Corey

[size=1]The door slammed. He walked into the kitchen. His eyes not seeing much. His ears not hearing much. The voice still stood in his head. [b]Mom-[/b] "...et the garbage out." Corey looked at her. Had she been there reading at the kitchen table the entire time? [b]Corey-[/b] "Huh?" She sighed and looked at him. [b]Mom-[/b] "Please get the garbage out before you go to work." [b]Corey-[/b] "Sure... I don't know if I'm going today. I don't really feel good." She looked at him. [b]Mom-[/b] "You don't look very good. Think they're busy?" Corey shook his head. [b]Corey-[/b] "I don't know... I'm going to call." He walked out of the kitchen and into the basement, where his room was located, immediately opening his window. He took out his pipe, lighter, and weed, packed a bowl, and smoked it, blowing the smoke out of the window. Corey replaced the pipe in his hiding spot, sprayed some Glade around his room, and went over to the phone. With a moments hesitation, he punched in the number of his job. It rang twice. [b][i]George-[/i][/b] "Scrub-a-Dub Car Wash. George speaking, how can I help you?" [b]Corey-[/b] "Hey George, it's Corey. You guys need me today?" [b][i]George-[/i][/b] "Nah, dude. I've got it. I meant t'call your mom earlier but I forgot." Relief spread over Corey's face. [b]Corey-[/b] "Thanks man." He hung up and walked upstairs, quickly checking his clothes for the smell of pot. "Hey mom." She looked up. "I'm going to sleep." He went over to the garbage can and took out the plastic bag." [b]Mom-[/b] "Ok hun. Thanks for taking out the garbage." He rolled his eyes while his back was turned. Last night she was bitching at him about not saying goodnight. Now this pleasant mask. Fuck her. He walked out of the door, the sun hitting him in the face. What the hell happened to the clouds? He threw the garbage into the big can and started walking back toward the house. Something caught his eye across the street. He turned his head to see a man walking the other way listening to the same kind of MP3 player he had. The man was staring at him. Corey turned and walked back to his house, a little faster than was necessary. He was high, but not hallucination high... That guy was looking at him. [b]Mom-[/b] "Are you ok Corey? You look a little pale." The falseness in her voice. The facade of caring. [b]Corey-[/b] "I'm just not feeling well, ok?" He walked through the kitchen and down to his room. Sleep. Sleep is what he needed. He pulled off his pants and shirt and covered himself with his blanket. "Sleep..." He closed his eyes and saw the rainbow of colors the pot painted on the back of his eyelids. How calming... ??? He opened his eyes and took in the landscape. [b]Corey-[/b] "What the hell?" In the distance there were mountains. Black mountains. Even though they were so far away, he could still feel them stretching to get at him. The peaks looked so sharp... He was standing on some sort of salt flat. The ground was cracked and dry. A dusty, hot wind blew across his face. Where was he? Across the landscape there were trees. Sparse trees. Every few thousand feet, one sat there on the ground, sad and dead. Their bark was grey. Their roots twisted and broken from a millennia of thirst. The branches seemed to reach toward the heavens, cursing the god that ceased the rain and killed them all. The sky was as grey as the trees. Clouds over clouds over clouds... The occasional wisp of black smoke broke the monotony of the grey on grey skyscape. The clouds parted momentarily. Something dark glittered in the sky. Was that the sun? [b]Corey-[/b] "Oh my God..." The sun was black. As black as a stone of Onyx. Black as a chunk of coal... Where was he? One of the trees behind him toppled with a sickening snap. Like bones breaking. Corey shivered and walked over to it. A large crack had issued from the twisted roots. He dropped to his knees and peered into it. Nothing... It was like peering into the eyes of the dead. Absolutely nothing. The crack quickly shot another foot toward him. Corey stumbled back and fell on his butt. It shot toward him again with a sound that reminded him of nails on a chalkboard. He scrambled to his feet and ran back the way he came, the crevice following about a foot behind with every step he took. He glanced back and saw the spot the tree and crack had originally been was spread into a wide, black chasm. It was expanding with every inch the crack moved with him. He felt his foot touch nothing as he yanked it up. Then the other came back down on nothing. He sprawled forward, grabbing the edge of the abyss and hanging on, quite literally, for dear life. Something behind him laughed. He turned to look and his hands were thrown from the edge. He was screaming, but nothing was coming out. The black surrounded him. Corey looked up to the sky. The clouds parted and gave him one last look at the scorched sun before he was enveloped in the suffocating blackness of nothingness. He fell to a ground of some kind. His body hit solid matter, even though he could see nothing. He grunted as he hit, and bounced. Slowly, he got up, still unable to see anything. [b]??-[/b] "You're a waste." He spun around in the blackness, trying to find the source of the voice. It seemed to have come from everywhere at once. [b]Corey-[/b] "What?!" It laughed, sounding just like bones rattling. [b]??-[/b] "You'll never be anything. Never amount to anything. You're worthless. Less than nothing. Just taking up space." Corey hunkered down, cradling his head with his hands. How many times has he thought this? [b]Corey-[/b] "NO!!" It laughed again. [b]??-[/b] "Yes. You know it's true. You'll never make it in college. You barely make it in high school." [b]Corey-[/b] "No... I'm... I'm not..." [b]??-[/b] "You're a failure." Corey dropped to the ground and curled up. [b]Corey-[/b] "I'm not... I'm not..." The voice laughed again. He felt tentacles wrapping themselves around his limbs. They were cold. He shrieked. They started to tighten and pull. He strained against them, his body quickly tiring. "No!!" What was that? There were words... Someone was speaking. But everything was pain. Nothing was getting through the red veil of pain that sheathed his body. He heard the tendons and joints in his arms start to creak from the strain. What were they saying?! It seemed so important to hear! But the pain was too much! He felt pressure on his chest that shook him. His left arm unhinged at the shoulder. He screamed. ??? [b]Dad-[/b] "Corey!!! Wake up!!!" Corey opened his eyes and screamed.[/size]

[size=1][b]Name:[/b] Corey [b]Age:[/b] 21 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Appearance:[/b] Corey stands at 6' 2" tall, and about 200 lbs. His short cut hair is a dark brown, and his eyes hazel. A short stubble lays on his upper neck and jaw. Small silver rimmed glasses are perched on his face. Both of his ears are streatched to a 2 gauge, and he has a labret piercing, a septum piercing, and a tongue percing. He'll always be seen in the same pair of faded and torn light blue jeans. His shirts consist of either a random band, Harley Davidson attire, or dark solid colored shirts. He also has a brown duster packed, but probably won't need it. It is, after all, summer in Texas. [b]Character Snippit:[/b] [quote=SimpleChaos][color=deepskyblue]Hey guys, School is finally out, so I want you all to come spend a week here in Texas with me. I hope you all can come; I can?t wait to see everyone! Hopefully we won?t have any problems with planes and such. As soon as you all get here, we?ll get you settled into a suite in the hotel, and then we can all go out to party at my place! I?ll meet you all at the airport in two weeks time, at seven, your time. Hope to see you then! Kelly a.k.a. Simple Chaos[/color][/quote] [b]Corey-[/b] "Whoa..." He sat in his chair rather dumbfounded. The laptop sat open, displaying the Yahoo! mail box he'd been using for as long as he could remember. In another small window was the message he'd gotten from an old friend. He never really expected to hear from her again. Or from any of the friends he made on OB. The only one's he still kept in contact with were Annie, Gavin, and Raiha. He took off his headphones, stopping the new KMFDM album that had been pouring out of his laptop for the last week. Without a moments hesitation he walked over to the calendar nailed to the wall of his shithole apartment. Home was a $600 a month apartment on a borderline ghetto neighborhood. Utilities were free. So were repairs. He lived with his best friends, Mike and David, and only had to pay $200 a month by himself. They all pitched in for the net and groceries. [b]Corey-[/b] "In two weeks..." He skimmed his finger across the rows. School had just gotten out for the summer, but in about a month he was scheduled to start classes another round of Embalming courses. He went to the local Technical College to become a Funeral Parlor owner and Embalmer. "I'll be completely free." [b]David-[/b] "What'd you say?" Corey looked at him. He was wearing a pair of shorts, a Mettalica shirt, and smoking a cigarette. He offered Corey one and he took it, putting it into his mouth and lighting it with a book of matches. [b]Corey-[/b] "I think I'm going out of town for a week later this month." David shrugged and made his way to the kitchen. [b]David-[/b] "Ok." He poured himself a glass of water. "Bring me back something nice, honey." Corey broke into a smile. He took a drink. [b]Corey-[/b] "**** you! You went to ******* Jamaica and bought a wooden pipe. All you brought me back was a coffee cup." David walked out of the kitchen area and went back to his room (the couch). "I'll bring you my dirty clothes, laundry *****." He lazily raised his middle finger and layed back down. It was only ten o'clock in the morning. Why was he even up? [b]Mike-[/b] "You're going where?" [b]Corey-[/b] "Texas." Mike screwed up his face. [b]Mike-[/b] "Since when did you start liking the heat?" Corey shrugged. [b]Corey-[/b] "Since a bunch of my friends from OB decided to get together." He nodded. Mike (Char!) was the one that first introduced Corey to OB. [b]Mike-[/b] "Mmmk, dude. Leave rent before you go." Corey nodded and slapped his outstretched hand. This was going to be fun. He'd only seen annie and Gavin face to face. Hopefully it would go off without a hitch.[/size]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']And that goes hand in hand with the Imperial/Metric measurements ~_^[/size][/quote] [size=1]Well there's something I agree on, my dear Baron. I like metric much better than the junk we use here. All the tools I fix up my bikes with are metric anyway.[/size]

[quote name='James][color=#D6A204']Oh, and driving on the left is common in most countries as far as I know.[/color][/quote] [size=1]Heh, it's common in America too. At about one in the morning. After the driver has had a few beers. O.O[/size]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][SIZE=1']Lol. Our toilet is in a separate room to the bathroom, so instead of being "in the bathroom", we're "in the toilet". [/SIZE][/quote] [size=1]0_0 Australians are weird. ^_^[/size]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']Anyway, I always find myself day-dreaming in the toilet or in the shower.[/size][/quote] [size=1]Whoa, buddy... What kind of toilet do you use? You might get in yours, but I sit on mine. :P[/size]

[size=1]I graduate on the 15th of June. And Adahn, consider yourself glared at. *glare of doom* Anyway, over the summer I'm planning on working a little. Not a lot, because frankly I don't want my last summer before college to be about nothing but working. I'm going to try to go to Las Vegas to see some really good friends of mine, plus get to experiance the lack of green in the desert. I haven't seen these people in years and really need to before I forget what they're like. I'm also planning a trip up to an arts camp thing called Interlochen. It's in northern Michigan and one of my best friends has a job there this summer. At least once I need to go up there. Other than that, I want to bike a lot, and get more fit.[/size]

[size=1][quote name='Dragon Warrior']Try reenacting the scene from Psycho.[/quote] I did that on Halloween to my Dad. Scared him poo-less. He vowed to get me back really bad. It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it will. My shower is in the furnished basement of my house. It's a walk-in with tile and an ugly clear shower curtain. The showerhead used to be low-flow, but I opened it up and took out the regulator. Now it's nice and heavy duty. DW, what makes you think of these things?[/size]

[size=1]It was an odd feeling. Cold fire tingling every fibre of his body. A calm veil setted on his mind. He saw what had to be done. How to do it. When to do it. He looked down at the ring, pulsing white on his finger, and out at the fight, bloody and horrible. He looked at his cousin and sister. [b]Koji & Liari-[/b] "We are." Lai and Shin rushed the creature with their weapons drawn, meaning to end it then and there. Shin slashed at the creatures leg, a distraction, while Lai aimed a long graceful arc at it's neck, the kill. The creature jumped just as Shins blow landed on it's thigh. It bellowed, as Lai hit nothing but air, and landed a good distance away. [b]Koji-[/b] "Now! Go!" The three ran toward the creature. It was powerful against a small amount of foes, but not four. The girl that had been called Miya stood exactly where the thing had landed. She sunk her sword into its back, this time with malice instead of mockery. It howled and turned to slash at her. Koji jumped, was momentarily surprised by how high he had jumped, and kicked the creature in the head. He heard a crack. The creature, distracted, missed it's mark on the slash at Miya. The arm sailed over her head and she took its hand off at its wrist. Another howl. Koji landed on the ground and watched Liari do a quick ballet of kicks and punches to it's head. The thing tottered on the brink of un-balance. Kimiko jumped and threw her yo-yo from her hand. It swirled at the end of the string, blades of light dancing out of it and lacerating the monster... deeply. Miya slashed again from her point on the ground. Koji jumped, hooked and arm around Kimikos decending body, and threw her back up into the air. She let loose with her yo-yo again, and Koji came down, planting both feet on the monsters head. He felt it's skin and muscle squish beneath his feet. It had worked. The creature began to fall, Kojis last bit of force toppled it. Koji lept off. Just beofre it hit the ground, Liari kicked it's head downwards from above, it landed with its neck at an odd angle, and with a sickening snap. [b]Koji-[/b] "Everyone! It's down! Attack now!!"[/size]

[size=1][b]Corey-[/b] "What'd you get for lunch?" Corey looked over at his friend Anthony and the pile of steaming glop on his plastic lunch tray. Anthony poked it with his fork. [b]Anthony-[/b] "I think it's supposed to be lasagna..." He took a small bite. "It's not doing a good job of being lasagna though..." Corey grimaced and took a bite of his muffin. Blueberry. Good muffin. Up to that point, the day had been pretty uneventful. He'd gone to his first three classes without any kind of complaint, other than school started too early, and had gotten out of them with a minimum of homework. He glanced out of the cafeteria windows and noticed the clouds starting to creep into the sky from the west. Overcast was good. Good biking weather. The wind was a little bit brisk, but that just made the workout all the better. Headwinds were great to bike through. Bumps your stamina up a lot. [b]Corey-[/b] "What're you going to write you paper on? For Literature." Anthony shrugged and forked another mouthful of the lasagna glop into his mouth. It looked almost as bad as the stirfry they served yesterday. [b]Anthony-[/b] "I dunno... Probably on Frued. The Death of Ivan Illych was too boring for me." Corey nodded and ate some more of his muffin. The bell rang and the massive amount of student packed into the cafeteria rose and began to make their way to their next class. Corey continued to sit, munching his muffin and sipping at his Powerade. "C'mon dude. You'll be late." He shrugged. [b]Corey-[/b] "It's the upside of being a senior, man. You just stop caring after a while. I mean, what does it matter if I miss the first minute or two of class? It doesn't. Half the time Doc isn't even there on time." [b]Anthony-[/b] "True enough. I'll see you in a few man." Corey gave him the peace sign and bit some more off of his muffin. Today seemed like a good day. Hopefully that damn lecture on financial aid wouldn't be boring as hell. He didn't think it would be, but who knows. The late bell rang, and Corey got up. He brushed the muffin crumbs off the table, grabbed his books, and started off to class.[/size]

[quote name='^.^][Color=DarkBlue][Size=1]You guys are really, really cold.[/color'][/size][/quote] [size=1]It's something I pride myself on. ^_^[/size]

[quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1']I daresay he hates you because you're stealing his daughter from him.[/size][/quote] [size=1]I daresay you're right. ^_^ I have absolutely no physical boundaries with women. I don't much care what race you are, what body type you are, what color your eyes are, or anything else. All that matters is what kind of a person you are. I can't date anyoe that isn't open minded. Close minded people get on my nerves to no end. Also anyone that is fantically religious is a major turnoff. I also like to be able to talk and discuss things with my significant other. Communication and philosophical coversations are key.[/size]

[size=1]I was just wondering if any of our characters will ever be meeting up with eachother. Considering we all live in a lot of different places, contact might be a little hard, but will it be unheard of? I can imagine some kind of meeting through the internet trying to find things out about what's happening with our minds and maybe stumbling onto the same messageboard or self help forum then deciding to meet. Just wondering.[/size]

[size=1]OOC: Sorry ULX, been busy. I'm in it for the long haul now. ??? [b]Kimiko-[/b] "Koji!" She slapped him hard. He jerked and woke up from the half doze he'd been in. His eyes were cloudy. "Don't you feel it?!" He brought his hands to his eyes and rubbed. A sharp pain screamed from his back. [b]Koji-[/b] "Ahhhhh! What the hell?!" Kimiko shrugged but looked very agitated. [b]Kimiko-[/b] "I don't know, I have it too... But it feels wrong... Unnatural... Koji.. We have to go!" He stood, coping quickly with the diminishing pain, and ran. Kimiko kept pace. The hallways seemed too bright. Too long... [b]Koji-[/b] "Where are we going?!" We'll know where to go... [b]Kimiko-[/b] "We'll know! I can feel something Koji!" He could too. An acrid lump of pain sitting in the middle of his chest is what he felt. It hurt to breathe. To think, to run... But they had to. Something was happening and they needed to be there. But where was ther- [b]Koji-[/b] "Out here!!!" He slmmed out of a pair of doors, cracking the glass on one. He stopped, Kimiko almost slammed into him, and looked around. She grabbed his arm and pointed across the landscape. [b]Kimiko-[/b] "There!" He saw a group of students seemingly attacking something that could only have come from a horror novel. Who was that on the ground? [b]Koji-[/b] "Liari..." He reached up and pulled the silver ring and chain from his neck. "Ready yourself sister." The ring began to grow hot in his hand as the two siblings took off across the grounds.[/size]

[quote=MSNBC][b]The church's new 'front man'[/b] [url]http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7575799/[/url][/quote] [size=1]It was only a matter of time before a thread like this popped up. I'd like to know what everyone thinks about the new Pope. I'd especially like to hear from any Roman Catholics on the matter. There have been talks of the new Pope being a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer. I find this to be a load of crap. Sixty-Seventy years ago, what guy on that side of the world didn't have ties to Hitler? You could either support him or die. I would have. I'm not religious in the slightest, but people need to just accept it and stop trying to find something wrong.[/size]

[size=1]I haven't been anywhere terribly exciting. I'm perfectly content, actually, to remain here in Milwaukee for a while and just hang out with my friends. i have better times with them then I do in any other city with relatives. Anyway, I went to Kentucky when I was about 14 with my school. We went down there to play in a band competition, and got second place. But the countryside was beautiful, the food was spectacular, and Kentucky Kingdom (a Six Flags amusement park) had absolutely great rides. We had a good week there, my only complaint was that it was too hot for me, but I'm a cold weather guy anyway. The next trip was down to Florida with my parents. We went to Disney World, a huge letdown in my opinion, the Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. My favorite was Epcot, simply because of the melding of all the different cultures. The Irish and East Indian cultures were my favorite. Then I went to Pittsburg with someone, but I was real sick and don't remember much. The air smelled weird. I remember that much. I went to New York with my Highschool last year, It was so much fun, mostly because I had a lot of friends there. We did so much while we were there. Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, all the obligatory tourist crap. My best memory was sitting on top of some random cement wall, talking with three good friends, smoking a cig, and just being %100 happy. At the beginning of this year I went to NY again. Some new stuff, some old stuff. Most importantly we went to go see something called The Democracy Project. It was a theatrical thing in the basement of an art gallery. Very, very cool. We got to see five or six one act plays. Absolute fun. That's about it. I'm going to Vegas this summer to visit some relatives. And Alaska next year to visit a friend. *shrug*[/size]

[size=1][b]Name:[/b] Corey Roos [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]Sex:[/b] Male [b]Appearance:[/b] Corey stands at 6' 2", has medium length light brown hair, small glasses that are pretty scratched up, and stretched earlobes on each ear (usually with a bamboo earring in them). Corey has a scruff of hair on his chin and a tattoo of the Irish flag o his left inner forearm. He wears a ball bearing necklace around his neck with a plain sterling silver ring on it. He usually dresses in a pair of worn and torn bluejeans with old broken-in beige sneakers. His shirt is usually some random fall-colored solid with one of his white work shirts over it. [b]Continent you live on:[/b] North America (Milwaukee, WI United States) [b]The thing you?re being haunted through:[/b] MP3 Player [b]Character Snipit:[/b] [b]Corey-[/b] "Jesus Christ... How much longer is this crap going to take?" Corey leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes, glancing at a friend next to him. They were attending an in-school financial aid seminar and he was bored out of his mind. College loomed in the future. He had a good amount of money in the bank, but not nearly enough. His attention should be focused on the person speaking, but it was hot in there. No damn ventilation in the auditorium... He wiped at his brow and tried to focus on the current slide that was being projected on the screen. Something about FAFSA... He slid out of his chair and stood to leave, but was stopped by one of the Assistant Principals. [b]Mrs. Allison-[/b] "Back to your seat. There's still another ten minutes or so." He groaned and sat back down into the moist wooden chair. The room was starting to reek of sweat and under-deoderanted underclassmen. He took out his earbuds and slipped them on, slickly plugging them into his little MP3 player. He looked over his shoulder and watched the AP scolding another student for trying to leave. He put the volume on a loud enough level to drown out the speaker and all the other noise, and turned on Pink Floyd's [u]Dark Side Of The Moon[/u]. He skipped the first few and landed on the song [u]Time[/u]. [b]Corey-[/b] "Wake me up when it'd over, Kurt." He nudged his friend and got a nod in return. Corey sunk in his chair, trying to get semi comfortable in the stifling room. The familiar alarm clocks started pouring out of the headphones, and Corey drifted off to a heat induced doze. The soothing music eased his nerves and seemed to cool the room off. So much had been going on lately. Working a lot. So much school work. College crap. Family problems. He slid his hand into his pocket and touched his little metal pipe. Drugs made him feel better. Marijuana only. Nothing more serious than that. He enjoyed the calming effect pot had on him. It made him mellow. It made him agreeable. It kept him in check. His hand also bumped a pack of Camel cigarettes. He'd like to have one of those right now. The music fizzled out. Corey opened his eyes and looked around. He charged the battery last night. It couldn't be dead already. He slipped it out of his pocket and brought up the status screen. Battery was charged. The song was still playing. He unplugged the headphones and inspected the cord. It was ok... He put the plug back into his MP3 player and turned up the volume all the way. Faint static could be heard, almost like screaming turned to a very low level. Corey scrunched up his face and strained to listen over the constant chattering of the financial aid lady. [b]??-[/b] "Ahhahahaha...." Corey's face blanched. [b]Corey-[/b] "What the ****..." He pressed the buds deeper into his ear and received a burst of static that sounded like a few dozen people screaming at once. "Ahhh!" He gripped his ears and a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up, still holding his ears, at the AP. [b]Mrs. Allison-[/b] "You have less than two minutes, be quiet!" He nodded and slipped down into his chair. Putting the buds back into his ears. [b]??-[/b] "That was a close one Corey. Best not to act so rashly again...." The voice paused and a bit of the song played in the background. "We're watching you, Mr. Roos. Be careful." The bell rang, and Corey stayed in his seat for a minute, pondering what had just transpired. Kurt gave him a punch and Corey stood up. Time for work... But what the hell was that?[/size]

[size=1]Just out of curiosity, how many of the people that have posted, or will post, own and pay for their own cell phone without any kind of parental assitance? I'm just wondering. I'm 18. My parents haven't bought or payed for anything of mine in the last few years. I've been working since I was 15, and have never owned a cellphone. *GASP!!!1!11!* Not only am I unable to afford a cellphone, much less the ringtones, I don't want one. What is the appeal of being connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? If I'm sitting there in my room at midnight tryig to fall asleep, I would be downright pissed if someone tried to call me. Sure you can turn it off, but how many of you honestly do for fear of missing a call! I like my solitude. I don't want it to be inturrupted by some moronic sound or an idiot trying to get the latest information on a friends break-up in the middle of a bloody campground or park. Go out and enjoy nature. Leave the technology at home.[/size]

[size=1]This happens to me a lot at my school. Though it's always by the ones that I expect to see on the news at night for shooting someone or being involved in some huge drug bust. Like Godelsensei said, don't let the actions of a few idiots change your polite demeanor. People like you are few and far between. It's important to hold onto the little good this world has left.[/size]

[quote name='Torrid']Nobody keeps score of how popular you are.[/quote] [size=1]Unfortunately, some people do. It's very sad that our society has become so image based. Where I go to school, you're only cool if you spend insane amounts of money on clothes that look like they've been worn to shreads. I overheard someone talkng today about how they bought this pair of pants for $120. I looked, and there were huge holes in the knees and patches were sewn just about everywhere. I could make that for about five bucks. But the name is all that matters. Some stupid thing like Ecko or Phat Farm. It makes me sad that these kids that buy $80 t-shirts and $200 shoes will be in debt up to their eyeballs for the rest of their lives. Forget being cool. It's a waste of time and effort. Plus I'm pretty sure it causes cancer.[/size]

[size=1]:D I am honored and amazed. I really need to finish the Bikini Bandits. I stopped reading around chapter 6 or so.[/size]

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE=1']For a long time the Channel Four late night watershed has been a haven for adolescent boys with a single sock.[/SIZE][/quote] [size=1]Pecisely why I fund it hilarious, Gav. Poor adolescent boys. Don't they know about the internet being the pinnacle of pornogoaphy?[/size]

Nosey Rollingstone Reporter [b]Name:[/b] Allen Ridley [b]Age:[/b] 34 (D.O.B. March 18th, 1971) [b]Vice:[/b] Curiosity. [b]Biography:[/b] Allen was born on a rainy March day in the midst of the seventies to two drugged up hippies completely unprepared for having a child. His mother loved him with every breath she took, but neither made enough money to take care of him in their current lifestyle. So they changed. They stopped smoking pot. They stopped doing nitrous. The stopped eating mushrooms. And they started moving on with their lives. By the age of four, his parents had saved up enough money to move into an apartment in New York. It wasn't very good. It had roaches and rats, but it was better than the **** hole they used to live in. The place didn't even have a toilet, for Christ's sake. Allen entered public school at the age of five and did an average job in most of his classes. He developed a keen sense of adventure, always getting into trouble and being places he wasn't supposed to be. One day, in fourth grade, he decided it would be a lot more fun to eat lunch on the roof. So he climbed up there and ate his PB&J sandwich, watching the fire truck pull up to the school and extend it's ladder up to him. He climbed in with a smile on his face and thanked the fireman for helping him down. He was suspended for a week. When Allen got to highschool, in the mid eighties, his thrill seeking nature had gotten him a good reputation as a 'punk'. He didn't much like authority, but would bend to it if the situation deemed necessary. Allen could always be seen at parties, searching for that new bit of adventure be it a girl or a bottle of schnapps. He went to college to become an english teacher, something he always loved and respected, but quickly changed his major when he realized the teachers life was too drab and dull for him. He instead went out to study journalism. He always loved to read magazines and admired the writers to a fault. In his last year he was given the task, for his thesis, to unearth a story and report it as if he were doing it for a newspaper. Allen snuck into City Hall dressed as a custodian and eavesdropped on a phone conversation between the Mayor and an anchored ship offshore. Apparently, the ship had a rather large amount of money that was to be given to the mayor if a few members of port authority would suddenly come down with the flu and leave their posts. Allen got the whole thing on tape and sold the story to the New York Times for a good hunk of money. He got paid and passed with flying colors, though he was told by his Professor that it wasn't supposed to be something so extreme. Allen got a job with a small local newspaper. Three weeks in, he printed a story about a drug ring in the police force that he got by lowering a mic through the ventilation system. The New York Times picked him up as a freelance agent. He worked for them for nearly seven years before Rolling Stone picked him up. They needed someone not afraid to get their hands dirty for a story. Someone that didn't want to sit at a desk all day. He accepted and has been working for them ever since. After the Wonka interview, Allen was on edge, but extremely interested. He went out and bought a few dozen large bars of chocolate with the fleeting hopes of getting a ticket. Allen didn't see a bit of gold foil. The next morning Rolling Stone sent a package to be delivered at his house. He opened it to reveal a copy of Wonka's newest album, The Best Of Wonka Inc. A small note taped to the CD case read "Don't **** up, Ridley." He opened it to see the gold foil stare him in the face. [i]How'd they pull that off,[/i] he though. But his suspicion gave way to rampant excitement. He was going to get the story of the century, and he'd leave no stone unturned in that factory. [b]Appearance:[/b] Allen is about 6' 3", and 200lbs. His shoulders are broad and his legs are skinny, giving him the appearance of intimidation until he puts on a pair of shorts. Allen's head is oval shaped and he has long features. His black hair is shortly cropped and on his chin he has stubble to match. His eyes are large and very intense, giving you the feeling of being looked into instead of being looked at. He has a rather large nose, being slightly crooked from a break, and medium sized, though thick, eyebrows. His lips are thin and his mouth is always curved just upward enough to give a ghost of a smile. Two small hoops decorate his ears. His arms hang just below his waist, and his hands are large and nicotine stained. Allen usually wears a pair of faded, ripped light blue jeans and a t-shirt with "Rolling Stone Magazine: Staff" written on it. When out in daylight, he wears large aviator sunglasses.

[quote name='Gavin][SIZE=1]If memory serves Channel Four [UK Channel'] fiddled about with a programme called The L Ward, about a bunch of promiscuous lesbian nurses but I doubt it's the same.[/SIZE][/quote] [size=1]Sounds hilarious. I'd agree with Gav. It sounds a lot like any other real-life-esk TV show. I seem to remember a show like this about a couple guys that were gay. It was a comedy. I didn't like it.[/size]

[size=1]I can see only one road standardized testing will go down. The same road a lot of public schools are going down. With the application of the No Child Left Behind act most schools, unfortunately, have dumbed down their curriculum. Mine included. Sure we still have the Advanced Placement courses and honors courses, but for the most part I've watched classes like Algebra and English go downhill from the moment I entered highschool. I think that eventually standardized testing will be dumbed down too. Good for the people schooled by the 'dumbed down' schools, and great for the above average intelligence people. Standardized testing is good by me. Like you said Azure, everyone is equal when taking it. There are no variables or pity grades. Just youa nd your brain.[/size]