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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:06:55 GMT
I want to thank everyone for being so patient in waiting for this month’s edition. It’s been a very rough month for me and time has been short over the last couple of weeks, so I’m bringing this edition to you as soon as was possible. Big thank-yous go out to all of the team for dealing with an absent editor and being so good with punctuality. They’ve put in a lot of work this month and the magazine reflects that. Enjoy this month’s edition!
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:07:16 GMT
The idea of this article is to give you some information on what has happened over the last month and what is to come in the near future. Broken PromisesI know I said that last month we were anticipating an August release date for our next forum version, but, as you can plainly see before you, it hasn’t materialised. I’m sorry about that, but there are a couple of minor hitches and the coding of the template is taking a little longer than expected. We shall let you know when it’s ready to be released. A day doesn’t go by without people asking me when it is coming out. I have a message for you. We’ll get it released as soon as we can and no sooner than that. However, I do ask that you put things into perspective before bugging people for previews and release dates. Try occupying your time with something else, perhaps… fresh air. Staff Changes Firstly, we say goodbye to Sara, who has decided to leave for personal reasons. Many thanks to her for all the work she has put in over the past few months as it is not an easy board to moderate. Josh and Morgoth have been appointed moderators of Chillout. I am confident that this pair will work well in not only keeping the board in working order, but directing the board as a whole. Morgoth is expected to encourage more debatable subjects while Josh is to concentrate on media. The Fair is coming to Town!For the first time ever, SSD will host its own fun fair. It will run for a week with various games and prizes to be won. Take part in a mind melting treasure hunt, venture into the hypnotic tent or have your fortune told by a creepy man in a black hat... who would happen to be me. The idea originally spawned from David but thanks to people’s suggestions it has developed further into a real possibility. We hope to launch this soon. Policy
On a more sour note, I’d like to ask all readers who haven’t read the Forum Policy to please do so. It doesn’t matter whether you have been here three minutes or three years, it is there for everyone. Very often people are keen to tell other people the rules when that in itself is a policy violation. Enjoy this edition! Oliver.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:11:25 GMT
It is very rare that I would select someone who is already staff for this award. One assumes that their staff spot is a good enough recognition for hard work. But, is it? Eternity has co-ordinated our very own resource collection, which is fast approaching five hundred downloads. Not only that, but she is also an active member of the staff team, a hard worker and, most definitely, a part of the SSD furniture. With great delight, I would like to announce Eternity as member of the month for September. Blue UBBC Tags (V4) by Chase is one of those downloads that you wonder why they are being given out for free. These almost glass-like icons are highly attractive in a nice pale blue and have a glossy shine. And, not only that, they have an interesting design, linking up to each other so that when you add them to your ProBoard, they look like a bar of buttons, rather than separate square boxes. The buttons themselves are easy to read with white text and a dark blue drop shadow on top of a light blue gradient. These would go great with a pale blue forum, especially one which is technical or even simplistically styled but I think they would look awesome on a white or silver template too. Why? by MastermindI’ve got you scared now, Now you’re confused. I hug you again. You’re unamused.
But you don’t realize, it’s this day or never. I must make a choice, and change life forever.
I make my choice quickly, and grab you by the hand. I drag you to one side, your attention I demand.
“Remember I once told you in secret that I’m bi? Well, funny thing about that… You’re half the reason why.”When I was rummaging through the Lit board earlier, I found this poem. It's one of [many] written by Mastermind. The first thing that captivated my attention though was the rhyming scheme. I've noticed this in quite a few poems of his, which I happen to be astonished by because a lot of writers these days have a hard time pulling off a good rhyming scheme. The very last stanza... “Remember I once told you in secret that I’m bi? Well, funny thing about that… You’re half the reason why.” ...I couldn't help but find amusing. Whether it was intentional or not isn't what I'm getting at. It makes you stop and think, hard. Then you can't help but go back and re-read the whole poem to make sure you read it correctly the first time around. Good job Mastermind, as always, and I hope to see more by you soon. Why? by MastermindSilver Tip Grizzly by TokerI'm sorry this one is so short and doesn't have much of my opinion in it, but I've been rather busy over the last month and I've had to squeeze this in last minute. Although this photo was actually posted last month, it was after I had written my article for the August edition and I wanted this in the Herald. I just think it's a wonderful clear shot of a magnificent animal! Well done Toker!"Killing non-entities is my specialty. I'm a US citizen. Haven't you heard about our war on terror?"-- Mastermind"I see Jesus without that illusion. He speaks to me."-- Ryan"No, master Elpuff. Sorry, master Elpuff. It won't happen again, master Elpuff."-- c130"And your foot's in your mouth so far now that your stomach says "hello, toes"."-- c130"(I bumped this thread because it contained the MySpaces of others; it was a better choice than foolishly making a new one. The "Search" button is your friend. Unless it slept with your sister. Then it is your enemy.)"-- [ a r t o s ]"Jesus Christ!"
"Not quite."-- Criminal Mastermind"Do I get to kill anyone yet?"-- Assassinator"Don't hate. Celebrate!
Or I castrate."-- [ a r t o s ]"Ill go for evil"
"Shit. Abandon ship!"-- Criminal Mastermind and [ a r t o s ]"Wait, let's see if Morgoth really is Josh's ma.
Morgoth, are you pregnant?"-- Mastermind"A note to my lackeys:
Slack off and I either
A) Kill you B) Kill you C) Kill you D) Fire you E) Kill you
I don't tolerate failure."-- [ a r t o s ]"Don't forget lord of the rings! Oh no sire, mustn't forget that now must we.
Artos will fall like the eye on that big tower thingy.*
*Such views are expressed only by the good side and do not wholly represent the intentions of the members of SSD. Although no lie has been spoken."-- Assassinator"Oh btw, I now have Artos's phone number."-- MukeiWRITER'S NOTE: Run Artos. Run. " Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe, aren't even aware of." - Ellen Goodman" Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." - Anne Frank" Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act." - Truman Capote" The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal." - H.L. Mencken" Art is either plagiarism or revolution." - Paul Gauguin" A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." - Chinese Proverb" There's no correlation between creativity and equipment ownership. None. Zilch. Nada. Actually, as the artist gets more into his thing, and as he gets more successful, his number of tools tends to go down. He knows what works for him. Expending mental energy on stuff wastes time." - Hugh Macleod" An executive is a person who always decides; sometimes he decides correctly, but he always decides." - John H. Patterson" How we remember, what we remember, and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality." - Christina Baldwin" I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants." - A. Whitney Brown" If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical, it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience." - John Cage" There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." - Bertrand Russel Synopsis:"From executive producer Ridley Scott comes a sweeping tale of love and loss, myth and fate, based on the timeless Celctic myth of start-crossed passion.
First separated by countries at war, and now by loyalty to King and country, Tristan (James Franco) and Isolde (Sofia Myles) must suppress their emotions for the sake of peace and the future of England. But the more they deny their passion, the more fiercely it burns. Despite their efforts to stay apart, Tristan and Isolde are driven inexorably together, risking everything for one last moment in each other's arms."
Although this movie is no longer in the theatres, my sister came home with the DVD today, so we decided to stick it into the DVD player and have a look to see what it was all about. The results of that experiment? Rapid addiction. This epic story proves that true love can prevail through darkness as two young lovers, even surrounded by the violence of the Dark Ages, are unified by love. At a first glance, this may appear to be a sappy love story, but you have to look behind it to see it for what it really is: a masterful fusion of war, loyalty, and love. The story is set during the dark ages in the areas of Ireland and England. Much of the filming was done on islands off the coast of Ireland, with both natural and built scenery. The portrayal of the setting itself is both amazing and beautiful. It provides a notable and accurate depiction of the Dark Ages; from the animals alive to the tools used. The main male protagonist, Tristan, played by James Franco, who happened to star in both Spiderman 1 and 2, is a young heartfelt teenager dedicated to both duty and loyalty. These are the two main focuses of his life until he realises the effects of true love. Franco plays the character of both a loyal, warring man and a man destined for love. He manages to jerk at the heartstrings of the audience and he brings them into his story of desperation and despair. Scarred deeply by the death of his parents, Franco is able to emotionally depict the stern nature of Tristan as he carries on through his life pledging his honour to his country, rather than pledging his heart to love. Wearing his emotions on the outside, the audience gets a genuine feel for the man as he is without the façade to dive through to get to his heart. He manages to provide meaning and justification for every emotion he felt during the movie. Although it is sometimes questionable until the end of the movie, Tristan upholds a very respective and honoured nature throughout. The main female protagonist, Isolde, played by Sophia Myles, who starred in From Hell, is a love-stricken princess who must overcome many obstacles and lie in order to be united with the man she was destined to love. Although Isolde found love through a mistake, spontaneously and with sheer luck, Sophia Myles has the audience under her thumb as she accurately depicts what it is to love and what it is to display affection and devotion as she passionately acts the role of Isolde. The storyline kept me glued to my seat and I was waiting in anticipation for what happened at each twist and turn of the movie. The plot develops early, so you’re not left hanging and there is plenty of action, love, romance and adventure to keep you on the couch munching popcorn as you get caught up in this tale. Although there is a lack of fighting scenes (for all you hardcore action enthusiasts), the first two fighting scenes are the most compelling by far as Tristan’s character is established and his qualities of fearlessness and respectability are put on display. The climax isn’t reached until near the end of the movie, but it’s one that will have you hanging until the end and it provides closure to all the lies that are told and the betrayal throughout the movie. Although some parts of the story were predictable, it was fresh, neat and it didn’t have the typical storybook ending. Tristan and Isolde is a movie for people of both genders from the age of thirteen and over. It drags you in, keeps you interested and makes it very easy to get caught up in the emotion. I highly suggest the viewing of this movie as I am sure you will not be disappointed. My Movie Rating: Just a sidenote; Oliver helped me in the judging this month, due to me not being to decide on my own. No wise cracks, please. Avatar of the MonthNo one was selected this month. Mainly because there wasn't an avatar submitted that was " of the month" material. But, I do thank all of you who did enter. And I hope to see a better turn out for next month’s edition. Signature of the Month: Josh! Though this month was a toughy, Josh was selected as this month’s winner for two main reasons. The chosen text is nice and clear. The use of lines is a nice touch, along with the colours of them, they go well with the rest of the sig. Congrats! Happy birthday wishes go out to the following for the month of September: 14th - Eternity16th - ViperBite21st - Blade24th - Torn.ApathyIf you were left out, that means you didn't post in the thread, and it's your own fault.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:14:47 GMT
Callum turned to look out over the sea. “Sometimes I wish there was just you and me and no-one else in the whole world.”
“We’d drive each other crazy, wouldn’t we?” I teased.
At first I thought that Callum wasn’t going to answer.
“Sephy, d’you ever dream of just... escaping? Hopping on the first boat or plane you come across and just letting it take you away.” There was no mistaking the wistfully wishful note in Callum’s voice. “I do...”
“Where would you go?”
“That’s just the point,” Callum said with sudden bitterness. “This place is like the whole world and the whole world is like this place. So where could I go?”
“This place isn’t so bad, is it?” I asked gently.
“Depends on your point of view,” Callum replied. “You’re on the inside, Sephy. I’m not.”In a world dominated by Crosses, the Noughts are on the outside circle of society. I’ve often read this book and thought how much it could be representative of our own lives. Have you ever felt like you’ve been on the outside? Perhaps it was a joke, or a group of people who refused to look your way, for the simple fact that they overlooked you. Now you may empathise with Callum’s life. Life isn’t “sweet” for the Noughts. To be a Nought in a Cross world is a sin. They’re not allowed to go to certain schools, they’re kept out of public gatherings, they’re often blamed for anything that goes wrong... it’s a complete role reversal of the events of years ago. Noughts and Crosses reminded me of the classic To Kill A Mockingbird as it shares a lot of the same themes. Secrecy, oppression, a want for freedom, a motivation to get it: this inspires the Noughts to get their butts into gear to form the L.M. (Liberation Militia). They’re the modern-day organisation that fights for freedom for Noughts. They want equality for all and will go to any means to get it. To be on the inside can be considered by some to be “the life”, but even the whitest wall will have its own marks. Sephy is considered by some of the Crosses to be a betrayer of her own kind. Not only does she associate with a Cross on a friendly level, but she also has a relationship with him that extends beyond the usual “oh, you can be my friend”. She pursues an active relationship with him, despite the wishes of her family, and it comes back to bite her in the behind as reality catches up with them on their mad dash up the paths of life. Her destiny, she thinks, is in her hands. Little does she know, it’s her destiny that could end up hurting her and the people around her – those she cares about – most of all. Malorie Blackman has handcrafted one of the most thought-provoking novels that I have ever read. The book expands into a trilogy – all three books have now been published. The other two are called Knife Edge and Checkmate – which covers the events of Sephy’s life and the results of the oppression against the Noughts. This book captured my imagination, threw it into the washing machine, let it whirl and wrung it out before hanging it out to dry again. My emotions felt like they’d been hit by a battering ram at the end of the novel –- that is how good of a writer Blackman is. She’ll grip you from start to finish and not let you go in between. Sit back on a rainy night and tuck into Noughts and Crosses. It’s a dramatic, provocative and moving novel that is sure to linger in your mind long after you’ve turned the final page. Further reading in the series: Knife Edge Checkmate
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:15:28 GMT
"The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus is has ever been." That is the first quote you will read in this epic book and it sums it up perfectly. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RotTK, Rot3K, RTK) is regarded as one of the four great Chinese classics and is among one the of the most read books in the world. The story depicts the tumultuous era in Chinese history known as the Three Kingdoms era. The rule of the Han is failing and, amidst the chaos, various warlords vie for power, but are eventually dominated by three main kingdoms, or dynasties: Shu-Han, Cao-Wei, and Eastern Wu (usually referred to as Shu, Wei, and Wu, respectively). Each of these powers is eventually conquered by the mighty Jin empire in 280 AD. Don't worry, I didn't spoil the book for you. In fact, knowing the history behind the book makes it that much more interesting. The focus is not on the plot, climax, and ending, but rather everything in between. With anywhere from 1,000 pages to 2500 pages, covering almost 100 years of history, and over 1,000 characters, this book can be summed up into one word: Epic. This is quite possibly the most influential book in China. It has changed the way people think, conduct diplomacy, and wage war. Character names are household words in most Chinese families. As I stated above, the book is not focused on a plot, climax, and ending because there is very little plot (or another perspective is that it is so massive, it doesn't even feel like a plot), no climax, and the ending is known to anyone who's read the history. Instead, it focuses its attention on a protagonist, an antagonist, and the hundreds of officers’ individual plights and accomplishments. Romance of the Three Kingdoms encompasses romance, war, harmony, poetry, hate, love, honour, loyalty, betrayal, good, evil, and any other possible theme that could exist in a book. We start off the book with the descriptions of events that plague the capital and countryside. The turmoil eventually leads to a rebellion by the Yellow Scarve bandits. In this rebellion, many characters are introduced including Liu Bei, the story protagonist, who swears allegiance to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who vow to crush the Yellow Scarves; Cao Cao, the antagonist who uses his intellect and ingenuity to win him fame, rank, and power in an attempt to control China; and Sun Jian, the founder of one of the three great states, Wu, who gains fame in battle against Dong Zhuo. These three eventually create their own state, fight enemies, and, after death, let their later generations continue with their goals. A book review cannot grasp even 1/100th of what this book is about. The amount of detail in the book is so great that you just have to read it for yourself. There are various translations to get. If you prefer newer and more modern speak, get the Moss Roberts translation. If you prefer a more Old English writing style, pick up the C.H. Brewitt-Taylor translation. Between the abridged editions and full editions with Chinese on the opposite page, this book will run anywhere from $15 to $150. However, I must caution you that this book is not entirely factual. It has been described as such: "If the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms is 10 parts fact and A Journey West is 10 parts fiction, then Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be 7 parts fact and 3 parts fiction." If you're a history fan, enjoy historical fiction, or if you're intrigued by war, this book is absolutely perfect for you.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:16:15 GMT
Track Listings1. Meds 2. Infra-red 3. Drag 4. Space Monkey 5. Follow The Cops Back Home 6. Post Blue 7. Because I Want You 8. Blind 9. Pierrot The Clown 10. Broken Promise 11. One Of A Kind 12. In The Cold Light Of Morning 13. Song To Say GoodbyeDespite the fact that this album came out a little while ago and isn’t brand-spanking-eat-your-candy-new (I discovered with some glee that it had graced the earth on my birthday this year) I believe it is a CD which should be recognised in a review such as this. Somehow I managed to stumble across Placebo through use of iTune’s ’Just for you (beta)’. Long story short, it’s a system that recommends music to you based on music that you’ve bought before. Funnily enough, I had never listened to this band before, despite the name being familiar, so I was intrigued. I listened through the thirty second previews on iTunes and was immediately hooked. I wanted more. And, despite my bank account nearing the red, I bought the album. Whilst on my search for more ‘unknown’ bands, one thing becomes apparent. Bands that are more well-known are generally better, which is probably why they are more well-known. I’m not saying that Placebo doesn’t have some brilliant stuff, but it’s just not up to scratch with the more ‘mainstream’ types of music. First up in the album is Meds – a song about a woman who forgot to take her meds. Placebo’s style is trademark rock with a few piano riffs and trance-y harmonies. Moving off, we blast into the fourth song titled Space Monkey. If you like Snow Patrol (Ed: like I do), then you’ll probably like Placebo. Needless to say, Placebo do have their own style. It’s something fresh and different from the norm and it pulls you back with a few styles that you may recognise and/or may be familiar to you. Placebo also happens to have, of all things, range. From heavy bass songs to slow, trance-y songs to plain rock, Placebo has a sure mix. Weird song titles are the norm for them and the lyrics will leave you in a deciphering frenzy, ie: Pierrot the Clown. Do you ever find it annoying when you have a fine collection of songs which seem to be over too quickly? Anything under the hour mark is far too short and it just doesn’t satisfy your needs. With Placebo it appears that they have gone for quantity over quality, which disappoints me. However, the songs aren’t exactly the ‘dog bollocks’ as they’re easy songs to listen to, but they’re nothing special. They have their moments, and, I think that if they can combine all those moments and cut out all the fillers, then they’d become a truly well-known band.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:17:24 GMT
Release Date: September 5th, 2006 Label: Epic Records Producer: Brendon O'Brien 1. Revelations (4:09) 2. One and the Same (3:35) 3. Sound of a Gun (4:18) 4. Until We Fall (3:49) 5. Original Fire (3:36) 6. Broken City (3:46) 7. Somedays (3:32) 8. Shape of Things to Come (4:34) 9. Jewel of the Summertime (3:51) 10. Wide Awake (4:24) 11. Nothing Left to Say but Goodbye (3:32) 12. Moth (4:54) Premise: Only a year after Out of Exile's release, Cornell and the Rage gang reveal their third studio album, Revelations. Unlike the previous releases, Revelations takes a big leap into the direction of funky rock-- much like classic Rage Against the Machine, only, this time, there's a wider variety of sound and innovation. Tom Morello stated in an interview that Revelations is a fusion of the British rock gods Led Zeppelin and the American funk band Earth, Wind & Fire-- quite a very unorthodox combination. Albeit, Morello hit the nail dead-on with his description. Sound: The production and sound is clean and crisp as always, populated with Morello's trademark guitar riffs and effect pedal-happy solos. A notable presence is Brad Wilk's drumming, that compared to past albums, it is much more refined with a plethora of semi-complex patterns and heavy fills. Tim Commerford completes the rhythm section with his great bass playing. What sets him apart from other bassists is that, rather than just follow whatever riff Morello is playing, Commerford branches off into his own licks at given times-- rarely seen by most bassists, who play step-by-step with the rhythm guitarist constantly. Chris Cornell, fronting one of today's and yesterday's most powerful voices in rock and grunge, still has his qualities seen in the first two records, only this time, he sticks to a more bluesy and soulful style of singing, thus the connection to Earth, Wind & Fire. Profoundly, time has taken its toll on Cornell's vocal chords, rendering him unable to hit the high notes that were present in the Soundgarden days-- it's almost like a nail in his coffin, considering his high-pitched wailing was what set Cornell apart from a lot of vocalists. Lyrics: Lyrically, Cornell still stands tall. His unique writing has always been a huge part of his style; keeping things subtle and discreet with his words, rather than blurting them out with no real messages. Revelations is chockful of classic Cornell, hitting various topics and themes, which I'll leave the listeners to figure out for themselves, rather than ruin the self interpretation of each song. Stand-Out Tracks: The title track Revelations is one of the best openers in hard rock history, shortly followed by Sound of a Gun, in which the nostalgic Rage Against the Machine-reminiscent riff pounds throughout each chorus. Broken City and Somedays both stand out from the rest of the album, the former with a somewhat haunting presence, and the latter sounding like an anthem to the days we just can't stand. Nearing the end of the album is possibly the best written song, Nothing Left to Say but Goodbye, full of nothing but powerful lyrics and surreal melodies. Finishing off Revelations is Moth, in which Cornell takes you into a moth's perspective throughout the epic closer track. Overall: Revelations is one of this year's best albums, and Audioslave doesn't fail to show that they put in a great deal of effort, devotion and feeling into it. To say it's better than the previous two albums wouldn't be right, seeing as how each one has its own distinct style and sound. Revelations is pure gold for the kind of release it is, and will be looked back upon as a huge milestone for Audioslave's career. (Regarding the rumours about Cornell leaving the band, they are untrue. It is true that Cornell will begin work on his second solo album sometime, but he confirmed that they would not break up because of it. Considering that how much energy and life Audioslave still has, their time has yet to come. A great example of this type of "phenomenon" would be the one and only living zombies, the Rolling Stones.)
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:19:07 GMT
Ever since the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May, gaming news has been rather on the dry side. However, this is to be expected, as developers are busy finishing off games for the holiday season and two companies are making the final preparations for their console launches later this year before hardware manufacturing can begin. However, last month (and likely this month, also), were unusually abundant with news developments in the gaming world. Possibly one of the biggest surprises, and shocks, is that the convention known as E3 is gone, and never to return. Well, in a way. E3 has been known (since its start in May of 1995) to be the biggest, flashiest gaming expo of the year. Of course, being the biggest also means the biggest costs, for both developers and hardware companies, skewed media coverage, in the sight that only the big titles get proper coverage, and of course, due to developers putting off actual game progress to build demo versions, delayed games and game droughts. However, E3 is not completely gone, but reborn from the ashes, a new convention which focuses on game conferences and intimacy, and less on flashy displays of the latest big hit. E3 will also now be held in July, not May, which gives developers more time to finish off their games so summer gaming droughts may become less of a problem. Also, because the new focus of E3 is smaller and less about just one big hit being over-hyped, proper media coverage can be had. Companies will now have smaller focuses, and can hold their own events, like many of them already do if they wish to do so. Also, a smaller E3 will create more, smaller game shows throughout the year, allowing more software/hardware coverage and a more cost-efficient manner for developers to expose their work to the public without being overshadowed. Because of the new outlook for gaming conventions, there is no doubt that 2007 will be a very interesting year, especially considering how many gamers agreed that the real console war would begin at E3 2007, where the developers and public will have made their impressions on all three systems. In other gaming news, Nintendo's success story called the Nintendo DS (Lite) continues to perform beyond expectations. According to recent news reports, the DS and DS Lite have together sold more than twenty-one million units, with ten million from Japan alone, in the twenty months since its launch in November 2004, making it the fastest selling game system in history. With the success of the online gaming network "Nintendo WiFi Connection" and hits such as NEW Super Mario Bros., Metroid Prime: Hunters, and the sleeper hit Brain Age games, the DS has brought Nintendo a large amount of profit, up considerably from last year. Also, on the Wii front, speculation about the launch date has only been further fuelled by a recent press release. The release lists the release dates of the upcoming games for the DS for the fourth quarter of the year and leaves the dates October 2, November 20, and November 27 free of game releases. Due to earlier announcements and rumours that the Wii will launch before Thanksgiving (confirmed) and the PS3 (rumored), the only credible date is October 2. Nintendo has promised that the launch date and price will be revealed by September, so many gamers believe that the info will be divulged at their presentation at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany on August 23. August will definitely prove to be the month to watch for Nintendo fans. Sony has been busy preparing for the launch of the Playstation 3 on November 17, and has been extremely quiet about details concerning the launch, such as game price. Mainly, any news about the console over the last few months have been developers speaking out about the console, either praising it or denouncing the console because of price, power, and "format pushing." However, in September, Sony's Ken Kutaragi, along with Square Enix's Yoichi Wada, will be opening the Tokyo Game Show with his keynote speech entitled, "Next Gen Entertainment Made by the PS3." Many Sony fans, and gamers in general, wonder how the two will do, considering that Nintendo's Satoru Iwata used his keynote speech to unveil the controller for Wii at last years Tokyo Game Show. The TGS will kick-off September 22 with Kutaragi's keynote speech, and continue on for two more days where the public can explore the show's offerings. Not much in the news department for Microsoft this month, however, Xbox 360 owners were treated to the critically acclaimed game Prey, the decent Chromehounds from Sega, and a multitude of game demos on Xbox Live, including the upcoming N3: Ninety Nine Nights. Rumors of the release date of Gears of War have circulated, mostly suggesting an October 2 release, perhaps to combat the launch of Wii. As a last note, August should prove interesting for gaming, especially regarding Nintendo. With the possibility of Wii's launch info being revealed, Nintendo is definitely keeping fans on their feet, waiting for any official news. Xbox 360 owners will be treated to a few big game releases, including Madden NFL 2007 (said to succeed in actually having more next gen qualities than the graphics), Dead Rising, N3: Ninety Nine Nights, Saint's Row. and the Japanese RPG, Enchanted Arms. Sony fans should anticipate a dry month regarding the PS3, but are in for a real treat when the Tokyo Game Show opens its door in late September. Happy August, everyone.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:19:36 GMT
I started early this month, searching and searching Google for a person I thought would be good to write about. I will tell you this, using simple search keys like “important people” and “people that mattered” brings up millions of results, some better than others. Even though I had to look through all this…stuff, I eventually found someone I thought would be fun to write about. For September, I introduce to you Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the sixth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His name is also looked at in English to be Mahmud, Mahmood, Ahmadinezhad, Ahmadi-Nejad, and Ahmadi Nejad. Ahmadinejad was born in the in the village of Aradan near Garmsar (in northern Iran). When he was one year old, his family moved to the city of Tehran. In 1976, he joined the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) as an undergraduate student of civil engineering. In 1984, continuing the same line of study, he entered the Master of Science program for civil engineering. This same year he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp. In 1987, he received his Ph.D. in traffic and transportation engineering and planning. After he graduated, he was appointed professor at the civil engineering department of IUST. Ahmadinejad is now married with two sons and a daughter. His political career started early with his joining of the Office for Strengthening Unity, a radical student group created by the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This is the group that staged the capture of the US Embassy. According to a report, Ahmadinejad attended meetings that planned this capture, as well as lobbying for a similar takeover of the Soviet Embassy. Ahmadinejad was unknown in Iranian politics until he was appointed Mayor of Tehran by the second City Council of Tehran on May 3, 2003. During his term as mayor, he put serious religious emphasis on the activities of the cultural centers founded by the previous mayors. He also suggested that the bodies of those killed in the Iran-Iraq war be buried in the major city squares of Tehran. Acts like these were viewed as charity, similar to distributing free soup to the poor of Tehran. Ahmadinejad was barred from attending meetings of the Board of Ministers for having fought with president Mohammad Khatami. Ahmadinejad publicly “criticized Khatami for ignorance of the daily problems of the general public.” On June 28, 2005, Ahmadinejad’s resignation of Mayor of Tehran was accepted. Ahmadinejad was resigning due to his semi-election to presidency. On August 3, 3005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected President of Iran, receiving approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. During Ahmadinejad’s inauguration ceremony, he kissed Khamenei’s hand to show his loyalty to him. This caused a stir in the Iranian public: Ahmadinejad was the first president to his Khamenei’s hand and the second president to kiss a supreme leader’s hand. The main thing Ahmadinejad is known for is his support for the Iranian Nuclear Program. On January 11, 2006, Ahmadinejad announced Iran will have peaceful nuclear technology very soon. He also wanted the people to know that the nuclear bomb is not the policy of his government. He said, “We would like to send the message to those who claim Iran is searching for nuclear weapons that there is no such policy and this [*policy] is illegal and against our religion.” Ahmadinejad was featured as a TIME Person of the Year 2005. Sources:
www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2005/people/10.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:22:45 GMT
Passing responsibility is a tempting peach of an idea. One makes a stupid choice or performs a careless action, sees an opportunity to place blame anywhere but where it belongs, and it becomes almost easy to pluck the peach. Some have even profited from such misplaced blame. The most common example in recent years is the infamous lawsuit against McDonald's for making their coffee...hot. How dare those sneaky b*stards trick that poor woman? Million$ were awarded, stupidity was rewarded. Want some more examples? Pay attention to the plethora of WARNINGS! and CAUTIONS! on just about any object you buy, and even the plastic bag itself. Have you ever wondered who decided to place such warnings, and why? To the outside observer, common sense took a vacation, tragedy occurred due to the lapse in judgment, and warnings have ever after been placed to ward off future tragedy and/or lawsuits. That is an important lesson learned at a high price indeed. Children have died because their parents did not take into account the un-breathable nature of plastic bags or how quickly a child does suffocate. The human race as a whole learned from the horrible deaths that resulted. Our instincts as a whole were honed, and we as a race are wiser. But what about the stranger warnings, the ones that really make you wonder, "What moron tried such a thing? Why do we need to be told something so obvious?" Chemicals are "Harmful if swallowed." We "DO NOT use electrical appliances near water." Fire burns, sharp objects cut, guns can fall into the wrong hands, drugs and alcohol are addictive and impair our judgment while driving, etc. Our instinct to survive should be sharp enough to avoid a very large majority of preventable accidents that could end in severe injury and even death. Are we, the collective human race, dulling our instincts by pinning blame on corporations when our own common sense fails us? Don't get me wrong, some accidents are because of corporate neglect, and "the man" should be brought low and pay for the incident, but hot coffee?! Suing MySpace over a discrepancy in a member's age?!! We all remember that little tale, don't we? A fourteen year old girl throws caution to the wind, meets a complete stranger in person after conversing with him on MySpace, finds herself in a dangerous position with a man who is not who he advertised in his profile, and her reaction is to sue MySpace for allowing such a lie to stand, for not doing a thorough background check on each individual member. The website clearly asks each member to exercise caution while using their services. Common sense should make that disclaimer unnecessary, but big business knows better these days than to leave the door to lawsuits wide open. I don't know the results of the lawsuit. Frankly, I'm too frustrated by the implications of such a case to follow it closely. I believe the more we allow such misplaced blame to stand and be given audience, the further we fall away from sharpening our instincts and intelligence. The animal species' that survive and flourish are the ones that learn from fatal mistakes. They don't blame something else when the responsibility is their own. They suffer the loss and strengthen their ability to survive as a result, evolving with each generation, developing swifter hunting and hiding skills. Note the sharp claws and teeth of predators, the natural speed of their prey. Note the increasing obesity and dropping grades of America's children, America being the king country of ridiculous lawsuits. I've not lost complete faith in the human race or Americans in general. In fact, most people I've taken the time to get to know have shown great wisdom and taken responsibility for their decisions and actions, learning from their mistakes. Each person has it within themselves to move forward and be stronger after making terrible and even tragic mistakes. Crucial life lessons are learned when we royally screw up. But if we don't admit or believe it was our own flawed self who made the mistake, we lose. Period. I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of being a loser. Before you think otherwise as you read through this article, I’ll re-enforce now to you that all material in this editorial is factual. The four stories that you are about to read are those of people that I know. You never know, one of these may even be my story. If anything you read in this editorial strikes you as offensive, please realise that it wasn’t intentional. Also, don’t try anything that you read here.
This editorial is an introspective look into the lives of four different teenagers living in the USA. I’m setting out to point out that living in the US isn’t all that people claim it to be. Out of respect to the people involved in these stories, I have taken the liberty of changing the names so that their identities will remain secret.Brad Douglas Age 19 His story:Things started off shakily for Brad when he was born. He was labelled a “crack baby” as his mother was a crack addict and refused to give up taking it during her pregnancy. His mother never had custody of him and his father had never married his mother, so he went to live with his father at a young age and, from there, things slowly spiralled downwards for Brad. His father re-married and never really treated him like the son that he was. Things weren’t exactly peachy for him at school either. School is supposed to be the home away from home for some children – particularly those that don’t get along with their parents very well – alas; this was not to be for Brad. He was constantly getting into fights because kids would pick on him. “Crack kid, crack kid,” they’d chant. At home, the situation wasn’t much better. His own father treated him like the dirt on the bottom of his shoe and he was always telling him that he wasn’t good enough. As you can imagine, the situation worsened and became so bad that, at the mere age of thirteen, Brad was ready to give it all up. Life was being unfair to him and he knew it. Walking out into the garage, he was there for a while learning how to perfect a noose. He looked at the rope in his hand, grabbed the nearby ladder, climbed it and tied the noose to the beam. Trying not to think further, he bade the world farewell, placed his head in the noose and kicked away the ladder. Within seconds it had tightened around his neck and, before he knew it, his life was flashing before his eyes. His family, his loved ones, his friends; he’d never see them again. The last memory of him that they would have would be his wan corpse swinging from a rope. He couldn’t let that happen. Doing the only thing that he could think of, he reached his arms up, grabbing the beam, and pulled himself up so that the noose loosened and he could pull it off. Around his neck was a red ring, something that clearly spelled out what he’d attempted. His hopes were that no one would notice what he had tried to do, but those were dashed when his step-mother noticed the red ring and forced him to tell her what had happened. She, of course, informed his father. His father, not thinking of what was best for his son, kicked him out of the house. The only place that he had left to go was to live with his grandparents and his aunt. They wanted to get him out of the environment that was proving so detrimental to his confidence and sense of self-esteem, so they bumped him up a grade to get him into high school a year earlier. The transition of schools was easy for Brad, but the transition of homes proved to be a little trickier. Six months passed and Brad’s father allowed him to come back. A few years later, two bundles of joy tumbled into Brad’s life. They were his two brothers and, without a doubt, the two people in the world that he loved the most. Spurring on from this, he flew through high school, gradually improving with every year. In his sophomore year, he met and fell in love with his high school sweetheart, after being kicked out for the final time by his father, and permanently residing with his grandparents and aunt. Nevertheless, fate came around to kick him in the butt again as things became sour between him and his girlfriend and that relationship eventually dissolved. He moved on though and went off to join the Marines after graduating in 2005. Both of his parents are proud of him for succeeding where they didn’t. He thought he’d found solace and love in another, but it wasn’t to be as she cheated on him and that love was broken. He’s scheduled to be shipped off to Iraq within the next few months. Despite the struggles throughout his life, he’s picked himself up and now holds himself high as he walks the path that life has set for him. Vince Johnson Age 19 His story: Vince has one older sibling, his sister, Becky, and then he is the next in the line. However, his story, also, isn’t one of happy beginnings. He was constantly being beaten up by his younger sister’s father. When he was six years old, it was late one night and he was sleeping beside his older sister in her bed after having a nightmare. Unfortunately for the young boy, another nightmare was taking place right next to him. He woke up and witnessed something that scarred him to watch. His sister was being raped by his younger sister’s father. He watched it happen and, after, he could never forget about it. To this day, he still holds a grudge toward the man who did it. His mother’s current boyfriend threw him across the room and into a wall when he was thirteen. She never spoke up for fear that the abuse would get turned on her. As Vince entered his teenage years, he slowly started to depend more on the opposite sex as a way to escape his family. It wasn’t a sexual dependency, but an emotional one as he had no one else to turn to. He went out with a lot of girls, but fell in love with one that saw him as no more than an older brother. Barely managing to make it through high school, he focused his attention on working on cars and bicycles, which happened to have been one of his hobbies for years. There was a time when he wanted to join the Marines or the Army, but was unable to due to an inherited heart problem. Devastated after that, he was about ready to vanish completely. Luckily for the people around him, someone managed to talk him into staying. Instead, he decided to either move in with his father or join Job Corp. I haven’t heard from him in a month, so I’m a bit worried about him. I hope he decided to go to Job Corp and rely on his intelligence to make it through life. He always doubted himself but he was one of the smartest people I knew. Dawn Evans Age 17 Her Story:Dawn is the youngest in a family of seven children. Their living conditions were never the best and they had little money to spend between them. Her father was an alcoholic and there was never a close bond between her and the rest of her siblings, due to the age difference. She met her three best friends at the mere age of three and she is, to this day, still in contact with them. They’re the three people that mean the most to her as they are the people that she is closest to. At the age of five, Dawn’s friend, Cassie, was across the street at her grandma’s house. Dawn invited her over and walked out the door to meet her friend. Cassie was beginning to cross the street when a car came out of nowhere and hit her, injuring her. In that same year, Dawn’s uncle, Harley, was killed by a semi-truck. And if that wasn’t enough, life finally took an upside in that year as her niece Amy was born. Without a doubt, that was the highlight of that year. The twelfth year of her life had to have been her best year. She met and fell head over heels with her first and one true love. His name was Daniel. When she was changing in her room one day, her dad knocked on the door and started to open it while she was still changing her clothes. In nothing but her underwear, she threw herself against the door and shut it before Daniel could walk in. School wasn’t always the best place for her. She was continuously being made fun of and bullied and she was beaten up in fourth grade. Middle school was more of an escape as she wasn’t picked on as badly, however, it continued off and on. This fall, she’ll be going into her senior year. Dawn’s parents have always had a lot of differences between them, which caused them to fight. One day it all just fell apart and her mother couldn’t take it anymore. In September 2005, when Dawn was at school and her father at work, her mother left. At Halloween in the same year, Dawn’s father beat her up when she returned from the trick-or-treating expedition that she and her friends went on. Cops and Child Protective Services were called, but they didn’t do anything to help her. Finally, in January of 2006, her mother returned. In April of this year, her mother had to undergo a high-risk surgery to have a pacemaker placed into her body. Dawn was afraid for her mother’s life, despite the hardships that they’ve both gone through. This summer Dawn got a job working on the cherry line. She was able to prove that she was responsible and reliable, quite unlike what her parents had believed about her. She earned herself $1,700 for school clothes, supplies and things that she had never been able to afford before. There was a time where Dawn wasn’t doing so well in school. The potential had always been there, but she had never had the motivation and focus to work on the things that she should have been. Switching schools helped her to catch up on credits and it will allow her to graduate. She will be in the class of 2007. She’s overcome terrible loss, pain, suffering and obstacles thrown her way, which is something that she can be proud of. Skylar Hunting Age 16 Her story:The youngest out of five children, Skylar found herself to be the loner of the lot. She had no real connection with any of her siblings because they were her “half-siblings”. Her father was never a part of her life, despite dropping by every so often. Her childhood was spent being watched by her two youngest siblings, both seven (Lynn) and ten years (Marie) older than her respectively. Lynn was in foster care, but she was allowed home on weekend visitations. Most of the time it was just Skylar and Marie. When their mum was out at night, Marie would drag Skylar out of bed to go across the street and sleep while Marie smoked pot and did meth with her friends. Skylar was a mere four years old. When Skylar was around the age of five, their mum met and married a man that none of the children liked. Skylar and Marie lived with them until Marie got pregnant as fifteen, had the baby at sixteen, and moved out. For the next five to six years of her life, Skylar endured emotional and occasional physical abuse from her step-father. Raising herself, as her mother was no longer raising her, she learned everything there was to learn about at a young age though books and friends. At school she was considered a bully because she took her anger for her step-father out on the kids there. She crossed the final line when she bit through another girl’s flesh and drew blood. The school said she either had to attend anger management or she would be expelled. This was all at the age of six to seven. She spent the next two years in anger management classes. 1999 rolled around and things started spiralling downhill even more. A cousin on her father’s side of the family came up missing and was later found to have been murdered and possibly molested by the cousin’s father. He was put into jail for fifty six years, but it didn’t take away the pain. Skylar had been really close to her cousin when they’d been younger. She hadn’t seen her in seven years and then she heard she was dead. A few months later, her mum and her step-father divorced, leaving them homeless. They moved back to the city and finally got back up onto their feet. Things hit rock bottom after a few months and they were left homeless again. This time, when they got back up onto their feet, they managed to stay steady. It wasn’t until September of 2003 that matters began to flail out of control once again. However, this time, Skylar was older and more mature. Her mother attempted suicide and blamed her for it. Being in the worst possible state of mind that she’d ever been in, she started cutting herself. It wasn’t until she met her only friend from her new school that she’d started going to when she moved in with her sister. In the next two to three years, Skylar found comfort in guys, making some bad decisions and regretting a lot of things. The past made her who she’s turned out to be today. When she was younger, she didn’t have very good grades. She’s now a straight A student and has GPA ranging from 3.3 to 3.6, but she's won numerous awards at school for academic, attitude, and attendance. She’s got a bright future ahead of her as long as she uses her knowledge in a good way, and doesn’t put it to shame. She’s with a guy that she knows she can count on, and that she loves more than anybody. She’s doing well. Things aren’t perfect, but sometimes being happy means accepting that life isn't perfect, it’s overlooking life’s imperfections. That’s what Skylar’s decided to do. Her most proud moment will be the year 2008 when she walks across that stage and accepts her high school diploma. She will be the first female in her family to do so. It’ll give her a sense of completion, joy, and the content that she finally did something right in her life. Skylar’s life is on the right path at the moment. Elaborating even further, I hope that the above selection has shown that the lives of those living in the “Good ol’ United States” aren’t perfect. We, too, endure things everyday that can send us over the edge.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:23:33 GMT
Satanism. What is this religion really about? Do people go out to a graveyard, say a magic spell, and offer animals as sacrifices to the fallen angel, Lucifer? The short answer is no. There are many aspects of Satanism and too much information to cover in one article, so I'll try to cover as much as possible. If I fail to inform, I at least hope to crush misconceptions and stereotypes. We'll start with the history and origin of Satanism. Many believe that Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was the first Satanist, but this is incorrect. He opposed the Church and made up magick (a term he invented to show a separation of his magic from normal magic) rituals based off of a number of Pagan religions. However, he was not a Satanist. It is thought that various 19th century authors (whose names I cannot locate) are more fitting of the role(s) of the first Satanist(s). There is one man who does stand out among the rest: Anton LaVey. He founded the Church of Satan in 1966 which is the primary Satanist religion. But what is Satanism about? You know the origin, but you don't know the philosophy. Despite whatever rumors and stereotypes you have heard, this is probably quite different, but at the same time, exactly what you thought. What I mean is that some stereotypes have some truth behind them. Yes, Satanism is opposite of Christianity, it condones sinning, and they worship Satan. But now, we need to delve a bit deeper to truly understand what that means. First of all, Satan in Satanism has no relation to the Christian ruler of Hell. In fact, Satanists don't believe in a deity or an afterlife. Their goal is to place importance on the individual Satanist, not some great, invisible man in the sky. The Satan they worship is based off of an old Pagan belief that there is a force of nature. Not Mother Nature, but human nature. That there are basic instincts, pleasures, and ideas that every human has and that you should enjoy those things. The term Satan is merely a representation of the religion since Satan means "the opposer" or "the enemy" in Latin. Now, sinning is condoned, but by that I mean that they condone and encourage acts of pleasure and happiness. The seven deadly sins (greed, sloth, gluttony, envy, vanity, wrath, and lust) are meant to be practiced daily. Sexual pleasure is actually a large part of the religion since it is one of the most enjoyable aspects of human life. Naturally, they promote sex, orgies, and masturbation on a regular basis, as long as everyone is a consenting adult. Here you can see how those stereotypes I mentioned are very true, but also very different than what you actually thought. How what about gatherings? Satanic gatherings are really nothing special. This is something that doesn't have a lot of public information, so I'll do my best to inform you. It is commonly thought that Satanists regularly engage in Black Masses which is where Satanists hold public ceremonies in which they recite prayers backwards, eating moldy bread, etc. This was, infact, just a show put on by Anton LaVey to mock Christian masses. I don't have room to go in depth in the gatherings as I'd want, so I'll be somewhat brief. There are three rituals which are lust rituals (which use "sex magic" (various sexual acts) to provide pleasure), compassion rituals (these celebrate a person or element of faith, possibly on someone's birthday), and destruction rituals (where hateful poems, voodoo, or other methods are employed to "hurt" an enemy). Men will generally wear long black cloaks where younger women wear seductive clothing and older women wear cloaks that the men wear. Honestly, it is extremely hard to explain this religion with the limited space I have for an article. Though it may seem like it, this is not just a religion about sex. It is about enjoying your life, the one you have, until you die. It's about self esteem, pleasure, and happiness. Do not be fooled into thinking it is an evil and sinful religion because the philosophy doesn't coincide with your morals and beliefs. Here is a rough outline of this philosophy: The nine Satanic statements:- Indulgence, not abstinence.
- Vital existence, not spiritual pipe dreams.
- Undefined wisdom, not hypocritical self-deceit.
- Kindness to those deserving of it, not love wasted on ingrates.
- Vengeance, not turning the other cheek.
- Responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires.
- Man as just another animal - the most vicious of all.
- Gratification of all ones desires.
- The best friend that the Christian Church has had as he has kept it in business for centuries.
The nine Satanic sins:- Stupidity
- Pretentiousness
- Solipsism
- Self-deceit
- Herd conformity
- Lack of perspective
- Forgetfulness of past orthodoxies
- Counterproductive pride
- Lack of aesthetics
Satanic Theology:- People have created Gods in many forms; pick one that might be useful to you.
- Heaven and Hell do not exist.
- Satan is not closely related to the modern (post 1400 AD) concept of the Christian devil. Satanists view Satan as a pre-Christian life principle which represents the carnal, earthly, and mundane aspects of life.
- Satan is not a being, a living entity; he is a force of nature.
- Human life is held in sacred regard. Children in particular are not to be harmed.
- "Satan...represents love, kindness and respect to those who deserve it."
- Black Masses (parodies of the Roman Catholic religious service) are not normally performed by Satanists (except on rare occasions for their entertainment or publicity value).
And a quote to end it: "You cannot love everyone; it is ridiculous to think you can. If you love everyone and everything you lose your natural powers of selection and wind up being a pretty poor judge of character and quality. If anything is used too freely it loses its true meaning. Therefore, the Satanist believes you should love strongly and completely those who deserve your love, but never turn the other cheek to your enemy!" -Anton LaVey Source: Religious Tolerance: Satanism
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:24:11 GMT
Stress is a killer, a stone-cold, venomous killer. No one is immune, but it can be checked. The monster can be appeased. I’m the queen of stress. My boyfriend tells me I like to keep my worries like pets, feeding them so that they grow up to be big and strong. So I asked him to please tell me how he deals with stress. I like the logic behind his answers. Here is one method he recommends: Video Games:“Since I was young I have had a knack for playing pretty much any and all games. It has grown from a need to beat the game to playing in a zen-like state…called the “zone” for good reason. Any seasoned player can be reduced to a zombie-like state. Though there is little in the way of body movement the mind is absorbing pictures and sounds like an electronic sponge, wringing them out with hand movements. I have seen it most in arcades, folks standing there, hands are smoking the controls and whooping the tar out of the next sap who steps up.
“For me, playing games lets me free my mind of whatever is stressing me out at the moment. Most say games warp the mind and body. I see it as the next evolution in humans, melding mind and body to the next level of consciousness. Always in moderation, though. Too much always spoils the frills of video games as a stress release.”I don’t play video games. I’ve never been interested really, but I see his point. Defeating a game is a challenge that feels good to meet, but character death is far from dying in the real world. So the rewards are decent and the risk is minimal, and a good game will certainly make you forget what problem was making you crazy before the game started, at least, for a little while. Be Active:I find that exercise turns stress into motivation. Exercising regularly gives me more energy overall, and I’m less likely to weigh myself down with the heavy burdens. I’m more likely to push myself toward a solution, fix whatever problem ails me, and have energy leftover to hang out with friends or whatever else floats my boat. Hiking is the best of two worlds: Exercise and aesthetic beauty. A hike through a forest or on a mountain trail is an excellent way to dispel stress. Be Creative:Paint, write, sing, dance, play an instrument, take photographs, whatever gets your creative juices flowing. If you are frustrated with life, both the little things and the big, use any of the arts as a release. Stretch your imagination and put all the frustration out there. The results may astound you, and you’ll be utilizing your stress in a positive way. Talk to Friends:Either work the problems through with friends that you trust, or hang out with them as a temporary distraction. Our friends make us laugh, and laughter works wonders for a worried mind. Go see a movie, or stay in and order a pizza and just hang out. Your friends are there for many reasons. They make life fun, and they help when you need it. The above suggestions aren't necessarily solutions to actual problems, but ways to relieve some of the pressure that builds with every new challenge that life gives. Too much stress can literally kill you over time. At the very least it can keep you from thinking clearly and putting reality into perspective.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:24:31 GMT
As we look back on the last instalment, which happens to have been months ago, I dragged my sorry A into G and started to write the next part of this story. Here I was hoping that y’all had forgotten about this story, but I’ve been bothered until kingdom come to write the next segment and I’ve thought it’s probably about time that I did something about it. So we haven’t got to the part of Ollie being terrorised by n00bs just yet, but you hold onto your seats and wait and see what things my imagination has in store for our dear administrator. Moving into the story again, we find our Herald heroes sitting in the bowels of the Archives where they’ve been driven by the masses of n00bs swarming over the fields of Chillout. They’ve had a perilous journey from one end of the board to the next and have temporarily sought refuge in the hidden labyrinth of the Archives. Unfortunately, there was a minor hitch with entering the Archives. They had to enlist the help of one of the n00bs surrounding the premises. They knew the Archives were there, but they didn’t know how to get into the hidden boards. Luckily for the Herald Team, Sheep had armed them with all the knowledge that they needed to get anywhere that they needed to go within the forum. The n00b that they used had promised to help them, but only on one condition. “So, hey, liek if i help u, can u make me a banner or sumting? i'd luv 2 have 1 from sum peeps as awsome as y’all,” the n00b asked them, jumping from foot to foot in anticipation as his glazed-over eyes glimmered with something akin to awe. “Can I shove his head through a wall?” asked ACoolie. “He’s driving me insane.” “Shh, be calm. We’ll throw him into Eternity’s pit of rejects once we get in there and he’ll never know what happened because he’ll be swimming in a pile of filth and forgetfulness. We can hope that he remembers nothing afterwards. With our luck, he’ll be wandering the Archives forever if he even manages to climb out of there,” Crazy_J whispered to him. “So I just have to wait until we’re in there?” “Yes,” the whole Team said in unison. pandora looked around the field at the n00bs. “You know, we’re kinda noticeable standing out here... wouldn’t it make more sense for us to be moving towards the Archives now?” Kay nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s probably best that we get moving now.” She moved toward the n00b that was still gazing unabashedly at ACoolie after his threats to ram him through a wall – even though he hadn’t understood a word that he had said. “Hey? Can we go now?” she asked him. The n00b jumped and fell over. “omg, are you tryin to make me hurt meself, becuz that is just not rite.” “GET US OUT OF HERE,” shouted Lucifer. “Yea, sir.” The n00b gave them his “HAY BANNAR, GIMME A BANNAR” sign and they walked among the n00bs through the field. “Look stupid and you’ll be fine,” Lucifer hissed to the others. “Make like a n00b and prance and dance when someone says the word “BANNAR”.” “BANNAR. HAY HO. BANNAR. HAY HO, HAY HO.” There was a series of prances and dances as the n00bs all jostled for prime position as one of the members set up camp to get some money and food as all the n00bs had taken all of the supplies when they’d ransacked the forum. “Geez... n00bs all over the place,” Matt remarked. “Get going, go, go, go!” Whitney cried to the others. She pushed nest-y and Ovi as she struggled to get through the piccadilly circus that was the field of n00bs. They all ran towards the Archives, the n00b leading them nipping at their heels. “It’s there! Just up ahead!” Jonny crowed with triumph as he spotted the door to the Archives hidden among some trees. It was a bare outline in the air and only people who had been marked could see it. It so happened that the Team were some of these special people. “Wat door? wtf are u talkin about? i don't c a door,” the n00b said. Whitney flung open the door and everyone, aside from the n00b, rushed inside. “So, when do I get mi bannar?” the n00b asked. There was a resounding slam as the door shut and the team made for the bowels of the Archives. “But I want mi bannar...”
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:24:51 GMT
This is my retaliation to the ‘no text in signatures’ movement. The idea is nothing short of ridiculous. The notion that signatures never ever need typography is absurd. It is just something for people to fall back on because they can’t use typography. I know the feeling, you just can’t get the right font, the right size, or a clear area on which to place the text. So, my retaliation is not attack, it is a lesson on how to overcome these problems. I will be starting with the first issue of fonts. The trouble with font are that there are –in short- too many of them. Too much choice. This problem has arisen through more fonts being delivered with newer computer and free, good quality fonts are available for download off the internet in seconds. As a starting point I will break fonts into three main categories: Serif – The most common serif font is the much loved(but overused) Times New Roman. A serif font has those small lines and shapes coming off from the main body of the type giving the letters more form. It also allows for more variety when creating fonts. Serif fonts are the original fonts, they came before any other type of font. Sans-Serif – These are your plain fonts like Arial and Helvetica. They have no frills and are just the lines of the shapes themselves. Variation is possible to a surprising degree but the sizes of parts of the letters are what’s concentrated on. The name means ‘without serif(or those little lines)’ although it is still hard to remember which way round the names are because sans could well as mean with. The way to remember it is that Serif was the first font and that is why it is included in both names. Semi Serif - These are mixes of the two main types of font. Semi serifs are far rarer then the two above but they do emulate a certain sense of style and class. The semi serif fonts have arisen only in the course of digital typographers(remember, fonts first resounded in newspapers which were typed with blocks smeared with ink) who are able to freely manipulate fonts to their liking. Some debate has arisen between(however geeky these people may be) typographers about which font type is more legible. It has to be said that serif fonts do help to join up letters and keep the flow of the writing(and hence keep the eye moving along the horizontal line – the overall function of text) but it is also argued that sans-serif fonts do not decrease legibility at all and actually help to define the forms of letters meaning that the text may be easier to read because there isn’t so much positive space in there. What is agreed on though is that Sans-serif fonts are by far the best type of font for headlines. This means that when choosing a font for a signature or a larger image it is probably best to go for the easier on the eyes san-serif fonts. Although, if you were to go for a certain element of class then it doesn’t hurt to use serif fonts. So now we have the type of font established, we need to work out which font we are going to use. The best fonts are the better balanced ones. Normally this is where the x-height isn’t too large. Wait a second, there’s a new term, x-height. The x-height is what it says it is. It’s the size of the x, but this height also regulates the height of all the smaller letters and also the height of the bottom part of letters. Like the loop on the ‘h’ and the stem of the f(the line actually sits just above the x-height but it is still regulated by the size of it). The x-height is what affects the fonts overall appearance. It’s probably why times new roman is such a successful font. The fact it has such a comfortable x-height. The other thing that affects the balance of a font is the size of the ascenders and descenders. You know, the stem on the d and the p. Yes, those things. If they’re too short then the font looks stubby and it’s uncomfortable to read, if they’re too long then it just looks plain peculiar and it is also uncomfortable to read because it redirects your gaze away from the main body of the text, interrupting the flow. If you notice, Times New Roman is slightly on the stubby side compared to serif fonts like Garamond and sans-serif fonts like Helvetica. But then again those fonts then to be slightly wider to compensate for their height so it can also be slow going when reading them. As for which font to choose when it comes to the crunch, it really depends on the image and what message you want to portray. If you want a classy look go for Charlemagne(although it is an all capitals font so only for single words) or Shelly Allegro. It you just want a neutral font which just sits there, don’t go for Arial. I find Arial is far too chunky and doesn’t just sit there well. Avant Garde would be your best bet, Helvetica would also be an attractive alternative though. If you’re going for a bold statement then don’t go for Impact(dispite the name). Go for something like Machine Bt (I could not find the bt version online, but it is far rounder then what is shown there). If you want a childish image then go for something like Aimee or a bolder Kidtypepaint. The list goes on and on. Of course, if you don’t have these fonts then they’re going to cost you, so the other option would be to fish around places like Dafont and find some close alternatives. You need to remember to not go for the trendwhore fonts. Find new and original fonts which you like and you haven’t seen around the place. Overall, what you need to understand is how different fonts create emotional and physiological resonances within the reader. Fonts affect the perception of the text. Type communicates a visual image does as a graphic does. Typography is important. Join me next month on how to increase the legibility of typography when you have a busy image and nowhere to put your text. Thank you for reading. References: Graphic Design School – David Dabner
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:25:11 GMT
Name: Bill Age: 15 Hobbies: First and foremost... music. Designing, talking with friends, computers, sports, sleep, long walks on the beach and meerkats. Website(if any): More or less a forum that majorly needs a new version... sdezigns.proboards34.com/How long have you been a designer, and how'd you get started?I've been designing on and off since 2002, I think in August. I always wanted to have a forum that I didn't have to have other's design for me; I knew I could count on myself to put the forum's design first rather than rely on somebody I didn't know. I asked for PaintShop Pro for my birthday, and got it... I was awful at first, but got better and better with it. I restarted designing after a year and a half break in April of 2005. Was there someone in particular that influenced you, or you looked up to?Not really. Everybody who I then idolized, I realize, sucks. Back then, my influence was Zach/End of Faith (G101 Sports Mod), simply because he was ABLE to design, and helped a bit with my forum in it's early days. Is there a specific type of "art" that you enjoy creating?Recently, photo-manipulations have been the majority of my practice. I enjoy fusing together photos, working with effects, and seeing what it can turn out to look like. I also have always enjoyed working in Cinema 4D with 3d renders, and was quite talented, until I gave up with it. So you started off with Paint Shop Pro? What programs do you use now?I did, but now use Photoshop CS2 for all of my work. Has the thought of making this a job crossed your mind, or is it purely a hobby?Haven't really thought about that recently, but I am taking a course next year in high school to further my web design abilities. I may make it a job, but I was planning to only take the course a year, then move into Computer Network Administration. Do you have words of wisdom for those out there looking to become a great designer?...realize that being a great designer is a matter of opinion, quit on the spot, read tutorials, or take lessons from somebody who understands designing on a large scale. Last thing, do you have 3 favorite pieces, or examples you'd like to share?(Click the image to enlarge, and see the full piece) Though I hate the sun... I felt I made some realistic, but noticeable changes to the piece. The ground and sun are awful as well... but I enjoyed the result of my endless vectoring. Third? Nah, the rest of my hosted stuff is crap. Alright, thanks for taking the time to do this Bill. My pleasure; thank you.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:25:27 GMT
Although Terragen itself isn’t a type of art (if we’re being honest about things) it’s a very popular program for 3D scenery generation, probably the best you can get your grubby mitts on for free. So, rather than go and do some shoddy research and ramble on about 3D Scenery Generation with a slant on Terragen, I decided to go with what’s familiar to me. So, what exactly is Terragen exactly? Well, the people that describe it best are the people that make it: ‘Terragen is a scenery generator, created with the goal of generating photorealistic landscape images and animations’. And yes, it’s exactly that. You produce or gain a map from other sources, you edit what the surface will be like, change the sun position, edit the clouds, decided if you want water or not and bam. You have a Terragen render(although it can take a few days to actually render if you decide that you want a really detailed and big image). Terragen has been criticised as being too easy to use. There isn’t any skill involved. Well, I tell you, there is. It’s more than I explained above, far more. The single wrong setting out of place and the image won’t sheen with that ‘photorealistic’ look which the guys at Planetside promise us. Surface maps are hard to grasp and to get a really detailed and realistic ones you need in the excess of over a hundered carefully piled up layers. Each with it’s settings tweaked to say how bumpy you want it, what exact colour you want it, where you want it it’s coverage depth, how sharp the cut off points are. Everything. I have yet to even think about mastering surface maps. The common saying which goes round Terragen artists is that Terragen is easy to use but takes a life time to master. That is apparent when you look at the crap which gets submitted to DeviantART. People can use the program and see the settings, they just don’t understand how to alter the settings and make better images. It takes and will take at least 2 years to understand completely what every little setting does and how to use that to your advantage. Probably longer. Post work has become a very big thing in the Terragen industry. What’s the point in just using your local graphics program to put in a border and text when in a few clicks you have a far more vibrant, colour enriched(and more realistic) render? Why stick with the cardboard clouds when there are many stocks out there to blend in? And also, landscapes never only have hills, water, clouds and different surfaces. They have foliage and man made structures. So, if you’re good enough you can simply blend in objects for a far more realistic landscape. And then there’s the matter of space scenes swirling above your head. Terragen’s have sky right? So why can’t that sky be extended up and be combined with a fellow artists skills at building a whole new cosmos? Terraspace was born through collaboration and a bit of initiative. There is also a new type of Terragen. One which has been born from the amount of landscape stock out there. Terramanipulation (I have to confess, that is my word for the style, I have seen no one else refer to it before). This is where you use Terragen as a base then blend it into another landscape, as the foreground or the background it really does depend on where the main features of the Terragen are. This can either trick the viewers eyes into what they’re viewing is a real photo, or it can show how bad a Terragen artist you are. If you can pull it off and put a bit of camera grain on it. Then you have yourself a photo. Alyn has taken both Terraspace and Terramanipulation to the extremes. He doesn’t make art out of Terragen. He uses Terragen in his art. When you get into this mind frame, that Terragen is just one tool to make a single image, then the results can be mind-blowing. Alyn is one of those artists who can do everything. He can do the space, he can blend images in perfectly. He can do amazing Terragens(although I’m starting to believe he’s just very good at covering up his Terragen work with manipulation work. And don’t think that Terragen will just stay the same. That we will just be seeing the same not-quite-realistic images being churned out. Oh no. TGD or Terragen 2, is on it’s way. And with this you can do overhangs, you can do volumetric clouds, you can do easy rivers, you can control your surface maps better so you can confine them to which ever part of the map you want, and you can –most importantly- add foliage. It’s going to be amazing. And I bet that there will be a point in the future where people will start entering Terragens into photo competition, claiming that they were taken with a camera and that the scene was right before their very eyes. Terragen artists you must check out: AlynLady Of SpiraOur Resident JoshBPaubaFlameGfxGrgWantJoshushund
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:50:48 GMT
Welcome to my first editorial, this section of my beloved Herald magazine is dedicated to those few of whom I love so much; Nerds. This month I am going to be writing about Microsoft’s upcoming operating Windows Vista and how it became what it is today. Windows Vista has been in development since May 2005, even before Windows XP was released and was originally suppose to be released in 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and Windows “Vienna”, formally “Blackcomb” the codename for the next version of Microsoft’s operating system after Windows Vista is shipped. Whilst in development Windows Vista was known as “Longhorn”, like many other Microsoft codenames it took its name from ski resorts around the globe. After three years of development, on August 27th 2004, Microsoft announced that “Longhorn” would be delayed and that they were making major changes to the operating system. By major changes Microsoft meant a total re-write of the “Longhorn” code base, no longer would it be based on the Windows XP kernel but the Windows Server 2003 kernel. When “Longhorn” finally reached beta and re-named Windows Vista it was slow and buggy needing high end hardware to run it. Until the betas progressed the only people that could successfully test had to be rather wealthy to afford the cost of the hardware needed to test the betas. Features were vastly cut; builds were continuously leaked onto the internet only to be bashed by complete and utter newbs causing more features to be cut. By February 22nd 2006, Windows Vista was deemed feature complete with further builds to concentrate on speed and hardware development inside the code base. At the time of writing the latest beta, build 5552 (of which was leaked onto the internet only a few hours ago) can be installed in 25 minutes unlike its predecessor Windows XP which takes up to 3 hours to install. Windows Vista is scheduled for release to business users in November of this year and will be available to buy as of January 2007 in the wider market. Thank you for reading AS! NT, I hope you have enjoyed it.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:51:03 GMT
Apple may be behind with computer sales compared to the average PC distributer, but they are far in the lead with there software. Now they are getting further ahead with their new operation system; Mac OS 10.5, named Leopard. This new OS has many new features, and many bonuses over apples older operating systems. I own an install disk for every operating system on the mac since version seven. Me being a die-hard mac fan and a lover of all things Apple, I watched the WWDC quicktime movie twice, to be able to bring you the best article possible. If you like the current Mac OS, I am sure you will love this. One of the best features of Leopard is Time Machine. This feature is utterly amazing, it allows you to back up, and recover things with just a single click. Apple took a survey and only 26 percent of Mac users actually back up their files. Only four percent of Mac users use an automated software to back up their files. Time Machine does this and more. Time Machine backs up every file, and makes it possible to restore just one file, or to do a complete restore, from any date. But the most useful thing about Time Machine, is exactly why Apple calls it Time Machine. If you ever where working on a file, and changed something big, or maybe did a save instead of a save-as, Time Machine allows you to completely restore that file how it was 30 days, or 30 minutes ago. You can browse through time, and view your mac exactly how it was, at any date. What if you have a contact in your address book a week ago, but when you checked it today it wasn't there? Simple, Time Machine works with any program you may be running, be it iPhoto, iCal, or your address book, you can go back in time, and recover anything you need. Time Machine also backs up everything, system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, documents, and anything else you keep on your mac. Mac has release a mail client that comes with every new release of X. Their mail client was great, but now Apple has made it even better. Mail in Leopard makes your basic mail client into personal stationary. You can create To-do lists, and even record memos with the new Apple Mail. 30 stationary templates make it possible to insert HTML into your emails, and add your own photos to personalize your emails as much as possible. These email templates use standard HTML, so anyone on any email client will be able to view them. Mail even has RRS support, enabling you to get the newest articles from your favorite RSS feed emailed to you. With the new version of iChat, you can chat with other people by just using text, or you can go and talk to them in person with video and sound. But there is more, when using the video part of iChat, you can set backdrops for you to appear on top of, to try and fool your friends into thinking you are chatting from the moon, or just to have some fun. Though backdrops are not limited to still pictures, you can drag movie files into your backdrop as well. Making it look like you are in the middle of busy times square, when you are really in your bedroom eating a bagel. The new iChat offers tabbed chatting. You can pull your message windows, or even group message windows, into one window for maximum organization. With Leopard Apple is introducing a nice new little feature called Spaces. Have you ever had Photoshop, Fire Fox, iTunes, iChat, and the terminal open at once? Maybe you would like to group a few of those together. Lets say you are viewing a tutorial on how to make gradients with PS on Camino at SSD, wouldn't it be nice if you could bundle those two applications together? Now with Spaces, you can. It gives you the option to drag windows into different organized 'Spaces' and with the tap of a key, or the click of a button, you can switch to the window you need open. You can even add columns and rows until you have just the right number of Spaces. Spaces is like having multiple program clusters, that you can easily change, and mix up. With the new OS comes a new Dashboard. Dashboard was released with Tiger, but Leopard makes it even better. Now you can create your own widget with Web Clip in Safari. Go you your favorite site, be it a comic strip, or a news feed, and select the area you want to make into your own dynamic Widget. There are many different templates you can choose from to personalize your new Widget. Dashboard also introduces a movie Widget that finds newest films, and displays their show times. If you have a .Mac account, and your Dashboard preferences can follow you from Mac to Mac. Dashboard now is possible of syncing everything, and keeping your changes no matter what mac you are on. And now with Dash code, you can even make your own Widgets. You can write your own Widget in minutes, even if you know nothing about coding. You choose from a selection of Widget templates, and go from there. If you don't like the templates given, make you own. Now with the even faster Spotlight, you can search other macs, or server to find that file you need. It also introduces another new feature, called Quick Look. This allows you to preview a file, with only one click, without opening an application. You can also now enter "and," "or," and "not" into your search requests. With new iCal, everyone in the family can share special dates, and events. You can also reserver places on the calendar, for everyone to see. With that new feature, you can view the calendar to see if you fellow employees are free on that day, or if your son is free for a father son fishing trip. Also with the new event drop box, anyone that will be attending that meeting can get the files they need. Apple takes another step forward with accessibility. Now Apple have grabbed hold of the newest technology, and created a new voice. This new voice is called Alex, and can sound real even at fast speaking rates. Apple is now built for braille. Leopard offers new support for refreshable Braille displays. With the new 64 technology, Apple has made a operating system that is designed solely for a 64 bit processor. Every part of the new OS is 64 bit, no emulators. With Core Animation Mac developers can easily create stunning applications as groundbreaking as spaces, without needing to know esoteric graphics and math techniques. Core Animation also takes advantage of the multiple cores in most of the new Intel processors. This means the application runs on one core, while Core Animation runs on the other. Now that the OS is 64 bit, you can take full advantage of the Xeon chip. You get many times more processing power, up to 3.0GHz. Apple brings 64 bit technology to the next level, while still allowing you to use your 32 bit applications. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Go to www.apple.com to get the latest on all apple products. Disclaimer:SolidSnake Designs is in no way involved with Apple, and this article does not imply that SolidSnake Designs is supporting Apple in any way. All images used belong to Apple Computer, Inc, www.apple.com.
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Post by The Herald on Sept 9, 2006 5:51:30 GMT
Coding looks like a bunch of characters jumbled together to me. Despite my love of language, the languages of coding are some that I haven’t managed to get my head around yet. I look at all of these characters and think “what do they mean... what is it about the order and structure of them that makes them do that they do? When a code is missing a simple >, why doesn’t it work?” So, despite the fact that I know I’m going to be ridiculed and mocked by a great number of the SSD community (who, for the most part, know my aversion to the coding boards), I’ve decided to start learning from the very beginning. That, folks, brings us into HTML. HTML. I’ve been told it’s about the easiest coding language to learn and one of the essential things to know before starting into any other language. So, I kicked off my boots and headed on over to w3schools and into the HTML section. The first thing to hit me when I opened up the HTML page was “HTML is very easily to learn! You’ll enjoy it!” Coding. Me. Coding and I don’t mix. The prospect of coding to me is about as thrilling as watching paint dry. There I learned the very beginning of what all of these tags mean. I already knew the basic link and image, but there’s a whole lot more to it than that. HTML is quite similar to UBBC in places, except that it substitutes the [ and ] for < and >. Having spent a fair amount of time on Proboards forums, I’ve learned a number of the UBBC tags coding off by heart so that it saves on time and I don’t have to keep clicking all these random-looking buttons. Moving off from the basics like <b> and <i>, I moved into things like <strong>. How cool is that? It pretty much looks the same as bold, except that it’s called strong. It’s beyond my logic, but hey, I’ll move on and accept it as one of those weird coding things that make no sense, yet are there anyway. The good thing about w3schools is that they have a joke at the bottom of most of their tutorials so that if you’re incredibly bored by the end of the tutorial and have still managed to learn something, then you can have a laugh at the joke (even if it’s incredibly lame). A sample joke: Customer: Is the Internet open on Christmas Day? Moving on... Coding is more than a wham-bam, thank you ma’am process. You’ve got to sit there and go through it and through it until it sticks in your head. It also helps to constantly repeat things and type them out yourself instead of copying/pasting them from elsewhere. If you’re unsure of what a certain letter means or does, go look it up. The only way you’re going to learn something is to actually be pro-active about it. If you want to learn it, you will. It’s the same as any other skill. The more you practise and the more you keep at it, the better you’ll get. Oh, and how to change the title of the title bar? <html> <head> <title>Kari rules for having learned this.</title> </head> </html>
At least you can’t say now that I haven’t learned something. I’ll report back with my progress next month as I endeavour to learn more about HTML and the coding world.
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