Manic Webb

[QUOTE=MarkM]Papercut, Forgotten are some of my favorites also. _______________ Well there first CD is the ****! I swear everyone should own a copy of it. There second one I didn't like so much, guess its just not my style. But there third CD is very good. -Mark[/QUOTE] MarkM, please put a little more effort into your posts. Don't just name two of your favorite songs. You have to have more to say than that. I'm going to have to agree with a few people here. While I did like Linkin Park when they first came out, and I enjoy listening to their songs in doses, they just get a little redundant. (I would've said they were repetitive, but that sentence would just be dripping with irony.) When you listen to their lyrics, you get the same sense of betrayal and rejection. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of their songs were about the same person/s. I'm not asking that they start singing about sunshine and lollypops, but a little less angst couldn't hurt. I'll stand alone as one of the few people who liked the rap elements of Reanimation.

rttocs77, PoisonTongue. Don't make me get the hose. Not everyone is going to find the same thing funny. In fact, humor is relative. There is no set-in-stone way to be considered funny. What's funny varies from person to person. So while you can both have your personal opinions about Absolutely Fabulous, neither of you can say [i]for sure[/i] that the other person should/shouldn't find it funny.

This thread belongs in the Anime Lounge (located conveniently in Tokyo 3). [color=navy]Thread Moved[/color]

I really like the film-noir feeling of this series. The characters are so serious about their jobs at all times. The artwork and animation are so dark and clean. It really gives you the feeling that the hunters are organized and know exactly what they're doing-- even if they don't. Robin and Amon especially give off that kind of vibe. They could be in the greatest danger, and have messed up badly, but they're still gonna have that overly calm badass attitude. Robin hasn't used her fire powers correctly once, but she goes into a fight with her hands in her pockets as if the situation won't be a challenge for her. You know that's not what she's thinking, though. I mean, what's the point in taking your hands out of your pockets if all you're going to do is think of making fire the whole time? I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. Perhaps I'll pick up the DVDs in a few months. I want to wait until the rest of the volumes come out, as well as see the whole series on Adult Swim first.

The world of animation has a huge generational gap when it comes to maturity. The oldest, more classic cartoons of the 1930s and 40s were aimed toward adults. Anyone ever see that clip of Porky Pig saying the phrase "son of a *****"? A whole lot of animated theatre serials were somewhat more mature and political. Then, somewhere around the 1950s (right around when TVs came into play), cartoons started aiming themselves toward kids. This is why your parents and grandparents might think cartoons are for kids. Watch ToonHeads some time. It's funducational. ;)

I'm just guessing, but I'm gonna assume the lead singer is a fan of Stevie Wonder. He has that that "Stevie timbre" when he sings. Most people with that type of voice learned it from listening to a lot of old Stevie songs. Anyway, I love Maroon 5's CD. A lot of their songs are just straight-up Blues with a hint of Rock. Songs like "Tangled" and "Through With You" remind me of some of the stuff my dad's Blues band plays, only slightly harder/rougher. I was really surprised the first time I paid attention to "Tangled." It really shows how much Rock is influenced by the Blues. Of course, everything is influenced by the Blues. But that song really makes that point clearly. I became embarrassingly obsessed with "Sweetest Goodbye." The beginning and ending sound like two completely different songs. It starts off so easy, and then progresses into something passionate. The lead singer is a very creative writer. Whenever most people write a series of songs about one person, they always have the same subject. However, all of Maroon 5's songs (about the lead singer's ex-girlfriend Jane) have a variety of subjects. Some songs actually go through different emotions. There are angsty songs like "Harder To Breathe" or "Through With You," and fonder songs about her like "The Sun" and "Sunday Morning." Then there are sexually charged songs like "Shiver," which is probably one of my favorites on the CD. I guess you could say I'm a fan.

None of my past R&B threads have been anything close to successful, so I don't know why I expect this thread to be any different. Oh well... Joss Stone is a new 16 year old singer from the Southwest of England. She has a sound strongly influenced by more classic and soulful R&B of the past, and today's more urbanized sounds. Calling on the help of legends such as Betty Wright and new artists like The Roots, Joss has a sound that's been shaking radios across the world; from the UK to the US and back again. Her first single is an R&B-style cover of a very recent song, "Fell In Love With A Boy" by The White Stripes. Her version is backed-up by the hip-hip/soul band The Roots. Her first album, The Soul Sessions, features covers of songs by groups like The Isley Brothers and Aretha Franklin. Sounds like an album full of cover songs, doesn't it? Well, it is. Soul Sessions was released in late 2003, but her official debut album wasn't supposed to be released until later this year. Soul Sessions was a spontaneous piece of work; 10 tracks thrown together in only one day. It started out as a side-project while she was working on her own original music. Eventually, she and the label just decided to release the covers on one CD. Her original work will be release sometime this year. [url=http://www.s-curverecords.com/joss/]Official Website[/url]

I [i]do[/i] listen to rap, but I still don't like 50 Cent. He's not good. Next to Puffy (aka P.Diddy), he's probably the most overrated rapper around. You think he's not good in general? He's not even good in terms of rap. I don't know [i]why[/i] he's so popular. Even worse, he needs to deflate his bullet-riddled ego and learn to take an award loss. Oddly enough, the only award show I can actually stand is the MTV VMAs. And I don't even like MTV that much. The awards are given based on viewers' votes, so that's probably why I like it so much. I'd like to think I'd like the Grammys more if viewers voted, but then we'd probably be cursed with a Grammy award winning 50 Cent. And that's a risk I'm just not willing to take.

I stopped watching the Grammys years ago. There's no point. I think some better, more Soul-centered artists should've won most of those R&B awards, but Beyonce really did have the Rap/Sung Collab award coming her way. It was over-played, but it was probably the best Rap/Sung thing I heard on the radio all year. St. Anger won Best Metal Performance? That has "we're giving them this award just because they are who they are" written all over it. And people wonder why I don't watch the Grammys... Pink won [i]what!?[/i] And people wonder why I don't watch the Grammys... One major plus I heard about is how 50 Cent didn't get any awards. That's always good. Personally, I wouldn't want him to win Bingo or a raffle contest.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SasukeUchiha [/i] [B]Now I am kind of disapointed. [spoiler] I am hoping they are not trying to replace Cordelia with Harmony. Because that would just be super stupid. I am not at all happy with Angel this season. Working for the enemy? Angel is more about politics now than actual demon fighting. And Cordelia has been one of my favorite characters since Buffy. So I am kind of bitter about that also i guess. And next weeks episdoe just looks stupid. I mean, I used to be a huge Angel fan, and now it just doesnt have the same greatness that it used to have. I dunno, I will hvae to keep watching and see where this whole "corporate" thing is gonna go. [/spoiler] [/B][/QUOTE] Well, that's just a little ridiculous. Harmony might join the cast regularly (might not, whatever), but that doesn't mean she'll be replacing Cordelia. That's like saying Wesley replaced Doyle, or Fred replaced Officer whatshername. Characters come and go, but they're not really replaced. The show has drastically shifted to politics and working through the law (like an actual law office, only W&H is less evil), but things might be different since [spoiler]Cordelia reminded Angel what he was fighting for, and Eve & Lindsey aren't around to screw with Team Angel anymore[/spoiler] I am a little curious as to what the next episode is about. It seems a little off-the-wall, but the commercials to proceeding episodes of Angel are always misleading. Not to mention incredible vague.

Let the spoiler tagging begin!! [spoiler]The return of Cordelia. I've been waiting for this for a while. I knew the moment she woke up, she'd be the only one who remembered Connor. Erasing all memories of Connor was a good and bad move on Angel's part. On one hand, the entire Los Angeles area needed forget the events with Jasmine. On the other, I think Angel should've been able to at least confide in the rest of the team. Whatever. Cordelia knew. I thought Lindsey looked familiar. He was that guy who worked with Lilah until he left. Funny how his plan fell apart before it could even get into full swing. Whatever that plan ultimately was. I was expecting to see Spike do the Angel-Doyle thing in a bit more detail before they killed Lindsey off, though. Oh well. I love how they let Harmony go at it with Eve. I really was expecting her to drink her in the end, but Eve was apparently to smart to try anything. It'll still be interesting to see what the Senior Partners do with her in the coming episodes. Now the big topic. Cordelia coming back. As soon as they revealed she was a ghost the entire time, pieces started to come together in my head. The hospital patient Cordy said she was sharing her room with-- that had to have been Cordy's body. That would explain why the first thing she did was close the curtain around it. Also, if you remember back in season 4 when Skip explained Jasmine's plan, he said that giving birth to her was supposed to kill Cordelia. I was a little surprised when she only slipped into a coma, and even more shocked when I heard she was waking up. But, of course, she didn't wake up. It was that final vision The Powers sent her in the hospital that did her in, I'd imagine-- the vision of Angel screwing up and Lindsey's tattoos. And Cordy put Angel back on track. Who'da thunk? Maybe now he'll stop moping around the office, complaining about how Spike is usurping his throne. And once again, Spike has no direction. No Buffy to tell him what to do. No Fred to fix him. No faux-Doyle to tell him who to save or trick him into fighting Angel. I'm guessing he'll join the rest of Team Angel. A good episode. We got to see Cordelia come and go. A reflect on Doyle. Angel gets his focus back. Lindsey gets screwed over. Eve in big trouble. Harmony helps out. Wesley finally does something this season. Lorne pees his pants. Pure gold.[/spoiler]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Dagger IX1 [/i] [B]Yes, this is very true. When watching "He-Man" a few months ago, I was actually shocked by the fluidity of the characters' movements. At the same time, it seems to me that many American cartoons are more stylized than anime. This may sound silly, considering that anime's reputation is based upon the distinctness of its style. Yet while anime sometimes trades impressive animation for elaborate character designs, western cartoons often appear to do the reverse--achieving remarkable smoothness by simplifying their artwork and backgrounds.[/B][/QUOTE] I forgot to mention that part. One of the primary reasons why Western animation is smoother, is because the character designs are simpler and relatively easier to duplicate. Look at Bruce Timm's work (Batman/Superman/Justice League/Batman Beyond). His characters have very very simple designs. Have you seen Batman Beyond? I could draw that, and I have the artistic skill of the one-armed man with his only hand trapped under a pile of rocks. Meanwhile, good luck trying to copy Tenchi in his Light Hawk outfit. In terms of backgrounds, Western animation has fallen into a slump, thanks to Hanna Barbera. In the 1960s, they developed the technique where a background repeats itself and loops around for as long as the characters continue to walk. This is why Fred Flintstone can walk around his house and pass by his front door 12 times. If this wasn't making background scenery lazy enough, some art directors just stopped trying. I am such an animation geek...

One thing I find interesting about [i]Angel[/i] is the nearly invisible line between good and evil. Not for the character himself, but for the show. You never know who's going to be the villain, and who's gonna join Team Angel. On [i]Buffy[/i], you knew who your villains were. They were the master of vampires, the creepy mayor, the hell goddess, the cyborg, and whatever demon wasn't dating her or her friends. On [i]Angel[/i], you just sorta had to guess. The team started out with two demons, Angel and Doyle. Cordy turned into a demon. Lorne is a demon. Connor, too. A couple of times, Angel accidentally killed good demons. Doyle's human ex-wife was about to marry into a family of non-violent demons in one episode. Hell, the only constant bad guys in the series were human; the staff of Wolfram & Hart. The complications and birth of Jasmine don't exactly help define good and evil, either. I don't remember where I read it, but one person once theorized The Powers That Be might not even be good. All we know for sure about them is that they preside over Earth and don't want demons to take over. Every vision The Powers ever gave Doyle or Cordy did help out a human, but they also led to a demon's death. That's not to say demons aren't evil as well, but who's to say The Powers aren't just as evil and only want to kill the competition? [spoiler]Jasmine was one of The Powers made flesh. She brought about world peace, but at the cost of humanity's free will and thousands of people she'd have to eat. Plus there had to be a near-apocalypse for her to be born on Earth. Were her deeds on behalf of the other Powers, or to defy them? Was she doing exactly what they wanted to do, or was she simply misguided? Good or evil? That's a question they never answered with her[/spoiler] Back on the subject of good demons. At first, demons were shown as creatures that desired to torture humanity because they're evil by nature. Then we get full-blooded demons like Lorne The Host. He's just a scaley, green-skinned, horned, empathic, silk-wearing lounge singer. In the rare event humans made their way to Lorne's home dimension, they were treated as slaves and animals. That's it. His race of demon didn't exactly express a desire to come to Earth and kill all humans. When Lorne found himself in LA, the first thing he did was open up a karaoke bar. That's one reason why I find this current season of [i]Angel[/i] interesting. It feels slow-moving (especially with episodes like "Harm's Way"-- funny as it was), but I know something important is going to happen. On one hand, Angel is dealing with [spoiler]an evil law firm that's tried to kill him in the past. One the other hand, Eve and this guy she's been boinking have this secret plan that involves Eve sneaking behind the Senior Partners of W&H's backs. Is Eve secretly on the side of good, or the lesser/greater of two evils?[/spoiler] You can tell I think about this show way too much.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Chabichou [/i] [B][COLOR="#004a6f"]For instance, one little thing about animé I dislike is how a person's mouth only opens and closes when they talk, even though some particular sounds need different lip and tongue movements. Western animation however, recognizes this aspect. Another thing that bugs me is that in some animé shows, a person is really still when they're not in action or not talking. For instance, a group of people is in conversation, one person talks and all those who are not are really still, not the slightest movement, unless they are reacting to what the person is saying. They don't even blink! I hope you people know what I mean and that I'm not crazy.[/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] The simple truth is (and there are a select few anime fans who won't admit it) Japanese animation is so much lazier than Western animation. There are a series of tricks used to give the illusion of animation in instances where there is none. For example, some animators will place a single cel of a character with their back turned over a background. You hear dialogue, but you don't necessarily need to see anything move. Also, Japanese animation uses less frames-per-second than Western animation. The only exceptions are full-length animated films. This is why a Japanese series can do 26 episodes in the time it takes an American series to do only 13. Cutting corners.

My parents bought everything for me, I admit it. But I don't exactly come from a rich family. Not by a longshot. I just happened to get my support from my mom (who worked 2 jobs for a while), dad, step-mom, and grandparents. I got $20/week allowance from my mom, and everyone else would buy stuff for me and my siblings during holidays and birthdays. I was gonna get a job in high school, but (no lies, here) my grandmother encouraged me to enjoy not having to work while I can. She said I could start working after I got out of high school. So then I spent my entire freshman year of college applying for jobs that I never got. I suppose it doesn't help that I started looking for my first job during a recession. I went through a few bad job interviews, and eventually landed a job in mid-December. I didn't buy my first car. In March 2003, my grandparents got me a used '89 Honda Accord. I knew from the start that the only way I was getting a [i]new[/i] is if I paid for it myself. Which is what I'm saving up for, by the way. I have been paying my own internet bill for the past couple of years, though. I'm very frugal, and that $20/week I was getting for allowance was more than enough to pay for Earthlink. Since I got my job, I paid for college by myself. Tuition, those damned books, the parking permit that suddenly became $10 more expensive since Schwarzenegger took over, and even the extra stuff that certain teachers wanted us to have just for the sake of having. Those were a rough couple of paychecks, by the way. I'm just glad the California minimum wage is $6.75. It's the second highest state minimum wage, I think. Yep. I'm spoiled. But at least I got a job. And I'm paying my own way through school. I mean, it's not like I'm one of those people who decide they won't get a job in the mall until [i]after[/i] they get a degree in philosophy. :rolleyes:

I have so many favorite episodes, but I'm gonna have to go with "Orpheus" from season 4. Enter the spoiler tags... [spoiler]This is the episode where Willow shows up and re-ensouls Angel. While a gratuitous cameo by Willow is always a plus, my favorite parts of the episode take place in Angel's mind. Using a mystical drug, Faith emerged herself into Angel's/Angelus' mind. There, she and Angelus saw different memories from Angel's past, during that near-100 year period after first receiving his soul and before meeting Buffy. Eventually, a battle between the different personas (Angel and Angelus) ensued. This was the episode I figured something important out about Angel. Angel and Angelus are two entirly separate vampires in one body. Sure, they're the same person in a lot of different ways, but this was the point where Angelus clearly refers to Angel as a different person. When he first lost his soul during season 2 of "Buffy," Angelus said [i]he[/i] loved Buffy and [i]he[/i] did all of those good things. When he lost his soul again during season 4 of "Angel," Angelus said [i]Angel[/i] was doing all of those things, not him. I watched this episode and realized Angel's soul had been shoved in and ripped out so many times, he straight-up developed two separate personalities. In the episode following episode, after Willow had given Angel his soul back, he said he didn't feel guilty for any of the things Angelus had done. He didn't even consider himself responsible for any of the stuff he did without his soul.[/spoiler] Since then, I've been waiting for Angelus to re-emerge on his own, even while Angel still has his soul. He's schitzo. Plain and simple. The soul is only a trigger between personalities. Eventually, he's going to become unstable enough for the personalities to switch at random. I'm not psych major, but that's my uneducated take on the situation. :p

I was [i]raised[/i] listening to hip-hop. I'm not entirely sure why I like this kind of music, but... Jason Mraz is so fun to listen to. The first time I heard "Remedy," I was instantly addicted. It's so catchy, and I can't help but sing along everytime I hear it. "You And I Both" is just as fun. The sheer goodness of the song is matched only by its equally goofy video. He walks into a bank, hands a note to a teller he has special feelings for, and she misinterprets it is a robbery note. Funny stuff. He does have quite a bit of talent going. The guitar, singing, good lyrics. Even if it's not a style of music you listen to, you gotta give Mraz credit for doing what he does right. His songs are somewhat serious, but have a more lighthearted quality to them. Good stuff. Love Maroon 5, too. They never leave my car's CD player.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sir Kyle [/i] [B]And hey, at least you can say you're working. I'm glad you're not one of those kids who never ever has a job throughout high school and college because mommy and daddy take care of it. That's just pathetic, in my view, and doesn't adequately prepare you for life down the road.[/B][/QUOTE] That hurts when you say that, Sir Kyle. Really. I just got my first job a little over a month ago. I'm working as a Market Research Recruiter. Fancy title, crappy job. I'm basically one of those people who stop you in the mall and ask you to take a survey. In some ways, it's an easy job. No heavy lifting. Not a large amount of skill involved. Only work 6 hours a day. However, that doesn't mean me and my co-workers don't think about quitting everyday. We have to stand up the entire time. We're not allowed to sit down in any of the 1,000 benches in the mall (looking at them only makes standing that much harder). No breaks. We have to stand at least 5 feet away from every store in the mall. We can't buy anything to snack on or drink from the vending machines or food court. We're only allowed to walk around the same little section, which is only 1/4 of the mall. Our quotas are ridiculous and impossible to meet. People reject us all day and even put their hands in our faces. Some people even dodge us by running in another direction. My friends and old classmates suddenly pretend not to know me when I'm at work. People stare at me like I'm crazy. One lady even told me I was scaring away customers. The turnover rate is ridiculous. But hey, I'm getting paid. It's worth the $7.00/hour. Or is it? :therock:

I just got the BBCAmerica last week, so I've been watching quite a few shows that they don't show on PBS. Like Coupling and The Office. Two very good shows, by the way. On PBS, I get to watch The Vicar of Dibley, Red Dwarf, Blackadder, Father Ted, and Mr. Bean (live and animated). The difference between American and British humor is surprisingly broad. The reactions are different, the sight gags are on two entirely different levels, and British dialogue is somewhat more complicated. You miss the first half of an American joke, you're still gonna get the punchline. You miss the first half of a British joke, you'll forget it was a joke altogether and think it was normal dialogue.

"NO!" --Pedro I finished buying the series just a few weeks ago. One of the funniest anime I've ever seen. The characters are completely insane. Even the "straight-man" serious characters get a little stupid every now and then. And it's funny how the anime's director (Shinichi Watanabe) just emerged himself into the storyline as Nabeshin. Everytime he shows up in an episode, it's hard to tell if he's there as "the action hero with an afro" or the director. Then there's Pedro. You gotta love Pedro and his side-story. For a while there, [spoiler]it seemed like Pedro's story was completely separate from Excels. But then they kept crossing paths for no reason. Like when they met Sandora.[/spoiler] Both versions are really funny, but I'm gonna have to lean toward the dub version. It's mostly the cultural barrier. A lot of the Japanese dialogue is hilarious, but I have to turn on the ADV Notes every once in a while. And word puns aren't as funny when you have to be told what the pun is. Excel's voice is annoying in the dub, but Excel is just an annoying character. Half-way through the series they changed voice actresses, but the second one still had to make Excel sound annoying. I mean, can you imagine someone that wacky with a pleasant voice? Even the Japanese voice actress makes her sound annoying.

I didn't start drinking coffee until I started my job last month. They had a pot brewed in the office every morning, I had a hard time staying awake, and all the other employees were drinking it. A cup every morning was the only way I could become popular. I've only had plain coffee, though. One of these days, I might just venture my way into a Starbucks and order something besides that iced tea/lemonade number. And it's not like I have a hard time finding a Starbucks. It's the only franchise I know of with more locations than McDonalds.

Watch your post quality. You could at least give us the run-down. What's the show about, for starters?

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SpikeSpiegel [/i] [B][FONT=courier new][COLOR=darkblue]Ah the famed "Fiddy". Personally i think he sucks. To me right now all the talent has gone out the window. Record companies will sign any monkey with a crew an tatoos all over there body. Chingy is proof of that. There is no more talent, or at least no new talent, I would say in the past 3-4 years. Rap unfourtunatly has gone to the crapper. More an more I find myslef listeninng to the older "outdated", although i dont think music can outdate, rap. Rock an other forms of sonic enduced pleasure now take hold of my car, personal, an home audio systems. As for the whole bulletproof stuff, yeah he got shot. But A vest on the kid. Thats just a publicity stunt right there to try an show how gangsta he thinks he his cuz his kid has to bb bulletproof. Bunch of crap. Tupac an Biggie(R.I.P.) to my recolection never had vests or bullet proof cars. Those were the real rap gangstas. Today there just a bunch of no talent wanna-be's.[/FONT][/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] You just summed up my opinions. It's like there haven't been any talented new rappers since the turn of the century. I know a particular world of hip-hop that's coming to an end this millennium. Although, personally, I have Neo-Soul music in my car stereo. But that's a different story. 50 Cent has no real talent. He just happens to be backed up by one of today's most talented hip-hop rappers (Eminem) and producers (Dr. Dre). He has no other bonuses. He got shot nine times (at least one of them to the face) and survived. Good for him. But that's not something that can keep a rap career going for too long. At least it shouldn't. You can never tell with kids today. Tupac did were a bulletproof vest all the time. The only time he didn't wear his vest is, ironically, the night he got shot.

Check out this thread: [url]http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35364[/url] [color=darkblue]Thread Closed[/color]

Well this is a little spammy. [color=darkblue]Thread Closed[/color]