eleanor

[color=darkslateblue] I made two avatars for you if you wanted to use one of them. :3 The reason I didn't make a banner was because I wanted to ask if you minded having a different picture for it. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I have lots and lots of free time today, so I'll go on with FMA's flaws. [b]Lame writing[/b]: Most of the complaints I've heard about FMA's writing is that the writers were extremely sloppy and that there are tons of plot holes. If you want my opinion on plot holes, read my previous post about the first three flaws of FMA. As for the actual writing...it is any worse or better than typical better-than-average anime. I have yet to see an anime that does not have any cheesy stuff. Although FMA has some great lines in it as well...I loved them. :0 Especially [spoiler] Ed and Roy's conversation in episode 48.[/spoiler] [b]Poor planning of the last 20 episodes[/b]: Lalala! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and guess what? This often-heard complaint also goes in line with plot holes! I think I don't really need to expand on this more. The only thing I will add is that I liked the last 20 episodes. *shrug* [spoiler] Especially because you get to see lots of Hoenheim in one of the episodes. :3 I love Hoenheim very very much.[/spoiler] [b]No character development ("Ed does not develop")[/b]: *makes odd noise* I get confused when people say that there is no character development in FMA. I [i]will[/i] agree that some of the characters' developments are not as strong, but Ed? He definately has development. To get all down and dirty and literal, a dynamic character is many times defined as "constantly changing, even if it is small change". I can and will say that Ed's character stays [i]very[/i] static throughout the beginning of FMA. Of course, his reactions to certain things do change, but they're all within his 'character scope', if you will. His attitude stays the same throughout big chunks of FMA, but it slowly changes. Ed sort of wobbles around throughout much of the anime. Does different things now and then, but in the end stays the same person he always was (this is pertaining to most of FMA, not all of it). I heard something interesting that someone once brought up: "Ed's surroundings are always changing, so he holds on and he himself never really changes." This could certainly be taken into consideration. Ed pretty much stays the same for a huge chunk of the anime, with the exception that he 'wobbles' around. The real changes occur near the end. Is it huge and wonderous and painfully obvious? No. It is more subtle, but well done. (You can even tell in the art, as far as I can tell. Just look at his face and hair.) I believe a huge part of Ed is his obsession, and another part being that alchemy and science is the answer to [i]everything[/i]. He really takes the Law of Conservation to heart, and applies to things that aren't even related to alchemy. When his mother dies, he belives alchemy will solve the answer. When his brother is without a body, he believes alchemy will solve the problem. He obsessives over things that he deems are worthy things to obsess over: point in fact Al's problem, the search the philosopher's stone, etc. etc. His ambition/obsession could be part of why he's such a brilliant alchemist. The whole time, Ed is so determined to obtain his goals. I cannot spoiler anything, but I think I can safely say this: a major part of Ed's development comes about when his goals change. The major problem that could be said about Ed's character development is that most of it happens in the last few episodes. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Yeah, I knew about that (I also think the latter episodes sucked)...I just meant actually 're-create', as in what's happening with this PPGZ thing. :3 [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Yos! I had to make this announcement, because I am that obsessed: [spoiler] There is a big change Hughes will be in the 'other world' in the FMA movie! :D It was hinted at in this month's isssue of Newtype. There was a picture of Gracia as the landlady of Ed's house/place/wherever he lives, and it had a caption saying: "Who is that cool guy always chasing after her?" Ahhh...I hope it's Hughes. He's my favorite FMA character. [/spoiler] There were some really nice magazine scans about the FMA movie recently...you can find it here: [url]http://www.fullmetal-alchemist.com:81/forums/index.php?showtopic=4301[/url] :/ Unless that rule about linking to other forums is still in effect. If it is, I'll take the link down and attatch the pics. @ Dagger: I really don't understand why people wonder whether or not Envy is a girl or not...*he has no boobs* >_>[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] But...but...the PowerPuff Girls can't get any better than they already are! *teary eyes* This is like someone re-creating Dexter's Lab...[i]which shall never happen, because if it does, I will personally go to the idiot who wants to and beat him up.[/i] Ahem. Anyways. It does look pretty interesting...although Buttercup doesn't have black hair! *shriek* When I first heard this, I was pretty dissappointed, but I'm sure if it's done right...it could...be...good... :/ *mutter mutter* But knowing that the director of FMA is working on it is cool. :3 (I am such a FMA whore). [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I was bored and watching tv, so I decided to watch a full episode of FMA on Adult Swim. I was pretty curious as to how they would dub Envy's voice (it would be my first time hearing the English dub), and let me just say... I am very displeased. He sounds like a woman. The voice does not match...[i]at all[/i]. This is definately not a type of voice 'I could get used to'. I have no idea what they were thinking when they assigned that VA. Now I understand why fans get confused as to whether he is a woman or not. *sigh* Part of it is probably because I really, really liked Envy's original VA. It seemed perfect for Envy. :/ After listening to the English VAs for the longest period yet, I'm also displeased with the Fuhrer's voice and Al's. I loved the VAs of Tucker and Lust, though. :3 I've heard wonderous things of Vic's voicing of Ed, and it was pretty good. I still like the original, though. I tend to just like the Japanese VAs most of the time, except when it comes to Cowboy Bebop and .hack//SIGN. Another thing that bugged me was a dialogue. Um...just sort of...lame, I guess. Only at some points, though. Such as the dialogue between Al and Ed. *coughs* Yeah, anyway. Guilty secret: When I first saw this episode, I was hoping that Ed would [spoiler]make the stone right then and there[/spoiler]. *fiddles with thumbs* >_>[/color]

[i]I think the only thing I have difficulty with is that I want something to happen. I'm a person in one of those camps, you know?: A story is interesting when an ordinary person does something out of the ordinary. I want M. to...to put up with helping her husband and for her to get sick while he isn't and not have any help and then eventually just snap and do...something. And the ending just lends itself to that sort of thing.[/i] [color=darkslateblue] I slightly disagree. When I first read your story, Shin, it felt as if you were merely writing about Marion and things pertaining only to Marion. Would it be better if I called it character-driven? Ah, well. It would be very nice if you fleshed the story out a bit more, but I don't feel you really need a scene in which Marion snaps, or something dramatic happens to her. Your whole story gives the reader a decent amount of sense. Sense in that Marion is...depressed or at least very tired of her life. *shrug* I may be wrong. If you fleshed it out more and really get an accurate mood of how Marion is feeling, a dramatic scene is not necessary. Awesome job, though. :D I like your writing.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I usually read three or four books at a time, and right now I'm reading: 1) [b]All the King's Men[/b] by Robert Penn Warren. I [i]just[/i] started this book. As in, I've only read about twenty pages. It's pretty slow so far, but I'm determined to finish it. Summary: [i]"All the King's Men tells the story of Willie Stark, a southern-fried politician who builds support by appealing to the common man and playing dirty politics with the best of the back-room deal-makers. Though Stark quickly sheds his idealism, his right-hand man, Jack Burden -- who narrates the story -- retains it and proves to be a thorn in the new governor's side. Stark becomes a successful leader, but at a very high price, one that eventually costs him his life."[/i] [amazon.com] Everyone says it's amazing, so I'm going to stick with it. :3 2) [b]Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close[/b] by Jonathan Safran Foer. I seriously just fell in love with Jonathan Safran Foer after reading [b]Everything is Illuminated[/b], which, by the way, is an incredibly amazing novel. Everyone go read it. Anyways...in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the narrator is a nine-year-old by the name of Oskar Schell. His father was killed in the 9/11 tragedy, and left behind a 'mysterious' key to Oskar. So like any other kid...he goes around NYC looking for the lock to the key. Sounds dumb, but it's actually a good book. Foer uses literary gimmicks and photographs and all sorts of other things, which makes it an easy target for literary snobs, but I think it's very well-written. As far as I'm concerned, Foer is a comtemporary literary genius. His work in his first novel excited me to no end, and although his sophomore novel doesn't quite match up to his first, it is nonetheless good. Pros: Excellent prose (I LOVE this guy!), is hilarious at some points (although not as funny as Everything is Illuminated), Foer tackles themes such as love and truth and sentimentalism well, and the whole book just felt very tender and 'from-the-heart'. Cons: some of the characters are not that very well-developed, and in some cases, it's a love-or-hate relationship with Oskar. But the pros outweight the cons significantly. I believe half of the negative criticism against Foer is completely justified, while the other half seems to come out of some sort of jealousy. And who wouldn't be jealous of this guy? His writing is brilliant. Can you tell I love this guy? 3) [b]Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[/b] by Douglas Adam. Again. Only because the movie is coming out. I never thought the book was that hilarious when I first read it, but I decided to read it again to refresh my mind.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Nintendo isn't exactly doing super, but they're holding themselves together pretty darn well. All of my 'gamer' friends have the same attitude towards Nintendo: it's lame and all the games they put out are dumb, so Nintendo is going to 'die'. I find it hard to imagine a huge company like Nintendo falling, so... *shrug* I'm not exactly a huge gaming person... I only own about seven games, tops. But from all the things I've heard (whether or not they're accurate I'm not sure) Nintendo is the only company right now that is really experimenting and exploring. All the games from PS2 and XBox seem to be the same to me: something about some war, 'cool' graphics, or a plotline along the lines of 'cool guy goes and totally wipes out a bunch of bad guys'. Don't wail on me if PS2 and XBox are also putting out some original stuff (..except for their eyetoy or however it's called, and no, I don't count better graphics as really exploring/experimenting). If I'm wrong, I apologize. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I'm sure if you attatched your image to the thread, people would be glad to help you out. :)[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I recently bought a PS2 along with DDR and two dance pads (finally!), and I've made a resolve to play it at least an hour a day. >_> But my main question: How accurate is the 'workout mode' on DDR? When I check the daily workout results, it tells me I jogged about 2 miles, and I sort of don't believe it. :/ [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] The company that made Najica Blitz Tactics is known for putting panty scenes in everything they make. I'm pretty sure, anyway. And then the rest of the panty-stuff is a bunch of fanservice...*shrug* [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I don't know about other states, but Georgia has one of the dumbest school systems in the US. So whenever we take a standardized test, most of the people at my school (my high school is ranked number one or two) get great scores...but we're in Georgia. My friend from Texas laughs at our inability of educational process. This is the bad part of standardized tests. As for the SATs/ACTs, since they're all the same (am I right? I could be wrong), it's pretty cool. I took them in 7th grade and I got a 1250. Good? Bad? Most of the people at my school (at the time) who took the SATs in 7th grade for 1100+. Hm...maybe the SAT is too easy? And so...*dun dun dun* they made it harder! That is the...sort of good part of standardized tests... :/ So basically, standardized tests have a lame side and a good side, although many times one side outweighs the other. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Eh. I love literature, but I never really mind for knowing all aspects of the technical stuff. Her use of POV could be a little shaky if you thought about it, so I believe 'narration' would have been a better word. Just to make this not OT, Is anyone else excited about the FMA manga? :D Tons of people have told me that it's better than the anime because it gels slowly and has more character development/less plot holes. I'll be buying it when it comes out, anyway. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Holy monkies. :/ I thought Georgia was bad...most of the time our gas prices are 1.05/gallon. My mom told me once while we were driving that Georgia was sometimes 80 cents/gallon, and I flipped. [/color] [i]Another Solution: If we want gasoline prices to be low; we need to drill in Alaska and the Artics, heh. I don't see how a few drills and a really long pipe is going to have a "deadly effect on the enviroment" in those areas. Not like much lives in Antarctica anyway. Heck, we have penguins at Seaworld![/i] [color=darkslateblue] If you're talking about that nation refuge thing in Alaska...I think the Senate rejected the Democrats' attempt to stop the drilling, so the drilling in Alaska is on. I personally think it was a last resort, and that if we're going to have to open up a oil pipe line in a Nation Refuge, we should also be making some sort of effort to increase use of other energy sources. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Someone once gave me the link to that review, Azure. Your post basically summed up what I thought about it. Then there was the whole: "OooOOooo! I know literary terms! I am smart!' thing in the middle of the review. But I have to say that I agree with one point in her review: there are plot holes. I'm not sure she said anything specifically about plot holes, but she'd probably agree with there being plot holes anyway. But the main reason I got irritated by this review was because she went up against two of the strongest elements in FMA: Ed's character development and the themes of FMA. She clearly stated that Ed did not change at all and was still the same person he was from episode 1. Did she not watch the last twenty episodes? I could understand someone saying that Ed was [i]sort of[/i] a static character, but not changing at all? BS. Another point she brought up against FMA was that it would do anything to make its audience cry. This was the argument she made against FMA having too many themes. [/color] [i]Mass murder, chimeras, dying babies, there's nothing that Fullmetal Alchemist won't do to choke a tear out of you. As a fellow writer said, it wouldn't have been surprising if at the end they killed a puppy just for good measure. Rose's baby is a good example of this sort of ploy. It gets dangled, it cries, you wonder if it's going to live or die, but in the end you don't care anymore. There's only so much sensationalism that an anime can have before it stops being heavy, and starts becoming a chore. And what is the purpose of all this sadness? What is the theme it reveals?[/i] [color=darkslateblue](Ironically, none of the things she mentioned that was put into the series as a cry-factor were the things that actually made me cry.) And now that I think of it, no great literary work has ever just contained one theme. If you think about it, all the themes that FMA creates can only go under one category: life. Was the main theme (if there was one) a statement about life? Sure, why not? If the reviewer wasn't so focused on trying to discredit FMA, some of the arguments she made could have been written into something very, very interesting. Maybe if she looked back on it after a month or so, she could develop a great review. It had the potential.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] I've been mulling over my review I've written for FMA for several days now. While there are many good reviews of FMA floating around the internet, there is also a fair share of reviews that give FMA low ratings. And they're not flaming reviews that make no sense, they're all very well-written at least to some extent. So just to bring up discussion, I thought I'd point out some of the flaws of FMA that many people see/point out: Plot holes Quality, not quantity A rushed/crappy ending Lame writing Poor planning of the last 20 episodes No characters development The first half was amazing, but the second half sucked It has so much potential, but it bombed It's overhyped That's most of the major complaints, so I thought I'd take on three each post. [b]Plot holes[/b] -It's true. FMA has tons of plot holes. My opinion of plot holes: truly, I'm 50/50 on this topic. I either hate plot holes or don't mind them at all, it all depends on my opinion of the whole thing. My overall opinion of FMA is very good, so when it comes to plot holes, I don't mind that much. The plot holes in FMA are largely opinionated ones or ones that are subject to discussion. Seriously, once I heard someone complaining that "once Hawkeye shot her gun 6 times but there were 7 bullet holes! omg plot hole!" But also there are plot holes that really do matter, such as [spoiler] Wrath performing alchemy.[/spoiler] It all comes down to personal preference. I don't really care, since I get a good impression of FMA overall. [b]Quality, not quantity[/b] -So what was the [i]main[/i] theme of FMA? Many peoples' answer: "Who knows? There were too many jammed into the anime to begin with. Don't ask me what the main theme is." In all truth, [i]don't[/i] ask me what the main theme is. There's no way anybody other than the director could tell you precisely what it was. Perhaps that is what the FMA anime series was aiming for, and perhaps they were trying to get across a main theme and failed at doing it in a clear manner. What I do know is that there are tons of themes packed into the anime. Once again, personal preference. IMO, I don't think the number of themes in FMA really destroyed any of the quality. And I don't think that if FMA had tried to just get across one or two main themes, it would be any better or worse. I'm sure there are people who would have liked it if FMA concentrated on just several certain themes. All of this is very subjective, so I can't really say much. [b]A Rushed/Crappy Ending[/b] -A lot of fans dislike the ending. Why? I don't know. I've seen many people call it 'getting EVA-like'. I still don't understand what people would have [i]liked[/i] to seen. I thought the ending was good enough, although I seem to always like endings when everyone else hates them (i.e. I actually liked Evangelion's ending). Other people blame the bad ending on a sloppy last twenty-episodes. Once again, I go against most: I like the last twenty episodes best. And then there are the people who hated how the 'whole plot' was made up in the last three episodes. THIS is something I truly don't get. I thought the plot was about Ed and Al searching for the Philoshopher's Stone, not the story of [spoiler] Hoenheim, Dante, and Envy.[/spoiler] So before I even really say anything about this, I still need to know why fans were so dissappointed.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Yeah, the fight scenes in the beginning are definately more dull. I personally [i]hate[/i] still shots and motion lines, so I wasn't very impressed at the first half of FMA. And I'm also not saying that the latter half is chock-full of cool fight scenes. No way, lol. There's only two fight scenes in the whole series that I thought were 'cool', but they impressed me enough. And between those two, one of them isn't [i]that[/i] great. But the cool one is...pretty dang cool. :3 My favorites are in the openings/endings, which is the main reason I'm dissappointed that CN aren't playing them. In other news, an official release of some of the cast members for the FMA movie came out (it was released in the 2nd official movie pamphlet):[/color] [spoiler] - Paku Romi - Kugimiya Rie - Toyoguchi Megumi - Ookawa Tooru - Utsumi Kenji - Neya Michiko - Asou Miyoko - Tsukayama Masane The official roles have not been release, but if it is assumed that the voice-actors listed above are playing the same character, the confirmed characters include: Edward Elric, Alphonse Heiderich, Winry Rockbell, Roy Mustang, Alex Louis Armstrong, Riza Hawkeye, Pinako Rockbell, and Karl Haushofer. My opinion: I hope these aren't the [i]main[/i] characters. Although I am happy to see that Roy and Riza will be in it.[/spoiler]

[color=darkslateblue] :3 I didn't want to say it was perfect either, because of the ending (even though I loved it as well). I read your review on theOtaku.com, and I liked it. I agreed especially about your review of the artwork and animation quality. Another thing I liked about the artwork was that all the eyes/faces weren't same (Ed's eyes were different from Al's human-form eyes, Roy's eyes/face structure VS. Havoc's eye/face structure, Winry/Hawkeye, blah blah blah). :D Hooray for the FMA artists. And you added in something I forgot to talk about (>_>): the religious part!!!11!one For some reason, FMA just made its religious overlaps and themes so natural that I enjoyed it a lot. Ishbar people rock. More on the fight scenes...do you know any other anime that has similar fight scenes such as FMA? The moment I saw them, I wondered why other people haven't already thought of them. Whenever I'm drawing/making up animated scenes, the kind of fight scenes I make up are similar to FMA: fast, fluid, and sometimes with pretty cool angles. The first time I saw the fight scenes in the last opening, I had to watch it several times. And at that time, I haven't even seen all the fight scenes in the anime, since I was skipping what I thought I could so I could find out what happened (I went back and watched it fully later...pure heaven). P.S. Two peas in a pod? I never really understood when to use that saying... >_>;;[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] This part of the post is mainly for Azure: Nothing big, but I was watching the FMA Reflections Special (just thing one-hour thing wrapping up all the episodes and 'reflecting' on the big events) and the never-shown dialogue between [spoiler] Envy and Greed was played during the fight Ed and Greed had at Dante's house. Which sort of makes it...more official...dunno. *shrug*[/spoiler]. I was bored today after school, so I decided to write a review of FMA. :3 Tells you how bored I was and how much I like this series. Note: People who haven?t finished the series [i]can[/i] read this. Just MAKE SURE not to read the spoilers. And if you do, they?re nothing major. Well, the last one is major. So don?t read it if you don?t want to have anything spoiled. [b]Art[/b] ?A breath of fresh air, really. Ed?s character design is possibly genius, I love it [i]so[/i] much. He?s the best short, braid-wearing kid that came along since Duo? I?ve never seen such physical characteristics pulled off that well. As for the rest of the character, I can easily point out some repetitions. Hawkeye?s hair, Winry?s hair, and Al?s human-form hair all have that same ?point-out? bang, and Sergeant Broche?s frontal hair is basically the same as Ed?s (which in the end tarnished my wonderful view of Ed?s character design). But another thing I like about the art is that is retains its cartoonish feelings while still allowing the art to be appropriate for more serious scenes. As common in most anime, the beginning episodes have worse art than later on in the series. Overall, though, the art is nice. The animation quality is good as well. The fight scenes in the FMA scenes are among the best I?ve seen, the fight scenes shown in the opening/endings probably being the best. [b]Music[/b]- Typical anime background music (although the orchestral score can really add to the scenes in some episodes, i.e. episode 25), but it is still above average. Nothing that great about the background music, though. Of course, the opening/ending themes are a different story. All of the songs are at least enjoyable to most people. ?Ready Steady Go? by L?Arc~en~ciel, ?Rewrite? by Asian Kung-Foo Generation, ?Kesenai Tsumi? by Nana Kitade, ?Motherland? by Crystal Kay, ?I Will? by Soweru, ?Tobira no Mukou He? by YeLLOW Generation, ?UNDO? by Cool Joke, and ?Melissa? by Porno Graffitti are all songs that many different people can enjoy (the order you see is the ones I like best at beginning and so on). I liked ?Ready Steady Go? and ?Rewrite? enough to download them?and that?s an accomplishment. On the contrary, many of them are also forgettable. [b]Originality[/b]- If someone came up to me right now and asked me, ?Out of all the anime storylines/backgrounds you?ve heard/seen, which one is the most original??, FMA would definitely be up there. [i]Way[/i] up there. The storyline/background of FMA really just fascinates me. What I like best about it is that it has made the subject matter really come into its own. Personally, I cannot see anyone else creating another anime about alchemy. It could happen, of course. But not without tons of fans flaming it for copying FMA, even though that?s a dumb thing to do. [b]Storyline/Themes[/b]-I?ll spare the summary of the main storyline, if you really want one, go look it up on Google. As I obsessed before, the storyline of FMA is amazing. But?there is one thing that annoys me. :( [spoiler] I thought Homunculi needed ?souls? to do alchemy. Wrath could do alchemy?I was not aware that one leg and arm of a human gave Homunculi souls. O_o And the subplot with Frank Archer just annoyed me.[/spoiler] Other than that, I have no problems. The filler episodes are not tedious or boring, they fly by and it?s an appropriate amount. In fact, there really aren?t any filler episodes. In the end, you realize that all of the episodes are somehow connected and contribute something to the overall series. It all comes down to FMA?s epic. And the nature of FMA is just [i]dark[/i]. I don?t care what anyone else says, this is not one of your ?happy ending with lots of good advice meant for main-stream audiences? type of anime. Well, yes, it is main-stream, but the dark atmosphere that FMA carries throughout the series is fulfilled richly in the latter half. I swear, when I was nearing the final episodes, I was clawing my screen for at least one happy moment that lasted more than .04029 seconds. Other than that, many of the ?bad? things people bring up against the FMA storyline could easily be defended and/or argued. And then the themes. WOAH! Hold on a second! Good philosophy? Good Action? Good everything? In One Anime? *gasp* This=FMA. The themes in FMA run from brother love and friendship to revenge and evilness. FMA managed to pack in almost everything in a very fluid way and it in no way damaged the quality of the series. Action, drama, suspense, love, angst, philosophy, friendship, horror, humor, and everything else. Except for parody. But who need that stuff, eh? :3 [b]Characters[/b]- What can I say? I like all of the main characters in this series. Ed has become one of my favorite anime characters of all time. So have Hughes and Hoenheim. The relationship portrayed between Ed and Al is actually very, very touching at times, which really kills my heart*, because brotherly love is just one of those things that make me melt. The only problem I could point out is that Winry is actually a very bland and boring character. [b]Overall[/b]-Perfect? No. It?s pretty damn close. If I could wrap FMA into one word, I would call it brilliant. Pros: Excellent storyline, superb originality, brilliant portraying of so many philosophical themes and categories (action, philosophy, angst, etc. etc.), nice art and animation, likeable characters you can root for, and overall coolness. Cons: That one thing I mentioned about [spoiler]Wrath[/spoiler]. And um? ? Now that I look back on it, the latter half of the anime owns the first half so much that the first half looks bad compared to it. :D *dorky moment* *Which really, really, really, really killed me at the end of the series. [spoiler] I found it tragic that Ed had to give up the thing he valued most throughout the whole series: his relationship with Al. I got so teary during the final episodes. ;_; [/spoiler] And with said and done?I guess all of this was just another one of my rantings about how much I love FMA. And I look forward to everyone seeing the next two weeks' FMA shows, as they are pretty cool episodes. [/color]

[i]Last nights episode had what I would consider to be one of the coolest battle scenes I've ever seen in anime.[/i] [color=darkslateblue] It's really a shame that CN isn't playing all the openings/endings. The best fight scenes from FMA come from the openings/endings...the first time I saw one of them I had to go back and watch it again...and again...and maybe several more times after that. >_>;; I'm glad that the DVDs are showing them, though.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] :3 Thank you for all your help, but one of my techie friends came over...and did something (something magical, I tell you). *shrugs* I will forever be a novice in the area of hardware problems. I think Azure was correct about some program running in the background. :) Thanks![/color]

[i]My favorite book prior to this was The Phantom Tollbooth...[/i] [color=darkslateblue] Consider yourself amazingly cool. :3 I usually don't like fantasy books in general, but this book compelled me to at least give it a chance simply because I've heard many good things about it. I was happy that it wasn't one of those 'quest' stories, like LoTR, and the mix of well-researched historical fiction was a very nice element. And I must mention that I love the fact that it is a character-driven book. I love this stuff. Many of the characters were likeable, although I agree with Dagger on her thoughts about [spoiler] Jonathan's marriage and Arabella[/spoiler]. Another thing that was bittersweet with me were the billions of footnotes. I don't mind some footnotes now and then, but generally they get me irritated. But in this case, they managed to hold my attention and entertain me, although I still don't like footnotes (just something about having to go to the bottom of the page and read small fonts). I somehow managed to get past the first hundred pages (usually I only deal with slowness if the book is something I really want to read), and the pace evened out very nicely. The different stories were woven around each other with smoothness...and I love dark humor. :) I have gotten annoyed with the 'it's Harry Potter for adults' thing, I believe Clarke managed to make the book her own thing, even if some parts remind me of JK Rowling. Overall, a good book. Not really my type, but I still enjoyed reading it very much.[/color]

[color=darkslateblue] Ugh. THESE are the times when I start to hate protestors. [i]..."I cannot violate a court order," Bush said after attending Easter Sunday church services. "I don't have powers from the United States Constitution or -- for that matter from the Florida Constitution -- that would allow me to intervene after a decision has been made." To Terri Schiavo's parents -- who have said Bush should do more to help their daughter -- the governor said: "I can't. I'd love to, but I can't." The governor has been under public pressure from Bob and Mary Schindler, parents of the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman, and many religious groups to intervene further in the case... -CNN.com[/i] It makes me want to rip my hair out, really. We all know how much Terry's parents love her so, but when your own lawyer is telling you that it's over, you've been denied about 30 times, and you have to start pressuring your governor to go against the Constituion...argh. Another point that this brings up is whether or not Congress should intervene in leading the country's morals. Should they? NO. Now after this, there might be bunch of other people who go to federal government as a last resort and make silly deals out of situations like this. Politics have no place in areas such as this. [/color]

[color=darkslateblue] If you don't know what this case is about: [i]It's called MGM Studios vs Grokster, for short, and it's the appeal by the entertainment industry to reverse lower court decisions that sided with peer-to-peer file-sharing companies Grokster and StreamCast Networks (makers of Morpheus), saying neither company was liable for the actions of its users. On the MGM side you'll find representatives of most of the major entertainment food groups, including film, TV and the recording industry. And their argument pretty much hasn't changed since the RIAA went after the original Napster five years ago - that file-sharing is evil and any company that provides technology that allows one user to swap a copyrighted work with another should be smitten from the face of this earth. Meanwhile, on the P2P side, both Grokster and StreamCast are sticking by the argument that got them this far - that P2P file-sharing has legitimate, non-infringing uses and should not be exiled to the Phantom Zone just because a few people decide to take advantage of the technology to grab a few tunes and/or flicks for free. Of course, the rotten apples threatening to spoil the file-sharing bunch pretty much make up the majority of P2P usership. Most of the millions of users Grokster and StreamCast count as customers are hardly swapping photographs from their last summer vacations or distributing original songs cooked up in the garage. In fact, one of the entertainment industry's arguments against P2P companies goes along the lines that if P2P users weren't storing copyrighted material in their "shared" directories, file-sharing would hardly be the phenomena it is today. Meanwhile, as the clock ticks down to a Supreme decision, you can expect both sides to file briefs and issue statements claiming they're right and their opposition wrong. Like, for instance, the brief favoring the P2Ps recently filed by 17 computer science and engineering professors representing nine universities. The professors expressed concern the court might reinterpret the landmark 1984 Sony Betamax case that ruled Sony could not be held liable for any copyright infringing activities committed by users of the company's video cassette recorders, mainly because the Betamax had many non-infringing uses. Sound familiar? The brief also said a decision favoring the entertainment industry might hamper future technological development. "If this court should announce a more restrictive rule, those who create the latest advances in technology will halt or significantly scale back their work, for fear of massive copyright infringement damages," the professors stated. The nut of several of the technological companies' stance is that, before developing a new product, a company would have to examine any and all possible copyright infringing activities that might arise due to the existence of the product. In other words, the tech side of the argument fears the copyright liability burden will be placed squarely on their shoulders - a heavy weight, for sure. But the professors weren't the only ones filing briefs on the Grokster/StreamCast side. Several recording artists, including Chuck D, Heart and Sananda Maitreya (the artist formerly known as Terence Trent D'Arby), filed their own brief supporting the P2P companies. However, if there's anybody who knows how to shape opinion, it's the entertainment biz, and both the movie and recording industries answered the various P2P supporting briefs with a few of their own. In response to certain artists siding with Grokster and StreamCast, the Recording Artists' Coalition issued a statement saying that although the P2P-friendly artists were within their rights to express their opinions, "it is unfortunate when artists are seduced into believing that unauthorized P2P systems benefit our society and artists' careers." The RAC's statement, which was backed by a veritable who's who list of artists, also address claims made by what it calls "partisan advocates of P2P services" and disagrees with allegations that many artists are against new technologies, saying "nothing could be further from the truth." "The vast majority of recording artists welcome the day when P2P systems and other technologies offer uninhibited and direct distribution of their work to the public, while at the same time respecting artists' demands for fair remuneration for their work and respect for their rights." RAC's statement said. "We look forward to the upcoming debate, and are confident that once exposed to the facts, these artists will realize they have been used in an unseemly way to promote the interests of those who care the least about the well being of artists and our culture," Despite all the rhetoric from both sides, the issue before the Supreme Court is liability. If a person allows other people to download a copy of Million Dollar Baby from his or her hard drive, should the user be held liable, or should the blame be put on the company that manufactured and distributed the software that made such an infringement possible? That is what the Supreme Court will have to address come March 29th. [/i] -http://www.pollstar.com Mostly, I'm afraid that the Betamax case will be overturned (a case that protects technology (or any device) that can be used for copyright infringement, as long as it is used for substantial noninfringing purposes). If it is...I think I'll die. Wouldn't it mean that Apple and the iPod will sink? All file-sharing services will mostly die, not to mentions other things such as CD burners and all that good stuff. I haven't researched it thouroughly, so if anyone knows a lot about, I would love clarification. *o* [/color]