Last book I finished was S. It's a peculiar read, but the unusual format didn't make for a cohesive story. I felt like I was left in the dark for most of it even though I read the included supplementary material. I wish more authors would try their hand at something like this. It has a lot of potential in mystery and maybe even fantasy novels, but S. specifically didn't hit all the high notes.
Joined at 18, now 32.
I never really got into Spotify and usually just have a YouTube playlist playing in the background these days. I still buy CDs like the dinosaur that I am, but usually only after a live gig that I particularly liked.
Quentin Tarantino likes feet. Do you think he is weird?
I joined as a teenager. I'm 30 now.
Koudelka, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Lost Odyssey, Kingdom Hearts II, Eternal Sonata,...
I voted "checkmate" for a number of reasons. (1) Checkers is actually only called that in America. In Europe it's called draughts. Chess at least has a uniform name in the English language. (2) I've never heard anyone use the term checkmate in checkers and I can't find any mention of it on any webpage explaining the rules. (3) The "check" term in both games is derived from the Persian word "shah" which means king. While both games feature kings in some way, chess requires you to capture only one. In checkers, you have to remove every piece (including every king) to win the game, so the closest thing to a correct equivalent would be "checksmate" or something like that.
Thought there was no way Master Xehanort was gonna get a calm, peaceful death after his PG-13 bisection of Kairi. And then he did. Seems not even karma gives a **** about her.
Finished it 3 days after I bought it (and I totally feel ya, Ienzo) because my new job would otherwise keep me from playing. I conquered all the Battlegates but I've only found half of the Lucky Emblems and have ignored anything Gummi Ship-related for now. I'll get to that eventually though. For the first time in the series, the Gummi Ship actually feels like a mode worth exploring.
Prediction: the Legendaries are going to be loosely based on Knights of the Round Table, much like Cobalion/Terrakion/Virizion were loosely based on the Three Musketeers (even though the reference to them preceded the region inspired by France).
So I've finally been playing this game again (first time Final Mix) and this struck me. What if Donald had just said "Sure mate, welcome aboard!" when Sora invited Riku to join in Traverse Town? There seems to be room for 4 in the gummi ship, Riku just proved his ability to dispatch Heartless with ease and he even held the freakin' Keyblade without it teleporting back to Sora. What more proof that this kid just might be incredibly useful do you need? Maybe Riku left before hearing his answer, or maybe he would have refused because he couldn't stand playing second banana to Sora, but part of me likes to think that Riku owes his entire story arc to Donald Duck. At least he gave him and Maleficent something to bond over; the latter knows all about not being invited.
Using the male form to refer to a mixed group is actually extremely common in several languages and done for the sake of convenience. Even when there are gender-neutral alternatives available like in English ("Well done, you lot!"), they don't tend to see as much use and I have yet to meet someone who has issues with that. I suppose trying to mention boys and girls by default is always the safer choice, but it's not the end of the world if you slip up sometimes.
It was pretty...involving to say the least (by which I mean I traded my real social life for a fake one for weeks). It's a wonderful game though, one that I can see myself come back to some time after I've digested this playthrough.
Because they're potentially healthy. No one wants to put their head on the block when there is a risk that the building will collapse on the inhabitants' heads. Of course, after a thorough inspection a building can get repurposed and this is probably commonplace as it is, but I'm afraid sheltering the homeless may rank pretty low on the priority list. I know you didn't want us to involve politics, but they're a vital part of the explanation. They don't do it without thinking, at least not anymore. The importance of ecosystem services (such as the effects of plant respiration) is common knowledge now, but countries like Brazil have put economic growth ahead of these benefits for a long time. Even now they aren't unequivocally taking steps in the direction of conservation. I've seen different numbers, but the US recycles 31-34% of their waste. Not bad and probably better than most leading powers, but some countries in Europe fare much better. Again, the numbers may vary but Germany, Austria and Slovenia generally come out on top (though Slovenia still ditches a lot of its non-recycled waste in landfills). I was always led to believe that Belgium was at the top of its class in terms of recycling but this seems to be an exaggeration, though we do seem to top the charts when it comes to recycling packaging. All for it, of course, and I don't see how people can be against it. In my experience, recycled goods don't seem to suffer a quality setback. Yeah. I reuse plastic bags and take my used batteries to a recycling point. I also help my dad chop up firewood that he gets from a furniture company run by a friend of his. Leftovers and stuff like potato peels are fed to the chickens and horses or thrown on a compost heap. The first step to recycling, however, is properly sorting your waste. I try to get that right too. Food. I find it particularly aggravating how supermarkets and drug stores dispose of food that's only slightly past due date (but still quite good) or that doesn't "conform" to what the product should look like: twisted cucumbers, a potato that started sprouting, a carton that's slightly dented... Most of those are perfectly suitable for consumption and if you don't want to sell them, at least give them to the poor.
I have yet to see anything worthy of respect be associated with that flag. Why would you even want it as part of your heritage? Then again, my knowledge of American history is limited. What I do think though, is that there is too much weight given to this and other symbols altogether. This isn't an American problem (heck, I can think of a case in Belgium and The Netherlands that caused a somewhat similar controversy). I realize that I, as a straight Caucasian male am privileged in saying this, but someone's got to remind everyone that sitting around and having a good laugh about history is preferable to getting offended every time someone blows his nose in a hanky that's the wrong colour. Last but not least, getting to be offended has its expiration date. When you fly into a rage about something that happened to your grandfather's grandfather, that's about time to take a good look at yourself and wonder what the fuck you're still doing. What happened then still leaves ugly scars, sure, but would you not rather mock Dylann Roof for waving a flag around that you got over than give him the satisfaction that it still gets under your toes? TL;DR: Being proud of the Confederate flag seems dumb, partly but not entirely because it's just a damn flag.
If that's the reasoning behind the term, then allow me to scoff. "Equalism" implies no such thing. You can make two values equal by adding to one value and/or subtracting from the other, but there are no prior assumptions to the term. It makes you wonder why a group that"s so sick and tired of being misunderstood gathers under an outdated banner that encourages misinterpretation. Most reasonable feminists do argue that equality between genders is what they're ultimately going for, yet they continue to sweep misandric double standards under the rug. When is the last time you heard a self-proclaimed feminist speak up against men being sentenced to longer prison terms? I have yet to see most of them be anything beyond blatant opportunists.
I'm going to repeat what I said in another thread, but whatever: dumbfucks such as these give America a bad name. It's sad to see these weirdos stand out when there are so many sensible opinions out there. Hatred sells well, I guess. Either way, I'm not too worried about this proposal being taken seriously. Nevertheless, I can imagine that dealing with these bad jokes chips away valuable time that could be spent handling decent initiatives.
Of course homosexuals deserve equal rights. Of course they should be allowed to marry (except in church, that would be silly) and of course they should have sex. Prohibiting any of these would mean sabotaging a kind of love that essentially isn't any different from heterosexual love. I don't want to sound presumptuous (just kidding, I totally do), but one of the main reasons Belgians like to think of much of the American population as uncivilized hicks (along with young Earth creationists, climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers) is that this is even an issue over there.
"Come for the appearance, stay for the personality." That's the rule many of us follow and I have yet to see someone who defies it without fooling themselves, gold diggers notwithstanding. Rather than making a fuss about it, I think we should all just abide to the fact that ugly people (m/f) are playing the dating game on Hard Mode. Whoever I strike up a conversation with gets a fair chance, but don't be offended when I approach your hotter friends first. I've played the second fiddle more often than I can count, and I've learned to elegantly retreat and shrug it off when that happens. EDIT: Just realized the bump. Oops.
The Receding Wave Here I stand, atop a desolate coast I cut my toes on coin and pressing matters Twisting and whirling like sand in the air Pocketsful of folly is what I lay bare An offering to a foaming ghost They are dragged to its depths as part of me shatters I considered a dip, but a furtive dive Would see me swallowed, keeled by the tide Caught by an onslaught of youthful energy And beckoning memories, but eventually Mockery aplenty for the way I behave No, I could slash the surface to bitter tears Only to never find the years Stolen by this receding wave ~ Beasts That Build Civilization’s pillars are the hairy legs Of a creature whose drool congeals To glass, concrete and steel Even in denial it fights tooth and nail We strive for saint or settle for sinner Never content that we’re already halfway We fear the pleasures we can receive The highs we can achieve And construct our way around them Bricks and bolts and stories and pills Permitted indulgence though the veil is thin For what is order but chaos frozen in place? Sometimes we even leak: The thaw is always but a threshold away. Our arenas, carved in wood, layered in law A limbo for the feral, and a reminder To keep natural selection caged. And what is trade then, but ravenous? Buy, sell, hoard, feast, starve Grow or be outgrown The system is ever vicious But the prospect of coming out on top Has stayed our hand in casting it down We are the beasts that build Clever architects Yet slaves to our senses still