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Virgil

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Everything posted by Virgil

  1. Favorite color is red (specifically Crimson), and my favorite pony is Luna. So there is no correlation.
  2. In 30-40 years... I feel it will be a "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" era.

    1. Red Cedar

      Red Cedar

      Trouble is, they said that 30 to 40 years ago.

    2. Virgil

      Virgil

      Very true, although during the Cold War if someone said that in 21st century. The continents that would rise to dominance would be Africa, Asia, and South America; and that North America and Europe would be in decline... they would have laughed in your face. Not saying that that is a bad thing. It's high time someone else got their hands at the helm, I'm very curious to see what will happen.

    3. Virgil

      Virgil

      I'm sorry, I probably sound like I'm uncaring about the fates of nations and continents, which is far from the truth. I'm just in my strategist/ historian mode, that has a penchant for whimsy. It's useful, but comes at a cost.

  3. Inception- It's basically a long and pretentious retelling of this old Taoist proverb, "Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, flying about enjoying itself. It did not know that it was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he awoke, and veritably was Chuang Tzu again. He did not know whether it was Chuang Tzu dreaming that he was a butterfly, or whether it was the butterfly dreaming that it was Chuang Tzu." I feel your pain,used to work at a theater too and had to be subjected to that film numerous times.... I think the Geneva convention calls that psychological torture.
  4. Death by forcing them to find the last number of pie.
  5. While I do not necessarily hate new music ( there is plenty of crap from the 60's and 70's, trust me), I have noticed that a number of newer bands and a number of music fans seem to gravitate to a number of the quality classic rock bands. However, I think what I disagree with you the most is how you are viewing the discussion. Put bluntly, you need to widen your perspective several centuries. The fact that a large number of people still listen to composers that have been dead for hundreds of years is fascinating in and of itself. The same holds true for books and other forms of art. So I think there is much more to such things than simple personal taste, as it is very easy to appreciate quality in something without having much taste for it in a subjective sense. I don't like rap much, but I have been exposed to it enough to generally tell a good song from a bad one. So for me, the question is not about how everyone's music sounds bad to the young-uns ( which isn't always the case in my experience anyway), but when I'm long dead and gone will people still listen to the music of artist so and so. Because at that point the music is no longer simple 'pop music', but has somehow managed transcend such terms and is like the music of Bach or Chopin. Namely, it has become timeless, and proved it's quality.
  6. Give them bad directions that lead them to Silent Hill.
  7. Finding a good Martial Arts school is definitely tricky business. Due to a number of factors but the biggest one being, you don't know (assuming you ever find out) if your being trained by someone who is qualified or not just trying to swindle you, until you've been training under them for a number of years and find yourself in a situation where you have to use it against a trained opponent either on the street (if you were attacked or something) or in a match against someone from a different school (or a trained boxer for that matter). Obviously this gives 'learning the hard way' a very dangerous spin. However finding a decent school isn't impossible although, you might end up in a situation where you can only learn the forms and techniques from someone but have to find someone else to teach you their purpose and application. Tai Chi is a perfect example of this, as you generally find someone that can teach you the basic forms without much difficulty, but finding someone who has a clue as to how use the style in a combat situation is very rare. They either have no concept of Tai Chi as an actual 'martial art' or when faced with a simple jab, their technique... flat out sucks for lack of a better term. So here is my advice: for a Japanese martial art, I would try to find a Judo, Jujutsu, Karate, Kenjutsu, or something similiar (I'm very 'iffy' about Ninjutsu to be frank; as everything I've read and seen of it makes me think that someone a few centuries ago just stole some techniques and forms from Samurai [who sometimes would get training in Espionage or stealth, depending on the school], then proceeded to make everything very esoteric sounding to play on the common folks fears) in a school that has a direct lineage leading back to Japan or is affiliated with a traditional ryu. As this means you can be more confident in the level of training you will receive and reputable Japanese martial arts schools might be able to direct you to someplace where you can further your training. Chinese martial arts on the other hand.... it's a nightmare ( in an earlier post I mentioned a documentary called 'Needle through Brick', you can find it online and even watch it for free still I think, but it provides a good summary of the situation of tradition Kung-Fu), because between the Japanese occupation, and the Cultural Revolution, Kung-Fu was almost wiped out. This means that their are very few individuals, even in mainland China, that are qualified practitioners or that teach an actual system of martial arts that isn't simply a syllabus of forms approved by a group of officials that is made up of kung-fu stances, done in a way that are no longer useful for combat, and then a bunch of very flowery acrobatic movements that are useless as a martial art. Their are some legitimate schools out their, although the best teacher you could find would probably be some person, who literally just operates out of their garage, backyard, or a park. For the softer or internal styles ( e.g. Tai chi, Bagua-zhang, xingyi-quan) you might be able to find at least a school that will teach you the orthodox forms, although you likely have to continue training elsewhere, but at least you will know the basic forms which is a big step. I know I sound super negative, just don't want you (or anyone else here) to be one of the many who devotes years of their lives and enormous sums of money to learn from a hack. If you want some help or are looking at something in particular, I can do my best to help (although I am by no means an expert, but I'm better at spotting something fishy than many I suspect), so feel free to send me a PM if you'd like.
  8. If my picture were taken, I would just hope my hair was in a good mood that day. Just Kidding. My hair always looks fabulous! :comeatus:
  9. Wait! I thought that for this month we were supposed to secretly read each others diaries?!
  10. Well given that most of my favorite bands, writers, Actors and so on are Brits ( or Ex-Pat Brits ); and I'm fairly certain due to various circumstances in my childhood, the actor Rex Harrison was imprinted upon my childhood mind as the standard of Masculinity... I have a great deal of respect for the British... I know leave with this:
  11. If my Psychiatrist ever had the nerve to make me talk to him via webcam or something similar, he would have one less client and potentially a complaint made against him. That's got to be in top ten of unprofessional stunts to pull. And I'm sorry to hear about your Klonopin situation, I don't use much, but I can get nervous just by not having some with me.
  12. ::Takes notes vigorously:: Should we change our profile picks to that of a cute anime character? Or does that cross the line into creepy?
  13. So here is the scenario: Earth is under attack by ... Aliens, Evil Wizard with Orcs,..uhm overzealous One Direction fans, or some other such threat demanding desperate measures. Scientists have constructed a machine that can pull five historic heroes from Earth's past (no mythic figures or quasi-mythic figures; sorry King Aurthur) to combat the threat and lead the forces of Earth into battle. For the sake of scenario... the machine turns said heroes' abilities into magic, technology, or something that means they can actually deal with the threat of unspeakable Evil ( And so George Washington doesn't have to defeat invaders from space, with a musket and his false teeth). You don't have to use my combat roles in how you assemble your team, but please provide a short explanation of some sort of why you picked each member. Here goes mine: 1. Leader- Scipio Africanus Defeated Hannibal during one of Rome's most difficult times. So organizing forces to deal with a capable enemy that is already hounding you, is something he is used too. His determination and leadership abilities would also enable him to organize the other team. 2. Strategist- Zhuge Liang So yeah, probably alot of what is said about him is fiction but if 1/4 of the actions, inventions, writings, and so on attributed to him are correct... He is still one seriously tough cookie in terms of strategic acumen. 3. Offense- Erwin Rommel (... not time for debate, but just as a note: he didn't follow Hitler's orders to kill prisoners and civilians, and eventually became involved in a conspiracy assassinate Hitler... moving on) Easily one of the top Commanders of WW2. Famous for attacking quickly, using ambushes, and being near the front lines which inspires any under such a commander. Was much less reckless than others and could be more flexible on the battlefield, making him a better choice than others. 4. Defense- Jean Parisot de Valette Led a small force in the defense of the island of Malta, consisting of a little over 6,000 ( 3,000 of whom were basic local militia) against the Ottoman Empire forces of 22,000-48,000 ( let's say at least 30,000 likely). Which he did at age 70! And his conduct in the battle was quite likely what led his men to drive off the enemy forces. Don't need to 'defend' my choice much . 5. Special/ Auxiliary- Uesugi Kenshin One of the most powerful daimyo of the Sengoku Period in Japanese History. Skilled in Tactics and renowned for his skill on the battlefield, to the extent that some of his men viewed him as a 'god of war'. His overall strength of personality and abilities, would make him useful as a back-up or if a special force needed a leader for a particular task. Also... It would feel wrong not having a Samurai of some kind on the list . So that's my team, what team of guys and gals would you select from History?
  14. Crush his enemies! And use cat face emoticons! That's how I get Senpai to notice me. :3
  15. What do you mean reading the 'Cliff Notes' doesn't count?
  16. Yeah, I remember hearing that myself and can't help but think they... overcompensated when making Elsa a sympathetic character.
  17. I honestly think Olaf is probably the best character in the film, it's a rather long discussion but the short form is... Well, I would ask anyone that thinks Olaf is a poor character, "If Olaf doesn't know that by helping his friends bring back summer he will melt, then why is he not surprised when he starts melting when he helps save the heroine of the story?"
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