Sara

[size=1]I remember reading the Book of Earth several years ago after borrowing it from the local library... I never saw any of the others there, though, and eventually concluded that a.) the series was left unfinished or b.) it simply took a godawful time for the books to come out. Either way, I'd quite forgotten about it until I saw the title of this thread. I shall have to locate those sometime. [/size]

[size=1]Luck of the draw, my friend. Some things get replies, others don't. [/size]

[color=666666][b][u]General Awards[/b][/u] [b]Overall Member of the Year:[/b][size=1]Semjaza Azazel[/size] [b]Male Otaku of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Syk3[/size] [b]Female Otaku of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Babygirl[/size] [b]Staff Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1]James[/size] [b]Funniest Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1]wrist-cutter[/size] [b]Most Opinionated Otaku of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Poison Tongue[/size] [b]Most Likely to Be Here in Two Years:[/b] [size=1]Adam[/size] [b]Best Newbie:[/b] [size=1]Arcadia, Dagger IX1, Terra--[b]I would just like to point out that there is still no convincing evidence that these are ACTUALLY DIFFERENT PEOPLE.[/b] ....Dagger.[/size] [b]Best Oldie:[/b] [size=1]Shy[/size] [b]Most Likely to Become a Staff Member:[/b] [size=1]Dagger IX1[/size] [b]Most Improved Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Baron Samedi[/size] [b]Favorite Banned Member:[/b] [size=1]Taylor Hewitt[/size] [b]Thread of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Star Wars 411[/size] [b]Silliest Thread of the Year:[/b] [size=1]I?am?lone[/size] [b][u]Random Awards[/b][/u] [b]Avatar Award (Best Avatars Overall):[/b] [size=1]James[/size] [b]Signature Award (Best Signatures Overall):[/b] [size=1]Sara :toothy:[/size] [b]Best Location (Best Specific Location):[/b] [size=1]Charles[/size] [b]Best Otaku Couple:[/b] [size=1]Queen Asuka/Piromunkie[/size] [b]Best Looking Otaku:[/b] [size=1]James[/size] [b]Otaku Clique of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Adam?s Angels[/size] [b]Best MyOtaku:[/b] [size=1]Charles[/size] [b][u]Otaku Writers[/b][/u] [b]Poet Laureate:[/b] [size=1]KarmaofChaos[/size] [b]Writer of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Charles[/size] [b]Orginal Story of the Year:[/b] [size=1]OB: Enter the Net [/size] [b]Role-Player of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Arcadia[/size] [b]Brawler of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Chaos[/size] [b]RPG of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Kill Adam[/size] [b][u]Social Otakus[/b][/u] [b]Otaku Social Member:[/b] [size=1]ChibiHorsewoman[/size] [b]Entertainment Otaku:[/b] [size=1]Manic[/size] [b][u]Otaku Anime[/b][/u] [b]Otaku of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Shy[/size] [b].hack//SIGN Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1]AzureWolf[/size] [b]Dragonball Guru of the Year:[/b] [size=1]J17[/size] [b]Digipeep of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Digital_Monster[/size] [b]Gundam Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1] Final Flash[/size] [b]Yu-Gi-Oh Member of the Year:[/b] [size=1]Deathbug[/size] [b]Least Disappointing Yu Yu Hakusho Member:[/b] [size=1]Dagger IX1[/size] [b][u]Otaku Artists[/b][/u] [b]Best Graphic Designer (Banners, wallpapers, etc.):[/b] [size=1]James[/size] [b]Best "Traditional" Artist (Drawings, paintings, etc.):[/b] [size=1]Queen Asuka[/size] [b]Best Spriter:[/b] [size=1]Dragonballzman[/size] .... [b]The Triforce Award:[/b] [size=1]Desbreko.[/size][/color]

[SIZE=1]I actually meant the background when I said it was smudged. It used to be a little more defined...like the pebbles in the right hand corners. Oh, well, heh. This is another picture, obviously. / It's an older sketch that I decided to color. It ended up being something of an experiment with colored pencils, which I don't use that often. It was supposed to be blue and green, but I got a bit carried away, so it's a bit more colorful than that. You can see the same wing concept as the angel I posted earlier. Seperate pieces. And it was originally supposed to be shorter, so the arms and legs seem disporportionate. (Actually, it looks really weird because it doesn't have elbows.) And for lack of a better name, we shall call it Melpomene.[/SIZE] [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=547649[/IMG]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mitch [/i] [B][size=1][color=red]Whoever came up with that name, which is higly easy to remember, took Latin in school and was smart enough to implement it in a cool way.[/size][/color] [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Not [i]necessarily.[/i] I knew that, and I haven't taken Latin. Which isn't to say I don't sometimes look up roots of words in my free time... But, yeah. You're right about German, by the way. English is a Germanic language, and some words are just too close [i]not[/i] to recognize. It's cool like that. [/SIZE]

[i]I think in a conversation all of those forms of communication (except perhaps written) need to be used to best get the point across, and I would think that all three generally come naturally in a conversation. I know I hardly ever sit stiffly during a conversation, and [b]my physical gestures generally convey a lot of what I'm feeling or thinking.[/b][/i] [size=1]What if [b]written[/b] is the only form of communication you have in a conversation? I think it's interesting how asterisks are used to fill (at least partially) the void that would otherwise develop during chats and IMs. When you're typing, you have fairly limited resources for communication. The written word is incredible powerful, but when you're trying to use it as a form of conversation, something is undoubtably going to be lost. (Unless you're a rock with no gestures or facial expression.) Smiles, laughter, sarcasm, teasing, and other things easily noticed in speech do not always translate well to text. Obviously, "You can't see me, but I'm laughing right now," becomes rather cumbersome to say. Many people use [i]lol[/i], etc. to indicate that they're laughing...or amused, as the case may be. I have to admit I prefer asterisks, simly because they seem a little more honest. If everyone I know is actually "laughing out loud" every time they say [i]lol[/i], then the Prozac people are going to be out of a job in few years, because the youth of this world simply cannot stop laughing. Somehow, though, I doubt that's the case. ;) (Ooh, a smiley! Another prime example of text equating emotion! How apt!) ...Ahem. Someone reply to this, because I just lost my thread of thought.[/size]

[size=1]Communication is cool. The concept is just shared knowledge. I could ask someone at the grocery store if they have "[b]yellow fatty beans[/b]" on sale. They would give me an odd look and possibly point me to the canned goods section. Is that what I wanted? No. Why didn't they tell me what I wanted to know? Because I wasn't communicating. There's no shared knowledge base on "yellow fatty beans." I would have to draw on what I know they know: Bananas. I don't know how many of you have played the game [b]Taboo[/b], but there are several others like it. (Most are far easier. /) You are given a limited amount of time to get your partner(s) to say certain words (given at the top of cards.) Below the objective word are several other [i]taboo[/i] words. Typically, they're the first words that come to mind. You're not allowed to use them while describing the objective word. For example, the word at the top is [b]Cookie[/b]. I am trying to get you to say that word, without using any of the words below it. [b]Cookie[/b] [i]Chocolate Chip[/i] [i]Monster[/i] [i]Dessert[/i] [i]Sheet[/i] [i]Bake[/i] [i]Jar[/i] Essentially, you're limiting the shared knowledge base. The phrases "Cookie Monster," "Cookie Jar," "Chocolate Chip Cookie," etc. are no longer available to you. You can't tell your teammate that they're looking for a kind of dessert, or that they would normally be baked on a "cookie sheet." You could say, "Children's game--[i]Who stole the _______[/i]" Whether or not your friend knows the missing phrase is "cookies from the cookie jar" depends on the shared knowledge base. [b]If I were playing with members from OB,[/b] I would easily be able to bypass the taboo words by saying something to the effect of, "Shy's catchphrase in chatrooms." No one outside this community would recognize that clue, but here it would work because most people have had some contact with Shy. (And if they haven't, they've probably seen him quoted in a signature or two.) There's a shared experience, and you can draw on that. In the same way, I could say someone is "[b]pulling a kuja.[/b]" I might mean it as that person's having poor post quality...or maybe he's planning to sue the boards. Who knows. In any case, members who have been here long enough to share in, um, the "kuja experience" would know what I was talking about. On the other hand, the [b]reference would be lost on most members, simply because they weren't around[/b] during the time kuja was. PMing a newbie with the warning, "Don't pull a kuja," would have zero (postive) effect. They wouldn't know what I was talking about. There's no shared knowledge; there's no communication. This can be a problem for teachers. / They can talk for several minutes about what they are trying to explain--be it science, math , grammar, or the electoral college--but they are drawing on their grasp of the concept, not that of the students in the class. What they are saying might make perfect sense to them, but to kids who still don't know the difference between a noun and a verb, explaining adjectives and adverbs simply isn't going to work. Heh. Okay, so it was a tangent, but it was one I enjoyed.[/size]

[SIZE=1]Teheh. Thankies, Ben. I appreciate your comments...[strike]riddled with sarcasm though they may be.[/strike] : p I was going to post the picature I finished last night, but in the interest of chronologicality, here is another koi-fish depiction. This is straight out of my sketchbook, so...yes. Heh, I spent most of the day Tuesday drawing in the background...it was much more impressive before it got all smudged up. / Oh, well. [/SIZE][IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=546928[/IMG] [SIZE=1]Edit: It turned out...surprisingly nice. I like it, heh. ^_^[/SIZE]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Boba Fett [/i] [B][COLOR=green]I'd drop Latin II.[/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Do you know what I'd give to be able to take Latin in high school? I'm a language [i]nut[/i]. Actually, ChibiHorsewoman raises a good point. I'm at a Lutheran school, and we have a required theology course each year. It's maddening....especially this past semester. It's just been...bad. I don't learn anything during that class (I've gone to Lutheran schools for the last ten years of my life), and I'm impatient to be done with it. Actually...I am done with it. I switch hours (and teachers) starting Monday, though, so we'll see how that turns out. It would be nice not to take theology, though.[/SIZE]

[size=1]...I hope you keep your English class. Personally, I enjoyed biology. Once we got out of the flatworm chapters, it was really quite interesting. [b]C[/b]6[b]H[/b]12[b]O[/b]6 and all that. We had a first year teacher, as well. She was very cool. If I could drop one class and have no repercussions, I would probably drop economics. No good reason, just the boredom factor. However, it is required for graduation, so... All in all, my classes are okay. I just wish I had more [i]time.[/i][/SIZE]

[size=1]I did something much smaller than this for an OB banner contest once--and even that was a headache. You have my sympathies, or impressment, or something. I think it would look better if you put a single faded layer of some color over it--to sort of make the whole thing a bit more unified. Still, it's rather intriguing. Lacking the anime knowledge of Dagger, I have to ask--who's the the little orange cat towards the middle? (Right under the little grey mouse.) I have the rather insane urge to make one of those photomosaic things, now...Scary.[/size]

[size=1]I know I've read either [i]The Blue Sword[/i] or [i]Hero and the Crown[/i], but I can never remember which. [b]Anything by Neil Gaimain is pretty much guaranteed to be interesting.[/b] ...that is a great sentence; I just thought I'd point that out. I really enjoyed [i]Neverwhere[/i], and he's got a more children-esque book called [i]Coraline[/i], which my mom described as "freaky." It's very good, though. Those are the two I know I have at my house, heh. I was a huge fan of McCaffrey's [i]Dragonriders of Pern[/i] series when I was younger. The year I was in fifth grade, I read every book that was out at that point. (I've been rather lax in keeping up with them, but I still have an impressive library in my basement. It's amazing how many people used to buy me books when they discovered I liked an author.) Garth Nix is also a good "young adult" writer. I personally loved [i]Sabriel[/i]. The sequel ([i]Lirael[/i]) didn't entrance me quite as much, but I still enjoyed it. He also wrote (I'm pulling at old threads of memory, here) [i]Shade's Children[/i], which is more science-fiction than the others.[/size]

[size=1]Okay, heheh. I wasn't really entirely coherent, anyway. Andy Warhol was an artist who did a lot of things with silk screens. It's basically a means to reproduce an image multiple times--like designs on T-shirts. [url=http://www.artdirectgallery.com/warhol%20marilyn%202.jpg]This is an example of his work[/url]. He took the picture of Marilyn, reproduced it a bunch of times with weird colors, and called it art. Well, you know. His pictures weren't perfect; when something smudged, or a color faded or didn't go on all the way, he just left it. [url=http://www.warhol.org/interactive/silkscreen/main.html]This site will let you make an "online silk screen," if you want.[/url] Anyhoo, it explains the process pretty well. I was using acrylic paint--as opposed to oil or watercolor. Acrylics are plastic-y. I was lacking equipment to do actual silk-screen stuff, so I just used stencils to make the silhouettes the same. It doesn't really look right, but it works for this picture. The clocks were just another thing I threw in. Warhol said that everyone will have fifteen minutes of fame, so...there are fifteen clocks interspersed with the little pictures. There you go. Hope that helped. ^_^[/size]

[size=1]His mouth looks...worried. But other than that, I really have to laugh and give you a big thumbs up. It's very cool--looks great, and you get bonus points for old tv show nostalgia. Heh.[/size]

[size=1]I'm in drama as well, and joining it was really the best thing I've done during high school. I can't imagine what I would have done, had I not tried out for the play the summer of my sophomore year. I think I've only really gotten to know a two people outside of drama--it's not necessarily that we're elitist (heh), but that's just how it turned out for me. Our school has about 230 people, so there's a lot of overlap when you get to know people. And for me, it ended up that a.) I met my friends through drama, or b.) I forced them to join drama after they became my friends. It's really a great activity to be in. Our director (who also does all the the English/literature/drama related electives, as well as AP senior literature and all the freshman English courses) is fun, and somehow manages to keep everything under control. (Well...relatively so. ;)) Practices are fun, because they're really relaxed. Especially when you get a good group of people who are able to learn their lines and blocking quickly--you can do lots of fun stuff when you've already got the basics down. My sophomore year we did the whole play in "fast forward" mode once or twice, which was hilarious. All the coolest people are in drama.[/size]

[size=1]I have only read the first. It was okay. Interesting, and I enjoyed it, I suppose. We have the others, but I haven't been much inspired to read them.[/size]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by ChibiHorsewoman [/i] [B][color=violet] The band is called Barenaked Ladies. They wrote the song One Week with the part about Sailor Moon. I've only heard it once so far, so I can't form an opinion on it yet.[/color][/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]I love the BareNaked Ladies. The lyrics are amusing, and the music is catchy. It's a fun group to listen to. They also did [b]If I had a million dollars[/b], if you remember that song's being played all the time a couple years ago. Anyhoo, the song is called [b]Another Postcard[/b], and yeah, the narrator is singing about someone who is mysteriously sending postcards in the mail. [i]You can't imagine so many monkeys in the daily mail And all of them coming anonymously, so they leave no trail Never thought I'd have an admirer from overseas But somebody's sending me stationery filled with chimpanzees--[/i] And it goes on. You hear about all the different postcards the guy gets, and it's just a lot of fun.[/SIZE]

[size=1]I watch kids' movies all the time. I see more of them than any other type, by far. Some of them I grew up loving, and some just rock on their own merit (sans nostalgia). For example, tonight my family watched Disney's [i]Beauty and the Beast[/i]. (It's not my favorite movie, but I am in love with the songs.) I really enjoyed watching it again--I haven't seen it for years--and I know I enjoyed it a great deal more now than I did the last time I saw it. When I was younger, I really liked Belle because she was such a bookworm--that was [i]me[/i]. And of the Disney Princesses, she looked the most like me, so that was always cool. Watching it tonight, though, I kept thinking how much younger Belle looked than how I remembered her. Her voice doesn't seem to fit her appearance. / When the movie was done, I found and printed out the lyrics to most of the songs. They really are good songs.[/size]

[size=1]Glad that's been cleared up. Question answered, topic closed.[/size]

[size=1]Posts in certain forums (thepicture forum, for example,) don't count towards your number of posts. I believe the banner request forum is one of those, although I'm not sure offhand.[/size]

[SIZE=1]Heh, I love Dr. Seuss. That never occured to me while I was painting, though. Those fish were a lot of fun to paint. Very flowy and stuff, heh. This picture...was the bane of my existence for several weeks. As an art assignment, we were supposed to choose an artist, write a paper about him, and emulate his style. I chose Andy Warhol, and...really disliked the assignment, although (had it not been an assignment) I enjoyed it. So the chika in this picture is Yanamaria, a character I've posted some other pictures of. The smaller silhouettes in the background are "inspired by" Warhol's silk screens of soup cans and Marilyn Monroe (among others.) Using acrylic to emulate the silk screening process really doesn't work. *rolls eyes* In any case, I guess it turned out pretty well. Although I still dislike it... [IMG]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?postid=544259[/IMG] The dark lines you see are where I tried to piece together the multiple scans. It's about 18" x 18" on canvas.[/SIZE]

[size=1]It is alright for anyone to make a mistake, because everyone does, except for wrist cutter, who is perfect. In the future, please refrain from "playing mod." We do our best, but try as we may, we are not omnipresent. Someone will take care of a misplaced thread as soon as it is noticed. Thank you.[/size]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Chaos [/i] [B]"...In other news, massive amounts of homicides were reported today, seemingly from teenagers claiming their parents hated them, gave them "stupid and retarded" names, and promptly commited various acts of violence, ending with total genocide. In a related story, a young Texan man was seen torching a supermarket, screaming about 'crapmonkies'..." My sentiments on more than half of the responces in this thread. [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Oh, come on. You know you wish your name were "Atticus Zhivago." [/SIZE]

[size=1]It became combined when Otaku Lounge had [b]First Kiss, First Date,[/b] [i]and[/i] [b]First time for sex[/b] threads current in it. Varied discussion, [i]what[/i]? ...Carry on.[/size]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Manic [/i] [b]Xian:[/b] It's basically another spelling for "Christian." Just like how you can say X-Mas instead of Christmas or X-Tina instead of Christina. Only I wouldn't say "X-Ian." I'd pronounce the X like in "xylophone." Maybe call him "Chris" for short. [b]Andromeda:[/b] I know what some of you are thinking, but girls can get away with weird and long names without getting beat up constantly. Besides, I recently found out that the character of Andromeda in Greek mythology was actually African. Ethiopian, to be exact. This means Andromeda (look up the story of Perseus) was an Nubian Princess. How freakishly Afro-Centric is that? Besides, I can call her [b]Andee[/b] for short. [/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]That is the coolest thing I've heard all day. Granted, it is only six in the morning... Xian, heh. Chris for short... I like it.[/SIZE]