Semjaza

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by terra [/i] [B]Did you just use the teardrop smiley face? o.O[/B][/QUOTE] I've used it a few times in my life heh. It was almost 4 AM, I was dead and strange things happen lol. It seems like a few people were confused by the axe one so I redid it. I had to redraw part of the tile floor and the wall, because I had to make the image substantially smaller to get it all on there. I linked the entire original cover in an earlier post, so that should explain what's going on there heh. Anyway. I think this might be better for some people: [img]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_burn2.png[/img] Don't ask me why the blood is black, but a lot of comics do that for some reason. I'm glad people are enjoying the jokes. I was afraid a few would be referring to too specific of a thing for everyone to find all that amusing lol.

Heh. The site is more or less done. I've explained in one of my posts on there why it's not as design heavy as the original. Mostly because I just couldn't update it much because I was so constrained. V2 doesn't look as impressive in many respects, but I prefer it because I can finally add all these sections I've wanted to for quite some time. That and it's not so resolution intensive. I basically sacrificed design for function, although I don't think v2 looks bad by any means. I'm probably going to adjust some of the graphics for the sections. For example, I think the Navigation graphic is just too bright considering how close it is to the banner above it. I might swap those colors with another. I need to add a "sites" section as well, for when the new URL is in full swing. [url]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip[/url] is where it currently is. [url]www.wrappedinplastic.net[/url] will point to it soon. As for the lyrics... well, no, I guess that part doesn't remind me of the future. The rest of the song does in some ways, because of things it refers to (it's very strangely written, but I love it -- I think it's my favorite Bowie song lol). However, that's one of my favorite lines in the song and I thought it kind of fit the violence level and oddity of the golden age comics I was using. Time for bed. It's almost 4 AM :sweat:

As for the brightness, I can see this being a concern. On my site, there's enough white offsetting the banners that I don't think they're a problem. Afterall, they'd only be displayed one at a time on the site (randomized -- one of these is loaded randomly with each refresh). With them all listed here in a row, I think the coloring could possibly be overwhelming. So on the site I think it works out for the best... but I have a lot of really vivid and bold colors on there as it is heh. That's just what I wanted. I suppose it could almost too much in some cases for people, but I've grown used to it and like it heh. As for the name for the site -- Both are based on songs. Wrapped in Plastic is a Manson song, which I feel fits the comic idea of the site. That and the lyrics just fit the idea of the site well too heh. Mannequins with Kill Appeal is from Diamond Dogs by David Bowie, which I think fit it as well. Mostly because 1.) it's odd and 2.) the song makes me think of the future thanks to its lyrics. v2 was the future of the original WiP, so what the hell, I figured heh. Thanks for the comments.

I don't know that I'd call The Coral one of my most favorite bands, but they're certainly up there. Considering their ages, the stuff they've put out is pretty damn amazing. I'm even surprised how many songs they have under their belts so far. So far I only own the Skeleton Key EP and their self-titled release. The best I'd describe them as would be "rock". I don't know what else to use. They have an older sound to themselves and a lot of rather surprising influences at times. There's quite a bit of melodies in here that I'd call "mariachi" for lack of a better word. Excellent instrumental use as well. I've not heard many songs that have used a harmonica well, but they have a few I could think of offhand. Nice Doors-esque organ as well sometimes. Plus you can never knock nice use of a horn section. I'll give samples to people who are interested if they can't manage to find anything to hear them with. I certainly feel their CDs are worth a blind purchase, but that's me heh. Any fans around OB?

[url]http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_top10feb04,0,5698391.story?coll=chi-news-hed[/url] [quote]BOSTON -- The Massachusetts high court declared Wednesday that gays are entitled to nothing less than marriage and that Vermont-style civil unions will not suffice, setting the stage for the nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings by the spring. The court issued the advisory opinion at the request of legislators who wanted to know whether civil unions would be enough to satisfy the court after its November ruling that said gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage. That decision had been written in such a way that it left open the possibility that civil unions might be allowed. But Wednesday's opinion by the Supreme Judicial Court left no doubt: Only marriage would pass constitutional muster. "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal," four justices wrote. "For no rational reason the marriage laws of the commonwealth discriminate against a defined class; no amount of tinkering with language will eradicate that stain. The (civil unions) bill would have the effect of maintaining and fostering a stigma of exclusion that the Constitution prohibits." Paul Martinek, editor of Lawyers Weekly USA, said that the blunt opinion erases any confusion. "The fat lady has sung and she's singing the wedding march," Martinek said. "It's clear from reading the majority opinion that there's no basis on which the (court) will OK anything other than marriage." The much-anticipated opinion came a week before next Wednesday's Constitutional Convention, where the Legislature will consider an amendment backed by Republican Gov. Mitt Romney that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But the soonest a constitutional amendment could end up on the ballot would be 2006, meaning that until then, the high court's decision will be Massachusetts law. Gay couples could get married in Massachusetts as soon as May, the deadline set by the court last fall. "We're going to have to start looking for a band," said Ed Balmelli, who put down a deposit for a wedding after the opinion. The case represents a significant milestone in a year that has seen broad new recognitions of gay rights in America, Canada and abroad, including a June U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a Texas ban on gay sex. The White House called the Massachusetts ruling "deeply troubling." "Activist judges continue to seek to redefine marriage by court order without regard for the will of the people," said presidential spokesman Scott McClellan. Senate President Robert Travaglini, who will preside over the constitutional convention, said he would consult with fellow lawmakers about the next step. "I want to have everyone stay in an objective and calm state as we plan and define what's the appropriate way to proceed," he said. "There is a lot of anxiety out there obviously surrounding the issue but I don't want to have it cloud or distort the discussion." The federal government and 38 other states have enacted laws barring the recognition of any gay marriages in other jurisdictions. Vermont recognizes marriage-like civil unions that grant gay couples nearly all the rights and benefits of full marriage, such as health insurance, hospital visitation and inheritance rights. The Massachusetts decision will probably lead to multiple lawsuits about whether gay marriage benefits can extend beyond the state's borders. The right to same-sex marriage would be for state residents only, but the rules are unclear on how it would be enforced. The legal battle in Massachusetts began in 2001, when seven gay couples went to their city and town halls to obtain marriage licenses. All were denied, leading them to sue the state. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in November that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, and gave the Legislature six months to change state laws to make it happen. The state Senate then asked for more guidance from the court. "The dissimilitude between the terms `civil marriage' and `civil union' is not innocuous; it is a considered choice of language that reflects a demonstrable assigning of same-sex, largely homosexual, couples to second-class status," the justices wrote. Conservative leaders said they would redouble their efforts to pass the constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. "This now puts the pressure back on the Legislature to do their job to protect and defend marriage for the citizens of the state to allow them to vote," said Ron Crews, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. Residents and leaders of Massachusetts towns with sizable gay populations saw the ruling as a good business opportunity. "The town can now offer something gays and lesbians have waited their whole lives for," said Provincetown tourism director Patricia Fitzpatrick. Mark Carmien has a sign in his gay-themed bookstore counting down the days to May 17 -- 103 as of Wednesday. His store is located in Northampton, a college town in western Massachusetts that has a large gay population. "It's now crystal clear, if it wasn't before, that the court meant marriage. The word itself has power and benefits that are intangible," said Carmien, who plans to marry his partner in June. "It's a very brave and historic decision."[/quote] Anyway, I thought this was of interest and definitely worth posting. A lot of it doesn't seem overly clear to me as I'm not a big political person, but it seems like a nice step in the right direction for gay people in this country. The local news said the "White House is left fuming" about the decision in their commercial, but I don't really know specifics. I guess they want to pass amendments to make it "man and woman" specifically though.

It was cancelled due to poor ratings. It actually was on a slight rise while the show before it, Fastlane, went lower and lower. The general concensus by critics was that John Doe wasn't doing as well as it could have due to the Friday time slot and the fact that the show leading it wasn't very popular. Fox didn't care to find out, so they got rid of it entirely. It did have good ratings with its target demographic... just not good overall ones.

Thanks for the niceities. In the first one... I've noticed a few people miss what it actually is. The bubble is pointing at the man. He killed the woman and her body is on the floor behind him. He's carrying the axe and her decapitated head by the hair. So he's the one saying this to her heh. [URL=http://www.crimeboss.com/covers/CrimeSuspenStories022.jpg]Original Cover...[/URL]

I figured I'd throw these up here just to see what people thought. I'm unlikely to change any of them regardless though heh. They're for the header portion of my site, which is why they're all so similar. They've been compressed to PNGs so they'd remain lossless and still a decent size. JPG compression wasn't cutting it, especially because it would artifact the red portions when I got it down to a decent filesize. Anyway, the comic images were provided by crimeboss.com. I cleaned them up, filled in any scratches or flaws and put them in. I put the texture over the comic images to give a comic print look to it which I liked. Plus it fits the rest of the site well. I obviously made up the quotes for the most part. Some refer to specific things from TV shows like the Simpsons and Beavis & Butthead. Some don't. I think my favorite is the bondage one lol. So, yeah, here they are: [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_axe.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_bondage.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_burn.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_chloroform.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_curtain.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_donut.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_icecream.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_implants.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_penmanship.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_rectum.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_slut.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_shadow.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_shaft.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/banners/wip2_shemales.png[/IMG] Any ideas for a better quote for the first one would be appreciated... lol

I have, never ever liked the ice temple in Link to the Past. It's not overly frustrating or difficult, I just do not enjoy my time in there whatsoever.

There's a store over that sells toys for cheap called Cut-Rate. They actually still have some Mighty Max toys. I always wanted some, yet never got any. I've never seen the show other than the commercials, though.

Romance of the Three Kingoms is a very successful strategy videogame series as well. It seems mostly like people are concentrating on the Dynasty Warrior games though. You should try out the Three Kingdoms series if you get a chance. One was released on the PS2 and could be found pretty cheap.

Sex sells in the short term. I've seen more close up pictures of it since then and I can see a bit more why people got into such a fuss over it. In most pics it looks like this metal piece that just covers her entire nipple... but it's a piercing and everything shows through it. It wasn't quite that obvious when it was shown on TV and now it's obviously been blurred when it's rebroadcasted. It's a bit much for any TV show, let alone something live being shown at dinner time around the country on CBS of all places. The close-ups also show what someone else mentioned earlier... the only things that seemed to be holding that part of the shirt in place were a few button snaps. I suppose it could have only been meant to come off a small bit instead of the entire thing, but too late now lol.

I'm really bored and don't feel like doing my homework assignments... plus I was doing laundry anyway, so I took some pictures. [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/manson.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/nin.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/clockworkorange.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/rocky.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/firme.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/vgs.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/grayrace.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/nmbc.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/pee-wee.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/spiderman.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/mickeyhorrace.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/gumby.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/thetraitors.jpg[/IMG] [URL]http://www.slownerveaction.org/wip/images/stuff/shirts/jerklessons.jpg[/URL] -- maybe too much to image link heh. Anyway, these are all my favorite shirts I currently own. Most of them are just of bands I am really into or shows I grew up with in some form. Quite a few have sentimental value. I obviously just cropped out everything other than the important part of the shirts.

If dog meat was culturally acceptable here, I doubt most people would care about eating it. What if we went to some country where people kept cows as pets and considered them man's best friend? Would they be disgusted that most people here eat hamburgers? Probably. That's all it comes down to in the end. Meat is meat.

Spare us the nonsense and post something meaningful next time, please.

You can't design a banner for a skin you've never seen. Creating a banner for a new version would make little sense. You have no idea what color schemes will even be present, and this, in effect, would almost force a skin to be designed around it. I don't think it would make sense until v7 was well into full swing.

I've not really had any experience with a crew... but I've been involved with various amateur video productions. Some were for my own use, some for other people's. I've done camera work, but I mostly do the editing and such. Media 100 was the last program I've worked in, which isn't bad. Anyway, that's all I have to say lol.

I really don't believe that no one involved had any idea. Especially with MTV making a reference to Janet doing something "shocking" during the Half Time show days before it even happened. Strange that they've totally removed that line from their site after all this, isn't it? lol

It was totally planned. According to what I've read, the decision to let her do this went all the way up to the highest people involved. MTV hosted the half time show, in case someone doesn't know... but I'm not sure if the decision was made by MTV or CBS itself. MTV.com even alluded to it in one of their news blurbs before it even happened. Plus, you don't wear a medallion on your nipple if you don't know your shirt is going to be ripped off lol. Obviously this all blew up in CBS's face, though, as the Superbowl has a rather large [i]family[/i] audience. From what I've heard, MTV isn't welcome to be responsible for any more halftime shows heh. It's all backtracking currently. They're just trying to cover their ***** right now.

Nintendo has discontinued the gray 59 card. The black 251 is the standard now and it goes for $20 at the max. Of course, that's US currency lol. I personally own that Interact 16 MB card... it has like 3,000 blocks or something and has yet to fail me.

MK: DD was disappointing at first and somehow while playing it, it catapulted itself into becoming my favorite game in the series. I don't even know how that happened... but it's just so much more frantic than the others. More chaos = more fun. I still don't own Mario Kart 64, but someone let me borrow it years back. I finished everything in it and I did enjoy it. In retrospect, it's the worst in the series... but that's not a bad thing considering that it's pretty damn good in the first place. My main issue with it was just how long all the tracks were. I doubt I'd go back and play it though. N64 games have aged so badly. I kind of wish Nintendo put it on the bonus disc with MK: DD so it would look a bit nicer.

All I know about Dark Matter comes from Futurama... and apparently they're nothing alike. Dark Matter is used for starship fuel and Leela's pet, Nibbler, craps it out. Each pound of it weighs precisely 10,000 pounds according to the Professor. Anyway, I don't know much about the real Dark Matter. I can see how the idea of the universe moving outwards could be proven, but how can they prove the existance of dark matter itself if it's based on the big bang, which is just a theory? Theories based on theories seem rather arbitrary heh. Edit -- You added some article right after I submitted my post, so I'll have to read it heh. From your post alone, the idea of it didn't make much sense lol.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Arcadia [/i] [B][size=1]Quite frankly I was a tad surprised that [i]Pirates[/i] got as many nominations as it did. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and I thought it was very well made, but it just didn't seem the sort of movie the Academy would really pay a lot of attention to. It's good to be wrong, though. ^_^;;[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] That's what happens when there really aren't too many Oscar worthy films. I don't think even one film had any sort of oscar buzz behind it until Seabiscuit came out. Most of the other nominees followed it. Depp did an excellent job in the role, but it still seems strangely out of place with the other nominees. He's been more deserving in the past, I think.

I just consider them "rock" lol. I've not bought their latest release, but I own one from the past. For some reason the name of it escapes me, but it was definitely good. I'm glad they're getting some exposure. Arcadia loves them. I know that much.

Depends on how well it is pulled off. It's almost flawless in Metropolis, for example. If they manage to match the CG style to the actual cel animated style, I have no issues with that. However, it can be a problem in the case of TV shows where the production values aren't really up to the standards of a flim like Metropolis. Golgo 13 is a good example of why 3D shouldn't be used in anime. Then again, it's well over a decade old now heh.