sean

I'm with skooter... I can't quite figure out what you're trying to get across. Your girlfriend's mad at you over giving her a teddy bear? Let's start from there.

I don't know how really "J-Pop" it is, but I used to be a big X-Japan fan a while back. The piano and string arrangements are just gorgeous. I burned a CD for a friend once, and he said that they reminded him of Meatloaf with an accent

I concur. Welcome to Xisto, guys! Hope you'll find your stay fun and friendly.

From what I've seen and played of it, the PSP is a neat little gadget. It's kind of strange how the console got boring for you after only a few days... maybe it'll get better after you put it away for a while?

Oh... sorry, just had to add this: In the old preteen novel "The Eye, the Ear, and the Arm," I remember a boy in an African tribe goaded another one into a fight by making two mounds out of earth and then kicking one over. The dirt heaps symbolized the other boy's momma's boobs... and kicking one over meant, well... kicking one over. Next time one of your mates thinks he's fantastically clever by snapping a "your mum" joke on you, you know what you have to do . (Find some dirt...)

I read a neat book the other day in Barnes & Noble called "SNAPS" by Stephen Dweck and Monteria Ivey. Not only does it provide a veritable arsenal of "Yo Momma" jokes, but it also provides some fascinating background on the whole custom of "snapping"/"playing the dozens." If you've ever got some loose change lying around, be sure to pick up a copy! I believe there are sequels... aptly titled "DOUBLE SNAPS" and "TRIPLE SNAPS."Nothing hits home like a good old "your mum" joke!

The whole MGS franchise is legendary, and MGS3 is the perfect end for it. I don't think I saw the sun for 2 days after I bought it... worked my way up from normal to extreme. Currently, I've beaten extreme mode 4 times . I haven't been able to find/shoot all of the kerotan frogs for the stealth camo, but I've managed to get the Markhor Rank/EZ-Gun which makes the game a walk in the park.

You should have swept a shelf of batteries and canned food into a duffel bag and bolted for the hills! Nah, that was a very kind and considerate thing for you to do. I would have slipped you a $20 on the spot. Hopefully you've got something good coming your way for that!

Oh man, the choices!1. Writer/poet2. Stand-up comic3. Newspaper or magazine editor4. Professional runnerPerhaps some bizarre combination of all of the above...

If I want to upgrade from package #1 to 2, must I have 30 credits, or would I simply need to have 20 (since I would put in 10 for package #1)?

...drive me @!%!& crazy. Why on earth would anyone living in the suburbs need to drive a humvee transport to soccer practice?! As if gas prices weren't high enough... ($2.15/gal where I live) I know that the car is a status symbol and it looks cool and blah blah, but you could buy so many other high-end cars for the $50,000+ you plunk down for one those monsters. Hopefully you could find something that gets more than 5 miles per gallon...

I agree with you 100%, eitel. Very well said.This whole topic is reminiscent of a debate we had in sociology about whether the United States should make a formal apology to African-Americans for slavery.

One of my former English teachers lamented how the quality of kids' writing has been steadily declining since AIM/chatting/the 'net in general. In essays and assignments he'd find that kids would use "u" for "you" and "4" for "for" etc. He once instructed a block to write an in-class essay; several kids asked him how to spell the word "essay." After he wrote it on the board, about half of the class started erasing furiously. After the papers were handed in, about a quarter of the kids wrote "S.A." on top.

I agree... KFC is a whole lot more, er, "wholesome" than McD's. At least it feels that way. I have to admit I'm sort of biased, since Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me" documentary ruined McDonald's for me.

Spaghetti . Actually, maybe noodles in general... I'm a ramen fiend. If it weren't for all the sodium, I could probably live off of the stuff. One of my friends DID try that, though, to save $ in college. After he got through a complete semester eating nothing but cup ramen, he developed... scurvy. Like pirates do. The doctor gave him an orange and told him to improve his diet immediately. So much for that...

Anything by Charles Dickens gives me the runs. Yeah, yeah, literary master, yada yada yada... he can't even describe blinking without taking up 4 and a half paragraphs. I know that he was paid by magazines per word, but that's still no excuse to milk Tiny Tim's death for every drop he could. Sheesh! He could learn a thing or two from Hemingway or Carver.

Just curious if any of you have read this, and if so, what your thoughts are. Personally, I think it's brilliant. The book's picked up (well-deserved) awards left and right... even the audiobook version won a prestigious prize or two. It's definitely not for the faint of heart (*ahem* naked supreme ct. justice pics...) or the young'uns (I'd never heard of the term "clusterf_ck" that the authors throw in every other sentence), but it's so smart that you can forgive those things. "If pro is the opposite of con, then isn't congress the opposite of progress? OR DID WE JUST BLOW YOUR MIND?!"

I read this book about 2 years ago, and it really is wonderful. Watching Malcolm's evolution is remarkable.He had one helluva rough life... his mom went crazy, he became a hustler, got locked up--even earning the nickname "Satan" for his bitterly anti-religious attitude... it's amazing what he made out of his life.

I'm with you, Matthew. Once you get over the novelty of it, it's kind of pathetic.

I vaguely remember reading some article about some "connoisseurs" who sampled the flesh of a wooly mammoth that was preserved in ice (a glacier of sorts?). They pronounced it delicious. Not that it really answers the question of flesh preservation, since the T-rex was a fossil...

As far as rights on P2P software and file-sharing networks, this might interest you: MGM v. Grokster This is definitely a crucial case for the net-savvy everywhere.

I am perfectly fine with gay marriage, but the ceremony itself isn't enough. Even in states where gays can marry, it's only right that gay couples enjoy the full marriage benefits extended to straight couples. For instance, hospital visitation rights. Isn't it simple human decency to allow one human being to see his partner in the hospital? Social security and health benefits, adoption rights, immigration, medical decisions... how can society deny gay couples these things?

Hiroshima? Internment camps?

On an interesting tangent, if Barbie were scaled to full size, her measurements would be: a bust of 36 inches, a waist of 18 inches, and hips of 38 inches. I personally think that the dolls are demeaning to women and provide an unrealistic standard of beauty. (Even the cliche, chauvinistic 36-24-36 is less extreme than the dolls' figures.) Do you have any thoughts on G.I. Joe-type ("ultra-masculine") dolls and their effects on little guys?

SB is really irritating at times... however, the show is surprisingly adult-friendly. Lots of the jokes are above little kids' heads.