UK readers?

[Plasmacaster]

Phar- Hajimemashite to Orngato gozaimasu means very simply 'How do you do and thank you'. Yes I have read Robin Hobb's Assassin series and two of the Madship traders series, not bad, but some annoying twists in them like the lead character doesn't get the girl at the end, yes its more literary variable but I like the lead character to get the girl! :'( I dont care if you're altering the genre and enabling a larger variety of works to appear! lol Raymond E. Feist is good but I got tired with the series based on the princess of that desert country (or something, its been a while). Yes I have seen born on the fourth of july and like most of his films, the film and the other actors supported tom cruise, not the other way around. The only other film he came vaguely close to acting in was Jerry Maguire. As for my sensei, he is pretty good at jeet kune do but as with most martial arts styles, you're essentially studying forms and traditional ways to counter or attack. With a wide variety of attacks and blocks and counters from different styles my versatility has let me win 4 of my 9 proper all out fights, mainly because I performed moves he wasn't trained for, or he didn't expect, lol, I'm big enough to do sumo wrestling next. He doesn't expect a fat guy to be as dexterous as I am. Plus more gut means more wight to throw into a punch. And I've been practising martial arts since I was ten, I started with Tae Kwon Do and Karate. I got what I needed from them (hopefully) and dropped them to do something else after about a year. I admittedly only usually study for a year but I'm a fast learner.

Marsipanne - That's pretty cool, knowing an olympic gold medallist. Table tennis is one of the few sports (apart from martail arts) that I enjoy. as far as Mahjonng goes, I love it! I know how to play four player and three player. Two player is a little more tricky because I've only found it on my copy of MAME (Multi-Arcade-Machine-Emulation) and its in japanese. Plus the games expect you to know the rules before hand. Its slow learning! Personally I like a more easy-going mahjonng. You know, all the tiles face up, people taking their time over a move. But that's just because I'm a pretty chilled individual. As far as cards go, you'd be amazed how many games I know. I actually have 7 packs of cards in my room right now (dear lord how sad), if you like hearts, try "Whist", I'm sure you can find the rules on the internet if you don't already know them, and Rummy is the game most like mahjonng in the western world so have a go! Robert Jordan is entertaining but he was a lot less frustrating before book 6. Terry Goodkind is my favorite fantasy author too, although I prefer to imagine Richard sporting a beard. For some reason they've gone out of style for heroes. Hmm.... I like Tolkien mainly because its a series you SHOULD know if you're into fantasy but he can get extremely annoying.

mark197205 - Sorry to hear about your ligaments, but you should try taking up Tai Chi Chuan. At slow speed its a good way of training balance and relaxing. Slow movements can focus your chi to allow you to concentrate in a form of physical meditation, but at high speeds its also one of the most maneuverable and defensive forms of martial arts there is. Good luck trying to find a copy of warriors of the wind though, its not been produced for over a decade and its something of a collectors item. Almost as much as Mutronics (the first live action Guyver film starred Mark Hamill). You'd have better luck trying to find a faberge egg for yourself. Thanks for the saving support but somehow I think i#'ll be at this a while. Especially considering I know where to get ornamental or low-grade weaponry. For extremely reasonable prices you can get daggers, katanas, sabres, training bokken, nunchukus, shields, helmets, axes etc.. Next up on my purchase list is a 54" long claymore. It would look wonderful mounted on my wall. Plus i can practice with a heavier blade than a katana.

P.S. Phar, thanks for the "kick-ass" comment.

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Morning everyone,

Hope you all have a great day,

See you all a little later!!

 

[zukethecuke]

Landmarks

As a tourist, I suppose I'm as qualified as anyone to comment on what the UK has to offer the visitor.

Some obvious London offerings are the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tower, the British Library, St. Paul's, the Houses of Parliament (all of which I got to see on my first visit, though sometimes in quite a bit of a hurry). Hope to add Kew Garden, Westminster, the Tate and Tate Modern, and some live theater next time.

Roman baths at Bath were really fascinating for those of us who like antiquity and reading all the labels. Bath Crescent and Circus were perfect examples of the domestic architecture of their periods.

York Minster is perhaps the finest church architecture I've ever seen, and climbing the stairs to the roof of the crossing tower is both an adventure and good exercise. Looking down on the rooftops of York is a delight.

Watching the sea from the promenade at Aberystwyth was awesome.

Glasgow School of Art had a surreal quality that wouldn't let go -- I've been in hundreds of school and university buildings, and this one was much like the others, only different. Real different.

For an American who has little memory of rail travel pre-Amtrak, the British rail system is a marvel; there were glitches, but then there was always another train along in an hour or so. And compared to US airlines, the British Rail system is a model of relaxed congeniality.

Oh yes, under the heading of 'landmarks' we must not forget BoobyPrize stripped to the waist and posing on a pedestal in the middle of a roundabout.

-Zuke

 

[Marsipanne]

Hi Nem, I'm doing all right over here. You?

And Plasma, as far as I know Mahjong can only have 4 players.. I think there are some variations on it around. I mean, on an internet site there was a version of mahjong which certainly was NOT the version I played--more like match the pieces. Certainly a lot easier!

I've never been in a real fight before. Nobody's ever attacked me or anything like that. But I used to do a lot of play-fighting in primary school. Ah, those were the days. I used to watch wire-fu flicks and then imitate the moves (probably looked like an idiot). However, one has come in useful: this sort of jab that you're meant to do on a person's spine that renders them paralysed (not permanent). Of course, I didn't dare to do that, but I did it to everybody who was stupid enough to volunteer on their upper arms and it left some huge bruises. Actually, for a girl, I'm pretty strong. I've been known to challenge people to arm-wrestling competitions. I never win (when it comes to men anyway) but I always manage to give them a scare that they'll lose. They all think I'll be a walkover but obviously that's a misconception.

 

[tintarron]

I can't remember having ever won an arm-wrestling competition.

 

[phar]

plasmacaster
I had a friend who was a lot bigger than me, he was a fair adept at jujuitsu and i was amazed at his ability to tumble around. He could on a dead run, dive clearing a few metres, go into a tumble... while holding a bokken drawing it into a strike as he came out of his roll. It looked soo cool, i had to try.... i think i might have cleared a few inches on my dive, jammed a stick into my inner thigh (my friend wouldn't let me use his bokken) and had a back ache in the morning..... I rock
Mark Hamil... as in luke skywalker Mark Hamil, oh and i have most of the guyver series, used to be be well into it.
Marsi and plasmacaster
is valley of the wind the one where the hero gets his arm chopped off fairly early on in the movie?? Arm wrestling, i recon anyone on this thread would be able to kick my ass at it, i've only been in two proper fights and got the shit kicked out of me, one was when i basically got hit on the back of my head from behind.... and the other was when i ws about 14/15, was getting bullied by a guy who was about 18 while playing football, we got into an arguement, he threatened me and i kicked him in the gut as soon as he came within reach.... it connected solidly and i was waiting for him to go down when i realised that i'd left my foot in his bowed body, i was also a pubescent midgit with the power of a gnat and the next thing i know, i'm on the floor with a foot on my face.... i remember trying not to cry... its all funny when i look back on it
mark
hard luck with the ligament, don't know how bad your injury is but if its possible, i hope it gets better. Me, i've had a recent back injury thats taken me out for the past 4 months. , but i'm good to go now and should be back to my active self. The only thing i can recommend is to begin doing some strength conditioning in the area of your injury to take the stress off the connective tissue (ligament), but you've probably been told all this. If i may be so bold to ask, how did you bust it up so bad?r

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a good evening...

Hope your all well and havign a good time

 

[zukethecuke]

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a good evening...

Hope your all well and havign a good time

Nem, a lot of your posts of late have looked like this. Are you in training to be a maitre d'? "Good evening and welcome to Chez Nem; I hope your dining experience will be...."

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Nem, a lot of your posts of late have looked like this. Are you in training to be a maitre d'? "Good evening and welcome to Chez Nem; I hope your dining experience will be...."

LOL, I just have been watching the tv so haven't got the attention to post alot of words, lol

 

[zukethecuke]

Menu

But I think this ought to be considered by everyone on the thread....

What would be on the menu at Chez Nem?

Or who?

Would it be all-you-can-eat?

Or Continental portions?

Ooh-la-la-carte?

How long would the cherries last?

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Re: Menu

But I think this ought to be considered by everyone on the thread....

What would be on the menu at Chez Nem?

Or who?

Would it be all-you-can-eat?

Or Continental portions?

Ooh-la-la-carte?

How long would the cherries last?

On the menu we would have only the finest 18 year old or older women

It would be all you can eat... or in some cases all they can eat

The cherries would not last long but the 'pies' would be in plenty of portions

 

[Marsipanne]

BUFFET!!!! I take 'all you can eat' as a personal challenge. I have some pretty awful memories of this kind of stuff when I went to Vegas, actually... you don't want to hear details.

I actually leap at the chance to do battle with somebody who's willing to be pounded and not fight back. My best friend from my childhood (who's now moved to America--studying medicine in UCLA at the moment) was also a martial arts maniac and we used to spend HOURS fighting each other. Greatest fun ever. Ah, those were the days.

About crying in front of friends and stuff... none of my friends have ever seen me cry, apart from in movies (ROTK, actually--when my best friend realised I was weeping (shire theme does it for me, totally) she stopped looking at the screen and stared, trying to make the most of it). I'm generally such a happy person, I never cry, never depressed, never moody. Kinda permanently hyperactive though.

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

BUFFET!!!! I take 'all you can eat' as a personal challenge. I have some pretty awful memories of this kind of stuff when I went to Vegas, actually... you don't want to hear details.

I actually leap at the chance to do battle with somebody who's willing to be pounded and not fight back. My best friend from my childhood (who's now moved to America--studying medicine in UCLA at the moment) was also a martial arts maniac and we used to spend HOURS fighting each other. Greatest fun ever. Ah, those were the days.

About crying in front of friends and stuff... none of my friends have ever seen me cry, apart from in movies (ROTK, actually--when my best friend realised I was weeping (shire theme does it for me, totally) she stopped looking at the screen and stared, trying to make the most of it). I'm generally such a happy person, I never cry, never depressed, never moody. Kinda permanently hyperactive though.

Im sure I would like to hear the detials of it Marsipanne, but if you don't want to share thats fine too.

You can pound me all you want Marsipanne and i'll not fight back, lol, I can take alot before I have to stop

 

[zukethecuke]

Im sure I would like to hear the detials of it Marsipanne, but if you don't want to share thats fine too.

You can pound me all you want Marsipanne and i'll not fight back, lol, I can take alot before I have to stop

But does Marsipanne ever let anyone pound her all they want? Or all she wants, for that matter?

 

[Marsipanne]

Of course

And about the buffet business. Let's just describe it as that it, not of my accord, became rather.... romanesque. Anybody know about Roman eating habits here?

By the way, I've read three books over the last two days. I read two historical romances (addicted to these), and The Devil You Know by egads, forgotten her name. Louise Bagshawe. Devil You Know was very good, but frankly, chick-lit isn't really my thing to be honest. Thing is, it's almost always set in the present day, and I can't stand modern people. I'm from an old era, you know. I belong to a time 100 years back. Okay, female emancipation hadn't happened and stuff, but thing is, the characters written in those times are just so much more interesting. Chick-lit is 100% predictable. Not that historical romance isn't, but at least the guys are sexier. Horses beat cars any day. Especially ones trained in the circus and pretend to be Steeds from Hell and then pretend to be docile and then at the command 'stop playing dead' become Steeds of Hell again. Quite surprisingly, the historical romance I read today was very witty (at the beginning). There were a lot of jokes taken at the expense of a rather idiotic younger brother (if there was a window, he was bound to fall out of it, if there was a ditch, he was bound to walk into it etc.) and menfolk in general. But, you know what, I totally sympathise with any nobleman in those days who didn't want to marry.

If I was in the regency and was attending my first 'Season' (sort of like your introduction to polite society), I'd probably be the worst man-hunter out there. See, thing is, I'm far too ambitious to not marry, and if those days, you were nothing if you didn't marry. Therefore, I'd try and get the richest and best-looking guy there was. Thankfully, I don't need to employ that kind of methods to have independence and success (and note, regency marriages were 'open'--it was quite ordinary to have lots of affairs) these days. Hm, I do know some very rich people in China. In fact, I know an heir to a fortune going into the billions who's rather good-looking. Thing is, he's dumb and he's hit one of his girlfriends.

Anybody here play Age of Kings/Age of Mythology. I've been playing that like mad recently. Thing is, I can only do a 'feudal rush' to win on moderate, which is really quite bad. On 'hard' and 'hardest' I really have no chance.

Oh yeah, I've also being playing Mario 64 a lot recently. Ah, good old memories. I used to adore that game, still do obviously. Just hadn't played it in so long. Just last week, I finally got the 120th star. I was on 119 for years and years, literally! It was because I needed 100 coins on Dire, Dire Docks and I got something like 97, and couldn't find any more. I realised that I had missed one of the blue coins when I jumped on the box, and was very pissed orff. Therefore, I stopped playing. So last week, I decided to give it another shot. And lo and behold! I got the 120 stars!! Then I started a new file, start again. Mario 64 is such an amazing game. Real classic.

 

[Plasmacaster]

I've never actually been in a proper fight, I mean I've sparred with my various senseis over the years but I've never been in a fight. I think its because i've mastered my 'I'm incredibly poor, but I'm also an aggressive, raving psychotic who is having the worst day of his life so there's no point in fighting me" look. lol, I can look pretty menacing should I need to be, but truth be told I'm actually a pacifist. I think if you need to resort to violence, or even shout in order to win an argument, then you've already lost. But just because I dont think violance is a good solution, doesn't mean it isn't a solution and I always have it as a backup in case my menacing demeanor doesn't work.

To be honest i try and avoid buffets, mainly because I've got sick more than one time after going to them, so I consider my lesson learned. Its the same as Macdonalds. I don't eat there ever since I got food poisoning.

Oh, phar, Yes i mean Mark Hamill, a.k.a. luke skywalker, a.k.a. the joker in any cartoon series (he makes a pretty succesful career out of his skill in voices, you'd be amazed at what he does). He was in Mutronics, the prequal to 'Guyver: Dark Hero" (it didn't star Mark Hamill, just some dodgy cheapo actor)

I love to arm-wrestle! but the only competition I get is with my brother and he's left handed, he also works out every day while I spend hours in front of the pc. lol, he's not let me arm wrestle him since I kept beating him with my left hand (i'm right handed). lol, he's 4 years older than me and he has yet to beat me at anything other than a football or racing game. And that's just because i dont like them enough to play them.

I dont really like to cry in front of people, it makes us both uncomfortable and if its with a guy, they almost always don't speak to you for like a week, in case you pass it on to them or something. I prefer to bury it deep inside and let it fester quietly as a mental illness. But even I'm not immune to the whole crying thing. Mind you, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't cry when their 17 year old girlfriend dies of ovarian cancer (feel free to wear black armbands or something but death is inevitable, fear of death is therefore foolish and when someone dies, all you can do is accept it, grieve and move on. I moved on a while ago so don't make a big fuss ok?)

Marsipanne, Mahjongg can be played with 3 players, you use a dummy hand, and as for two player mahjongg, I think its the same as 4 player, only you get a limited number of turns to pick up tiles. I'm still trying to learn it from a japanese arcade game on emulation. Its not easy! lol!

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Morning everyone,

Well what a night, eained all the way through and didn't get any sleep thanks to the thunder and lightening keeping me up...

Hope you all have a good day

 

[mark197205]

afternoon everyone how we all doing today?
plasma- thanks for you kind words and suggestion on tai chi, i used to do it about a year after my injury but had to give up as my knee was starting to really hurt during the class causing me to give up during a few sessions, maybe now ive had surgery to rebuild my ligament and tendons it may be worth trying it again(it took about 2 years for the docs to realise how much damage id done to myself.
phar- thanks also for your kind words and of course you can ask how i did it, was my own fault really i was at work( i work for the uk arm of the worlds biggest retailer) when there was the coded call for a shoplifter exiting the store and as i was up in the office i headed down the stairs along with about 10 other managers apart from running down like them i decided to jump down a flight of 12 steps, i landed at the bottom slightly off balance heard and felt a crack from my knee and just went over sideways then got trampled by the others running down the stairs. I tried to get up several times only to fall back down each time i tried to put weight on my hurt leg, man did it hurt so much so i nearly passed out.
marsi- anytime you fancy a challenge at all you can eat im your man round my way there is a restaurant that does 56 ounce steaks called the daniel lambert, they are soooo nice then for dessert a choc, ice cream thing with cookie chunks and god knows what else in it that comes in a dish shaped like a rugby ball cut in half ( across not lengthwise, same size too) and is piled out the top, mmmm.
God i havent played mario 64 in ages, think i got up to star 105 before going off to play something else, what do you think of the whole zelda series? personally i think they are a pretty good bit of fantasy alongside the early final fantasy epics, i remember playing FF3 on my old SNES for many an hour not to mention |Secret of Mana, must get round to buying Crystal Chronicles soon as i can only problem too many interests not enough wallet

 

[Marsipanne]

Man, I'm such a glutton. You know, that's a bad thing, but it doesn't stop me. Fortunately, I seem to lose weight if I don't eat what I do (therefore, irregular meals due to irregular sleeping has caused me to drop around 4 kilos in the past month--totally bizarre, actually, because I thought extra sleep would help pile on the weight). I don't like much sweet things, actually. I like ice cream, and I like chocolate cake, that kinda stuff, but I don't like icing, or white sweet stuff (e.g. buns). I prefer chocolate in everything. One thing I'd never be able to be is a vegetarian. I think that I don't have the self-control and I also don't feel particularly motivated in saving the sheep/cows etc. Bad of me, I know, but I'd much rather enjoy my food. I've never actually cooked English food. I can only cook Chinese, which is really easy actually. I can also do some Italian.

The only times I played Zelda was when I went to America, and visited that childhood friend who used to play-fight with me. In fact, a lot of my tomboy-ish-ness stems from his huge influence on me. He introduced me to game consoles, and all of that stuff. However, I never got into either Final Fantasy or Zelda. He plays some Zelda, but I've never played it apart from at friends' houses. It looks fun though. I was watching a funny little clip on the internet, making fun of shoot-em-ups and counter-strike. I can't remember the link, but I'll try and find it and pass it on. Anyway, there are all these labels for different types of players. I fall firmly under the 'camper' label. I remember playing 007 Goldeneye in Temple. I just sat in front of the armour and shot anybody who came near. Guess who won?

Funny enough, Nem, I couldn't get to sleep either, but I don't think it was because of thunder and lightning. I think I've got mild insomnia. At any rate, I woke up at noon today.

 

[phar]

Mark
ouch, that sounds bad.
I would strongly advise against Tai chi for at least another year or two... the only problem with the next thing i'm going to say is that it will require more discipline and will power than an activity like taichi (because you will be your own boss, to motivate yourseld and tell yourself when to stop).
As i said earlier you need to make sure that whatever you do you have to make sure that you reduce the stress on the connective tissue and the most straight forward way of doin this is to hit the gym. I know this sounds contradictory and it will be if done incorrectly, but if you keep repeating to yourself "strengthen what you stretch, stretch what you strengthen", you can't go wrong unless.... and this is very IMPORTANT or i garuntee you will fuck yourself up. YOU HAVE TO raise your core body muscle temp by at least 1 degree, a visual indication of this is to build up a good sweat, in your case a swim seems the best option, as it imposes the least amount of pressure on your knee, then do some strengthening exercises for your legs (a lot of which will involve working muscles all the way up to your external obliques, thats the muscle that runs from your back, wraps round your spine and disappears into your groin, this muscle also gives your body its shape, a V for men and the hourglass for women and is a bitch to strengthen) finishing with a warmdown which is basically stretching the muscles that you've just worked out.
1 Rotations, of your joints (helps lubricate)
2 Warm up
3 Exercise
4 Warm down
Umm.... sorry if i am boring you, i realise you're probably sick of hearing people advise you on on your injury. But if you ever do decide to do something about your knee let me know as i will then go into greater detail of the exercises involved as the above is a quick intro with loads cut out. But it's probably best you do nothing untill any pain ceases or find a physio to advise you. The only problem with a physio is that they can only help you if you're loaded.... i'm not saying that they only help rich people, its just that unless you see them on a weekly basis (minimum, i would say in your case everytime you do anything strenious) they will be forced to advise you to basically stop your activity.

Marsi
I've tried on numerous occassions to be a vegetarian.... but i lack the moral fibre. The longest was while i lived with two vegetarians, we all cooked for each other and it was quite easy.... but as soon as i left that household i was back to my old self. I think its really important to recycle.... and it should be made into a law so that everyone HAS to do it therefore making it an economically viable thingy, ...... i know free will, people shouldn't be forced into things but our planet is like dying man.

 

[phar]

Man, I'm such a glutton.

Ohh, on more thing. I bet i could out eat anyone of you

 

[Marsipanne]

I used to eat more than I do now. Nowadays, I eat much, much less, but I am still regularly given the 'how do you eat that much?' question and look. I think the time when you eat the most is at the outbreak of puberty. Heh, then, I was able to eat 20 sausages in one sitting (plus some chips, cucumber etc.). Nowadays, I could easily do 10 but I rarely eat that much (especially sausages) because I get so thirsty afterwards and drink so much water I feel bloated. Generally, men eat more than women, but among women, I think I probably count as a big eater, definitely.

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

Hi everyone,

Wow its wet out there, just been to the chippy for my family and got soaked

Marsipanne, you are so lucky.. I can eat nothing and still pile on weight!!!

Well hipe everyone's night has been good so far, gonna have to get some sleep soon, was up early and to bed late

 

[Marsipanne]

I think eating nothing causes people to put on weight because your body goes into 'survival mode'. I'm also lucky in that I have an aversion to fast-food, and most soft drinks like fanta and coca-cola, so there's not that kind of temptation. I mean, today, I was drinking some fanta and felt sick just from smelling it. Maybe I'm paranoid or soemthing, but I swear I can just smell the chemicals in there. I like to drink water or freshly squeezed fruit juice. Oh yeah, and I also drink a lot of milk. My digestive system works quickly, and my metabolism is very high, which is all in my favour. Personally, I think it's the chinese genetics. If you look around, there seriously aren't very many overweight chinese people. I mean, there are some curvier ones, but most are rather skinny (which is why, in chinese terms, I'm 'fat'). I used to be really skinny, but I filled out once I completed puberty. My parents were rather mean about the way I looked, to be honest. Even though I was nowhere near fat, they'd tell me that I needed to diet and stuff (I think they were looking at Chinese standards). I'd often get angry at them and say that they obviously cared more about my looks than I did (probably true, I still don't bother wearing make-up and I'm too lazy to use separate conditioners--only ever use 2 in 1). Rather narcissistic though.

 

[Nemasis Enforcer]

I think eating nothing causes people to put on weight because your body goes into 'survival mode'. I'm also lucky in that I have an aversion to fast-food, and most soft drinks like fanta and coca-cola, so there's not that kind of temptation. I mean, today, I was drinking some fanta and felt sick just from smelling it. Maybe I'm paranoid or soemthing, but I swear I can just smell the chemicals in there. I like to drink water or freshly squeezed fruit juice. Oh yeah, and I also drink a lot of milk. My digestive system works quickly, and my metabolism is very high, which is all in my favour. Personally, I think it's the chinese genetics. If you look around, there seriously aren't very many overweight chinese people. I mean, there are some curvier ones, but most are rather skinny (which is why, in chinese terms, I'm 'fat'). I used to be really skinny, but I filled out once I completed puberty. My parents were rather mean about the way I looked, to be honest. Even though I was nowhere near fat, they'd tell me that I needed to diet and stuff (I think they were looking at Chinese standards). I'd often get angry at them and say that they obviously cared more about my looks than I did (probably true, I still don't bother wearing make-up and I'm too lazy to use separate conditioners--only ever use 2 in 1). Rather narcissistic though.

Yeah I know what you eman about the 'starvation mode'

I do eat on a regual basis but no matter how few calories I eat I still gain weight

I used to be anorexic looking before I was a teen then puberty made me pile on the pounds and here I stand.

Enjoy eating Marsipanne