Crocefisso

Chomsky is an irritating man. Great linguist and what not, but as a political commentator he is an overly idealistic paranoiac.

It's about time someone shook this thread up a bit. Pay attention to the facial expressions.

^ That's very strange indeed. The only thing I've seen that comes close is once, on the outskirts of Rome not too far from our old house, I saw a group of gypsies park up by the side of the road, one of them got out, defecated, got back in, and they all drove off as if nothing had happened.

I see - thanks for clarifying.

The obesity of most of the Ottoman Sultans - they look like oompa loompas.

Christ. :o

Albel, I'm sorry for your situation and don't mean to be insensitive, but what are 'hot wings'?

"Joey's racial slang makes him an endearing character." :lol: :lol: I take my hat off to whoever wrote that line.

Any reason why she gave up being Polish? [spoiler=...]I'm just being facetious ;)

Yet another quality update. <_<

It depends what they are like and what you are like... Personally I have shown my parents that I can cook, can handle responsibility and that I can be trusted so they treat me pretty much like an adult. I'm 14 so it works. To be blunt though, just show them that you won't be a <3: up the moment they leave the house, but mostly it depends on what they are like... Second to my mum, I actually do the majority of housework. My parents are from India so I don't think there's anyway to change their mind. Perhaps I'm being slow, but I don't see the connection here: are Indian people renowned for being stubborn or something?

I'm this way too. I very rarely watch any movies besides documentaries, I get bored with most everything else very quickly. I have trouble reading fiction as well. Even more true for fantasy/roleplaying stuff. Can't get into it. I recommend the TV series Civilisation, presented by Kenneth Clarke. It's among my favourite documentaries of all time, though you'll have to bear with the 1960s Britishness of it. I'll post episode 1 and you can look for the rest if interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNGzoJFj9g8 I suppose I should add that paintings are exempt from my rule. Just realised that wasn't clear.

Most make believe things.

I thought about making this thread since seeing the similarly themed one about favourite characters, and decided that sharing poems would be a good thing for people to do. To begin with I've selected a few of my favourite poems, followed by a short explanation of why I like the poem. The first three are by 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, whose verse has undoubtedly been the solace of my life. These are rather unique and, in my opinion, good quality translations by Stryk. The refined simplicity and enduringly cheerful tone of Basho always puts me in a good frame of mind, and the linking, required in orthodox haiku, is masterful and delicate. [spoiler=Basho poems]Sound of rapids - silent yellow petals of the mountain rose. Octopus traps - summer's moonspun dreams, soon ended. Friends part forever - wild geese lost in cloud. Following on from this, I also wish to express admiration for the Arab poet Al-Mutannabi for embodying the inverse of Basho. The latter wrote poetry that focussed on a gentle recreation of little moments snatched from time; Al-Mutannabi, on the other hand, writes powerful and virile panegyrics, full of rich symbolism and, in Arabic, clever wordplay. Even in translation, the force of his verse is notable. This is his most famous poem. The lines represent one line in Arabic. [spoiler=Al-Mutannabi]Resolutions are measured against those who make them; generosity in accordance with the giver. Littleness is magnified by small men, while grandeur is deprecated by the great. Sayf al-Dawla imposes upon the army his will, yet seasoned armies cannot achieve it. He asks from men all that he has in himself, though even lions would not claim to match that. Does al-Haddath know of its red colour? Or which of the two pourers was a cloud? White streaked clouds had watered al-Hadath before his arrival; when he approached, it was inundated with skulls. The enemy came at you, hauling their weapons as if they travelled on legless horses. When their ranks caught the light, their swords remained unseen, since their shirts and turbans were also made from steel. You stayed where you were, when doing so meant certain death: as if perdition itself slept while you stood in its eyelid. Wounded and fleeing, heroes passed you by, while your face remained bright and your lips, smiling. You surpassed the bounds of courage and understanding, until people claimed that you knew the unseen. To you belongs the praise for these pearls I pronounce: you are the giver, I the arranger. Oh, Sword never sheathed, whom none can doubt and from whom there is no refuge, Blessed are warfare, glory and eminence; blessed are your subjects and all of Islam, for you are safe! I think this is enough to start the thread with. :mrgreen:

Two of my pet hates in one sentence - Justin Bieber and Twitter trends.

Please tell me that's a satirical song.

I've just been playing the campaign, and at first I thought I'd put the wrong disc - ie, MW 2 - in. The changes are superficial, if existent at all.

^ I'm going to try that right now.

Just starting to read the "Shahnameh" - a 1,000 page long history of Persia written in verse. As you might be able to tell, I've been in need of a challenge. :mrgreen:

Very good news. Can't wait.

Some people like them, but for the most part non-British people don't.

^ Ghent is an absolutely lovely city - hope you have a good time there at college.

Epiphenomenalism holds that we essentially act in a mechanistic way and then give reasons for our actions afterwards - in such a worldview, capital punishment is perfectly fine, because trying to rehabilitate is a complete waste of time. I'll post a link from Stanford. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epiphenomenalism/ Just thought this might add something new.

Radio is awful here in Britain. If there aren't vulgar ads playing, then the moronic, chavvy presenters are wasting my time talking about 'celebs' and other such nonsense. Even Classic FM is littered with ads.

I must be one of the lucky ones. I don't get sick often and when I do its for like 2 or 3 days at most, and even then its nothing that I couldn't keep going with, just a nice way to take a couple days rest. This is the same for me, even when those around me are full to the brim with viruses and the like.