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Sunday, October 12th, 2008


puer_americus
Subject:My Friends Suck
Time:2:29 am.
Mood: depressed.
Music:The Highwayman - Loreena McKinnitt.
So here is Saturday night, appx 2:30 in the morn and I have decided that I need new fucking friends.  What do normal 22 year old men (and I use that term lightly with these fuckers) on a Saturday night? Typically, we go to bars, clubs, shows or what not and drink and meet other people (hopefully women, Ill explane later).  We are not supposed to be fucking loosers who sit in a living room for 5 goddamn hours drinking by ourselves and smoking fucking pot.  Dont get me wrong, God knows that I dont have a problem with green and all, but for Godsake, they looked like fucking zombies.  Between that, and It would be cool to chill with a bunch of people, if there is a good mix of people, not 8 single men.  Fucking sausagefest from the pits of fucking hell.  All of them drunk/stoned and passing out, and Im the sober one who was ready to shoot myself in the face.  I suggested going out, I was immediatly shot down with excuses like, "Naw man, we can chill here, we got plenty of beer" "Nah man, Lets chill here, Ill pack another bowl" What the fuck.  So you're telling me that instead of going to a club and dancing and meeting real live girls, not the kind you meet online while playing WOW, but real live women, you would rather side around this dank apartment and smoke weed.  Fantastic.  Between that and my buddy Allen only calls me when he wants weed.  No, "Hey Rascon, whats up? So, can you get my a quarter?" Fuck that.  Let me repeat, fuck that.  Of course I dont have my car where we were at so I cant up and leave so Im stuck with these assholes who are amazing by the fucking Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  Im glad that I grew out of that stage. 

Im ridiculosly dissapointed in myself.  Im a fat, ciggy smoking, single nerd who gets stuck in the friend zone way to goddamn quickly.  Fuck that, Im going to loose weight, get back into music, read more books, listen to new music, and become a renissanace man of sorts.  That is who I want to be.  Im piss tired of being single and Im piss tired of girls who dont have a fucking clue what they want.  Who the fuck says 2 nights ago, "I really dont think that so and so is right for me, and I dont think Im going to date him" Then starts dating him?  Sorry, that's a bit off topic, but I dont fucking get people.  What is wrong with not being conflcted?  What happened to wanting a girl/boyfriend, and not needing one?  I dont understand how some people have to have a boyfriend.  I dont fucking get it.  If I am with a person, its not because I was looking for a girlfriend, but rather we met, we liked each other, and it was the right thing to do, no because Im single and I have fucking abandonment issues that I use as a fucking excuse to get a boy.  Ok, we all have our shit, but we dont use that as excuses to make horrible life decisions.  If you told you half of what my father did you me, my siblings, and my mother, you would shit a fucking brick.  I dont use my past, and believe me it fucking sucked, as an excuse to justify making bad decisions   Single for 2 weeks, out of a 3 year realtionship and you honestly think this is going to last? Are you fucking serious?  And the think that pisses me off more is that bitch referes to me as her 'best friend' but simply refuses to listen to my advise.  "No Mary, I dont think its a good idea, because you are in rebound mode, are going to be bored with him in 2 months because he is the complete opposite of what you told me you wanted, you  are going to bitch to me about it and Im going to say, "I told you so", you're going to get pissed at me cause Im right and you're wrong.  Then you are going to jade the motherfucker cause he is young and stupid (not intelligently, but more in a inexperianced kinda of way) is head over heals for you and you are going to look for every excuse in the world to break up with him.  And the worst part is, she tells me she doesn't want to 'be that girl that jades a young boy'  You all ready are, by agreeing to date him, you started to jade his ass.  I know his type, he is going to get very very very jealous when you even look at other boys and you are flirty as fucking hell.  Know what Im going to stop bitching about that now.  Here is the central point of that whole fucking rant

You are making a dumb fucking move and you know it, so dont tell me a goddamn thing about your problems, I wont hear them.

Sorry for the bitch post, I have a lot on my mind and I dont like to vent.  Im a goddamn Knight of Colombus, we are supposed to be God's soldiers of peace.  We arent supposed to feel anger, hatred, sadness, or anything.  We are supposed to be noble gentlemen who dont think ot ourselves and our problems, we are told to deal with them ourselves and to be strong and stoic.  Basicly, talking to someone about our problems shows slight weakness and we cannot be weak.  We have to be strong for our family and friends, and be there to listen to them, and try to council them.  (So if I have every tried to play counciler to you in a way, now you know why)  This pisses me the fuck off because I really really really need some debriefing and I cannot fucking do it.  Even if someone tells me that I can talk to them about my problems, I cant do it, not because of some by-law or anything, but rather I psycologically cannot open up to people.  I dont think its right of me to talk to someone about my problems, because that persons problems are more important than my own.  Ive always been that way, I never did like to talk about my problems, I guess that's why I write so much in this thing.  I never talked to anyone about seeing dad beat mom, hearing him call my sisters whores.  I didnt say anything, because someone out there has it much worse than I do.  I can remember seeing dad hit mom cause dinner was cold, I remember wanting to cry because I didnt understand why my father was beating the woman he 'loves'  I would run to my room and would fight it all back, tellin myself "Shut the fuck up Brian, shut up you pussy.  There are people out there who have been raped.  You have no right to cry"  I guess thats why Im crazy as goddamn fuck.  Like, right now, I want to cry.  Im a grown 22 year old man and I want to cry and let it all out, but i cant.  I want to so badly, and I dont give a fuck what you say about it.  Everyone needs to cry, man or woman, young or old, tough and weak.  Im a cancaphony of emothions right now that all i want to do is tear up, get the fuck over with it, then go back to normal.  I cant though.  

Sorry again.  Im going to stop now before i convince myself that drinking copious amounts of alcohol is a great idea.  Bye

If you havent heard the song Im listening to, do it now, or at least read the poem.  Its hearbreaking.

I really need a fucking hug and for someone to tell me that Im not so bad.

Dont repeat what I write in this in public.  I have my moments of weakness and the last think i need is to be seen as a pussy.  We all have these moments, so dont think diffrently of me.

Peace
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japanese
Subject:Urban Dictionary
Posted by:bawend.
Time:4:18 am.
Hi everyone!
I'm wondering if anyone knows of an Urban Dictionary-esque site for Japanese...?
If you're not familiar with Urban Dictionary, it has a lot of English slang in it
with example sentences too.

Sometimes (well, a lot of the time) I come across words in mixi that I can't find in any dictionaries.
(2)comment

Saturday, October 11th, 2008


jedi_news
Subject:Volume Forty-Four, Issue Eleven
Posted by:niicoly.
Time:8:47 pm.
News
- [info]theforcenet posted New Databank Entries.
- [info]theforcenet posted The Nightsisters and Jedi Alliance.
- [info]theforcenet posted The Clone Wars Australia New.
- [info]theforcenet posted J.J. Abrams, Star Wars And Star Trek.
- [info]theforcenet posted Docking Bay 516's Meeting (Long Island, NY).
- [info]theforcenet posted Numerous Lists Featuring Star Wars.
- [info]theforcenet posted Star Wars Novels Updates.
- [info]theforcenet posted Mark, Harrison and Carrie on Mike Douglas Show.
- [info]theforcenet posted Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Pete Nadel.
- [info]theforcenet posted Star Wars and Sith Lords on Bones.


Discussion/Questions
- [info]fialleril has A Recs Post.
- [info]specimen_47 discussed Mandalorian/Clone Continuity Issues in the Clone Wars.

Art
- [info]the_little_owl drew Obi-Wan. (Rated NR)
- [info]aizome photomanipulated Obi-Wan and Anakin. (Rated NSFW)

Fic
- [info]specimen_47 wrote "Nightmare". (Rated PG, Ordo / Agent Besany Wennen)
- [info]specimen_47 wrote "Decisions". (Rated PG, Ordo / Agent Besany Wennen)
- [info]specimen_47 wrote "Time of Our Lives". (Rated PG, Ordo /Agent Besany Wennen)
- [info]specimen_47 wrote "Jump Start". (Rated PG, Ordo / Agent Besany Wennen)
- [info]polgarawolf wrote "Becoming Love: I, In You: The Rise of the Clone Wars, Chapter 3". (Rated PG-13, Anakin/Dorme)
- [info]obi_ki and [info]padawanewan wrote "Risorgimento--The Phoenix ". (Rated PG, Qui/Obi)
- [info]archaeologist_d wrote "Jealousy Does Not Become Him". (Rated G, Obi-Wan and others)
- [info]jane_sehrn_ta wrote "Shadows Rising, Chapter 6". (Rated NR, Obi-Wan and others)
- [info]eowynjedi wrote "Heart of the Lion, Chapter 1" and "Chapter 2" (Rated PG, KOTOR/FFVIII x-over, Revan and Squall)

Fanvids
- [info]sweetladybat posted "I Wasn't Strong Enough To Save You". (Anakin/Padme, Rated NR)

Challenges/Contests
- [info]stills_starwars has Challenge 29's Winners.
- [info]stills_starwars has Challenge 30 Reminder.

Comms
- [info]swcwicontest (Star Wars: The Clone Wars icontest)

Graphics/Icons
- [info]misscla posted 10 Hayden as Edward Cullen icons.

Humor
- [info]capslock_cw is hosting Clone Wars Poser Saturday (NSFW).
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Sunday, October 12th, 2008


linguaphiles
Subject:Aspect terminology?
Posted by:ubykhlives.
Time:11:45 am.
I'm looking for help from anyone who knows anything about grammatical aspect. There's a verbal suffix in Ubykh that I used to think simply intensified a negative (hence I didn't do it would become roughly I absolutely did not do it), but I've just come across an example in which it is used in a question, with no trace of a negative affix. I've become of the opinion that this suffix isn't a negative intensifier, but rather means "ever" (as in Have you ever been to İstanbul?). This looks like aspect to me, but I can't find a term for this specific aspect. Do any of you know if the "ever" aspect has a specific term, and if so, what it is? Otherwise, if it isn't aspect, what would you call it?

wɜn ɕʷɨʃʷɜqʼɨnɐχ (thank you)!
(2)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:ESL question
Posted by:bu_yao_ren.
Time:1:35 am.
What is the correct way to write "three times is a charm" when you contract the is to 's?
When I googled that phrase most results were either "three times a charm" or "three time's a charm" which both don't seem to make much sense to me.
I do know what this phrase means but I don't know how the grammar is supposed to work.
And is this phrase particular to certain dialects or sociolects or is it a commonly used colloquial term?

ETA: Thanks for all those fast replies! :o
I just guess that the version I heard was humorous and whoever said it assumed the listener would know that it's actually "third time".
(=
(12)comment

Saturday, October 11th, 2008


starwars
Subject:Clone Wars Icontest
Posted by:forallseasons.
Time:11:30 am.



[info]swcwicontest
Clone Wars Icontest Community


JOIN NOW!
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japanese
Subject:CASIO EX-WORD Library Problem
Posted by:dragon_soda.
Time:5:52 pm.
*SIGH* I hope I'm right here and someone can help me.

I have a Casio Ex Word Dataplus 2 XD ST7100. Recently I bought a contents CD, the "Kenkyusha Shin Wa Ei Dai Jiten", but till now I awfully failed at getting the contents on my dictionary...
For I'm using Windows Vista I had to download the library program from their Website plus a Support Tool. The bad thing, my computer is not able to show the characters they use in the program, instead I have either weird signs or questionmarks... Still I managed to install the library, but I'm not sure what to do with the support tool...
And when I try to start the library the only thing I get is a error message reading "????????????Ex-Word????????????????" which is very helpful *lol*

Did anyone has similar problems and would know any solution for this? I'm really desperate...

Many thanks in advance!
(4)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:"The Office" in Latin!
Posted by:the_panic_light.
Time:1:31 pm.
Hello all,

I wondered if someone would be able to do a quick Latin translation for me. It's a quote from The Office, and it's:

"I hate so much about the things you choose to be."

Thanks in advance! :)
(5)comment


atheism
Posted by:skajoe.
Time:1:21 am.
I have not seen this posted before...

(6)comment

Friday, October 10th, 2008


jedi_news
Subject:Volume Forty-Four, Issue Ten
Posted by:gizzi1213.
Time:11:58 pm.
News
- [info]starwars_today posted Watch: The Clone Wars Episode #1: “Ambush”.
- [info]starwars_today posted Watch: The Clone Wars Episode #2: “Rising Malevolence.
- [info]starwars_today posted Stories Behind the The Clone Wars Battles .
- [info]starwars_today posted Celebration Japan Merch at StarWarsShop.
- [info]starwars_today posted Matt Lanter: The Chosen One (Voice of Anakin in The Clone Wars.
- [info]starwars_today posted ILM’s Annual Halloween Party invitation.
- [info]theforcenet posted Indy-Cast: Episode 45.
- [info]starwars_today posted Video Commentary: Malevolence Origins.

Discussion/Questions
- [info]alwaysanakin discussed The Clone Wars: Episode 3.
- [info]lazypadawan discussed Clone Wars Debriefing: "Shadow of Malevolence". (Spoilers)

Fic
- [info]tickles_fic wrote "Simply Irresistible," Chapter Fourteen".
- [info]brooke_sasusaku wrote "The Truth Discovered, Chapter 1". (Rated NR, Anakin/Padme)
- [info]pendant_audio wrote "Blue Harvest Episode XII: Dead". (Rated NR) (Audio)
- [info]dancing_star01 wrote "Things That Go Bump in the Night". (Rated NR, Han/Leia)

Challenges/Contests
- [info]anakin_icontest has Reminder -Challenge 18 Deadline Oct. 13th.
- [info]padanistillness has Challenge 83.
- [info]swicontest has Challenge #53 - Voting.
- [info]obiwanstillness has Challenge #89 Voting.

Pictures
- [info]dh_net posted Hayden Filming Lacoste Commercial Photo Galleries On Set Here and Off Set Here.

Miscellaneous
- [info]octogirlie posted Sillof.Com's Steampunk Star Wars.
- [info]starwars_today posted Kaliida Shoals Med Center Databank Entry.
- [info]starwars_today posted Y-wing starfighter Databank Entry.

If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened.
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Saturday, October 11th, 2008


atheism
Subject:FSM 08
Posted by:skajoe.
Time:12:13 am.
Looks like the Flying Spaghetti Monster is running for president.

http://www.cafepress.com/dryotter
(9)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:Bengali Tom, Dick, and Harry?
Posted by:pappubahry.
Time:3:49 pm.
Saurav Ganguly is an Indian cricketer who's got into some hot water over some remarks of his first reported in the Bengali newspaper Aajkal. In the English-language media, part of what he said was:

After all, I have played 400 matches for India. I have played badly in only one series. Yet every Tom, Dick and Harry is playing in the team.

I'm curious about the "Tom, Dick and Harry" bit. Is there a direct equivalent to the expression in Bengali? And if so, what is it?

Thanks.
(9)comment


atheism
Subject:Conversations with God
Posted by:calysto.
Time:1:47 am.
I was raised Mormon from birth. I was constantly taught how I could have a personal relationship with God. All one has to do is to pray hard enough, I was taught, and one can feel His presence. And then it happened... while praying very hard I felt God's presence. It was a rush of emotion, the unmistakable feeling of being in contact with the divine... I knew in a way I could never explain that I was conversing with God almighty himself.

Years later, with more than a decade of life experience under the bridge, I was an adult, an atheist, and a practicing Soto Zen Buddhist. I encountered that very same feeling while deep in Zazen meditation. It was a revelation, but not one my Mormon teachers intended. I felt that same rush of spiritual joy but it had nothing to do with God and nothing to do with the divine. I was not conversing with God. It was clear that I had simply tapped into a natural part of the human psyche. It was a rush of endorphins which occurs when one achieves a particular level of concentration by whatever means.

I still feel that same sensation occasionally when I am in particularly deep meditation. It is relaxing and comforting. It is a feeling of utter joy. I have no doubt it is the same feeling which fervent believers in Mount Olympus felt when they prayed to Zeus and the same feeling ancient Maya felt when they believed so strongly in their own Gods that they sacrificed their blood to achieve it. It is the same feeling Christian Knights felt while crusading to reclaim Jerusalem and it is the same feeling devout Muslims felt while defending Jerusalem. If only people would realize it is a feeling people of all faiths have in common.

I can only imagine it is a mechanism which evolved along-side sentience in order for us to make some sense, some order out of the many unfathomable things in the world around us.
(11)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:Once upon a time....
Posted by:axoaxonic.
Time:5:23 am.
I was talking with a girl who told a very different version of the story behind the naming of the Native Americans than I had ever heard before. I tried a bit to find some corroboration with parts of her story, but couldn't. Maybe y'all have heard some of this before, or at least find it amusing.

Back in the day, Columbus and the Western Europeans all called India 'Hindustan.' So, when he landed in America, he couldn't possibly have called the people 'Indians' after India, because nothing called 'India' existed. It was just him calling them 'In Deus' or something like that with bad Latin.

We shouldn't call them 'native' because they aren't, or 'American' because America didn't exist when they came over.

You can't call the people 'Indians' or 'Native Americans' anyway, because that generalization is highly offensive. The only appropriate names to use are modern tribal names.


Okay, I have heard that last bit, but sometimes people talk about Native Americans in general (like they do Europeans in general, etc.), so it seems reasonable to have a word for it.
(60)comment

Friday, October 10th, 2008


linguaphiles
Subject:Anyone Here Tried the Kanji-lish Add-On For Firefox?
Posted by:runa27.
Time:11:09 pm.
Mood: curious.
Hi, I'm new here! :)

Just wondering if anyone here uses Firefox and is learning Japanese and if they do and are, have they ever tried the Kanji-lish add-on? If so, how did you like it?
(5)comment


starwars
Subject:Star Wars: Blue Harvest Episode XII!
Posted by:pendant_audio.
Time:11:18 pm.

PENDANT PRODUCTIONS PROUDLY PRESENTS:


Original art by Rebecca Hicks for Pendant Productions

Episode XII - "Dead"

It's the final showdown between Vader and Deak, but will sabers or reason win the battle? And what will become of little Troia?

"Star Wars: Blue Harvest" is a serialized, full-cast audio adventure with one new episode every month. Available for free download in .mp3 format, or as a Podcast!

Also available -- a commentary track with the director/writer!


Now available exclusively at PendantAudio.com via the following links:

iTunes link:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=270527851

Podcast feed:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/SWBH-podcast.xml

Download:
http://www.pendantaudio.com/starwars.php


Do you feel that you are being treated...unfairly? )

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starwars
Subject:I'd Just As Soon Bite a Wookiee - - Vamp Leia
Posted by:bonniegrrl.
Time:6:57 pm.


Read all about the art here -
I'd Just As Soon Bite a Wookiee.
comment


darth_artsy
Subject:I'd Just As Soon Bite a Wookiee - - Vamp Leia
Posted by:bonniegrrl.
Time:6:57 pm.


Read all about the art here -
I'd Just As Soon Bite a Wookiee.
comment


starwars
Subject:"Matt Lanter: The Chosen One" Clone Wars interview
Posted by:bonniegrrl.
Time:6:31 pm.


Matt Lanter is the kind of actor who seems to appear in one hit TV show after another. He's played brief but memorable roles in Big Love, Commander in Chief, Shark, Monk, C.S.I and Grey's Anatomy. In Heroes, he broke Claire Bennett's heart and more than a few bones, as her crush-turned-killer Brody Mitchum. Lanter then showed off his comedy chops in Disaster Movie. Now fans can catch Lanter in The Clone Wars series voicing none other than Anakin Skywalker. StarWars.com chats with Lanter about his work on the new TV series, his preparation for the role, and why he loves working with director Dave Filoni.

As a voice actor, how do you prepare for the role of Anakin Skywalker? Did you pay close attention to actor Hayden Christensen's voice from the films, or did you have your own ideas on how Anakin should sound?

I do a combination of both. This Anakin has my own flavor and spin. You can tell that by the way Anakin is acting in the series. He's very positive, fun-loving, heroic, brave, witty and almost comedic sometimes, kind of reminiscent of Han Solo. We haven't seen Anakin like that yet. We're not changing Anakin, we're just adding to him in this point of his life. I know George Lucas and Dave Filoni wanted to tell that story of Anakin before he started that downward spiral. Now that being said, I definitely watched all the Star Wars films and took notes on Hayden's performance. He did something great with that, and he had to for the films. Those films were the story of Anakin sliding to the dark side and it needed to be done. I also watched The Clone Wars micro-series and anything else during my research that I could possibly reference to prepare. So it was a good mix of both. Now after recording episodes from the end of Season 2 I feel as though I have a firm grasp on this Anakin and where we're going with him.

Read the full interview here:
Matt Lanter: The Chosen One (Starwars.com)
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Saturday, October 11th, 2008


linguaphiles
Subject:Confusion about phonetics
Posted by:lothi_x.
Time:1:40 pm.
Mood: hopeful.
Music:Gravity ♫ Vienna Teng.
Hello, all.

I have recently begun to study linguistics, and have found myself stumbling over phonetics a lot more than I'd like. I've come across a particular problem that has completely stumped me, and I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on how to tackle it? Any guidance would be much appreciated.

I have a set of data that looks like this, and I'm supposed to be finding the conditions under which each allophone is used:

(á) indicates high pitch and (a:/á:) indicates a long vowel; the problem states that [a] and [ə] are in complementary distribution.

1. [ʔátra:x]; 'arm'
2. [tátətʃ]; 'mama'
3. [sárə]; 'bread'
4. [tʃəná:k]; 'mosquito'
5. [ʔətʃna:t]; 'rat'
6. [ʔáxək]; 'two'
7. [ʔásər]; 'wet'
8. [tənukjá:nər]; 'shovel'

(I'm hoping the IPA text shows up correctly.)

I've looked at the sounds on each side of [a] and [ə], and found overlap, so I'm guessing that that's not what I'm looking for. Any advice on what other environments to consider?

Thank you very much in advance!
(8)comment

Friday, October 10th, 2008


linguaphiles
Subject:Translation of Armenian phrase
Posted by:shifty_gardener.
Time:5:08 pm.
Hello, can anyone translate this Armenian phrase? It was on the bottom of a flier for Prop 8, so it may or may not be kind of rude.
Thanks in advance!

(6)comment


dinosaurcomics
Subject:this is easier in photographs
Time:10:52 am.

about - archive - cast - comments - sexy exciting merchandise - messageboard - search - reader art - links

Project Wonderful - Your ad here, right now, for as low as $0.00

October 10th, 2008: The talented Jess Fink pointed me towards this video for "Take On Me" which is hilarious fun times. And then ALL ON MY OWN I found this video cutting Deep Space Nine's intro like Battlestar Galactica's. But both of these have a lot of views so maybe you've seen them already? It is hard to tell sometimes. It is really hard to tell sometimes.

Next week is a special treat! I got five really great cartoonists and I'm giving them the reigns for the week. I think you will enjoy it!

(23)comment


language_nerds
Subject:Strange Question, I know...
Posted by:tamayn.
Time:12:05 pm.
Mood: content.
Music:Gotas de Luar - Marisa Monte.
Ok, random comment for today that I wanted to put up. Indo-European Languages include pretty much, if not all European languages, as well as Persian, and Sanskrit, and the languages that developed from said languages, but now I have a random question: Are there two languages that use the same word for butterfly in Indo-European?

So far, from what I have been looking up, here's what I got:

1. German - Schmetterling
2. French - Papillion
3. Spanish - Mariposa
4. Portuguese - Barboleta
5. Italian - Farfalla
6. Romanian - Fluture
7. Dutch - Vlinder, Kapel
8. Frisian - Flinter
9. Hungarian - pillangó, pillangóúszás, lepke

Anything with more than one entry means that I looked it up, and therefore, don't know if I am right other than what the nice people online told me. Also I included no gendered articles with the words.

So if anyone has any thoughts, let me know.
(16)comment


dedohioskai
Subject:magic frame
Time:11:47 am.
Mood: giggly.
i find this video hysterical.
(1)comment


atheism
Subject:Doll pulled over Islamic message
Posted by:faceless_girl.
Time:11:29 am.
A came across this article today and was greatly amused. Thought Id share it here.


Elmo Live may be the hot toy of the season this year, but it's a cute little baby doll who is getting all the attention right now. Fisher Price's Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo doll is supposed to utter only one actual word: Mama. The rest of the sounds emanating from the speakers inside the doll are just cooing and giggling sounds. Or are they? Some say they hear the words "Islam is the Light" among the baby babble are demanding the toy be removed from the shelves.

Gary Rofkahr of Owasso, Oklahoma says he bought the doll and was shocked by what he heard. "I have a 1-year-old granddaughter," he said. "It makes me mad that someone is trying to indoctrinate our children with an innocent toy."

But wait, there's more. Others say in addition to promoting Islam, the doll also utters the phrase "Satan is King". Now, that makes absolutely no sense to me as Islam is most definitely not a pro-Satan religion. Is someone trying to indoctrinate our children or just confuse them?

This may sound like a few parents getting up in arms over what is in all likelihood just a misunderstanding, but the Wal-Mart in Owasso is taking it seriously. They've pulled the doll from the shelves. And in response to emails from a local television station, Fisher Price's parent company, Mattell, has issued a statement on the matter. They admit that one of the baby noises may indeed sound like the word "light", but insist that the rest is just gibberish. "We have found that if told to listen for a particular phrase, you may hear something similar due to the power of suggestion," the statement says.

Have a listen for yourself and tell us what you hear.


Original article: http://www.parentdish.com/2008/10/10/doll-pulled-over-islamic-message/?icid=100214839x1211354180x1200633731
(26)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:Snow White & The Seven Dwarves
Posted by:ein_wunderkind.
Time:5:19 pm.
My friend called me a "Trötter" and when I asked what that was he explained that it's what one of the seven dwarves in Snow White is called, evidently the Swedish version of "Sleepy" in English.

So now of course I want to know what all the seven dwarves are called in as many languages as possible! Here are their names in English for reference:

Bashful
Doc
Dopey
Grumpy
Happy
Sleepy
Sneezy
(30)comment


atheism
Subject:Something I've been wondering...
Posted by:birdmojo.
Time:7:22 am.

One thing that makes me scratch my head is the alternating between snickering at how inferior those Xtians are with their morality based on little more than the fact that they live in Bentham's Panopticon and the assurance that we totally need to shake those stupid Xtians out of their stupid world view.

I kinda think that if the Panopticon is the only thing keeping them from raping and pillaging, it's in everyone's best interest to keep up the charade.

But maybe that's just me.

(10)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:Disney songs! :)
Posted by:readingrissa.
Time:1:37 pm.
Mood: curious.
Music:"Colors of the Wind" (Slovak version).
Hello Linguaphiles!

I'm sure that I'm not the only one out there who gets her dose of foreign languages from Disney songs on YouTube. But what about the DVDs? Most versions that I've seen have two language options, three at most. Are there ANY DVDs out there (especially Disney, but others as well) that have a generous selection of dubbed versions? I know, the dubs are usually horrible anyway, but they're fun. And - how cool would it be to have a DVD with options for English, French (Europe), French (Canada), Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Turkish, Icelandic, Finnish, Czech... and, what the hell, Esperanto!  I'd buy it. Would you buy it?

Does ANYONE know of DVDs that have five or more language AUDIO options?

Cheers!
Rissa
(15)comment


linguaphiles
Subject:you will appreciate my pain
Posted by:lexabear.
Time:7:34 am.
There's a local car dealership commercial that promises "Lifetime tire replacement for life!" I flinch every time I hear it. It's even worse than the house I saw described as a "palatial palace."
(45)comment


japanese
Subject:sdkjnsdk BLACKOUT.
Posted by:morbid_moods.
Time:1:05 pm.
Mood: determined.
How can I say "when I was 14, I borrowed a book from my friend at school"? (Or more precisely: "Als ich ca. 14 Jahre alt war, hab ich mir in der Schule von einem Freund ein Buch ausgeborgt.")

I wrote "私は14歳ぐらい学校で友達に本をかりました", but I doubt that's correct.

And another question: I'm suffering from a total blackout and can't seem to remember what the -te form of したい is, and everything I try feels wrong. The sentence should be something like "I wanted to study something interesting and I thought Japanese Studies was the most enjoyable subject."

学校を卒業してから何かおもしろい物を勉強(insert correct -te form of したい)、日本学が一番楽しい専門だと思っていました。

That sentence is probably wrong, too? Gah, that's what you get for avoiding your textbook all summer.

Please help me~
(10)comment


wondermark
Subject:#450; In which Nations shoot the Breeze
Time:2:50 am.


Here's an interview I did some time ago that's only been published recently -- it's a long piece with the Portland, Oregon public-radio program "Words and Pictures." I talk about some of the historical precendents for the type of work that I do, and also dramatically re-enact some of the material from my book Beards of our Forefathers.

In a separate episode, the program also spoke with Nicholas Gurewitch of The Perry Bible Fellowship; that interview's here!
(1)comment


puer_americus
Subject:One of my dreams
Time:1:24 am.
Mood: drunk.
Music:Folkin' Around - Panic at the Disco.
To begin, when I write about a dream, it could be one that I had at night or a daydream.  I dream more often than I should.

My Tombstone

I am in a wide open plain, it went on for miles.  There were no trees, just soft grass and a blue sky with large cotton like clouds.  I felt the warm sun on my face and body and I felt compelled to run.  I felt so free, no stress, nothing but happiness and joy.  I had a huge smile on my face while I was running and I ran for what seemed like hours.  I stopped running because I finally saw something in the plain.  I saw what seemed like a bunch of polished stones, so I decided to run towards them.  As I got closer, I started to make out other things surrounding the stones.  I noticed plants on both sides of the stones, that made me run to the faster.  I got a little closer and saw that the plants were flowers and that they were brightly colored flowers.  I thought it was a park of some sort so I ran faster towards them.  I then noticed that these stones had uniform writing on them.  I ran faster towards them and I noticed that all of the stones had names on them, at that point the happiness that I felt earlier gave way to a sinking realization and sadness.  I stopped running and started walking toward the stones.  I then noticed dates and epitaphs on the stones.  I wasn't  happy anymore, I was starting to tear up.  The closer I got to the stones, the sadder I became, but I couldn't stop moving towards them.  I became fixated on one particular stone, there was something seemingly familiar about this stone.  It was in the first row, second from the left.  I then realized that the stones were headstones and the one that I was fixated on was mine.  I walked slowly towards it, I had a curiosity that wouldn't let me walk away from it.  I came to the stone and fell before it.  It was a simple stone with beautiful flowers on either side of it, those flowers comforted me.  I raised my head to read the writing....

                                                                                     Brian Zachary Aparicio-Rascon
                                                                                     May 26, 1986 - October 4, 2049
                                                                            Loving Son, Brother, Father, and Husband

After reading the stone, I felt an oddly at peace with everything that I read.  I took a deep breath, stood up, then I awoke.  The dream had ended.

I try not to read too much into dreams, but in my infinite ability to analyze my dreams, I did feel some sort of comfort from this.  I lived to be 63 years old, and I did have my family.  I had a wife and children.  I like to think that I died peacefully with them by my side.  My reasoning for this is that the setting of the dream was peaceful and the cemetery was beautiful if a cemetery can be seen a beautiful.  I didn't feel pain in the dream, I was happy and carefree and was oddly at peace when I saw my stone.  In reality, I know that I don't know when God will call me home, but for now, I will live my life in anticipation for October 4, 2049. 

Today was pretty uneventful.  I thought I would have the day off, and that I could hang out with Megan, but I was called in to work.  I wanted to hang out, but life happens I suppose.  It did suck though, I could have had chicken chili!  (I really am sorry that I couldn't come over Megan!!!)  On the bright side, my apartment is clean and all, plus I earned a little extra money.  Aside from that, I didnt really do much today.  Sunny was funny tonight, so that was cool.  I played guitar today, I'm learning a song called Feathers by Coheed and Cambria.  It's an awesome song that has a sort of 80's rock feel to it.  Maybe one day Ill grow the balls to play for my friends.  I really do enjoy playing and singing.  i like to think that I can do both realativly well.  Devan and I are going to try to get together next week to practice a little more before we record our cover of "Little Boxes"  We want to record an album, but our problem is that we dont have a whole lot of original songs.  We have a few that we have been dicking around with.  Our lyrics are pretty emo though, mostly about past relationships and heartache.  We are emos and hopeless romantics at heart and it reflecting in our songs.  I came up with a simple arppegiated chord progresion that feels like it nees emo lyrics, but I dont want to be an emo all the time.  Oh well, I guess I am who I am.   Either way, Im out.  Im kinda drunksh now and I want to spazz to some music.  Devan and I used to spazz together back in the day when we dated.  We used to get drunk and listen to whatever was playing on my computer and just lay on the floor and feel the music.  It how we met and how we connected.  I really need to stop living in the past.  Oh well.  Later yall.
comment


japanese
Posted by:_lilia.
Time:12:19 am.
Mood: confused.
Music:Megaman 9.
If anyone here reads postsecret.com, you may have seen a postcard written in Japanese recently (Postsecret is a blog where people send in anonymous secrets on postcards to this guy who posts them, if you're not familiar with it). Someone else was wondering what the secret said and I wanted to confirm my interpretation of it with someone else first.

The text reads:
私の母一度も私の事を見てくれた事がない。
誰も知らないけど。。。本当は死ぬほど痛い。

My best guess is that it's something like "my mother won't (wouldn't?) look at me (my things?) once. No one knows, but the truth is that it hurts so much I want to die," which sounds.. weird to me. I guess I can't quite grasp what they mean in the first sentence, especially the intent of the 一度も and 私の事. Any ideas?

ありがとうございます!

here's the postcard )
(14)comment

Thursday, October 9th, 2008


jedi_news
Subject:Volume Forty-Four, Issue Nine
Posted by:luminations.
Time:8:53 pm.
News
- [info]cj_rss posted the fandom minute: a tee, some bad dialogue, a couple political analogies, and the totally random.
- [info]cj_rss posted Game rumor du jour: Rogue Squadron on Wii?.
- [info]501stlegion posted Miz Allie Inducted.
- [info]starwars_today posted January 2009 Comics.
- [info]cj_rss posted EU Newsbits: Sue hints, January comics, Sean Williams, sibling rivalry.
- [info]officialswblog posted New Bronze at Presidio.
- [info]starwars_today posted Nightsisters and The Clone Wars.

Discussion/Questions
- [info]fialleril discussed the Jedi Code.
- [info]yellowdartvader discussed Fanfic and the Law.

Art
- [info]buff_iroh drew "Obi-Wan In Love". (Not Rated, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan)

Fic
- [info]were_lemur wrote "Jealousy". (Drabble set, Rated G; Obi-Wan (Anakin), Anakin/Padmé)
- [info]jaded_reality wrote "Loss". (Rated G; Wedge, Leia, mentions of Rogues)
- [info]tickles_fic wrote "Simply Irresistible" Chapter 13. (Rated NC-17, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan)
- [info]bloodraven77 wrote "The Truth". (Rated PG; Anakin, Ahsoka, Dormé)

Humor
- [info]buff_iroh posted South Park Screencaps. NSFW *SPOILERS*

Miscellaneous
- [info]theforcenet posted Hand Painted Custom Skateboards.
- [info]starwars_today posted Databank updates: Rys, Jek, and Thire.
- [info]cj_rss posted Sillof's RotJ steampunk figures.

If you have anything to contribute, please leave a comment on this post. If you have anything that should be reported, let us know! We encourage it, in fact. Pimp yourself, pimp others, pimp anything of any interest unto the SW fandom. All comments will be screened.
comment


linguaphiles
Subject:Present Tense Expressions in Spanish
Posted by:chain_rule.
Time:10:47 pm.
We have to write compositions about ourselves for my Spanish class, but we're only allowed to use the present tense. Can you think of any expressions that will allow me to express the past tense (or any other tenses) using the present tense only, for example "Hace anos que no voy alli"?

Gracias!
(8)comment


japanese
Subject:Question about "Aishiteru/Aishitemasu"
Posted by:void_of_sound.
Time:7:35 pm.
For starters: is "Aishitemasu" a word? I'm a beginner in JAPN 101 and we haven't come to this verb yet, but we've done other "ru" verbs so I'm just putting two and two together and assuming that "Aishiteru" eventually goes to "Aishitemasu".

Also, when you use it, can you use it when talking to someone about someone else? Like, can you be talking to a