Delta

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]First up, the font fits the theme and the glow-thingie is brilliant but I recommend setting the character tracking to a lower number. I think it would look best if the tails of your n's and e's connect with the succeeding letters. Though they made the text stand out, the dark diagonals in 'Alone 1' put some serious hurt on the image's details. Perhaps you could fill them with a different color then finish off with an appropriate blending mode. Or you could just mess with the image's levels (w00t for shortcuts!). [SPOILER]Good Trib, this is lightyears behind your Sakura-chan set. May I ask what happened?[/SPOILER][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]My. That's a pricey font. I think we can't send anything via PM (other than text, of course). [b]A.[/b] Upload it on another site them PM a link; or [b]B.[/b] Fire up your e-mail and attach it.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Alright! A plethora of high-grade banners! Gotta hand it to you, Chief. You're getting pretty good. Mmm hmm. *nods* Hey, if you don't mind, I'm gonna comment on the banners I'm not too crazy about since they're like... waaaay fewer. [b]beach 1[/b] How you manipulated the image you did wins (great levels, great border...hurrah for grayscale!) but I don't get it. So sorry, but perhaps the girl's face merits more space in the banner than the CG water. The artist probably had a harder time to render the expression than the background so maybe he/she'd like it if you feature that part on the banner too, yeah? It looks like a terrific picture to play around with so you really should enjoy the process of incorporating/transforming it into a banner. *winks* [QUOTE][COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Hey, if you don't mind, I'm gonna comment on the banners I'm not too crazy about since they're like... waaaay fewer.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Told ya.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Do tell us what you're trying to do with it. If it's: [b]A) A display of your mad skillz in extraction[/b] Those images are tough ones to clean up but were extracted out of their presumably miserable backgrounds as if by the nimble hands of a pro. If the girl and the wolf are from separate images (looks like it) then you deserve even more praise. You preserved the thinnest of outlines and made them look as if they were rendered (sic) directly onto the canvas. Most excellent. [b]B) An experiment in PSP decoupaging[/b] (what a term!) The lower half is detail-heavy. The arrangement should guide the eyes from left to right (so they could see the whole composition) and not downwards. Perhaps you should move the girl's image upwards. The way I see it, the combo can be contained in a triangle (formed by the sword's tip, and the wolf's tail and right paw). And then you could rotate the red guy's image by some 180 degrees and also move him upwards. His image can form another triangle (vertices at the left ear, wing tip and the image's lower right corner) that could balance out the girl/wolf combo. Keh, but that's just me. *winks*[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]^ That's too bad. My exposure to classical music covers only the more popular pieces like Vivaldi's 'Spring' from Four Seasons and Tchaikovsky's works from Nutcracker (The ballet schoolmistress made sure that we were familiar with them 'cause we had recitals every four months). Right now, I'm into stuff performed by choirs like Ode to Joy (from the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, was it?). I'm finding it more difficult to listen through insrumental pieces lately so I figured I'd better stick with those that have choirs singing in them. It's probably just ADD. *shrugs*[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]^ A hundred ounces of truth. Yep, yep.[QUOTE]Has Japan's Street Fasion gaining popularity because of music?[/QUOTE]Most probably. For example, if it weren't for Malice Mizer, I'd still be clueless about the gothic/loli style that's popular among Visual Kei bands. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe these bands showed up when goth culture reached Japanese shores. The emergence of Beyonce Knowles-ish styles artists like Crystal Kay's been sporting lately leads me to believe that Japanese street fashion doesn't evolve independently from what's in with the rest of the world. It's not really unique to Harajuku but perhaps the styles are direct results of adaptation. The Japanese certainly are good at it, don't you think? BTW, the Harajuku Girls remind me of Betsy Ross.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1][quote name='Bloodseeker']Where did this come from, again?[/quote][URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=46315]Har yu gow.[/URL] My. GTO actually made it. Another victory for Onizuka, eh? Hey Eva, did anyone tie for certain spots? Like #45, for example?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]^ How about the thermal expansion thing with Asuka and Shinji? Very R-18 but definitely one of the best comic interludes in the series. [SPOILER]Shinji says something like "Hey, Asuka, you're pretty good in Physics but why do you keep on failing our tests?" Asuka replies with "Oh, well I'm having so much fun guessing what the Kanji characters mean." So Shinji asks her to explain how thermal expansion works. "Tell me Shinji, if I cup my hands over my breasts like this, will they get bigger or smaller?"[/SPOILER] Yep, sticks to your brain like superglue. Can't imagine the fits of giggles that broke out when our clueless teacher first mentioned therm-ex in class.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1][COLOR=Blue]G[/COLOR][COLOR=Red]o[/COLOR][COLOR=Yellow]o[/COLOR][COLOR=Blue]g[/COLOR][COLOR=Green]l[/COLOR][COLOR=Red]e[/COLOR] for "convert midi to sheet music" and this is what will come up: [u][b]MidiNotate[/b][/u] It's a program that [i]supposedly[/i] converts midi to sheet music with a press of a button (haven't tried it yet but it's [i]supposed[/i] to be good, according to [URL=http://www.skytopia.com/project/articles/notation.html][b]this site[/b][/URL]) I'm pretty sure you don't need musicXML if you're convert image files (which I think is the output of MidiNotate) into PDF. 'tleast that's what my PS7 tells me. [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Waah~ After a month of fermentation in my hard drive, I think it's time for this wallpaper to be evaluated: [CENTER][URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/esca.jpg][b]Fontina Blu Cent[/b][/URL][/CENTER] I lifted the raw scan from [URL=http://www.lizzard.net/Escaflowne/]Tsubasa no Kami[/URL] and vectorized (-ized?) it. The sky image is a screen capture from Neon Genesis Evangelion, I think, and the brush set I used I found in [URL=www.rebel-heart.net/brushes]Miss M's site[/URL]. The energist necklace I rendered from scratch (God, I love it to pieces!). Okay, here's the deal: I'm going to submit this to a gallery known for its *extremely* rabid evaluators so I'm showing it to you guys first. A sort of screening test, yeah? Your CC's are most welcome. BTW, do you guys know where I can get a good feather brush set?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#95005E][SIZE=1][b][i]What a bastard.[/i][/b] Ayaka chuckled and lept to a branch where one of her ninjas was waiting. [b]?Izumi, status?? ?Team Semi is in position,?[/b] said Izumi as he pointed at a grove across the battlefield. No movement can be seen under the veil of leaves and shadows. Only brief flashes of light came from that part, a sign that the team leader is ready to receive orders. A spot of light appeared on Izumi?s right shoulder. From the direction it came from, a small green banner was waved. [b]?So is Kumo.? ?How about Inago and Hisui?? ?Nearly there.? ?Right then. Tell them to get ready.? [i]?Okashira.?[/i][/b] Izumi took off, jumping from branch to branch towards Team Kumo. Ayaka lingered for a while and searched the battlefield for Yagyu. [b][i]Well shit. Looks like he?s been possessed by Hachiman himself.[/i][/b] The brazen samurai and his troops charged at the frontlines. Everyone who came near Hajime fell. He hewed a path through the vanguards and, in his crossing, stained the ground scarlet with Uesugi blood. Yet it was clear that around him, the Takeda?s own frontlines are faltering. Ayaka adjusted her sandals and sprinted through the boughs to join her group. [b]?Izumi.? ?Alright, you BUMS! Listen up! The Meijin don?t wanna drag around liabilities in the group so if any one of you PANSIES want to call it quits, you may do so right now!? [/b]The adjutant turned red in the face in his effort to imitate Ayaka?s usual pep talks. Aside from stifled laughter masquerading as coughs, no one from the group took the offer to leave. A ninja who was monitoring the movements of Team Inago came down from a nearby tree and reported to Ayaka. [b]?Okashira, Teams Inago and Hisui are in position.?[/b] -------+ Shadows moved through the forests of Kawanakajima. Those at the outer rim of the Uesugi formation were the first to witness the charge of the Ueno clan. So swiftly did they strike that a whole battalion of numbers thrice as the ninjas fell after the first wave. Against Uesugi vanguards, Takeda samurai rallied around Yagyu Hajime and rebuilt their frontline. The Takeda general gave a terrible battle cry that resounded against the surrounding mountains and across the battle plane. Only then did it dawn upon the Uesugi generals the horrible realization that they were trapped. [b]OOC:[/b] Hope that wasn't too God mode-ish. Please PM me if you've got problems with it.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]...Plus the Cid in the animated FF series who names his inventions after girls. I say they add those things just to give the series a sense of continuity. 7, 8 and 9, for example, happen on different worlds but are linked to one another through these things. BTW, are summon monsters counted? How about jobs? Alright! Let's name them FF monk-type characters, shall we?: FF6: Sabin FF7: Tifa FF8: Zell FF9: Amaranth FFX: Rikku...right?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Mind if I join in? [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/crusader_avi.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/meoi/crusader2.jpg[/IMG] [i]Oo-san[/i], I couldn't clean the image you provided so I used other screenshots ([i]warui na![/i] *bows*). Thank you![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]^ Roll mashed potatoes into balls, coat them with tempura batter and deep-fry them. That's how you prepare potatoes for those who hate 'em mashed. [quote name='Manic Webb']One of my favorite dishes to cook is egg-fried rice. It makes for an interesting way to get rid of your left-over rice. And yes, I season it with garlic. It's my secret ingredient ;)[/quote]I'm dying to make egg chahan but my mum's abit skeptical about it (I'm absolutely horrible at preparing egg dishes but fried rice is my specialty; got a bit of a problem there). But yeah, fried rice is the best thing one can cook with leftovers. My secret ingredient? Oyster sauce. Yep, a dollop of that wondrous dark liquid is enough to make even them choosy eaters ask for seconds.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1][quote name='Boo][color=gray][size=1]... Do you realize that it's bloody hard to create a good sprite from scratch? [/color'][/size][/quote]Signed. I'd go for A or C just because blond highlights turn me off. XP Seriously though, I think D has potential. The stance is sinister, the eyes look devious and he's got a good smirk but... he's wearing hot pink armor. Don't get me wrong; I love pink but it kinda cancels out every evil thing about the character. Not really devil-ish, yeah? Know what? You could take the pallete of A's armor and use it to recolor D's. Yeah, and then maybe remove the highlights (make him blond, eh? Blond devils win my Internet anyday). [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201]I'm no psychologist but I remember hearing about a psychological disorder called [b]Chechen sydrome[/b]. It's a derivative of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Read more about it [URL=http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/facts/general/fs_what_is_ptsd.html]here[/URL]. I'm pretty sure your husband knows about it. Hit a lot Vietnam vets, it did). [INDENT]"They suffer disrupted sleep, for example, family problems, personal problems, alcoholism. When you are in Chechnya, you are always reassessing your values. You start to reassess many of the events in your life," [RIGHT]-Olessa Reva (psychologist), in a correspondence with [URL=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1957626.stm]BBC[/URL][/RIGHT][/INDENT] From what I gather, your Lincoln hasn't displayed symptoms of violent outbursts so it's probably not CS. But he may be going through the "reassessment" part (thinking along the lines of "live more fully b/c you might be killed in theext second.") So yeah, perhaps seeking help from counselors and those who understand PTSD might help. The first site has something about Readjustment Counselling Service Veteran Centers so maybe you could look up the nearest one in your area. But really, CHW, I think you and Lincoln should stay together. This might sound cheesy but everytime you mention him in your posts, I feel the love, you know? He says he loves you still so maybe the guy's just confused. The war just messed with his head. You can help him through this one, CHW. Just hang on, okay?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#95005E][SIZE=1]How about [URL=http://wallpapers.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=30806]this[/URL]? It's got Haruko in nurse's uniform and the guitar. Sorry for the shameless plugging. 'Thought you might be interested.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#95005E][SIZE=1][b]?Hey, hey! Guess what??[/b] Kaishi sighed. It was very Riko, to hold up until Kaishi finally says the obligatory ?What?? It was an awfully niggling habit but it always meant something promising. [b]?What?? ?I found the other Transporter!? ?Where?? ?Well,?'[/b] She could still make out hints of the chemical that felled her. Drained her of her energy, it did. [b][i]So that?s what chloroform smells like. What an unpleasant odor?[/i][/b] Riko shook her head and sighed. [b]?It seems that he was right behind us all along. He?s got this invisibility thing going on, you see?" ??Invisibility? you say??[/b] Kaishi?s eyes narrowed. [b][i]She?s interested[/i][/b], Riko thought. Until she met Mr. Transporter, she thought only her partner had the ability to disappear at will. Riko knew very well how difficult it is to mess around with an enemy you can?t see. [b]?Yeah, but that?s impossible, right?? ?It?s camouflage.? ?Camouflage? Like a chameleon?? ?Yes.? [/b] Kaishi was just about to pull her partner up by the wrist when Riko spotted something hidden under a seat. [b]?Hmm? What?s this??[/b] Riko stretched her free hand out and hitched a finger ?round the twine that bound the article. [b]?Hey! Look!?[/b] She pulled it out into the light. What she found was a little box neatly wrapped in what looked like cheap recycled paper. It didn?t rattle when she shook it nor did it smell funny (like the transporter?s handkerchief. Riko shuddered at the thought). It was a bit dirty but she?d recognize it anywhere. [b]?The package!?[/b] Crash! With glass shards for confetti, the Transporters smashed into the clear windows at the Recoverers? left and right. They landed on their feet and assumed their fighting stance (and at that moment, rock music kicked into Riko?s brain). [b]?We?ll be taking that.? [/b][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]I've been waiting for a chance to comment on your set. Guess today's my lucky day. What can I say? It's got a good hi-res pic, excellent typography (that's what you call it, right?) and a harmonious color scheme. It's nigh impossible to mess up a good Trinity Blood pic. Oh hey, those metallic tentacle thingies at the border, how'd you make those?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]I've been hearing about this abstract brushing thing for a while now and am really interested on how it is done. Often it's just a mess of brushes but yours actually has a focal point. Yep. Done like an InvisionFree pro. I'm a bit doubtful about the color combination, though. Know what? I'm pretty sure a little tweak in the Levels would do the image good. To spruce it up a bit, yeah? Bring out that lovely pink spot at the center. BTW, those grunge brushes look really rad! Where'd you get them? (The ones I pick up look like scratched metal. No good.) [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Yeah, you'd better tell her guardian or something. What I'd do is I'd get someone who can speak Hindi and have him/her talk to the guy. Right. It's probably just a phase. When she turns 18, whose money is she going to use to e/b with the guy anyway? Nothing like a good financial crisis to put things into perspective, yeah?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1][b]Boss Strategy #8[/b] 1) [SPOILER]Junction Item command[/SPOILER] 2) [SPOILER]Place Holy War first on the Items list[/SPOILER] 3) [SPOILER]Enter battle[/SPOILER] 4) [SPOILER]Wait for Boss to cast Maelstrom/Great Attractor/Hell's Judgement[/SPOILER] 5) [SPOILER]Use Holy War[/SPOILER] 6) [SPOILER]Limit Break like there's no tomorrow[/SPOILER] That's the easiest way of beating a certain pushover Squenix christened as [b]Ultimecia[/b]. It was worth seeing her defeated by such a sneaky trick; sure wasn't nice of her to [SPOILER]pick three of your fighters at random[/SPOILER], was it? They shouldn't have worked so hard on those great spell animation sequences, knowing that her attacks [SPOILER]could be rendered ineffective by such a strategy[/SPOILER]. Spoiler heavy indeed![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#7C0201][SIZE=1]Oh hey, hey! How about [b]Kung Fu Hustle[/b]? Great characters; a first glance it's like "No way in hell these guys can crack a joke!" and the next thing you know, you're out of breath from laughing too much. Nice blend of action, comedy and romance (a bit of tragedy on the side too, but you'll get over it). The story's a bit twisted as you get to see it through the eyes of mafia grunt wannabe you'd love to hate and then... Mmm hmm, that was a pretty good comedy movie.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#95005E][SIZE=1]The banner's pretty big for OB standards (beyond it, actually). I'm pretty sure some other OB member can do better, but if you're gonna use this, please don't feel compelled to link back. ^^ Cheers![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[COLOR=#95005E][SIZE=1]Alright, how about the banner, Chief? Any limit on its size?[/SIZE][/COLOR]