James

[color=#707875]I hum in the shower occasionally. But that's about it. Generally, I just enjoy the process of cleaning myself with soap. I mean, that's what showers are for.[/color]

[color=#707875]I'll only use my post here to thank PT for his effort. I don't think I'd have had the energy. It's very difficult to continually repeat the same elemental and well-understood facts of science (surrounding evolution). As I've said before, if you study biology, you study evolution. If you want to drill for oil, you need to understand evolution. If you want to be any kind of doctor, you need to recognize and understand evolution. Even the Catholic Church has recognized evolution. And, living in a country that teaches these well-established sciences in all states and territories...I still find it alien when I see people saying "Oh, do you [i]believe[/i] in evolution?" Sheesh. Anyway, regarding the point at hand...which is a very general one... A lot of things amaze me. Yes, the grander scheme of things does amaze me...the whole "size of the Universe" type thing and all that. It's mind-bending stuff. But on a day-to-day level, I'm amazed by the smaller things. Usually, I'm amazed by the people around me. I'm often amazed and in awe of people's kindness and friendliness. And particularly, I guess that the actions of friends and family continue to amaze me. Also, even my relationships "online" amaze me. The way that things have developed...and the way things have changed over the years is interesting. I've become distant with some people, but for the most part, I've really become more friendly with a lot more people; even people who I originally disliked. So I think it's amazing how things can change so unexpectedly. I mean, I might even be moving to another city soon for a new job...and this whole thing only came about within the last couple of days. It just hits you like a speeding car or something...you don't see it coming and suddenly it's totally and utterly life changing. So, that's amazing to me.[/color]

[color=#707875]Interesting thread. ~_^ I've studied four languages, but I've only done one for any significant length of time. I did Mandarin, Japanse, French and Indonesian. I did Indonesian for three and a half years, Japanese for a year and French for half a year. So yeah, I mostly remember Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). Although you tend to forget a lot of it if you are not using it often. I'll give you a sample.[/color] [color=red]Apa yang kamu kerjakan pada hari minggu?[/color] [color=#707875]It means, "What did you do on the weekend?"[/color] [color=red]Saya main papan roda dan main komputer.[/color] [color=#707875]"I rode on my skateboard and played on the computer." I hope that kicks things off a bit. ^_^;;[/color]

[color=#707875]Oh yes, Bart vs The Space Mutants...lol I used to own that game. And yes, it was very weird. The whole thing was very alien...I've never seen a game like it. The other game that was a favourite at the time was the original Ninja Turtles game. You know the one -- where you can control their van and shoot out of it, as well as fight enemies in the platformer-esque levels. At the time, parts of it seemed very tough...but I haven't played that game in a long, long time. And yes, Snake Rattle & Roll had some nasty stuff. lol But what a briliant game! The two player mode was awesome. And I still love the sound it makes when you eat those little coloured sphere things. I also used to think it was great when you eat the flying ones, and their feathers kind of float down from where they were, because you've just snatched it out of the air. What a cool game. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]Thanks for the compliment, Tattoi. The only real problem with this is that it should be in the Feedback area (Suggestions & Feedback). Afterall, this is feedback. But yeah, again, thank you. We try our best. ~_^[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Shadow Mystik [/i] [B] edit: oh, and i know all the rules perfectly well, i have been going here for a while, new name [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#707875]If you knew all the rules perfectly well, you wouldn't have been banned previously. So you obviously are unaware of them. Either that, or you choose to break them. Understand this; when people sign-up to OB, they are, by default, [b]agreeing[/b] to all of our terms of service. That includes our rules. If you want to violate the rules, fine. But we can then exercise our right to ban you from the site. Your posts are difficult to read, you've broken any number of basic rules and you've registered on two accounts...you've also ignored a Category Moderator, who is a senior staffer on this site. I suggest that you find somewhere else to spam. It's not welcome here. Oh, and...~(Neo-Bebop)~, [i]you[/i] are also guilty of producing multiple acounts. [i]And[/i] you seem quite happy to fill this thread with meaningless tripe. I'm going to ban your IP as well. Don't think you can ignore the rules [i]and[/i] the staff and still happily post here. The rules are there for a reason. Removing the two of you will no doubt increase the general intelligence of OtakuBoards' community.[/color]

[color=#707875]Olga...your avatar scares me. On a more related note, one of the most difficult games I've played would have to be Gradius III. The later levels get completely crazy...and you can't really "continue" in the game, nor can you save. So you just have to rely on your patience and skill. Very tough. Gradius IV is similar. Even the first couple of levels are really hard going. You immediately realize that there's nothing safe about these games...you're [i]always[/i] dodging a thousand projectiles and you're never being given much breathing room. So it requires constant mental concentration. As far as other games go, my most recent "tough" game would be Metroid Prime. Remember, in the PAL version, the game's default difficulty is "hard". So...play the US version in hard and you'll know how it is. For the most part it hasn't been [i]too[/i] taxing, but it's certainly the most difficult GameCube game I have played so far. I'm up to the Omega Pirate...and I'm still having difficulty with him. I'll beat him eventually, but for now, it's fun to face that kind of challenge. [/color]

[color=707875]Raiha...watch your language. You deliberately bypassed the censor and you [i]know[/i] that it's against the rules. Older members should know better. I don't want to see that happening again.[/color]

[color=#707875]Hm...there's a song called um..."Remember Me" by Blueboy. That song is sexy. lol Not so much the singing. But the music...whenever I hear it, I feel like my hormones are about to start racing. o_O The same goes for Disco Science by Mirwais. But that mostly comes from the video clip (which includes a Shogun having group sex with three Geisha). Ahem. It just has a very seductive beat. It's not harsh or coarse...it's sexy. ^_^;; As far as actual "love songs" go...I'm not sure. A lot of them I don't really like, because they're overly corny. But I know that sometimes I hear one that I enjoy...I just can't think of any off the top of my head.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i] [B][color=hotpink][size=1] Although, I didn't like the style of Lilo and Stitch. I haven't seen it yet because the characters just aren't cute and attractive. Maybe it's just me and I'm insane like that... [/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#404040]Well, Lilo & Stitch is a beautiful looking movie in my opinion. The characters have a certain charm to them...and I remember watching a few scenes from the movie on DVD (I haven't seen the entire thing), and I noticed how natural and attractive many of the landscapes were. I'm guessing that heavy computer use was involved, but it worked. It looked very natural and serene. Everything was very colourful. I just remember being quite impressed by Lilo & Stitch's artwork. [/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Drix D'Zanth [/i] [B]I can't agree with this. If I buy a CD and let my friend borrow it and listen to it, there is no chance in hell that I should go down for a lawsuit. Yes people are taking advantage of the system. But the fact is, they aren't COPYING anything, they are sharing their music with other people. No exchange of money, and frankly I have little sympathy over RIAA. We aren't stealing anything, I think it's just sharing :D. The only issue is that people have taken granted of what they have. That sounds familiar, people taking advantage of some industry... wait... that sounds like the industry itself when it claimed as CD's FIRST came out "The CD will be easier to use, easier to play, and much cheaper." Which SHOULD be true. Nope, CD's came out initially costing well over the price of casettes. Record companies haven't even bothered thinking of the consumer, merely the fattening wallets and the wallets of their stars. No sympathy here. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#404040]Buying a CD and letting one friend borrow it is vastly different to what I'm talking about, though. If you don't own any of the music that you're downloading (and you download 1,000 tracks or whatever), you are [i]clearly[/i] stealing music. You now own it...but did you pay for it? No. I'm not opposed to a friend lending you a CD or something. But in my view that argument is mere nitpicking. [i]Obviously[/i] very few people would be opposed to something relatively harmless like that. But when you start to steal very large quantities of music...and when you don't pay for any of that, we're then talking about music artists not earning their rightful income from those songs. In terms of the RIAA...I can only repeat what I've already said, ad nauseum. I am [b]not[/b] trying to support the position of the RIAA as a victim in all of this. I believe that organizations like the RIAA (and their equivalents around the world) have largely dug their own grave here. In Australia, CD prices are higher than most other nations in the world -- these companies are simply asking for piracy to spread. And I do agree with Tony's idea that bands should take sales into their own hands...that would be a good idea if done on a larger scale. So, I'm completely on-side with most people here. I don't see the RIAA as a victim. But I also don't see the MP3 downloader as a victim. If you download a few thousand songs and you don't pay for them...I have [i]no[/i] sympathy for you if you get sued. You deserve it. But if you download a few songs to sample them...then you go and buy the CD, or you buy merchandise, or you visit concerts...I'm not going to complain. If you are prepared to reward an artist for his or her work, that's how it should be. As I said, I'm sick and tired of these mass-downloaders behaving as victims. They really need to grow up and start paying for the music that they love.[/color]

[color=#404040]I don't think my life would be [i]too[/i] different...at least as far as friends go. I've always had about a 50/50 split between male and female friends. And at school, there are more women in my class than men. So I have mostly female friends at this point. But even then...all of them are very different people. They're all very down to earth and fun to hang out with. Although, it's possible that my interests would be different. If I were female, I may not have become as interested in Nintendo and such...and without that fundamental interest, I wouldn't be here now. I wouldn't be following the career that I'm in and I probably wouldn't be learning graphic design. So, yeah. *shrug* I don't really know what else would be different. As I said, I've always had about a 50/50 split between male and female friends. I enjoy the company of female friends just as much as male friends...so, from that point of view, I doubt there's much difference.[/color]

[color=#404040]The chatroom no longer exists. It was closed down some time ago. We've decided to use OtakuBoards on its own for now, rather than using a board and a chatroom.[/color]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel:[/i][b] I think at some point, these people just need to go outside and buy something. [/b][/quote] [color=#707875]Agreed. 1,000 downloaded songs [i]is[/i] getting a bit excessive. I'm getting very tired of people who keep trying to passionately defend their "right" to [b]steal[/b]. Sometimes it really surprises me. Yes, it's convenient. Yes, you can do it easily. But that doesn't make it legal or right. Forget the RIAA and think about the artist, whom you are stealing from. In any case, I have been painted as some RIAA supporter in the past for telling people that stealing music is wrong. But I'm just like Semjaza Azazel on this issue. I have little sympathy for the RIAA, but if people are stupid enough to steal that much music and not pay for it...well, they get what's coming to them. And I hope it teaches them a lesson.[/color]

[color=#707875]Katana...please, I recommend that you use spoiler tags here. Yes, I know that the series is over. But I also know that there are plenty of people who haven't seen every episode yet. Please have some consideration for those people when you post. Or at least say something like "(Contains Spoilers)" in your thread title.[/color]

[color=#707875]I have a boring Australian accent. Mind you, it's not a country accent like Steve Irwin. lol There are many types of accents here, but if you're foreign, you may not notice the difference. You'd have to live here for a while to hear the different nuances between capital cities and states. My accent is more of a "city" accent, as opposed to a "country" accent. I think someone like Steve Irwin has more of a country/outback accent, while someone like Nicole Kidman has more of a city accent. Although, Steve Irwin sounds very funny even over here...because his accent is so stereotypical, that people here think it's weird. It's very "put on". It's like if you get an American actor trying [i]really[/i] hard to be a Texan...and they might lay it on a bit thick, you know? ^_^[/color]

[color=#707875]I'm not quite sure if you are just flogging your site...or if you are really interested in feedback on this piece. ~_^ But, I do like the piece. Fantastic rendering...and a really good stylized feel. I particularly like the way the fire has lit up the characters on the bridge in the background. It's a very cool effect. And yes, the reflective effect is great. It's suprising how easy it is to do something like that, but it can look so effective. It works very well within this piece.[/color]

[color=#707875]The doors closed behind the group of Reploids. Some chose to stand near Cyan and eagerly shift their weight from leg to leg, in anticipation of what was to come. And others preferred to stay in the background -- to lean against the wall, or to simply stand still and wait. Finally, Cyan stepped forward to speak. "I'm only going to offer you one last piece of information," he said as he gestured toward the entrance door on the other side of the room, "the challenges you face ahead will be like nothing you have ever encountered before. And I'm not going to lie to you -- some of you may not come out of this test alive. But for those who do, I can ensure you that your efforts will be rewarded. Those who are late may drop into the challenge at any time." And with that, Cyan said nothing further. The lights in the room faded away and everything became dark. The wall behind Cyan silently folded open to reveal what looked like a giant construction site behind it. It looked as though the wall had been cut away and the construction site was actually outside the building. But of course, the Reploids were all aware that the site was nothing more than a very large testing ground. Several large buildings stood there, with enormous pieces missing (no doubt from the heavy weapons that had been used there before). There were cars sitting on a fabricated street. Street lights, flickering on and off. It was all there. The site was dimly lit by a synthetic moon, which hung overhead. The moonlight cast a soft glow on the faces of the Reploids in the room. None of them spoke. But most of them unsheathed or unholstered their weapons. Cyan was the first to step into the site. His shoes crunched against gravel and broken glass as he began walking along the street, which seperated the two hollowed-out buildings on either side. His katana was still sitting in its sheath, but Cyan's hand was resting firmly on it. The other Reploids followed behind, hesitantly at first. It wasn't long before the sounds of their shoes scraping over glass and broken concrete was drowned out by the sound of heavy machinery. The Reploids all paused in the middle of the street and scanned the nearby area. They could hear several machines closing in from various locations -- their weight was audible and the sharp hiss of their piston-based limbs echoed through the area. "There," said a female Reploid quietly. The entire group turned to look at her. The reploid was a female with relatively pale skin and long, dark eyelashes. Her gaze was unflinching as she pointed to a position in one of the buildings. The other Reploids stared into the building's dark interior and finally, they saw it; a large Drone, rolling over the concrete flooring with enormous steel treads. The Drone had four arms attached to a single torso. Each arm was equipped with some sort of weapon. A mini-gun, machine gun, grenade launcher and retractable blade. And then, the sound of crumbling concrete was heard to their left, as another Drone emerged from the dark confines of the western building. And then another, trundling down the street from the northern end of the site. Some of the Reploids looked at each other briefly, as a slight appearance of shock covered their faces. But others were more focused on the approaching Drones. Cyan carefully unsheathed his katana. Just as he did so, the northern Drone began to unleash a volley of fire on the group of Reploids. They immediately scattered in all directions, some taking cover behind large pieces of concrete, others climbing up the sides of the nearby buildings to gain a better vantage point. And others still decided to attack the Drones head-on. But the Reploids who responded to the first Drone's fire without considering the other Drones had already demonstrated a fatal mistake. A young male Reploid was so focused on avoiding the first Drone's fire, that he ran straight past the Drone who sat in the western building. With surprising agility for such a heavy machine, the Drone's torso pivoted on its base and extended several meters outward on a series of coils. It rapidly extended its retractable blade and swung forcefully at the male Reploid. Almost instantly, the Reploid's torso detatched from his legs. The Drone had sliced the Reploid in half, just over the pelvic bone. It was one of the softest and most defenseless parts of a Reploid's body. Easy to cut. The Reploid's body appeared to scatter across the floor in various directions. Transparent Protoneurone Fluid splashed across the floor and over the concrete support beams, as internal synthetic parts ruptured. The third Drone began to unleash mini-gun [i]and[/i] machine gun fire simultaneously. Reploids continued to scatter, dashing between support beams and darting between heavy objects. As if they weren't under enough pressure as it was, a fourth and fifth Drone entered the site...[/color] (Yes, this is the group test...already. As you can see, it's very overwhelming. So, be creative. I haven't picked out anyone specifically yet, because I want to see how you guys use your weapons in this situation...and I want to see if you work together with other characters. Let's make this first big battle fun. ~_^)

[color=#707875]A_F...even in your biography, you said that your character had been attacked by too many of his own kind, due to the Sygnosis 40 virus. But infected Reploids only attack human beings. So, yeah. I'm sorry...I appreciate your effort, but I don't think that I can permit you to join this particular RPG. Maybe next time. ^_^ Warlock, you're in, obviously. And um...Zerosabre, I'll give you a shot as well. Your sign-up was okay, but could have been better. Still, the understanding of Megaman (and Megaman-based weaponry) does work to your favor here. And Arika, you're in. Good sign-up. Since some of you have joined in "late", you won't be able to participate in the training session that is going on in the story right now. However, that doesn't mean there won't be more opportunities. You can work your character into the story in a creative way. And I may even take the initiative and bring your characters in my own way.[/color]

[color=#707875]Nearly everyone is going to annoy you in one way or another at some point in time. Even your close friends. The key is to remember that you are not the center of the Universe. In other words, you sometimes have to put yourself out for other people -- whether it's a conversation that bores you or something else. I mean, when I talk to people, I'm not necessarily going to choose the topic of conversation every single time. And therefore, what someone else tells me about may be something that I am not very interested in. But because they're a friend, I listen to them and I get involved. I find that if I make an effort to be this way, the rewards for me are many times greater. For one thing, you show friends that you care about them. And for another, those people are then around for you when [i]you[/i] need someone to hear what you have to say. Friendships are like anything else...give and take. You can't expect to be able to take all the time. It just doesn't work that way.[/color]

[color=#707875]*kidnaps various children* Ahem. Anyway, I'm actually in a position where I "monitor" what my younger siblings do on the Internet. My parents know nothing about computers and they essentially entrust me with the task of "protecting" my siblings with this sort of thing. Luckily I don't have much to worry about. My younger siblings aren't naive kids who know nothing about the evils of the Internet. They know what they're doing and they are aware of the dangers that lurk out there. And they've demonstrated to me that they can be very responsible. However, I do still think it's important for parents to set some limits on their kids. The Internet can trick you, regardless of how old you are. And it can be a negative place for some kids. So, you should respect your parents' wishes...even if they might be a little misinformed about certain aspects of the Internet. I think it's fair to say that many parents don't know a lot about computers and their absolute fear of the Internet might be a symptom of that. Those of us who know about the Internet know that there are dangers...but we also know that kids can still browse quite safely most of the time. If you are concerned that your parents are too strict or something, you should sit them down...and browse the Internet with them beside you. Show them around and give them some education about it. You never know -- it might help. But yeah, generally I think that kids should be obeying what their parents say. As Justin said, your parents love you and their intentions are to protect you. You should be thankful for it. ~_^[/color]

[color=#707875]It's interesting that everyone is associated with a cat/big cat or something. Nobody is saying "My spiritual link is with an armadillo". I agree with Justin on this one. What he has described about links with animals is also something that I would personally apply to other "spiritual" things. I think that most of this stuff is created by humans for human consumption. So it usually comes down to how you see yourself, or something. But I also somewhat agree with Braidless Baka. While a [i]real[/i] spiritual link probably doesn't exist, the perception and stereotypical elements [i]do[/i] exist. We have perceptions of animals just as we have perceptions of other human beings. And that relates to stereotypes too...we create categories in our mind, to make digestion of information easier. I know that sounds horribly clinical, but I think that's what underlies most of it. In that regard, a link with animals makes sense. If you talk about the traits of a dog (loyal, obedient and so on) and then you apply it to a human...it makes sense to anyone, because it's easily understood. Know what I mean? It's like an effective method of communicating your personality by simply saying "I'm aligned with a dog" or something. I haven't explained that very well, but eh...it's late here. ~_^ [/color]

[color=#707875]I personally feel that the older Disney movies generally had better music in 'em. Or at least, they were all pretty good up until a few years ago. Some of the newer Disney films just fall flat on their face when it comes to music. James & the Giant Peach comes to mind...the music in that movie was the most lazy, horrible stuff I've ever heard. lol It's a shame, considering the gorgeous visuals and the wonderful original novel. As I've grown older, I find that I tend to prefer cartoons that don't have characters breaking into song every five minutes. I increasingly find it very irritating. I mean, I enjoyed movies like Toy Story because they really didn't have that element in them...they used music effectively, but the characters themselves weren't frequently doing a song and dance. There was greater focus on the story itself. So that's my personal preference. So in terms of there being less music in general...I personally don't really care. If there's less music, there's also less chance of seeing [i]bad[/i] music. lol But if the music used is clever and interesting...it can really add to the movie. It's just that the writers have to be very effective with music in order to pull that off, in my opinion.[/color]

[color=#707875]Break is very much correct. This thread is designed to discuss "favourite punk bands". That's what it should be used for. I advise you to listen to Moderator advice in future.[/color]

[color=#707873]Mm...I don't think so, A_F. I'm really sorry, but your sign-up just doesn't seem to gel at this point. I know you spent a while on it, but I don't want to let people into the story just because of that. Remember, this RPG series has great importance to me...I'm probably less willing to experiment in some ways. Perhaps another time.[/color]