Thursday, August 12, 2004

Tired Ugh, this week has been so draining. And it's really my own fault. On Monday I ended up being awake very late; wasn't tired at all. I pretty much had zero sleep that night. And on Tuesday morning I attended a tour of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image as part of my school group. That was okay; I didn't notice my tiredness much at that point, as it was a really interesting tour. And the whole thing only lasted three hours, so I had no classes that day. I had a great night's sleep on Tuesday and was fine Wednesday. But what do I do? I stay up way too late again Wednesday and sleepy in too much Thursday. So now it's Friday morning and I've got about three hours 'till I have to be awake for school. lol Generally, I do tend to be a night owl...but it's actually rare that I punish myself like this. I'm not quite sure why I am having so much trouble just settling down into a normal sleeping pattern. In any case, it's not too bad. It is Friday afterall. Just one day. But one painful day, thanks to my own stupidity. Does this ever happen to you? Even when you're busy, you still end up somehow getting relatively little sleep -- even when you could probably fit the hours in? Part of my problem is the way I operate in terms of working on things. For example, I might be extremely tired once I get home from classes. But I'll sit there and I'll continue working on something. I work a lot better at home than I do at school and as a result, I tend to start something and work for hours until it's completed (or very close to completion). This often means that I do the bulk of my work in the evening or very early in the morning. So you see, this compounds on my tiredness in the day. No matter how tired I am, I find it incredibly difficult to stop working on certain things -- especially if I feel I am making progress. Oh well. Provided that my Internet holds up, I'm planning to just stick it out and stay awake for now. The Internet thing is really bizarre. On Wednesday night I was just sitting here and using the Internet normally...and everything shut down -- there was apparently no info moving back and forth between modem and ISP or whatever. Funny thing is, it worked today for a few hours. Then stopped working. It would then work if I'd disconnect and reconnect a few times. And only a couple of hours earlier, it wasn't working at all. Now it does. o_O I'm presuming there is no issue with my wireless USB thingies...they're all okay. I can connect to the modem, but the modem has had problem with transfers. I'm hoping that it's just a temporary thing. Cross your fingers for me, won't you?

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Monday, August 9, 2004

Two If you know me, you probably know that one of my favourite horror films is Ring. Ring is a Japanese horror film, which was released in 1998. To my knowledge, it was the most successful domestic release for a Japanese movie (as in, it did bigger business than any Japanese movie in Japan to date, apparently). Ring essentially revolves around a mysterious blank video tape. The urban legend is that if you watch it, you will die exactly seven days afterwards. Now, that may sound familiar -- in 2002, there was a Dreamworks remake, called "The Ring". Fundamentally The Ring was pretty good. Obviously it had a bigger budget and nicer visuals. And some scenes were directly lifted from the Japanese original. However, the original Japanese movie -- Ring -- while not being a special effects masterpiece, is nonetheless a brilliant piece of cinema. Hideo Nakata (the creator of the film version, which is itself a reinterpretation of a Japanese novel; you still with me? lol), is considered to be one of the most talented Japanese horror directors out there. Despite the similarities in concept, Ring is different from The Ring. Many of the differences are minor. In The Ring, you watch the tape and your phone rings. When you pick it up, a little girl whispers "seven days" in your ear and hangs up. In Ring, the same thing happens, but there is no voice at the other end. Instead, you hear this utterly bizarre sounding shamisen...it's actually quite an awful sound. It keeps playing until you hang up. Also, the actual contents of the tapes are different. The American version features a very disturbing tape (I prefer the American tape, really). It's brilliant. It basically contains various imagery and animation...it kind of looks like someone's nightmare, to quote one of the characters. In Ring, the tape is somewhat similar, but not quite as disturbing. There were three Ring movies. Ring 2 is essentially a direct sequel and in Ring 2, the story goes a little deeper. We learn more about Sadako (Samara's counterpart) and various characters actually try to stop the curse through a scientific method (which fails miserably, of course). Ring 2 has some absolutely awesome scenes. Again, although Nakata had far less money to make these movies, Ring 2 has some of the most disturbing sequences I've ever seen on film. It's a beautiful movie, in that sense. There was also a "Ring 0". Ring 0 is set in the past (thirty years ago, when Sadako was still alive). It pretty much explains how she became who she is and how the curse started. The story behind that has some cliches, but it's actually quite a disturbing and depressing tale. Ring 0 has a few camp moments (but it's Japanese, and nearly every Japanese horror film has camp moments ~_^), but more than anything else, it's a drama. Until the end, anyway...where it kind of goes insane and dives off a cliff (in a good way). The Ring (the Dreamworks remake), contains elements from Ring and Ring 2. So, when I heard that they were making a "The Ring 2", I wondered exactly how they'd do it. Afterall, The Ring/Ring is basically about a cycle. I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it, so I won't go into that now. But in both the Japanese and American films, there's a pretty difinitive ending. I mention all of this for one major reason. Today I was reading about a delay for the release of The Ring 2 (it was November this year, now it's early next year). This is due to crew changes. But there's one huge element to all of this -- Gore Verbinski isn't directing The Ring 2. The director of the sequel to the Dreamworks remake will be none other than Hideo Nakata. If all Ring fans are not sitting there with their mouths open wide right now, they should be ashamed. ~_^ Nakata did some absolutely insane stuff with almost no budget in the Japanese films. I mean, the ending to Ring is so much more disturbing than the ending to The Ring...even though The Ring has ten times the budget. So, the prospect of someone with those skills at the helm of a movie with a massive budget is very exciting to me. Nakata can create some highly disturbing stuff and the idea that he'll be doing the American sequel is music to my ears. I can't wait. Oh and...here is a preview poster to tide you over:

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Saturday, August 7, 2004

Theme? I'm thinking of changing the theme here on myOtaku again. What do you think my new theme should be? Perhaps someone will suggest something cool that I hadn't thought of. Anyway, for those of you who regularly visit OB...you will know that OtakuBoards has recently undergone some changes in The Arena, which is our creative writing and roleplaying area. This is kind of one step forward, but there are many more to make. I'm going to try and take the time over the coming weeks to finalize a number of other things for the boards, which should tighten the place up a bit. I've mentioned some of these, but one of them that I hadn't mentioned is a complete ratings system for RPGs. This is something I had been working on, but Shy recently sent me a PM, with a complete set of ratings and explanations. So, save for a bit of shuffling and editing, it looks good to go. I'm really pleased that the staff have taken initiatve on that issue. But also, having a set ratings system will hopefully make it easier for members to decide which RPGs are for them. Part of the problem with RPGs is that people throw in their own ratings, which may or may not necessarily be relevant. Sometimes people rate their RPG as "mature" or "adult" -- perhaps just to buffer themselves -- but they never end up including material that could be considered even remotely adult. So the new system goes into some level of detail, in an effort to help people decide what ratings to use. Initially, I think it will be a difficult transition (and it'll mean that older threads will have to be edited), but after the initial adjustment period, it should be worthwhile. I've also been thinking about Otaku Lounge. Recently, Charles hired Panda to look over that forum. And she's been doing a good job. The problem is that there seem to be two schools of thought on how OL should be handled. One side feels that the forum is a complete pit of junk and that it should be moderated in a tough way, in order to discourage spammy topics and encourage more intelligent discussion. The other side feels that, while we should maintain some kind of moderation in OL, we shouldn't be too strict in there -- it is, afterall, an off-topic forum. So as long as people are following the site's basic rules (as in, non-forum-specific rules), most stuff should be acceptable (from the sillier Lyrics Game style threads, to the more serious discussions). As for me, I've pretty much been content to allow Panda and Lore (Sara) to handle Otaku Lounge in their own way. Obviously, we have site rules, which should be applied there. But anything beyond that comes down to their own discretion. To some extent, I haven't really understood the criticisms of OL. Some people have described it in a pretty nasty way. But really, if you go and read the first page of topics there now, you'll find that the majority are pretty reasonable. I get the feeling that some people are kind of standing up on a high horse and bashing the forum, simply because it doesn't tend to foster the kind of in-depth stuff that other forums do. Of course, I can understand that to some degree -- I rarely post in OL myself, simply because very little in there interests me personally. But the cool thing about OtakuBoards is that, if I'm not enjoying OL, I simply don't have to visit it. Why complain about it if I never go there? Having said that, I obviously have a responsibility to the people who do post there. Those who are regulars in the forum seem to enjoy it, but it's clear that OL is not quite the same as most of the other forums on OB. So what's the solution? I have attempted to hire strict Moderators in the past, who would crack down on the place. But what usually happens is that, instead of Lyrics Game threads, we start to get a ton of "controversial" threads that lead to in-depth (albeit fiery) debates. The problem is that nobody can seem to find a middle ground. I've seen plenty of discussions that are somewhat silly...but that still feature some level of intelligence and back-and-forth discussion. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to strike that balance. In any case, I visited OL today and cleared out some of the less desirable stuff. And in the near future, I'm going to be reorganizing the staff in that part of OtakuBoards. This won't necessarily be done simply to "be more strict", but it will ensure that there is a constant Moderator presence in there. And I think that is needed more than anything else. Edit: I finally took a photo of the cardboard Uma that is sitting in my house. Unfortunately, the photo came out really badly and my camera is out of power (again), so I'm unable to take another. But I thought I'd put it up anyway. There she is. I'll try to take a clearer shot, if you like, to show the bottom of the thing as well. Her head nearly reaches the ceiling and I haven't yet found a place to put her. Oh well. It's kind of fun to have her sitting out, to see people's reactions when they walk into the house. lol Numerous people have walked in and first thought that there was a woman standing there with a sword. They've had to do a double take. It's fun. ~_^

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Wednesday, August 4, 2004

Beyond v7 A couple of days ago I was thinking about OtakuBoards a bit more, in terms of its future. This came about because I was mentioning to Justin that I need to finalize the new postbit stuff for the site soon. If you haven't read about that before, it's basically a two stage update for OtakuBoards. One stage is the OB Arcade, the other is the new postbit. If you've been to Tony's boards, you'll have a fair idea of what the Virtual Bulletin arcade setup is like. It's pretty cool. The ability to generate a ladder and things like that make it an interesting added feature. As I've mentioned in previous updates, we've actually had the OB Arcade sitting there, all finalized, for several months now. In fact, I remember seeing the finished version not too long after v7 itself launched. Normally, it would be okay for us to just add an arcade link and be done with it. But OB Arcade is going to include a feature, whereby members can actively challenge one another in games. It's almost a turn-based system, where the person with the highest score wins. I haven't had an in-depth look at the system, but I assume that your profile will have some sort of info that lists your wins/losses. However, to implement this properly, it's necessary to actually modify the site's postbit (the postbit is the area that shows your name, avatar and myOtaku links). Of course, I have to design this postbit for each skin seperately, which is somewhat annoying. But that's to be expected. Anyway, I'm really hoping to have all of that done pretty soon. In conjunction with the changes in The Arena, it should inject some further interest and excitement into the site. But beyond that, there are a few other things I have in mind. Some involve forum changes that I'm working through at the moment -- ideas that I'm kinda formulating in my head. In addition, I would like to find new ways to connect OtakuBoards with the rest of the network. I have a few ideas in this regard, but whether or not they are implemented really comes down to the feasibility of the programming side of it. And the third thing...skins. I've had a couple of people approach me about making skins, but they have kind of been very slow to act on design in general and so, I don't want to rely on them at this point. For my own part, I have kind of changed course a bit. Originally I had planned to develop a new optional skin for OB. But now, I want to make a new default skin. Of course, the current two skins will still be selectable -- but Liquid would no longer be the default. The question is, what type of skin should be the new default? I'm having trouble answering that question. I had a few ideas in mind (one involving liberal use of yellow, the other involving a fruity lime/green scheme). But it's hard to say, at this point. In any case, I suspect that I'm going to have to actively recruit skin artists soon. I would actually like to have a couple of people who dedicate their time to the development of new skins, so that this way, a new skin can be added every couple of weeks or so. Of course, it's ultimately easier said than done. Everyone has their own stuff to work on and making vB skins (especially OB-specific skins) is a tough job. It's also a very long process -- it literally takes hours and hours to make a forum skin from the ground up. There are a billion tiny things that you have to edit. By just looking at the forum, it's hard to get an idea of the number of things that have to be changed. But yeah...it's nasty. Anyway, hopefully I can find a couple of people who are willing to go through that, to get their skins displayed on OB. I would love to churn out a handful of skins for the site at the moment, but I'm just too busy with other things. Hopefully things will settle down a little once theOtaku.com's new work is all complete (and there's still a way for me to go on a few things there). Also...I am planning something big that doesn't relate to online stuff at all. It potentially relates to my career, interestingly enough. If things go well, I'll fill you in.

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Monday, August 2, 2004

myOtaku.com's One Year Anniversary If you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you may not be aware that myOtaku.com recently celebrated its one year anniversary. To mark the occasion, Adam finally opened his own blog to the public here at myOtaku.com. That's very cool. I've been bugging him to start one for a long time now. ~_^ It's kind of popular to talk about the history of this network at regular intervals. And why not? The entire network has existed, in some form or another, for something like six (nearly seven) years now. It makes me wonder if we'll be celebrating 10 years of Otaku one day in the not too distant future. In terms of the Internet, that's a pretty remarkable achievement. Many sites come and go, but this network has remained in place for so many years now, despite the ups and downs. myOtaku itself still feels like a recent invention, really. Despite the fact that it's now sitting on its second version, it really feels like this place was launched only yesterday. But here we are...one year later and almost 40,000 members strong. And to think that our best days are still to come. I have to admit that I never thought I'd be around this long, personally. I had thought that once my classes began in 2003, I'd have a lot less time for this stuff. The truth is, while I tend to have less time during classes, I still invest as much time as I can in online work. Even though it has its frustrations and challenges, it is nonetheless very rewarding to get your work out there and to have people enjoy it. Internet-based work has also gone from being more of a hobby, to being something that I take very seriously. When I look back at my actual paid work over the last few years, I can definitely trace all of it back to the Internet in one way or another. I mean, had I not begun writing articles for theOtaku.com, I'd never have begun writing for N-Sider. If I hadn't begun writing for them, I'd never have written for Nintendo Gamer Magazine or IGN. And if I hadn't begun writing for NGM/IGN, I wouldn't be [insert cool new future job here]. ~_^ Online work is really important, particularly as it relates to the game industry (whether it's game journalism, animation, programming or whatever else). The ability to put your work out there is something that I just wouldn't have had without Internet access. So, online work has affected me in a very real way since I began doing it, in 2000. So, while I have contributed countless hours of work to this network over its lifespan (whether strictly in design or the long and painful process of lifting OtakuBoards out of the gutter), the network has in turn given me a great deal of opportunities. And in addition, I've seen some staff members of the network who have also benefitted from the experience here. For example, I actually wrote a job reference for an OB staffer a while ago, which apparently helped them out. They had told me that their experience on OB had actually assisted them in the field they were interested in (I won't mention who they are here though, as they may not want that). So, I can say that for those of you who are lucky enough to have had some time with the network as a staff member...this is something you should value very highly. And those who have an interest in working within this network one day, the same applies. Getting good experience and contributing to a place that is famous for its quality and innovation will only serve to help you in the future. Above all else, it's simply great to know that I've had a role here. And I'm really excited about the future, too. Even though big events like OBv7 and myOtaku.com are behind us, there's so much more to look forward to in the future. I don't think we'll ever stop moving, as long as this place is alive. Edit: I really need to try and come up with characters for RPGs sooner. Anime Stereotype Highschool is just way too awesome. I hope there's going to be another one at some point in the future. ^_^''

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Saturday, July 31, 2004

The Underground is Cool. Well, Arena Underground managed to survive its very first day in operation. I'm pleased that the general RPG discussions have been flourishing there. But really, what interests me more is how people are going to use AU to complement their existing (and new) RPGs. Arena Underground actually adds a fundamentally new element to RPGs -- the ability to have a support thread other than the recruitment thread. My next RPG (after Kill Adam 2) is going to utilize Arena Underground heavily. In fact, I had wanted to create AU before Kill Adam 2 went live, because I felt that it was something I was going to need. As it turns out, I ended up designing a site with Alan instead. But now, the need for sites has probably dropped significantly. Instead of making a site, people can make HTML-rich threads that include static and dynamic information about the RPG. So, to help kick things off, I've launched a Kill Adam Underground thread, which is hopefully going to complement the RPG as well. I also want to continue to focus on RPG collaborations. Collaborations help to raise the production value of an RPG, which can be really beneficial at times (though it's not always necessary). Shy/Josh had just suggested an RPG idea to me earlier this evening, which he wanted me to develop with him. The actual idea is pretty cool, but I'm not entirely sure if it's something I can do successfully. Nevertheless, this really serves as a reminder to me that collaboration is important. With Kill Adam, I am kind of sacrificing some elements of a more free and easy style of RPG, by introducing structure. But really, everyone still has a great deal of freedom in what they do. It's just that there are certain established facts that develop throughout the story. And the beauty of having a more cohesive effort is that at the end -- once Volume 2 concludes -- Kill Adam will be a complete story, with a beginning and an end...and with no utterly confusing and OOC style areas in the middle. What was the point of this post? I don't know. But go visit Arena Underground and post in there, if you haven't already.

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Friday, July 30, 2004

Thanks, Solo... I guess this is what I do when I don't know what to post. ~_^ 001) What time are you starting this?: 11:22pm, July 30, 2004. 002) Name?: James 003) Date of birth?: April 30, 1983 004) Sex?: Male 005) Height?: 170cms (I have no idea what I am in feet...) 006) Eye color?: Brown 007) Weight?: I have no idea. I haven't weighed myself in a long, long time. O_O; 008) Location?: Melbourne, Australia 009) Where were you born?: Mercy Maternity Hospital, in Melbourne (how's that for specificity? o_O) 010) Have you ever failed a grade?: That doesn't make any sense. It should be "have you ever had a failing grade" or something. But yes, I have. 011) If you have, what grade did you fail?: I never failed a whole year level or anything, but I've failed a couple of tests in my lifetime. 012) Do you have crush on someone?: This is me we're talking about here. I always have a crush on at least one person. 013) Do you have a bf/gf?: Nope. 014) If so, what is their name?: N/A 015) How long have you been together?: N/A 016) What are you wearing right now?: A really cool dark green/orange top (it's very hard to describe without seeing it o_O), dark blue jeans, black socks and black briefs. 017) Would you have sex before marriage?: It's too late to ask that question. 018) Have you ever had a crush on any of your teachers?: Yes, I must have, at some point. I'm sure I have. But I can't remember any at the moment. 019) Are you a virgin?: No. 020) Do you smoke?: No. I've "smoked" before, but I have never been a "smoker", you know? So yeah. I don't know what else to say there. ^_^; 021) Do you drink?: Rarely. 022) Are you ghetto?: I don't know what you're asking, so I'll just say "no". 023) Are you a player?: Nope. I think. Next question? >_< 024) What are your favorite colors?: I like anything vivid -- something that reminds me I'm not colour blind. If I can see colours, I might as well utilize that ability. That's my motto...I guess. ^_^; 025) What is your favorite animal?: I don't have a favourite. 026) Do you have any birthmarks?: Um, sort of. I have one little freckle on the side of my neck, which I guess you'd call a birthmark. 027) Have you ever gotten your ass kicked?: You mean, have I ever been beaten up? Not really. I got into a few fights as a really young kid, but nothing serious. 028) Who are your best friends?: Hm...all of them are kind of the same. I wouldn't really say that any of my friends are more special than the others. The only people more special are in my own family. 029) Have you ever beat someone up?: Nope, not really. I did deck someone once though, in my senior year of high school. But the guy had been bugging me all year for some reason. So I kinda put a stop to that one day. But uh...I'm not a violent person, I swear. lol 030) Who do you talk to most on the phone?: I used to talk on the phone a lot, but I hardly ever use it anymore. 031) Have you ever been slapped?: Oh yes, many times. o_O; 032) Do you get online a lot?: I do, yep. 033) Are you shy or outgoing?: Depends entirely on the situation. Sometimes I'm very shy, sometimes very outgoing. 034) Do you shower?: As opposed to what? Having a bath? o_O Ah, yes, I shower. I enjoy my showers. Yep. 035) Do you hate school?: No, but sometimes I don't like it very much. 036) Do you have a social life?: I do, though it's a lot more quiet than it used to be. 037) How easily do you trust people?: Depends what I'm trusting them with. Building up fundamental trust takes a while...I don't place that kind of trust in people from the beginning. 038) Have you ever lied to your best friends?: Oh I'm sure I probably have. At some point I'm sure a friend has asked my opinion of something and I've said it was great, when I probably didn't think it was. But we all tell white-lies, don't we? 039) Do you have a secret people would be surprised knowing?: Yes and no. Depends who you are and what your opinion of me is, I think. 040) Would you ever sky dive?: Yes. 041) Do you like to dance?: Sort of. I used to dance a lot more often. It's kind of weird that I don't do it much anymore. *shrug* 042) Do you like your handwriting?: No, my handwriting is almost as bad as a doctor's. 044) What is the compliment you get most from people?: Um...I think the number one compliment is when people like something I've made. 045) If a movie was made about your life, what would it be called?: Kill Adam: Volu-- yeah, okay, probably not. It'd probably be a movie version of Seinfeld. 'cause, you know, I have a lot of Seinfeld-like conversations with people. 046) What's your biggest fear?: Losing loved ones. 047) Can you sing?: No, but, people tell me that I have a cool voice. Maybe I should become a DJ... >_< 048) You ever pretend to be someone else just to look cool?: Hah! Maybe sometimes I'm a bit hard on myself, but I have enough of an ego to be happy to make an impression on my own. Hehe 049) Are you a loner?: Sometimes I am, yeah. And on those occasions I prefer it. 050) What is your number?: Pass. 051) If you were another person, would you be friends with who you are now?: Think about that question for a moment. It makes no sense. 052) Are you a daredevil?: Generally, no. But I have my moments... 053) Is there anything you fear or hate about yourself?: Are you kidding? There are a million things that I dislike about myself. But why dwell on them? 054) Are you aggressive or passive?: Depends. In terms of anger/temper, I'm very passive. I'm a very relaxed person and it takes a lot to make me angry/upset. But I tend to be aggressive in other circumstances...ahem. ^_^; 055) Have you got a journal?: Not really. I don't have a paper journal anyway. I guess this is technically my journal, but I rarely post journal-type-stuff on here. 056) What is your greatest strength and weakness? I honestly don't know what my greatest strength and weakness would be... 057) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be, why?: I don't really know. There are probably a million things I'd change about myself, but really, all of that is only related to self-doubt. I think it's best to just accept who I am and be okay with that. 058) There are three wells: love, beauty and creativity; which one would you drink out of?: Love, for sure. Love is the most important thing to me. All you need is love. 060) Do you think you are emotionally strong?: Depends. Sometimes I am strong about certain things, but sometimes I'm not. Really depends on the emotion/issue. 061) Do you live in the moment?: I do, yeah. But in certain cases, I live in the future (as in, I'm always living in my future plans...not the present experience). 062) Do you have any bad habits?: What healthy young man doesn't have bad habits? ~_^ 063) What is the most important lesson you've learned from life?: "All you need is love." I think that's the most important lesson I've learned. It sounds very simple, but you can apply it to nearly everything in your life. 064) What do you like the most about your body?: My body? Uh...my legs and...yeah. I won't say anything more. ^_^; 065) And least? Hm...my hair. It never does what I want it to. But I'm at least glad that male pattern baldness is not a trait on either side of my family. Phew. 066) Do you think you are good looking?: I think I'm about average. Some people seem to think I'm a little slice of beefcake and some people seem to think that I have been slapped with an ugly stick. That's how it goes - beauty's in the eye of the beholder. ~_^ 067) Are you confident?: Am I confident in what? I'm confident in many things and very unconfident in others. 068) Have you ever been out of state?: Only once. 069) Do you like to travel?: Yep. 070) Have you ever been expelled from school?: No, but soon my school may be expelled from me. Heh...yeah. I'll stop. 071) Have you ever been suspended from school?: No, but I've had...three detentions. Or more. I forget. 071) Do you want to get out of your hometown?: To live? No. I may one day move for work, but I will try to avoid it. Melbourne isn't called "the most liveable city on Earth" for nothing. 072) Are you spoiled?: Some people spoil me rotten and some people are the opposite with me. So I guess it's 50/50. 073) Are you a brat?: Well, like I said before, I'm a pretty passive person. So, I kinda don't think I lend myself to being a brat. lol But that's not really for me to judge. Others may have a different view, who knows. 074) Have you ever been dumped?: Yep, 'fraid so. 075) Have you ever gotten high?: Yep. 076) What's your favorite drink?: Coca-Cola. 077) Do you like Snapple?: I know I've had Snapple before, but I can't remember it. That was a long time ago. 078) Do you drink a lot of water?: I don't drink a lot of water. But I do drink it. 079) What toothpaste do you use?: I don't know what it's called, but it's glittery and minty. ^_^; 080) Do you have a cell phone or pager?: I have a mobile phone, which I never use. Mobile phones suck. 081) Do you have a curfew?: No. 082) Who do you look up to?: Lots of people. Probably too many to name here. 083) Are you a role model?: Oh geeze, I hope not. lol 084) Have you ever been to Six Flags?: Sadly, no. 085) What name brand do you wear the most?: I used to wear a lot of Quiksilver stuff (Aussie surfie brand), but I hardly wear it anymore. Nowdays I wear a big variety of stuff and I don't really pay attention to the brand. 086) What kind of jewelry do you wear?: I wear two rings on my right hand. One on my middle finger (it's a thick silver ring with a black wave burnt into it) and one on my thumb (it's a silver ring with waves cut out of it). I used to wear a black leather necklace, but I lost it years ago. V_V; 087) What do you have pierced?: Nothing. 088) What do you want pierced?: Nothing. I don't want to put holes in my pretty body. Not at the moment, anyway. ~_^; 089) Do you like taking pictures?: Sometimes. 090) Do you like getting your picture taken?: No, I hate it. I tend to feel very uncomfortable in front of cameras. I never like my own photos. 091) Do you have a tan?: Not really, no. 092) Do you get annoyed easily?: Some people annoy me easily, most don't. 093) Have you ever started a rumor?: I haven't ever deliberately started one, no. But sometimes rumors develop out of the most innocent conversations. 094) Do you have your own phone/phone line?: I have my own phone, but not my own line. 095) Do you have your own pool?: Nope. 096) Do you have any siblings?: Yep, a younger brother and two younger sisters. 097) Do you prefer boxers or briefs?: Briefs. They feel and look better, in my humble opinion. I used to wear boxers, but wearing them is just weird. It feels like you're wearing a kilt or something (not that there's anything wrong with that...lol) 098) Have you ever been played?: I have no idea. 099) Have you ever played anyone?: There are non-Americans who take this test, you know. 100) Do you get along with your parents?: Yes. 102) How do you vent your anger?: Sex. What? That's a good way of focusing your unwanted energy. ...V_V; 103) Have you ever run away?: No. 104) Have you ever been fired from a job?: No. 105) Do you even have a job?: Not at the moment, no. I still do paid freelance work, but I wouldn't say that it's a regular job. It's certainly not enough to actually be considered a full-time income. 106) Do you daydream a lot?: All the time. 107) Do you have a lot of exes?: I have two exes. 108) Do you run your mouth?: Er...I don't think so. Who knows. It's another American thing that I don't fully understand. 109) What do you want a tattoo of?: I want a little 1-Up mushroom somewhere private. 110) What do you have a tattoo of?: I don't have a tattoo. 111) What are your favorite flowers?: I don't have any favourite flowers (but black roses have a certain appeal...) 112) What does your ex bf/gf look like?: Reasonably tall, dark hair, brown eyes, olive skin. 113) What does your most recent crush look like?: I'm not tellin' you...~_^ 114) Have you ever been bitched out?: Bitched out? lol! That's so funny. I've never heard that term before. You silly Americans. 115) When was the last time you bitched someone out?: *giggles* 116) Are you rude?: I'm only rude if I feel that I have to be. Usually this happens if I feel that I'm being treated badly/unfairly (or if someone I know is being treated that way). 117) What was the last compliment you received?: "You never fail to impress me...in bed." Nah, I added the last part. Ahem. 118) Do you like getting dirty?: Literally or metaphorically? Literally, no. Metaphorically, sometimes. ^_^; 119) Is your bellybutton an innie or outie?: Innie. I prefer innie. 120) Are you flexible?: Not really. 121) What is your heritage?: Irish, Welsh, German. 122) What is your lucky number?: 707875 123) What does your hair look like right now?: It's messy and everywhere. 124) Could you ever be a vegetarian?: No. Apart from the fact that steak tastes far too nice...I feel that humans are born with carnivore teeth for a reason. Think about it. 125) When was your last real heartbreak?: End of last year. Kinda. 126) Describe your looks?: Why? You've seen my picture. And if you haven't, that's just bad luck I'm afraid. ~_^ 127) If you had to completely dye your hair it'd be what color?: It'd be blue. 128) Would you ever date someone younger than you?: Yeah, but not too much younger. 129) Would you ever date someone older than you?: Same as above. 130) When was the last time you were drunk?: Never been drunk. 131) When was the last time you went on a date?: A few months ago. 132) Would you rather give or receive oral sex?: I'm not going to answer that. If you want to know, you'll have to seduce me. lol ^_^; 133) Have you ever given?: Use your imagination. 134) Have you ever received?: Same as above. 135) Have you ever had an eating disorder?: No. But it's kinda funny that this question relates to the above three. Everyone: Eww! Me: Sorry! X_X 136) Do you have one now?: Nope. 137) How many rings until you answer the phone?: I don't think about it. 138) Have you ever been skinnydipping?: Nope. 139) If yes, when was the last time?: N/A 140) Do you look more like your mother or father?: I'm an odd combination of both. Scary. 141) Do you cry a lot?: Nope. 142) Do you ever cry to get your way?: Oh god, if I ever did that, I'd have to shoot myself. 143) If you had to amputate one limb, what would it be?: I was going to say "my left arm", because I don't use it for writing. But...I definitely couldn't amputate my left arm. It comes in useful now and then. 144) What phrase do you use most when on the phone?: "Cool", "Yeah", "*giggle*" 145) Are you the romantic type?: I think so. ^_^ 146) Have you ever been chased by cops?: Well, there was that one time, after a night of playing Doom, that I decided to go and shoot up some drums full of petrol and... No, I've never been chased by the cops. 147) What do you like most about your body?: My feet. A lot of people seem to have weird feet (Uma Thurman's a good example). But mine are lovely. Unfortunately, I've never gone out with anyone who has a foot fetish. lol 148) What do you like least about your body?: I don't really know. My hair, like I mentioned before, maybe? 149) Who did you last hook up with?: I really don't like that term. To me, it implies a one night stand. And I'm not a fan of those. 150) When was the last time you threw up?: Years ago. 151) In the opposite sex, do you prefer blondes or brunettes?: Brunettes. 152) What do the shoes you last wore look like?: They're walking shoes, like um...the ones that go under your ankle. Yeah. 153) Do you ever wear shirts to show your belly?: No...I'm not that in touch with my feminine side. 154) What about cleavage?: If I had cleavage, I'd be in serious trouble. 155) Is your best friend a virgin?: Who knows? Their sex life is none of my business. 156) Have you ever fucked someone up?: I don't think so. But if I did, I hoped they enjoyed it. *canned laughter* 157) Have you ever been fucked up?: Yeah, many times. No! Not like that! *canned laughter* 158) What color are your underwear right now?: Boring black. 159) What theme does your room have?: Black and white, with a big Kill Bill poster framed up on one wall. And a big Holden Racing Team poster on the opposite wall. 160) What size shoe do you wear? I don't know. Sizings are different from country-to-country anyway. 161) What jewelry are you wearing now?: My two rings. 162) What is your screen name on AIM?: JamesOtaku01. I was born with it. 163) Would you pick a wedgie in public?: If I had a wedgie, I'd fix it discreetly. lol 164) How are you feeling right now?: I'm cold. 165) When was the last time you were at a party?: End of last year. 166) Have you ever given a lapdance?: Not that I can remember. 167) What do you sleep in?: I sleep in Looney Tunes shorts. They're soft and comfy and I love them. I'd buy Mario ones, if I could find a pair... 168) Has there ever been a rumor spread about you?: Yep. 169) What is one of your bad qualities?: Sometimes I demand a lot of others, when it comes to work. I don't know if that's outright bad, but it has to be kept in check. 170) What is one of your good qualities?: I don't hold grudges. 171) Would you marry for money?: Definitely not. 172) What do you drive?: I don't own a car. I'm waiting to buy one that I really want. 173) Have you ever given or received roadhead?: I'm not that daring. 174) Are you more of a mama or daddy's child?: Defintely mum. She's a female version of me. lol 175) What's does your myOtaku username mean?: It's my own name, so it carries no meaning. 176) What's your favorite myOtaku to read?: Where do I start? I regularly read Semjaza Azazel, ShyGuy, Arcadia, Shinmaru, wrist cutter, Desbreko, OtakuSennen, Solo Tremaine, Lady Katana, Mimmi, Panda, Transtic Nerve...the list goes on and on and on. I pretty much read the myOtaku of 95% of the people on my friend's list, on a regular basis. Some of them do not update nearly enough. 177) When was the last time you cried in school?: I can't remember. 178) Do you wear Chucks?: What's Chucks? 179) For two million dollars, would you pose for Playboy?: I'm not sure. I'd pose if it were an arty photo (like those black and white athlete calendars). But if it were just a pornographic/sexual thing? Probably not. 180) What time are you finishing this?: 12:40am. Wow, the time flew by! *dies*

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Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Susan's Cool Well, I've spent the last two days watching the coverage of the Democratic National Convention on various news channels (Fox, CNN, etc). It's been interesting. For those who don't know, I have a very keen interest in politics; particularly American politics. I find the entire process interesting and I love to learn about all of the people involved. It's funny, because I used to find politics incredibly dry and boring (as I'm sure many kids/teens do). However, the more I learn about it, the more I come to find it interesting and enjoyable. Knowing how it works also tends to give me some reassurance, especially when it comes to combatting the various conspiracy theories out there. The best way to debunk that stuff is to know what you're talking about and to understand how the system works. It's amazing that so many critics of various politicians (on both sides), simply have very limited understanding of how the process operates. This is the first convention that I've actually watched in detail. I'll also be watching the Republican equivalent whenever it comes around. So far, it's been worthwhile I think. Although I tend to disagree with Republicans on certain issues (civil rights, stem cell research, the environment and various other things), I find that I agree with them on other issues (defence and economics being the big areas). And considering all of the stuff that I'd heard from Democrats in recent years, I had kind of written them off as being viable at this point. Many of their members simply seemed to want to attack Bush, rather than actually offer reasonable alternatives. I don't think that politics should be about saying "the other guy's an ass, so vote for me." Surely it should be about saying "this is what they want to do, this is what we want to do...now you decide." Unfortunately the world isn't that civil most times, no matter what nation you live in (it gets just as partisan in Australia as it does in America, believe me). But I have to say, two people have impressed me at the convention so far. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton's speech was simply amazing. It's one of the best political speeches I have ever seen. Whether you like him or not, Clinton has a way of framing issues -- a way of making very clear distinctions about matters of policy. He doesn't do it in a way that alienates people, but instead, he gently moves you closer to his point of view. It's very effective. His speech actually made me feel that the Democrats stand for some pretty awesome things in terms of their heritage and that, despite some of the crazy things in that party, the ideals are fundamentally sound. Barack Obama was also impressive. He's a fantastic public speaker and he clearly has a grasp of the core political differences between both parties. It seems like he will end up being the first African American to be elected to the US Senate (which I find totally bizarre - the USA is a lot further behind Australia and many other nations in this regard), which is obviously going to be a very historic thing. Moreover, some people are suggesting that he may one day be the first African American president. I guess only time will tell, but I wouldn't be surprised. In any case, I've enjoyed the coverage. I would say that I'm not really affiliated to one side of politics (the left or the right), because in general, I don't believe that life's solutions can be found in one particular ideology. I tend to feel that the best thing is to take solutions from a variety of sources -- whether it be Republican or Democrat -- to fix a broad array of problems. That's why I have a difficult time actually aligning with a political party overall. Anyway, enough about that. Kill Adam is moving along nicely. Did you guys check out Tony's chapter? Wonderfully written. Up until this point, I didn't know much about Persona. He was a very mysterious character, which is no doubt a deliberate feature. However, seeing some of his background is great; seeing his motivation, how he became who he is. This reminds me of some of the writing I've been doing for Killing-Bill.com, regarding the character of Bill. When you look at the surface of Kill Bill, you actually see something very superficial. But it's true to say that there are various layers going on behind that. Bill is a pimp. And the DiVAS are really representative of "his women". He really sees this as a mark of achievement. This is how he lives, how he defines success. It's not unexpected, considering his past (I won't mention it in case you haven't seen Volume 2). This also relates to the rivalry between The Bride and Elle Driver, which is noticeably different from the relationship between The Bride and Oren Ishii/Vernita Green. If you compare The Bride to Elle, you can see right away that they're quite similar; they're both tall, beautiful blonde women. When The Bride was a part of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, she was really at the top of the pecking order. It was her first, Elle second. But once she left, Elle became first in line. This creates a special and unique rivalry between the two characters. This is why Elle wants to do away with The Bride herself. It's no secret, afterall, that Bill has a place in his heart for The Bride that doesn't exist for Elle. At least, not at the same level. Not to mention that Elle is totally different from the other characters in general. She stands out for one major reason; there is not a single redeeming quality about her. The Bride has a child and she's trying to make a life for herself. Vernita's in the same boat; she's gotten married and she's trying to do the right thing. Oren, while not turning her life around, has still been in a situation where she's had to kill to survive. So at the very least, one can feel some sympathy for her on that level. But Elle? She's got none of that to worry about. She's pure evil, through and through. Just look at the exchange between her and Budd in the trailer, before The Bride arrived -- there was definitely nothing honorable about that. And her relationship with Pai Mei further proves that she's a sneaky, selfish character. This is one thing I love about Kill Bill and it's one thing I'm loving about Kill Adam. These characters are being given colour all the time. Tony's post has kind of made Persona three dimensional, where he was once far more superficial. Now we know why he is who he is. And that's really important, I think. Edit: Er, yeah, Alex...I just want to point out that I was making brief comments in my blog. So, this was by no means an in-depth character profile. I'll save that for the site, rather than posting it here. I have to give people something to look forward to. ~_^ Actually, my comments were mostly very superficial and general. There's a hell of a lot more to discuss in a proper, fully-featured article.

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Saturday, July 24, 2004

"My name's Buck..." Here I am again, for your viewing pleasure. Or something like that. Before I say anything else, I would like to direct you to this page. This is Solo's new RPG. And it deserves to be a mega-uber-success. So go visit it, okay? ~_^ Also, while you're there, please visit this RPG, by Alan. It has its own site and everything. Looks like a pretty unique concept, too. Anyway, I did mention to you that I intend to reveal the nature of my upcoming site. So, click here to view the splash page. As you can see, it's a pretty simple placeholder. Right now, the site is still in the design stage. That is, I'm still working on the layout in my own time. But I've already begun scounting around for talented people, who may have an interest in working on my new baby. The decision to do something like this actually didn't spring up overnight. I knew that especially at this time, when I have so many things to do, I didn't want to just jump in with something randomly. When it comes to Kill Bill, obviously I'm a fan. But when I began to actually go out there and look for Kill Bill related stuff on the web, I discovered a couple of things. Either the site I visit is one of those "all in one" movie sites, which has a very limited page about Kill Bill (maybe a few screenshots and some basic DVD info). Or, alternatively, it's a Kill Bill-based site that is still very light on the info and media. I really only discovered one actual Kill Bill-dedicated site in my travels. It seems to be the biggest one out there. But really, if you're a serious fan...it's not for you. It really fails to provide many of the fundamentals that you'd need. It even has an articles section with no articles. lol So, I came to the conclusion that the only truly worthwhile Kill Bill sites are the official ones. And as nice as they are, they aren't enough. Ulimately I came to the conclusion that I'd like to enter the arena with my own site. Obviously, I don't intend to go out there and make something that just adds to the tide of mediocre stuff. As a crazy fan of the movies, I have one demand; to find a site that has everything I could possibly want, related to Kill Bill. As a fan, I don't want to do a million searches on Google to find little tidbits of information and media. And that's the angle I'm coming from with this site. I want to create something that I, as a fan, would really enjoy. So my goal is definitely to build the ultimate Kill Bill shrine on the web. It's no easy task and I have no idea when the site will go live -- especially considering all the other stuff I have to keep myself going on. But nonetheless, I'm determined to do it. And by surrounding myself with some key people who are great within their field of expertise, it becomes a much more realistic proposition. So, the first person who I've asked to help me out, is Alex (PoisonTongue, for those of you who don't know). Did you ever read Alex's essay about Smith and Ahab, on OB? I thought it was an amazing piece of work. There are few articles on the web that I've seen, which actually go into that kind of analysis about a specific Matrix character. With that in mind -- and being well aware of Alex's love of Tarantino movies -- I decided to ask him to submit some pieces of writing for KILLING-BILL. I'm hoping that I can recruit a handful of people in various areas, to get this show on the road. So there you have it. ~_^

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Thursday, July 22, 2004

New stuff. A few things to talk about in this post. Firstly, myOtaku.com's all-new PM system is online. It's pretty cool; you should give it a try. Apart from all of the basic features, it also includes the ability to block members and so on. So basically, it's yet another avenue for communication between members. I recommend visiting Justin's myOtaku page if you want to read about various updates. Since he's our chief programmer, I'm sure he'll have some interesting insights for you (especially now that he's planning to post in his myO and stuff). I was telling Adam and Justin that sometimes, myO members do not include their email addresses or AIM names on myOtaku, which was one of the prime motivations for having a PM system. Now, you can send someone a message without actually using post comments (if you feel that your message is unrelated to their posts). And obviously, if someone is sending you spam (ie: "visit my site!!!" type stuff), you have the ability to block them from sending messages to you. Whether or not people choose to use this new system, we view it as being something that will always be there as an option. So hopefully that will be a solution for some members. Other than that, I guess there isn't too much else to talk about. At least, nothing that would take up an entire post. But maybe I can provide my opinion on a few little tidbits. RPGs: As I've mentioned a million times before, I am really happy with Adventure Arena these days. It seems that the higher quality RPGs have been inspiring people to try harder with their own creations. And the results are clear; right now, I'm starting to feel that the higher quality stuff is beginning to outweigh the lower quality stuff. That's a huge achievement, I think. wrist cutter: I don't know how many of you regularly visit wrist cutter's myOtaku, but his most recent update is worth reading, for those who get involved in debates about gay marriage. I think that generally, what he has posted there is very much in line with my own thinking. Yes, it's an emotional issue, but I think that he's really laid out how warped some of the logic out there truly is. So although I am always happy to promote wrist cutter's myOtaku on here (because I always enjoy reading it in general), I'm particularly happy to do so today. Otaku Lounge stuff: I am fully aware of what occurred in their earlier today (it's times like these where I am thankful for our convenient staff forum). I only have two things to say about it. One, all members will be treated in the same way -- if people go around and behave in an immature fashion, they won't be given the opportunity to have discussions. And secondly, this type of thing only confirms that gossip can run rampant on a web forum. Gossip is a bad thing, generally. New Site: I am hoping that I can reveal the nature of my new site by week's end. That's all I can think of for now. So there you go. ~_^

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