Rain

Hey guys! I have James' permission to post about some research I'm doing, and hopefully some of you will find it interesting as well. I'm doing a research project for my psychology honours degree, and the topic is online and offline friendships among 18 to 25 year olds. Basically what I'm investigating is how online and offline friendships compare on various factors, and whether online friendships develop in the same way as offline friendships. I've been looking for online communities in which to promote my research, and I know OB is a pretty close-knit community, so I thought I'd see if anyone was interested in participating. If you're aged between 18 and 25 and have about 20 minutes to spare, I'd really appreciate it if you'd complete my survey [URL="http://psych.curtin.edu.au/research/honours/ashleej/index.cfm"](linked here)[/URL]. You'll be asked to complete a few short questionnaires about one of your online friendships and one of your offline friendships. As a bonus, at the end you can go in the draw for the chance to win a US$50 Amazon.com gift voucher. If you want to know more about the research or you have any questions, let me know. Thanks for your time :)

[size=1][color=black]I just don't understand why an atheist would get 'offended' by something like that, considering that a lot of atheists delight in laughing at easily-offended religious people. This guy is just as bad as the Christians who he thinks are forcing their beliefs on him.[/color][/size]

[quote name='Roleni-Chan']I dont want to criticized, but it was a joke! I dont know how people became so offensive lately in this world. Yes, Steve Irwin died and trying to defend him isn't going to help. Unless if he is trying to come from the dead and sue, then that is a different story. Only he is to judge if he thinks its bad or not. Anyway, you are like the only one that posted about this. Okay and if you really want to say offensive, then what about all the stuff they make fun of? I dont see people criticizing about that! It just come to show that people can be hypocritical at points. I myself is sometimes hypocritical but I respect South Park because it has Satire in it. If people doesn't know what it is, look it up.[/quote] [size=1][color=black]Are you replying to me? If so, let me clarify - in my first post I was saying that although I don't find South Park all that funny, I wouldn't be personally offended by that episode because I could just not watch it. In my second post I meant that despite that, I [I]could[/I] understand why people would be offended, because it didn't seem like just a 'simple' joke. However, after reading the other posts I've realised that perhaps it's not any worse than your average South park episode, considering the other topics that have been mentioned from other episodes. And I does know what satire is, but thanks for the suggestion.[/color][/size]

[quote name='only1specialed][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=4][FONT=Impact]I myself wish i could see that episode. I personally dont care if its too soon or not. I was actually wondering when he was gonna die. Not to be rude or anything but f-ing around with dangerous animals is gonna get you killed. If you cant take a simple joke like that you shouldnt be watching south part.[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] [size=1][color=black]I'm not trying to start an argument, but how can a joke about a dead person be classed as a 'simple joke'? I'm not saying it offends me, because I don't really care either way about Steve Irwin. But the fact is, he's dead and they're mocking him. Even by South Park standards, that's not particularly vanilla.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=black]I'm not a fan of South Park. I think I've probably giggled at it a few times when there was nothing else to watch, but overall there's something about the show that I dislike. Making fun of celebrities and all is one thing, but jokes about child molestation? I think that crosses the line. But then that's the good thing about television, I don't have to watch it. While I don't think the Steve Irwin episode will be funny, I think in those kind of situations people should just not watch it if they don't want to. Making a fuss just encourages more tasteless jokes and makes the fans feel even more "omg so controversial!!!" for watching the show. On a side note, I love when fans try to explain how 'intelligent' and 'satirical' the humour is. I guess I just don't see it.[/color][/size]

[quote name='Lan][size=1']All three of those bands are actually quite popular here in San Diego. And all three have been getting much more attention as far as listeners goes, so I wouldn't really consider them as bands that no on has listened to, but meh.[/size][/quote] [size=1][color=black]Well, they don't have to be bands that no one has listened to. Obviously it's just that darkisMINE's friends haven't heard of them. Anyway, I know when I was in high school most of my friends hadn't heard of some of the bands I listened to (like Placebo and Gomez, even though they are quite well-known). I guess the only band I could say I listen to that most people here haven't heard of would be Verdena, but that's because they're an Italian band who I started listening to when I was in Italy. I haven't paid much attention to whether people know the music I listen to lately, but that's probably because I'm not the kind of music fan now that I was back in school. You know, being infatuated with a handful of bands and listening to all their music. Man, I talk about school like it was so long ago.[/size][/color]

[quote name='Veritas][size=1][color=dimgray]Wow, I think I might be one of the only people that didn't like Captain Planet, I hate the show, and I hate saying I hate something. Ok Well I don't really hate the show, but I hate Captain Planet, his outfit, his green hair, his blue skin, even his voice. He was soooo cheeeesy, even though that seems to be childrens television in general lol.[/color'][/size][/quote] [size=1][color=black]Yeah, I'm with you. I did watch that show back in the day, but I think that might have been because my brother did. It was always too cheesy, and the planeteer's moral bit at the end of the episode was annoying. Although the show is good for a laugh when I look back now. I used to watch Doug, Ren & Stimpy, Tom & Jerry, Angry Beavers... I think my favourites were Rugrats (especially before Dil was born) and Rocko's Modern Life. Oh, and The Simpsons, of course. Actually I still watch those last three, and sometimes I'm amazed that some of those Rocko episodes were actually played on Nickelodeon. But it's great.[/color][/size]

[quote name='Domon][SIZE=1][COLOR=Navy]And countless others. People want a book like Tom Sawyer banned from libraries?! All because it uses the N word in it. Now some people might find it offensive but consider this. The book was written in the 1800s, the N word was used quite commonly then, the author was from Missouri a slave state. [/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote] [size=1][color=black]I agree. Well, I haven't read Tom Sawyer, but I feel the same way about To Kill A Mockingbird. I mean, the language in that book is used in context and suits the era in which it's set. It's not as though the author has just gone on some racist free-for-all. Anyone who has actually read the book would know that. I don't have much of a problem with censorship of movies or music, though. As someone else has said, you can always buy the non-censored version and watch it or listen to it at home. Although censorship does sometimes have amusing results. Such as the censoring of that Kanye West song so the line ended up being "She ain't messin' with no broke broke", which makes no sense at all...[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=black]It's been a while since I saw 28 Days Later, but I remember it being pretty decent. I don't think I'd watch a sequel though. Most sequels annoy me because it seems like the filmmakers have just gone "Hey, we made a lot of money with this film, let's do it again!". And when the original actors aren't in it, that makes it even worse. But perhaps it wouldn't be too bad. I mean, the plot seems okay, and if I recall correctly the ending to the film was left a bit open.[/color][/size]

[size=1][color=black]1. [b]Take It Easy[/b] - The Eagles 2. [b]Holy Grail[/b] - Hunters and Collectors 3. [b]The Ballad of Floor Buffer Smurf[/b] - Tripod 4. [b]Easy/Lucky/Free[/b] - Bright Eyes 5. [b]Eleanor Put Your Boots On[/b] - Franz Ferdinand 6. [b]Always[/b] - Jon Bon Jovi 7. [b]Fuxia[/b] - Verdena 8. [b]Friday On My Mind[/b] - The Easybeats 9. [b]Lump[/b] - Presidents of the United States 10. [b]The Outsider[/b] - A Perfect Circle 11. [b]Closing Time[/b] - SemiSonic 12. [b]Invisible Touch[/b] - Phil Collins 13. [b]Left Alone Among The Living[/b] - Spearmint 14. [b]Brown Eyed Girl[/b] - Van Morrison 15. [b]The Rain In Spain[/b] - My Fair Lady That's actually not a bad representation of what I listen to. A mix of old and new, mostly rock (and its many variations). #3 is a song by three Aussie comedians who do this 'Song In An Hour' where they're given suggestions that they have to make into a song in an hour. #7 is by an Italian rock band who I discovered while I was in Italy as an exchange student. And #15 is from the film version of My Fair Lady, hehe. There are a bunch of songs from that and the Sound of Music that get stuck in my head at the most random times.[/color][/size]

[quote name='Bláse][size=1][color=slategray] And let me say, you can't get any better than classic Disney movies. [/color'][/size][/quote] [size=1][color=black]Oh, definitely. It seems like ever since I turned 18 I've been watching all the Disney films I used to watch when I was a kid. I love Aladdin (although that's relatively recent) and Dumbo, in particular. Although I'm not so crazy about all these Disney sequels they've released - there's a sequel to Bambi, but perhaps that's old news. Maybe I'm not 'with it' when it comes to children's films anymore. The last movie I saw was [b][URL=http://imdb.com/title/tt0104503/]In The Soup[/URL][/b] (1992), which I bought yesterday. I didn't expect all that much from it, but it was really very good. It's about a writer/filmmaker Aldolpho (Steve Buscemi, who I absolutely adore; he was the one reason I bought the film) who is broke and decides to sell the script he's been writing. This guy Joe (Seymour Cassel) buys the script and ends up dragging Aldolpho along on these weird plans to get money to produce the film. There's more to it than that, but I'm never able to properly explain a film, hehe. Now, it's probably not a film for everyone - it's shot in grainy black and white, so that would put quite a few people off. It's so funny though, and the performances are great, particularly Seymour Cassel, who is hilarious. Steve Buscemi narrates the film, and does the whole "in over his head" feeling so well. Definitely worth the $7 that I paid for it.[/color][/size]

The American summer is winter here in Australia, but that's okay because I love winter. Oh, holidays! I have three weeks left of my first semester of university and I'm living for the holidays. Not that I'm not enjoying uni, but it'll be good to have some time off for a while. I don't really have any plans. Just spending the time with my good ol' buddies from school. And working a bit too. It's my birthday in July, so I'll do something then. It'll probably involve being dragged by my friends to a nightclub/casino or something. Good times, anway.

I don't use MySpace because the layout just seems annoying. Of course, there's also the emos, but they're always good for a laugh. Anyone seen that "MySpace: The Movie" by David Lehre? Hehehe. Funny.

I like Jet, but it annoys me when people compare them to ACDC and such. When a band is raved about like that, they're never as good as you expect them to be. But they're good to listen to anyway. I wish I'd seen them at the Big Day Out festival, but they were on at the same time as the Dandy Warhols. I'll see Jet another year. I digress. It's sad that you guys in America probably won't hear the majority of the great Australian music that's around right now.

[QUOTE]Why don't we just tell the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!![/QUOTE] We'll leave it to you to try and make about 35 million people 'sit down and shut up'. That said, having 'In God We Trust' on coins really isn't THAT big a deal, is it? It certainly wouldn't bother me if I lived in America. It's money. They're not forcing you to convert to Christianity. But then, it's probably 'the principle of the thing', or something.