Topics

1

Completely Off-Topic / Well it's been fun...

« on: November 24, 2003, 09:34:06 am »

It's been a fun few years guys.. but sometimes there comes a time when there are more important things in life to focus on...  I wish you all the very best.  

I don't expect to be coming back from this one...

2

General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Some Random Stuff...

« on: November 16, 2003, 07:31:46 pm »

from www.musicunited.org Vanessa Carlton, Singer/Songwriter, "A Thousand Miles" and Gold-Award Winning Artist for "Be Not Nobody": "I think it’s great that there are even more avenues today to expose music and new artists. And I’m all for getting a taste of something before you buy it, but when it becomes more than a taste and people begin hoarding the entire work, it becomes piracy which results in a system in which artists are not being rewarded for their works. Works which they put everything they have into creating and then working their asses off to support and promote."

3

Completely Off-Topic / Ohhh.. Vampire Time Waster...

« on: October 15, 2003, 12:09:36 pm »

Hah.. I thoguht this was amusing... Let me make you a Vampire and play this little time waster game...

click this: http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?biter=Amadeus

Get all Vamped up around Halloween...lol...

4

Completely Off-Topic / On second thought, let's not go to North Korea..

« on: October 12, 2003, 07:16:15 am »

it 'tis a silly place...

Wow...  hate the American government.. love the American government...  but be aboslutely thankful you don't live in North Korea.  I mean we may talk about countries we don't like, and try to tell them to stop building nuclear weapons, and attempt diplomatic resolutions, etc...

North Korea still creates propaganda videos to brainwash their people. Here are two.  One called "Fucking USA" to make the North Koreans hate the US.  and one to convince the Norht Korean people that their president is actially a god, sent from heaven with mighty power!!!  (o_O)  umm.. yeah.. ok..  yep.. scary folks.. this stuff still goes on in communist and other dictatorial controlled countries..

http://www.robpongi.com/pages/comboFUCKINGUSAHI.html
http://robpongi.com/pages/comboKIMJONGIL.html

5

Completely Off-Topic / "Never Again"

« on: October 12, 2003, 06:55:47 am »

The Austin American-Statesman features an op-ed by Sgt. Nathan Todd, an Army reservist who served in the Balkans:

After I returned from Bosnia, I visited the "museum" at Dachau. I saw the rebuilt barracks and new barbed wire, the meticulously restored crematoria and killing grounds. I knelt there in a field that had been used to dump the ashes of the victims of the Holocaust, and lit a candle for the souls who suffered there. I cried and prayed there, remembering what had been done, and thought upon the words "never again." Somehow the thought of it made me cry more, because I couldn't stop thinking about how long it took us to decide to stop the madness in Bosnia. How no one even tried to stop the killings in Cambodia, Kurdish Iraq and the Sudan. How we walked away from Somalia after the tragic sacrifice of American soldiers fighting to build a better world. It occurred to me how much we have forgotten and how empty those brave words had become.

We cannot save the world by ourselves. We cannot stop all the genocides and massacres. We cannot make sure that "never again" becomes a fulfilled promise rather than a hope. But we can return a little meaning to those words, stop some killings and end some suffering. I hope we do, and I would be proud to serve again in Iraq to do so.

This ought to be required reading for those who, for political or ideological purposes, seek to disparage America's moral triumph in liberating Iraq.

6

Completely Off-Topic / Happy Birthday Bianca (VCFreak)!!!!

« on: September 26, 2003, 01:11:11 pm »

Eh.. I saw the other thread, but it's once a year for everyone and we pretty much didi away with all other personal milestones...  can't we let evryeone have their birthday wishes??

Anyway... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my PR PINEAPPLE!!!

You're awesome B...  Hope you're day has beed great!!!

7

Completely Off-Topic / Robert Palmer is dead

« on: September 26, 2003, 12:54:06 pm »

:cry:

8

Completely Off-Topic / Users should not accept RIAA's offer of amnesty

« on: September 10, 2003, 06:32:12 am »

U.S. privacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning individuals not to admit to illegally trading copyright music online, even if the music industry offers a reprieve from its anti-piracy campaign, saying that users could still be subject to legal action...

...The EFF issued a statement Friday in response to several published reports that the Recording Industry Association of America was set to launch an "amnesty" program this week, in which it would excuse users who swapped copyright music online if they erased the music from their computers, destroyed all hard copies, and promised not to engage in future online piracy.

"Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially since the RIAA doesn't control many potential sources of lawsuits," EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer said in the statement....

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112362,00.asp

9

Completely Off-Topic / My Favorite Commentary of the Day...

« on: September 02, 2003, 11:03:17 am »

"Jeepers Creepers #1 at box office"

-------Wow, if this doesn't tell you that all the movies out right now suck, I don't know what does...

http://www.livejournal.com/community/scroogle/389403.html

lol  :lol:

10

Completely Off-Topic / Great Site About the Corrupt Digital Distribution of Music

« on: August 28, 2003, 12:46:49 pm »

http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/

11

Completely Off-Topic / VERY Cool Picture... Blackout From Space

« on: August 25, 2003, 07:02:55 am »

12

Completely Off-Topic / An Important Political Issue for 20-30 Yr Olds...

« on: August 21, 2003, 01:03:02 pm »

Young Americans: Pay Attention, Or Pay The Bills
by Derek Hunter
August 19, 2003 |  |

If you’re in your 20s or 30s, one of the biggest decisions affecting your life likely will be made this fall.

It’s not whether to get married. Or to buy a house. Or even to have and educate children. But it’s a decision that could affect your ability to afford any or all of those things.

That decision, which will be made by Congress, is whether or not to give senior citizens, regardless of income or need, a prescription-drug entitlement in Medicare.

The House and Senate each have approved separate bills that would add a drug entitlement to the already cash-strapped Medicare program. Each bill was initially estimated to cost $400 billion over the next 10 years. New estimates peg them as being far more costly. Still, a Capitol Hill committee is hammering out the differences between the bills, and President Bush has indicated he’ll sign whatever they put before him.

Our futures are being formed. But are we paying attention? Frankly, most lawmakers don’t expect us to: We rarely make plans for the weekend until Friday rolls around, so it’s a good bet we’re not planning what will happen when we reach age 65 -- or how we’ll obtain medical care when we get there.

But there’s one very good reason we should pay attention as lawmakers tinker with Medicare. We (not they) will have to pay the bills.

Think about the extra $400 billion in taxes we’ll have to pay over the next 10 years.

That’s $400,000,000,000. How huge is that?

To give it some perspective, if you were paid $1 per second, every second of every day from the moment you were born, you’d be a millionaire in fewer than 12 days. But it would take you nearly 33 years to become a billionaire. That’s right, 33 YEARS.

And still, to get the estimated cost of the proposed “reform,” you must multiply that 33 years by 400. The resulting number should worry everyone -- especially young people.

Here’s why: The 77 million baby boomers will begin retiring in 2011. Eventually, that’ll nearly double the number of people on Medicare. By 2030, the typical household will pay $2,855 for Medicare, according to estimates from The Heritage Foundation. That’s without a drug entitlement. Factor one in, and that number rises to $3,980 per household.

Heritage research also finds that between now and 2030, each household will pay an average $56,022 for Medicare, $16,127 of that for the drug entitlement alone.

Essentially, lawmakers are considering imposing a massive tax liability on young people. Keep in mind that while the cost of Medicare skyrockets, the cost of the rest of government (defense, Social Security, etc.) also will continue to rise, and we will have to pay for that, too.

There are poor seniors who genuinely need help and should get it. But three out of four seniors already have some form of drug coverage, many through former employers.

So why would Congress design a benefit for everyone when only a quarter of seniors need it, and make us pay for it? As we’ve seen, this bill covers everyone equally, rich or poor. Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Michael Jordan and all the other rich retirees won’t go hungry if they pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs.

What’s worse, one-third of seniors with drug coverage through their former employers would lose it because of this bill, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Companies would save billions of dollars a year by dropping retirees because the taxpayer would automatically pick up the tab. So we get stuck with the check. Talk about corporate welfare.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. We could make it better, for seniors and ourselves.

All we have to do is pay attention -- and now. Seniors vote in large numbers. They contact their members of Congress and stay involved. Unfortunately, too many of us in our 20s or 30s know who won on “Survivor” or “American Idol” but can’t name our senator or congressional representative.

We have to change that. Members of Congress need to listen, and so do our parents and grandparents. Let’s help those seniors who truly need help with their drug bills. But let Bill Gates and friends pay their own way.

No one is going to seek out our opinions. We have to speak up. We have to be engaged. We’d better start paying attention because, either way, we will pay.

13

Completely Off-Topic / Entertainer Extraordinaire... Bob Hope Dies at Age 100

« on: July 28, 2003, 05:53:17 am »

The most celebrated entertainer... Amazing Radio, TV, Movie career....

Bob Hope's unwavering commitment to the morale of America's servicemen and women is entertainment history, indeed, world history. Many say 'legend.'

For nearly six decades, be the country at war or at peace, Bob, with a band of Hollywood gypsies, has traveled the globe to entertain our service men and women.

Rest in peace Bob Hope.

14

Completely Off-Topic / British PM Tony Blair's Speech to Congress

« on: July 19, 2003, 10:06:58 am »

If you didn't see it and haven't read it, you should... it's brilliant.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110003758

"I know it's hard on America. And in some small corner of
this vast country ... there's a guy getting on with his life perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, 'Why me, and why us, and why America?' And the only answer is because destiny put you in this place in history, in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do." --Prime Minister Tony Blair addressing a joint session of Congress Thursday.

15

Completely Off-Topic / Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Relationships...

« on: July 06, 2003, 01:31:10 pm »

Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

Sometimes we are not thinking about you. Live with it.

Don't cut your hair. Ever. Long hair is always more attractive than short hair. One of the big reasons guys fear getting married is that married women always cut their hair.

Crying is blackmail.

Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

We don't remember dates, mark birthdays and anniversaries on a calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand.

Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. We refuse to answer.

If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

We are not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.

If we ask what is wrong and you say 'nothing', we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine - Really.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/scroogle/341043.html
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Though these seem funny... and many are... For a lot of the advice threads popping up lately, I can tell you that in Lisa and my relationship 100% of these apply.  So all joking aside.  These can be taken in all seriousness...  well except for the toilet seat one.  I could really care less about that...