Roxie Faye

[color=#9933ff]Honestly, I can't believe some of you have a "so what, cry me a river attitude." That's horrible. Here, by the way, is the Wiki entry, for those who want to read: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy[/url] I think the cartoons were very offensive extremely inappropriate, and Chabichou said it best - they were lies about the prophet, and about Islam. Although they were meant as examples of free press, they're definitely INAPPROPRIATE on any level. If they were cartoons about Jesus on THAT level, you can bet that I would be flipping out worse than any of the Muslim countries, because I would find it extremely offensive to my religion. Unlike some of you insensitive jerks out there, I actually do cringe when people make distasteful political cartoons out of figures like Jesus, Muhammad, or even Buddha (and other religious icons). I find it to be in poor taste, because yes, it really could offend someone. You know the rule that in polite company you don't talk about 1) politics and 2) religion? Well I would like to apply that rule to making fun of these icons through pictures. Because seriously, you don't know who you could offend. But of course, why is it that people seemingly don't CARE about who they offend? It bothers me too, that EVERYONE in the world seems to be a self-centered, insensitive jerkface, not caring if the trodd on the fundamental beliefs of others. I mean, I obviously can't say that the artists don't have a right to draw those images, put them in the newspaper, and they don't deserve to go to jail over it, but it was in poor taste, no matter the point they were trying to make, and I don't get how anybody could not care if it was so offensive, or laugh it off, or respond with "cry me a river." I don't know how to express myself very well, but I'm just distraught that no one cares about offending others anymore. I mean, yes things like political correctness can get way out of hand, but I wish that people would just have a decent level of tolerance of others, and a consider how it would feel to be the other guy once in a while. I guess that I just wish people would be a little more moral? Is that what I'm asking for? I dunno, I think so. I don't think is was a good decision at all to publish these images, especially considering current events of today. I don't think it was smart to offend a group of people that the spotlight is on, right now. And I liked Bill Clinton's response to the images, too - "So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?" I think the removal of ambassadors was okay. You have to understand - these countries are not a foreign model of American democracy. Their way of life, and their government is centered around religion, like it or not, and of course their government is going to get upset if their religion is offended - that's expected, and anyone who thought their action was out of line - shame on you; you SHOULD HAVE, at least, [i]expected[/i] it. And, I even think that the protest of Danish products was a reasonable action. What did America do when France refused to join us in the war against Iraq? People were encouraged to stop buying French products, and they insisted on calling them "Freedom Fries" in the cafeterias on Washington, to send their message of distaste for the French's action. People do this stuff all the time, and I think it's fine. [size=1](heh, then again, I hate the French gov't. I spent ten minutes bashing their government and military today in English class, incidentally, just after Music Theory where I spent ten minutes rating about how non-html-standards compliant internet explorer was/how crappily it renders HTML, and telling everyone to use a diff. browser. *_* Okay okay, I'm shutting up! :X )[/size] I did read of a lot of violence incited in the Middle East because of the pictures - that is NOT okay, and in fact, makes Muslims out to be the very type of people depicted in those cartoons. Grow some common sense, and stop trying to bomb people - it's gotten you no where for HOW long? Do you think it's going to help now? I would also like to point out that I have seen here and there, a growing population of Muslims in Europe, and a shunting of these people by native Europeans; in short, anti-islamic sentiments, much like, historically, anti-semetic sentiments. For example, I believe, also, that a lot of the Muslims in France are the ones with the low jobs (not all, obviously, but a lot). You know, the UN, Europe, and England all pushed for the state of Israel not only because they felt sorry for the Jewish people and were sorry about the Holocaust (WHICH THEY WERE - Europe was definitely appalled by the Holocaust, and felt it to be sick and tragic), but in some respects, I feel that they did it also because they figured that by creating the Jewish state of Israel, it was a way to get all of the Jews out of Europe and go somewhere else. I don't understand why Europe was never tolerant of them in the first place, and I certainly don't understand why there is the same distaste for Muslims in Europe, now. If you would, I would like feed back from Europeans, as I'm kind of expecting that you all will disagree with me and my own beliefs, and flame me to pieces, so I'd like to hear your side of it. (I will listen and think about it, though I can't say I'll have the strength to argue back. *falls over dead from flames*) And what about American intolerance toward Muslims? A lot, a little? I don't think we're *that* intolerant, but it may be because of where I live - maybe it's different in different parts of the country, but I think it's less of an issue here, because we're such a melting pot already, and always have been, you know? So where you're from (er, what you believe) isn't as much as an issue of who you are now in America, and who you want to be. Definitely going to get chewed out for this post - *shrugs.* If any response comes from me, it'll def. be Saturday evenin' (Acadec Competition Sat. = crazy! Let's beat 'Po's butt. We want a toilet bowl of an award for Super Quiz!!! ^_^).[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Retri, well, yeah I was half-kidding. It was a bit of playing off the fact that Bush does tend to abuse his power a lot. I totally AGREE that he is NOT a Nazi by any means, but come on, a four year old on the no fly list? Please. I'm actually worried that when I try to get out of JFK in June, they'll say "oh, nope, you can't go" because I'm such a liberal. They're monitoring my phone conversations, I tell you - they've heard me bashing him!!! >_> Mawr. Lunox, you took the words right out of my mouth! The flag [i]does[/i] stand for everything about the country, and I also don't get why people have to be burning anything. If you're unhappy with the government, do something TRULY productive about it, to change it, rather than burning up symbols. I think there are different types of people who burn flags, though; there are the people unhappy with our country today, and then there are anarchists and America-haters and stuff that do it because they really hate this country. Again, I respect those people's rights to do what they want, but I DON'T think it's appropriate, and I wish they [i]wouldn't[/i] do it. It disgusts me to the core when people hate everything about America, and go so far as to desecrate our national symbols, or anything else, because they supposedly hate everything about us. Have I said "I hate America." at least once in my life? Yes. Did I really mean that I hate EVERYTHING about it - never. I hate the direction we are going in. I don't like the idea of manifest destiny that decimated millions of Native Americans. I 'm disgusted with America's past of slavery and the fact that it took so logn for the civil rights movement to come about. I hate them because they're all things we shouldn't be proud of; it's the stuff that makes you cringe, hearing it about your own country, you know? But I could never hate the fundamental principles that our country rests upon, including free speech. I like to bet that a lot of people that "hate" our country, and everything about it are people who have nEVER gone abroad, never seen any other country in their life. A couple weeks ago, a small magazine-thing in the sunday paper had their annual list of "top ten worst dictators in the world" with Sudan in the lead. You read about the atrocities these dictators impose on their people, and then you thank God that you live in America, where, even though Bush is an abuser of our rights, he's never massacred his own people. According to the first ammendment, I know that these people have the right to hate everything about America, and if they were ever arrested for it, I'd probably be against the government for arresting them. However, I can't condone their beliefs, and I don't agree with it. How can you say something so utterly stupid, and be so ungrateful for the freedoms of this country? In other contexts, when I meet people like that, I feel like I want to strangle them for such horrible beliefs. I *hate* what they say, but their right to say it? Can't say I wouldn't let them. >=/[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I am goign to comment on the flag before I move on to free speech. Stark - I think that was Voltaire? ^_^' Lunox said " I feel that the flag represents the entire history of the country, not just the current state." and I have to agree. There are people who will burn the flag because they don't like the War in Iraq. (not that I know of these people, but I'm sure they exist). I find that grossly inappropriate, to, as Lunox said, burn a symbol that stands for the entire history of a nation, based on the present. I also agreed with Starwind (his most recent post on page 1). I don't think there should be a law against flag burning, but I find it disrespectful and inappropriate on some levels. I suppose that my opinion comes from my mother. She told me about the 70s when she went to college and all the protesting of the Vietnam war was going on, and she always tells me, with utter disgust how people would burn flags, and [i]eat[/i] on them, use them as [i]tablecloths[/i], because they didn't like the Vietnam War, all the while her brother was fighting in it, in the navy. And to Retribution - you say that you can walk down the street and proclaim you hate George Bush and that nothing would happen to you. I beg to differ. He abuses his power all the time - I wouldn't be surprised if he had you detained, or put on the no-fly list. XD Er... yeah. Shutting up. I would have to stand by the belief that people can do anything under free speech, as long as, again, it doesn't hurt anyone physically, or encroach on their property. Someone said that rascists are allowed to gather and protest, as long as they don't become violent (start throwing stones or whatever). Like the Skokie (sp?) incident. The town eventually had to allow the Neo-Nazis [okay, it was the National Socialist Party of America, but that was an offshoot of the American Nazi Party] to march, even though most of the members of the community were Jewish, because of first ammendment (the ACLU even stepped in, and the guy defending the Nazis WAS Jewish, if I'm not mistaken). The stupid Neo-Nazis didn't even march in the town - they ended up marching in Chicago, but did all that just to prove a point. It definitely makes them bas*****, but marching was well within their right, so long as they never attacked anyone.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]So here's the story: Denmark has complete freedom of the press, just like there is freedom of the press in America. Some Danish political cartoonists or whoever published cartoons of Muhammed the prophet in their Danish newspaper. These cartoons were NOT nice at all, one of which depicts him with a bomb inside a turban on his head (I saw it. >

[color=#9933ff]I got a lot of my ideas from this thread, so pardon all the repeatings. =P [b]Petie[/b] - One of the two people for the nifty fifty that I didn't have to think about/steal from this thread. It took me a while to figure out he was a mod (is he still? I hope so), but even before then, and even now, Petie has always been so helpful to me in the computer help thread. I am the biggest computer idiot in the world, made more annoying by the fact that I tend to think I know it all too. Everytime I need help or advice with my computer though, Petie has always come to my rescue first. And I'll never forget the time this year, over the summer, when I f*ed over my computer so bad, and he fixed it anyway. I swear, I owe him fees in computer fixing. The fact that he lives so [i]close[/i] to me makes it cool. But I'm sure it's scary for him. Sorry, Petie! ;_; But watch, he'll come by, and say "nah, you're not scary" to make me feel better. So see, he's really really nice, too. ^_^; [b]The Vampire: Ed[/b]: This is the other person that I didn't have to think about. He's everything, really. Ed is so nice, so friendly, always willing to chat, and he can calm me down any time I'm upset. He's been my friend for so long, and I really think he's awesome. Nobody ever nominates him for things, but he deserves to be. It's a shame that a lot of people don't take the time to get to know him, because he's really, really nice. [b]Lea[/b]: Does Lea ever visit here anymore? I really don't know since I'm not here too often as of September, 2005. But anyway, I wanted to nominate her because I made friends with her this year, and I'm glad that I got to know her. Lea is so nice, and she's totally relatable to me. I don't know what she thinks, but I feel like we're just so similar somehow, and we just get along really well. Incidentally, I think she's Ken's (Deathknight's) "daughter" (Ob family tree), so that makes me her aunt? O.o' [b]The Mediocrity of the Memberbase[/b]: Oh my gosh! I didn't even think of this until Brasil said it, but I TOTALLY AGREE. PLEASE PICK THIS FOR THE NIFTY FIFTY. This really embodies the mass of OBers this year on a whole. There are some people who stick out above the rest (like people I, and others have nominated), but wow, 2005 was so mediocre, and the members were like... beh. Just boring. I'm serious. And if you think [i]I[/i] was boring in 2005, well I don't care. But the mass of members really was mediocre. Great job, Brasil, for being able to think of this, and in doing so, bringing this subconscious feeling in my mind, to a tangible description!! [b]Retribution[/b]: *Growls.* I find Retribution to be a very insightful member, and a very intelligent member as well. In a lot of the threads in Otaku Lounge, I would have my opinion to a question, I'd scroll down to read other responses before I posted, and there Retri's post would be - EXACTLY (really, exactly) saying what I wanted to say! He's already said my ideas on more than one occasion. It's really creepy how we have similar positions to social and global issues. [b]DeathKnight[/b]: You know, I was thinking about nominating the ever-fantastic Ken, so when I saw Ezekiel nominate Ken, I decided I would. There's so much to say about Ken, and so little time (Thoreau is calling my name. Although, I wish I could Thoreau him out the window). Everybody mentions Ken as a fantastic roleplayer. But I wouldn't know, because I don't really role play. But I got to know him first for his intellectual, philosophical, political, and religious (*grins crazily*) rants, in which he makes the best points ever. But over the years I've also gotten to know Ken as a person - who he is, and some of his personality. He always makes sure to make me laugh everytime I talk to him, so if I had a bad day, it's instantly made better by talking to him. Since I value him a lot, I hope I have some value to him, too, as a friend. There's a lot of personal things I could say here, too, but perhaps I've said enough. >_> [b]SoloTremaine[/b]: SOLO! *runs at him and hugs him* Who else is so kind enough to be the only one to take the time to send me a PM when I'm feeling stressed and I've got holiday anxiety. The message he sent me meant a lot to me - it made me know I wasn't the only one that this happened to, and gave suggestions, and hope for the coming days. Solo, you have such a heart of gold. I can tell that you care about people a lot, and that makes you wonderful. I want to wish you good things for eternity, because by the way you care about people, you deserve it. ^_^ [b]Corey[/b]: *grins* Known YOU for a long time now, eh? Corey has always seemed to respect my opinions that I have posted, and seen value in them, a couple times. He's never been mean to me, and I think he handles himself alright. In fact, it was your response to Tony that made me nominate you, Corey. You know who you are. And no matter what anyone else says, [i]I[/i] think you belong in the nifty fifty! *jumps* =P Forever the Mistress of Darkness, ~Roxie *dramatically drops bottles of purple nailpolish and disappears behind them* (couldn't resist. >_>) [/color]

[color=#9933ff]I still like Wikipedia a lot, and will continue to use them, simply because they will have information on obscure topics that I can't find anywhere else. I would also like to save myself the trouble, and issue this statement: I totally agree with persocomblues, and the people who have posted with similar attitudes. That said, I went to the website provided by someone, wikipedia-watch.org or whatever it was, and found a bunch of idiots residing in the lovely city of San Antonio (it makes me sad because someone I know *cough* lives there - I can't believe there are idiots running around in his city). Most of their claims are based on a wiki article about someone on their staff. The article about this person was incorrect and apparently they took offense to it and stuff, and well, you can read about it on the website. Personally, I think they really are a bunch of idiots, upset that they got made fun of on Wiki. Is it fun to have false information printed about you? No. But seriously, get a life, not make a website about how Wikipedia has "wronged you," or how it's a "terrible resource." It took him forever to get his article removed, but in my opinion, he made such a big deal out of it that of course no one is going to cooperate with him. I almost sent them an e-mail telling them their site was stupid and why, but I realized I had better things to do with my time. ~Roxie P.S.: Sara: adding the prefix wiki is fun, and it makes me laugh, so I will continue to use it where I want to. =) Your brand of cynicism in which you continually look down on people because you're older than them is also highly annoying.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Skateboarding is definitely harder, in my opinion. I've been skating (roller staking, blading, and ice skating) since I was four or five. I learned to ice skate first, even before I rode a bike (which didn't happen until I was eight - I was so embarrassed. :blush: ) My sister had a kiddie skateboard, too, and I tried that. It was really hard. And it is really hard for me to skateboard. I actually can't do it. *_* So yes, figure skating is much easier. I mean, in general terms. Of course when you get to the experts in both these categories (professional figure skaters doing triple axels [actually, since the axel is the only one you go into forward, that's got to be MUNDO difficile], or professional skateboarders (like Tony Hawk doing some crazy move), nothing is easy. But in general terms, I find figure skating easier. I think it's in my blood. My dad used to play hockey (some idiot smashed up his knee and it's never been the same. Hockey is violent! :P ), and my sister was ice skating by the time she was three, and she used to take tons of lessons... but those are another story. And I was ice skating really young, too. I'm sure that if a bunch of people in your family skateboarded, you'd be better at that, you know? So yeah. For me, ice skating = easier. ^^[/color] [color=orange]P.S.: I'm supposed to like the Pittsburg Penguins, so here goes: "Pittsburg Penguins Rule!"[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Wow. All those Thanksgiving plans sound cool. I bet few of you who are going to someone's house are there right now (while I'm still sitting in my PJs. >_>). I'm surprised to know that so many of you are staying home, and all the relatives are coming to you! celestialcharm - where do you live, or what holiday was it, that had a Thanksgiving-type celebration a month ago? It sounds interesting, whatever it is. Well, I'm watching the Macy's Day Parade right now. lol. But, I noticed, I forgot to say was I was thankful for. Hmm.... material goods wise, I'm thankful for being able to buy books and manga, and I'm thankful for fanfiction. Other than that, I'm thankful that this school year is going pretty well so far (hah, that could all change depending on whether I get a D on my last test in US History), and I'm glad I live in America (oh geeze, yeah, I AM glad for that, so there!), and I'm glad I don't have bird flu... yet (or have to worry about it so much).[/color]

[color=#9933ff]*Whacks all of you with an insanely large bottle of purple nailpolish* What is WRONG with all of you? Thanksgiving is TOMORROW, and there's no thread on it! *gasp* So I'll ask. What are you doing for thanksgiving tomorrow? Is it something you always do, or are you doing something different this year? Are you dreading seeing your relatives, or are they the 'eh, they're not SO bad' kind? Or are you just staying home with your family? And lastly, tell us here, what kind of things are you thankful for this year? Me? I'm staying home with my mom and my sister. I'll probably watch the Macy's parade in the morning (like I do every year), and then we'll have turkey later. This is basically what I do every Thanksgiving, so... yeah. ^^; After dinner, we'll have some nice pumpkin pie (mmm, it's always so good!), and then half an hour later, we'll play scrabble. I hate scrabble because I always loose. And I normally don't mind loosing, but my sister always does SOMETHING to annoy me. She antagonizes me on purpose, and says mean things, and I'll say something back, and then she and my mom ALWAYS say "you're just being a sore loser." I can NEVER win, with them. EVER. It always goes back to me being a sore loser, but every time that happens, it's because SHE started it! GRRRR...!! (and I can name sometimes where she didn't do anything, and I lost, and it was okay, because she wasn't being a total ***** then!) *silence ensues* ......Hookay. Well, that would be my messed up Thanksgiving - What about yours? X_x[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I can say the same thing as Ken just did - I'm older than some of those old threads. Though not nearly as old as Ken, but still, I am old. *___* I remember Ginnylyn, and Topaz (although, she was before my time - aha! so I'm NOT that old!), as well. And I DO remember all the great times we had in the Digimon Forum. Digi peeps forever!!! Everyone was so great in the Digimon forum. I loved loved loved Devidramon's rants (I have some of them saved to my hard drive), and the fun artwork stuff that went on (I remember that big debate about whether digimon fan art stuff goes there, or the art forum, and we got to have it say in Digimon - yay). Everyone was so cool. I'm not going to forget the Digi peeps, ever! By the way, whoever was looking for Topaz's website: I believe her former, former username was stardust. If I'm correct, her website is: [url]http://otakulover.tripod.com/trueotaku/index.html[/url] If I'm wrong, oh well. *shrugs* I got THAT URL off of the outdated "Otaku Pike:" [url]http://www.geocities.com/otakupike/[/url] *chides Shy for that, as well as for being a digi peep. You're Event Master now - quite some change there. [laughs]* I have oodles of chats and stories and the like. And, I think this is supposed to be a bad thing, but I think, in my opinion, I posted back then, like I do now. Well, I mean, I am sort of annoyed by the way some of my posts back then turned out, and how childish they seem, but I know when I look back on this I'll be like "urgh. I sound like a loser." I still haven't really changed the way I posted. It's still silly, naiive-ish, annoying me. ^_^;;;; -Roxie DIGIMON FOREVER! *rounds up all the digi peeps for some crazy group hug.* ^__^ [/color]

[QUOTE=Luminaire][color=darkred]Well, I don't think my hair will be long enough for Witch Hunter Robin, but I could always wear the dress, which then I will look like a nun. I could always throw on some horns and be an oxymoron too. Nun + horns = ......Has anyone ever heard of a demonic nun? O_o Or I could go as a bride, I have a wedding dress. >imagines dragging long train around shool< XD I don't know if I want to go trick-or-treating because when I moved into the main town, there was no one to go with and not alot of houses to visit. I was really lonely and it was awkward going by myself down the main road. ~Lumi ^_^[/color][/QUOTE] [color=#9933ff]Yeah, I know I know you're hair is too short. Too bad. I was REALLY REALLY impressed with the way you held it up. That's right everyone. You should now congradulate Lumi for being able to put her hair up to be Robin when it was really really friggin' long. Because she thought of how to do it all on her own, and used L Brackets. 3 X 3 inch L brackets, and she is the coolest person for all eternity for thinking of that. Now you all should agree with me. ¬_¬ I say you just go around like a nun. I have this really big, friggin' cross that's rediculously large, that you could wear. It's not even supposed to really be a cross to wear everyday, but you could wear it if you wanted to (I don't even think it's blessed by the priest, so you wouldn't be too "heretic" or whatever, by wearing it, if that's what you were thinking. :/ ). I'm wearing my pearl necklace 'cause I'm gonna be that mermaid. ^^;;; CHW: The runaway bride? I like that costume idea. It's very good! And that Care Bear one for your child sounds positively adorable. ^_^; [/color]

[color=#9933ff]I agree with everyone that sanitation is a big problem in many Asian countries, so yes, viruses are going to start there. My mom says you really have to go to those countries to understand how this could happen. The sanitation conditions are nothing like they are in America. I hear from her that the Chinese (at least in Hong Kong) have no sense of what "personal space" means, and that cows and chickens and all sorts of animals roam the streets of Bangkok in Thailand - where many incidents of bird flu have occurred. I'm going there next June, and she's already forbidden me from eating ANYTHING off of a street vendor, and from eating any chicken, beef, or pork. I'm allowed fish, rice, and veggies, according to her. Or I can have beef from McDonalds, because supposedly they import from America? So... lol. Thank you, Baron (any anyone else who said this), but Bird Flu has been around for a long while. I mean, this is getting really old to my Dad, who first talked to me about it like... ten months ago. Really. lol. It's only now that the American media decides to make something of it. (Hey, we are an egocentric country, right? XD) I do know that Thailand is trying to stop the spread of bird flu by killing hundreds of chickens. However, it is my own, personal, biased belief, that because they're such a poor nation, it's a little hard to effectively kill off the flu with the amount of money they have, and also, because they're quite rightly, destracted by utterly retarded and rediculous Muslim radical groups in the most southern province that claim the rest of Thailand has shunned them for so long. Bunch of ******** those radicals are, I tell you. I mean, Thailand is so "bend like a willow to the times" so "wishy-washy" (neg. connotation that my biased mum uses) that they will accept anyone as Thai, no matter their creed, or original nationality. But now I'm just ranting about my Dad's country of residency, so I do believe I will shut up before I get to make myself into even more of a prat. ^^;;;;;; [/color]

[color=#9933ff]I think some of you guys have really great costume ideas! ^_^ From the unique and creative to the political and the religious. What a great mix. This year, if I can put it together on time (fat chance - don't even have a friggin' pattern, and I'm going tomorrow to get the cloth), I'm going to be a mermaid. Since I'm sewing it myself without a pattern (but I know EXACTLY what I want it to look like), I hope to holy God that I finish in time. If I don't, I'll be a little upset about wasting fabric, but I'll just go out as Yuko from XXXholic, which is what I wore to AnimeNext - it's all done (mostly - you can't tell what I didn't finish. >_>), so that'll be fine. I'm trying to convince Luminaire to go as Robin from Witch Hunter Robin (Witches! Halloween!), but she says her hair, since she cut it over the summer, isn't long enough. I need to convince her. ¬_¬ [/color]

[color=#9933ff]Retri - I read the link you had. I wish I hadn't. That's so.... Beh. *_____* Really. Really really. X_______x; You're right, it is sort of sad. :/ But I guess if I say anymore about it, I'll have someone breathing down my neck, so... jah. :X[/color]

[color=#9933ff]*jaw drops* Fiacha - You celebrate el dia de los muertos?!? That is SO SO SO SO COOL!!!!! I've always wanted to celebrate it and what not. I've learned about it in Spanish classes for the last two years (one year I had to make an alter - heh), and I think it's a great holiday, and a great way to remember the dead. That is really really cool. On a side note - do you speak Spanish, then, or not really?[/color]

[color=#9933ff]celestialcharm - yay! we shall enjoy our soap flavored beans together! ^_^; And to Shadow Blade - man, that's a REALLY nasty way to eat Every Flavor Beans. Like, wow, really nasty. And I honestly feel sorry for you, because that sounds so bad. >< I hope you do get back at them. Eheh. ^^; [/color]

[color=#9933ff]*grins manically* Thank you, Aaryanna for telling us about Samhain. I love you for it! ^_^ *huggles* [url=http://www.celticspirit.org/samhain.htm]This[/url] website will tell you all you need to know about Samhain. Basically, there's just all these festivals running from Oct. 31 - Nov. 6th. I learned about Samhain when I was reading "A Year Like None Other" - a Harry Potter fanfic. And something happens to Harry on Samhain, and then I went and read about it and stuff, and the holiday sounds interesting (BTW, if you like Harry Potter, READ THE FANFIC. It's REAALLY good). I don't know if anyone else covered this (if they did, I'm apparently blind, so please forgive me), but I just wanted to point out to you, that it is not pronounced as "Sam-hayne." As Gavin can probably attest to this, there isn't a whole lot in Irish Gaelic that's pronounced in English as it's spelled. Samhain, in this case, is pronounced "Sow-ehn." Sow, as in like... a female pig. Other variants in pronunciation include "Sow-eeh" and "Sah-vehn." =) I don't really have Halloween Traditions, but I love trick-or-treating. It's really a LOT of fun, and I'm hoping my friends will go trick-or-treating this year, 'cause I REALLY want to go. ^_^; I don't even particularly like candy (it takes me until February to get rid of the stuff I usually get), but I love being with my friends, and walking around. It's great fun! I wanted to be a mermaid this year, but that isn't going to happen. *sobs* ;_; I think I'm going to go in my cosplay costume from AnimeNext, 'cause I just can't think of anything else. >_>;; One year we went to these houses behind Lumi's house. She lives right on the border of the town next door, with richy rich people, so we trick-or-treated at their houses. They gave out really good candy. Some of it was they typical stuff, but then you'd get people giving you full and king sized hershey bars or kit kat bars. And we got like... GIFTS, at this one house. And that was cool. Yay for walking around with friends on Halloween![/color]

[color=#9933ff]I love America and I hate America. I'm American - I grew up here, and as much as people continually point out that "we don't have our own culture," I would have to disagree - we do. And I think if I were to go abroad, yeah, I'm sure I'd love to see different places in the world, but I'd miss my home terribly, just because that's where I grew up and that's what I'm familiar with. I have a problem with the rest of America. I am really sick people who voted for Bush based on his "morality," i.e., the south. And I think it's so stupid to elect someone on how much he believes in a religion. It was downright stupid and dangerous to elect someone with an ideological agenda. Bringing massive amounts of religion into politics, ESPECIALLY in America, is a dangerous thing to do. I also don't like the people in MY area who voted for him because they are wealthy and he's giving tax breaks to them and all that jazz. You ALREADY have money - stop being greedy pigs (ah well, if they did, I guess the basic economic problem would cease to exist. >< ). I hate the Bush administration in general. Everything you guys have said about what he's done, I agree with. He is an idiot, the people around him are idiots. The only good one was Colin Powell, and he resigned because he saw that everyone was stupid. Good for him. I find that Bush DOES bring too much religion into his politics, and I don't agree with that. Yeah, you should always keep basic principles of "murder is not okay, stealing is not okay, cheating is not okay, etc." in your mind, but not the type of stuff Bush is trying to push through. I'm angry that he's trying to stop gay marriage, that he doesn't want women to make a choice about their own bodies (hey, there's another arguement point for the person who said our society is a throwback to the 20's!), and everything else he's done. I mean, he takes vacations constantly, and he couldn't even properly respond to Hurricane Katrina (it was his own fault, too, for taking money away from wetlands rebuilding projects in that area. What a jerk.) I know Ilium has outlined some of his offences against Canada - and he's rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in other countries, too. I honestly don't blame them for hating us at THIS moment. And don't, don't get me started on No Child Left Behind, 'cause my mom's a teacher and I tend to rant and blow up everytime I see the word. :X I thought about this a while ago, and I've been thanking god ever since that this country is a democracy. With the type of immoral, backwards, self-serving, ideological agenda that Bush has, I am SOOOO glad this country is a working democracy. I'm glad that there are boundaries within which he MUST operate. I'm glad that if it goes to far, we always have the option of blowing the whistle on him. I'm glad that the Supreme Court can keep him in check. Because if this were an African Nation, or a former Communist Nation, with Bush at its helm, he would have been able to implement all of his ideas with no one to protest, and I think we'd be in deep deep trouble. If Bush were at the head of another nation, he'd be a dictator. And that is scary. So I have been thanking God lately that this country is a democracy. P.S.: I agree that he has so many double standards. You can't speak out against him, which is totally wrong! A couple years back, I heard of people who ran a local Democratic newsflyer type thing that regularly criticized the Bush Administration, and they were put on the no flying list, couldn't get themselves off of it, and no one would help them. I mean - that's just wrong.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Urgh. The nastiest Every Flavor Bean I've ever had was the Sardine one. It made me gag so much it wasn't even funny. I could stomach things like booger and vomit, but not Sardine. Urgh, it was so so so nasty, I wanted to scream, but I was eating it at 11:00 at nght, and I couldn't. ;_; I drank tons of water to wash the taste away, and then I ate some food to get it out of my mouth, too. >< Oddly enough, I sort of like the soap flavored one. I've never eaten soap as a kid, but the jelly bean of it is good. Lol. I also like buttered popcorn - oooooh, that's soo good. ^_^ And whoever said "nobody would care about dirt flavored beans if they didn't have the HP lael on them" - I agree. They just wouldn't have the same magic (haha), if it wasn't for Harry Potter. [/color]

[QUOTE=Tatsubei Yagyu][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS] Hehe... :rolleyes: A friend of mine made up an ironic story about fortune cookies once... "A man ate a fortune cookie once, and the fortune with it... and one day he had to go to an operation. The doctor told him he was nervous, but the man said that he didn't mind. Due to his shakey hand, he cut his stomach open. The doctor then noticed a piece of paper in the man's stomach and took it out. "You're never gonna beliece this," the doctor said, 'This fortune you ate says, 'Your wife is cheating on you.' 'I KNEW IT!!!' was the man's last words." It made me laugh only because it caught me off guard... :animeswea [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [color=#9933ff]Wow. That is a funny story. The chances of someone having an operation are high today, so I was actually thinking the story was real, and I was like "poor guy - he finds out his wife is cheating on him, and then he dies. =( " And then I read your last sentence and remembered it was just a story. ^_^;;; I'm kinda glad, or I'd be feeling sorry for that guy. >__>;;; [/color]

[quote name='James][font=franklin gothic medium][b]A) Which aspect of OtakuBoards do you find to be the most negative/confusing?[/b'][/font][/quote] [color=#9933ff]If I could say the below in a tone of voice, it would be placidly, just to let you know. [size=1]You're not allowed to become prejudiced against me for my answer, since you asked. Nor is anyone else. You can all PM me respectfully if you wish, but please leave it out of this thread, and don't send me death threats. And it pains me to say this, but the mods in Otaku Lounge (since I don't visit other areas). All of them are wonderful people, but lacking in coming down on people about tremendously rude behavior. There have been several topics I've seen which I know, in the past, would have been closed shortly after the discussion got so ugly, and yet they remained wide open for people to shout at each other in. I complained about a particular thread once, and [i]nothing[/i], to my knowledge was done by a mod - an influential older member (okay, they joined after me, but they're older) shut down the arguement, without even being mod-like. And also, I've seen a couple threads, particularly "hot"/debate-type threads, disappear off the face of the earth once or twice, when there wasn't even flaming going on. Locking it would do the same thing. (For the most part, I can name the actual threads I'm thinking of in either of the above paragraphs, if you wanted proof.) Not just to you, James, but everyone else, please remember I have a right to my opinion. I hate complaining because it annoys and upsets people, but I've been angry/upset/whatever about this particular problem for a while and not said anything because I didn't want to upset anyone else; however, James is giving me a chance to voice an opinion, and for once, I don't want to sit in silence anymore. Thank you.[/size] [quote][font=franklin gothic medium][b]B) What is your favorite aspect of OtakuBoards?[/b][/font][/quote] I love [most of] the people at OtakuBoards. I'm an oldie, but there's something about this place that keeps bringing me back - I don't know what. Oh, and I guess I like the ratings for the Area; it's nice to peruse things and see what you can expect before clicking on the link. Although, those have been up for a while. ^^;;; I know that reply is really vague, but how about this: If I'm not complaining about it, assume that everything about the boards is great, and that I like it. Either that, or it's an issue that can't be resolved (I mean, you can't ban the people [i]I, personally[/i] don't like - lol). -Rox[/color]

[color=#9933ff]"Let's just be friends" - My friend used that to break up with her boyfriend, and somehow she spends just as much time with him now as she used to when they were together. I don't know how he took it, but she saw it as being his fault when he constantly played video games, or made plans with friends after making plans with her. Eheh.... I have the same opinion as Your Mother - all you people are lucky. No guy has ever even shown the vaguest interest in me, unless you count a guy friend from school who gave me a CD mix of their favorite songs (that I hate) a week after my birthday. It doesn't count, IMHO, and if it does, this was *counts* four months ago, anyway. '~' Most of the guys I don't like because they're stupid or immature, but there are some I like, and for ONCE in my life, it would be nice if someone even [i]asked[/i] me if I wanted to go to a movie with them. Even if they were someone I personally would never go out with, it would validate my existence and let me know that once in my sad life there was [i]one person who [b]actually[/b] noticed me[/i]. And of course, it would be even better if someone I liked asked me out, but that would be getting my hopes up. There's someone else at my school that I like as a friend, would want to get to know better, and he's funny and smart and nice, and totally not ready for, or interested in a relationship. What a bummer. No, he's not gay. Psychologist says that some guys just aren't ready or don't want a girlfriend until they go to college, or are in their 20's - I'm not making that up. As for abusive relationships, I'm not going to say too much, but I'm glad that you were able to get away from it, Pumpkin. I obviously can't speak from my own experience in a romantic relationship, but without going into the whole story, I can say that it is hard to end, or break away from an abusive relationship. It's one of those things that are easier said than done, unfortunately. Because there are times when the partner is so warm and loving, and then others where they're completely a wreck. Nothing is completely cut and dry when you're in the center of that type of relationship and can't step back to see what's going on. Sometimes it takes a while to realize how awful it is, and then more time to build up courage to leave. Humans are strange in that way, because we will endure pain for a long time before lashing out against it - happens in societies today, happened in societies 300 years ago, will happen again. Anyone who has broken away from an abusive relationship shows courage. [/color]

[color=#9933ff]Message to Sage: if you can't take the heat Sage, don't enter the kitchen in the first place. And don't use THAT, either. I will call you on it outright the next time you use it because I know full well it isn't true. It frustrates me to no end that when peoples lives are taken away by other humans in a deliberate and planned act, people can still bring politics into the mix of it all. "We deserved it" was something I saw a lot after 9/11. Or now, which I've seen several times in this thread, the more apathetic, "Who cares?"/"The injustice of everyone else that's dead going unnoticed"/"The unjustice because this day gets more notice than memorial day!" All of those things, in my opinion are valid, relevant, and are indeed an injustice. But why can't anybody (particularly Americans) just stop for two seconds and acknowledge the immense tradgedy in all of this? And I know this idiom doesn't completely express it, but it's like you can't see the forest because of all the trees. Maybe this is why I'm particularly annoyed when people are so apathetic toward the deliberate, large-scale demise of others, but for me, 9/11 was so utterly real. For days and days, we could FRIGGIN SEE the friggin smoke rising from that area. We could SEE that empty hole were the towers were if we took a 10 minute drive on either of two highways. My psuedo-uncle almost died in the second tower that fell. So it was definitely really real for me, which is why I have never forgotten that day. On the anniversaries past, I haven't cried as much (this year and last I didn't cry), but I still feel sad. So perhaps time does heal wounds. But I have newspaper articles stacked up neatly on a bookshelf, and two CD disks with still pictures of ground Zero that if I know I look at, I will start to cry, because things like that, when faced with the absolute reality in facts, figures, diagrams, and pictures of the distruction, let you know how bad it was; how really real it was, and how distructive it was. And I have no idea where I'm going with any of this, at this junction, but I guess I wanted to just say how I felt on 9/11, and how I wish other Americans, for two tiny seconds among their animosity, could pay respects to those who died, and those in other countries, for two seconds, could stop bashing us while we're thinking about a time when we were down, and hold it until tomorrow.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I've never actually heard of this day, but all the fundraising, and the man behind it, Terry Fox sounds amazing. I think that's really really great that many many people in Canada raise money to honor him. After you described him, Ilium, I find myself admiring him for the way he carried on, with only one real leg. That takes a lot of strength.[/color]

[quote name='Dragon Warrior]It might as well have said, "We're out of ideas, asshat, come back later!"[/quote][quote=Gavin][size=1']That has to be one of the funniest damn insults I've ever heard. Asshat, I'd be more inclined to laugh than feel insulted.[/size][/quote] [color=#9933ff]Haha. Yes, I totally agree. That made me crack up, DW. Shadowofdeath13 - You made fortune cookies in school (foods class)? Oooh. That has got to be the coolest thing. I'm really jealous, and I wish I could make them. ;_; Godelsensei - Chucking cookies at people? That's a good idea, because oddly enough, you're [i]right[/i]. When I get a fortune cookie, I'm ALWAYS happy. Yeah. People doing good deeds and randomly cheering up people! Power to them! I'd like to point out that Fortune Cookies are pretty much an American made invention. If you go to China and ask for one, no one will know what the hell you're talking about. I know there's a couple other Chinese dishes that were created in America around the time when they came over to work on the railroad and such. The only things my friends and I do with fortune cookies is sometimes make up our own, using "Confucius say..." which isn't nearly as funny as "...in bed," I'm afraid. ;_; Ah well. *shrug* [/color]