Panda

Poor little thread died a horrible death. Let's put it to rest. RIP. -Panda

The Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, Chupacabra, ghosts and even Elvis sightings- are they really out there or are just the creation of overactive imaginations? We have watched countless movies and documentaries on the subject of these mythical creatures and visions. We see true believers who are convinced 100% of the existence of those unknown entities. On the other side we see the skeptics who believe they are all tricks and want scientific proof of the existence of those same creatures. Are you a skeptic or do you believe these things really do exist. Where on the scale of belief / disbelief do you fall? I find myself to be a bit more on the skeptical side. I find all the tales of aliens, creatures and ghosts to be quite interesting. I don't want to say that they don't exist (except for Elvis, but I will get to that in a bit.) since our world, as well as our universe, is too big and unexplored to say nothing is out there. My take on aliens and mythical creatures is that if we don't even understand our own planet and the inhabitants there is no way we can be 100% sure there is no other intelligent life out there. For example the Coelacanth. We thought that it had gone extinct yet a live one appeared one day back in 1930's! If we can't even figure out what is alive on our own planet how can we know what is out in the vast universe? I think there are a lot of hoaxes out there to help carry on the legend of things like Bigfoot and the Lock Ness Monster. After all they bring in so much revenue for the people in the areas of sightings someone is bound to want to keep the legend alive. Just because there are hoaxes I don't think I can rule out their existence without a second thought. Elvis and other dead celebrity sightings. I think that it is just wishful thinking. Fans who would like their favorite celebrity to still be alive and well. Heck, Elvis lives in my hometown. His car license plate says "Elvis 1" so it must be him. Sideburns, big shades, heavy set...he looks exactly like the King! So, what do you believe? Are they out there or are there just too many wild imaginations?

I live in the States, Washington state to be exact. The farthest place I have traveled was the Bahamas. I have been there twice. I doubt I will go again since it was actually a bit depressing. The first visit wasn't that bad since I had gone there while on a cruise ship. We came into port and basically stuck around in the touristy areas which were pretty nice. My second trip back was more of an eye opener. My husband use to be a banner pilot in Florida. His former boss owns part of Chalks. Chalks is a sea plane company. He gave us tickets to the Bahamas for our wedding gift. We flew out of Miami and first stopped at North Bimini. This picture I found on line and I wanted to use it as a visual. [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/Panda_chan_/misc/seaplane.jpg[/IMG][/center] The white building on the right is the Customs officer's office. Where the plane is going is towards a ramp to get on the land. The three story building is actually the thing that made us feel that we weren't in the States anymore. On the right side of the building in really big black messy letters was spray painted the message. "NEVIL SHUNT YOU ARE NEXT!". Needless to say we just hoped that who ever wanted to get Nevil didn't come back right then and mistake us for Nevil! From there we flew out to Paradise Island. To get to the resort we were staying at we had to drive past the residential area. It was very economically depressed area. A major contrast between the big money resorts and tourist traps. It really made you feel guilty for going on a vacation seeing how many of these people live. Of course without the tourist they wouldn't have employment so in a weird symbiotic relationship where everyone is benefiting in some small way. We stayed one week then got back on the sea plane to fly back to Miami. It really was an eye opener. I really don't think I will ever go back to the Bahamas again.

If money were not an object, or if the alien abducted me and we could go anywhere, I would take then to see the seven wonders of the natural world. That would include Mt. Everest, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Paricutin, the harbor of Rio de Janeiro and the Northern Lights. This would allow the alien a glimpse as to what natural beauty our planet holds. I think the alien would probably have misconceptions about the wars going on all around the planet. Since this alien comes from a peaceful society seeing civil unrest would make them think we are violent creatures. On the other hand this alien would also see how diverse all the people of the Earth can be. Religions, languages and customs of all the different people would surely be interesting to the alien. I would definitely show both the good and bad of our planet.

The answer to mine is One Thousand. Morpheus you got it right! Baron, I have no idea on yours. I like DarkOtakuBoy's answer. It seems like it would be one of those roundabout questions. I do have an answer for instantramen14's riddle! [QUOTE=instantramen14]I am in rock but not in stone I'm in marrow but not in bone I'm in bloster, not in bed. I'm not living I'm not dead. What am I?[/QUOTE] You are the letter "R"! The letter R is in rock but not stone, in marrow but not bone, in bloster and not in bed. Since it is a letter it is not alive or dead! Here is another riddle for you guys! It's an easy one. Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?

Sorry I wandered away from this thread for so long. I missed a few good riddles. I will use spoiler tags if some of you still want a shot at guessing. The answer to my question is this: [spoiler]They are all someone?s best friend. Dogs:Man, Diamonds:Girls, Double Plays:Baseball [/spoiler] I will have to think about some of the new riddles. If I have a guess I will be back to edit in my answers. Sheesh, I forgot to add the riddle I was going to ask everyone! I think I need to go to bed. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

This thread has the potential to become spammy. Some of the responses are boarderline as they stand now. I will allow this thread to stay open for discussion as long as it contains good quality posts. Just making short statements like "That guy is lame" or other one line posts are not acceptable. Now on the subject at hand... As mentioned before people will sell the strangest things through on line auctions. I remember hearing about an entire town, a guy selling his mother (actually when examined it was only her advice on life.) and even one young man sold his virginity. People do things like this for a) publicity. b) money. c) mental illness. In reality I think the only one out of all those unusual auction items who wins would be the auction site. They get the listing fee.

Uncool entertainment...hmm that is a tough one. Seeing how [i]everything[/i] I do is cool this is a difficult question to answer. Bah, who am I kidding. Most of the activites I consider entertainment I am sure someone would say is uncool. Posting on anime based message boards, watching anime, reading manga, crocheting...it could all be considered uncool. The thing that I think takes the crown for most uncool thing I do for entertainment is karaoke. I am not a singer but I love to sing. I love to sing cheesy 80's power ballads! Oh well, at least it's not something like watching paint dry.

Oh how I have been in your shoes, including the Asian parent thing too. In school I was always a good student. Honors classes and the entire bit. By the time I started my Junior year in high school I only needed one required class to graduate. That is when I started to slack off a bit. I ended up with a really REALLY bad grade (bad by my parents' standard) in Calculus. Mind you I passed but a "C" is not a good grade to have on my report card. Yes, I got a "C" in math and I am Asian...shocking isn't it! I basically just told my parents outright that I had neglected my studies and that I was just totally burned out on school and studies. At this time besides hight school I was taking some classes at the community college and working part time. I got the lecture that you would expect from disappointed parents about how education is important and stuff. Then they hit me with the "we are just disappointed in you" statement since "we expect more from you". Ouch. But they did like the fact that I came out and told them and took responsibility for my actions. I went into the situation expecting it to be bad. Taking it head on was much better than sitting around waiting and wondering how my parents would explode. Cyriel, I wish you the best of luck with the parents. It's tough when you have parents who put such high expectations on your grades. I definitely feel your pain. When you step back and look at the big picture grades really aren't everything in the world. They just feel like they are at this point. Hopefully your parents will be able to see that.

Religious discussions always bring out the best and worst in people. I was raised in a mixed house of religion. Many members of my family are Bhuddist including my father. My mother was Bhuddist and converted to Christianity after moving to the States. I grew up going to a Christian Missionary church. I married a member of the Church of the Bretheren. We got married in a Presbyterian church. So many different view points, so many ideas of what is right. All this mixed together produces what I believe today. I believe at this point in my life that all those religions have merit. I don't go to church currently but I try to live my life in a positive way. Do unto others. I guess it all comes down to the fact that I am still searching and learning.

[quote name='Charles']Furthermore, when people pull silly stunts like that, it will identify them as poor members early, and staff will be able to eliminate them before they can produce equally poor threads.[/quote] True, very true. We would see the poor quality posters and set them on the right path before they make a thread of the same poor quality. [quote name='Dagger IX1']Lastly, one thing I definitely would support is disabling the reply & quick-reply buttons for the member who has made the last post in a thread (i.e. to totally block double-posting).[/quote] I definitely second this suggestion. That would help quite a bit dealing with the double posts. I am not sure how many times I have seen double and triple posts by new members who don't understand the rules.

I have always been told to do what I love and it won't be work. I became a Veterinary Technician because I love working with animals. Veterinary medicine, unlike human medicine, does not pay well. You can live comfortably, but not worry-free. I would go to work everyday and see all kinds of animals. Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, monkeys...it was something different everyday and that made it exciting. Unfortunately I had to retire early due to my health. I still go into the clinic to visit and sometimes get drafted to help. I don't get paid for the work but that doesn't matter since I love being able to help a sick animal. I have now moved on to freelance writing. I love writing and interviewing people. It is a great creative outlet. My writings may not pay the big bucks but that is fine. I get to do something I love when I feel healthy. There are the fringe benefits of course like meeting "famous" people. It's all good. If someone finds pleasure from my interviews and articles then it is worth it. What about you Kurai Ookami, what is more important to you? The career itself or the paycheck?

I see the benefits of this idea. It would eliminate the introduction threads that seem to pop up every now and again. It would also help new members see how things work on the boards. On the flip side I worry that preventing someone from starting a new thread could cause some new members to try to get their 50 posts in as quickly as possible. Quantity being put second to quality. If a new member wanted to start a new thread they may be tempted to respond to a bunch of threads just to get their member status. I just worry that post quality may suffer because of the rule. Other than that I like the idea. I do see thread quality increasing since members will have a better idea of what is expected when starting a thread. I just worry about the individual post quality becoming poor so a new member can start a thread.

The answer to my riddle is Simon! You rock elfpirate! Let's keep this from getting spammy by explaining how you came up with your answer. Now, moving on to the new riddles... [quote name='elfpirate']He starts and ends two common English words- one painful in love and the other painful in everyday matters. What two words does he begin and end?[/quote] Heartache and Headache. The "he" in question are the first two and last two letters in the words heartache and headache. [quote=sinna]I am mountains without stone, Forests without trees, Oceans without water, And land without earth. What am I?[/quote] I think you are a map! Maps have all those geological features but they are only drawn on paper, not the actual items. [quote name='elfpirate']I am a 9- letter English word. I am a new English word every time you take away a single letter... from 9 letters down to one. What word am I and what are the words that are created by removing my letters one by one?[/quote] The first word is startling. Taking a letter away from each subsequent word results in the following list: starting, staring, string, sting, sing, sin, in and I. My contribution to the thread is this riddle: What do these 3 things have in common? Dogs, Diamonds and Double-plays?

You rock Altron! Envelope is the correct answer! I will add another riddle for you since you said you couldn't add one. Think of it as your prize since you got my riddle right. My first is in Sally and in Sam My second is in Ian but not in John My third is in Mark and in Mandy My fourth is in Owen but not in Kevin My last is in Jason but not in Matthew Who am I?

It is Thursday because there are two negatives and only one positive which would leave it on yesterday. This thread does have the potential to become spammy but as long as we open it up to be a riddles thread I see no harm in it. Keeping to that plan, here is a riddle for everyone! I start with the letter E. I end with the letter E. I usually contain only one letter Yet I am not the letter E! What am I? I am not the best riddler so hopefully Sara will be here soon to really ask some good ones!

American Idol is not up my alley. I never watch the show. My take on the entire Idol/ game show fandom is that people enjoy seeing someone like them, a regular person with a dream, succeed. It gives people hope that one day they could be that "regular joe" who makes their dreams a reality. The albums sell because of simple marketing techniques. A song doesn't have to be an amazing musical masterpiece. All it needs to be successful is to speak to the majority and repetition. Non-threatening pop songs played over and over on the radio as well as on the television, like a commercial, convinces people that is what they want. For example the Friends theme song "I'll Be There for You" by The Rembrandts. Week after week the song played on television before a popular show and played constantly on the radio. Repetition= commercial success. This same formula is what makes Idol's singers so popular. Rooting for your favorite Idol is like cheering for your favorite sports team. If they win you win. People like feeling like winners even if it is by proxy.

When I was growing up nerd basically had the same definition as what you listed. Usually they were the kids who cared more about their grades than fashion. They generally did not excel in physically challenging activities such as sports and physical education. They also were able to quote from any of the fantasy/sci fi books they read religiously and, of course, could quote Monty Python's Holy Grail (Ni!). Hobbies would include comic books, animation and role playing games like D & D. I think the title of "nerd" is much like that of any other clique. Your peers, as well as your own opinion, leads you to decide what title is bestowed upon you. When I was in school my friends and I considered ourselves "bandnerds". If we really cared about our look there would be no way we would have been caught dead wearing those polyester band uniforms. The collars on those things went all the way down to our elbows! No joke. They were very 70's which was not very cool in the 90's. We wore our titles as a badge of honor and not as a scarlet letter.

I think I act my age, but seeing how I have never been 29 before I might be wrong about that. I have been told by the adults in my life that I seem "mature beyond my years" when it comes to my work ethic. I have always been told that I act older than my age. Now that does not mean I don't have fun. I feel having fun does not have an age limit. I also feel there is a time and place for everything though. For example, having a food fight at a picnic with your friends can be fun. But having a food fight at a wedding reception would not be a good time. I guess acting your age to me means knowing when and where your actions are appropriate.

There are several series I enjoy watching again and again. One of those would be [b]Azumanga Daioh[/b]. It is definitely one of my personal favorites. The light-hearted nature of the story line makes it worthy of watching over and over. The characters are funny and you just can't help falling in love with them. More than likely you can find at least one of the characters similar to someone you grew up with. For me that character would be Osaka, I am not sure if that is good or bad. [b]Hellsing[/b] is another anime on my list of re-watched animes. It is a bit dark and heavy but I really enjoy having the DVD on when I am writing or working on some art. I am sure I have played the series dozens of times. For some reason it really inspires me to draw. If you have seen my art style that really doesn't make much sense since Hellsing is the complete opposite of the cute, cuddly stuff I draw. Who knows why it sparks creativity in me. ::shrugs:: Other than those two the rest of my collection I re-watch when I get the bug for that anime. You have to admit some animes you really just have to be in the mood to watch.

I am full-blooded Japanese. My mom was born in Japan and moved here when she was 16 years old. My dad was born here in the States after his parents moved here from Japan. I don't think I really need to tell you guys what my features look like. I have jet black hair, I am fairly short (only 5'2") and have brown almond shaped eyes. It's funny, my mom has been here for decades but she still has a super thick Japanese accent. Most of time I have to translate for her even when she is speaking english! Many people can't understand the accent. Oh well. My husband's roots is a mixed bag of German, Swiss, French and a dash of Native American. I find a mixed heritage very interesting. He has fair skin, brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. His family has been in the States since the early 1800's. He pretty much considers himself just an American. He has been so far removed from his roots that I guess you can say he has been replanted here.

The only Cat Stevens song that I can name off the top of my head is "Wild World". The reason I remember that one is because in the 80's the band Mr. Big (they did the end theme "Shine" for Hellsing) did a cover of the song. Once in awhile I will hear Cat Stevens' version of "Wild World" while grocery shopping but that is about it. Unfortunately I think his political views have overshadowed his artistic talents.

I agree with TVE (It's great to see you back posting on the boards Ed!) that there is no way to say if someone is good or evil. It is all based on what you were raised with as being the standard for good and evil. Even using the situation of an alien culture judging us, it would still depend on what their definition of good and evil. Let's say that this alien culture believes that men and women should never mingle since it is morally wrong and evil. If this alien culture were to view our humble little planet they would think we were all evil since men and women live together! Good and evil is very subjective. It all depends on ones opinion as to what they believe defines good and evil.

So many great videos have already been mentioned. Here is my short list of videos that I could come up with off the top of my head. [b][u]Virtual Insanity, Jamiroquai:[/b][/u] Stunning video. The way the room moves while Jay Kay dances around the room is so simple but effective. The song is great and the Jay's dancing makes this video simply amazing. No flashy special effect, no half naked dancing girls, no overused video cliches...just bare walls, sofa and chair for Jay to dance around as the wall moves and turns. I love it! [b][u]Every Breath You Take, The Police:[/b][/u] This black and white video is perfect to set the mood of the song. Sting playing the double bass singing his haunting lyrics really is a perfect blend with the black and white medium. It is no wonder that the video won Best Cinematography at the first MTV awards. Nothing like a good stalker song! [b][u]A-Ha: Take on Me:[/u][/b] This video is the first time we see rotoscoping in a music video. It is perfect for a music video, not so good when using it for an animated film (ie Bakshi infamous Lord of the Rings). I remember seeing this video for the first time and being totally amazed by the visuals. It still rocks today. [b][u]Jeremy, Pearl Jam:[/b][/u] What can I say, I love Pearl Jam. An amazing song and video about bullying, parents who don't understand and teen suicide...basically being a teenager. It is such a strong visual piece it produced so much controversy that the band didn't make videos for six years. Lots of symbolism in the piece. Absolutely love the song, the band and this video. [b][u]I Believe in a Thing Called Love, The Darkness:[/b][/u] What can I say, I am a sucker for a great cheesy glam rock video. Space ship, space squid and super power lasers that shoot out of Justin Hawkins' lovely flower crown...how could you possibly go wrong with that! Love it, absolutely love it! [b][u]Perfect Drug, Nine Inch Nails:[/b][/u] Very Poe-esque, Mark Romanek is one of my favorite directors. I think that Trent Reznor is very sexy in this video. The blue shade of the entire video sets this eerie mood that is perfect for the dark and brooding gothic look of the band. Beautifully filmed each shot of the piece is a wonderful piece of art. And of course any [b][u]They Might Be Giants[/b][/u] video. Ana Ng, Don't Let Start, Birdhouse in Your Soul...all great videos. The Johns are very witty guys and their personalities really come through in their music videos. They really do rock my socks.

[quote name='Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f']I notice that when a boy is the oldest, he sometimes seems to dominate over the other kids, at least this is what I've seen with many arab families I know.[/COLOR][/quote] I have grown up in a very similar situation where I have seen preferential treatment towards males than with females. Japanese culture is changing but my family seems to be more "old school" about the treatment of the different sexes. I do not have any children yet but if I ever get healthy enough to have kids of my own I would like a boy then a girl. Two kids. That is the way I grew up and I loved being the little sister with a big brother to watch out for me. My husband, on the other hand, is one of two boys so he would rather have two boys. I really do feel that our preferences for the gender of kids are a directly influenced by our own childhood. No matter what we would love our children, boy or girl, they will be loved equally. I guess my only concern is since my mom is a twin and my husband's family has a long line of multiple births is that I would end up being the woman who has a "litter" of children. A baby is hard enough to care for but having multiples would be insanely difficult!