Re: The 'Ask a Question' Thread

by **Nachtsider** Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 1:25

Does anyone know that one video game? Higarushi something? About some kind of mystery in some village during some festival? What was the deal there? Was it a serial killer, a disease outbreak or what?

by TTIO Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 5:35

Do you mean this one by any chance?

by **Nachtsider** Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 6:51

It might be. I'm not sure. That link still doesn't explain what the deal was, though.

by TTIO Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 8:04

No idea myself, was just wondering if that's the one you were talking about Wink

You might want to ask Panzer, if he doesn't reply to this thread, he seems to know what it's all about...

by Guest Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 8:35

Oh, that?

Hehehehehehe....

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

Its a sound novel game. Similar to Type-Moon's FSN and Tsukihime series...minus the hentai. So there's no action or what-not (except Higurashi Daybreak), but there are decision makings at certain points. But more of which you just read through it all. Higurashi is, however, heavy on the plot and the setting.

....you could actually get yourself scared to shit due to the atmosphere it gives...

There's three Higurashi game:

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - When they cry

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri and its sequel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri: Kakera Asobi

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna

each of which gave question arcs followed with answer arcs. Most of which ends in blood. Difference in them is that they have 'additional' stories or 'side stories' that link (or give brief explanation) to the main story.

Say for example Natsumi Kimiyoshi's storyline (can't remember which arc (-hen) it came from). It gives brief explanation to the fate of the Hinamizawan villagers outside the village when the village is destroyed.

What was the deal there? Was it a serial killer, a disease outbreak or what?

Wow, I'm not spoiling the plot for you senpai. Its something you have to figure out Wink

But here's what I can give:

'Was it a serial killer?' - Close, but not quite. Serial as in every Watanagashi festival, yes. Same killer? Not quite. Mentally-deranged-killer is more accurate

'A disease outbreak?' - Close, yet again. But not quite. It is there from the start, contained, but it is 'out' somehow. And if it do, why was only 1 out for the killing-spree? Not the entire village? This, you have to figure it out.

Well, it is a mystery sound novel. Its not fun to give it all away when you can actually figure it and dig it through.

...and to be honest, Higurashi actually *slides* Gunslinger Girl from my top favorite to the second due to the heavy plot, twists and...well...the atmosphere.

by **Nachtsider** Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 11:52

Cocktease

by Guest Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 13:01

Cocktease

What does that mean...?

Well, anyway, taking on my own little assumption on what it meant...

If you're really-really curious of what is going on I suggest you watch the series instead (Watch Higurashi no Naku Koro ni first before going to the 'Kai' or the second season).

Try looking up in YouTube. Maybe they have it there...

Then on the *extra* arcs, read it on an online manga or something. Look for it. Two extra arcs are: Onisarashi-hen (Natsumi Kimiyoshi's story) and Yoigoshi-hen (Overnight Stay story)

What fun it is to reveal a mystery story when its loveliest when you try to 'dig it'? :p

by SnowDream Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 15:14

Animesuki has a thread explaining what is happening for those with less patience than needed to sit through the whole game Razz

by Guest Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 20:21

TTIO wrote:Question to anyone who has The Shinkai Collection on DVD. It says that the Voices of a Distant Star OST is included with the DVD(s), but where? I only have the two DVDs in the box, and it doesn't seem to be on either of them...

I purchased Voices of a Distant Star by itself and the soundtrack was on a separate CD that came with the DVD. The soundtrack was ok but my biggest complaint about it was that the same tune (Through the Years and Far Away) is in 4 of the 12 tracks (eating up 11 minutes of the 27 minutes on the soundtrack). I think that the CD was in a paper sleeve inside the DVD box (I have since moved the DVD and CD into a discsox container so I can't go look to be sure).

by Guest Sun 22 Feb 2009 - 20:27

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (called When They Cry in the US) sounds like an interesting series. Unfortunately, the DVDs are very expensive ($27 for each of the 6 DVDs) so I guess I'll wait until they get packaged up in a box set.

by Guest Mon 23 Feb 2009 - 9:32

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (called When They Cry
in the US) sounds like an interesting series. Unfortunately, the DVDs
are very expensive ($27 for each of the 6 DVDs) so I guess I'll wait
until they get packaged up in a box set.

I have to be amazed with the internet.

Browse YouTube yesterday and found Higurashi no Naku Koro ni completely available up to the 2nd season...

Also...

What fun is it to read a thread of 'what-the-hell-is-going-on' by a Western reviewer when you can watch it and review it yourself? Seriously, I never-never trust 'professional' reviewers--game or movies--in any matter as they were mostly bias on a large scale.

I advise: Watch. You'll find it humorous for the first few minutes but do notice one thing: the atmosphere of Higurashi slowly drops from light into heavy and depressing (this happen in both the Anime, the Manga, and the sound novel)

by Guest Mon 23 Feb 2009 - 10:50

Panzer IV wrote:I have to be amazed with the internet.

Browse YouTube yesterday and found Higurashi no Naku Koro ni completely available up to the 2nd season...

For some reason, I never think about looking out at YouTube to see if any anime series I am interested in are located there. Thanks for the pointer -- I'll take a look at some of the episodes.

by **Nachtsider** Mon 23 Feb 2009 - 12:49

Cocktease = someone who likes to dangle carrots in front of people at a just-out-of-reach distance. I'm one of those people who totally welcomes spoilers.

SnowDream wrote:Animesuki has a thread explaining what is happening for those with less patience than needed to sit through the whole game

Got a link?

by TTIO Mon 23 Feb 2009 - 12:55

GrafSpee wrote:I purchased Voices of a Distant Star by itself and the soundtrack was on a separate CD that came with the DVD. The soundtrack was ok but my biggest complaint about it was that the same tune (Through the Years and Far Away) is in 4 of the 12 tracks (eating up 11 minutes of the 27 minutes on the soundtrack). I think that the CD was in a paper sleeve inside the DVD box (I have since moved the DVD and CD into a discsox container so I can't go look to be sure).

Well that sucks Sad

I only have two DVDs (one of Voices and one of The Place)

Thanks for your help though Wink

by **Nachtsider** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 18:16

Okay, no-one seems willing to thoroughly answer my previous question. I'll let it slide and proceed to something simpler.

Is it really true that Michael Jackson has converted to Islam?

by **boomer_gonz** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 18:23

Apparently it's the real deal and it was 'the artist formerly known as' Cat Stevens who indoctrinated the guy.

http://living.oneindia.in/insync/2008/michael-jackson-mulim-islam-convert-221108.html

by **Nachtsider** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 18:48

Thanks, Boomer. The mention of Cat Ste- I mean, Yusuf Islam does make the news more believable. He and Jacko are pretty tight.

by **Nachtsider** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 20:50

The 'Ask a Question' Thread - Page 5 6svyfdwbkcfxwrc6pn2c437tw6

[/QUOTE]

Can anyone figure this one out? I'm totally stumped.

by tsundere9kagami2 Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 20:51

Is it a face?

by **boomer_gonz** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 20:54

I think that's the mindfuck.

By implying that you'll see something LOL-tastic it makes you search for whatever might be there.

In the end there really is nothing there making it LUL-tastic.

by tsundere9kagami2 Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 20:58

yeah stupid bitches do that all the time but im kinda more of leaning towards the face theory cause like 75 % of these are just a lame face

by **Nachtsider** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 21:01

If Boomer's explanation is true, I will roid rage. Twenty minutes of my time, wasted.

Tried looking for a face, Tsun, but can't see shit. The best explanation I could come up with was "That must be one heck of a tall tree, to have such a long rope holding the tire up." Lame, I know.

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 21:03

boomer_gonz wrote:I think that's the mindfuck.

By implying that you'll see something LOL-tastic it makes you search for whatever might be there.

In the end there really is nothing there making it LUL-tastic.

I'd be more inclined to throw bricks (at the person who came up with the picture) then shit them in that case, however...

by Secchan Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 21:23

Kiskaloo wrote:
boomer_gonz wrote:I think that's the mindfuck.

By implying that you'll see something LOL-tastic it makes you search for whatever might be there.

In the end there really is nothing there making it LUL-tastic.

I'd be more inclined to throw bricks (at the person who came up with the picture) then shit them in that case, however...

I agree entirely with this violent statement.

by **Nachtsider** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 21:40

Finally got it. Look under the car; it's tiny, but you can see two glowing eyes and a grinning mouth.

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 5 Mar 2009 - 21:42

I'm sorry, but when I have to load the damn image into Photoshop and blow it up to a resolution where it's just a mess of pixels to get the joke, I'm throwing bricks...

by Secchan Fri 6 Mar 2009 - 1:04

Yay, brick throwing!

by **Nachtsider** Mon 9 Mar 2009 - 3:10

I recently read an article about the Troubles in Northern Island, and was quite surprised by the large number of British military and police casualties as compared to those incurred by the IRA. Now, assuming these figures are accurate, how did they end up like that? Surely the IRA couldn't have outclassed the British troops in the field?

Also, why the hell aren't the various Navies patrolling Somalian waters just blowing up any pirate ships they find, instead of merely driving them off?

by Awinnell Mon 9 Mar 2009 - 4:52

the obvious answer to the casualty figures differences is the Rules of engagement,the IRA as a terrorist group has none and thinks nothing of killing anyone in the area ,the Army is somewhat more limited in the way and type of weapons it can use,saying that mind you we did put a lot of them in prison,and as seen in Gibraltar we did take out a few of them when the situation warranted it !
like in Iraq now a lot of the people killed died by remote activated roadside bombs,one guy with a remote blows up a truck load of soldiers and runs off

the Somalian problem is a pain to deal with,the navies patrolling the area are limited by the local maritime laws on what they can do,they cannot board a ship once it has been seized by pirates,they can engage the pirates when they are in their boats ,but the pirates are using small fast moving boats,and the navy guys are in destroyers and frigates,its a bit like trying to swat a fly,the captain of an Indian navy destroyer did blow what was described as a Pirate mothership out of the water after the drug fuelled pirates threatened him with an RPG ,he hit them with an antiship missile !

by **Nachtsider** Mon 9 Mar 2009 - 5:06

Sigh. Rules can be so stupid at times.

by **Tommygunner70** Mon 9 Mar 2009 - 11:47

Nachtsider wrote:Sigh. Rules can be so stupid at times.

agreed.

Though about the Somalian Pirates thing I can only refer to the old Cliche of "Ain't no better defense then offence."

merely driving them off?

yeah right, what's gonna stop them from coming back later?

The only thing that's gonna stop them is two feet of dirt or water, which ever may come first.

by **Nachtsider** Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 13:25

Why is it when people edit their posts here, they like to fill in the 'reason for editing' slot? It's not necessary in any shape or form; personally, I like to keep folks in the dark about the fact that I've edited my posts.

by LoC978 Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 13:40

I only fill the thing in when someone has made a post after mine, 'cause it records the fact that you've edited it in any case.

by **Nachtsider** Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 13:44

I've noticed some people here do it even when nobody's posted subsequent to them.

I like those forums where editing isn't recorded at all.

by Cherubino Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:05

I never do that... It's a waste of time if you ask me... But... No one asked me... Wink

by **Nachtsider** Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:30

I've been to forums where the admins and mods raise hell if you post in a very old thread. Why is this so?

by LoC978 Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:32

depends what the forum is about, and how many people frequent it.

I know a lot of topics in online gaming forums become obsolete after a game update... but other than that... *shrugs*

by Guest Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:33

I guess that they decided that the threads have run their course. If they really didn't want anyone to post to them, they should lock the thread.

by **Nachtsider** Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:35

Sounds stupid to me. IMO, there should be no statute on posting in threads. That way, good discussions can be kept going indefinitely.

by Cherubino Fri 13 Mar 2009 - 22:41

Nachtsider wrote:Sounds stupid to me. IMO, there should be no statute on posting in threads. That way, good discussions can be kept going indefinitely.

Werd. I am part of a Baten Kaitos board where we never close threads and when someone has something new to say, they post and people start talking about a topic all over again. I love it.
I feel that the less that Mods and Admins say about how and when and where people post, the happier people on the boards are. Except for spammers. They should be kicked in the nuts....

by **boomer_gonz** Sat 14 Mar 2009 - 16:03

Sidewayz even!!!

by Cherubino Sat 14 Mar 2009 - 16:05

boomer_gonz wrote:Sidewayz even!!!

Now, that's the spirit Boom Boom! Razz

by akaciparaci Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 7:27

is it ok to ask another question now?

the question is that i want to know how to access IRC stuffs and things related to that

i searched and found a pretty decent guide on doing it, in

http://www.animewaves.net/index.php?goto=awircguide

is this one good enough? or are there any better way or things i should know?

thanks for any responses cheers

and to add another question: how come i can't show my signature?
i already create one and save it, but every time i post no sig sighted

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 9:53

akaciparaci wrote:and to add another question: how come i can't show my signature?
i already create one and save it, but every time i post no sig sighted

You need to turn it on in your Profile. The default is off.

by akaciparaci Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 10:06

well i see, that really is unexpected, thanks for the help High Five

by Guest Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 18:40

While reviewing my manuscript, another writer-friend pointed out that I frequently change the tense within the same paragraph, and that was grammatically incorrect. I told him that I changed my writing style to mixing tenses without knowing it, but that I did that on purpose.

I'm keeping a story I was working on for the sole purpose of seeing the paragraph the change was suddenly made and continued. While reading the story to my cousin, he pointed out that he noticed the change. I panicked that I started a bad habit, but upon changing a paragraph and writing it differently, I decided to keep it.

Here is that paragraph written in three different ways. The first is how I used to write a few years ago (as far as tense is concerned). The middle and third shows the recent change.

......
PAST
The cave had ruptured forth an unceasing flood of meatless bats, their skeletal flaps clattered with their cries. They rose to the dark clouds, and under cover of their shadow, drew out into a long sea that threatened to engulf the Northern Forest.

......
PRESENT
The cave ruptures forth an unceasing flood of meatless bats, their skeletal flaps clatter with their cries. They rise to the dark clouds, and under cover of their shadow, draw out into a long sea that threatens to engulf the Northern Forest.

......
MIX
The cave ruptured forth an unceasing flood of meatless bats, their skeletal flaps clattering with their cries. They rose to the dark clouds, and under cover of their shadow, draw out into a long sea, threatening to engulf the Northern Forest.

The story or what I'm describing isn't important. Its part of a fun story I'm writing for my cousin and nothing I plan to publish.

by **Nachtsider** Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 18:42

'Ruptured forth'...? I can understand 'spewed forth', but 'ruptured'...? Puzzled

by Guest Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 18:46

Nachtsider wrote:'Ruptured forth'...? I can understand 'spewed forth', but 'ruptured'...?

Trust me, this story isn't going anywhere (see edit: I added a new sentence to the post at the end).

I do see you're point, but I am imagining a giant zit here. Anyway, that's not important. The paragraph is in a different tense, I wanted a voting on which you preferred, and more importantly, why.

by LoC978 Thu 19 Mar 2009 - 19:10

all style critiques aside, I'd say the 'present' one is the most correct. 'Mix' utilizes a non-list sentence that contains three commas... while the 'past' one... I can't identify immediately what's wrong with it, but it doesn't flow well at all.

that being said... how do skeletal bats achieve lift? skinless wings would lack the surface area! (couldn't help myself)

by Guest Fri 20 Mar 2009 - 0:56

LoC978 wrote:all style critiques aside, I'd say the 'present' one is the most correct. 'Mix' utilizes a non-list sentence that contains three commas... while the 'past' one... I can't identify immediately what's wrong with it, but it doesn't flow well at all.

that being said... how do skeletal bats achieve lift? skinless wings would lack the surface area! (couldn't help myself)

Lol! They couldn't of course, but this was part of a dark fantasy I was writing for personal enjoyment with my cousin.

Surprisingly so, LoC, you are the first person who likes the present tense. I conducted this same survey in another writer's forum, and published authors and aspiring authors told me they all liked the first the most.

by TTIO Fri 20 Mar 2009 - 13:05

I'd say I prefer the first, tbh. Purely because that's what I'm used to, but the third one didn't seem too bad until I looked through it carefully and picked out all of the tenses individually. So yeah, avoid the third, and between the first two it's primarily a matter of personal opinion, I would say.

by Guest Fri 20 Mar 2009 - 13:08

TTIO wrote:I'd say I prefer the first, tbh. Purely because that's what I'm used to, but the third one didn't seem too bad until I looked through it carefully and picked out all of the tenses individually. So yeah, avoid the third, and between the first two it's primarily a matter of personal opinion, I would say.

I'm not surprised. You are part of the 98% majority that voted for the first. Less than 1% voted for the 2nd, and .5% voted for the third being ok.

by Guest Tue 24 Mar 2009 - 14:43

Well... my problem is that I've been trying to make a layer (made from a modified image) in Gimp 2.6 semi transparent so I can superpose it with the original so the result is somewhere inbetween the two, but I don't know how to Puzzled

. I suppose it'll have something to do with alpha channel and combining layers, but I'm a ~~bit of a newbie here.~~ completely green. So, does anyone know how to do this?

By the way, Colonel, I feel quite comfortable with the third option. Maybe it has something to do with Spanish, I think it's quite common to mix tenses (past and present, and sometimes future) when writing about things that happened.

by Cherubino Tue 24 Mar 2009 - 15:22

Here's a question.
Are you for or against the plan B or morning after pill being legal and marketable to not just women 18 and over but also to 17 year olds?

by Robert Frazer Tue 24 Mar 2009 - 15:57

It's a moot point in Britain as the age of consent here is 16, but if I was in Cherubino's situation then I'd be against lowering the age. This is because I don't approve of the killing of life in the womb; it's also because the problem of teenage pregnancy by definition won't be eliminated by promoting further promiscuity. You may say that seventeen year-olds are going to be having sex anyway, and making the morning-after pill available allows the fallout to at least be controlled, but conversely it removes one more inhibition from sex at an age when people are more susceptible to intense social pressures, the thing which creates the teenage pregnancy problem in the first place.

by tsundere9kagami2 Tue 24 Mar 2009 - 16:01

Even if you take away the pill we will still find ways to make the pill..This will include many people making pills that dont work and kill you. Home chemists arent always as good as they would like to be The government is of course always thinking of this and taking away the pill will be a tough descision.

by **Kiskaloo** Tue 24 Mar 2009 - 16:31

Cherubino wrote:Here's a question: Are you for or against the plan B or morning after pill being legal and marketable to not just women 18 and over but also to 17 year olds?

I am in favor of easy access to contraception of all types for all ages.

I am, in general, against abortion so anything that prevents the kid in the first place strikes me as something that should be promoted, not hidden.

by Whatface Wed 25 Mar 2009 - 5:02

Bloedzuiger wrote:Well... my problem is that I've been trying to make a layer (made from a modified image) in Gimp 2.6 semi transparent so I can superpose it with the original so the result is somewhere inbetween the two, but I don't know how to . I suppose it'll have something to do with alpha channel and combining layers, but I'm a ~~bit of a newbie here.~~ completely green. So, does anyone know how to do this?

I don't have GIMP but I believe its similar to Photoshop.

All you have to do is move the modified layer above the original layer. Then you just set the alpha/opacity of the modified layer to 50%. To do this all you need to do is select the modified layer from the layer panel and drag the opacity slider around.

Or you could use the Eraser tool and set the opacity of that to around 50% and erase away at the modified layer until the original layer shows through.

This is for Photoshop, but I'm pretty sure GIMP is similar...

by **boomer_gonz** Wed 25 Mar 2009 - 5:43

Cherubino wrote:Here's a question.
Are you for or against the plan B or morning after pill being legal and marketable to not just women 18 and over but also to 17 year olds?

I promote this in the same fashion I promote the "abortion pill". Contraception education in its many forms is favorable over the alternative, which I've seen too much of in my backwards family. Unfortunately, fundamentalist thinking has practically eliminated sex-ed in high schools.

The first time my younger brother told me he was going to a house party, I asked him if he had protection. His answer was no. First, I gave him one of my spare butterfly knives, then I took him to the closest Walgreens to give him his first education in contraception. Mind you he was already 16 and had no idea that condoms were something other than really sturdy water balloons.

I have two other brothers younger than him and a younger sister who was just entering high school and that time it scared the living shit out of me.

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