eleanor

[font="trebuchet ms"][size=4][COLOR=RED][b]SPOILER WARNING[/b][/COLOR][/size] This post is going to be [i]huge[/i] and [i]rambling[/i] because I'm so incredibly emotional now that the series is over.[/font] [quote name='Dagger']All done! Final time: 4 1/2 hours. Not too shabby. [B][COLOR="Red"]MAJOR SPOILERS[/COLOR][/B], of course. I absolutely loved every aspect of the book up until it became clear that [spoiler]Harry was not going to die.[/spoiler] After that it went a bit downhill for me. Nothing too disappointing, since it was right near the end anyway, but it's depressing to come away from a story I enjoyed so massively without totally digging the final act. The best parts were [spoiler]Snape's past[/spoiler] and [spoiler]Dobby's death.[/spoiler] I'd say more, but I'm a bit burned out at the moment. :animeswea ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"] I'd have to disagree. [spoiler]The entire series of Harry Potter revolves around the growth and maturity of the main character. It's rare that a modern epic goes on for this long- (7 full-length novels!), so wouldn't it be such a downer for him to die? When I first picked up the HP series and had read up to Half-Blood Prince, I didn't like Harry much as a character and I expected him to die as well. For two years I didn't touch the books, but when DH was announced, I reread the series to get familiar. For some reason I had a change of heart and Harry become, hands down, my favorite character of the series. At this point I didn't understand why people desired for Harry to die. Maybe it was the sense of completion and the fact that the door would be shut and his future wouldn't ruin our image of him. I wanted the exact opposite, because I loved him too much as a character and I wanted to see him haul through that last transformation and come back an amazing person that was still grounded in the world. I think JK Rowling performed it [i]beautifully[/i], and I've possibly become more fascinated by her writing than ever before. My sister said, before DH came out, that Rowling didn't have the balls to kill Harry. Contrary, I think Rowling had the balls to let Harry live. When Harry was walking towards Voldemort to face his death, I didn't have the slightest inclination that I would cry- I was too focused on what would happen to actually let what was happening sink in. But when Harry was surrounded by his parents and Remus and Sirius and he started talking with them, everything just sort of hit me and I had to stop a while to silent sob it out. The entire front of my shirt is wet and snotty because I was wiping my eyes and nose while trying to read on. But when Harry died I just immediately knew he was not really dead. I couldn't believe Rowling would take on a this huge journey, portray Dumbledore is such a cold manner, and then leave Harry to die. It would have to been pointless, because then death would still remain to everyone in the book the last journey, as something to be feared.

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]You don't know how much I hope that's true, [spoiler]but after the whole funeral thing, I can't imagine him making a resurrection, it'd be too Gandalf-ish.[/spoiler][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"]Lol, I think you misunderstood me. I'm quite certain that [spoiler]Dumbledore really is dead. I was just commenting on how it would be odd if Dumbledore hadn't died and the HP series ends with Harry still taking advice from Dumbledore. All mentors die one way or the other, so it'd be off if Dumbledore hadn't.[/spoiler][/font]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]No joke this time Dagger :p, I genuinely did assume there'd be a lot of advertising over this. But maybe that's because I'm not the Potter addict I used to be, seeing as they killed off my favourite character in the last book.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"] But wouldn't it be weird if [spoiler]Dumbledore hadn't died?[/spoiler][/font]

[quote name='han ki-tae'] You know something? I never had such a hard time with bodies before like I'm having now.... is anybody willing to share their expertise with me? The same goes for clothing... the difference is that I was never good at it hehehe [/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"] Nothing beats using models or reference pictures when it comes to anatomy or clothes. It's just something that comes with practice through observing other people or studying anatomy. Keeping a small sketchbook helps immensely, because you end up drawing the same thing over and over again until you get better at it.[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] How does everyone feel about the whole bittorrent issue? I've already downloaded it, but I have no plans to spoil it. Considering I've only read about three pages, there's nothing I really could spoil, anyway. I usually don't think about the illegality of it. Just because it's Harry Potter doesn't mean it's worse than downloading torrents of movies still in theatres or music, and my iTunes is pretty much 2/3 downloaded music. Of course I'm totally against spoiling, and I don't understand why people feel the need to do it. But I plan on going to the midnight release, because nothing beats holding the book in your hands and curling up with it. :)[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] To Asians I'd be a twinkie, which means an Asian who acts white. It's not really a term I appreciate, but I get labeled with it because all my friends are white. *shrug* My school is pretty much all-white, so it's not like I had a choice to make or anything. To others I'd probably be stereotyped as something like a preppy nerd, lol. At school I associate myself with students who take all honors/AP classes, and I dress with the times. It's hard to do this, because my high school is different from others. It's not really the preps, jocks, emos, etc., but it's cut off into smart people and stupid people, and then the subcategories continue from there. The one stereotyped look I could pull off with my wardrobe is a prep-look, as I plenty of clothes from stores like Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, A&F, etc. I've done it before, and I don't really get weird looks from my friends or other students. [/font]

[quote name='han ki-tae']L love your MANWA style. I'll be back with my post. Claimed!!!! Here I am 3 hrs later.... i was trying to color but I cant keep my eyes open any longer.... I really loved the outfits..... I hope you guys like my character this time...[/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"] [b]edit again[/b]: And I come back with a sketch anyways. :0 [img]http://xs217.xs.to/xs217/07295/Image2.png[/img] Lunox's generic character #2: [img]http://xs217.xs.to/xs217/07295/dmc2.png [/img] If someone colors him, the only thing I require is that he has red hair. [b]end edit[/b] [b]edit[/b]: I'll have to take this back. I have no art programs whatsoever on my computer right now, but I hope someone else continues this. [b]end edit[/b] =__= Is consecutive claiming allowed? I really want to draw your character, han ki-tae. And I love your rendition! :) I'll try and improve my coloring this time around.[/font]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']I'm not really saying we should only pay attention to the hugest catastrophes, or that what happens is some how lessened because something larger has happened. At the heart of it, what I meant to say was that we should never forget human suffering just because it falls off the front page. I also urge people to constantly understand the scope of it all, and I know that's basically impossible, but we should at least try to know that humans all over the world feel the exact feeling of loss.[/size][/quote] [font="trebuchet ms"] Like most things, my position on this is in the middle. We shouldn't forget about things when it falls off the front page, and it would be great if people could always consider the scope of tragedies in the world, but it's an unreachable goal. I'll use 9/11 as an example. You wrote earlier that the number of people who died during 9/11 doesn't come close to the civilian casualties in the Middle East, and that's true. But empathy and compassion are two very different things. While most people strive to be compassionate when it comes to things like 9/11 or the tsunami, it is impossible for them to really understand it unless they've gone through it, and therefore they can't force themselves to care about it forever. Whenever someone is observing from a distant third party, it's easy to take into consideration the greater disasters that have taken place. But when one really experiences any form of disaster, like an earthquake in Japan, it is very hard for them to be open-minded about it. People are ego-centric, and when something bad happens to them, it's all they think about. There are few people are truly empathetic, and of those fewer can actually view close events in consideration. When I tell myself there are children starving in Africa when I get aggravated over something, it helps for a few seconds, and then I forget about it. It's because I've never really gone through starvation, and I can't relate to it at all.[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] [url="http://nigoro.jp/game/rosecamellia/rosecamellia.php"]Rose & Camellia[/url]. To quote Kotaku: "This is Rose & Camellia. It's set in the 19th century. You play a woman. You slap other women. That's it." Greatest game ever. And very epic.[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] Here's G-tan. =_= I was planning to do a full-body picture later, but I suddenly got plans for tomorrow and I whipped this up in a jiffy. Hope you like it, Konata. [img]http://xs217.xs.to/xs217/07292/gtan.png[/img] My characters are attached to this post...take your pick! :)[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] Whatever character Konata puts up, I'll claim. :)[/font]

[quote name='Dagger'] Regular pears are okay, but Asian pears rock my palate. Also, clementines >>>>> every other kind of citrus. [/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"]My friends think I'm lying when I tell them there are Asian pears, lol. And melons.[/font]

[quote name='Ikillion'][COLOR=#5d0b08][SIZE="1"][FONT="Trebuchet MS"] [spoiler]-Goes back to eyegasming from Grimmjow's release now [/spoiler][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [font="trebuchet ms"] [spoiler]Bleach villains > Naruto villains.[/spoiler] 362: [spoiler]I lol'd when Deidara started getting angry about Itachi and Sasuke not appreciating his art, and at Sasuke's drugged/slightly deformed expression after Deidara's chest semi-exploded into a mouth. I have no idea what Sasuke is going to pull now. There can only be so many genius miracles in a fight before it gets old. Perhaps deus ex machina? :L[/spoiler][/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] A perfect peach beats it all, hands down. Not the kind you get in groceries, or even a whole foods/farmers market, but the one you find getting sold on the side of the road when you're out in the middle of northern Georgia. So, so amazing.[/font]

[font="trebuchet ms"] I actually think this is hard, because you have to choose from old school and new school anime. P: * (Can we put multiple characters from the same anime? Because, like, DBZ is insane like that. +_+) 1) Goku (Dragonball Z) 2) Alucard (Hellsing) 3) Luffy (One Piece) 4) Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin) 5) Uchiha Itachi (Naruto) 6) Kenshiro (North Star) [strike]7)ASH KETCHUM lol[/strike][/font]

[quote name='Break'] Anyway... the whole issue [b]is[/b] rather sexist, I do agree. Lunox, you seem to be pretty hardline though - do you really think teenagers should have to live with the consequences of a stupid, drunken mistake for the rest of their lives? Forget about the child being in the hands of a minor for the second - what about the parent? Are you denouncing any person who makes mistakes...?[/QUOTE] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"]I did come on pretty strong, lol. But that's the thing, it's a stupid, drunken mistake. If they get pregnant and have an abortion, that should be their only break, [i]ever[/i]. Allowing people to have multiple abortions because of irresponsible mistakes would be mindblowingly stupid. Abortion is a serious thing. You are killing a future life, a possible human being. And while I may be pro-choice, it's ridiculous that teenagers don't use protection even when the have an active sex life. So I'm not denouncing teenagers who have sex responsibly and happen to get pregnant. I'm denouncing the stupid ones who don't take any precaution with it.[/FONT]

[color=dimgray] I PASSED THE AP PHYSICS EXAM. 8/10. [/color]

[quote name='Sara'][color=#db2007] And while I don't think that I've ever heard anyone say "pregnancy is punishment" in so many words (because pregnancy is actually a wonderful, blessed, miraculous gift from God), I can't count the number of times I've heard "Well, it's her fault, and those are the consequences," and probably more damning things as well. If you actually approached almost anyone and said, "So, you consider pregnancy a just punishment for having sex?" they'd immediately shy away from the word [i]punishment[/i]... but how they consciously word their belief doesn't change what it comes down to at the end of the day.[/color][/QUOTE] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"] That was part of what I was trying to say in my post. While pregnancy as punishment [i]sounds[/i] ridiculous, it's the underlying moral. But it doesn't mean it's the only thing going on in people's heads. Morals change, and even if this Christian-inspired is the root, it will soon fade away and the whole thing will be replaced with something like dealing with your own consequences. The fact that this change is probably only being made because we don't want to sound like hard ***** doesn't make it less significant. Also, the whole thing is so sexist. Somehow it's the woman's fault that she got pregnant, not the guy. I hate it when people become blithering idiots about it, saying stuff like "she seduced ___" or whatever, because it's seriously a bunch of BS.[/font]

[quote name='Sara'][color=#db2007]Growing up in a small, highly conservative Christian community (where almost [i]everyone[/i] favors the above), I can tell you what I've noticed about this. It comes down to this, really: In the minds of many (perhaps subconsiously, perhaps not), carrying, giving birth, and caring for the infant once it is born [b]are considered punishment[/b]. They are [i]consequences.[/i] Because women [i]aren't supposed to have sex[/i] for anything but procreational purposes. [/color][/QUOTE] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"]I have a hard time believing that that mindset exists anywhere other than very small and conservative towns. Even though the whole 'women having more than one sexual partner makes the woman a whore or a slut when it's okay for men' mindset still exists, I think the pregnancy as punishment mindset has faded for the majority of people. But I won't deny your argument, because it's still very valid in the most basic level: "...and if women have sex they deserve the punishment that goes with it." Sex control has more or less become accepted, so if you put in the word 'irresponsibly' after 'sex', then you probably hit the underlying moral in the whole debate. In addition, though, I think for many people it boils down to free will, which is what western culture is largely about. When a woman becomes pregnant because she decides to have sex with another man, it's her decision. Therefore, it's her problem when she gets pregnant. Rape is another matter, since the women did not ever decided to have sex with the rapist, and was forced. And incest, well. It boils down to whether people want more mentally handicapped kids in the world. Pretty much the same concept as Sara's point, but it's probably the argument most supported by people because they don't want to come off as radical, uber-conservative Christians. [/font]

[quote name='Tempest'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Pro-choice. I strongly support abortion is consideration that we're human and at times we may mess up. That drunken one night stand may not be one of those you can just turn aside. I think that if a woman gets pregent then its in her own morals to decide weither or not to keep the baby. And I find a small bit of comfert in that if I ever mess up bad enough that I get pregent before I want to then theres a place that I can go. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [FONT="Trebuchet MS"]That's the kind of thing that always makes me question my support for pro-choice/abortion. Why should a future human die because two people acted irresponsibly and can't take the consequences? The point of making mistakes is to deal with the aftermath, and it's wholly possible that some people won't even take precautions if abortion is legalized. If a woman who has sex responsibly and by some slim chance gets pregnant, then I believe it's within her moral scope to have an abortion. But when a bunch of stupid teenagers get drunk and decide to have sex and get pregnant, it just pisses me off. The only thing stopping me from supporting fetal rights in these kind of cases is the kind of life the baby could have in the hands of a 16-year-old mother.[/font]

[color=dimgray] I don't think you have to worry, lol. The day World Religions becomes a mandatory class is a long way off.[/color]

[quote name='Premonition'][COLOR="Navy"] What does that have to do with anything? I enjoy learning about all cultures, just not all religions. The point is that you learn something! I don't want to learn about Buddhism unless I'm intrigued by it. I was intrigued and my questions were answered. I only care about my American roots but I put up with learning about India so I can live on with my life and go to college. But religion has nothing to do with my public life! I keep my religious actions personal and private. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Culture and religion are pretty much intertwined. Have your ever taken world history? It's inevitable that you learn some aspects of Hinduism or Buddhism or what have you. Saying you only want to learn something if you're intrigued by it defeats the whole purpose of education. I sure as hell didn't want to learn about physics, but I did. And seriously, US History is not that awesome. lol [/color]

[quote name='Darren']Eh, like I said... I'm just easily entertained, but I definately feel that the movies should be viewed as replacement, (for lack of a better word) not extensions... Because that's like you're always asking for more and it shocks me that you're so leniant with books-to-movies if you want to view them as extensions... That alwasy leads to dissapointment... And I know plenty of people who don't read the books who like the series, and last I heard, the movies are doing pretty well. [/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] I guess 'extension' is a bad word. :L I basically view the movies as a fun tidbit to tide fans over while they wait for the next book. I don't think the movies stand well alone, but to each his own. :)[/color] [quote=medafunk]While I won't deny that OotP wasn't exactly my favourite book of the series, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's "unbearable". I still love the book, and I honestly think that cutting it down to the "bulk of the story" really took a lot away from it's impact. My sister put it quite eloquently. This movie is good, but it lost a lot of the "heart" that was in the book. Which is because they had to cut so much out. With this movie, I have to say that I was disappointed that so much stuff was cut out, but I guess that's just the way it has to be.[/quote] [color=dimgray] OotP is one of my favorites out of the book series, so I guess I was tough on the movie. I agree with your sister, though. There wasn't a moving sincerity in Harry's friendships (both new and old), and most of the time I felt emotionally unaffected. [/color] [quote name='medafunk]I have to say that I wasn't crazy about the [spoiler']Cho giving away the DA thing either. I mean, if she was forced to do it with Veritaserum, then she and Harry could get back together, right? I think it would have been better if they had just made her do it voluntarily, because then there would be reason for them breaking up...[/spoiler][/quote] [color=dimgray] [spoiler]I don't think they wanted to cast Cho as this total *****, to say the least. She isn't in the books, so I think they dealt with it nicely. It provided a reason for them to stop seeing each other, as Harry assumed it was voluntary, but at the same time it didn't cast Cho as a villain. And by the time Cho was redeemed, I think Harry had too much on his mind to think about getting back together, lol.[/spoiler][/color]

[color=dimgray] I'd say a 6. Mostly because I haven't slept in a long time: I went to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter, basically stayed up the whole night afterwards, and then immediately had to go to tutoring at 8 in the morning. My sister went to the mall and I walked around like a zombie the entire time. Then I took this odd hour-long nap, watched a really bad love scene from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and then logged onto OB. I just feel [i]weird[/i].[/color]

[quote name='Darren'] In my opinion, this is the only HP movie so far that out-does the book. And it's only downfall is that some of the aspects were changed. I don't know, maybe it's the differences that made the movie better. Maybe I'm just easily enterained or I just absolutely despise the 5th book. (both statements are true) But the point is that this movie is the one out of the series that strayed the farthest from the book, and that makes me a little nervous as to how it will affect the other two... [/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Definitely going to have to disagree there. I think the movie should be seen as extensions of the book, not replacements or equals. Alone, the movies aren't amazing or anything, they mostly play off the popularity of the book series. I think the content of the movie was great, just the storytelling wasn't. The choppy/sudden transitions between entire scenes were just disorienting to me... I guess some of the emotional moments really touched me, though, and I don't think the movie was a failure. As for the Cho thing, I was "huh?" but in the end didn't care. I think Cho will play a minor role in the 7th book, if not insignificant.[/color]