eleanor

[QUOTE=The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic] What on earth should i get my girlfriend for christmas!? Agh! I don't know what to do!! I pretty much never had a gf around christmas time before. I rarely ever get anybody gifts and i...i just don't know. So i figured i'd ask all you savvy fellows. What have you gotten for your significant others? What did you get for them this year? If you're a girl what do you want from you guy and vice versa? Ok well...i don't really want anything in particular from my girlfriend except to spend time with her. I go to college about 3 hours away and we don't often get to see each other. This christmas break i have nearly a month off, and i just want to be with her for most of it. But past that, i suppose she could get me something for my guitar. ^L^ Nothing too expensive though. Ah, and of course, she could always get me something like sexy lingre. Haha, but that's just a joke...for now. o_o (hopefully she doesn't read this, as she knows i go to this message board(oh and so you know, she'd be the one wearing it)). Anything she gets me would be great though, cuz it'll be from her and it'll remind me of her, whatever it is. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] What type of girl is she?[/color]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']I shook Barack Obama's hand twice and had a conversation with him a few weeks back. My dad's a public official, so we got to talk to him after the speech he gave. He's a great guy (and a Columbia alum! It's where I'm headed for college next year!).[/size][/quote] [color=dimgray] Awesome job, man! Columbia is one of my reach schools. Congrats on that. Props on your signature, too. Possibly the only Shakespeare line I ever thought to memorize. Er, back on topic. I've never met anyone famous... but my sister goes to NYU and she's met several (i.e. JON STEWART, John Mayer). She's had a bazillion celebrity "sightings" like Jessica Alba, Meg Ryan, etc. She's met Orson Scott Card and Jonathan Safran Foer, too. Not celebrities, but they're cooler anyway.[/color]

[quote name='lostvoice']He's not a good teacher, ok? In fact if I knew he was the debate teacher I wouldn't have joined. If it helps the paper he gave us with the topics said: Should human cloning be banned? We're acually writing nine persuasiv e essays for this ****ing class. I'm way behind.[/quote] [color=dimgray] If it's a paper, then you can stop worrying and pick a topic out of a hat. I was under the impression you would actually have a oral debate on this. If you're neutral, then you don't care what side you get, right? [/color]

[quote name='lostvoice']Ok that makes sense but the religion thing dosen't. If god doesn't want it to happen than he would stop it but he allows us to so what does that mean?(Both kittens and sheep have been successfully cloned.)[/quote] [color=dimgray] This is what I'm talking about. This debate goes nowhere, and hypothetical questions like these don't belong in a true debate tournament/forum.[/color]

[color=dimgray]Debating over the clone issue in a classroom would be tough. It brings up the old science vs. moral/faith argument, which is a lose-lose situation to begin with. If you're just looking to pick a side, I say go with your instinct. When you think "human clones", do you think positive or negative? I know you said you're neutral, but just try it. [/color]

[color=dimgray]I made this thread for all the OBers who enjoy taking on crafts projects, such as dolls, toys, etc. :) I'm making a bunch of small Totoro plushies to give to my friend at Christmas: [img]http://xs410.xs.to/xs410/06501/tothos.png[/img] I got the pattern from [url="http://www.ufocatcher.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31"]here[/url], and they're quite easy to make. I was a total newbie when it came to sewing, but after the first two (which were nothing short of a disaster) I got the hang of it. Feel free to post any pictures of your lastest projects![/color]

[QUOTE=Ikillion][color=#d2b43b][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS] I [U][I]swear[/I][/U] that the moment that I start seeing Yaoi pairing in this series I will probably die on the inside. Yet I have a feeling that most fangirls have already planned / written many of them.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] :p Avatar is the most un-slashable fandom ever, lol. Zuko/Aang is just [i]bleh[/i] because of the ages and Zuko/Sokka makes no sense whatsoever. Not to mention Zuko/Jet, which is seriously... I don't even know. Earth King/Bosco=OTP.[/color]

[QUOTE=White][COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]I'll tell you what I do. Step 1) Walk up to the girl. Step 2) Say to her "Hey, would you like to see a movie sometime?" Step 3) ...well that's it, actually.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] We should end the thread now.[/color]

[color=dimgray] The US is still a patriarchal society at its core. I could list tons of examples: 1) "Father passing on his daughter" during marriages. 2) If a boat is about to sink, women and children would still probably be the first to get on the safety boats. Or at least it would be the "right" thing to do in today's society. 3) The military is made up mostly of guys. 4) I could go on, but I won't. This whole culture won't end until women actually start thinking/acting like true equals. As in, we can't expect guys to not hit a girl or be pampered. When you're outside in the cold, you can't expect the guy to take his coat off and give it to you. Do I think this? No, I'm still pretty traditional, but it's just my theory. I have no doubt that this will change, albeit slowly, but for now it's the norm. [/color]

[quote name='lostvoice']But if I was a guy it'd be different, wouldn't it? Why is that? It's ok if your a gay female but a gay male isn't accepted around other males?[/quote] [color=dimgray]And so the slash fandom was born. :D So how old are you, anyway?[/color]

[QUOTE=Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86]I don't really understand the legal system that much, but surely they should be sueing Nintendo of Japan for developing it, rather than Nintendo of America for distributing it? Either way, I seriously doubt they'll get anywhere much. If anything, it's just going to boost Wii sales as people start worrying that it'll get taken off the market.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Actually, I doubt that this will even get much media. But I didn't understand why they were suing Nintendo of America rather than NoJ... maybe it has to do with nation borders or something. At most, Nintendo will hush them up with money.[/color]

[QUOTE=ForgotteÑ-HerÖ]Zuko and Katara are blech! Go Katang![/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Oh god, no shipping wars, please. [/color]

[color=dimgray] I doubt that the Wii will be taken off the market, but that's the only thought I have over the matter because we don't know enough about the matter. Unless someone here has an extensive knowledge on wireless point navigation. P:[/color]

[color=dimgray] Oh, Wii. Why are you so damn hard to find. I'm really glad to here that Wii is doing so well in sales. People in my area are still sleeping at major retailers whenever a shipment is due, so I haven't been to get one yet. >_> Fortunately, my sister lives in Manhatten and I'm asking her to try and get one from the Nintendo World Store. :] I never expected the Wii to have this much hype/demand (which was possible stupid of me), but I hope it has lasting power, too. [/color]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Which would be an excellent idea except for one small problem that needs to be noted [spoiler]Zuko betrayed his own uncle in favor of his father's love and attacked Aang and Katara. He's teamed up with Azula now and she's taken over Ba Sing Se[/spoiler] So I think think that takes Zuko out of the running.[/color'][/font][/quote] [color=dimgray] [spoiler] I definitely wouldn't count Zuko out. Sure, he made a bad decision, but he's got more depth than to just follow Azula around. He did have qualms over his betrayal, and hopefully the creators will flesh it out next season.[/spoiler][/color] [quote=whiteblaze]I'd have to say that even though I'm dissapointed with Zuko's decision, this makes me like him even more. I want more than before for him to find happiness because he's such a mixed up kid! [spoiler]As you guys have mentioned before, he had to go and betray the one person alive that he knows loves him and understands him more than any one. [/quote] [color=dimgray] Same here! I thought Zuko's decision made him more realistic and deep as a character, although narrative-wise, I didn't enjoy how the creators planned out the decision. I don't think he's evil, either. Even when he was a kid, he had reservations and sympathy, and the things he's done have been in the name of restoring his father's acceptance. It's too easy to just label him as an evil guy.[/spoiler][/color]

[QUOTE=Bláse][size=1][color=slategray]After seeing what happens to Barbies in a microwave, I'm pretty sure I can only imagine what a baby in a mircrowave looks like. (The name China just reminds me of gina. >>)[/color][/size][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Yeah, the first thing I thought of was how long it took the baby to die. Hopefully, not too long. [/color]

[color=dimgray] Gotta agree with xmystic_silverx and medafunk on Avatar's humor. It's so classic and well-done. That's what I love about good kids' shows- they can be just as entertaining as any other show and be good about it. I'm thinking about buying Avatar on DVD, which is huge for me, because I rarely ever buy DVDs. I guess I like the show that much. P:[/color]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Like the title says... Lately I've been reading a lot of stuff by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami][u]Haruki Murakami[/u][/url]. I love his writing style, the themes he addresses, everything. Most of his work seems to have some kind of magical realism element to it (which is also something that appeals to me). If you were interested in his stuff, I would suggest starting with [b]Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World[/b], since it's compact and especially well-structured. [/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Mm. I really need to get a move on and read more of his stuff. I liked [b]Kafka on the Shore[/b], so I'll probably go out and get either [b]The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle[/b] or [b]Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World[/b]. Though I did have some problems over [b]Kafka on the Shore[/b], probably because all of the metaphysical stuff just didn't appeal that much to me. But if you like magical realism, my strong suggestion to you is to read [b]100 Years of Solitude[/b] by Gabriel García Márquez, who basically made magical realism mainstream. I will love him forever. [quote name='Shinmaru']Today I finished The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. It's about 4/5 Vietnam-related short stories and 1/5 an examination of storytelling methods that blur the line between truth and fiction in order to strike a greater emotional truth. It's far more interesting than I probably made it sound there lol.[/quote] I read the short story version of [b]The Things They Carried[/b], which I really loved. Is the book worth buying or should I just borrow it? I'm incredibly fussy about books, so a lot of times I end up buying novels and end up not liking them. >_> Right now in my language class we're reading [b]The Scarlet Letter[/b] by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I'm definitely not a fan of romantic literature, but it's coming along nicely enough. I'm only on chapter 5, so it's still too early to tell if I really like it or not. But when I have some free time, I really want to read some stuff by David Sedaris. I've read a couple of his personal narratives and they're great, so I'm going to borrow [b]Me Talk Pretty One Day[/b] from my friend when she's done reading it. :animesigh I've got this huge list of books I want to read, but I never get around to it. [/color]

[color=dimgray] Al . [/color]

[QUOTE=Syk3] Rock Lee is by far my favorite character for the extent to which he always pushes himself at every task, which I find very inspiring. He's also damn cool for keeping up with everyone just by using taijutsu. [/QUOTE] [color=dimgray]Another Gai-fan! :D I don't think anyone in Naruto is actually [i]cooler[/i] than Gai. Better characters, yes, but cool-factor? Nah. In other news... the announcement of fillers ending next spring have come a bit too late for me. >_> The fillers and the manga slump have made me lose a good bit of interest in the series. Hopefully the true episodes will get me back on board. Imagining the amazing fight scenes that can come from the [spoiler] Saving Gaara[/spoiler] arc make my toes tingle. And just seeing timejump!Naruto and Sakura. :] [/color]

[QUOTE=xmystic_silverx]I agree. [spoiler]When you see him smiling you're thinking that he's starting to change and in my mind I was definitely thinking that he was going to join Aang and his group and even more so after the scene with Katara in the cave. It confused me the whole time! I couldn't believe that he actually listened to his psychotic sister over his uncle who loves him like his own son. The majority of the time I was thinking that Zuko just [i]had[/i] to be playing along and was actually going to pick Aang's side. Sadly, it didn't turn out that way. I understand that his father's approval is something he really strives for but what has his father given him? After everything he has put him through he still wants to be loved by him? It's kinda like "Come on Zuko, catch a clue!"[/spoiler][/quote] [color=dimgray] [spoiler] Haha, same here. The entire time, I was just "Zukoyoubetterhavesomethingupyoursleeve". [/spoiler] I definitely understand where you're coming from. I take into consideration all the hard times Zuko has been through and the fact that he's only a teenager, which alone explain a lot. But the makings of his character is one that is not easily likable. He's unstable, and prone to let emotion act instead of logic. I tend to see this huge similarity between Zuko and Sasuke from Naruto, if that helps you in any way. Both are tormented by a victory that, in the end, will do nothing for them. It makes for a great character (if done well, which in both cases I believe they are), but it also makes for an unlikable one. [/color] [quote name='xmystic_silverx][spoiler']Zuko noticed that dissappointment and I think that its going to trigger something. Hopefully. I would be awfully sad if Zuko says on his sister's side throughout the rest of the series.[/spoiler][/quote] [color=dimgray] Yup, yup! :) Season three is going to be [i]killer[/i], which all these possiblities floating about. [spoiler] I was just thinking how *amazing* a conflict it would be if Iroh died because of Zuko's decision. I would love and hate for it to happen. Iroh is my favorite character, but the struggle Zuko would face would be such an amazing jolt to his character.[/spoiler][/color]

[color=dimgray] Watched the season finale. My thoughts: [spoiler] After it finished I was just in a state of shock. I was angry/confused/sad over Zuko's decision and my fangirl side took over. At first I thought it was a ****** move by the writers. How does an entire season of character development go down the drain in two minutes? Why did they even bother? But I've made some amendments to my opinion. I'm still upset over the execution of the whole episode. Firstly, happy and contented and smiling Zuko was just [i]bad[/i], because it was way too sudden and unexpected. Then, the writers/creators miss the crucial moment and Zuko decides to listen to AZULA. What? Zuko is many things, but he's not that stupid. Yeah, his drive to earn his father's approval is a huge part of him, but seriously! But then again, his decision, if dealt with well in season three, could be an amazing bit of character development. We all know that deep down, he knows Iroh loves him, but he [i]needs[/i] that approval from his father. And at the same time it kills him that he betrayed Iroh. Oh, the possibilites! And Zuko has to decide on his own. If Iroh lives up to being the wisest character on Avatar, he'll realize that Zuko must go through with his "crossroads" with himself only. Iroh's pushing during season two helped Zuko, but it was because there were no real temptations along the way (other than the Appa incident). So... I still love Zuko. Grudgingly. Aang's visit with the Guru was a bit underwhelming. I was expecting some information that would reveal more about the Avatar, but it was just the chakra lessons. Toph is made of awesome. Katara was incredibly OOC (I was mentally screaming at Katara when she was about to use that special water on Zuko), and Sokka was just sort of there. But the character I want to hug the most right now is Iroh. His dissappointment in Zuko must so massive... it's heartbreaking to think about. [/spoiler][/color]

[color=dimgray] The problem I have with Zutara is that it's so sudden. There's been almost no building of their relationship, and then they're going to fall in love [spoiler] in a cave?[/spoiler] Eh. Hopefully it will just start off from there and build up to love. But on the topic of character... Aang is my favorite. I love the whole "too young to be a hero" aspect of him, and he's such a lovable little guy. :] Second is a three-way tie between Zuko, Uncle Iroh, and Appa. Who, by the way, is THE BEST FICTIONAL ANIMAL EVAR OMG. Except maybe Totoro. I never saw Katara/Aang really happening, either, and I sort of prefer it that way as well. I rarely like having main characters be involved in a romantic relationship. I guess it has to do with the whole sacrificial, struggling aspect I like so much about protagonists. >_> [spoiler] Feel bad for Sokka, though, seeing as Yue became a spirit and as far as we know, Suki might be dead. :[[/spoiler] I actually like all of the characters, except Azula and her two buddies. They're not characteristically stimulating at all, and Ty Lee needs to go back to the circus.[/color]

[color=dimgray] So. I am an Avatard, and I know there are more of you out there, dammit. >_> The last thread about Avatar was in '05 and it wasn't really about the show itself, so I decided to make one. And I do believe it belongs in the Music, Movies & TV forum simply because 'anime' means Japanese cartoons, and obviously Avatar is made in the US. But it the mod thinks otherwise I apologise in advance. I hope the debate over whether or not it is 'anime' never comes up, because it really doesn't matter. I'm willing to say that Avatar is one of the best animated shows out right now, American or Asian. It's the classic adventure plotline with a truly appealing and fresh take, and it caters to people outside of the intended 9-11 age group as well. What I think is so great about it is that the creators have managed (very well so) to combine both new and old material and come up with something entertaining and original. The numerous influences from various Asian cultures, revitalizing the 'controlling the elements' cliché... all that stuff just makes it a cool show. Animation is clean and of great quality compared to some of the other stuff out there. The fight scenes (the episode The Blue Spirit comes to mind) and any show of extensive bending are all fluid and not the usual framed scene with lines in the background stuff you usually get. The plot is well planned out, the settings are great, the characters are likable, it's funny and serious and emotional, and all that good stuff. #_# I love this show so much. Not to say that it doesn't have its down sides. Some of the episodes are boring, it can be cheesy (hey, it's still a kid's show at heart), animation is sloppy sometimes, yadda yadda. But I think the good far outweight the bad. And to end my overly long post, I am obsessing over watching the season finale tomorrow night. [spoiler]Even though I still think Zutara is incredibly random and shouldn't just happen in one episode. >_>[/spoiler][/color]

[QUOTE=Gavin][SIZE=1]God, I don't event know what each of them smell like, so I'll go with the soy one simply because I'm not a pork fan. By the way Chibi, if you want to note it in your sig, I happen to be a master of Irish Diplomacy, and [I]Malcom in the Middle[/I]'s Circle Game, but that's another story. [B]Laugh until you die from being unable to breath ?[/B] Or [B]Die because you're unable to laugh ?[/B][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [color=dimgray] Well, that was an easy one. P: Laugh until you die from being unable to breathe. [b]Eat a cockroach[/b] or [b]eat a butterfly[/b]? And you have to eat them live, mind you.[/color]