Gavin

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]I'll throw up the rest later D, neighbour died suddenly and the funeral is tonight. [B] Name[/B]: N/A (Sometimes impolitely referred to as "Fucking Besson") [B]Birth Name[/B]: Sebastien "Bastien" Besson [B]Sex:[/B] Male [B]Age:[/B] 34 [B]Zodiac Sign:[/B] Water Dog [B]Social Status/Occupation[/B]: Detective Lieutenant SFPD [B]Affiliation(s)Notable Relationship(s)[/B]: SFPD, SFPD Internal Affairs, some Free Agents [B]Personality: [/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=1]?The law exists only as long as there are men to enforce it.? Bastien is marked by his grave nature as well as being perceptive, deductive and highly-intelligent. Forced to stay one step ahead of the corruption through quick-thinking and adaptability he has managed to bring down several elements within the criminal sector. Somewhat cynical, he is as honourable and honest as his position allows him to be, and as close to a good cop as the city is going to get. [B]Biography/Motivation:[/B] A cargo container headed east, a kid of fourteen, a capital city left with too many districts alight after years of riots and military counter-strikes. The choice wasn?t hard to make. His mother had tucked a roll of currency in his pocket with a last desperate embrace; he had no idea what it would be worth, a couple of meals, maybe a place to sleep. Three years of drifting and surviving brought him to San Francisco in 2057, an underfed boy having grown into a lean, hard man. Like their east-coast brothers, perhaps even more so, the SFPD didn't give a damn who or what you were so long as you the dollars to maintain their apathy. It became an unconscious reaction to just hand them the cash without asking. He found the body in a dumpster, shot once, the wound indicating he?d been on his knees when it happened. More importantly the dead man?s clothes were clean and just about his size. Rifling through the pockets he found an SAPD application, though what caught his eye was the fact it was blank but had acceptance and processing marks on it. Something like this was expensive, more than he?d earn in year. Another easy decision. Nobody asked his name when he?d handed in the completed form, a woman in her forties had taken a glance at him, then at the markings on the form and punched in the information into the screen in front of her. He?d bussed out with a group of other cadets later that week, forgetting his old life and everything in it. [/SIZE] [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black] [B]Appearance: [IMG]http://zeitgeistglee.250free.com/Sleepers.jpg[/IMG] [/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[SIZE=1]Just something that was bothering me as I was reading over some of the sign ups, where are people getting their element/year combinations from ? It's just the ones I've derived from Wikipedia's article on the Chinese calender [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle"][B]here[/B][/URL] doesn't seem to support them. For an example someone who is 18 (born 2058) would be (I think) an Earth Tiger. Crossed references with the Year of the Tiger article, previous Earth Tiger was 1998 and moving ahead sixty years (a 12 Branches and 5 Element rotation) brings you to 2058. I openly admit here I might be wrong as I've been doing the number crunching in my head. [B]Edit: [/B]God damn you Al. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Aizen's mind-screwing has reached epic new proportions, a chapter indeed stolen by the Big Bad. The latest filler episode has yet again renewed my distaste of Orihime, between the rampant "Kurosaki-kuns!", putting herself directly in harms way without the ability to properly defend herself and general uselessness I'm so glad she only ever has about a page of manga every few weeks. [/SIZE]

[CENTER][SIZE=1][IMG]http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/epic-fail-avatar-plot-fail.jpg[/IMG] [/SIZE][/CENTER] [SIZE=1] +1 for Matt Bateman [/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]/facepalm Next haxxor technique for Sasuke or Danzou ? Hiraishin possibly ?[/SIZE]

[quote name='rotlung']Well when ur film grosses over $1 billion worldwide $250 million seems like a good investment.....[/quote] [SIZE=1] I meant that the a good majority of Avatar's budget was spent on the CGI alone although I still don't believe only $257 million was spent on Avatar. Of course if Avatar can be so commercially successful with a dull, lumbering entirely generic plot offset but pretty visuals then we're probably head that way.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Hmm, just looked at Wiki's episode listing and apparently we're heading into yet another filler arc after this one by the looks of things. Bah and here I hoped we'd be seeing his Caballero Infierno (Hell Knight as they're calling it) resurruccion soon.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I have no problem with downloading anime, if you prefer the original Japanese with subtitles it's practically impossible to get them outside of funsubs and there are shows which never make it over from Japan to the US/Europe/Aus. Regarding music I have to admit I do download an album every once in a while if I can't find it in stores, or if the price is something ridiculous like (and this is a quote) ?26 for a 12 track, five year old album. Yes, I should probably use iTunes, but I don't like the fact the encoding isn't the universal MP3 and the fact the bit rate was until quite recently only 128 and my standard is 256. For movies and tv-series, only if they're not available to you elsewhere (like anime), but most stuff unless it's the current season being aired is available so there's no real excuse. In the end it's down to the individual themselves, saying it's wrong isn't going to stop them. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]That's my biggest problem though Lunox, it is style entirely over substance and yet people are putting it on the same kind of pedestal as Schindler's List in terms of being a moral epic, and there's just something terribly wrong and shallow about it. I certainly hope that Avatar's level of CGI quality does have an impact on the film industry in a positive way, but at 250+ million to create it, I imagine not many films are going to dedicate that much of their budget to it. I also agree with you somewhat about The Dark Knight. I didn't hate it, but I don't think it stands up well to repeated viewings in the same way Batman Begins does. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]The problem is though Lunox that Cameron spent fifteen years developing this film, ten years of which were apparently just "waiting for technology to catch up" but that's still 5 years and an 80 page "scriptment" working on the story, language and culture that he admits himself are effectively lifted from Dances with Wolves, and likely other sources. Avatar is also ponderously long at nearly two and three quarter hours, at least thirty minutes of which could've and should've been left on the cutting room floor without any loss of suspense (if there is indeed any suspense in the movie). Yes, the movie is stunning to look at, but where Star Wars used ground-breaking CGI to complement its story, Avatar uses its CGI to attempt to make up for its horribly cliched story and generic characters and at 161 minutes long that's a tall order which for me it failed at spectacularly. But as I said my issue was with Avatar being labelled a four and five star movie, which it most certainly is not.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Nerdsy'][URL]http://sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/[/URL][/quote] [SIZE=1]Wow. Just wow.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Oh, speaking of that. we just got a new shipment of 'land fish' in today. What did you want me to do with that?[/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]Cut off the heads and ship a crate to PETA's headquarters with that a cropped version of that photo of me giving a thumbs-up from the last company picnic after "that" happened. Skin and bone the bodies and market them in French as a new import cuisine. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Boo'][FONT=lucida fax]Boob outline? There's obvious nipple. If this were national television, it'd get censored like mad at any time before 10PM. [/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]Clearly the choice of a somewhat attractive 20-something female undermines the "this isn't porn" argument somewhat.[/SIZE]

[quote name='taperson'][SIZE=1][COLOR=RoyalBlue]DRUGS.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1] The part about eating "magic mushrooms" kinda gave it away. I always figured he was surprised while working and banged his head off the pipe he was working on, knocking him unconscious.[/SIZE]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Well I can see why they got annoyed with it. She didn't agree to appear in a campaign and certainly didn't give consent for them to use her image. Also, I agree with the sentiment that it definitely lacks the wtf-ness that the seakittens deal brought about. lol[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]This. If it were any other group bar PETA I might have some sympathy. Of course thanks to them I can now sell cat instead of fish in my stores. Mwahahahahaha. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]08:12, might as well get a couple of votes in while I'm barely awake. [B]What is it?[/B] [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=60332"]Woody Harrelson's Awesome Excuse[/URL] [B] Why was it nifty?[/B] Why isn't it Nifty ? [/SIZE][SIZE=1][B]Who is it?[/B] Indi [B] Why is she nifty?[/B] Because she's put up with me for yet another twelve months without exercising that ban hammer of hers. Also the whole marriage thing and the Dr ****-Cat jokes she takes so well. :p [/SIZE][SIZE=1] [B]What are they? [/B] Lolcats [B] Why were they nifty?[/B] Pretty much defined humour for quite a bit of last year. [/SIZE][SIZE=1][B]Who is it?[/B] Raiha [B] Why is she nifty? [/B]Heck of a writer, heck of a gal.[/SIZE] [SIZE=1][B]Who is it?[/B] Boo [B] Why is he nifty?[/B] Because this site needs more Europeans, so we can eventually enact our plan to overthrow the boards and form [I]EurO[/I]taku[B]Boards[/B] where the letter "u" will be mandatory in words like colour and "z" restricted to make Scrabble harder. [/SIZE][SIZE=1][B]Who is it?[/B] Beth (SunfallE) [B] Why is she nifty?[/B] Possibly the most hardworking staff-member in the entire community between TheO and OB, also it goes without saying she's an exceptionally friendly person (although not a lover of big dogs) [B]Who/What is it? [/B](Yes I'm allowed combine a vote) [URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=846578&postcount=3"]John and his Good/Evil idea for the Reputation System[/URL] [B]Why is it Nifty?[/B] If we ever introduce a Rep system, it's this or nothing for me. [B]Who is it?[/B] [/SIZE] [SIZE=1] James [B]Why is he Nifty?[/B] Because his presence means OB continues to exist for one, but also because he's a great guy. [B]What is it? [/B][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0"]This Clip[/URL][B] Why is it Nifty? [/B]Watch it and you'll know. [B]Member of the Year Male Member of the Year [/B]Magus, as without him I'd have nobody to discuss the latest manga releases with.[B] Female Member of the Year [/B][/SIZE][SIZE=1][URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/member.php?u=34661"]chibi-master,[/URL] because that much energy should be split between two people really. [/SIZE] [SIZE=1][B]Staff Member of the Year [/B]Aaryanna for all her hard work over the last twelve months. [B] Otaku of the Year [/B]Shinmaru. [B] Funniest Member [/B]Ace, it was a toss up between him and my other zany minion for who made me laugh the most but seeing as I already voted Josh in the Storyteller category it's only fair I give him this one. [B] Storyteller of the Year [/B]Shy for all his hard work on Almagest, which would proceed much faster without lazy bastards like me. :animeswea[B] RPG of the Year [/B]The Almagest Expedition, again it was a toss up between this and Shinigami Dance, so I did the obvious thing and picked the one I was actually part of. [B] Thread of the Year [/B][URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=60276"]Padded Room Party: Random Thoughts[/URL]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]And finally we're back to getting a chapter next week, although we may get it even earlier than usual again apparently. Also, the latest episode of the anime (252 I think) had the best combat scenes I've seen in a long time in Bleach.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Ace, a new sensation crime/thriller writer for whom the stresses of stardom, pills and genius erase the lines between his reality and the fictional world of his newest piece leading to his death.[/SIZE] [quote name='Shy'][SIZE=1]Gavin as a man who finds God, only to lose salvation before his death. -Shy[/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1]Ouch, I know I'm evil and all but damn Josh that's a little harsh. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Ah good to see the series return, looking forward to my inevitable bloody demise.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Further to a conversation with Beth this morning, apparently the oldest recorded man to father a child was Les Colley aged 92. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]/headdesk Lord knows what the Daily Mail are going to make of it. If I end up in one these I'm going to pull a Superman pose for the hell of it and ask for a copy.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Aye, can we keep all the nominations in a single post please guys. Makes it easier to tabulate all of them so we don't miss anyone's votes by accident. And yes, as I promised to nominate that thread it will receive one.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]It is ridiculously cold outside. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Or Avatar as he likes to call it. So having seen the latest leap in CGI technology last night I figured I'd see what other OB members thought of the movie only to find we hadn't a thread on it. Well that parts fixed now at least. I'm going to say straight out that I was bored almost to the point of walking out by Dances with Large Blue Felinoids. I'll openly admit that visually the film is extremely impressive, beautiful even, but the plot and characters themselves come nowhere near the point of saving it from being thoroughly average when it should have been much more. Clichés are rampant and anvils are dropped with almost gleeful abandon throughout the movie's staggering 150 minutes. The storyline itself is terribly predictable from every angle, and most of the characters never seem fully real or fully developed, instead relying on a single or two characterisation points taken to extremes. Perhaps if the Aesops themselves weren't horribly, horribly unsubtle, or the Na'vi made indisputably superior morally and spiritually to the majority of human characters (the exception being those gone native) who stay firmly set in the "imperious bastards" role might've made me a bit more receptive to the plot. Most of the reviews I saw for the movie gave it between 4 and 5 stars, I think I would give it a tentative 2 and a half as any less wouldn't be fair on the visuals. If you want a genuinely thought provoking movie on what Avatar tried to be then I would suggest District 9, an infinitely better movie created on less than a tenth of Avatar bloated budget. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Magus'][SIZE=1][COLOR=grey]Man, no chapters of anything for 2 weeks really sucks. I really do want to see more of what Danzou is capable of, not to mention this whole Itachi thing.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1]Agreed. That's why I thought last week's chapter was this week, which would've made things a little easier with only a week of a break in between each. [/SIZE]