suggestions ?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well since the only code addition to my text I make is "[I]Size=1[/I]" it'd be simply for convenience in my case, however it would be nice to be able to just type away without have to add the code at the end of the reply. It would however be a great time saver for those who use multiple codes in their normal posts and would be a neat little feature for the next update. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting. Well I have to admit that I do sort of miss the old Member Titles, although I myself never got to the coveted "[I]Otaku[/I]" Title for those with a thousand posts and over. That said however I think that if brining back the old Titles would simply inflame people to post relentlessly in the hope of reaching a higher newer title then it's better that they're gone. One solution I can think of would be to link Member Titles to the length of time someone has been on OB, that way there'd be no way to cheat your way up. I have to admit though that since I've been here 3 and a bit years already I may be slightly biased in my idea, however it does represent one way in which people would have to stick around. [/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Dragon Warrior]An update on me... I got the ROTK 4-Disk set for Christmas like I said I would above. It's sweet as ever. But watching the footage makes me sad because I know that that will be the last footage I'll ever see because it's the end. God, I'm hoping for the Hobbit! [spoiler]Oh, and your post just above mine, Kane... I'm sure you know by now, but for those who don't... Sarumon so gets the knife to the back. Frickin' sweet. His death is exciting, though a tad morbid.[/spoiler][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I haven't actually seen the Special Edition yet, although since buying them would be my only option I'm not really keen on buying a movie I'll only ever watch once or twice. As per your spoiler bit Gavynn, [spoiler]I remember reading the way Saruman used treat Grima and wonder why the heck he was still loyal to him. But then I guess Saruman's final insult to finger him for Lotho's murder was just the final straw for Grima to kill him.[/spoiler][/SIZE]