Gavin

[SIZE="1"]I wouldn't call the skipping over of the majority of Naruto's training to be haxing him, nor the fact he is professed to be more skilled at it than Jiraiya. Realistically all Naruto did was learn to control another form of chakra, which for someone who has a near infinite amount of demon chakra flowing about just beneath the surface shouldn't have been too difficult. Maybe it's just the fact when he's not acting like a freaking hyper idiot I really like Naruto as a character and this upping of his power is really deserved a this point, because from what we've seen, his powers haven't really changed that much compared to pre-Time Skip levels. I think the final catalyst for Naruto to "grow up" as a character is not his fight with Sasuke, but rather to learn the truth about his parents. Naruto needs to open his eyes and see that as an individual Sasuke has never matured beyond the mindset of a child looking for revenge against what he perceives as the wrongs done to him and his family. Once he sees what his father, and by extension Jiraiya, Sandaime and Shodaime sacrificed to keep everyone safe, and really, really understands that, then he'll be a Hokage in everything but name.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"][B]Code Geass R2[/B] Just finished the raw of the finale and I have to say [spoiler]Lelouch's death near the end[/spoiler] really did cause me to choke up a little. The combination of the music, slow motion, [spoiler]C.C. praying, his falling down almost into Nunally's arms after the final conversation with Suzaku, and the former's realisation of just how much her brother had sacrificed for her and everyone else was just tragic. It sucks really that Lelouch will probably be forever regarded as a monster by the world.[/spoiler] I will say this though [spoiler]even if you could see his death coming, it's still a better one that Light's in Death Note. Lelouch chose his method and time of death and kept his cool right to the end because he knew he was doing the right thing, he gave the world heroes and a tomorrow.[/spoiler] ...Man I really want to see the subbed version.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Allamorph's right, it was likely just a stupid prank a bunch of bored local teenagers thought was hilarious. There's nothing really can be done about it, as much as it sucked to have to clean it up, if it keeps happening you might be in some position to do something but I doubt that'll happen.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I'm not going to comment on the idea of female Pastors as genuinely I don't know enough about the theology of the Christian branches involved enough to be certain my points are accurate. Instead I'll stick to the question involving the Catholic Church. The idea of female Fathers isn't something I admit I've heard mentioned very often as a solution to the numbers crisis facing the Church at the moment. Generally speaking I don't have a strong opinion on the idea, either for or against because I think there would have to be huge levels of change in the Church itself prior to this occuring that is not within its nature. Additionally, I think the fact that the call for "gender equality" within the clergy often comes from the very left-wing aligned sources actually makes the message far less likely to be given serious thought due to the huge level of contention that exists between the two sides. Personally from my own experience, I've always felt that the next likely step the Church will take, that is acceptable to it's members without moving very far from it's firmly rooted traditional base, would be giving priests the right to marry, as many of their Protestant counterparts have. Really I've always thought the message for those who wanted change in the Catholic Church was that if they didn't like it, they should go find a Church who's views did match up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I'm sorry Drizzt but for the moment I'm going to have to close this thread because as long as the old records remains in place you haven't a chance of generating the numbers involved to break it. Additionally there's no planning gone into this aside from "Let's try and break the record today !!", and dealing with this event, a huge level of planning and coordination, requiring days if not weeks of prep is going to be needed. If you have any more questions about why I closed this, feel free to contact me. [b]Thread Locked[/b][/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I'm going to follow Rach's lead and not bother wading through the mess that's developed here aside from answering the original poster's question. The debate is never resolved because even if the people involved change, the arguments always stay the same. Anyway to answer the OP, honestly, I'm a neutral in this whole thing, if people want to love someone of their same gender it's their business not mine. I, and the majority of other sane people have got enough worries in their own lives than to be concerned about what people do on their own time and whether or not it endangers their immortal soul. Man these kinds of topics really bring out a severe indifference in me, here's hoping it doesn't crop up again for another few months.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Heh that was great Darren, but one Monty Python reference is clearly insufficient. [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/funny-pictures-cat-dog-paper-bag-shrubbery-holy-grail.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"][CENTER][b]Myself (Because it's Star Wars)[/b] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/funny-pictures-cat-sends-minion-for-cheeseburger.jpg[/IMG] [B]Any old member who came back.[/B] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/funny-pictures-addled-kitteh-quits-tomorrow.jpg[/IMG] [B]Sandy[/B] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/funny-pictures-sad-white-kitten-bambi-mom.jpg[/IMG] [b]Indi, because I know she doesn't sleep.[/b] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/funny-pictures-your-cat-watches-you-sleep.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/SIZE]

[quote name='Kei'][color=darkblue][size=1]Congrats, Gavin, you somewhat got your wish with this chapter. I won't say anything lest I ruin Ace's weekly summary, but all I have to say is "...What."[/color][/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Heh heh, I saw that when I read the spoilers during the week. Here's hoping he does the same for [i]Toad[/i]-Fu (because they're Toads not Frogs Ace) :p and maybe a few new jutsu before the big showdown...next week. Heh. Oh and for the ninetieth time, a decent new outfit. But yeah, to agree with Ace, it is kinda suspicious we're actually getting good writing again, but I'm an optimist so here's hoping it keeps up. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I would quote what Darren just posted, but honestly I'm too lazy and the point has already been made. This game is just intended as a bit of fun, obviously we're going to get some repeats, because some people's characteristics are just better known than others, or in Allamorph's case, he really is Basement Cat, and that can't be helped. [CENTER][B]Chibi and CrimsonKnight[/B] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/funny-pictures-kittens-argue-about-the-height-of-something.jpg[/IMG] [b]The13thMan[/b] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/128347380320000000conservativecat.jpg[/IMG][/center] OK so maybe that last one isn't a perfect fit, but hey, just means someone else can try to do better.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]After reading the spoilers for the latest chapter, I felt this thread needed some love. OK first off, KOMAMURA IS ****ING AWESOME !!! *Coughs* Ahem. :animeswea Seriously, I've always been a fan of the Seventh Division's captain from the moment he entered the manga and he's apparently finally getting some of his dues combat wise. As a character Komamura is probably the only captain who's had no real development over the course of the manga so far (I mean really, he's a giant humanoid wolf and nobody questions it at all) so for him to at least kick some fraccion *** which scared the living daylights out of three lieutenants is nice. Shame this is probably the only battle or development he'll see for another hundred chapters.[/SIZE] [quote name='Solo Tremaine'][COLOR=#503F86]Somebody update me! I need to know how things are in Kubo-land. [I]One Piece[/I] has me all wrapped in a bundle of nerves after the latest chapter but I've not been able to find out what's happened recently in [I]Bleach[/I], if anything.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Apparently we're headed back to Hueco Mundo next chapter for the big fight, so get off that lazy backside my friend and just read it, I need someone to talk Bleach with after all. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Drizzt Do'urden']As for now I'm going to assume the Convention center is going to be the best place to do it, unless I'm told otherwise. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm so juiced up about this.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Well, I'm afraid I don't know anything new about resetting the counter Drizzt, but as far as where this thread belongs, the Convention Center probably is the best place for the moment, and I'm not just saying it because it's my forum. :animesmil Seriously though, anything of this kind of scale qualifies as an "event" by default, even if it's not specifically called one. Additionally it'd be far easier to keep track of things in a relatively...slow moving forum like this, as opposed to the Lounge.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Whoa, Mann'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="HotPink"]Jesus. Get off it. Religion and Aliens don't have anything to do with each other[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I beg to differ. [center][IMG]http://zeitgeistglee.250free.com/SpacePope.jpg[/IMG] and [IMG]http://zeitgeistglee.250free.com/LobsterJesus.jpg[/IMG][/center] Apologies for interrupting the fascinating discourse between James and 13th, I simply felt those had to be added. :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='chibi-master']So you want ANOTHER Sasuke?! Don't you think ONE is enough?!?!:animedepr[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I don't know, it'd be somewhat amusing to see Naruto fight Pein, get tossed around and then suddenly use a litany of new jutsu and simply explain that he learned them with Jiraiya and Fukusaku with no flashbacks at all, or maybe just one or two panels looking serious and somewhat tired. Besides, given how haxed Madara, Pein and Sasuke are, it would be nice to see things even out a bit on the side of a good guys.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Lawliet']Pain and Konan arrive at the gate of the village looking for Naruto getting ready to kick some *** but what they find is all the interesting characters like Tsunade, Sakura, that annoying assistant lady, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Lee, TenTen, and Guy (and any other character I forgot that would be in the village at this time). Then they have a super epic battle extravaganza where Pain and Konan are beaten and possible some of the leaf ninja are killed too. Then Naruto shows up with his super sage powers and finds out that he miss all the action.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I have to say, if the above mentioned get in a fight with Pein and Konan, it's not going to be a fight, it's going to be a slaughter. None of the chuunin and younger jounin have any chance of being able to take out one of Pein's bodies, even as a group, with the possible exception of Lee if he chose to open all 8-Gates. Kakashi, Gai, Yamato and Tsunade might as a group have some chance of whittling down a body or two together, but again I think it'll likely end in a mass slaughter. Really, I'm somewhat curious as to what will actually happen, Tsunade's stark level of incompetence is constantly proven as the manga goes on, so she's probably not smart enough to evac the village for when Pein and co roll by to collect the Kyuubi. Naruto may do a Goku and arrive just in the nick of time (or well usually after only one or two people have died) but I get the feeling Jiraiya was a lot more adept at using the Sage chakra in battle, given Naruto has like what, two moves to call on ?[/SIZE]

[quote name='Shinmaru']EDIT: Haha, that makes sense, Gavin. We're so desperate for something good that we're hoping old storylines can somehow become good new ones. XD[/QUOTE] [quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Yeah, I probably should have touched on that one. I just figured that we already knew about it.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Well good for you for being so smart huh Ace ? :p You know I'm kidding man, seeing your humourous assessments actually makes reading Naruto more enjoyable. I have to say though, I've been mulling it over and the ref still kinda sticks out at me. I mean we all know, or at least can guess that the Raikage knew about the plot to kidnap Hinata as a child because if he didn't/still doesn't, well he's dropped to Tsunade-level competency as a village-leader. Yet the way the Raikage made the statement about the Hyuuga indicated some apparently different incident, at least in my mind, where Cloud ninja were directly attacked by a Hyuuga without provocation. Like Mike said, perhaps I'm just looking too far underneath the underneath, but I am admittedly a Neji-fanboy and would love to see Konoha's other great clan prodigy get some development, plus Byakugan isn't pure hax yet. That and Kishi has been slowly feeding us more history of his world, so perhaps that ref was the prelude to more, after all we know all about the Senju and Uchiha, perhaps it's the Jyuuken users turn.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Darren']Best we can do is wait until April 10th and cross our fingers, toes, minds, and hearts![/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]You forgot eyes, so that if it's bad we at least don't have to keep watching it. :p[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I have to admit Ace, as much as a I agree with a lot of what you've said, that reference the Raikage made to the Hyuuga clan on page 13 really caught my eye. [b][Edit][/b] Just realised that probably refers to the incident where Hinata was kidnapped as a child and Neji's father died in his brother's place. That of course and we're finally getting a meeting of the Kage Rangers, it'll be interesting to see Tobi make an appearance there under his Mizukage guise. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Andrew'][size=1]As much as I generally tend to value you're opinion, I really don't see how that could work my crazy Irish friend![/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]OK, maybe I should put it another way then, nobody could do a worse job than the original character...except Keanu Reeves and Shia LeBeouf. :animesmil That and Morgan Freeman could actually bring some genuine humour and dare I say life to the role. God know's it'll probably be David Carradine. [/SIZE]

[CENTER][SIZE="1"][b]Rach[/b] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/funny-pictures-fur-elise-cat.jpg[/IMG] [B]Indi[/B] [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/funny-pictures-sarcastic-symphony-cat.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"][CENTER]Political Cat's message is simple. [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/funny-pictures-cat-promises-cheeseburgers-for-all.jpg[/IMG] I don't know why, but I really laughed at that. [IMG]http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/funny-pictures-bobcat-prefers-to-be-called-robert.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/SIZE]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]KEANU REAVES!!!! IT HAS TO BE KEANU REAVES!!!![/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]:animesmil No matter how hard I try, I actually just can't picture that at all. Given how wooden his performances tend to be, maybe he should play Dr. Gero, I'm sure Hollywood could age him appropriately. I definitely want Morgan Freeman as King Kai though, that'd be awesome. ^_^[/SIZE]

[quote name='The13thMan'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]I'll let you probe me if you let me probe you. ;D[/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Moving swiftly onwards. :animesmil[/SIZE] [quote name='The13thMan'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]The keyword in my question to you was "think." What do you [B]think [/B]their intentions would be? Whenever a person doesn't have an opinion on something it's usually simply because they haven't thought about it enough. The amount of information you have on the subject is (to a point) irrelevant. But no, if you haven't got any opinion at all on it i don't want you to force one. I was just curious what you thought. By the way, you're taking a very agnostic approach to this alien stuff. [/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]It's not that I haven't thought about it enough 13th, it's simply I don't feel that I could make any kind of reasonable guess at what extra-terrestrial intentions towards Earth would be. The fact is there's just too many factors to take into account. I mean one could take the line, if they're advanced enough to have interplanetary travel capabilities, then they must be peaceful. But that's countered completely by the fact that the vast majority of human technological progress has been made in times of war, so that could equally imply that they might be a conquering power. You also have the level of individuality in their society to take into account. For example if they are insect, or similarly derived, you're talking about a tiny minority of the population controlling the species to action, who would not have any consideration of humanity's individual rights before the welfare of the whole. Of course they could also be the complete opposite whereby you reach catastrophic levels of bureaucracy in trying to accomodate everyone's civil opinion on an issue, i.e. extreme democracy where literally everyone has a valid opinion. Aging, religious, economic, gender, biological, technological factors could all equally play a valid role if we are to assume alien species have the same levels of individuality that humans demonstrate (as opposed to an insect hive). As I said, I'm not dancing around the question, it's simply a case they could be anything at all. I would hope, and I'm afraid this is as close to an answer you're going to get from me, that any extra-terrestrials who visit Earth would be peaceful and interested in trade and cultural exchanges. My biggest fear would be in that situation that humanity in it's infinite wisdom would react with the same kind of fear of the unknown that it usually does and take hostile action because of xenophobia. Oh, and could you explain what you meant by "agnostic" ? I believe they exist, I just don't know where or what they are.[/SIZE]

[quote name='The13thMan'][FONT="Trebuchet MS"]To gavin: Well, you kept saying that it depended upon their intentions. I guess the next logical question is, what do you think their intentions would be? Keep in mind that copping out by saying, "Oh, there is no way I could ever know!" is totally lame. [/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]13th, no offense but asking me what I think the intentions of the extra-terrestrials that might visit this planet is obviously impossible to answer. Anything I say is based on pure [b]human[/b] speculation which of course runs completely counter to the term [B]alien[/B]. It could be anything realistically, and would again depend entirely on how they view us and our planet, i.e. allies/resources/trash/whatever. It's not a cop-out, it's simply a question I cannot answer, unless of course you're implying I'm actually an alien sent here to observe mankind, in which case you are going to be probed for my amusement at some point in the future. :p[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Been a while since this thread cropped up. Suppose I'll break up your questions 13th and answer them individually. [B]What do you guys think about aliens? [/B] Way too vague to answer. [B]Do you think we've been visitied? [/B] Honestly, I don't know. All manner of scenarios are possible, some more probable than others. It boils down likely in my mind that we either have been visited and are being studied/observed for the moment or that we have not been visited at all. I genuinely believe actual alien communication would not be something any government would be able to keep secret. [B]Do you think they exist? [/B] This should really have been the first question given. Short answer is yes, based simply on the enourmity of the universe, logic and probability. It is nothing short of extreme arrogance to believe we are the only intelligent species in existence. [B]Would you like them to visit us if they do exist? [/B] It would depend on their intentions, obviously if they were coming here to enslave or exterminate mankind then of course the answer is no. However if they came in peace then of course the answer is yes. Funny thiNG is, I wonder how they would react to us. [B]What sort of crazy alien technologies do you think their could be? [/B] Anything and everything to give another short answer, depending on their level of advancement it literally could be our wildest dreams. [B]Would you be one of the crazy people protesting at the top of a NYC building like in Independence Day (waiting to get vaporized)? [/B] As far as I remember, they were welcoming the aliens weren't they ? Either way if they were coming in peace, I'd welcome them with open arms, but then I'm a pan-globalist, so integration into a larger galactic/universal community would be the next step. [B]Do aliens frighten you? [/B] Again depends on intentions, and I'm sure some of them could look pretty frightening depending on origins for example insects, but generally speaking, no.[/SIZE]