Nom

LOST because it's awesome. Heroes for the train-wreck factor. I like House but don't catch much of it. That about sums up my TV time.

Meh, my dad has a semi-automatic .50. I remembered that we have a BB pistol. Completely useless but funny.

Part II Isla looked at the truculent youth sitting across from her and sighed. Reviewing her tables that morning, she had been mildly pleased to see Jeremy was the first patient of the day. The fourteen-year-old was a challenge, and she liked challenges. And really, he was a charming boy. That was before Isaac had taken leave of his senses. Left with no other alternative after he had left the house, Isla had gone to work. Now she was a bit preoccupied, and that was no state to be in when dealing with troubled kids. Jeremy, she said, trying her best to sound patient, Ive told you many times youre just being stubborn. And Ive told you I dont care, he said with narrowed eyes. Leave me alone. I dont want to come here. His dress was evidence enough of that; he looked as though he had just been rescued from the street that morning. Isla, in contrast, was as snappily dressed as usual, with a clean white blouse and dark slacks. She matched well with the crisp space in which they were talking. She always thought the room was too sterile, too austere, and she would request a more casual setting for their next session. It might help somewhere down the road, though not today. Isla changed tack. I have reports that youre a bully to the other kids, she said. Why is that? He looked puzzled. Why? he repeated. Because I can. So youre a sadist? Jeremy scowled. No, he said. That was the bosses. The other people. They hurt me just because they could. And so thats what youre doing? No! Jeremy leaned forward. I dont -- I have a right! I suffered too much, and I want people to know what it was like. Jeremy, just because you were wronged doesnt mean you can take it out on others. I dont. No one else has -- wait . . . You? Some of the anger left Jeremys face, replaced by curiosity. What happened to you? Isla gave him a small smile. I was like you, not too long ago. I lived on the streets, trying to get by however I could. I sometimes had to cling to gangs, and the stuff they made me do -- selling drugs, breaking into houses -- was bad enough. Sometimes, when I was completely on my own, I had to sell my body. It was a terrible way to live. How did you end up here? I was rescued, just like you. Isla reached across the table to pat his hand. I was very lucky that a nice young man named Isaac found me. He helped me get a normal life. Jeremy was gazing at his own hand, on which Islas rested. What happened to him? Isaac? Were engaged. Jeremy looked up sharply. Isla had to hold back a laugh. She was finally making some progress. But Isaacs behavior preyed on her mind, all the more for reliving the circumstances in which they had met. Her smile for Jeremy was genuine, but she was terribly afraid. Tell me more about what you did, Jeremy said. What exactly did they make you do? What about selling -- Why dont you tell me exactly what they made you do? Jeremy looked at her silently for a moment, then averted his eyes. They mostly used me as a lookout, he mumbled. I had to stand at corners and make sure there was nobody around when they did things, like breaking in to houses. Sometimes they met with people I didnt know. I heard gunshots, once. He shifted in his chair. Did you ever participate in these things? I had to, he said. Or they beat me. I tried to get out of it, he said, looking at Isla with something like pleading. But they didnt hold back. Eventually I stopped resisting. Jeremy, listen, Isla said, gripping his hand gently. That doesnt make you a bad person. And being a bully -- that doesnt make you a bad person either. Youre here, arent you? They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Miss Hayes? said the voice outside. Theres a call for you. Ill be back, she said with a smile and another squeeze. She left Jeremy with the beginnings of tears at the corners of his eyes. The orderly directed her to the phone at the front desk. Hello? Miss Hayes? This is Dr. Cuomo, from M.E.S. Your fiancé, Isaac, he hasnt reported in today, and no one answered at your residence. Do you have any idea where he is? He is needed today. I -- what? Islas heartbeat quickened. He left the house this morning saying he was going to work. Well, I assure you, he is not here-- Im coming down. Sorry? Im coming down there, and youre going to explain to me what you have him doing and why he woke up this morning in a complete daze. He did what? Im sorry, Miss Hayes-- Isla hung up. --- Thanks for the thoughts, I'll do final edits once the whole thing has been written.

Part I Isla reluctantly pulled herself from the hazy twilight between sleeping and waking, forcing her body upright. Yawning, she glanced beside her. Isaac was awake, staring at the ceiling with his mouth slightly open. He looked puzzled. Whats up? she asked him. Isaacs eyes flicked toward her, then back at the ceiling. Nothing, he said. I had a funny dream. He grimaced. Well, you look funny, Isla said. Dont lay there too long, youll be late. She rolled out of bed, slipped into a dressing gown, and headed for the bathroom. Five minutes later, she entered the airy kitchen to find Isaac staring into the cupboard. Cereals gone, hun, she said. Isaac jumped and looked round. You sure youre okay? Isla eyed him. He was still wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, and his hair was a fetching mess. In other words, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed. Yeah, fine, he mumbled, closing the cupboard. Go get a shower and Ill throw some toast in, she said. He obediently shuffled off. A mere few minutes had passed, during which Isla had put on some coffee and sat down to review her days schedule, when a loud clunk! issued from the vicinity of the bathroom. Isaac? Isla stood abruptly. Isaac! When she arrived at the scene, Isaac was sitting on the floor of the tub, rubbing his head, while water from the showerhead cascaded around him. What the hell happened? said Isla, reaching to turn off the water. Isaac looked up. His eyes were out of focus. I slipped on the soap, he said, sounding surprised. He shook his head a few times, as though trying to rid his ears of water. Isla kneeled beside the tub. I really dont think you should go to work today, she said, reaching out to fiddle with his waterlogged hair. Youre coming down with something. No, Im fine, said Isaac. Ive just had a bit of déjà vu. He stood. Isla stood with him and planted her hands on her hips. Those crazies and their projects can do without you for one day. Really, Id have thought they have all the funds they need by now, but they keep sending you off -- hey! Are you listening? Isaac had been occupied with covering himself with a towel and was now attempting to push past her. I have to go to work today, he said. Theres something I need to do. He stopped. Isla backed up to the door, but there was no need to block it. Isaac was standing rigid. His eyes slowly widened. Isaac? He looked at her then with such horror that she took a step back. Like I said, you really -- dont go in today -- she stammered. Isaac rushed forward. With a squeak Isla dove to the side. Isaac flew past her, dropping his towel, and began flitting about their bedroom, opening drawers and pulling on clothes with frightening speed. Miraculously they all matched reasonably well. Isla had barely recovered her voice when he rushed from the room. Isaac! Isla dashed after him. Wait! She skidded into the foyer to find Isaac standing before the open front door, gazing out into the chilly, misty morning. Isaac! He turned slightly, gazing at her with that same horrified look. He was breathing hard. Please, said Isla. Whats going on? Isaacs jaw worked, as though trying to chew glue. He swallowed. Im sorry, he said, and ran from the house. --- Will be a complete short story, I just thought it would be too long to post in one go so I'm breaking it up and posting as I write. Now it looks too short, but whatever. It will end, unlike some other things I've done . . . So, uh, yeah. Not much right now, more will come. In the meantime you can tell me if it piques your interest or just bores you.

This might just be me, but that's a bit hazy. Temptation is born in the mind of the one tempted--it's not some external force. Is the bolded modifying the pages or the narrator? I think this could use some fixing up. As it stands, "moreover" is sort of floating there without a firm anchor. If it were to read, "Moreover, I had been among those many who turned away . . ." it would tighten everything up a bit and make the meaning clearer. I agree with JP that this could make a fantastic short story if you were to explore the contents of the diary, and I would suggest going further. Instead of telling us all of this, let us see snippets of her life, whether through the pages of the diary or the recollections of the narrator, or a combination of both. Show, don't tell. The juxtaposition of her everyday life and the diary would speak for itself. Of course, I'm a huge character/dialogue writer so I guess you could call me biased, and don't let others write your story for you (NEVER!) but I think it could work really well. It's still pretty good as it stands though.

The Time Traveler's Wife . . . The saddest thing about the movie is the wasted potential. I'd have never imagined a love story could be so emotionless. It could have been brilliant, but it failed. Now I'll have to read the book . . .

I personally own a .22 and a 12 gauge, and I can pretty much go set up some targets in the yard and shoot whenever I want. I want a clay pigeon launcher, those things are insanely fun. Haven't shot anything in a while, though. I want to shoot a good compound bow with a decent draw weight. I've only ever shot crappy recurves and this old "junior" compound bow I got years ago. Filling cans with water and shooting them with BB guns is great fun, also.

Quite apart from the fact that the writer can NOT make up whatever he wants and get away with it, if you, the reader, are using the book as a textbook for factual information you're doing it wrong. Books are a medium for ideas. Reading shows you many diverse ideas, while improving your language skills through exposure. That is what you take from reading, not "factual" (because for all you know, the New York story has completely invented "weapons, technologies, etc."--no story is inherently bound by any constraints, in fact the opposite is true) information. To make this somewhat relevant to the actual topic, what we tend to consider educational is usually very narrow-minded. I can't see any huge educational benefits from MMORPGs (besides Runescape teaching me that copper and tin make bronze, woo), but I'm sure someone can find something. The problem is moderation; even if they have no value whatsoever apart from complete escapism its harmless until you do it too much. Which is what the thread is about, so I don't know where I'm going with this.

Did you actually just say that reading has no educational value? not quite, he was refering to fantasy books, which i agree have little educational value as its well....all made up. well, mostly. but you will still pick up little bits and pieces, like idk, sword fighting? :? who knows, but very little compared to other books. Every single piece of fiction ever written is a lie. Fictitious people doing fictitious things. In fantasy/sci-fi, you add fictitious places to the mix. The latest thriller set in New York is as "made-up" as the latest sword-and-sorcery fantasy romp. You learn from both, and you learn the same things.

Did you actually just say that reading has no educational value?

I cry over books. A lot. Not like full-out bawling. A tear or two. Just means it's a good book. I would never have believed it physically possible to cry for two hours. I would just get tired of it.

You start on my birthday. Like half the people on this thread. As for me, I start the day after my birthday. Senior year. Schedule looks like this: Calculus (I hate math, first bell yay.) AP European History Accelerated Physics AP English Literature Lunch Bioethics (Second semester: Creative Writing) Free (Second semester: Mediation) Spanish IV I want to drop Spanish, I only need three years for college and if I want to continue it at uni I can. Then I can also have last bell off year-round :D

As I said just five minutes ago . . . fail. :P I suppose we all have our weaknesses, eh?

^Thanks, if that's the Anti-Shurtugal one I was sure I would never see it again since the site is gone. I looked anyway, but alas.

RHCP Greatest Hits gets a black mark for not having Can't Stop on it :x I like this list.

Yeah, I was going to say something about the emphasis on the more distant past but got tongue-tied (keyboard-tied?) I think hindsight becomes easier the further back it stretches. As history is about looking back and understanding what makes an age tick, it's difficult to do so with a period that is more recent and therefore still has ongoing consequences. Roosevelt helped shape our world, and we can say that because we have a clear picture of the world both before and after him. Then, though historians still fight about stuff constantly, it's easier to lay down a general picture accepted by all that can go into a book of common knowledge. More recent events haven't been debated enough for a common ground to emerge. I wouldn't say that pre-1945 is left out, though. The AP exam (different animal though it may be) goes up to Kennedy and the Cuban Missile crisis. There's quite a lot about that, and also Watergate. But after that, events are more summarily handled. EDIT: Whoah big edit. Hopefully this is still relevant :P

^Yeah. This makes me mad. Teddy Roosevelt was probably the most kick-[wagon] guy ever. Having him as the leader of early 20th century United States? He should have a whole damn chapter. That's a pretty pessimistic view you have there Barihawk. What kind of textbooks are you basing it on? My AP US History textbook had I think two separate chapters focusing on Teddy Roosevelt's era, with one of them being almost entirely about him and Progressivism. The coal miners' strike, his issues with Taft, the whole deal.

Sigh . . . I really don't want to get into this, but for a cursory look . . . Plot = Star Wars. Do some thinking for yourself, it's pretty glaringly obvious. Setting = LotR. Look at some of the names. Additionally, Tolkein very much invented the traditional fantasy elves and dwarves. He based them on mythology but gave them his own shape. Paolini has merely transplanted them, complete with pretty much every trait of Tolkein's. While we're on this topic, the concept of Dragon Riders comes from Dragonriders of Pern and the magic system is almost exactly Wizard of Earthsea. Characters = Cardboard. Everyone loves Eragon, they're all cliches, and they all speak in the exact same incredibly irritating manner. Farmboys do not make "eloquent" speeches like that of Roran. And everyone suddenly started saying "aye" in the second book. Eragon = the worst character ever. "Masters" sword combat in a few weeks, enough to beat Brom, who is something like a hundred years old and has been fighting all that time. Is otherwise stupidly Stu-ish and the victim of the worst deus ex machina ever, the Blood Oath Ceremony. Has a completely skewed sense of morality (his "justice" for Sloan in Brisingr?) and behaves like a sociopath. And yet, as everyone in the world loves him unconditionally, he must be right. The plagiarism is not even my main beef with the books. It's a mere footnote compared to everything else.

Bush and 9/11 are already in the history books. Mine even had something to say about Bushisms :lol: From memory because I don't have the book anymore: "Bush's greatest crime was against the English language." Then something about "wings to take dream" and some other quotes.

I interpreted this thread as a way to share those things that people around you think are weird and get confirmation that somewhere in the world there is a freak just like you.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live in Hyde Park John Frusciante is Jesus if he played guitar.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Rewatching all three for the hell of it. I don't get the hate on the second and third, to me they're all equally great.

monochromatic? Greyscale most probably.

Wow. Articulated that much better than I ever could have. To be honest I don't know what decision I would make in such a situation, but in the meantime I am not going to presume to make others' decisions for them. Now let's watch this thread mutate into another redundant monster.