Roxie Faye

[color=#9933ff]Sorry about the cut-off. I could have sworn the whole thing was intact when I put it up. ¬_¬ But thanks for all the positive comments, you guys. I really appreciate them, after deliberating over the tree for a long time. ^^;;; And just remember - odd sibling situations (i.e.: Japan + Mei = sisters, but Syk = brother to Japan) can always be resolved with half-sibling-ness (of unkown parents) or siblings by marriage. Or siblings could always have been created in a lab. ^_~ (That solves about 1/4 of all the inbreeding on the tree... I think. O_o''')[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Damn it. I spent last weekened and today adding Raiha and Lady Asphy's families to the tree, because I'm too soft for my own good. I jsut couldn't say no I tell you! (It took me a whole week to figure out how to reconfigure the tree to accommodate Raiha - no scoffing at the tree. *_*) I also remembered ssj_chic's name after she changed it - Pressure! ^^ how silly of me. The other reason it took so long to get this out was because of school work this week. For example, yesterday was a total nightmare for me, it wasn't even funny (read my myO for specifics), and the rest of the week, I had substantial amounts of H.W. x_x; But moving on, this, I swear, is the last time this year, that I will ever edit the tree. I might do an update in the spring, or even next year - we'll see. The file extension is a .png this time - a lot clearer, like a bitmap, and about a billion times less the KB. .pngs are my new favorite file extention. ¬_¬ Anyways, enjoy the tree! ^_^ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/RoxieFaye/OBGenealogy.png[/color]

[color=#9933ff]The Family Tree is FINALLY here! Er... but it's not. Well, it's here, but there are two lines of members people unrelated to everyone else. If they don't mind, they can stay that way. If They do, please confer with someone on the tree first *NOT delirium or Japan_86 or Juuthena - for convenience purposes*, then PM me and tell me who you're related to (and how). There's also a few corrections I need to make, pending PMs, so this isn't [i]quite[/i] finished. The tree was made in MS Paint, and saved as a bitmap. When I converted to Jpeg, it got all messed looking. Pardon that - I thought you'd rather SEE the tree, than wait for a bitmap to load (if you want the .bmp version, send me a PM). And here is: The long awaited Family Tree: (Copy and paste the URL): [url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v440/RoxieFaye/OBgeneology.jpg[/url] Whether the lines are going up or down, or side ways matter very very little - you have to look at the color the lines represent. The only time the way the lines are matters is with regards to Parent/Child relationship. I was running out of room, and in certain places, I couldn't go down, so I went up. When you read a red or bright green line, read: Left --> Right and Up --> down. For instance, you read: "JoyKaiba - Daughter of Ruby" but you also read "DeathKnight - Father of Japan_86" because of the colors. See? I didn't double check everything I did - if you find an error, and you're not *directly* related to somebody, let me know. Also, if I got your gender wrong, PLEASE let me know. ssj_chic is colored with black because I couldn't remember the name she changed to. If any of you [b]older[/b] members remember, again, PM me. (There's a member "ssjchic" running around somewhere, but as far as I can tell, it's not her) So, bottom line: if there's any mistakes in the tree, PM me. Any other comments, feel free to express (but make sure they're not spam! lol) Oh, and if I inserted myself into the tree - where would I go? A sibling of DeathKnight, an Aunt to many. XD[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Here are my comments to your critiques and all: You merfer! *___* You change on people! X_x; When we all read the sign ups for the "history" section, it [i]specifically[/i] said, on the site, that if you character was very jovial or funny, you could use words like "*giggles*" in your sign-up. Stop changing the rules on people - I'll yell at you loudly if you do that in your next RPG. Thank you for critiquing my profile - I'm really glad you did. I hope to be in your next RPG!!! ^_^ (er... maybe. We'll see. *_*) Oh yeah, one last thing. People's eye colors [b]do[/b] change in real life. I swear to god - it's called [b]hazel[/b]. Thats what hazel eyes mean (not kidding). Normally they just change from brown to green, but they can change to any color. You know the OB member Luminaire? Well, she has hazel eyes, and they change all the time (you can even ask her. =P). I thought I remembered seeing them blue, once, and she also told me, herself, that one time when she was really angry, they turned purple on her. O_o; Either that, or she's the only person with eyes like that in the world... But I swear I'm not making that up!!! XD Yah, thanks again, man, for the critique. Have fun with the RPG you guys! Oh, and good luck to "The_Ghost" - do justice to Spade 4!!! ^_^[/color]

[color=#9933ff][b]*The tree is NOT re-opening!*[/b] ...but, I'm requesting adoption of two people. A new member, [b]Christopher[/b], on page four, specifically asked to be a part of somebody's family. Any takers? Also, I need another person to bring [b]Cysword6[/b] into their family, because his line is the only one currently unrelated. We can't have that, now can we? The only people *NOT* elligible to adopt these members are Delirium, and Syk3 + Shinmaru. I'm running out of space in their family trees, already, and I don't think I can have any more connecting lines in there for people. X_x Anyone who sent me a PM - I got it, I read it, I've been lazy and haven't replied. You'll get your sneak peek today (or soon). Okie? Okie. Thanks for putting up with me. And by the way, this tree isn't rocket science - it's a white BG, it's from MS Paint. But most importantly, it's (I hope) clear, and easy to follow, which was the purpose, instead of having families run amok in sigs. *_*;[/color]

[color=#9933ff][b]--ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED--[/b] Today is Tuesday (every where in the world). It's been a week since I opened the thread, and I'm not accepting any more submissions, or else I'll never ever ever get this tree done. I still have to get through page two, for cripe sakes. *___*;;; (Though I'm past Delirium - you took me a whole two and a half hours!) If anyone wants a sneak preview of a portion of the tree (yeah right, lol), tell me something (anything) about Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood, royalty and family commitment. PM it to me! Why Isis? Because she's cool. And because her name was used in YGO. ¬_¬[/color]

[color=#9933ff]How are you related to CHW then, Delirium? Married, is it, or was it sisters? I'm really bad at figuring these things out, so I'll aslk. *_*; And just out of curiosity, what the heck does dwermer mean? Or, do I [i]want[/i] to know what it means? Finally, the last day to submit your family is Monday! Any subission later than Monday at 11:59 P.M. will [b]not[/b] be accepted, unless you have a really, really, really good excuse (it better be good). I'm only doing this, because if I kept submissions open forever, I'd have to revise the tree every day, with all the new members we get. *_*;[/color]

[color=#9933ff]x_x lots of family members to complete. If I choose to insert myself in the family tree, I'm an aunt to a LOT of OBers. And Charles, you have about a billion inlaws, d'you know? Delirium, you've twisted all laws of ethics, marrying cousins, and nephews. Oh, and um... I decided to put little blue and pink borders (guess why!) around everyone's name, because I have nothing better to do. (and it looks nicer than a yucky black border) Is that okay? I have a few questionable relations for people to clarify: Delirium: "[b]Neices/Nephews: [/b]SpiritOfAnime, Icarus2K" - are they just random (it's okay if they are) or are they children of your siblings? (If so, use your head and tell me which ones) Ruby: "[b]Step Children: [/b]SpirtOfAnime" is SpiritOfAnime just a random step child (which is alright), or uh... are they a child of either ULX or JokoPoko? (If so, use your head and please specify) (My billionth edit below) [b]ONE LAST IMPORTANT NOTE[/b]: *sigh* I was searching for some of the members you guys have mentioned, because I had never heard of them, and when I did so, some of them didn't show up on my search. I went paranoid, searched and re-searched every name you guys submitted. A few of them had changed their name, and one member is still illuding me... If you know a member changed their name, don't give me the old one. If you didn't know they changed their name, it's okay. If you have the time, search for them, to make sure family members haven't changed names. Otherwise, I'll be checking every name from now on. If I can't confirm a member, you'll get a PM from me.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Wow. *is mildly impressed* Ten posts, and it's only the first day. Heh. ^^;;; I haven't included friends or biatches (sorry Japan_86), but never fear, through the mystyfying properties of MS Paint (and some color coding), Solo Tremaine shall be cousins with Kane. ^_^ I wasn't successful in making Kittychan the 2nd cousin of Cysword - because that's just difficult (sorry. If you really want, I might be able to devise something... :( ) I haven't quite worked out how double marriages would be charted (I'd been thinking about that before posting the thread), but I'll come up with something, eventually. (or just leave out extra people? heh? *_*) P.S.: All of you -- Go sign up for Once Upon a Legend -- NOW!! >O[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I agree with deathbug. In regards to American society, I think we're a little too pill happy. I swear, you go to your doctor, they look up your symptoms on a chart, and give you a pill for it. Where are the days when your doctor gave you a band-aid, a lollipop, and suggested plenty of fluids for a minor ailment? I use that one all the time, and it works for me! I agree that people are so spoiled (especially Americans) and too impatient to wait for anything! (Why do all of you use DSL or cable? What's wrong with waiting for a page to load?!? Okay, bad example.) That's not to say that pills are a bad thing. If my mom didn't have allegra, for example, she'd be having an athsma attack everyday (I'm serious), but there are probably poeple on it, that shouldn't be. It's especially a problem with learning disorders such as ADD and ADHD. Partially it's because of doctors who don't know what they're doing (i.e.: haven't been to a medical conference on the drugs), and diagnose the child incorrectly and over prescribe medication. There are tons of normal, healthy kids who are just a little rambunctious, and they're percieved as ADD! It's also partially because of parents who don't want to accept their child as they are, and so pressure the doctors for some "quick fix." A little studying never hurt the child. How many people do you know on pills like Rittalin or Aderol, who act loony anyways? (Or is that just me and my school?) I guess I'll just wrap up my post with the old philosophy: middle of the road. Ther are plenty of people who legitimately need some of the prescription drugs out there. However, there are plent who don't need it at all - and could take the longer route *gasp* and do things the normal way. Does that make any sense?[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Ooh, sorry. I forgot to mention to tell you to specify and label, or else I wouldn't know if those people are your "sisters and brothers" or if one of them is a "brother in law" or what not. That's what I meant. Sorry for not making that clear enough. >_< Am I still confusing you? Let me know.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I probably shouldn't be doing this, because I know I'm really busy this week, but I'm going to do it anyways. >_> Alright, we all know that OBers consider other OBers like family - heck, some of us are even "married". How many of you proclaim your OB family, or spouse in your signatures? *Sees hands being raised slowly* So, my goal is to use MS Paint to create a simple family tree, to see how many "OBers" are related to each other - because I'm convinced many of us are "related", in some strange way. And I need your help. Please post all "OB family" in here for me. Make things as clear as possible, and I'll alert you if I'm confused about something. I suppose, in an attempt to make this less spammy, if you have anything you want to say about your "family members," go ahead. We're (probably) all family, so why not share those traditional family stories? I'll probably close all submissions by next week, but we'll see. (I hope I have enough time for this project, too! ^_^''') P.S.: Visit Dragon Warrior's underground thread for "Once Upon a Legend." He's uber.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]*sigh* You already know I'm not qualified for this RPG, and I'd feel really retarded if I participated. But I was really looking forward to signing up, anyway, so I am. (Creating characters is good writing practice.) Yes, this is my writing exercise for today (I thought it would be better than writing my essay for school). Just ignore my post, and take whoever else signs up for Spade 4. I'll glare at you all if no one does. *glares anyway* >O[/color] [size=1][color=royalblue][b]Name: [/b]Evelyn. Usually addressed as [b]Ev'[/b]. She does have a surname, but the last person to ask for it received a broken finger. All the Spades or any one else knows, is that Ev' hates the law, and because of it, never reveals her last name. Suspicions have it that Ev' is hiding from the authorities, but no one really knows, and [i]she[/i] isn?t saying. [b]Age: [/b]25 [b]Gender: [/b]Female [b]Appearance: [/b]With her black boots on under her traditional Kalenbore robes, Ev' stands at 5' 5", as her hazel eyes swirl gently. Every so often they change from a calm brown to gloomy sapphire blue, cheerful emerald green, or a stormy amethyst purple. She?s never won a beauty pageant, though she has received a few male visitors from town at her home. Ev's chestnut brown hair is almost always pulled back in messy bun, or tied in a ponytail of sorts. Not that it makes any difference - her hair is forever falling in her face whenever she's alone and reading or writing. [b]Weapons: [/b]Ev' owns a gun and sword, like all Spades. She is also trained in using, and possesses throwing knives, and also a bow and arrow, as it calls for the same precision as the knives. [b]History: [/b][/color][color=#9933ff](OOC: This is a super short history. I'm not going to drag this on and on, because to me, that's annoying. If you want the long version that I wrote, Gavynn can ask for it.)[/color] [color=royalblue]Mother. The word sounds strange in my mouth. I don't remember my mother - she died giving birth to me. Papa was a metalworker and on the side, an outspoken political writer for the newspaper. Several times he was arrested, but through luck (and a large money transaction), first my aunt, then myself, managed to get him out of trouble. He taught me reading and writing, as well as using a bow and arrow, and throwing knives, for protection in the unsafe town of Kalenbore. I grew up helping him with his work, and reading when I was not. I read both fiction, and non-fiction, gobbling up fantasy, and science text books. I wanted to be a botanist, or a doctor. Or both, if only to change the world. It seems so far away, as if from another time, but it was just five years ago, that the authorities arrested Papa again. They never let him go. The night before he was executed, he told me something about my mother, which blacked my heart, and almost drained me of all my goodness. I cried and I cried and I cried; the only family I ever had was dead - I never speak my surname because it reminds me of this painful past. Never intending to kill, only to rebel against the authorities I joined the Spades. When Noah and [name of Noah's friend] renounced us, I wanted to go too. I did not; my anger against authority, and my bitterness was greater than their sense of morality. I suppose I do not really want to be immortal, but I will not help the "Noah police" either (nor any other kind of law enforcement). It will only be when and if we to find the Symerals, that I make my final choice in the matter, on which side I belong to...[/size][/color]

[color=#9933ff]Baron Samedi: [spoiler]Nah, I know. I just wish she would win. I think my sister and her Russian-ness has finally gotten to me. ¬_¬; Actually, no, i know what it is. It's just that she's practically the oldest gymnast out there, and I admire her for staying with gymnastics so long, you know? And that, to me, is even greater than winning a medal (though it would be nice. j/k.).[/spoiler] By the way, did anybody and all see Paul Hamm last night? He was both the worst athlete and the very greatest athlete. That was just phenominal. Incase you didn't see, [spoiler]he basically threw himself out of winning a medal when he did one of the unthinkables: at the vault, he tried to stick the landing, but ended up tumbling sidewards, and almost crashing into the judges table (which promptly got him a 9.1). And yet, on the two apparatus after that, he managed to capture 9.8s, and won the gold for the men's all around - the first time in USA history. [/spoiler]Now THAT is frickin' awesome. [spoiler]The South Koreans also won second and third, when they weren't expected to capture any medals - uberness! ^_^[/spoiler][/color]

[color=#9933ff]In referring to Drix's quote, humans are not only different and unique, but because there is no system and check and balance for us, we are an anomaly. I guess if you want to be a pessimist, you could say that were are a cosmic mistake, but in any case, I agree with Chaos - we will be the makers of our own destruction, and the Earth will out live us. I mean, think about it - We are delicate creatures that die so quickly. If I'm not mistaken, a few other members of the genus [i]homo[/i] out lived us by a couple more thousand years, before dying out. Homo sapiens will eventually die out, and the creatures of the earth will go on without us until either an asteroid or the sun engulfs it. Woo.[/color]

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet]Yeah, we beat your butts (finally) in the relay, but like you said, it was close...and at least it wasn't Canada. I felt so bad for that one girl on the Chinese gymnastics during the uneven bars. She was doing pretty good until the dismount when she fell on her face. That had to suck pretty bad.[/color][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]The relay was amazing, and yeah, I felt really bad for the Chinese girl. There was somethign funky about those uneven bars, I tell you - the Chinese missed all their dismounts on it. ¬_¬ Boo.[/color] [QUOTE=badjesus]Well I just want to cheer my country on.... On the subject of gymnastics I bet you Russia get just about every medal for the events and if not some country in the balkans will the (ex) communists love gym.[/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Hm? What country are you from? Heh. I'm sure the Russians will do really well. I'm hoping that the Chinese can make a comeback, because I really like them. Ahem. *coughs*[/color] [QUOTE=lava lamp]I really love Svetlana Khorkina, and I was sad to see her not do so well. She's been around for so long and has such a strong personality from what I've seen of her. It seems as if she's a little too hard on herself but I guess that's expected. In the interview with the two American gymnasts, I was pretty annoyed. One girl was humble and the other was just a snot. Granted, the interviewer was a bit forward, but still.[/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Ooo. She was so good last night, considering her age. I think she's an amazing gymnast, for being that "old" you know? I would LOVE it if she won the all-around - she deserves it more than anyone out there. Yeah, Karly Paterson was really annoying, but then again, isn't she only 15-16 or something? The other one, Courtney Cupets, is 25, and a lot more mature. (So is the Cuban on the USA team. Her first name is Annia, I think.)[/color]

[quote name='HetepKa][FONT=Century Gothic][I][SIZE=3][COLOR=Green]I'm also glad no terrorist attacks ave occured, unlike the Munich 1972 Olimpics (Correct me if I'm wrong, I think that was the year...) When the Israelites where taken as hostages, and killed,by Plaestines because of their war, in which the Isralites that went to the Olimpis had nothing to do with,[/COLOR] [/SIZE] [/I'] [/FONT][/quote][color=#9933ff]Me too. I really hope nothing happens at the games, though I'm sure it won't. It was sad when I heard that, this year, an Iranian's first opponent for a sport (I forget which) was Israeli, so he refused to be in the Olympics. >< Too bad some nations are so much at war, you know?[/color] [QUOTE=badjesus]I think that the Otaku should post "medal updates" for each event, you know so that you dont have to watch the news every night to keep track. P.S. COME ON GREAT BRITAIN![/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Yeah, I'd like England to win something, too. ^^; I don't know if you were serious about the medal updates, but you can always check them out on this page: [url]http://www.athens2004.com/en/OlympicMedals/medals[/url] Hope that helps![/color] [QUOTE=Lady Asphyxia][font=Verdana][size=1]I have to admit it; I'm not into sport. But even I am getting behind this year's Olympics. The swimming especially has been absolutely amazing, in my opinion.[/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=1][spoiler]Wasn't the men's 4 x 100m relay amazing? The South African's were just fantastic, I was so impressed.[/spoiler][/size][/font] [/size][/font][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Yeah, I thought the swimming has been really good, with Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe last night. [spoiler]I did see the men/s 4 x 100m relay. I though it was really cool, too. ^^;[/spoiler][/color] [QUOTE=Juuthena][size=1][color=deeppink]Apparently, we don't get soccer/football here in the US, though, so my dad and I have to flip over to the Mexican channel to watch Korean matches. ...And that sucks A LOT, because we can't see any other teams play besides teams linked with Mexico. So I haven't a clue what's going on otherwise, but I haven't really looked online anyway. It seems like the only events we get to see are figure skating, gymnastics, and swimming. (That are highly publicized, anyway). Soooo... I haven't been paying much attention to the Olympics this year. =/[/size][/color][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Heh. I know what you mean. I'm not really a rabid soccer/football fan, but I did try and watch it on the spanish channel. After five minutes I tried to ignore the commentary... After ten minutes I put it on mute, but that bothered me, too, so I decided to watch something else. *____* And I guess the only reason I've been really into the Olympics this year, is because I was really apathetic towards it during Sydney. So now I'm making up for it. Hehe...[/color] [quote name='doukeshi03']Now if you'll forgive me I'm off to watch the woman's weightlifting.[/quote][color=#9933ff]Oh, I didn't see it, but I heard about it. [spoiler]My dad is Thai, and so I did hear about the Thai woman who won a gold medal in it!! I was so proud that it was Thailand's first gold by a [b]woman[/b]. I hope they win boxing again, too; but now I'm rambling. >

[color=#9933ff]Am I the only person who thinks that 14 is [b]not[/b] too young to have sex? Yes, I must be, and here comes the wrath of every other OBer out there. *runs* But yes, that is my opinion. If he wants to, if she wants to, if they're ready, then why not. Of course, there are many, many, many, many things to be considered when it comes to being ready (including, but not limited to the following). Do you know how to use a condom correctly so it doesn't break? Is she taking/ using a form of birth control, like the pill? Are you prepared to get an STD, give her an STD (if you're already had sex)? What if she gets pregnant? There are tons of repurcussions of that, which many people have already outline quiet sufficiently for you (and if you're wondering what those repurcussions were, you're not ready). Not only that, there are so many emotional issues. Did you really talk to your girlfriend about this? Did you spend at [b]least[/b] a day talking to her about it? I don't know for guys, but for a girl, this [i]probably[/i] means a lot to her. Every girl is different, but she's, again, [i]probably[/i] thinking that it means that she thinks you're special, that she cares a lot about you, and that she's willing to give a part of herself to you. If you really love her, make sure she doesn't feel pressured or uncomfortable. Don't drop it after the first time she tells you that she wants to - girls are usually indirect about their feelings. Make sure she's really comfortable with the idea. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you (after this annoying lecture - right?), is the following. Sit down with your girlfriend. Take a piece of paper, fold it in half length wise. Together, make a list of pros and cons about having sex, and if the pros outweight the cons enough (if they do I'll be surprised), then, and [b][i]only[/i][/b] then, consider having sex. When you're ready, when she's ready (really ready), go ahead. [Thus endeth the rant from Roxanne. *___*][/color]

[color=#9933ff]Wow. I have something to reply to everybody about thew Olympics, so far!!! (I must be weird.)[/color] [QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet]The only sport I really care anything about is the equestrian events. I don't care who wins, I just like to see these athletes working in intense conditions with their mounts. It's very inspiring. This year there's a guy from my area on the US Olympic team. Okay in some ways I'm also looking forward to the mens swimming and diving, but for very different reasons than the equestrian events. Those are some of the few guys that should always be allowed to wear speedos. :devil: [/color][/QUOTE][color=#9933ff]Oh, I really want to watch the equestrian events too. I used to horseback ride, also. And, now that I know more about horses, how to ride, breeds, etc., I really want to see how the pros do it. Of course, afterwards, I'll probably be itching to ride... Haha. I saw the men's swimming events but only because i'm trying to watch everything about this olympics. Hehe. The Thorpedo![/color] [quote name='Ben']I look forwardto watching the rest of the various fencing competitions. I watched the Men's Individual Sabre finals this morning, and it blew me away.[/quote][color=#9933ff]Poo. I didn't see the fencingness, but I'm sure a lot of people at my school did. Many of them are on the fencing team, and I'm just a fan of fencing (when I was little and found out you can't really hurt anybody, I was so disappointed. ;_; )[/color] [quote name='Baron Samedi][size=1]My favourite events are the swimming [Australia kills you all :p'], velodrome, gymnastics and hockey.[/size][/quote][color=#9933ff]Yeah, I saw some of the 400m swimming events. Ian Thorpe is really uber good!!! Of course, we have Michael Phelp, so nyeh. :p ^^;;; By the way, what is velodrome?[/color] [quote name='amgoddess']Actually I was really disappointed by the Opening Ceremony. Our (australia, sydney) Opening Ceremony was much better. The Athens one was far too abstract for my liking but every person to their own opinion. And I do ancient history and the disappointment was they never dived into their rich history. I mean geez, there are so many good things about Greece. The food, the people, their history, epic battles, etc. It was far too short and too abstract.[/quote][color=#9933ff]You know, I never saw anything in Sydney (I was very apathetic), and now I'm a rabid fan of Athens, to make up for it. (I'll probably be insane over Beijing, too. *_*''') But I thought that the Greeks did a decent job of representing their country. I mean, I didn't like some of what they did (that weird thing with the face and the statue breaking apart was nutty), but it is pretty hard to fit +3000 years of history into an hour. I really liked a lot of those people on the floats - they were so real, and yet so... um... non-real (wowness)! I'm not sure everyone picked up on some of the Mythology references, which is a shame. When the blue flying person, Eros, showed up, I was like "Ahh!! I know that, I KNOW that!" XD (By the way, I wish Eros had been a girl; she sometimes is in Greek mythology, as opposed to the male Cupid from the Romans).[/color] [quote name='Sir Auron']Still, it was great to be able to see New Zealand enter the arena, and the Greek alphabet enterance kept me guessing who would come next. I thought the unusual torch device (making it like a pendulum) was quite interesting.[/quote][color=#9933ff]Yeah... The torch was um... interesting. It's supposed to look like an olive branch, I think, but I didn't really see the olive-ness in it. '~'[/color] [quote name='lava lamp']I only watch for gymnastics really. I prefer women's because I like the events more, but men's is nice because I get to see hard bodies and a reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge.[/quote][color=#9933ff]Haha. I like the women's, too. They're so graceful. But I feel bad, because some of them are so tiny, or just very thin. It's not healthy to look like, that, I don't think. >_< And, I also watch the men's, but just because I like gymnastics. [spoiler]I did see the pre-trials for the men's last night - they were good. Surprisingly, the Russians fell into fourth place by the end, and Romania is doing fairly well! Japan led, followed by the US, China, Russia, and um... other people. Ukraine rounded out the 8th spot. Really, the Japanese men are doing so well. I thought the Chinese were very good on the vault - the judges gave them low marks, and... they sux0R. >_

[color=#9933ff]I skimmed the titles on the first page, and didn't see anything about this. (Sorry if I missed it. *.*) I'm surprised no one posted about it yet. Anyways, I'm all hyped up to see the Olympics take place. I watched the opening ceremony, and all the Nations parading, according to the Greek alphabet! ^_^ So here, say anything (constructive) about the Olympics, that you want. Maybe you're favorite sport, or who you want to win, etc. I just want to say that I really like the gymnastics. I guess you can say I'm a sucker for it. *_*;;; (And I used to do gymnastics when I was little, but I stopped.) Heh. I'm really enthusiastic about the USA team, this year, because it features two women in their mid twenties. I hardly know anything about them, except their age, but already I know they're exceptional athletes, for being able to compete with 13, 14 year olds on the same team. That takes extreme dedication, especially when younger girls are able to perform stunts more easily. Now that I'm done with my rant about my favorite Olympic sport, you can share whatever you want about the games.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I thought of something. I don't know whether it's a proverb, or something a person said once, but I know of a chinese phrase that says: "Confront a man with the danger of death, and he will fight to live." (The Pinyin is "Zhi Zhi Si Di Er Hou Sheng" - if anyone can confirm this, I'd be grateful) I'm not really quite sure what I'd do in this situation. But I'd like to think that I would take a bullet for friends I really cared about, and my family. I'm very emotional about this stuff. Ken also said something to me once. He basically said that since I'd be taking a bullet for him, and he'd be taking a bullet for me, we'd knock each other down, and the bullet would fly over our heads, which I think is a great solution - since no one dies! XD [/color]

[color=#9933ff]K9: Working on an assembly line sounds like total boredom. *_*; Sorry you've had such a bad summer. :/ To tell you the truth, I've never been pushed to my limits in anything. I guess if you want to be rude, you could call me a sheltered child. But I know [b]no one[/b] on OB is rude. :P The closest I've ever been was probably at the end of last year. Usually the last week of the end of each marking period is stressful, because almost every teacher gives you a projects. (I mean, some tell you ahead of time, but others tell you on tuesday, and expect it to be done by friday!) But the end of the year was just a fiasco for me. I had an english term paper ("research project") one week, which wasn't so bad - but I really thought the World Civ. term paper was bad. The thing was, my teacher got lazy at the end ofthe year, and the week I thought the paper was due, she also assigned a paper for our model UN. The term paper was so long, I broke it up in sections that week, because I figured I'd do the entire UN thing on Thurs, and a little of the term paper then. She told [b]none of us[/b] that she decided to make the term paper due on the next monday. The only way I knew, was because everyone [i]thought[/i] she had moved it, and because I asked her. Thank goodness, though. The UN paper was grueling, since I had to come up with ideas, find sources, and write the whole thing in one night. AJ can tell you how I was complaining, and bouncing ideas off him. It took me until one thirty in the morning, and i had to get up at six thirty the same day (I got an A on iy, anyway). >< That weekend, the term paper wasn't as bad (since I had already completed 1/3 of it), but it was still long, and I started freaking out about stuff. I swear, I must have been dreaming about Soviet-Nazi pacts that night, I was so wired. *_*; ...yeah. that's my lame experience.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Sorry for posting this so late. I tried to, before, but my compie kept freezing. :/ I was really disappointed I couldn't find a good "complimentary" image as an avatar, so I used practically the same one as Robin in the banner. I hope you like it. (If you're really unhappy, I can always make a new one...) Well, here it is:[/color]

[color=#9933ff]That's loads better than what I was going to do, lol. I'll still make the banner if you really really want, and of course, I'll make an avvie. I forgot to ask, should it be the new 180x100 size or 100x100?[/color]

[QUOTE=lava lamp]Japanese people have extremely weird and varied ways of speaking. You really have to stick your head in to get the feel because they slur words together and exaggerate words for reasons that an English speaker like myself wouldn't understand... ...I thought I picked it up quickly but at the same time my Japanese will never be as good as a native speaker's and I really believe that's the case for all people trying to learn a language. The language is such a huge part of the culture and people; without all pieces of the puzzle you're screwed.[/QUOTE] [color=#9933ff]Not only you, but everyone else seems to have replied to my comment, so here's the general statement: I think that the very simplistic basics can be learned by teaching yourself (basic sentence construction), but I do agree that not everything can be learned from books, and that, yes, you really have to experience it to get a good feel for it. Like I said, the people I spoke Japanese with said I had the basics down, but not everything. It's the same in any language. I mean, here's another example: I'm practically at the top in my Spanish classes at school, but I'm sure if I spoke to anyone from any spanish country, they'd laugh at me the whole time. (Actually, when I was practicing once with someone from Chile, they laughed at me for using the word "coche"... *sigh* My point: Basics = books. Getting really good & learning useful stuff = practice with natives. Er.. yeah. [/color] [quote name='lava lamp']I felt like an idiot because I constantly had to ask people to repeat themselves and when they used words that I was familiar with, they sounded completely different. This is especially a problem with people that become fans of the language through music, because Japanese music really makes the language much longer than it is if that makes sense. Music does that with every language but with Japanese it's just really extreme. [/quote] [color=#9933ff]Yeah, I think that music really doesn't give an accurate picture of a language, because, like you said, it slows it down, a lot. P.S.: I noticed you like Hamasaki Ayumi. I want a CD by her. ¬.¬[/color]