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Todd> Hehe, it turns out we were both wrong. John ch 8. is what I was thinking of. She was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus as a test for the pahrisees to see if Jesus would comply with the law. I thought she was Mary Magdeline, I got confused; but that is the event I was thinking of.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
metaldmeon
Saturday, January 5, 2002 08:33:56 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

cyberklaw: I may not be a staff member, but I will see if I can help you.
1. The staff, while they may be busy, they are working on the stories, which should be out by March.
2. Even if they DO need help, they are currently in the middle of taking care of everything and it would be extremely confusing for everyone if someone just jumped in.
3. Do you have any gargoyles stories written? Or, for that matter, have you written any story longer than 10 pages? I couldn't find anything in the GFW under your handle.

Anyway, the staff knows that if they need help, all they have to do is ask and they will have a few dozen people jumping at the chance to help them.
They may take their time, but they are doing that so the stories and art don't seem to be rushed.

Fire Storm
Saturday, January 5, 2002 07:31:47 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

METALDEMON - Actually, Mary Magdalene wasn't the prostitute whom Jesus was defending; in fact, the Bible doesn't say anything about her being a prostitute at all. What it says was that he cast seven demons out of her. Given the context of Jesus casting demons out of people elsewhere in the Gospels, that would suggest that her past involved insanity rather than prostitution. (I'm probably not going to really accomplish anything in setting the record straight here, since the misconception has been around for so long that it's gotten hardened in the public consciousness, but I still feel the need to point out the facts here).
Todd Jensen - [merlyn1@mindspring.com]
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, January 5, 2002 06:40:59 PM
IP: 63.183.39.213

Greg Bishansky & the TGS Staff >>> Once more, I am still waiting for a reply to my e-mail and I'm trying to be patient. All I'm asking for is a chance. I'm just thinking that with the various TGS series still on hiatus and delayed for various real-life reasons, you guys could use another guy on the staff to help out. Just a thought.
cyberklaw - [cyberklaw@yahoo.com]
London, UK
Saturday, January 5, 2002 06:21:26 PM
IP: 152.163.201.49

Forgot the link.
Yooper
Saturday, January 5, 2002 06:11:02 PM
IP: 208.4.94.53

*Yooper walks in and drops onto the sofa*

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with finals and work. I usually read the CR, but don't have the time to write up replies. I'm gonna try to be better about it this year.

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas/Chaunakah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan and a happy New Year.

I finally got the gun box I wanted, and picked up my new Ruger on Thursday. The thing I've never been able to figure out is why purchasing a firearm has to be more nerve-wracking than a Bosnian grocery run. Me and my father had to drive to the Sheriff's office (1 hr away) for a purchase permit, then back 30 min to the gun shop to pick up the gun, then back another 30 min to the Sheriff's to get the safety check *cough*registration*cough* and transfer it into my name. (I'm only 20, so my dad had to purchase it from the dealer, then transfer it to me) If I'd wanted an illegal handgun, it'd have taken 5 min. "Here's your money." "OK, here's your gun." Oh, well. At least its over with.

<RANT>
Read about the Chicago lawsuit. (See the NYTimes link **Requires registration***) *rolls eyes* I've never figured out how a gun company can "flood" an area with guns as a matter of business practice. All that's happening is that dealers in the suburbs are ordering more guns because more customers are driving out there to purchase from them. If they set a quota on the suburbs to ensure that more guns aren't sold "than the population would normally buy" people will just drive out a little farther, and gun shops will open to sell there.
</RANT>

I saw LOTR right after it came out. I also went with my parents to see it the next day. It was interesting, but I wasn't all that impressed. To me, a lot of it didn't make sense until I had read the book. Not a bad movie, but not a great one.

Replies:
Organizations>>Hey an organization can define its membership qualifications. And where those qualifications are ambiguously defined, can define what those terms mean. Hence the ACLU defining "civil liberties" to mean abortion-rights but not gun-rights. I disagree with them on both points, but they're well within their rights to turn me down if I apply for membership. The same thing is with the BSA. The term is not "straight," it's "morally straight." The sense of straight that they are using here is not the popular definition of "heterosexual," its "exhibiting honesty and fairness <straight dealing>" (www.m-w.com def 3a) The term "morally straight" also precludes things such as stealing and lying. Since there is no agreement on what "moral" is, BSA reserves the right to define it as it applies to their members.

N'Sync in SW2>>Oh my God! George Lucas is a BUSINESSMAN!! Seriously, I don't see what the problem is. Star Wars is his personal property, and he can do what he wants with it. If he wants Anakin to have an unholy relationship with one of those things they rode in "Empire Strikes Back," he's free to do so. It'd just destroy the value of his copyrights and his ability to attract investment capital for his next movie. He probably thinks that the people that this pisses off will be counterbalanced by people who would go see SW2 just because N'Sync is in it. And when it comes down to it, what's the problem with trying to please the maximum number of people possible? "Selling Out" is a code phrase for "He is trying to have as many customers as possible." That's how you make money in any industry. I personally will go see it anyway, since it appears they're only extras. Hell, if N'Sync gets killed, I'd pay full admission just to see *that*.

Yooper - [jwprusi@up.net]
MI
Saturday, January 5, 2002 06:09:42 PM
IP: 208.4.94.53

Whoops! I knew I had forgotten something...

DPH:> <<Or to have conquered the world, only to be overthrown. >> Ah, but this is in the end the destiny of every dominator...

Bye!


Shadowrider
Saturday, January 5, 2002 06:07:18 PM
IP: 213.213.103.199

Hi people, just a quick post...

Josh:> <<I haven't failed YET!>> Who said I was talking about YOU? <grins>
<<I usually prefer to build Tamiya models>> I do as well, for the same reasons you mention. I remember when I received from my parents a 1/32 Tomcat made by Fujimi. I assembled ans painted the cockpit, the wings, the control surfaces and when I went to assemble the main body I discovered there was a 5mm tolerance between the two pieces! I had to work for a whole week to make them fit in some way. Well, for sure I learnt the lesson...and furthermore, the only model shop near my place sells Tamiya.
<<Especially when she's not wearing anything else! >> You lucky bastard! You verified, huh, you filthy pig? Aaaaahhh...you are a lucky man! A chance to spend some time with the incomparably beautiful and talented Niamhgold...you don't know how I envy you! ;) Ok, I'm joking...actually, I'm happy to hear you two are having some fun together. Now...are all those little red hearts flying arond the CR yours? ;)

GB:> <<I think the best thing for teh euro is the UK joining.>> Well, for sure the fact that now the UK is pushing hard to join is a good sign for the Euro.
If you decide to visit Milan, be sure to warn me some time before. Not that much...a couple weeks, ok?

Niamhgold:> << it's a MAC>> Oh, no, another contaminated by the Mac depending...I can see how in just a short time, only I and some other valiants will defend the walls of IBM from the rampaging barbarians...
Oh, and have fun in LA with Josh! :) But not too much...;)

Anything more? Seems not to me...oh, well, so see you all, and good night!


Shadowrider - [shadowrider@katamail.com]
Saturday, January 5, 2002 05:43:51 PM
IP: 213.213.103.199

Gunjack: <Please. The UDT and SEALS have been using condoms to waterproof detonaters during underwater demolitions work.>
True. I forgot about that!
They also use them in the film industry for blood hits.
<The story goes that a medic in Vietnam started freaking when the SEALS started requesting ten, twenty condoms a night>
Yeah... I think that would raise SOME suspicion! Like... how would they be able to get it up that many times in one night!
<Oh, WIIIIIIIIleeeeek... Shouldn't we be doing something about this?>
I knew I would have fun with that somewhere!
<Killer Doll assault>
Killer love doll assault?

Gside: <Well, it only took up a quarter of a room , and when you added 2 to two, it gave you 3.>
Hey, it was truck mountable, so it was portable! And so what if the math was wrong? It was a portable, wasn't it?
<They seemed to divide creativities between my brother and I somewhat evenly.>
Same with LM and I, but she won't admit that she is a good artist!
<Reminds me of a bio riddle>
Hmm... that's a good one! I mean, corn will keep, BUT the chickens may be able to find their own food...
BUT if there is no food on or near the island, your screwed anyway you look at it!

Imzadi: <I knew they were good for something>
"Wow! That condom fit so well I didn't even notice the difference!" ;)
<Well, there was, but I sat on it>
Talk about a hot seat!
<The first tandy laptop weighed 20 lbs>
BUT it had a barcode scanner and some of them are still in use by scientists!
<Are there any FAKE PC programs>
yeah. Mac software!
<Why does that reek of Naken Gun?>
All those cops there and they STILL didn't catch them!
<It was a Pentium?>
I remember that recall!

DPH: <3 different timelines? Wow>
Yeah. Sucks alot.
And yours sounds like it sucks too.
BUT if you don't end up doing it anyway and it still happens, talk about a paradox. I hate those.
<I got the feeling that guy was making up the story as he got along>
They pretty much did! When the script didn't seem right, they changed the script and then the book.

Crzy: <I think I am going to go try to talk my husband into getting rid of his truck now... heh heh heh>
Ah... you are like that woman on the ad that keeps trying to sell all that guys possesions.
That ad makes me angry.

Green Baron: <That wa steh ep with teh zombies>
Sounds like an interesting episode...
<sexual positions outside the missionary>
Wow... Christians take all the fun out of life!

Warpmind: <The parent cells reproduce>
Yeah, that's what the concensus is...
<unless I've mixed up too much of what I gleaned from biology class>
Hey, I can't keep all that stuff straight anyway!
<Close Encounters of the Third Kind is on... and I haven't seen that one yet>
For a while, it was played every other movie here.

Fire Storm
Saturday, January 5, 2002 04:07:14 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

Christine - *lol* the Geek Hierarchy... I don't know where I stand! I have three on the 2nd tier -- Anime Fans who insist on subtitles, Heinlein Fans and Fan Fic Writers -- but then I have 2 on the third tier, Roleplayer Gamers, and Erotic Fanfic Writers, and one on the 4th tier, yes I like Pokemon *^_^*, it's cute. And then it keeps getting worse, I like Furries, and yup, Erotic Furries, but I've yet to commit the final mind bending level of the final tier. ...but darn, it sounds like a kewl project.

Can I be an Leopard? And what would Spock be? And would he and Kirk be together romantically? Somehow in all this someone forgot to put in a tier for Slash Fan Fiction *^_^*

heh... geek points, do I get extras for costuming? There should be sub, sub tier for those who take the erotic furry star trek fan fic with themselves inserted and turn it into a live action role play complete with costumes! And you must do so while subsisting on a mix of Jelly Babies and Pocky for the appropriate sugar rush, and Jolt to wash it all down with, during a sf/fantasy/anime/gamer convention at 3 am Sunday morning...

Oh wait a minute... except for the erotic furry part, I think I did that when I *was* thirteen... *O_o* yikes

But I'm much better now. *^_^*

must go in search breakfast.
Mooncat was here!
>^,,^<

Mooncat
Saturday, January 5, 2002 03:31:31 PM
IP: 65.30.27.68

*Warpmind strolls in, looking a bit smug.*
Heheh... Undefeated Writing Contest Winner two years running... and this time, unlike the previous contest, there WAS another entry... *Smirk* Winning contests by default kinda takes some of the villainous glee out of it... };) (And if you have to ask what kind of writing contest it was, trust me, you DON'T want to know... Trust me.)

N*Sync in Star Wars... *Turns the Wheel of Fate another notch toward Armageddon.* Pity... And here I hoped Lucas might still redeem himself in the eyes of the fans... I fear SW2 is going to suffer a MASSIVE failure in ticket sales...

Josh: Using a hammer as a weapon often does cause some noise. Especially if the moron is bright enough to duck... (Not a Mousse joke.) };)

Gside: Nope, not at the movies yet... Just finished season 3, got started on season 4 today. (That new headmaster is freaky...) I'm taking it disc by disc, you know... As for those books - perfect. Just the last few titles I needed to fill up the bookshelves at the Engineering Guild. Be wary of potential laughs in the Q la... Engineering Guild Basement. };)

DPH: 100% sober, huh? Frankly, I kind of doubt that... considering the biochemical setup of the human body, I don't think it is possible to get more than 99.9995% or so... ;)

Fire Storm: The parent cells reproduce; they're not fixed. (Ugh, bad choice of words...) As I recall it, they first divide to keep up their numbers, then one splits into two sperms while the other repeats the process... pretty much. (I'm a little rusty on the details, but unless I've mixed up too much of what I gleaned from biology class, that's the sum of it...)

Greg B: Actually, censorship, if used in a mature manner, can be convenient. GOVERNMENTAL censorship, however... if you take a look at the First Amendment, it states that Congress shall pass no law to infringe on the rights of free speech... it doesn't mention civilians' right to censor various material. Just an observation.

And, well, that's it. And now, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is on... and I haven't seen that one yet. See ya.

Warpmind de InzanE - [warpmind@hotmail.com]
Middle, Nowhere, Norway
Saturday, January 5, 2002 03:25:39 PM
IP: 193.217.209.75

Gunjack> Pardon me for intruding in posts.
<<It's a fallacy because someone who WAS without sin DID cast the first stone;>> refresh my memory, please. The way I always interpreted the "let he who is without sin...." was that this statement sort of abolished any sins deserving death since most death sentences were carried out by stoning. In fact, the context in which it was said was that Jesus was saving Mary Magdeline from being executed by stoning for being a prostitute.
What would be more in line with what GB said is "remove the log from your own eye before remove the log from your borthers eye." (or something like that) Hmmmm, the "cast the first stone" bit works, too, in line with that.
<<Seems that no one appreciates good censorship>>
OK, I have a huge problem with that :P I may find what someone says dispecable, but they have every right to say it...they just better be ready to defend their ideas when I get a hold of them :)
<<but how could it be anything BUT a religious issue?>>
Because it's never mentioned in the Bible.
<<Religions claim to tell what is True; and Morality is just applied Truth.>> Only problem is, is that differant Churches belived differant truths. THat's why there are so many differant Churches.
<<Real sweet guys, those Enlightenment philosophers.>>
They are to be read for their ideas, not the personal lives. America WAS founded on Enlightenmant ideas (Deism, Freedom, etc.), but not on the philosophers' lives.
metaldemon
Saturday, January 5, 2002 03:17:35 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

Christine> I rather like your response. As much as I love history, I don't know very much about condoms. I knew they were used in the seventeenth century, but I had no idea they were used as early as ancient Egypt. I also wonder how effective the older brands were in preventing VD (I recall in the sex ed portion fo religion class, lambskins are not very effective in preventing AIDS. I have no idea about syphilis and such). I guess tehy would be perfectly okay to use in olden times, especially for the wives of landed gentry, who had less than faithful husbands.

Thsi remidns me of a story abot my Uncles. When they were 8 and 9, a truck full of condoms hit a bumb and a crate hit the street and opened up, so they thought they were baloons and started playing with them. My grandmother saw what happened and was mortified, which is typical behavior in the fifties especially for my grandmother :)

Firestorm and Gunjack> Well, those would be perfectly allowed, since they don't pertain to sex.

<<Never saw that ep, but I got a rip of the christmas album on my HD!>>
That wa steh ep with teh zombies. Cartman went as Hitler for Halloween, which horrifed teh principal so he saw a video on how it was uncool to dress up like Hitler. Instead he was given a ghost costume that made him look like a KKK member.

Gunjack> <<The story goes that a medic in Vietnam started freaking when the SEALS started requesting ten, twenty condoms a night.>> Well, that sounds normal for an all male NAVY team ;)

Gside> <<I would gladly let it use me for anal sex.>> When did Jackal take over your mind? That sound sliek soemthing he'd say.

Imzadi> <<Um, how about not spreading STD's?>> That is anotehr reason, but pre-marital sex is not allowed either and married ocuples are tested beforehand (I would be shocked by a priest who didn't need that information). I guess then condoms are okay for anyone married to a French man, then :)

<<Which do? The masturbation, using contraceptives, or being homosexual?>> Being homosexual is not at all wrong.I really don't consider a monogamous homosexual relationship wrong either, but the missionary position really wouldn't be possible, so I guess it would be about as wrong as contraception, masturbation, sexual positions outside the missionary, being late to mass, small lies, petty theft, and other venial sins.

Stuff involving bath houses, rodents, and multiple partners, I am not so open-minded about.

<<It is rather cool, no?>> Especilaly now that you ahve met the Niamhgold. Now, Gside and I will pester you for pictures :)

<<Which makes perfect sense, since they are a civil liberties group.>> It depends on your definition of civil liberties. Plus the ACLU has a right to its tenets.

<<So you're saying that religion is nothing but a moral guide? So that I should have a particular set of morals because I was born into a family that are members of a particular religion?>> No, but moral guidance is part of religion. It doesn't matter what you were bron into. It matters what you choose, and since I have chosen to be a Catholic (I was Confirmed at age 15 and I still attend Mass), I must follow the tenets and know them. For if I did not choose to follow the dogma and doctrine of the Catholic faith, why would I still practice it? Now, I can choose what devotions to follow, what Mass to go to, what saints to have medals and devotions of, how many statues of the Virgin Mary to put in my room, and other more optional, personal stuff.

<<Funerals should NOT replace family gatherings.>> That has happened to the Worthington side of my family. I lost my great uncle while I was in Basic. Now, only two from my grandparents generation are still alive. One is almost 90 an another is in his 60s and a second cousin to my grandfather (which is extremely young for my granparents' genertaion).

<<It's certainly steeled my resolve to see my dad's parents again before I go back up to school, I don't think my grandmom has much time left.>> Take as many chances to see them when they can. My Uncle and godfather will be next, though my last great uncle (the one almost 90) may be next, instead.

Christine> ::hugs:: I hope family situations improve. I am so used to mine dying that I know try to guess who is next.

Gunjack> <<You forgot to mention the part about how he left those kids at an orphanage with a 50%+ mortality rate... Real sweet guys, those Enlightenment philosophers. Proof that a little knowledge is a profoundly dangerous thing.>> Well, that was the problem, only a little knowledge and a lot of arrogance. The English Enlightenment was considerably better and not as full of herectical views, either.

<<Believe it or not, I firmly believe that censorship is not only good, but NESCESSARY.>> Why? It only makes something more attractive, like hearing an organ during Mass after going to a more modern chruch for a while, well musical instruments aren't rerally in your service, though. Bad example.

<<but that doesn't nullify the need for some good old-fashioned repression of ideas>> Why repress when you can discredit?

<<And whoever said that religion should be decided by a vote? o.O>> Exactly.
The Pope's Election is determined ultimately by the Holy Spirit and the College fo Cardinals was established to prevent powerful kings from picking Popes, though that is the only voting procedure in my faith.

<<Truly? That mighta been my church...>> That doesn't speak well of your church. I suspect if a Catholic Church did that, the Bishop would get a thousand phone calls and the priest responsible would be preaching to livestock in South Dakota.

<<It's a fallacy because someone who WAS without sin DID cast the first stone; or at least, that's what the Bible claims.>> Actually, there's a joke about that scene, for after the crowd left, a stone whizzed by and Jesus said, "Aw, mom, cut it out." :)

<<If you claim to be Catholic and yet support planned parenthood, you're practicing a form of philosophical identity theft.>> Yep, and you will be excommunicated if the Bishops has the balls to stand up to the media, like Most Rev Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln.

Lain> What is vision of the anointed?

DPH> <<Simple reason, the fringe benefits. If I am not mistaken, members of Boy Scouts get promotions/pay raises faster.>> If someone joins soleley to benefit themeselves, then they should just suck it up, and enjoy the benefits.

Enough posting for now.

Green Baron - [greenbaron@hotmail.com]
Hanau, Hessen, Germany
Saturday, January 5, 2002 02:53:33 PM
IP: 140.156.6.2

::Steps in clutching the First Amendment::

CENSORSHIP> Personally, I think censorship is the worst form of evil there is. There is nothing worse than the repression of self-expression. The whole reason we have the First Amendment is for people to say what we don't agree with. Acting on some of these is different.

I cannot believe you are saying that censorship is a good thing. There are many things that I don't agree with that at least I can understand and even respect. But I cannot respect or understand that point of view. Not at all.

Greg Bishansky
Saturday, January 5, 2002 02:37:28 PM
IP: 216.179.1.117

green baron>> on the contrary, were posting FROM the shack in newfoundland ];)

i'm trying not to make this posting thing a habit but.. i have been known to fail on things like this before..

gunjack>> << that doesn't nullify the need for some good old-fashioned repression of ideas. And I'd bet that, under the right circumstances, most everyone in here would agree
with me>> *takes out a copy of "vision of the annointed" and holds it over a bonfire, grinning..* oh yes, my love, i agree whoooole-heartedly ];)

since i openly admit to knowing nothing about the boy scouts of america, and since pretending to know something would involve voicing an opinion (which would NEVER do, *tisk tisk) i will refrain from saying anything.

*grins another ethically challenged grin in the direction of gunjack* what, me? opinions? never... ];)

kathy>> yes, well.. ive always told everyone ELSE to pack spare undies in their carryons.. unfortunately, though, my brain is too feeble to remember to practice what i preach :P

josh>> <<We're talking about Canada here, what do you want?>> oi. sometimes i wonder.. <<You may not believe this, but we don't need to know that>> what what?? you mean.. you DONT want to know the state of my bum every thirty seconds? huh.. i could have sworn.. oh well, i will try to cut down on the bum updates, if you wish ;)

gside>> <<Bow chick bow?>> bow chicka chicka bow wow woooooooooooooo!!!!!.. or near enough ;) <<And get him posting again>> yessir!
*ahem* *hollers* GUUUUUNJAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! be nice and talk to your fan!!!!!!!

LOTR commentary>> the person staying with me has BEEN to most of the places they filmed... she was sat in the theatre with me, leaning over and saying "hey, ive BEEN there, thats part of Fiordland.. cos, Fiordlands, like, a national park and.." grrrr... those new zealanders.. she could have been IN the movies, they were filed right by where she lives.. ;) lucky her ;)

anyway, time to have a yarn. see you.

lain
the Great White North
Saturday, January 5, 2002 02:11:38 PM
IP: 64.228.198.42

I finally have enough strenght/sleep to post again!!

I lived through the most beautiful storybook style wedding this holiday season. Another "happy ever after" courtesy of Gargoyles. Aimee and Mitch have tied the knot and it couldn't have been a more dreamlike event. I was sick as a dog the entire time I was in SC for the wedding, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it. (YAY DRUGS!) I can't wait until they get back and show off pictures.

I got back to Los Angeles at 8pm on the 31st. I quickly changed clothes, got prettied up, and headed out to a hot New Year's Party with my husband. Things are finally settling down from the holidays and I have now caught up on my sleep. WHEW!

For those of you who have a PS2... You MUST PLAY "Devil May Cry" OH MY GOD what an amazing game!!!

I think I am going to go try to talk my husband into getting rid of his truck now... heh heh heh

Jennifer "CrzyDemona" Anderson
Saturday, January 5, 2002 01:59:27 PM
IP: 63.28.181.193

I deliberately didn't post yesterday because I wanted to finish 2001 & sequels first.

Imzadi - Did you enjoy the anagrams of your name that I sent you? <Its very difficult to start at the end unless you're a time traveler like DPH over there.> Sorry, I don't travel to the past of EARTH or anyother place I'm likely to run into Time Enforcers from Earth.

Fire Storm - 3 different timelines? Wow. Of course there is a possibility that sometime in the future I will travel back in time, get caught, travel slightly further ahead in time to prevent becoming a Time Enforcer, leave the note behind, and then return to my present.

Green Baron - < If you don't like the beleifs of a certain group, why join?> Simple reason, the fringe benefits. If I am not mistaken, members of Boy Scouts get promotions/pay raises faster.

Shadowrider - <Remember that the wrong thing is not trying to conquer the world, but failing in conquering the world.> Or to have conquered the world, only to be overthrown.

**2001: A Space Oddessy & Sequels Spoilers**
I got the feeling that guy was making up the story as he got along. It's also hard reading through some of the technical stuff. I would have enjoyed it better if he had worked out a timeline and stuck to it than interjecting references to the real world. IMHO, it's not that good of a story.
**END SPOILERS**


DPH
AR, USA
Saturday, January 5, 2002 01:36:58 PM
IP: 204.94.193.49

Yesterday ruled! Well, the whole week ruled, but yesterday was truly awesome. But I'll get to that a little later.

REVEL> Thanks for coming, sorry you couldn't stay longer, but it was a pleasure to see you again. You're welcome back here anytime. Thanks for the picture, and I'll see you in Williamsburg.

EMAMBU> It was a pleasure to finally meet you, hope we all didn't frighten you too much ;)

WINTERWOLF> Good to see you again also, glad you had a great time.

Saw Rocky Horror twice in ten days. Watched the movie with everyone last Saturday, and I watched the Broadway version with Lynati, Aaron and Mara last night. It was a real treat because it starred Terrence Mann (the voice of Oberon) as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and he did a really great job. We threw in a "Gargoyles" joke during the show... it went like this.

Frank-N-Futer: All my children turn on me.
Lynati, Aaron, Mara and myself: That's what you get for calling the Gathering... you bastard!

No one else got it. But hey, it was still fun.

There's also another little anecdote from this play, but I'll let Aaron tell it, since its his story. I just got to be a witness. But since he won't be home till Tuesday, you'll all have to wait. He knows what I'm talking about ;)

We got to meet Terrence after the play, and got him to sign Gargoyles stuff. He was a very nice guy. Hopefully we'll get him to a Gathering one of these days.

AARON, MARA, LYNATI> It was great, thank you so much for everything, I'm proud to have met you back in June, proud to hav gotten to know you and recruited you for my Gathering Staff, and even more proud to have you as my friends. Take care, I'll see you again soon, and definetly be speaking to you sooner.

Greg Bishansky
Saturday, January 5, 2002 01:35:32 PM
IP: 216.179.1.117

*Boogies on in looking older all the time, and feeling younger in his mind*

Howdy.

Gside><<Reminds me of a bio riddle. You're on a desert island with a bag of corn and some chickens.>> I suck at this sort of thing, but I'd assume that you'd get the most nutrition by eating the chicken and then the corn. If you feed the corn to the chicken, you'll still have a net loss of energy, ne?
<<Ha ha. I get until the 21st.>> @&%#!
<<I would gladly let it use me for anal sex.>> Oh, *I* get it... everyone's favorite word, right?

FS><<They are performing the Episode 2 theme!>> Oh, WIIIIIIIIleeeeek... Shouldn't we be doing something about this? Orbital bombardment? Killer Doll assault? Releasing mutated goldfish into the water supply of a major city?

Josh - Condolences to your family, 'mano... : |
<<Too difficult? Or just the wrong RAM?>> Wrong RAM, it cost $30 more than it was supposed to, and it didn't speed up my computer any. <<Really? Wow. Inventive little guys.>> Still not quite as good as making a functional bong out of a live chicken, but they get the job done...
<<Which makes perfect sense, since they are a civil liberties group.>> ...Unless you consider Abortion to be murder, in which case calling it a "civil liberty" would be absurd. The ACLU (and note that we're talking about the leaders, not the members as a whole) decides for itself what is and isn't a "civil liberty; therefore partial-birth abortion and nudity in public are to be defended, while gun ownership is not.
The ACLU is allowed to subjectively define itself and its mission. When the Boy Scouts do the same thing, however, they're attacked as bigots and/or hatemongers. I find this amusing.
<<What really irks me is that abortion doesn't have to be a right/left wing issue, or even a religious issue.>> The Political issue is arguable, but how could it be anything BUT a religious issue? o.O
<<Its a moral issue, and neither clubs nor religions nor political affiliation can force you to think that it is moral or amoral.>> Indeed. But organizations CAN kick you out if you don't agree with their guiding principles. For some reason, people nowadays don't seem to understand this.
If you're for what your organization is against, they can't make you change your mind. But everyone seems to think that THEY should change to meet YOUR standards (ie, Boy Scouts and the Salvation Army should change their policy on homosexuals in their ranks, ACLU should allow pro-choicers into leadership roles, etc). The one trumps the many.
<<So you're saying that religion is nothing but a moral guide?>> It's not JUST a moral guide, but moral guidence is a big part of it. Religions claim to tell what is True; and Morality is just applied Truth. <<So that I should have a particular set of morals because I was born into a family that are members of a particular religion?>> Neither morality nor religion are passed on along with the family nose. However, if you're going to claim to be a Catholic/Orthodox Jew/Buddhist/Satanist, you're going to have to agree to follow the rules laid out by your religion. If you claim to be Catholic and yet support planned parenthood, you're practicing a form of philosophical identity theft.

Green Baron><<...someone who wants to make a comment about homosexuality really shoudln't say anything if s/he uses birth control or whacks off.>> This would be the oft-seen "cast the first stone" fallacy. It's a fallacy because someone who WAS without sin DID cast the first stone; or at least, that's what the Bible claims. Or don't the Bible's moral teachings count?
<<Well if that is someone's individual views, why are they Catholic?>> Indeed. And whoever said that religion should be decided by a vote? o.O
<<I hardly regard those pseudo-Christians as a form of organized religion.>> Truly? That mighta been my church...
<<You and Lian posting, now? I guess you grew tired of your shack in Newfoundland>> The things I could say...
<<Rosseau fathered five illegitimate children and abandoned them, but he writes a book on childcare.>> You forgot to mention the part about how he left those kids at an orphanage with a 50%+ mortality rate... Real sweet guys, those Enlightenment philosophers. Proof that a little knowledge is a profoundly dangerous thing.

I've also derived no end of amusement from the "book burning" posts, especially the comparisons to Hitler. Seems that no one appreciates good censorship these days. Believe it or not, I firmly believe that censorship is not only good, but NESCESSARY. I'd argue that book burnings (and Harry Potter book burnings in particular) are rather rediculous, but that doesn't nullify the need for some good old-fashioned repression of ideas. And I'd bet that, under the right circumstances, most everyone in here would agree with me.

Wow, but this song is invigorating. I AM the Superman!
KAPWING!

Gunjack "Edge Waltz" Valentine - [Miphsingleton@hotmail.com]
Saturday, January 5, 2002 01:09:33 PM
IP: 172.147.117.229

Me again ... fun link; see where you rate! ; )
Christine - [<---- Geek Hierarchy]
Saturday, January 5, 2002 10:41:52 AM
IP: 64.24.187.163

Josh > condolences to your family. I agree, a funeral is a sorry occasion to get everyone together. It wasn't even like that when my grandmother died because she'd expressly stated (back when her mind was still her own) that she didn't want one. This led to a colossal fight between my mother (who honored Grandma's wishes) and my great-aunt (who wanted to have a service anyway). I, too, hope to have the chance to see my relatives before too much time passes.

More family woes > Tim's parents, visiting with us, just got news that his grandfather fell and got a surgery-requiring eye injury that I can't describe in detail as I am the one who can't even watch a Visine commercial without flinching. Much bad blood between the sisters, long-distance bickering now. Becca is beginning to show the strain of having company since the week before Xmas, overstimulated and hyper and there's still a full week to go until the Masonic installation that has made Tim a basket case too. Is it any wonder I won't be starting the next book for a while? Whew.

Christine
Saturday, January 5, 2002 10:39:21 AM
IP: 64.24.187.163

LA should be like this forever. I think its 68 and sunny, clear skies. Absolutely gorgeous. The Eliza Dushku of weather, if you will.

I picked up Orgy's "Candyass" CD today. I've liked them for a while and had a burn of this CD that I've been dying to replace with the real thing. Thanks to my uncle who graciously provided me with a gift card to Warehouse.

Lunch at In-And-Out, and a host of errands run today. Went to the Getty Museum this evening to look around...I hate art but I *love* that place. Its really peaceful and beautiful, which you wouldn't expect from something in LA.

My great uncle (my grandmother's brother) passed away last night. He had been in bad shape for a long time, and *this* heart attack (after so many others) finally killed him. My mom and grandmom were wrecks yesterday, and now they're flying out for the funeral this weekend so my mom won't be around when I leave for school. It's certainly steeled my resolve to see my dad's parents again before I go back up to school, I don't think my grandmom has much time left.

Funerals should NOT replace family gatherings.

Niamhgold and I went to the Getty Museum of Art, a.k.a. my future World Domination Headquarters. It was still cool the second time, beautifully lit at night. Then we had dinner with my parents and some friends at that amazing chinese place I was drooling about earlier this week.

All in all, a good day.

Jan: <<whimpers and looks back at my electric blanket>>: I know what you mean. At Berkeley, I hate getting out of bed in the mornings. It's so cold. In fact, its so cold that I hate to CHANGE my clothing, because I don't want any part of my body to be exposed to the air in my apartment. But by god, that electric blanket is the best present my grandparents have ever given me. <<a real heat wave moving thru>>: Ah, Los Angeles ;-) <<If you can't do the small things in life to make your loved ones happy, then why bother at all? I would have done the same thing.>>: I don't know about everyone else, but I tend to feel that an artist should maintain some show of integrity. Lucas never meant to create a pop icon with the first trilogy. Now he is, and that isn't what Star Wars is about. Also, Lucas should have some loyalty towards his own fands, the people who made him rich in the first place. His fans aren't the people who like N'Sync. And just because you love someone doesn't mean you're willing to piss off millions of people for something silly.

Kathy: <<always carry one change of clothes + toothbrush on your person and enough cash (or credit) to get by>>: Well, toothbrushes are easy enough to acquire if you get separated from it. But the clothing is a darn good idea. Of course, since I have experience living out of the same set of pants/shirt for a week, I don't lose much sleep over it. What's really important is that you keep your laptop with you, because I'd break down and cry if I were separated from that. <<Silly git thought he was too important to follow their instructions>>: I would have given anything for this to take place in LA, where they would have been the snot out of him. <<Snow in Georgia. We got six inches>>: Uh... <<He can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality>>: They're a difference!? No wonder everyone at G2k1 was looking at me funny. No wait, that might have been my face ;-)

Ed: <<where to start?>>: Personally, I like to start at the beginning. Its very difficult to start at the end unless you're a time traveler like DPH over there.

Gunjack: <<an abortive attempt at upgrading my comp's pathetic RAM resources>>: Too difficult? Or just the wrong RAM? <<using condoms to waterproof detonaters>>: Really? Wow. Inventive little guys.

Green Baron: <<I have no desire to spend that much time in snow for the fun of it. I don't like exercising for fun, either>>: For the record, skiing is NOT exercise. It's controlled falling, much like parachuting only you don't fall quite THAT far. <<and forget the whole Revolution ever happened>>: So if there is a revolution in France...which side surrenders first? <<I doubt there is any reaosn for condoms aside form birth control>>: Um, how about not spreading STD's? <<Good thing, those just give you a little more time in Purgatory>>: Which do? The masturbation, using contraceptives, or being homosexual? <<I just like meeting people in the CR.>>: It is rather cool, no? <<Is she Daphne?>>: Whoa. At first I thought you meant CR daphne. Yeah, that's her. <<But invading France would be fun>>: That's true. But only for a few minutes. <<Are you making this deal with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy>>: No, working with the duke brothers. <<I wish I had a cat to spend New Year's with>>: I had two...neener neener neener. <<But NSync gets killed in teh scene, too. That is some consolation>>: Not as much consolation as Lucas turning around tomorrow and saying "oh my god, I've pissed off my fans to no end. My bad. They're out". <<The ACLU requires that its board members be pro-choice>>: Which makes perfect sense, since they are a civil liberties group. <<otherwise, the religion really has no grounding>>: So you're saying that religion is nothing but a moral guide? So that I should have a particular set of morals because I was born into a family that are members of a particular religion? <<I'd use a crystal ball to do stock picks>>: I'd want to fly. Or turn invisible, not sure which.

Christine: <<protect against venereal disease>>: Hah I was right!

Fire Storm: <<keep the sand out of their rifles>>: I knew they were good for something ;-) <<there wasn't a portable UNIVAC>>: Well, there was, but I sat on it. <<the first Tandy laptop could almost be called one of those>>: The first tandy laptop weighed 20 lbs. <<run REAL PC programs>>: Are there any FAKE PC programs. <<when you run out of food you can't even cook the cat>>: My dad would like you. <<how did the bust go?>>: Why does that reek of Naken Gun?

The Wizard: <<there's also the fact that I'm using someone else's machine, it's a MAC, and I don't want to be on it for too long>>: You know, I *could*, at a whim, remove it from your grasp and you'd have NO computer. <<Imzadi has been very hospitable>>: Who? <<I could get used to Los Angeles>>: But only if I wasn't here, right?

Gside: <<Have pity on me>>: This isn't the first time. <<Got a post in at midnight exactly>>: Impressive. <<So what am I doing wrong?>>: Clearly, you're not slick enough. <<Because we're both engineers>>: But you're ECE. <<but they're making me pay for the laundry this year>>: The bastards! <<I would gladly let it use me for anal sex>>: Sick dude. <<and when you added 2 to two, it gave you 3>>: It was a Pentium?

I'm not really a ho.
-Unknown girl

Josh "Imzadi" Wurzel - [@kicktothenuts.com]
Encino, CA, US of A
Saturday, January 5, 2002 02:01:49 AM
IP: 206.170.217.115

More N*Sync news:

They are performing the Episode 2 theme!

Fire Storm - [<--- N*Sync perform Episode 2 theme]
Saturday, January 5, 2002 12:46:19 AM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Real post this time. And this color seems to batch a bit more.

Imzadi> <<Even Fry's wasn't open?>>: No Fry's here. Tried a local place and a couple of chains, though.
<<what happened last year?>>: Got a post in at midnight exactly.<<Even at a strip show features girls of the CR?>>: Especially there.
<<I don't think that she's into the habit of thinking we're all psychos>>: So what am I doing wrong?
<<I don't need an excuse to be jolly>>: No, but you have to put more effort into it to get it right.
<<Some chicks with 36" chests are SCARY>>: I didn't mean chest.
<<How come you and I have so many of the same books?>>: Because we're both engineers.
<<cuz there are so many cool people there>>: You'd be surprised.
<<"please">>: Exactly.
<<if you can get free food/laundry, it might not be so bad>>: They're already paying for the food, but they're making me pay for the laundry this year.

Ed> <<Gollum?s claim to the Ring was based on the vicious greed-inspired murder of his brother>>: I thought Deagol was his cousin.

Gunjack> Better, but there's much room for improvement.
<<now I have to go back to school in three day>>: Ha ha. I get until the 21st.
<<Wasn't the Balrog just DREAMY?>>: I would gladly let it use me for anal sex.

Fire Storm> <<You trying to tell me there wasn't a portable UNIVAC?>>: Well, it only took up a quarter of a room , and when you added 2 to two, it gave you 3.
<<they passed me anyway with a NO ART cert stamped on my license>>: They seemed to divide creativities between my brother and I somewhat evenly.
<<Now when you run out of food you can't even cook the cat!>>: Reminds me of a bio riddle. You're on a desert island with a bag of corn and some chickens. Do you feed the corn to the chickens and eat the eggs until the corn runs out then eat the chickens, eat the corn while feeding it to the chickens then eat the chickens, or eat the chickens then the corn?

Na zdorov'ya.

Gside - [gside@eden.rutgers.edu]
Fair Haven, NJ
Saturday, January 5, 2002 12:09:14 AM
IP: 24.8.60.107

FS><<Don't forget that in Desert Storm, they used condoms to keep the sand out of the barrels of their rifles.>> Please. The UDT and SEALS have been using condoms to waterproof detonaters during underwater demolitions work. The story goes that a medic in Vietnam started freaking when the SEALS started requesting ten, twenty condoms a night. It wasn't until he complained to the SEAL commander about the rampant horniness of his men that he got the straight dope...
Gunjack "hesa shesy!" Valentine
Friday, January 4, 2002 11:28:06 PM
IP: 172.131.102.234

Gside: <Small notebooks. Not thin computers, spiral bound pieces of lined paper>
You trying to tell me there wasn't a portable UNIVAC?
<I fully understand the desire>
Vagueness will be the death of us all.
<You up to date with the fees to the Dept. of Creativity?>
Yeah. Passed the writing test but totally failed the art part. Knew I should have paid them off! Oh well, they passed me anyway with a NO ART cert stamped on my license.
<Anyway, he only voted that way because the female statistic is well known and often quoted, but nothing similar is said of men (the source cells, of course).>
Makes sense then.

Imzadi: <Nothing that was publicly released, to my knowledge>
Hmm... Well, the first Tandy laptop could almost be called one of those...
<That would work>
66 Thz optical processor, 16gb on-die cache, 1.2 TB ram, 1024 GB crystaline HD and a 2400 MBPS 'Net connection!
<Yeah, but its on a mac>
Yeah, but it allows you to run REAL PC programs on it!

Kathy: <First rule of travel>
My first rule is to make sure anything expensive is in your carry on.

jewel: <I'm out of cooking oil and cat food>
Well, that sucks. Now when you run out of food you can't even cook the cat!

Green Baron: <I now have that image of Cartman's Halloween costume>
Never saw that ep, but I got a rip of the christmas album on my HD!
<The protestor coudl also be getting ready for some rally in support of Palestinians and let's face it, those who are against Israel are Nazis>
Hey, a costume with double use!

Jan: <stupid criminal story>
Hey, at least the criminal didn't try to run!
BTW... how did the bust go?

Fire Storm
Friday, January 4, 2002 10:57:14 PM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Just a quick not to say that my internet may be cruely cut off atain tonight until tuesday. Have pity on me.

And how do you like the new color?

Na zdorov'ya.

Gside - [gside@eden.rutgers.edu]
Fair Haven, NJ
Friday, January 4, 2002 10:07:24 PM
IP: 24.4.252.72

Ed> Bah, don't be so "doom and gloom"-y about FOTR, nor should you blame the director, for New Line forced him to cut a lot of footage that might otherwise have changed your opinion about the film.

"And here's some good news for fans disappointed by some of FOTR's omissions: the DVD, being released later this year, should have an extra thirty to forty minutes of footage on it. The additions would include some much-needed interaction and development among the members of the Fellowship, an important aspect of the book that was weakly portrayed in the film. Another addition would include the sequence in which Gimli falls for Galadriel, a turning point for his distrust of Elves."

You should have already known that they cut out the 'receiving of the gifts' scene--a shot was even shown in the previews, though sadly omitted from the film. Anyways, click on my name for the full article.

Vashkoda
Friday, January 4, 2002 08:01:03 PM
IP: 129.98.122.194

** Niamhgold enters **

I love vacation; these days rock. I've ten days of west-coast culture to sift through, and while my family is going to deal with a weekend Nor'Easter on Friday or Saturday, the worst I may have to suffer through is a rainstorm.

I'm probably not going to post too many replies until I get back, as I'm still adjusting to the time change and whatnot. True, it's a lame excuse, but there's also the fact that I'm using someone else's machine, it's a MAC, and I don't want to be on it for too long ;) FS, I'm sure you can sympathize. Although, I do have to thank my host for that one...Imzadi has been very hospitable.

Oh, right, forgot to mention who I was hanging with while I was in CA. Well, Josh has been good enough to put up with me for a bit while I check out this side of the country, so I grant him some credit for that one ;) Otherwise, I could get used to Los Angeles.

** Remembers school back in Baltimore ** Oh, well, I can deal with Maryland for a while if necessary ;)

Longer replies later...maybe next week when a permanent connection is available.

Adios from sunny CA (I _so_ regret not going to last year's Gathering!)

Niamhgold
Friday, January 4, 2002 07:35:10 PM
IP: 206.170.217.242

Green Baron: Don't forget that in Desert Storm, they used condoms to keep the sand out of the barrels of their rifles.
Fire Storm
Friday, January 4, 2002 07:31:56 PM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Green Baron > <<I doubt there is any reaosn for condoms aside form birth control.>> Bzzzzt, thanks for playing ; ) Actually, the condom (though before it was known by that term) was initially used, as far back as ancient Roman and Egyptian times, to protect against venereal disease. As late as 1785, it was still defined in a London dictonary as a prevention for infection, while never mentioning contraception at all.

The cake has been salvaged, huzzah!

Christine - [christine@sabledrake.com]
Friday, January 4, 2002 07:29:15 PM
IP: 64.24.214.37

On the lighter side of things... stupid criminal story ;)

Our deputies, detectives, and sheriff were all out on this big stake-out last night... along with several deputies from surrounding counties and a few highway patrolmen. It was like a half a mile's length of law enforcement cars parked down this secluded country road... (for a huge-ass drug bust) In the meantime, an officer of the town close to this stake out pulled into a car lot and a car suddenly took off and there was a chase. The suspect was driving thru a lot of the back roads and eventually turned off onto a secluded road - yeppers... the SAME one all of these law enforcement officials were parked along. They had been listening to this chase on the radio and most were laughing when they heard that the guy was headed right for them! *L*
Our detective and sheriff caught the guy and had him across the hood of the car putting on the handcuffs when a highway patrolman came up (he was at the end of the line and must have hiked at least 1/2 mile) because he wanted to see what a bonafide fool looked like. *LOL* This suspect was standing there singing that old song, "if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all..." They cuffed and stuffed him in the back of a patrol car and then proceeded with the drug bust/stake out.
While booking him into the jail, he told the jailer that when he topped the hill and saw the long line of police cars, he just simply gave up... after he almost crapped his drawers. ;)

I don't know what all the fuss is about over N'Sync having such a short non-essential type role in the upcoming Star Wars movie *shrugs*
I don't have any ill-feelings towards G. Lucas because he wanted to please his daughter. If you can't do the small things in life to make your loved ones happy, then why bother at all? I would have done the same thing.

Jan - [janmiller@mo-net.com]
Friday, January 4, 2002 07:04:24 PM
IP: 12.110.237.5

Well, its back to work so I don't post as often. A pity, really, but I don't ahve much enthusiasm for walking in teh codl weather to go on-line. Once I have internet in my new room, which I move into on the 15th or 16th, I'll be more regular.

My rromate actually suggested going skiing. Its all well and good he's always been teh active type, but I have no sense of adventure and no desire to break anything, plsu I hate the cold weather. I have no desire to spend that much time in snow for the fun of it. I don't like exercising for fun, either. He'll stil leb my roomate in teh new place, but we'll have seperate rooms, only sharinga kitchen and latrine, so it will be better.

Now on to replies.

Fire Storm> <<1 person protesting the book burning dressed as Hitler.>> I now have that image of Cartman's Halloween costume :) The protestor coudl also be getting ready for some rally in support of Palestinians and let's face it, those who are against Israel are Nazis.

DPH> <<It sounds like you benefit no matter what happens.>> Well, it helps when you have essentially two nations to be in. Probably one fo few advantages with being stationed overseas. The Euro seems to be doing well, so far.

Mooncat> <<Last year I got sucked into Iron Chef and Black Adder, can't wait to see what happens this year.>> I love BlackAdder. I have the whole DVD set, though now on loan to a special someone. I even have the fifth season, which is more like a movie, that was made in 1999.

Todd Jensen> Well, it seems Europe is losing a part of its heritage, but I imagien the old bills will be around to collect. I still think teh best thing France can do is bring back the Borboun dynasty and forget the whole Revolution ever happened.

Jaden> <<I had AIT at Ft Jackson and it was a lot better than Ft Sill, plus TRADOC bases are good for us Fiannce guys. Did you go to Ft bliss for AIT? But I bet anything would be better than the DMZ.

Imazadi> <<I thought it was expressly forbidden, along with condoms. Are THOSE allowed under special circumstances?>> I doubt there is any reaosn for condoms aside form birth control. Certain contraception can have other uses, but they are to be used for that purpose. Of course, the enforcement is rather lax, along with the fact that masturbation is also against the Catholic Church.Then again, it shows hwo human someone is, when it is so easy to violate the rules. I guess that is good, so it can keep people from acting too righteous, and considering the strict sexual rules, soemoen who wants to make a comment about homosexuality really shoudln't say anything if s/he uses birth control or whacks off. Rather humbling. Good thing, those just give you a little more time in Purgatory.

<<Now that's interesting. So it'd be acceptable to to practice wizardry if you believed that your powers came from Jesus?>> Well, if wizardry could yield any results, I guess so, after all Catholic schools teach Chemistry and Physics, plus one of the best Engineering schools in the mid-South is Catholic (well in name at least), and I do see nature and logic as gifts from God, so I could agree with that. On an even more odd note, teh witchcraft practiced today reflects ancient Celtuc beliefs and those who practcied sorcery and witchcraft in the Bible were from the Middle East and Medditerraenean area. With the exception of Jacob's stone pillow, very little in the Torah has any connection to the Celtic people.

<<She must be very bored.>> She's just a good Mother.

<<Have a crush, do you?>> No, I just like meeting people in the CR.

<<I'd rather look at Sarah Michelle Gellar.>> Is she Daphne? I thought it was Jennifer Love Hewitt.

<<One of the many reasons I laugh at organized religion.>> I hardly regard those pseudo-Christians as a form of organized religion.

<<So long as Germany doesn't start that whole "conquer the world" thing.>> But invading France would be fun.

Taleweaver> <<Well, I've got the corner the frozen concentrated orange juice market. See you on Wall Street.>> Are you making this deal with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy :)

SOROW> I wish I had a cat to spend New Year's with

Mooncat> <<Your concern for my health is touching, Josh. But fear not, it was only a little aspirin. Which when mixed with a bit of plum wine makes me a tad sleepy at 4am in the morning. Go figure.>> Well, you ahd us all going there at first.

Niamhgold> <<I barely have a reason to keep from blowing up NH, or meshing it, Maine, and Vermont into one big Democratic state.>> But then New Hampshire has taxes. Add massachusettes and hopefully we can osut Ted Kennedy.

Jewel> Big hugs. You're back. i was hoping to catch you when I was in Georgia, but your old e-mail address changed. I'm glad you got your wish to go to Tokyo.

SJ> But NSync gets killed in teh scene, too. That is some consolation.

Silvadel> The ACLU requires that its board members be pro-choice. It really doesn't matter to me since the ACLU is not soemthing I really want anything to do with, plus I don't see why anyone pro-life, or religious belonging to it.

<<The viewpoints of many people are changing these days and are not quite as lockstep as the democrats would like them to be. Things like this merely promote stereotypes and attempt to keep a whole race stuck in the past.>> That is changing with the rise of the black middle class, plus frauds like Jesse Jackson are losing their power, though teh Republicans could do more to appeal to minorities. Condoleeza Rice will definitely help tehre. I would love to see her in the White House in the next few years.

Of course, if the Catholci Chruch won't allow its members to be Masons, Call to Action, Planned Parenthood, or groups in direct Conflict with Chruch doctrine, they are interferring with individual conscience. Well if that is someone's individual views, why are they Catholic?

Shadowrider> <<Those "frog" philosophers gave us the Human Rights, just to say one thing.>> The English had a simialr consept and better, plus less long-winded and they didn't go discering matter sof faith like tehy were empirical studies. Rosseau fathered five illegitimate children and abandoned them, but he writes a book on childcare.

<<Tony Blair a conservative? I cannot see how you say this...but, if you are sure...>> He's not standard labour party. He has been very impressive in recent times, too.

<<Oh, if you look more back in the past, then a common currency agreedingly adopted by twelve countries (plus England, that is probably going to enter in a very short time) seems even more incredible.>> Well, teh question is: how will it fare. I think the best thing for teh euro is the UK joining.

<<I suggest you, if you want to visit my city, to wait until...hmmm...March could be Ok, both for the weater and because I could have some free time that period.>> I'll see if i have a four day weekedn, then. I think I ahve one in April. Definitely in May.

Lain> Truly an amusing tale as always :)

Imzadi> <<Its a moral issue, and neither clubs nor religions nor political affiliation can force you to think that it is moral or amoral.>> Well, I think one's religion should have a lot to say about moral issues, otherwise, the religion really has no grounding.

Granted, abortion should not be a litmus test for more secular groups, though if a religion beleives that life begins at conception, its position on abortion is justified. A religion is not a buffet table where soemoen pick and choose what to beleive. Now, aside form religions, I agree with you completely.

Kathy> I'll look him up.

<<What a prat.>> That remind sme of BlackAdder's opinion of Lord Percy. I bet that preacher was about as bright as Percy, or maybe the religious equivalent of Baldrick :)

<<If that's the case then I'd really like a magic wand so that I can do my housework just like Mrs. Weasley.>> If only it was that easy. I'd use a crystal ball to do stock picks :)

Silvadel> I agree with your example, especially since abortion is irrelevant to bridge. It depends on the group and their goals. I persoanlly see no why reaosn why soemone who is against abortion would join Planned Parenthood, or why soemone in Planned Parenthood would become a Catholic. I also don't see why a person with extremely left-wing views would join the John Birch Society. A lot of organizations have alreayd established rules and viewpoints that are or shoudl be public knowledge so someone who disagrees shoudln't join in just to complain about who their views differ. If a Catholic does not beleive that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist, why are they Catholic? That is one of the foundations of the faith. Garnted religion is much higher than secular organziations, but the same set of rules tend to apply. If you don't like the beleifs of a certain group, why join?

Ed> Oh man, you just killed The Fellowhip for me Thanks :p

Jewel> <<...and I say this, when I haven't left my house since the snow started falling, even though I'm out of cooking oil and cat food...>>

Poor kitty.

Gunjack> You and Lian posting, now? I guess you grew tired of your shack in Newfoundland :)

Green Baron - [greenbaron@hotmail.com]
Hanau, Hessen, Germany
Friday, January 4, 2002 04:43:44 PM
IP: 140.156.6.2

Ed -- Sheesh... I really enjoyed the movie... It is a shame that you didnt. Most people have a real problem getting through the first 75 pages of LoTR. I think they did a good job of introducing the characters while not putting the theatre to sleep. As for why Frodo has episodes while wearing the ring -- the ring is active -- sauron is active -- the ringwraiths are active... It was a funny magic ring for bilbo without the shifts because the ring was not MASSIVELY actively seeking its owner etc.
silvadel
Friday, January 4, 2002 03:44:09 PM
IP: 208.59.247.8

*set_@$$hole: false*
Reboot.....done

*Staggers in to collapse on the couch*

so I get no sleep all semester, barely make it through with my health intact, come home... and get no sleep all break, due to partying with Lain, MD, and the ubiquitous Skinny Man. Much fun was had by all. And yes, MD, you DO look like a wookie. ; )

Christmas Swag: Books, clothes, an abortive attempt at upgrading my comp's pathetic RAM resources, Trigun on cd from Lain, and a copy of Adbusters (which is like a mob funeral; clean, neat, beautiful, totally evil...)

So, yeah. The black bags under my eyes have now made full circles. I look like a raccoon. It was worth it. Skinny Man and I had three straight days of Old School Gaming via SNES emulator and Penny Arcade. And now I have to go back to school in three days. Suck. : P

SJ - Your review of LoTR had my brother and I grinning. Well put sir, well put. Wasn't the Balrog just DREAMY? ; )
<<The following story is TRUE.>> Tri-state killing spree? ...I'd say they were joking but *shrugs* ...hey, the series was good while it lasted. Personally, I chalk it all up to the inbreeding of ideas that occured when Lucas decided to open-source his creation.

Too much Equality is Poisen.

Censorship is Good.

*Waves vaugely to everyone else, and staggers out to bed. It'll be about four hours before he realizes that he walked clean past Jewel Faulkner, whereupon he'll beat his head agianst a wall as penance for stupidity. Hi, Jewel. ; )*

Melly Chlistmas!

Gunjack "Ramparts of Arkanoid Soldiers of Choplifting Fortune" Valentine
my eyes are falling out, from staring at this screen, for the last 72 hours.
Friday, January 4, 2002 02:42:59 PM
IP: 172.171.147.169

Kathy: No clue myself, and I'm *from* Georgia. The nearest I can tell is Georgians hear rumors of snow and run out to get food before the Giant Blizzard That Leavs Them Stranded For Weeks In Their House hits, because, God forbid reality kick and and make them go, "Oh, wait...this is *Georgia.* It'll melt in three days."

...and I say this, when I haven't left my house since the snow started falling, even though I'm out of cooking oil and cat food...

jewel - [joudama_chan@yahoo.com]
Atlanta, Ga
Friday, January 4, 2002 02:00:51 PM
IP: 63.210.76.200

Since I’m posting on the TGS discussion, it seems like a good a time as any to finish up the ‘Lord of the Rings’ review I’ve been putting off for ages. My main problem as far as that goes has been… where to start? Not with the conclusions most people in this room have made about it, that’s for sure.

***Spoilers for ‘THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING’***

I’m a huge ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan. I have to say I expected I’d be walking out of the cinema and joining the back of the queue again. Or failing that, I expected something halfway decent for all the time and money put in.

Warning bells rang for me as early as the party scene. Its aims seemed to be to establish the good humour of the Shire people, introduce Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf, make sure we get used nice and early to the idea that any screen time for Merry and Pippin is going to be strictly for clowning and tomfoolery. Oh, and to use a few arbitrary special effects in the process (the smoke rings spring to mind) to make sure we don’t miss that, yes, this film did have a large budget. Let’s face it though, if we’d started with Bilbo’s speech we wouldn’t really have missed all that much – that scene has all the good-humour and slightly-drunken West Country innocence of the Shirefolks mixed with the slightly enigmatic and foreign Bilbo being his most enigmatic and foreign. And of course Ian Holm was great with that. Still, while it’s nice that Jackson is so keen to nod to the fans by saying “look! I gave Rosie Cotton a cameo in the first episode!” but honestly I’d rather he’d have been efficient about it and given us some insight into the characters. Sam, Merry and Pippin would be nice since they comprise a third of the eponymous Fellowship.

Now most of Gandalf’s exposition was quite skilfully cobbled together in the beginning so the next bit moved quite swiftly. There were a few omissions that were pretty major: the temptation of Isildur was was one, but thankfully this was picked up later. The fact that the Ring makes the wearer invisible was completely ignored until Bilbo actually became invisible (and it still wasn’t clear that this was a permanent power), and the fact that Gollum’s claim to the Ring was based on the vicious greed-inspired murder of his brother was… ah, completely ignored. Cut for time (or rather, cut so that Jackson could out-Lucas Lucas with a load of Indiana Jones rubbish later on). It would take twenty seconds to show, and seems to be rather important: how the person came across the Ring informs their resistance to it, and this angle was played up in the discussion about Gollum’s ‘part to play’. The time frame (that seventeen year interlude) is screwed from the book of course, and I’m still not entirely sure there was any need to change it (the screen having the benefit of slapping ’17 years later’ in the screen to show time passing). But still, everything starts to pick up nicely enough. I particularly liked the way the Ring was kept in an envelope, meaning chucking it into the fire didn’t have all the scene-slowing angst involved.

And then we get to the journey to Rivendell, the bit where everything really falls apart. If the film really was going to be so hampered by that first journey then frankly the whole thing needed to be rewritten. Maybe have Sam, Merry and Pippin meet Frodo at the Prancing Pony with no intervening journey and have that be the first place the Riders visit (akin to the book’s call on Gaffer Gamgee), I don’t know. Instead we got a bunch of full-size men on horses unable to run down four fat and unfit three-foot high hobbits in a supposedly-scary scene. Merry and Pippin tagged along for no reason whatsoever (apparently), and are only given lines when it affords cheap laughs for us to say ‘gosh, aren’t those hobbits pointless’. It appears that by Rivendell when they’re going off to probable doom they still don’t know what they’re doing. Sam is… er, not there, except for the moment where he pushes Frodo’s finger away from the Ring. And Strider… well, I can’t honestly say I know where Strider comes from in the film. He sort of appears in a blur of a scene where we’re concentrated on the Black Riders and we’re supposed to sit back and say “cool, this guy might be bad but they have no choice but to follow him”, and a couple of minutes later root for him against the Black Riders when for all the film suggests he might have brought them forth. How can you take a film like that seriously? Oh, and Barliman Butterbur was woefully underused when he could (and should) have carried the comic role that Merry and Pippin were lumbered with. This might have meant one less pointless monster.

Jackson clearly wanted to do this section as a horror film and one prerequisite of this is that something is remotely scary. Big ‘oops’ there. I watched ‘The Shining’ the other night and it was just as terrifying the second-and-a-halfth time around as it was the first time. I know ‘the Shining’ is an 18 cert (or your equivalent rating), and LOTR is a PG but the point is the method. All along I was expecting something to happen so that by the time something did happen I was a nervous wreck. A lot of that was just pure waiting, and I’d psyched myself up. We’re never kept waiting in FOTR, and not just in this section. The characters are always running or being charged at. And yet magically, come daybreak, they escape from the Prancing Pony. The revised timeline means that the guys don’t have any sense that they are tracking Gandalf which doesn’t really help build up expectations either. That gave an immediate goal to aim for in the book, and that thread is lost here as the hobbits bumble from dull encounter to dull encounter. If Jackson wanted to do big-time scares, he cut the only scene where it would probably have worked – the Barrow-downs section. Playing up the distrust of Strider could have created a different kind of spine-chill too, but sadly it was a wasted possibility.

The action-horror style is just one example of a running flaw in the film for me. It overdoes things. A lot. When Gandalf threatens Bilbo, and later when Galadriel is tempted with the Ring, it isn’t acting talent that is used to build menace in the characters but computer generated tomfoolery. Which isn’t, as a rule, very scary, and certainly isn’t here. In fact, it looked just ridiculous. Not quite as ridiculous as the Rings shadow-world, mind. When Frodo puts the Ring on, the world is very menacing, very scary: and he’s hardly left home, and is far from Mordor! How are we supposed to believe that Bilbo kept this Ring all the time and used it but never thought ‘hmm, when I put the Ring on the world has a rather creepy vibe – say, I wonder if it’s evil?’ More to the point, how is the menace of the Ring going to grow now that Jackson has squandered his special effects budget on making the screen all wonky? Same with the Eye of Sauron. Sauron desperately needed to be scary, an omnipresent but not tangible malicious force. Instead, he’s a special effect: a very over-the-top but not remotely scary special effect. And one that’s in our face way too much. A three-frame glimpse would have been a more than sufficient teaser.

I’m not even going to touch the Weathertop scene. Thankfully the bit I was dreading – the boosted role of Arwen, actually works really well. And the ‘if you want him, come and take him’ line isn’t nearly as cheesy as it sounded on the adverts.

So we get to Rivendell with the only characters remotely interesting being Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf. We’ve had a nice history of the Ring but little insight (or potential insight) into its powers. And we have four pointless fluffy tagalong characters – Aragorn, Merry, Pippin and Sam. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t tense, the effects were too over-the-top for it to be beautiful, and it wasn’t well characterised. So we move onto the second-half of the film. And thankfully it picks up.

What shines: Bilbo’s lunge for the Ring. Or rather, that it wasn’t punctuated by an enormous bout of special effects.

What also shines: Moria. Pretty much the whole of Moria actually. Okay, there’s that pointless and very obviously computer-generated troll beast that takes up way too much time, and the squid thing in the lake isn’t remotely scary, and there’s a tedious Indiana Jones interlude as they jump across a falling bridge. But it’s beautiful. It’s tense, it’s chilling, it makes good use of special effects and the Balrog is breathtaking: I can’t think of a film which has a monster that’s as cool, including ‘Alien’. The death of Gandalf the Grey was odd in that rather than coming to a climax it finished with the Balrog being quite unsatisfactorily defeated and Gandalf being snared simply because he hung around to gawp. Far more interesting if they’d have gone down in combat together, but never mind.

Elements of the conclusion are great. In the moment Merry and Pippin distract the orcs so Frodo can escape, they go from annoying comic relief to characters that I care about being marched away to torture and death by the Uruk-Hai. The theme of Sam keeping his promise to Gandalf worked nicely. The death of Boromir was a bit rubbish though. I was glad they took pains to redeem him, but the battle with the totally pointless chief-orc thingy was both daft and uninteresting, and the is-he-isn’t-he approach to his dead rather amusing.

What’s a load of snivelling pap: Lorien. Tolkein’s books have both dark and light sections. Jackson’s film has monotonous mild gloom. Lorien is supposed to be beautiful but fragile, and with the goodness creating its own peril. There’s no sense that Lorien is beautiful, so no sense that Galadriel has something to lose by giving up the Ring (or indeed by taking the Ring). And more importantly, at the end of the journey NOTHING GOOD is going to come out of it because Sam didn’t get his seed, Gimli didn’t rethink his view of the elves, and the characters didn’t have a beautiful memory to look back on. Jackson presses the fact that Middle Earth is a dark and threatening place throughout the movie, but it doesn’t really do anything.

Another big problem is that Galadriel basically says to Frodo “leave the group to go to Mordor on your own at the first opportunity”. Aragorn meets him (pointlessly) as he leaves and… agrees. What are we supposed to say to that: “yay, Aragorn, you hero, you!” The only point where it’s suggested that sending a lone hobbit into Mordor is rank stupidity is by Boromir, who is discounted because his motive is based on corruption. The fact that, personal vendettas aside, he’s RIGHT is never mentioned. The only point where Frodo’s actions come from a deep sense of destiny clashing with a fearful with to postpone the date he must go off is… oh no, wait, that’s never touched on. Sam intercepts Frodo by blind luck, not by any deep insight into his master’s character – for that to happen, Sam would have to get some screen time. And because Aragorn is so concerned about avoiding the temptation of the Ring, his decision to follow Merry and Pippin as opposed to Frodo and Sam is unremarkable. As the leader in Gandalf’s absence, the buck stopped with him and he was caught between two great responsibilities – that of a King and that of a companion to the Ringbearer. But his decision in the film was surprisingly easy, with Jackson editing the plot to allow him to prove that he can resist the temptation of the Ring.

It’s a good idea for a plot point, even if it wasn’t very well done. But then, what he’s actually done is ripped it off Tolkein. More specifically, he ripped it off Gandalf. Temptation was Gandalf’s challenge, and the point of Saruman’s offer was that the power of the Ring shared between them would make them unstoppable. Saruman wasn’t having any of that. He was just a bad guy. But here I have to say – what a bad guy! He worked fantastically as a surrogate Sauron causing the Fellowship weather trouble in the mountains, and every appearance was powerful. I’d like to say it was because Jackson had really used him brilliantly. But I’ve a sneaking suspicion that it was just because Christopher Lee is class. As I say, his proposition to Gandalf was not “Help me get the Ring, we can split the take – Honest!” but rather “I’m a bad guy – hear me roar!” Not what I was looking for, but it made the best of a bad job.

The easy argument here is that there wasn’t enough time to do the film. The sad fact is that Jackson had time to waste, and he wasted lots of it. Mostly on overlong action scenes (and the scene in the place where the birds go overhead was pretty pointless as well), at the end on whining and putting off the film’s ending and Boromir thrashing around in a half-dead fashion. Oh, and a lot on special effects. If the money alone was recouped it could have been spent on a decent score for the film. But at the end of the day, the biggest problem was the fact that I really couldn’t give a damn if the characters lived or died. The essence of the characters Frodo, Gandalf, Gimli and Boromir was presented but I never felt very close to any of them. Aragorn was given a lot of screen time, but basically he was just a sharing-caring good-guy version of Boromir to give Frodo two fingers at the end – but in a nice way. Legolas was well-cast even though he never did very much. And Merry and Pippin wanted shooting. Also, why did Pippin have a Scottish accent? There were some good scenes. Gimli and Legolas were great – Gimli doing what Merry and Pippin could not, being both humorous and endearing at the same time. The settings were gorgeous, with the sole exception of Lorien. And… well, it’s marginally better than ‘Harry Potter’ because the stars of the film could act, in spite of the best efforts of the director to smother them with special effects. All in all, a pretty bad film.

Which isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it, after a fashion. It had nice special effects, Liv Tyler, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, and some lovely settings to look at. With the exception of the battle at the beginning mind you, Phantom Menace worked much better as a special effects film.

Speaking of Star Wars, the Episode II trailer was excruciating. If the romance between Amidala and Anakin takes up the same amount of the film as it does of the trailer (and is as wooden, dull and clichéd as the trailer suggests), then I despair.
So basically in one trip to the cinema (or two, if you include ‘Harry Potter’), I’m now thoroughly disillusioned with three of the biggest film series in development. Whew.

Incidentally, to dispirited ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans, I can highly recommend the 1982 radio adaptation in thirteen hour-long episodes by the BBC. It includes some voices you may be familiar with such as Ian Holm (Bilbo) playing Frodo, Peter Woodthorpe (Gollum in the cartoon movie) as Gollum, and (if you get it overseas), John LeMesurier from ‘Dad’s Army’ as Bilbo. Smashing stuff.

***

And now moving onto TGS mode, it’s time for ‘FALLOUT’ PART TWO and ‘THE JOURNEY’ – a thread that seems surprisingly untouched so far.

I quite liked the first part of the series debut. Despite entertaining storytelling and taking a long time to get not very far, it was fun. Here we get something happening, except it’s not as entertaining.

***Spoilers for ‘FALLOUT’ PART TWO***

Nothing’s precisely bad about the second half of ‘FALLOUT’. Three episodes in, something that wasn’t in the original 66 episodes happens, and it’s a nice enough read.

But if we’re looking for the fallout from ‘HUNTER’S MOON’ and ‘THE JOURNEY’, then this still is very lightweight. Elisa has a largely well-written but inconclusive argument with Goliath about her security (in which the fact that it’s Goliath’s fault Elisa’s house was a target is never brought up), and we get some delightful scenes with the general public.

What makes this episode so readable is that it’s very well-written throughout. The writers have fun, interesting, tongue-and-cheek dialogue, and it all flows reasonably smoothly.

But if you were hoping (as I was) for significant plot and character development… well, it’s not really there. It’s all set-up, and Jackal and Hyena were always pretty one-dimensional villains anyway, it’s not much more than very average set-up.

But it doesn’t take any of the issues that the aforementioned four episodes suggest, probe them and come to an endpoint that is different from the first state of play. We still don’t really know anything more about Garlon other than that Titania is interested in his affairs.

Oh, the Titania scenes do buck the trend of the episode – they’re awful. The Queen of the Third Race with power enough to command three very powerful, very manipulative immortal witches, cottons on that an Unseelie is back in town and she just stands there and dithers. And when Katharine suggests that their children need to learn on their own, she agrees. Ignoring small fact that Garlon is indicative of Madoc who is NOT a ‘child’ of Oberon, but his brother; and that their group plan on killing her, killing all her ‘children’ and causing an Apocalypse. Now granted, if she’d gone to Oberon and said “hey, Garlon’s back!”, and the two of them would have gone to New York, followed Garlon, found Maeve and Maddox, shoved them in a big iron box and chucked away the key, that would have nipped in the bud the major storyline for the next seventy episodes of TGS. So basically, I’ve got to wonder why the Titania scenes where there at all.

So it’s a rocky start, mostly because the decision was taken to spent two episodes on exposition rather than actually developing a story and/or character. TGS can do much better, and needless to say it does (and how!). Indeed, a glance down the episode list suggests that there’s some very exciting material coming right up on these retro-reviews. I can’t wait!

***END OF SPOILERS***

Lastly... happy 2002!

Ed - [ed.reynolds@virgin.net]
London, England
Friday, January 4, 2002 01:42:35 PM
IP: 172.190.169.6

Well, was going to post something but then I pulled my mother-in-law's birthday cake from the oven and it is a bulging monstrosity ... I'll try shearing off the gigantic hump in the middle and icing the whole thing over ... failing that, I still have time to run to the store before they come over and just buy one ... whee!

Christine - [christine@sabledrake.com]
Friday, January 4, 2002 01:24:10 PM
IP: 64.24.186.33

Two in a day, for me that must be some kind of record.
However, I just heard part of an interview with the guy that organized the Harry Potter book burning. What a prat. He can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. And he's SHOCKED. SHOCKED, I say, that no one else can see how obvious that these books are gospel primers on how to do witchcraft. If that's the case then I'd really like a magic wand so that I can do my housework just like Mrs. Weasley.

Thank you. I feel better now. (But I still want the wand.)

kathy
Friday, January 4, 2002 12:17:23 PM
IP: 24.98.56.90

I guess it comes down to truth in advertizing..

If "The Liberals Organization" wants to put in its by-laws that everyone who is on the board or joins the group must be pro-choice, or must believe in multi-culturalism or whatever it is their choice... However...

However if the NAACP does the same thing, then that is another story.

In essence what it comes down to is, "What does the group purport to be?" If the ACBL(american contract bridge league) were to say require its members to be pro-life, it would be ludicrous... What does being pro-life have to do with playing bridge? In that case I would want to see that in the name of the organization. IE the PLBL pro-life bridge leage... Then I would have no objection. I would also have no objection if it were called something completely different... But if it touted to be the bridge organization for the united states like the ACBL does then it shouldnt force viewpoints on its members.

silvadel
Friday, January 4, 2002 10:31:34 AM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Green Baron > Back at ya. The reading list is too long to detail but start with Tim Pat Coogin's "The Troubles" work through his other books and go from there.

Lain > Silly girl. First rule of travel: If you're going to be separated from your luggage always carry one change of clothes + toothbrush on your person and enough cash (or credit) to get by until you are reunited. Always.

Backstreet Boys. Not all of them, just Nick Carter for mouthing off to a cop at a night club disturbance in Florida. Silly git thought he was too important to follow their instructions.

Snow in Georgia. We got six inches. But now it's going away. Jewel do you know why it is people flock to the stores for bread and milk? I've been trying to get an answer to that since I've lived here. Do people actually huddle in front of their fires eating Milk Toast? It's really the only answer I can come up with.

Cheers.

kathy
Friday, January 4, 2002 08:26:34 AM
IP: 24.98.56.90

Metaldemon> Conversion was never a consideration as far as I was/am concerned. I did not see your post as an attempt of trying to convert me or anyone else, I saw it as an attack of sorts, an attempt to ruffles my feathers, and an attempt to drag me into a particular area of conversation that could be explosive. The only reason I referred to it as a potiental hornet's nest was because emotions run strong when it comes to personal choices/rights and on the topic as personal as homosexuality. I know that I'm very sensitive and dedicated when it comes to the BSA and that's why I chose to take it to the privacy of an email when explaining in detail things to Shadowrider. If you wanted my email address, all you had to do was ask :)
Anyway, this is over with as far as I'm concerned. =)

argh, time to go to work *whimpers and looks back at my electric blanket* I'll miss you, my friend.

It was 5 degrees here yesterday morning - it's currently 13 degrees this morning - a real heat wave moving thru O_o

Jan - [janmiller@mo-net.com]
Friday, January 4, 2002 08:19:51 AM
IP: 12.110.236.249

Kickass.

Picked up my friend from the airport at about 1:45, and all is good. We're just hanging out.

Backstreet Boys have been arrested for something. No idea what. I hope they go to jail and become some bad man's b*tch.

replies

Gside: <<Power supply blew and couldn't pick up a replacement on the first>>: Even Fry's wasn't open?! <<I wanted to try for a report performance of last year's performance>>: what happened last year? <<Depends on how kinky she is>>: GROSS. <<I doubt much of my weight is muscle>>: Still...230 lbs of pure fat would flatten me too. <<Chun Li is quite good>>: As the ONLY character I could be SFII with, I concluded that she is the ultimate cheese character. <<Spacebabie?>>: Sounds good to me! <<there's always room for Jello>>: Even at a strip show features girls of the CR? <<I would be labeled an internet stalker and shunned for the rest of my pitiful life>>: Somehow, I don't think that she's into the habit of thinking we're all psychos. <<I didn't know it has such a specific definition>>: Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. The other half is either watching cartoons or playing video games. <<You get to be jolly>>: I don't need an excuse to be jolly. <<I think you know the answer to that>>: And if not, she should go back and visit. <<And the comments get condenses into the appendices of the Trilogy>>: Thank god. It won't be such a difficult read then. <<Im sure you could have gotten paid a lot of money if it wasn't your ruler>>: Not necessarily. Some chicks with 36" chests are SCARY. <<I'll pull some books soon>>: How come you and I have so many of the same books? <<Nah, Jersey>>: Right, cuz there are so many cool people there. <<Take my grandparents and their 5000 relatives>>: "please". <<At least she'll be 4 miles away or so.>>: Hey, if you can get free food/laundry, it might not be so bad. <<Small notebooks>>: And dreams of PADD's.

Terrky K: <<it's like they were suppost to be more impressive than the death star>>: No, they were supposed to be comparable to star destroyers. They are the predecessors of Star Destroyers. <<return of the jedi pretty much concluded the saga. so either way he had nothing, so he had to make prequals>>: Not at all. If you've read the books (I have read ALL of them), you can see that there is a LOT of material still. Killing the emperor doesn't put the rebels in charge of ANYTHING. All it does is make them wanted for assassination.

Jan: <<it's only alright to have freedoms as long as they don't upset anyone else or contradict how you feel, right>>: I love democrats ;-) <<

Silvadel: <<It doesnt say an organization of liberal colored people>>: It seems that in this country, that is the trend. But that still doesn't say that they HAVE to be pro-choice. I think that forcing that kind of decision is a terrible thing to do. What really irks me is that abortion doesn't have to be a right/left wing issue, or even a religious issue. I know republicans who are pro choice (like myself), and democrats who are pro-life. Its a moral issue, and neither clubs nor religions nor political affiliation can force you to think that it is moral or amoral.

Christine: Now if only LotR came out the same weekend as Star Wars 2.

Spacebabie: <<I start spring semester next week>>: Ugh, I'm sorry. <<Some people are just not put together right>>: So true. I have an arm sticking out of my forehead. <<I get a free massage every night, courtesy of my cat>>: Well, that doesn't count. <<Maybe>>: Liar. <<I did want you to think I was pretending to be Canadian with the first eh>>: That was gonna be one of my replies. <<It takes two Smirnoff Ices to get me like that>>: Really now? And I just happen to have lots of cases of Ice at my apartment. You'll have to stop by sometime... <<Cause it’s the armpit of America?>>: I was JUST gonna say that.

DPH: <<how many people think of you as "SJ" instead of "Sevarius Junior">>: Me. <<How would the business allow you to be scheduled on a day they're not open>>: They don't have a computer that checks. <<You have to pay to register software that searches multiple files for text and changes the text>>: On the mac, that's free. Its called scripting.

Shadowrider: <<after you did it you need three days to recover>>: Nah. You're getting old when you fall asleep at the party. <<Those "frog" philosophers gave us the Human Rights, just to say one thing>>: It was part of their surrender ;-) <<Remember that the wrong thing is not trying to conquer the world, but failing in conquering the world>>: I haven't failed YET! <<why not a Harrier, or a Tornado? (I'd suggest you a Typhoon, but I haven't seen yet a really good model of it>>: The trick to find a quality model. I usually prefer to build Tamiya models, they require the least amount of after-market modification just to make the pieces fit together. <<Oh-oh-oooh! So sweet and sexy>>: Especially when she's not wearing anything else!

Lain: <<gunjack and i got a little.. er.. sidetracked whenever we thought of it>>: Thanks, I needed that visual. <<that would, you know, make a little TOO much sense>>: We're talking about Canada here, what do you want? <<so, naturally, i told my dad to forge my signature>>: It pays to be well versed in forgery. <<my bum was pretty stinky>>: You may not believe this, but we don't need to know that.

Fire Storm: <<Did it really pre-date the palm?>>: Yes. <<There must have been SOMETHING before that!>>: Nothing that was publicly released, to my knowledge. <<We would be at G128 systems>>: That would work. <<you can actually run DECENT software on a mac>>: Yeah, but its on a mac.

Dreamtime!

I'm not stoned, I've just drunk myself to retardedness.
-Brett

Josh "Imzadi" Wurzel - [@kicktothenuts.com]
Encino, CA, US of A
Friday, January 4, 2002 02:32:46 AM
IP: 206.170.218.38

Terrky> <<i haven't posted here for a long time>>: Still doesn't count as a long time. Which reminds me: Wilek, you said you were going to try to be better.

Spacebabie> That, and we're in the middle of good places, jut not near enough to them to make it worthwhile to visitors.

Jewel> <<I dunno if I'll be posting regularly in the CR>>: Shame.
<<I'm moving to Japan in three months>>: Good luck, though.
<<And you're an anime fan, too?>>: Talk to Warpmind. I recently supplied him with such delights as Ranma seasons 1-5 OVAs and movies, Jubei Chan, Flame of Recca, AMG, Goldenboy, and some other stuff. Unfortunately I had not assembled all of LBG, nor is it burned even now. Which brings me to another question, why is it so hard to find F3 eps?

Lain> <<gunjack and i got a little.. er.. sidetracked>>: Bow chick bow? And get him posting again.

Fire Storm> <<There must have been SOMETHING before that!>>: Small notebooks. Not thin computers, spiral bound pieces of lined paper.
<<Well, I wanted to be precise!>>: I fully understand the desire.
<<I'll use creative license>>: You up to date with the fees to the Dept. of Creativity? Anyway, he only voted that way because the female statistic is well known and often quoted, but nothing similar is said of men (the source cells, of course).

And for the heck of it, the mp3 is Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin' Spoonfull.

Na zdorov'ya.

Gside - [gside@eden.rutgers.edu]
Fair Haven, NJ
Friday, January 4, 2002 02:23:25 AM
IP: 24.4.252.72

Jan> N, your assumptions might be wrong. I said I wouldn't have cared if you wouldn't have commented about the there being a Hornets Nest and this being a explosive issue; I took that in the wrong manner (since it reeeeaaally peeved me off [mainly the "hornets nest" bit]) and shouldn't have done what I did, hence the apology. No other motivation was behind my post.
You might think I am out to convert you to my ideas, when I am not. I have two friends who look down on me and say I should seek psychological help or be re-baptized. *shrugs* They're great guys and I don't care what they think.
And my claim was they interpreted "morally straight" to mean heterosexual behaviors--a friend of mine told me that, and when I have sources like that I usually make it pretty clear that I am ify on the subject, as I did previously.
metaldemon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 11:54:10 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

Daphne> thank you! *hugs* That's exactly it on the nose!


oops! my bad, my bad.. earlier mistake... it's not the NAACP but the ACLU that I meant to refer to.

Metaldemon> I'm an extremely devoted member of the BSA and my son is an Eagle Scout. With that plus my fiasco with the money order situation - bad combination and timing for you to deliberately attempt to pick a fight with me.
Also, what did I add that you didn't address? I may have expanded on some points that you made, but I'm entitled to do so.
Yet again you are mistaken about the oath. They are not considered "rules" but they are guidelines in which a scout pledges to lead his life. The particular line that you are attempting to use is "keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight" You claim that they just now interept this as referring to homosexual behaviors.. how do you know this? Whatever your resources are - they are wrong. They are not just NOW claiming this, it has always been that way. Homosexual behavior is not the only behavior that falls into this category either.
I'm not going to argue or fight anyone over this issue.
Why you deliberately chose to attempt to open the hornet's nest is beyond me - well, not really, but I will keep that opinion to myself as I have a very good idea of what motivated this attempt to upset me. It all smells pretty fishy to me. Not gonna' work, though - I'm not going to argue with you about any of this.

Jewel> welcome back! It's good to see you again and I've often wondered how you were doing :)

Anna had her doctor's appt. today. He said that she's right on target with the due date and measurements... so looks like so far baby Zach will be arriving around the due date instead of coming early. Oh well, this month will go by quickly :)

No word on the money order situation, the bank is working on tracking it down.

Jan
Thursday, January 3, 2002 11:19:56 PM
IP: 12.110.237.46

Star Wars and N*Sync>> What I'm really afraid of is that The Backstreet Boys will try to one-up N*Sync by being featured in "A Very Special Episode" of Enterprise.

Knowing how they have dueling publicty stunts I'd almost bet money on it...
Skippy The Klingon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 10:51:10 PM
IP: 209.245.243.56

boy scouting and gays>> ok, this may have been addressed already... I'm behind in my reading, so if it has, I apologize...

but the BSA is not blanket anti-gay. they have a don't-ask, don't-tell policy, and reserve the right to exclude gays- or anyone else. doesn't mean they always do, just means they can.

as for the case that brought the issue to attention, the gay leader being kicked out, the probelm wasn't exactly that he was gay (side fact -- leaders aren't allowed to sleep in the same tent as scouts, regardless of gender or orientation), but that he led a gay pride parade in his Boy scout uniform.

I know this because my father and brother are both life-long Boy scouts.

just clearing a thing up.

God bless!

Daphne
presenting more useless clarification
Thursday, January 3, 2002 09:41:15 PM
IP: 12.89.187.176

hey you, wookie-breath, you leave my bum out of it!

;)

lain
Thursday, January 3, 2002 09:16:51 PM
IP: 64.228.195.43

oops, meant bum, not mum
metaldemon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 09:02:04 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

Lain> Oi! That's more complex than I thought it was. And, yes, she did have a stinky bum. I thought it was the ferret, but,no, it was her mum >;P

As for being a wooky...HMPH.
metaldemon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 09:01:01 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

...
K
Thursday, January 3, 2002 06:28:49 PM
IP: 172.149.161.62

Imzadi: Hey, using the software at my link, you can actually run DECENT software on a Mac! ;)
Fire Storm
Thursday, January 3, 2002 05:57:52 PM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Imzadi: <The first PDA, actually>
Did it really pre-date the palm? There must have been SOMETHING before that! <USB bus power would NOT power a vibrator. They barely power speakers> Hell, it barely powers my Quickcam!
<"Remember class, tomorrow we'll be starting Wurzel's third law">
Oh, that would be a scary though! Knowing that someone you know changed the timeline like that!
<Anything for faster G4's>
Are you kidding? We would be at G128 systems!
<Actually, our job is usually to figure out a way around it GIVEN the limits.> Good point. And the way around usually involved duct tape! <Ugh no idea. I'd imagine that if your testicles get cut off, then you're through> Well, no $h17!

Niamhgold: <Doesn't mean I can eat you, eh?> Well, I don't think LM would be too happy with that...
<I suppose I'm just going to have to infect you with the anthropormorphic virus>
1.The acid in my blood kinda wards off infection. But...
2. I am a changling. I just prefer this form.

Warpmind: <Think about it - if men were to carry a lifetime supply of unripened sperm, we'd be unable to wear pants>
Duh! BUT there are cells that create the sperm cells. Are those cells, the parent cells, replenished or fixed?
Let's see what Gside says...

Gside: <I didn't know it has such a specific definition.>
Well, I wanted to be precise!
<My father the bio teacher votes for replenishment>
Hmm...
F$k it. I'll use creative license.

DPH: <I never bothered to visit Earth outside of my lifetime because it's too dangerous>
Ah, I didn't have a choice at first where and when I went. I just got that control a few short years ago.
<the note warned me about how I was caught>
And I thought it was a pain when I suddenly remembered what happened in 3 separate time lines!

jewel faulkner: Welcome back!

lain: SUCKS!

Fire Storm
Thursday, January 3, 2002 05:50:54 PM
IP: 64.109.143.22

*enters, yawning*
hi all.

Belated Merry Christmases and Happy New Yearses to all :)

i was gonna post while in texas but.. gunjack and i got a little.. er.. sidetracked whenever we thought of it ];)

got lots to say, ill TRY to keep it short (doesnt mean it WILL be but.. ill try..)
i have two rants today, one entitled "Never Take the Greyhound Bus Ever Ever Ever if You Value Your Sanity (or Having Clean Underwear..)" and the other "American Border Security: *Collapses in a Heap on the Floor, Laughing Until Tearful and Breathless*"
Maybe ill just mash them together into one big rant..

************GREYHOUND/BORDER SECURITY RANT***************
anyway, so my new zealand exchange student friend and i went to visit gunjack for christmas. i sorta knew her from one of my art classes but not too well. she couldnt afford to fly home to see her family for christmas, so i invited her to come with me to see gunjack and his family. all was well. after a hard days work at my store, we had a lovely dinner with my dad, and went to the bus station (the bus was leaving at 9:15pm). We had to get a bus ticket to detroit (gunjacks mother had bought the american side of the ticket, because, of course, you cant purchase Greyhound tickets for travelling in the states from greyhound terminals in canada.. that would, you know, make a little TOO much sense..
so the bus was an hour late..
but eventually, we got on it and on our merry way to detroit. now, the greyhound has a sign posted that says something like: "you are responsible for taking your own luggage off the bus and transferring it when you change busses". okay fine, we were taking the same bus all the way to detroit. good stuff.
we snooze on the bus and arrive at the border somewhere shortly after midnight. the driver tells everyone to collect their luggage (because the Americans are "sensitive about their border security" and dont like bags going across "unaccompanied")
my bag isnt there. *poof* gone. not even been on the bus three hours and its gone.

so im all flustered when i go into american customs. i have both my passports with me (my canadian one ran out on 11 december, lucky i have two). not that it mattered, they didnt even LOOK at my passport. they made my friend pay 6$ to get into the country, and then told me to put someone ELSES bags on the bus without even checking my passport or searching my one remaining bag or anything. now THATS tight border security, if i ever saw it.
so im right bloody pissed about my bags, and the bus driver tells me that when they get to the detroit station, i can fill out a lost luggage claim ticket at the customer service desk.
sadly, there is noone at the customer service desk, and, because the bus was late leaving london, they are leaving detroit right away to make up the lost time.
so i seethed in my sleep until we reached chicago, at which point we had a 5 hour layover. greyhound station seats are INCREDIBLY uncomfortable, so we curled up on our coats on the floor by our bags and slept under the watchful eye of a friend wed met while travelling. we were woken rudely by some rent-a-cops (with nightsticks and flashlights so big youd swear they were compensating for something) telling us to get up because they didnt want to look bad for the boss. noone at THAT customer service desk, either.
we pile onto the next bus, and all is well until memphis. there, we are hearded off so the bus can be cleaned, and searched for guns, knives and drugs when we get back on. then to dallas, where we arrive at 6am the next day.. to find my friends luggage is missing, too.
we are VERY pissed, as we had only changed busses ONCE the entire trip, and that time, we were VERY careful about luggage. the idiot at the bus station wont let us fill out a "lost luggage" ticket until 24 hours after the bag was lost (we later learned this was bull$h!t.. its a bag, not a lost child..) so we went home and slept.

so.. neither of us have any clean underwear, and all my christmas gifts are in my luggage.

next day on the phone.. after the automated phone systems maze of "press 3.. press 5.." they ask me for my tracking number. but since the greyhound is SOOOO convenient and smart.. if youre travelling to a destination in the states from canada, they dont give you luggage claim tickets until youve crossed the border.. but mine hadnt even made it that far..

we went back the next day to fill out a claims form for our luggage. my dad called, and said hed recieved phone calls because we had left his phone number on the nametags on the bag. my bag was indeed still in canada, and my friends was in memphis. they sent my friends bag along "promptly" but mine.. oh dear.. mine was still in canada.. which meant it had to go through customs.. alone..
and of course, the Americans are "sensitive about their border security." lets just say.. i wasnt impressed. and just because it was greyhounds fault they took my luggage off, that didnt mean they were going to help get it across the border, did it? no bloody way. my bag was at the mercy of american beurocracy..
apparently, the procedure was that my dad had to get a form (in canada), mail it to me, i had to fill it out and sign it the form, mail it back to him, and he would take it to the customs people, who would then maybe let my bag through... and i would get my bag sometime within the next three years, (provided they didnt lose it again, of course..)

so, naturally, i told my dad to forge my signature.

after about three days, i heard that my bag was through customs and on the way.

meanwhile.. memphis isnt REALLY that far from dallas. Somehow, my friends bag still hadnt arrived. it doesnt take a bus 4 days to get from memphis to dallas. we phoned and phoned but dont forget the maze of "press 3.. press 5.. " that we had to navigate. by the time we got to talk to anyone, they said (in thick, feeble-minded-sounding southern drawling), "i' 'as a noo zealaynd fwag oo i' ? noothi' lia' tha' 'ere, y'all" they said theyd call when it got in.. so we left it for a day. we left it for a day after we KNEW the bag was supposed to be in.. just before closing time, we decided to phone again, juuuust to make sure.. and the answer we got was "oh yeah, its here.." we zoom over as fast as we can, and snatch up the bag before they close. the lady at the counter said she had no idea how long the bag had been there. fancy that.

so one piece of luggage was found. it was the 23rd. wed left on the 17th. mine was still nowhere to be seen, though it was *supposed* to be in THAT day.. not that it was a great shock or anything.. and the lady at the counter informed us that the baggage service peoples office would be closed for the next four days. you know, christmas and all.

by this time, my bum was pretty stinky, having been encrusted in the same pair of underwear since the morning of the 17th. (okay, so it wasnt THAT bad.. id washed it but.. STILL..) the next day was christmas eve, and all my gifts were in the bag. we phoned the next day, and it wasnt in.
on christmas day, around noon, after i had guiltily opened my gifts with nothing to return, i phoned and phoned, and was answered by chouruses of "press 3.. press 5.. " after pressing, i was transferred to the baggage department, which rang and rang until it hit the answering machine, where the message "this mailbox has not been initialized" spoke shrilly in my ear. then i tried the "press 3.. press 5.. " game again, reaching the "customer service department" where the phone rang 42 times before disconnecting. i know, because i tried it three times, and counted.
gunjacks father was ever so kind, and drove he and i to the local bus station, which (it being christmas day and all) was closed. we went to the dallas station next and, though noone was answering any phones, the station was open. i stormed into the luggage department, and told the woman that my bags had been lost for 8 days, it was christmas, and i wanted my underwear and my gifts. since there was noone else there, she led me into the back room, where there was an enourmous cage filled with a highly disorganized mountain of luggage. she said, "do you see your bag in there?"
oh yes, well, it was VERY easy to spot my bag through the chaos, i am superwoman, you know. i paced around the cage, jumping up, crouching down, turning sideways and generally trying to peer into the depths of the mountain. the woman was talking to some other workers in spanish, and was about to kick me out. gunjack was tugging on my arm a little, saying it wasnt in there. i was hopping mad, however, and demanded that i be allowed IN the cage, to move some luggage. for some reason, she actually let me in.. and stood and watched me as i tried to move bags that were practically bigger than me. not offering to help, of course. Gunjack helped, though, just to humour me, i suspect.

then.. through a tunnel in the bags.. i glimpsed a zipper.. it was on the bottom, at the back.. it LOOKED like my zipper, and i began to dig furiously, trying to be nice to everyone elses bags while trying to get at that zipper before i was kicked out. gunjack reached in, found the tag, and loudly pronounced the name written upon it. it was mine. 8 1/2 days.. but it was mine.. o sweet clean underwear..
i snatched the greyhound ticket off it, thrust it at the woman and left.

there was much rejoicing.

and although it was the 25th, and we were leaving on the morning of the 27th, the clean underwear was heavenly..
and of course, i got to give my christmas gifts. huzzah.

on the return, both of us refused to get on any bus, even if we had only been off it for 5 minutes to have a wee, until wed SEEN our luggage was still on the bus. if theyre going to have a disclamour about not being responsible for losing luggage, then youd think they would shut up about people trying to be responsible.. but no. one driver was especially angry at my stubborn refusal to get on the bus until my bags were on, and he spat and told me id "make a good wife.."
i glared, and he promptly put my luggage on the bus himself..
he must have been anxious to get home to HIS good wife..

it worked, though. we got home with all our luggage intact, and they even checked BOTH my passports on the way back into canada. imagine. *cough* and they want us to *cough* "harmonize our border security" *cough cough splutter* i think not..

despite the luggage loss, christmas was great. (hey everyone, metaldemon looks like a WOOKIE!!!!!) ];) hey, im not kidding..

so merry christmas to all, it cant have been stinker than mine..

;)

love,

lain "something fishy in here" iwakura
the Great White North
Thursday, January 3, 2002 04:38:26 PM
IP: 64.228.195.43

Hey hey everyone, stop worrying for me (of course, if you WAS worrying for me, if you wasn't never mind...), I'm here and alive. Do you know when you realize you're getting old? You go to a simple mere party for the New Year in your usual style (a 50-60 people in somebody's house, starting at about 20 PM of the 31st and ending in a ten-twelve hours...practically a rave party, but with no drugs) and after you did it you need three days to recover. I was used to wake in the morning of the 2nd completely OK, this year it's the 3rd and I'm still a bit shaken...definitely, I'm getting old.

Oh well, I see my comments about the Euro have summoned some discussion. Well, the topic about the national images on the coins is pretty concluded, so I see no need to spend more words about it. I can tell you all that the conversion is proceeding, very quickly it seems to me. Of course, there are some little problems (and with such a gigantic changeover, it is nothing strange), but things are going very well.

GB:> <<Well, you like the frog philosophers in the Enlightenment... >> Those "frog" philosophers gave us the Human Rights, just to say one thing.
<<..America is politcially more conservative than Europe, except for Tony Blair who has really impressed me in recent months. >> Tony Blair a conservative? I cannot see how you say this...but, if you are sure...
<<Forget about the last 60 years, how about the last 600? >> Oh, if you look more back in the past, then a common currency agreedingly adopted by twelve countries (plus England, that is probably going to enter in a very short time) seems even more incredible.
<<That reminds me, which airport in Milan is closest to you. It seems cheapest for me to fly to MIL, though it may be even cheaper by train>> MIL? Meaning Linate, I hope...anyway, both the airports are at the same distance for me more or less (a 30-40 minutes of road), and the same can be said for the central station (well, here time can increase due to traffic, if I move by car). I suggest you, if you want to visit my city, to wait until...hmmm...March could be Ok, both for the weater and because I could have some free time that period.

Rodlox:> <Peter Wood> I got one email from him (whoever he is...) too.

Josh:> <<So long as Germany doesn't start that whole "conquer the world" thing>> Remember that the wrong thing is not trying to conquer the world, but failing in conquering the world...;)
<<It often comes from background. I know my ideas do. >> Mine too, to a certain degree...but I could quote you several examples of the opposite (my girlfriend for example has ideas similar to mine, while her parents think rather differently...)
<<My next one will probably be either an Su-27 or a 1/48 scale B-1, which is 3 feet long from nose to tail. >> And why not a Harrier, or a Tornado? (I'd suggest you a Typhoon, but I haven't seen yet a really good model of it...)

Dreamie & Winterwolf:> And a good new year to you two too...I'd wish you to show up here more often, but I know it is difficult. Oh, well, anyway...stay well, both of you!

Niamhgold:> Hi! Glad to see you! Thanks for the wishes...this new year seems to me not that different from previous one so far ;) and about Euro conversion, well, see above ;) nah, jokes apart, things are going smooth for me (eventually because I am studying like a slave these last two days, so I still had little chance to spend the new currency...)
<<I don't wear hats ;) Just earmuffs... >> Oh-oh-oooh! So sweet and sexy! ;)
<<What's interesting is that burning the American flag is pretty much considered a sin, and yet when a boy in my class cuts it into pieces, glues and shellacs it onto a canvas, pours oil on it and then smears dirt on top of that, it's considered a "work of art" and hung in a gallery exhaltation on the heroes of 9-11 ;) >> Well, art is art...something I can appreciate, even enjoy, but rarely understand...like someone said, "learn art and put it apart"...;)

Jewel Faulkner:> Welcome back! Seems to me an eternity since you've left.

Warpmind:> <<the Lira/Euro exchange rate being roughly 1700:1, as I recall it. >> 1936,27:1, more precisely...but, I must say, the amount of money we carry around won't vary that much. We'll have two more coins, and one less bill...

Jan:> <<BSA and homosexuals - I'll send you an email with an explanation. It's too explosive of a topic for in here.>> Definitely it is...I'll reply in a few minutes.
<<money orders>> Hm, no good. Just hope the orders can be traced. Weird, though...I supposed they had a better system for following movements of money orders.
Oh, by the way: thanks for the picture! :)

Ok, sorry if I replied a bit shortly but as I said I am still a bit shaken...I promise I'll do better next time! See everyone!

Shadowrider - [shadowrider@katamail.com]
Thursday, January 3, 2002 03:39:40 PM
IP: 213.213.16.155

Spacebabie: *g* heh, my cat Seishirou has a crush on Tori Amos. I discovered that when I put in a video of one of her live concerts, and whenever it did a closeup on her face, Seishirou jumped and ran to the screen and put his nose against it.

And, and for any of you manga/anime freaks like me....never name your black kitten after the Sakurazukamori. It's just not a wise idea. It's just not (although the vet found it hilarious when I brought him in on a Friday the 13th to get fixed, and I told her what his name technically meant--"Male Star of Virility."

Snow: Yay! Georgia got snow! Yay! Loving this completely!

Gside: I dunno if I'll be posting regularly in the CR--I'm moving to Japan in three months, and I don't know if I'll be taking a computer with me when I go. And if I do have one, I don't know if I'll be able to afford internet access ($50 a month may be a little past what I want to pay). So...well...I dunno.
And you're an anime fan, too? Cool!

SW&N*SYNC: ugh. Just ugh.

BSA/NAACP argument: *heaves sigh* Oi, the more things change in the CR...

OK, off to watch more Saiyuki...and I can claim watching it in straight Japanese is studying! Muahhahahahahaahahaha!!!!

*exits singing opening to Saiyuki: ~tatoe hitori de mo kimi no koto shinjite itai/Sonna shunkan ni konna sekai wa ugokidasu...~*

jewel faulkner - [joudama_chan@yahoo.com]
Atlanta, Ga
Thursday, January 3, 2002 03:18:03 PM
IP: 65.91.157.131

**2001: The Book Spoilers**
Yep, I finished reading the book already. The book is more than 10 times easier to follow than the movie. You should read the book before you see the movie.

It showed the dangers of artificial intelligence. That makes me think twice about having a computer run a ship by itself.

Frankly, I wished I had checked out the immediate sequel to this book. It's a good story, but NOT a great story, IMHO. No, I don't have comments about how to make it a great story.
**END SPOILERS**

If we are talking about hypocrisy, I know a big one. There is a guy in my church who drills wells for a living. Right now, he is a board that opposes adding any places in my city that allow people to drink alcohol. Big deal, right? Wrong. A few years ago, he dug the well for a place outside the city that serves alcohol. I heard it said that he donated all of the profits from that to a Christian organization which, among other things, opposes such establishments.

SJ - how many people think of you as "SJ" instead of "Sevarius Junior"?

Warpmind - 100% Sober for 100% of my life. I plan on staying that way.

Imzadi - <Okay, now I know most businesses are closed on New Year's, but what part of "ARE YOU OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S?" is a difficult question to the moron who scheduled the appointment.> Dumber question: How would the business allow you to be scheduled on a day they're not open? <I downloaded the most useless program I've ever downloaded today.> You have to pay to register software that searches multiple files for text and changes the text. Ahh, who would use that software on a regular basis? What about software that does anagrams? Let me have a free version and you can collect moeny for advanced features.

Imzadi - <<If he gets married and dies, does his will take over or the marriage contract override that?>: Technically no, but naturally your future step-mom could get a lawyer and fight it if he didn't change his will before he died.> Great, just great. There isn't enough money involved to hire a lawyer - my main concern is the land involved.

Fire Storm - I never bothered to visit Earth outside of my lifetime because it's too dangerous. [the note warned me about how I was caught. Some version of me visited Earth's past and was recognized by the Time Enforcers. Then they altered my history to make me a Time Enforcer. Another version of me had to prevent me from becoming a Time Enforcer and left me the note.].

Spacebabie - I probably should have mentioned how I took the oven out of commission. The popcorn caught on fire in the oven. I used water to put the fire out and busted glass on the oven door.

DPH
AR, USA
Thursday, January 3, 2002 03:11:32 PM
IP: 204.94.193.68

A couple of deadline reminders:

Avalon Mists -- those interested in taking over the editorship, please send in your info by January 15th so that the voting can begin.

Sabledrake Magazine -- will be accepting submissions for the Romance issue until February 2nd.

Christine - [christine@sabledrake.com]
Thursday, January 3, 2002 02:11:16 PM
IP: 64.24.187.51

Good Golly Jewel posted here???

Well my NERV t-shirt finally came in yesterday, and we started to take down the decorations. Including the lights. My favorite neighborhood house had their lights aranged on a tree to resemble the Staute of Liberty's torch.
well the holidays are over and now I start spring semester next week.

Star Wars. I'm not even going to touch that one.

Metaldemon-- You need to start watching south park

Replies

DPH<<<Actually, that's a bad omen. Last time I made caramel popcorn, I took an oven out of commission. >>>But how did the popcorn fare? Seriously when it deals with caramel its worth the risk.


Josh<<<Okay, now I know most businesses are closed on New Year's, but what part of "ARE YOU OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S?" is a difficult question to the moron who scheduled the appointment.>>>Some people are just not put together right.<<<So I'm massage-less this break. And not happy about it.>>>I get a free massage every night, courtesy of my cat, yes the one who licked Russell Crowe’s image.<<<Tolkien's obsession with commenting on his own writing DURING THE STORY is one of the most boring and ill-conceived writing styles I've ever encountered. >>>Boy am I glad that the closest thing I ever read about the Hobbit was this lil record book that was based on the animated movie.<<<Please tell me LotR isn't like this, otherwise I'll just skip the series. >>> Same here.<<<Sorry to hear that. Feel better>>>Thanks<<<You'd like that wouldn't you?
>>>Maybe<<<Okay I picked up on the pattern, it seemed silly.>>>Well I was in a silly mood, plus I did want you to think I was pretending to be Canadian with the first eh.

Mooncat<<<But fear not, it was only a little aspirin.>>> Well that is Deadly…To me anyways. Makes my throat close up.

Niamgold<<<It very much surprises me that I can get tipsy on a glass and a half of Strawberry Zinfindel (I hate champagne), and actually near-drunk, but I suppose that's what always kept me from drinking.>>>Man you are such a light weight. It takes two Smirnoff Ices to get me like that. You need to learn how to pace yourself.<<<I keep drooling when I look at FFX>>>I know that game looks like it will kick ARSE.

Warpmind<<<*Blinks at the Top Ten.* Okay... How many here were NOT sloshed by the end of the year? Õõ *Raises hand* >>>::also raises hand:: and I had three glasses of wine.

Gside<<<I think you know the answer to that>>> Cause it’s the armpit of America?

Terrky<<<but everything wasn't so shiny and new looking.>>>You know how easy it is to lure stupid people with shiny objects.<<<that stupid big eared guy>>>Ross Perot?<<<he was gonna have LEO Decaprio play the part>>> I guess Lucas figured that Leo died in enough movies already.


Spacebabie
Orlando, Florida
Thursday, January 3, 2002 02:03:21 PM
IP: 67.25.51.247

Hey Gargs and Goyles

Gahh I have comments on book burning and everything..but that will have to wait. -_-;;;;

Special Gathering Update!!

Two major things.

First off, If you are thinking of submitting a bid for 2003, (or maybe researching to hosting something for a future gathering), you can find information on creating and submitting a bid here:
http://gathering.gargoyles-fans.org/bid.html

This is also linked up through the MAIN page. THere are bid examples (more coming soon as well) to give you an idea on what the bid comittee is looking for.

(also, just to avoid confusion, the deadlines are as follows)

Deadline for Submission: February 28th, 2002
Announcement of the Winner: April 1st, 2002

(I know the webpage says 2003, I need to fix that. -_-;;)

Good luck on people bidding!! :D


Secondly, the Free Banquet will _NOT_ be offered to people who register at the door. You MUST pre-register. Either by early bird registration of $35 (ending January 31st, 2002..THIS MONTH) or regulary registration (ending May 15th, 2002). The reason is because we have to have an EXACT number, and not an estimate for people who are going to be eating.

So once again, if you walk in at the door at the Gathering, you will NOT be able to take advantage of the Free Banquet Option. I apologise for any inconvience in advance. You do still have PLENTY of time to register though!! :D
http://gathering.gargoyles-fans.org/reg.html


And once again, any questions, comments, concerns, rants, etc can either be emailed to the Gathering at gatheringofgargoyles@yahoo.com or my email at siryn7@aol.com

Happy New Years!!

Siryn - [gatheringofgargoyles@yahoo.com]
Thursday, January 3, 2002 01:42:40 PM
IP: 138.89.88.50

Star Wars and N'Sync > well, as bad as that is, it could always be worse ... they could be doing a new 'cantina scene.' ::shudder:: It's mean, but I hope and believe that LOTR will just _bury_ Star Wars.
Christine - [christine@sabledrake.com]
Thursday, January 3, 2002 01:41:01 PM
IP: 64.24.187.51

Jan -- Actually I never knew that the NAACP didnt allow board members to have a pro-life position. That doesnt set well with me. You see, the NAACP is supposed to be, by definition, an organization of colored people. It doesnt say an organization of liberal colored people(In which case I would have no problem with them restricting such things). The viewpoints of many people are changing these days and are not quite as lockstep as the democrats would like them to be. Things like this merely promote stereotypes and attempt to keep a whole race stuck in the past.

In essence you shouldnt be allowed to tout yourself as the magnet group for everyone in your category while restricting things like that... This goes for organizations like NAACP and AARP.

Note that I am pro-choice myself (but I do not like the kind of world the democrats would set up given the chance -- I am not exactly enamored of the republicans either)
silvadel
Thursday, January 3, 2002 10:19:53 AM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Jan> On second thought, I apologize for being especially rude. I would have e-mailed this, but I don't have your address any more.
I only posted because I wanted to give you your hornets nest and the explosiveness you commented on. I could care less about the BSA; I don't support groups that discriminate, including gay groups and minority groups; they're all a-holes in my opinion. Any group that judges an individual or claims to teach Godly ethics, then turns around and judges someone recieves neither my money nor my participation.
Anyways, sorry for agitating you so; I try not to be a jerk, but sometimes the little demon iniside comes out. :P
metaldemon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 09:15:19 AM
IP: 129.120.35.51

Jan> I would ask you to actaully read my post and actually go by with what's in it instead of you actaully adding to it things I didn't say.
After going to their web-site, it turns out I did get it right with the "rules", which turns out to be a seven-line song.
metaldemon
Thursday, January 3, 2002 08:08:57 AM
IP: 24.219.165.75

Metaldemon> apparently you have no idea of what you are talking about. You know, I find it ridiculous when people like you start spouting off about "individual freedom" and such and then when an organization or person disagrees with something that you think is right, they are not allowing you your individual freedom... where is their freedom??
You don't even know what the Scout Oath says and yet you are attempting to half-ass quote it.
I wasn't going to get into this topic here in a public forum and I still won't to any degree. Bottom line is that they (and any other PRIVATE organization) has the right to enforce a membership rule. It is THEIR freedom to do so. Welcome to America where it's ok to not do everything that YOU think is correct and to abide by YOUR rules just because YOU think that way. I have news for you, not everyone thinks it's ok and "natural" to be homosexual. The BSA has every right to disagree with you and to make that a stipulation/requirement for membership. If you don't like it, don't join. *shrugs* No one is begging you to.
You think that the BSA is the only organization that has restrictions on their membership? Not hardly. For example, the NAACP requires that you be pro-choice if you are to serve as a member of the board. If you are pro-life, you are not allowed to serve as a board member. Is this not discriminating? Maybe it is and maybe it is for the BSA to ban homosexuals - but once again, it's their choice and it's approved to do in this country because we do have freedoms. Oh wait, it's only alright to have freedoms as long as they don't upset anyone else or contradict how you feel, right?
Yes, they went to court and they won.

Jan
Thursday, January 3, 2002 07:30:33 AM
IP: 12.110.236.73

hey everyone!

i haven't posted here for a long time. blah, just have been actin wierd lately. got too much on my mind, got too much on the line. hey that rhymed! and didn't make sense! at least it doesn't apply to me. it does make sense really.

anyway, star wars issue... i too was very disappointed when episode 1 came out...for many reasons in fact.. you see, i was a little obssesed at one time.

1) ok, for starters, just the basic look and feel of the movies: everything is so technological, i mean, the origonals were too, but everything wasn't so shiny and new looking. i know that with the fall of the jedi and everything, stuff was different after that, but come on! those garding thingys that were surounding the planet: it's like they were suppost to be more impressive than the death star. i don't think they should have had those, at least not so big and powerful. i don't think that they could have blown up any planet like the death star, but the first ones take place some time in the future, so, shouldn't all the technology not look more advanced than the origonals had been?

2) that stupid big eared guy. they could have kept the creatures in the movie, but they were sooooooo STUPID sounding. that dorky voice, and clumsyness... i would have killed him long before i brought him on a ship with me. they were obnoxious, and annoying... although C3po was too... but thats just ONE person, not an entire race of idiots.

3) and again, why make prequals to a great movie that everyone already knows the outcome of??? the first three did very well at explaining the story, and how things came to be. are the prequals just for a buncha stupid people who didn't get it in the first three? i was in the forth grade when i first saw them, and i got the story perfectly... in fact, from episode 1, made it harder. so i say he should have written some post star wars stuff. it would prolly have been harder to do that, you'd have to come up with a whole new story line that still relates to the first three, and return of the jedi pretty much concluded the saga. so either way he had nothing, so he had to make prequals.

4)if it is true that he is useing the N*sync boys in the movie then he has TRULY sold out. i heard a few years ago, after episode one came out that he was gonna have LEO Decaprio play the part. at least that would have been a little less of a sell out, because decaprio is about nothing now.

however, there were some up sides to episode 1:

1) the fight senes were great. very fast pace sword play, and more intense air battles.

hmm... thats about the only up side i can think of.

but still, he's gotta pay the bills somehow.

anyway, i got a Timedancer question. i guess this could be a spoiler if you haven't read return to paradise yet, but when brooklyn was separated from sata, and for her he was gone ten years... was he away from her for only 2 years? i read this story back in july, and since then, i just got the general impression that since he was gone ten years from her, that he would have been gone from her for the equal amount of time. and seeing as he is about in his i think 22nd year of travel, and he danced with her for about ten years, and met her in his first... i think five years or so, it really isn't possible to be gone ten years... all that... and i reread it today for kicks, and it said two years... but still, can someone clear it up incase i like missed something?

hmm... well, in other news of me, i got a fancy keyboard for christmas, and i know how to play the same song on it that i can on my guitar. thats pretty cool. i had my cousins over this weekend (who are both takeing piano lessens, they are 9 and 11) my 9 year old cousin and i were sittin around playin with it, and we kinda bounced lessons off of eachother. i showed her how to play barnstormer, and she showed me some stuff. aaah, family togetherness

me and my metal headed friend had another long, discussion/arguement about the music word. blah, doncha hate it when someone talks down on other peoples taste just cause they don't like it??? he was askin me how guitar was goin, and i told him i was movin along, and he asked me to send him my wave of barnstormer... of course because it wasn't a metal tune, he says my guitar teacher sucks, and isn't teaching me right, and can't write a song... but i am once again reminded to respect others taste, and not get on him about metal... its not quite my taste, but i respect the (if any) thought that goes into it. and not sayin that heavy metal stars don't have talent, most of em play very well, but that doesn't mean that classic rock, and jazz artists aren't good, which is the crap i've gotten from most of the people around me that like metal... O.o i mean, the beatles (and all the solo artists there in) the stones, chicago, styx, and just about EVERYONE. i dunno, they got pretty HUGE popularity if they suck.

speaking of music and stuffs, i went to http://www.rateitall.com/ (i'll link it with my name) and chicago is #2 next to the beatles in rock, and #1 in concert tours... which as much as i love chicago, i would have to give more credit to U2 in concert tours. U2 is currently #3 or 4. styx was at 6 for concerts, but like 256 for rock. i say styx should have never broken up... kinda like the beatles, imagin how many more hits they could have had. but, i guess when fame goes too deep into your head, you just can't help but fight with your bandmembers.

another thing that is odd about rate it all.com... they called REO speedwagon a "soft rock" band........ that is a buncha crap. REO are hard rockers. but oh well, they were higher on the chart than styx was. but still, i would not really call them soft rockers.

but, moving on,

i solved two more stumpers on Myst 3. ok, i got *hints, not answers* from the internet, but still, Amateria is a difficult place. i giant pinball machine. i don't know what i was doin half the time on there, but once you solve one, its like, DUH! it's a very pretty place. but i thought Edanna, was much by far the most lively, and beutiful place. its like a giant hollow tree, but lots of plant life and greenery. if i had to be stuck somewhere for twenty years, id prolly choose Edanna.

hmm... that was a pointless ramble. anyone else got that game? i'd like to get to talk to someone about it. just for kicks.

hmm... not to get on anyones backs, but i guess we don't have to count on timedancer premereing in winter 2001. oh well. i'm sure the staff is hard at werk with real life and such. not my place to whine about. just for some reason had to share my anticipation.

anyway, i think i may sign off now... i think... yeah, i'm signing off now, see yall!

shine on all you crazy diamonds!

"in the warriors code, there's not surrender, though his body says stop, his spirit crys NEVER"-- survivor

-={King Terrky Kath, The Efficient Rock Star}=-

Terrky K - [rock_star_x11@yahoo.com]
Kansas
Thursday, January 3, 2002 01:42:05 AM
IP: 63.252.223.161

Right. Power supply blew and couldn't pick up a replacement on the first. And I wanted to try for a report performance of last year's performance.

Imzadi> <<He's only made one>>: Recently. I average about 2 a year. Maybe a bit under.
<<I hope she lets him go to the bathroom>>: Depends on how kinky she is.
<<Just remind me not to play football with you>>: Not until we see what you do to me should we meet. Besides, I doubt much of my weight is muscle.
<<Only when aided by a power suit>>: Chun Li is quite good.
<<Ah. ATM card here>>: As do I, but it is more of a psychological boundary that I am referring to.
<<Now all we need is more strippers>>: Spacebabie?

Shadowrider> <<Ok...what else could we need?>>: there's always room for Jello.

Green Baron> <<f I went up there, I'd make visiting the Niamhgold a top priority>>: Well, I have no transportation of my own, and I have a rather poor sense of direction (inherited from my mother). That, and I am increadibly lazy, or I would be labeled an internet stalker and shunned for the rest of my pitiful life.

Fire Storm> <<As defined by the surface bordered by the largest and second largest edge>>: I didn't know it has such a specific definition.
<<ROFL! THAT made me laugh!>>: I'm glad I could help.
<<what about the sperm 'parent' cells in a man? is that number relatively fixed by a certian age, or do they continue to get replenished from puberty until death?>>: My father the bio teacher votes for replenishment.

Oh yes, and happy new year.

Imzadi> <<Ugh, why>>: But It's fun. You get to be jolly.

Spacebabie> <<Why not New Jerset>>: I think you know the answer to that.

Imzadi> <<The Hobbit is really not a good book at all>>: It was based on the bedtime stories he told his kids. Give the man a break. And the comments get condenses into the appendices of the Trilogy.

Niamhgold> <<whoo, and a trip. I've never travelled so many places in the US in such a short span of time>>: Just wait until you get hauled on a tour of the west. Endless car time. At least they picked up the minivan with bucket seats for that one. And I got to see Wall Drug.
<<I have a 36 inch ;)...ruler>>: Im sure you could have gotten paid a lot of money if it wasn't your ruler.
<<I'd settle for MarioKart Squared..."I'm Sephiroth...you're going _down_ Wario!!!>>: Nah, Smash Squared. I can just see Sabin taking down Cap Falcon.
<<"Uh, dude, you have like a posse of weirdos visiting you at...3 AM">>: Then turn down Smash and let them in. See if they want anything from Jimmy's.
<<If I leave with a day to spare, sure>>: If you try to find me at home, we're at the same exit. If I'm at school, it isn't worth it.
<<Do you now?>>: Not at all.

Ooh Jewel.

Warpmind> <<just watched Ranma season 3 episode 13... Poor Mousse... That bomb was big>>: I believe I have a convert. Have you gotten to movie 2 yet? He gets my vote for most dramatic moment of the thing.
<<How many here were NOT sloshed by the end of the year?>>: Yo.
<<And Gside, I sent you an e-mail! Did you receive it?>>: Yes, I did. But it's quite hard to read it if you can't convert house current to stable device ready electricity. I'll pull some books soon. How about: Electric Circuits (Nilsson Riddel), Database System Concepts (Silberschatz, Korth, and Sudarshan), Statics of Mechanics and Materials (Riley Sturges Morris), Elementary Differentary Differential Equations (Boyse DiPrima), Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications (Rosen) (all I got for classes), The Master IC Cookbook, The CRC Handbook of Tables for Applied Engineering Science.

Jewel> Ooh, you're staying? Joy.

Imzadi> <<Because like every other mildly-cool person in the fandom, you're going to be moving los angeles...right?>>: Nah, Jersey.
<<Need more republicans>>: Take my grandparents and their 5000 relatives.
<<"Oh, they must be my CS group">>: I thought you ice cream groupies were scheduled now.

Off to Rutgers tomorrow. Just for the day, of course. I may get into some research, perhaps pick up my books. My mother will be accompanying me to get her books and her ID. Have pity on me for she is going to my school next semester. At least she'll be 4 miles away or so.

Na zdorov'ya.

Gside - [gside@eden.rutgers.edu]
Fair Haven, NJ
Thursday, January 3, 2002 01:35:04 AM
IP: 24.4.252.72

Yes!

Its over! The inventory counts for 2001 are finished. Took all frikkin' day. That's 9 hours on my feet. They hurt, if you can imagine.

I fixed it by going to get a massage, and yelling at them for being idiots earlier this week. Both of those things felt REALLY good.

I spent the rest of the evening doing very little but reading, finishing up my Skyray, and getting the house ready for my friend from out of town who's coming in tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about that.

Minor bump in the road to Apple Internship today: I discovered that since I'm a civil engineer, I'm not eligible to apply through Berkeley's automated application/contact system (Apple only wants CS, EE, and MechE's). So I had to contact them directly and petition. I was a bit nervous about this, but I emailed the people in charge and asked...and they agreed to consider my resume! Now all I need to do is get someone AT the company to say "we want this kid!" and I'm there. ::crosses fingers::

It frustrates me to no end that a company like Apple, hiring as many engineers as they do, doesn't know that MechE's and CivE's are virtually the same thing until the last semester or two.

In other news, Havard University is pissed at AOL for being the world's crappiest ISP. Harvard, in the wake of the anthrax scares, decided to inform applicants of their acceptance (or rejection) via email. Thousands of emails never got to their intended recipients, because AOL mistakenly filtered them as SPAM.

Because I know *I* like to delete "welcome to the class of 2003" right along with "earn free money click XXX"

Apple's front page currently reads "MacWorld - Beyond the rumor sites. Way beyond." I take this to mean that they will announce a host of new products that are even cooler than the ones currently out (or, if you think iMacs are really dumb-looking pieces of crap, then cooler ones and an iMac that's much sweeter than the current model). I'm pretty excited about going to expo, even if I have to work for part of it. I'll be spending time networking (people, not hardware!) and hopefully getting my resume around. If anyone knows anyone, put in a good word for me.

Posting a bit early tonight because I need to be offline by 10PM.

replies

Mooncat: <<Your concern for my health is touching, Josh>>: Do I detect a note of my own stinging sarcasm?

The Wizard: <<I can get tipsy on a glass and a half of Strawberry Zinfindel>>: SJ, are you getting this? <<it's time for my vacation to FINALLY start>>: Haven't you been on break for the last two weeks? <<No work for the next ten days, whoo, and a trip>>: That's it, just ten days? I get 20 ;-) <<I've never travelled so many places in the US in such a short span of time>>: How many places? <<you've got yours coming, the doom of your empire!>>: Its good to know I have friends I'll need to kill first. <<you?>>: Tonight, actually ;-) The second the inventory counts were done. <<that would require you to go away from LA, which, in your opinion, is not a good thing>>: True. Not to mention my friend, who'd be totally stranded. <<I have a 36 inch ;)...ruler>>: And size does matter. <<I've worked about every holiday>>: Okay, so you're a whore too. <<Not that there's a problem with being non-philosophical, those people can be ungrounded condescending jerks sometimes>>: Or just really lame. I know a lot of philosophy majors from Berkeley. Despite having one of the best philosophy depts in the country (or maybe because of it), they refuse to acknowledge the simple fact that I do more work in a day than they do in a month. <<as opposed to _grounded_ and condescending jerks>>: Shocking! <<I would think that a novice such as myself could only earn pennies>>: Men always bring dollar bills, because coins don't stay too well in thongs. <<I know what makes me happy, and neither is the case>>: I know what makes me happy too...and I need money to get it. <<I suppose you're owed one, then>>: I collected. <<Must be pretty cool>>: No, just fun to look at. <<Am I really that elusive?>>: Nah. <<Although I don't expect to be staying in NH for much more of my life>>: Because like every other mildly-cool person in the fandom, you're going to be moving los angeles...right? <<Apple's rotten. Yes, Imzadi, old joke, but it was just asking for it>>: ::yawn:: <<I barely have a reason to keep from blowing up NH, or meshing it, Maine, and Vermont into one big Democratic state>>: Sorry, can't have that. Need more republicans. <<I don't wear hats ;) Just earmuffs.>>: Well isn't THAT a funny picture. <<burning the American flag is pretty much considered a sin>>: For an 8th grade debate on flag burning...Mike and I burned one. <<Doesn't mean I can eat you, eh?>>: He's taken. <<4AM never>>: Is that before or after the buttcrack of dawn? <<Uh, dude, you have like a posse of weirdos visiting you at...3 AM>>: "Oh, they must be my CS group". <<It's a miracle I ever picked up a pencil>>: No comment. <<This time tomorrow, I'm on vacation>>: Lucky devil.

Silvadel: <<I have noticed a significant downtick in the amount of posts here recently>>: Its winter break. Lots of us student types are away from the high-speed connections that let us post, and for some reason not everyone has figured out how to write a post in another program. <<prequels just arent anywhere near as interesting as moving into the future because you know where it eventually has to go>>: Agreed. Personally, I think all three prequels would make better books. Books are still remotely interesting to read even when they take place before, because they can let you in on a LOT you didn't know. Movies have can't do that, they have neither the time nor the budget.

Warpmind: <<You didn't realize hammers made that much noise? Haven't you ever>>: Hit someone over the head with one? Sure, but it was relatively muted by their skull. You mean like actually hammering in a nail? Sure, that's loud, but I was thinking of as a weapon. My bad. <<you're a spoiled rich kid from LA - of course you've never actually had to use a hammer>>: One, you're so jealous. And two, of course I've used hammers. I've participated in more large-scale building projects than you have, I'd wager. I may BE a spoiled rich kid, but believe it or not I do have some experience with manual labor ;-) <<the Lira/Euro exchange rate being roughly 1700:1>>: Wow, that's almost as worthless as the canadian dollar! <<if men were to carry a lifetime supply of unripened sperm, we'd be unable to wear pants>>: Hence my comment about needing an organ the size of a V8. <<How many here were NOT sloshed by the end of the year?>>: Me! Haven't had anything to drink in months, I don't think.

Revel: <<Yes even having to stand up at Rocky and totally make a fool of myself for the entertainment of others>>: GOD !@#$ IT! I missed that!? Curses! <<I'll see you at the con and don't worry there will be other oportunities for you to be included>>: The con is a maybe. But if I *don't* go, then I will be at the next mini-gathering, promise. <<I won't get hairy because I'm a Jew!>>: Louis doesn't know too many israelis, does he?

Jan: <<I heard that they were originally at ground level but were found 30 feet further below>>: OW! I bet THAT hurt. <<I was very stupid in using a money order>>: Yeah, why didn't you use a check? But in any case, that SUCKS. <<I received your email and $ amount for the card. I'll get back to you asap on that>>: No problem. I also have a host of other cards if he needs anything. You know how to reach me. But you *MUST* get back to be before the 6th. After that, I'll be in Berkeley and the card will be in LA. <<Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others>>: That is SO true! <<Surely life can't get much worse for a while>>: That is SUCH a bad phrase to use...its like just inviting Murphy over for tea and biscuits.

Sevarius Jr: <<And since it is true, I don't want to hear any more lip from ANY of you whenever I start my Lucas bashing>>: What are the odds of that? <<N SYNC star JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and his boy band pals are to hit the big screen as Jedi knights in the new Star Wars movie>>: WHAT!? That's it, I'm stealing this one. <<GEORGE LUCAS’s 13-year-old daughter Katie is a fan of the band and badgered her dad to give them a role>>: If I ever meet him, I will punch him in the stomach. <<Justin plays ELTON JOHN>>: Proof positive that he is gay. <<I've already heard the Lucas apologists try to put a good spin on this>>: As if they could. <<5 ambigously gay idiots on my screen?>>: I wouldn't say "ambiguous".

Metaldemon: <<all in Spanish and right in front of you>>: I believe !@#$ is the appropriate response...in any language ;-) <<becasue they love Jesus so much that they judge people and discriminate against people>>: And then have the gall to yell at us for not loving each other. <<Something like the word "straight" is mentioned and that is supposed to mean Heterosexual>>: Before that was true, I believe it referred to a lack of drug use.

Alright folks, see ya'll tomorrow.

I don't want you to think of five as half of ten.
-Kendra Eyer, Math 54 discussion 214

Josh "Imzadi" Wurzel - [@kicktothenuts.com]
Encino, CA, US of A
Thursday, January 3, 2002 12:38:34 AM
IP: 206.170.217.24

They made a HUGE mistake with star wars when they went back to star wars 1 instead of continuing with star wars 7. I could care less how things came to be -- prequels just arent anywhere near as interesting as moving into the future because you know where it eventually has to go.
silvadel
Thursday, January 3, 2002 12:18:18 AM
IP: 208.59.247.8

SJ- *g* Well, I've got to admit, that's one *heck* of a welcome back. ;)
jewel faulkner - [joudama_chan@yahoo.com]
ATL, GA, USA (until April...let the countdown begin)
Thursday, January 3, 2002 12:14:43 AM
IP: 4.47.124.96

oops, forgot :P
SJ> Don't worry, I completley agree with you :D. I started losing respect for Lucas after episode one since it blew major cajones. Admit it, it was inevitable, he was going to fully sell-out eventually.
metaldemon
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 11:25:54 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

GB> The cannuck and her lover are doing fine from what I could tell. Very huggy and kissy :)
Perhaps it would not be best to hire me to watch your immigrants since I would tell them all about their rights and how much your banking...all in Spanish and right in front of you. Hehehe.

Shadowrider> If Sh!it Heads of Ameirca...I mean Boy Scouts of America, ever recieved money from the government, then they could not dicriminate against gays. But since the don't recieve money form the governmant (and becasue they love Jesus so much that they judge people and discriminate against people) they can choose who they allow in, cause that's what America's all about, right? I figure since they brandish America all over themselves that they would teach American ethics: individual freedom.
And the way they interpret their rules is ridiculous. Sexual orientation (at least from the line I heard) isn't even implied at all. Something like the word "straight" is mentioned and that is supposed to mean Heterosexual. Considering the rules haven't been changed for over half a century, the slang "straight" didn't even enter American dialect until recently. If what I heard is correct about the whole rules situation, then perhaps they only recently chose to interpret "straight" to mean heterosexual--perhaps when they went to court.
*looks around* hmmmm, not too many hornets. Perhaps because there is no nest.
metaldemon
denton, tx
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 11:20:29 PM
IP: 24.219.165.75

I wonder how many lurking olde-timers we can get to eek out a post? You know you are out there =) Looking but not posting ... Sounds like dune...
silvadel
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 10:28:28 PM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Mooncat> thanks :) yeah, the lady at the bank said that once I find my copy of the receipt, we can track it all down and see if it has at least been cashed. I did fill out it payable to the school, but I know that it's very easy to cash a check (especially in this rural area) without proper ID - or they just broke up a criminal ring outside of Joplin that were stealing checks/MO such as these and going thru a check cashing company who would be paid a bit extra for their "services" of cashing without questions.
I can go thru all of the necessary steps of trying to track the MO down, but basically I'm wasting my time and kissing my grand goodbye. =( (The officer at the bank didn't hold out much hope for recovery either)
I'm going to run a warrant check on my daughter tomorrow. That will tell me if Houston received the MO for her ticket/fine. If not, then they will have issued a warrant for FTA (failure to appear). If that's the case, I will be calling there and explaining the situation and HOPE that they believe me enough to buy some time for me to be able to regroup and come up with that money again too.
Lesson learned - albeit a very expensive one. O_o
Surely life can't get much worse for a while.

I rented/watched High Rain and Chill Factor - both are very good movies :)

Jan
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 09:59:09 PM
IP: 12.110.236.215

Jan -- re Money Orders, have you tried checking with the issuer to see if the MO has been cashed?

It shouldn't be any harder to check on than a regular check. If you filled out the information fully, with the school's name on the MO, no one but the school should be able to cash it.

Best of luck with tracking the MO down.

Mooncat
>^,,^<

Mooncat
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 09:33:10 PM
IP: 65.30.27.68

Well, it's the new year, and nothing much of interest has happened so far.

Oh wait, something HAS happened of interest. It's the first official 2002 Mark Out Moment! Brought to you by Ms. Faulkner.

Ahem.

JEWEL! JEWEL! JEWEL!!! JJJJJJJJJJJEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And so it was written, in the book of Sevari, that in the year 02 of the new millennium, there shall arrive a young woman named Jewel Faulkner, who shall save the CR from itself.

Or so I'm hoping. It's damn good to see you again, Jewel. :)

And from that pleasantness, we turn to the vilest of evils.

The following story is TRUE. And since it is true, I don't want to hear any more lip from ANY of you whenever I start my Lucas bashing. Look at what this bastard has done.

***********

It's Jedi Justin

N SYNC star JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and his boy band pals are to hit the big screen as Jedi knights in the new Star Wars movie.


All five members of the group — Justin, LANCE BASS, JC CHASEZ, CHRIS KIRKPATRICK and JOEY FATONE — appear in a battle scene in Episode II: Attack Of The Clones.

But unfortunately for fans they are all bumped off within seconds by savage androids.

The boys got involved because producer GEORGE LUCAS’s 13-year-old daughter Katie is a fan of the band and badgered her dad to give them a role.

A film source said: “All of them play Jedi knights in an arena battle on a planet called Geonosis.

“They are only seen for half a second in the background getting blown up by droids. There is then a short, blurry shot of N Sync dying.

“It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene but getting all the lads involved in the movie should pull in N Sync fans.

“The lads are all interested in films and when George asked them to take part they leapt at the chance.”

The film is not the band’s first go at acting but it is their first appearance together.

Lance and Joey were in comedy On The Line and Justin plays ELTON JOHN from the 1970s in Elt’s video for his single This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore.

The Star Wars film is set to open here on May 16.

--Credit to "The Sun"

*****************

Because of Lucas' bitch of a daughter, we get the muthaf!cking N*(weliketo)SUCK(onmen'sjunk) boys as Jedi warriors. Now I've already heard the Lucas apologists try to put a good spin on this. "Well, they'll be killed in seconds! That will be fun, right?!" F!CK YOU. First I have to put up with goddamn teddy bears, then mush-mouthed step-n'-fetch Gungans, and you NOW want me to pay to see those 5 ambigously gay idiots on my screen? You've pushed me too far.

Lucas, you're a sellout hack, and you're dead to me. THANK GOD I have a new God, Peter Jackson, to latch onto.

Again, don't even start with me about George. I don't want to hear it. If this doesn't prove to you what a hack he is, then there's no hope in the world.


Sevarius Jr. - [sevariusjr@hotmail.com]
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 08:58:26 PM
IP: 207.172.11.148

Moment of silence for the 13 people recovered from ground zero today. 10 were firefighters, 3 civilians.
I heard that they were originally at ground level but were found 30 feet further below. :(





Well, I'm screwed. We found out today (with just 5 days left) that the school did not receive the money order that I stupidly sent for his last semester. I just found out (after 4pm) so the bank couldn't do anything about it yet. The lady did tell me that if someone stole it and cashed it, it would be extremely difficult to trace it... which means, I'm out $1,055 and must come up with it again plus this next semester's fees in 5 days.... IF his classes are still available. He had registered for this upcoming semester and they didn't say anything about it then.
What makes me even more nervous is that I also sent Anna's ticket fine to Houston at the same time ($750) and also used a money order - I haven't had any confirmation that they've received it.
I was very stupid in using a money order. I just didn't release that it's so difficult to trace them and collect on them if they are lost or stolen. =\ I've never used them much before and if I did, it was always for small amounts. *sais* Needless to say, I'm not feeling very well right now.

Revel> sounds like you had a great time! Congrats on your safe return :)

Josh> I received your email and $ amount for the card. I'll get back to you asap on that =)

I spent the entire New Year's day rearranging my bedroom. When I moved in, it was helter-skelter and then I ended up going to work almost immediately, so I never really had the chance to properly unpack and arrange my bedroom. Anyway, I cleaned up, unpacked, and changed the furniture around :) I have so much more space in here now!
I spent New Year's Eve at my brother's house watching old home movies. hehe, I was a cutie ;) We're going to finally get around to putting the 8mm footage onto video.

Shadowrider> BSA and homosexuals - I'll send you an email with an explanation. It's too explosive of a topic for in here.

~Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others. ~

Jan
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 07:55:09 PM
IP: 12.110.236.215

Coyote//Ravyn: Check Coyote's E-mail!
Fire Storm
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 06:44:00 PM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Well after getting up at four in the morning to make a 7:00 AM flight, waiting, three hours in the air, transfer, another hour, a sight chewing out from my Dad because they changed the flight number and I had not even noticed, I'm finally back down south. I enjoyed everyminute of the vacataion. Yes even having to stand up at Rocky and totally make a fool of myself for the entertainment of others.

Greg-Thank you and thank your mother for geiving me a place to stay for a few nights. It was too bad you had to go to work that one day, but oh well. I'll see you in Virginia. I hope you like the picture I gave you and that you are happy to have your room back.

Emambu- sorry you could only stay for one day, but that's okay, you said you were coming to the gathering so I'll see you again then and sorry for the confusion about the train station. Take care bro.

Aaron&Mara- thanks for hanging out and and paying for dinner. I hope Mara likes the painting I gave her. just put some Elmers on that one piece and it will stay. I'll get the pictures scanned in as soon as I get the roll developed.

Lynati- I think I will save the important stuff for E-mail, but again thanks for inviting me and I'll see you again in six months.

Josh- Sorry you missed it man but I'll see you at the con and don't worry there will be other oportunities for you to be included. As for the hands... I think I'll save that story for IM.

"I won't get hairy because I'm a Jew!"

-Louis- ;)

later

Revel - [samrx5@cs.com]
the bayou city, tx
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 05:06:12 PM
IP: 172.166.73.108

Well at least I managed to pry one olde-tymer out of the woodwork... WB Jewel.
silvadel
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 03:59:48 PM
IP: 208.59.247.8

*Warpmind enters, a look of pity in his eyes.*
I just watched Ranma season 3 episode 13... Poor Mousse... That bomb was big... ÕÕ

Catch-up time, as usual... and Happy New Year, everyone; so far, 2002 doesn't impress me. ;)

Josh: You didn't realize hammers made that much noise? Haven't you ever... no, wait, of course, you're a spoiled rich kid from LA - of course you've never actually had to use a hammer. };) But seriously, hammers can produce a LOT of noise on impact. Hence the silencer.

I see the Euro's takeover has been noted... Not since the days of the Roman Empire has a single coin been, in effect, the coin of the realm, over so much of Europe. And, of course, it will probably be a great benefit to Italians at large, since they'll have to carry less cash around, the Lira/Euro exchange rate being roughly 1700:1, as I recall it. ;) I'm kind of lukewarm to the whole deal, but I see it as a convenient timesaver for the Nereus Project's likely one-currency world government. }:)

Fire Storm: I'm a dabbler in the sciences. (All of them.) I can probably answer your question... um... the latter. Barring, of course, injury. (Think about it - if men were to carry a lifetime supply of unripened sperm, we'd be unable to wear pants.)

Rodlox: I got one greeting from Peter Wood. Whoever that is.

*Blinks at the Top Ten.* Okay... How many here were NOT sloshed by the end of the year? Õõ *Raises hand*

And that's about it for today... I have dungeons and villages to work on. (And Gside, I sent you an e-mail! Did you receive it? And if you did, ANSWER, DAMMIT!)
*Heads out to work on RPGmaking.*

Warpmind de InzanE - [warpmind@hotmail.com]
Middle, Nowhere, Norway
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 02:09:04 PM
IP: 193.217.205.237

...or, if someone knows where I can get a hold of a tape of the episode "Bushido," (I'm poor, I have no cable) I would also be very, very happy...

jewel faulkner - [joudama_chan@yahoo.com]
ATL, GA, USA
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 01:33:21 PM
IP: 65.58.19.111

Hello, everybody! Happy New Year! I know it's been, oh, well over a year since I posted in TGS (I'm double-posting in CRs. Yes, bad girl, but I really need the transcript I'm asking for a bit later in this post). Hello to everyone who remembers me, hello to everyone who has no clue who I am, and hello to all the people who joined since I left. ;)

Anyway, I'm not just posting to wish all of y'all a happy new years (but I did want to do that anyway). I just wanted to let the people know who still remember my fic that I've finished the next part of Goetterdaemmerung (but nto all of Goetterdaemmerung; like some sadistic amoeba, it's split into parts again) and posted at fanfic.gargoyles-fans.org.
And I wanted to ask if anyone knew where I can get the transcripts to the ep "Bushido." I was asked a few weeks ago about submitting something for a zine, and since then, the ep's been at the back of my head.
Thanks!
jewel

jewel faulkner - [joudama_chan@yahoo.com]
Atlanta, Ga, US, but not for long...
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 01:20:42 PM
IP: 65.58.19.111

BTW -- I have noticed a significant downtick in the amount of posts here recently...
silvadel
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 12:58:30 PM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Sigh -- I thought my idea of week/year would be nice, tidy, and get aplomb. I guess not. Probably says more about me than about you =)

BTW -- I have noticed a significant downtick in the amount of posts here recently...

silvadel
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 10:46:47 AM
IP: 208.59.247.8

** Niamhgold enters **

Happy New Year's, everyone :) I know I should've posted that yesterday, but the year's not going to escape that quickly, and I was still recovering from NYE, which I spent at the Mount Washington Hotel. It very much surprises me that I can get tipsy on a glass and a half of Strawberry Zinfindel (I hate champagne), and actually near-drunk, but I suppose that's what always kept me from drinking. As it is, this is the first time I've touched anything since last Christmas, and _that's_ only the Roman Catholic tradition ;)

And it's time for my vacation to FINALLY start. No work for the next ten days, whoo, and a trip. I've never travelled so many places in the US in such a short span of time ;)

I keep drooling when I look at FFX but haven't actually gotten it yet...darn that thing looks entertaining. I think I'll get it for my un-birthday ;)

Replies!:

Daddy: <It's coming soon for me, how about you?> Oh, yes, you've got yours coming, the doom of your empire!...Wait, you were talking about my vacation. _That_ starts tomorrow afternoon for me, actually, you? <Damn, I wish I was going away...> But that would require you to go away from LA, which, in your opinion, is not a good thing. <CHIKA BOW BOW!!!> Heck yeah. <I'll have to remember that.> Learn something new everyday. <...of course my ruler is 15" long, so that'd be even MORE unreasonable.> Your ruler or YOUR RULER? ;) In any case, mine tops yours...I have a 36 inch ;)...ruler <Yes. I just don't take them because I need money. Yes, I'm a whore> Well, not moreso than me...I've worked about every holiday. Including Xmas...I just brought the work home with me to do ;) <That doesn't get you any additional info, except for the identities of my spies> You'd actually be surprised... <You don't think I can do that, do you?> Nope. And the fact that you're bored by Tolkien suggests it ;) Not that there's a problem with being non-philosophical, those people can be ungrounded condescending jerks sometimes (as opposed to _grounded_ and condescending jerks). <BREAK OUT THE DOLLAR BILLS!> Really? I would think that a novice such as myself could only earn pennies. <I will dominate WHATEVER I do> Yep. Couldn't help it. Dirty. <He'll say "well, I'm still rich, since my dad is Charles Band, the famous B-movie director. So, yes, I'm still happy".> Well, I'm sorry, for _him_. That money and fame = happiness for the boy. I know what makes me happy, and neither is the case. <Now if they come out with MarioKart Cubed...I'm buying it> I'd settle for MarioKart Squared..."I'm Sephiroth...you're going _down_ Wario!!!(brandishes the 11-foot Masamune) "Bwahahahaha"! <I'll get the brass pole> Perhaps a Merry-go-round of strippers. Only I'm not on it. And they're all male cops. <I LOVE doing that. However, it seems they were CLOSED.> Curses. I suppose you're owed one, then. <well, anyway, it inverts the colors on your screen> Must be pretty cool. Although I only use invert in Photoshop if I'm exporting to 3D Studio.

GB: <With all your trips to New Hampshire, have you met the elusive Niamhgold> Am I really that elusive? Hmmm...my plans work better than expected. But if you're (or him) are ever in the neighborhood, I'm sure we can work something out. Although I don't expect to be staying in NH for much more of my life ;) <Well, I will definitely heed your advice on Apple. I wasn't planning to buy just yet> Well, Apple's rotten. Yes, Imzadi, old joke, but it was just asking for it! ;) <alternative of all the so-called freedom and independence feel smore like Demona-brand loneliness> Some people like being alone but don't feel lonely...I suppose it's to each his/her own. <though I ahve no otehr reaosn to go to New Hampshire :)> I barely have a reason to keep from blowing up NH, or meshing it, Maine, and Vermont into one big Democratic state.

Shadowrider: Hey, compadre, sorry long time no write...I'll be getting to that shortly :) :: Hugs :: and my happy wishes for a great New Year and a successful Euro conversion. Hopefully the market doesn't shudder ;) <Yay! <starts playing "You can leave your hat on"> Go Niamhgold GO! GO! GO! ;)> I don't wear hats ;) Just earmuffs... <...by burning a book, you show your will to impose your beliefs by destroying everything that does not match with your own vision> Very intelligent viewpoint, and I agree. What's interesting is that burning the American flag is pretty much considered a sin, and yet when a boy in my class cuts it into pieces, glues and shellacs it onto a canvas, pours oil on it and then smears dirt on top of that, it's considered a "work of art" and hung in a gallery exhaltation on the heroes of 9-11 ;)

FS: <Just because I may think like a refrigerated dessert...> Doesn't mean I can eat you, eh? <And besides... that only works on humans!> I suppose I'm just going to have to infect you with the anthropormorphic virus.

Winterwolf/Dreamie: Happy New Year, folks! How's it going, Winterwolf? And Dreamie? How do you like college, how'd you do last semester? Info :) :: Hugs ::

Gside: <For two seconds before shuddering and then resolving to take the long way around> No, for two seconds before realizing that if I didn't continue on my route, I was definitely going to get lost and pull myself into the driveway at 4AM never ;) <and then kicked me out of bed once I was asked for> I'll drop in on you one day, maybe drag Emambu and the rest with me. "Uh, dude, you have like a posse of weirdos visiting you at...3 AM". <I do feel your pain> My fingers go perpetually numb in November and don't thaw until April. It's a miracle I ever picked up a pencil. <but I can't tell you about the size of Lebanon (probably larger, wht with three showings vs. one).> That says nothing...perhaps that the theaters are smaller ;) I never really head towards Lebanon, as I'm in the valley of Mt. Washington. But theaters here are small and freezing ; ) <Remember the to reverse the letters r and e especially.> Ah, yes, and really screw them up ;) Horror becomes bad teen movie. <And then we could go look up Daniel Johnson> If I leave with a day to spare, sure :) <You're going to do the portrait? Nice> And it'll be finished when you're all old and gray! ;) Bwhahahaha. <(or that she even existed> Do you now? ;)

This time tomorrow, I'm on vacation. Need to get stuff done.
Adios!

Niamhgold
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 10:00:43 AM
IP: 208.197.116.62

Josh --< <<I think the pain killers I took finally kicked it with the alcohol in my blood stream>>: You realize that can kill you? >

Your concern for my health is touching, Josh. But fear not, it was only a little aspirin. Which when mixed with a bit of plum wine makes me a tad sleepy at 4am in the morning. Go figure.

>^,,^<
Mooncat

Mooncat
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 05:28:35 AM
IP: 65.30.27.68

Hmmm...

Not much doing today. I went for a massage this afternoon. I LOVE doing that. However, it seems they were CLOSED.

Okay, now I know most businesses are closed on New Year's, but what part of "ARE YOU OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S?" is a difficult question to the moron who scheduled the appointment. So I'm massage-less this break. And not happy about it.

After that, it was dinner with my parents, grandparents, and some friends of the family. I was just too tired to be entertaining, so I mostly avoided conversation.

I downloaded the most useless program I've ever downloaded today. Okay, so I've downloaded more useless ones before, but never before have I had the intention of actually KEEPING them. This one, though... well, anyway, it inverts the colors on your screen. All of them. Nothing special, its easy enough to do this in Windows with the display control panel (ugh, the things I remember!), but its fun to look at. And all I have to do is click on the app's icon to switch them back. Quite useless, as I've said, but entertaining all the same.

I've also decided that The Hobbit is really not a good book at all. Tolkien's obsession with commenting on his own writing DURING THE STORY is one of the most boring and ill-conceived writing styles I've ever encountered. Please tell me LotR isn't like this, otherwise I'll just skip the series.

But I guess anyone who's read anything written by me can easily see that I wouldn't enjoy it. Taking out the narrator's commentary on The Hobbit would condense the version I have to approximately half its size.

replies

Mooncat: <<just because she wanted to experiment with whipped cream>>: Don't we all? <<I think the pain killers I took finally kicked it with the alcohol in my blood stream>>: You realize that can kill you?

Taleweaver: <<Call it the height of ego>>: Nah. I'm not big into it either. <<I think we're just too lazy.>>: I agree. <<We just don't have that dedication>>: We are lazy Losangelites ;-) <<I've got the corner the frozen concentrated orange juice market>>: I bet you a buck you can't.

Lady Mystic: <<was considering using a different file name format>>: As long as it isn't .doc, I'll be happy. <<So which do you prefer: choice 1A or 1B?>>: 1B. 1A seems to be a bit redundant. <<If choice B, do you prefer 2A or 2B?>>: Whichever one is easier for you. I know the writing a script that will edit out the last five characters of a file name isn't that tough, and in fact there are several programs that will do it for you.

Silvadel: <<eople can figure out weak 30 is during the summer>>: Are you kidding me? I'm an engineer, and I don't want to go through the math to figure that out. I'd rather think "oh, I said XYZ before finals, therefore it was probably in December" than have to add the extra "so if it was in december, it was weeks 48-52".

Spacebabie: <<did the celelbration for this new years seemed kind of flat>>: Very. <<Of course I'm also feeling icky>>: Sorry to hear that. Feel better. <<It sucks living on the west coast eh?>>: Nope, never. <<Why New York?>>: Because that's where my friends are. Greg, Aaron, Mara, Revel, Lyn...all in NYC. <<or good ol Sunny Florida>>: You'd like that wouldn't you? <<Well the last thing I did was read a magazine so your not really a loser>>: If you say so. <<uh?>>: Okay I picked up on the pattern, it seemed silly.

Fire Storm: <<That was Apple's attempt>>: The first PDA, actually. It was a bit big, but it had built-in handwriting recognition, a 133 MHz processor, all kinds of amazing goodies. Thinks current PDA's still don't have, sadly. <<So, there should be no trouble>>: None. Unless some really cute chicks are feeling bored. <<But it IS possible>>: Yes, I suppose so. <<1394 allows more power down the cable>>: USB bus power would NOT power a vibrator. They barely power speakers. <<Yeah... true>>: "Remember class, tomorrow we'll be starting Wurzel's third law". <<see how far the tech is by now>>: Anything for faster G4's. <<I got to give you engineers limits or you will figure a way around it>>: Actually, our job is usually to figure out a way around it GIVEN the limits. <<The cells that create the sperm themselves?>>: Ugh no idea. I'd imagine that if your testicles get cut off, then you're through. <<but that takes work!>>: Here here!

Sorow: <<I spent it with my cat and we had a blast>>: Kinky. <<No, not really but there was nothing else to do>>: You could come to LA for New Years ;-)

Caliope: Long time no see. <<I hope your all doin' good and had a nice vacation and stuff.>>: Ask me again in three weeks ;-) <<I'm actualy getting a camara>>: Digital? <<cuz it was Filo>>: No one should get C's in a philosophy. It's a joke. Not even a subject, really. <<How could he hate YOU Cali, your so cute!>>: We don't know that. <<a girl could get used to all that attention, hmm?>>: Most of them already are. <<I just couldnt, it just didnt hook me, and trust me, I eat books right up>>: Yeah, I hear you. I love fantasy too, and it just doesn't grab me. <<did you see how long my tomorrow took?>>: That's the longest day ever. <<Vice-prez of the procrastinator's club, I am>>: I was gonna be president, but I put off running ;-) <<And either you or Jake will have to take me ice scating! Just cuz I've never been>>: I'll go. I like to ice skate...I must be the only straight guy who does. <<I scarcely have ICQ and MSN, cuz my bro did some illegal downloading on my dad's lap top>>: ICQ and MSN are free, legal programs.

DPH: <<If he gets married and dies, does his will take over or the marriage contract override that?>>: Technically no, but naturally your future step-mom could get a lawyer and fight it if he didn't change his will before he died.

Okay, I have to work tomorrow, and I'm not too thrilled about it, but it is my last day of work for about...5 days or so. Good times are due for me.

I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
-Mr. Garrison, South Park

Josh "Imzadi" Wurzel - [@kicktothenuts.com]
Encino, CA, US of A
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 02:21:51 AM
IP: 206.170.217.181

Happy New Year, all ... a little late but I worked last night ; ) Watched the fireworks from the Space Needle, very pretty, and got to host a party for the residents (nice of them to warn me ahead of time that I was in charge of the sparkling cider and snacks!).

Christine - [christine@sabledrake.com]
Wednesday, January 2, 2002 12:37:20 AM
IP: 64.24.34.62

Rodlox, that's not an the anagram of my user id. The anagram I am concerned is much worse IMHO.
DPH
AR, USA
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 11:34:29 PM
IP: 204.94.193.63


DPH: well...you mean this?:
<AR, USA> into - "Ah, you arse!" ["A' U ARS!"].

just joking. no offense intended. sorry.
<-MIB fan. :)

rodlox
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 09:48:41 PM
IP: 24.3.26.209

DPH: <will>
IF I understand the law correctly, if there is no will, marriage contract rules.
If there is a will, the will overrides all. Now, the will can be redrawn, but what stays, goes. In your case, the new bride will proablly be entitled to most of what he aquires while they are married, regardless of the will, but everything before that, she has no legal claim.

But I could be wrong. Talk to a lawyer.

Fire Storm
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 09:19:48 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

Lady Mystic - Actually, I'm for rendundacy. All the CR archives made within a year are stored in their own folder (don't want too files in a single folder) and use the format mm-dd-yyyy.html.

Spacebabie - Actually, that's a bad omen. Last time I made caramel popcorn, I took an oven out of commission.

Imzadi & Green Baron - <<It feels good to post regularly> Whenever I don't, I feel like I've missed an important part of my day.>I thought it was just me who felt that way.

I just made another batch of normal cornbread. I just dawned on me the last batch of cornbread I made before this one had haberno peppers in it. BTW, I left some of that cornbread outside and some animal ate it up.

The first person who does list a certain anagram of my user id gets bombarbed with nuclear weapons.

I did an anagram of my dad's full name. Among the more interesting ones were "Ably hire with glory." and "Worth big hairy yell.".

I need to know the answer to a question: My dad has an existing will and plans on getting married. If he gets married and dies, does his will take over or the marriage contract override that? Why am I asking? I have one brother and his would-be wife has an adopted son. There is an agreement among my dad's family that certain plots of land stay in the immediate family and I believe in that agreement. I am concerned about the adopted son wanting to lay claim to things which belonged to my dad before he married.

**DPH takes aim at his dad for not letting Daniel get enough sleep.**

I was tired, and you denied me rest. - myself, extrapolating from the B-I-B-L-E.

DPH
AR, USA
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 09:10:40 PM
IP: 204.94.193.11

Hey! ^_^ Here I am again, hope I can get through the whole dang post this time!!! :P
So, I hope your all doin' good and had a nice vacation and stuff. As for me, They were good, I got socks! :P hehe its always so fun to say that, ppl look at you kindda like ah, poor bastard thats all she got?! but they actualy say oh! uh, yey! Good for you, why, I love socks! :P I'm actualy getting a camara, + I got some nice leather boots =^_^=
As far as my studies, my semester went pretty well, I got 3 A's and a C...which is my first C in college, but I'm FINE with it, cuz it was Filo, and my Prof. hated me with a passion (Whah? How could he hate YOU Cali, your so cute!!!...I know *shakes head* :P) most likely cuz I spent his dumb @$$ class doodling in my note book, then I'd answere his test questions, and the sum of his vast knowledg @_@ in about 4 pages of big hand writing :P I most proabably failed in the quizes, I suck at True or False :P
Oh well, next semester looks to be good too, I'm taking photography, digital image, contep. art...and....uh...2 other classes I forgot :P but I think one of them is some literature or other :P I hope I do good this semester too :P
Ah! I also had my first quasi-big Art Expo! It was so exciting! Kindda wierd, having ppl stare at my work, and point at things and comment to eachother, but it was good! ^_^ Ah, a girl could get used to all that attention, hmm? :P
Lessee, what else....Oh! Movies!
Harry Potter> It was actualy a pretty good movie, tho they did skip alot of quirky, funny parts in the books that I so loved, but it was to be expected. Ah! And they totaly downplayed the twins! They're some of the best characters! Ah well, we'll see what they do with the next movie. As far as the books go, I enjoyed reading them, the cliché-ness of the whole magic thing annoyed me a bit, but not enough to make me stop reading. As for book buring, as a catholic cristian that I am, I have one thing to say...ridiculous. Ok, on then...

LoTRs: .....wow, that was a visualy stunning movie...and the plot wasnt bad either :P Plus it only helped to enhance my elf fetish even more Oooo Legolas...yummm :P I'd have to say that personaly, it went well beyond the book with me, cuz I couldent manage to even finish readding The Hobbit. I just couldnt, it just didnt hook me, and trust me, I eat books right up, quick death :P But I LOVED the movie, saw it 2 times now :P So, who knows, I might try and read them again, see how far I get :P
Now for some long overdo replys :P

Josh> <<I hate it when that happens.>> heh, yeah tell me about it...and did you see how long my tomorrow took? Vice-prez of the procrastinator's club, I am ;P <<<CSU Northridge>>: Hey! That's my neck of the woods. If you're there, we should hang.>> Really?! Thats great! Thats 2 ppl I might meet! And either you or Jake will have to take me ice scating! Just cuz I've never been ;P <<Gah! Cursed ICQ. Get AIM!>> lol What are you crazy, I scarcely have ICQ and MSN, cuz my bro did some illegal downloading on my dad's lap top :P

Niamgold> Your taking Animation classes?!?! Ooo I envie you!! where do you go to college, if ya dont mind my asking?

Well, I must go, the afor mentioned brother is nagging the life outta me cuz I'm on too early, and its his net time right now, so I'm off! See ya guys!!! *HUGZ all* Bye!

Caliope
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 09:09:26 PM
IP: 196.42.36.147

**Winterwolf walks into the room with a very happy bounce in his step as he carries Dreamie in his arms not wanting to let go for a second**

Happy New Year from both of us!

(Winterwolf) Gah! My email is still on the blink so I'm behind on email. I'll be writing once I manage to get to my inbox. :(

Lynati> **opens the gift with Dreamie** Both of us absolutely love the ornaments you hand crafted! **HUG** **looks over the spectacular Winterwolf and Dreamie made out of copper** The two of us will treasure it always. ^_^

Lynati, Emambu, Revel, Aaron, Mara, GXB> I had fun hanging out in NY. (Winterwolf) Next time someone has to give me more info as my anime knowledge is much too limited. Anyone want to give the two of us a crash cours sometime?

Well that's all for the moment. Until next time.

**Dreamie is lovingly carried out of the CR by Winterwolf**

Dreamie and Winterwolf
Seattle, WA
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 07:47:31 PM
IP: 172.181.159.74

Happy New Year everybody! I hope everyone had a great night, I spent it with my cat and we had a blast! No, not really but there was nothing else to do.
SOROW
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 04:54:16 PM
IP: 209.254.213.234

Sorry. The Microphone is not on.
Fire Storm
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 04:51:24 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

*taps microphone* hello?

Tuesday, January 1, 2002 04:13:14 PM
IP: 12.110.237.15

Todd Jensen: <Though the newspaper comments on it in the op-ed section that I read this morning were focused more on the "paper money" aspect of it, which didn't show up on the link.>
I remember there being a link to the paper money somewhere on that site that said that all the paper money was the same.
They all show the milenium bridge.

Imzadi: <The Newton was kind of cool>
That was Apple's attempt at one, right?
<All I have to do is get myself my own woman. It only makes me ill when I'm single>
So, there should be no trouble making you sick at the Gathering, right? ;)
<Damn, you have a big fridge>
Well, the one in the basement IS big enough for the many bodies I bring home for dinner.
<Not a good size for ANY dimension>
True! 2mm diameter X 1M length! ;)
<May, yes. But unlikely. Full UNIX programs run on OS X, yeah, but through X-windows usually, which takes forever and a day to compile>
But it IS possible!
<But if you only want ONE cord, then it has to be firewire>
1394 allows more power down the cable?
<Dunno, I'd have to ask>
Because if it has the computer controls too, it may just be worth it for the funnyness!
<Followed by her marriage to Pistoff>
Oh, that WOULD be funny!
<Yeah, but it'd be a waste of effort. I'd rather just take credit for Newton's discoveries>
Yeah... true. OR introduce the ability to make computer chips in the past and see how far the tech is by now.
<Right, because if you time travelled you'd really bring nukes along with you>
Well, i was saying ALL modern tech, if brought back to the past.
<Oh sure, take all the fun out of technicalities!>
Hey, I got to give you engineers limits or you will figure a way around it!
<And they always get the merit badges because they're so fashionable>
"Hmm... now, what badge do I go for? I would go with the rock climbing one, but it clashes with my canoe building one!"
<Hardly. That's one of the functions of testicles>
Oh, I know that the sperm number is not fixed, but what about the number of sperm parent cells? The cells that create the sperm themselves?
<How rare it is to have proof for one of your statements>
Too rare, damnit!
<Sounds like someone's had tee many martoonies>
:)
But that is just how I say it. Most people can't tell the difference!
Or I may say Merry New Year
<Don't jinx it>
He did. He asked.

Lady Mystic: <POLL: TGS CR ARCHIVE / NEED INPUT>
Well, you know my opinion. If you must change it, throw all of them in one directory and label them yyyymmdd.html

Silvadel: <People can figure out weak 30 is during the summer>
Yeah, but that takes work! I prefer date ranges.

Fire Storm
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 02:45:24 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

Happy New Year everyone!

Was it just me or did the celelbration for this new years seemed kind of flat. I mean compared to last year's start of the new millenium and the y2k hooplah in the year before...Well you know what I mean.
Of course I'm also feeling icky.

one thing I hate about a cold is that it dulls the sense of taste. So I can't enjoy all the good stuff we have around the house, but here is a strange thing. I was drinking wine and chanpagen and I could taste the grapes!

Here is something wiered. I think my little Cat, Charisma has a thing for Russel Crowe. I recieved my entertainment Weekly yesterday and his mug was on the cover. I place it on my bed and left the room. When I returned Charisma was licking his image. She has already licked half his face off.

And now for something funny
Both my parents made biscut's this morning. My dad's batch looked like biscuts. my Mother's looked like pancakes.

DPH<<<We're on a roll: no questions being asked for 10 days in a row about when Timedancer will premiere. >>> Knock on wood<<<Why don't you try to make caramel popcorn?>>> Yes Mooncat needs to make Caramel Corn!!!!!!


Josh<<<We're the last important city to be hit with the new day. >>>It sucks living on the west coast eh?<<<If I didn't have a REALLY good excuse not to be in NYC right now, I'd be pissed.>>>Why New York? Why not New Jerset, Maryland, the Carolinas or good ol Sunny Florida ah?<<<As it is, I spent tonight alone being a loser (reading The Hobbit).>>>Well the last thing I did was read a magazine so your not really a loser ih?<<<I'm gonna go to sleep and wake up when I have a life>>>I felt like doing that too, except its wake up when this cold is gone, but I guess that’s different oh?<<<We decided to eat at home tonight instead of going to this AMAZING chinese restaurant that we love, which makes me a bit bitter, but my parents have agreed to take me another night before I leave.>>>So you are going to go uh?

Mooncat<<<I think the pain killers I took finally kicked it with the alcohol in my blood stream>>> Whoa and I felt I was going to be knocked out from that lil wine and cold medicine <<< woof>>> a cat that goes Woof…hmmmm

ohmygodijustreturnedfromworkandnoticedastackofpaperthreefeettallandiwent Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Spacebabie
Orlandi, Fl
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 01:24:08 PM
IP: 67.25.55.33

Lady Mystic -- Actually Since the base is cleared on a weekly basis, I think the easiest and probably most accurate way would be to make it week/year. IE 1_01 through 52_01. People can figure out weak 30 is during the summer. This also would make it easier to go from week to week than to have some complex month/day system.
silvadel
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 08:57:33 AM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Another correction:
2A. Only files added from this point on should use the new file name format (method 1B) WHILE pre-existing files maintain their original file names (method 1A). (NOTE: This would result in *two* types of file name formats used for the CR Archive.)

(Had choices reversed. Sorry for the triple post.)

Lady Mystic
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 08:20:02 AM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Correction: [EX: 2002/01-05.html instead of 2002/01-05-2002.html]
Lady Mystic
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 08:16:48 AM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Happy New Year everyone! :)


***** TGS CR ARCHIVE UPDATE *****

The CR archive has been updated to include weeks from December 16th to December 31st for a total of 2 weeks added to the 2001 database. (Click name link.)

>> http://tgs.gargoyles-fans.org/cr/archive/2001/

***** END TGS CR ARCHIVE UPDATE *****


***** POLL: TGS CR ARCHIVE / NEED INPUT *****

I will soon be adding a new directory for archived CR weeks of 2002 and was considering using a different file name format. (NOTE: Files will remain in HTML format for the time being.)

Most of you should be familiar with the current method of file names and file structure, with the full numerically dated file stored in its respective year's directory. [EX: 2001/12-31-2001.html] I have been considering omitting the year from the file's name since the directory name should be more than sufficient. I would have done this from the start but was concerned about confusion from users and "quirks" in the web server concerning files with identical names and sizes. However, the server quirks seemed to have ended and thus may not be a concern any longer.

If I do this, file names would consist of the numerical month and day while remaining within the original directory. [EX: 2001/01-05.html instead of 2002/01-05-2002.html] I would prefer to know what you think before making such a dramatic change.

1. So which do you prefer: choice 1A or 1B?

1A. Full date: 2001/12-31-2001.html

1B. Month & day: 2001/12-31.html

2. If choice B, do you prefer 2A or 2B?

2A. Only files added from this point on should use the new file name format (method 1A) WHILE pre-existing files maintain their original file names (method 1B). (NOTE: This would result in *two* types of file name formats used for the CR Archive.)

2B. New files added from this point on AND pre-existing files should adopt the new file name format (method 1B).

Thanks for your help! :)

***** END POLL: TGS CR ARCHIVE / NEED INPUT *****


***** GATHERING MOTOR CITY 2004 BID *****

Bid site: http://www.geocities.com/xanacorp/GMC2004/

The GMC2004 website was updated several days ago.
Details: http://pub84.ezboard.com/fgmc2004frm5.showMessage?topicID=7.topic

We're also looking for volunteers, additional staffers and help! Details: http://pub84.ezboard.com/fgmc2004frm3.showMessage?topicID=4.topic

AND we are still looking for feedback concerning G2001's convention hotel, the alternate hotel and other accommodations. If you attended last year's con (or other previous Gatherings) we'd really appreciate your participation in our survey: http://pub84.ezboard.com/fgmc2004frm4.showMessage?topicID=6.topic Thanks! :)

***** END GATHERING MOTOR CITY 2004 BID *****

Lady Mystic - [lady-mystic@usa.net]
Head Admin of TGS CR Information
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 08:13:31 AM
IP: 64.109.143.22

Merry New Year!

Call it the height of ego, but I usually don't go in to celebrating New Years. My new year starts on my birthday. Still any excuse to party is okay in my book.

A LA New Years> I agree its pretty dull here in So Cal. I think we're just too lazy. It takes a lot of work for New Yorkers to get out in the winter cold, crowd into the streets with million other guys and dolls who are too drunk and too loud all for the sake of it hitting 12 on the dot. We just don't have that dedication.

TGS discussion> Since it recieved such a good response before the holidays, I thought it'd be worth continuing.

Episode - The Journey & Fallout 2
I thought I'd lump them both together to make up for the absent week, but also get response on how well Fallout dovetailed Journey. Did it give a good overview of the characters.

Character Spotlight - Brooklyn
Actually this spotlight focuses on pre-Timedancer Brooklyn. The big thing was Brooklyn's look for love in most of the wrong places, but he also had growing pains with Goliath. Any other insights on Brooklyn before the Phoenix Gate picked him up?

Well, I've got the corner the frozen concentrated orange juice market. See you on Wall Street.


Taleweaver - [loermaster27@hotmail.com]
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 05:34:44 AM
IP: 24.205.118.88

Ack! The room went and refreshed while I was gone. Oh well... I'm soooooooooooooo tired. And it isn't even 4am yet. I'm sooooooooooooo stuffed *^_^* -- lovely New Year's Snack spread at my friends. My anime mistress spoils me. She made a Chocolate Kahlua (sp?) cake just for me. Oh, was divine. My belated birthday cake, *^_~* -- heh. Besides the Kahlua baked in the cake, there's the glaze where the alcohol isn't baked out, and this fantastic whipped cream stuff she did, just because she wanted to experiment with whipped cream. Mmm...


I had Honey Mead, Plum Wine, Sparkling Wine, some Zinfindel (sp?) etc... I'm going to have to bring over a roast or something tomorrow so we can finish off all the half tapped bottles we went through. We did a lot sampling, I didn't take big drinks, but a small portion of each. Well, except for the plum wine, *^_~* --- mmmm!

We had our traditional (2nd year in a row) Black Adder marathon, along with some great anime, but no Iron Chef this year. Many people showed up and fun and merriment was had by all. If our hostess didn't have to go to church tomorrow in the early wee hours, I'd be there still.

Going to crash early tonight. Must sleep. Desperately need sleep. I think the pain killers I took finally kicked it with the alcohol in my blood stream... woof...

Huggles to all
It's 2002 *^_^*
Mooncat
>^,,^<

Mooncat
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 05:03:11 AM
IP: 65.30.27.68

Happy New Years! I figured out why Los Angeles doesn't do anything spiffy like in NYC. Because no one frikkin' cares. We're the last important city to be hit with the new day.

If I didn't have a REALLY good excuse not to be in NYC right now, I'd be pissed. As it is, I spent tonight alone being a loser (reading The Hobbit). I'm gonna go to sleep and wake up when I have a life.

Today was not quite as annoying as the previous two days. I was only at work for a little while, because we ran out of inventory tags and won't get more in till Wednesday. So I went home early.

We decided to eat at home tonight instead of going to this AMAZING chinese restaurant that we love, which makes me a bit bitter, but my parents have agreed to take me another night before I leave.

anyway, replies.

Mooncat: <<wondering if the room will refresh before the year ends>>: Maybe it won't UNTIL the year ends. <<My heater died yester day>>: ACK! Sounds like you're apartment is as cold as mine. <<Me and the kitties are freezing our choobies off>>: What are choobies? <<I think I'm going to get fat>>: Ugh, why? <<He cleaned and serviced my heater>>: Why is it that anything you say sounds dirty? Is it because you write porn? <<drive safe, drive sober, and keep your eyes out for the dopes who don't>>: i.e. the entire population of Los Angeles.

Shadowrider: <<twelve European countries will switch from their old currencies to a new common one, the Euro>>: Worth roughly 1 canadian dollar, or 8 american cents. ;-) <<now is united in a single currency>>: So long as Germany doesn't start that whole "conquer the world" thing. <<I knew you had right-wing ideas, but this said me nothing about your background>>: It often comes from background. I know my ideas do. <<Never been on a bike, aren't you? A pity...you'll never know how goot it feels>>: I haven't been on a motorcycle yet either. But I was on a moped when I was 8, and that ROCKED. <<what else could we need>>: Cameras. And more strippers. <<why did you decide to build a model of the Skyray?>>: I like modern-era jets, usually fighters. I have two F-15's, and F-14, and F-16, and F-18, and an F-117. The skyray, though slightly older, is still pretty freakin cool-looking. My next one will probably be either an Su-27 or a 1/48 scale B-1, which is 3 feet long from nose to tail. <<Good bikes, confortable...no compare with Ducati, anyway>>: I suppose. If I had a bike, it would be for speed, not comfort 8-)

Kathy: <<Their followers just might be tempted to use their imaginations and that could lead to thinking for themselves. And if that happened well then these so called "men of god" would find themselves without fat bank accounts and worshipping masses>>: One of the many reasons I laugh at organized religion.

Green Baron: <<It feels good to post regularly>>: Whenever I don't, I feel like I've missed an important part of my day. <<even if she is Catholic, she can use it for puroses like regulating her period, plus very few Catholcis actually heed that rule in this country, anyway>>: I thought it was expressly forbidden, along with condoms. Are THOSE allowed under special circumstances? <<If I went up there, I'd make visiting the Niamhgold a top priority, though I ahve no otehr reaosn to go to New Hampshire>>: Have a crush, do you? <<That would be nice, but I don't want spoiled children>>: Oh gee THANKS! Well, you're right, I am spoiled. But I could be worse, believe it or not. <<it may promote drug use :) Just look at Shaggy>>: I'd rather look at Sarah Michelle Gellar. <<You may want to work on it if you become Harry Potter or a charcter in a Star Wars movie>>: No, that's alright. Too lazy. <<Oddly eough, I should too, since my mother's flat. So much for Freud>>: I don't have a good answer to this that won't get me in trouble with someone. <<I suspect FireStorm is getting more than you and SJ combined>>: That isn't saying much. ANY is more than we're getting. <<Mine were 28. That sounds like a reasonable age. I used to say 35, but no one can ever keep such promises>>: I'm not missing out on my 20's. Marriage, perhaps (however unlikely). But NO KIDS. <<I also beleive the Virgin Mary is strongly involved with me finding the right woman>>: She must be very bored. <<I think the Bible is more focused on the worship of magic as a substitute for Yahweh, whch can also apply to science as well>>: Now that's interesting. So it'd be acceptable to to practice wizardry if you believed that your powers came from Jesus? <<You mean men of gold>>: Gold, god, same thing.

Fire Storm: <<PDA's make Imzadi puke>>: The Newton was kind of cool. <<coordinated strike>>: All I have to do is get myself my own woman. It only makes me ill when I'm single. <<all I dream about is just lying in the fridge>>: Damn, you have a big fridge. <<Like, 2mm>>: Not a good size for ANY dimension ;-) <<thenit MAY be able to be ported to Unix>>: May, yes. But unlikely. Full UNIX programs run on OS X, yeah, but through X-windows usually, which takes forever and a day to compile. <<low bandwidth application like the iBrator>>: Yes, I suppose as long as it has a separate power cord then it would be more than powerful enough. But if you only want ONE cord, then it has to be firewire. <<was it just colored like an iBrator>>: Dunno, I'd have to ask. <<would you please stop writing that filth?>>: Followed by her marriage to Pistoff. <<could you just imagine what you could do with modern tech?>>: Yeah, but it'd be a waste of effort. I'd rather just take credit for Newton's discoveries. <<I can make that mountain disappear>>: Right, because if you time travelled you'd really bring nukes along with you. <<you went and saw the news?>>: Surprisingly similar. <<The future depends on it>>: No pressure or anything. <<I wish Advil worked on those headaches>>: Try a miter saw. <<not on a drafting ruler>>: Oh sure, take all the fun out of technicalities! <<They are too good at doing the crafts>>: And they always get the merit badges because they're so fashionable. <<but I play one on TV>>: What show? <<Timedancer was released last week>>: Uh huh. I see. <<is that number relatively fixed>>: Hardly. That's one of the functions of testicles: making more sperm. If we had it all from birth, you'd need an organ the size of a v8 engine. A female only has to store about twelve eggs a year for 40 or so years. That's a little under 500 eggs, and those are just a single cell each. That's not much space. Easily stored in TWO ovaries. But a single "sample" from a male is many orders of magnitude larger than an egg, holding several hundred thousand (or even a couple million) sperm. Multiply that by the number of times you've had an orgasm and you'll realize that its just not possible for us to be born with all of it. <<now I can back up...with proof>>: How rare it is to have proof for one of your statements ;-) <<HARPY CHEW BEER>>: Sounds like someone's had tee many martoonies.

DPH: <<no questions being asked for 10 days in a row about when Timedancer will premiere>>: Don't jinx it. <<Anybody got a free unused miracle that he/she wants to share with the TGS staff?>>: Nope, I used all mine. <<I tried to explain to him how instant messaging works, but your answer seems better>>: I thought so. <<Quite a few spammers have been claiming to comply with the new law>>: But most don't. <<Those were the special effects>>: Sorry, must have fallen asleep. <<blackmail>>: That's the first good idea I've heard! <<That should create quite a few headaches>>: Yeah, but you'd have to sit in the line, which is a waste of time.

Rodlox: <<has anyone else been getting 15 'happy new year' emails from "Peter Wood" recently>>: Nope, not important enough. <<cruelty displayed to Orcs>>: I don't think they count as an "intelligent" species. <<I'm patient>>: You have to wait till I take over, for that is the final sign.

Jaden: <<The only treatment known today, I believe, is a swift kick up-side the head>>: When I take over, free kicks to the head will be available as part of universal health care!

Greg/Lyn/Revel: <<We're drunk, we can't count.>>: What I wouldn't give to be in NYC right now.

Okay I'm tired. Yes, its only just past midnight.

And now you see that evil will always win, because good is dumb.
-Dark Helmut (Rich Morranis), Spaceballs

Josh "Imzadi" Wurzel - [@kicktothenuts.com]
Encino, CA, US of A
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 03:28:35 AM
IP: 206.170.217.55


well, we on the Eastern Seaboard are still here....so, either the End comes once the last Time Zone has New Years tonight....or we have to wait for either the Jewish year 6000, or the Muslim year 2000.

*shrugs* I'm patient.


rodlox
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 12:23:47 AM
IP: 24.3.26.209

14th!

Happy 2002, all...

Mandolin
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 12:13:02 AM
IP: 65.9.246.205

HARPY CHEW BEER!
Fire Storm
Tuesday, January 1, 2002 12:06:36 AM
IP: 64.109.143.22

1st post of the new year in the TGS CR
DPH
AR, USA
Monday, December 31, 2001 11:57:45 PM
IP: 204.94.193.22

Oh well, I didn't make top 10 post for the first of the year.
DPH
AR, USA
Monday, December 31, 2001 11:39:48 PM
IP: 204.94.193.12

TOP 10!!
DPH
AR, USA
Monday, December 31, 2001 11:29:12 PM
IP: 204.94.193.12

We're drunk, we can't count.
Greg Bishansky, Lynati, Revel
Monday, December 31, 2001 10:57:00 PM
IP: 216.179.1.74

SIXTH!!!
Greg Bishansky, Lynati, Revel
Monday, December 31, 2001 10:56:29 PM
IP: 216.179.1.74

Of course, if the PIT Crew ever came face to face with the Orcs, they might change their minds about the movie portrayal of them being an unjust maligning. Or at least, the survivors would.
Todd Jensen - [merlyn1@mindspring.com]
St. Louis, MO
Monday, December 31, 2001 10:11:07 PM
IP: 168.191.109.234

Top Ten. I think ninth.
Alan Coleman Waltip
Odessa/Midland, Texas
Monday, December 31, 2001 10:03:46 PM
IP: 24.219.232.186

8th!!!!!
Peter - [hybridone@ignmail.com]
Williams Lake, BC, Canada
Monday, December 31, 2001 10:01:50 PM
IP: 209.52.175.167

Lucky number 7!

It's a couple hours early still, but Happy New Year!

LotR > Read the disclaimers: "No orcs, dwarves, hobbits, elves or golums were harmed in the making of this motion picture." ;)

:: heads off to ring in the New Year ::

Patrick Toman
Monday, December 31, 2001 09:54:52 PM
IP: 64.109.40.214

6th or 7th!!
"And in other news, People For Interspecies Tolerance, PIT, protested against the cruelty displayed to Orcs in the new _Lord Of The Rings_ films."

:)

rodlox
Monday, December 31, 2001 09:45:00 PM
IP: 24.3.26.209

5th!
metaldemon
Monday, December 31, 2001 09:19:39 PM
IP: 24.219.166.91

4th
silvadel
Monday, December 31, 2001 08:59:13 PM
IP: 208.59.247.8

Third?
Skippy The Klingon
Monday, December 31, 2001 08:47:45 PM
IP: 209.245.243.66

Second!
Fire Storm
Monday, December 31, 2001 08:46:37 PM
IP: 208.143.21.10

first!
Josh
Monday, December 31, 2001 08:44:42 PM
IP: 206.170.218.233

----