Maria Caliban

Dead Skin Mask: First off Candyman didn't come off as being gay to me." Er, he wasn't. Most people seem to grasp that I was making a joke. " Also I agree gay romances should be in the game if there is a demand for it." I disagree. Nightclever, I knew you would take it like that. Oh well. Ok, sure, it doesn't mean a damned thing that I defend gays - but was that gay man friend a gay rights defender? Come on." Yes, he was. And I didn't say you were prejudiced. I said that being a gay rights defender doesn't mean you're not prejudiced. Now, I'm sorry you're angry but that's your choice. " I'm just trying to get some middle ground here, and all you can think of to do is classify me as "one of them."" Riiight.

If Jedi actually used their powers instead of sitting around until people start dying, I'm certain many wars could be avoided. Hey, why is it that force doesn't work on big-nosed, flying creatures?

Lost Straw, I think the key term is 'acquire knowledge', which suggest something beyond the mere acquisition of facts. For instance, many Westerner's interactions with non-Westerners has been characterized by the belief in their own cultural superiority. Thus, they tend to view everything through that lens. They might see the art, math, and social interaction that a developed culture has, yet they never see a 'civilization'.

Hmm.. Do I get a health care plan with that?

I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions. I appreciate all of them. I don't think I'll start on OpenGL until I get a good handle on C++ it's good to know what I'll need to be learning. I've been told that C++, OpenGL, and DirectX are the most important languages to learn for gaming but someone else also mentioned Cg. Also, for graphics, what programs would you recommend? I have Maya 5.0 but I've been told that 3D Max is considered a better tool.

I mean, I'm not interested in being an apprentice or a master.

Did you know that Cajuns are all French Canadians? The British shipped them to the southern US.

I haven't suggested that the game do either, Sorgoth. Jaguars Forever, Emotions aren't mutually exclusive but you can only release so many chemicals into the bloodstream before one dominates, the system goes into shock, or the brain is unable to perceive any changes. You can't name an emotion that no adult has experienced and whatever blend of emotion you have, people will have experienced it as well. As to the degree of severity, there's only a certain point that the mind can reach. Heroin addiction is a perfect example of this. You never fly as high as you do your first time because your body will force you to 'normalize' your emotion. Most heroin addicts are forced to inject merely to reach an emotional state we call normal because your brain will stop the flow of serotonin if it become too high. Likewise, if it slips too low you get things like alcohol and sugar addictions as the brain forces the body stimulate the release of dopamine.

Craftman: "You call me that for your own self security? I think so. " I never called you a bigot, actually. But, yes, it seems as though you are one. As for my self-security, I would feel more secure if people tried to tolerate differences in this world. The US is in the middle of a war caused by people feeling threatened by different cultures. "Since when is 'human' the only POV available? " Because I am only human and I can communicate reliably with only humans. Try as it might, my cat can only tell me so much about its experiences and I lack the psychical ability to, say, see all the colors she can. Jaguars Forever, Do you disagree with all experiences being universal or there only being a finite number of emotions and sensations? While I can appreciate an argument against the first assertion, I see humans as being biologically limited in their ability to perceive sensation and emotions. There's only so much information the human brain can process, so much human senses can perceive, and only so many chemical interactions that produce emotions.

Defining words is not in Spellmar's directive. Maybe we need to make a Dictionary buddy? Or Spellmarary? Anyways... NOUN: One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. ETYMOLOGY: French, from Old French. WORD HISTORY: Bigots may have more in common with God than one might think. Legend has it that Rollo, the first duke of Normandy, refused to kiss the foot of the French king Charles III, uttering the phrase bi got, his borrowing of the assumed Old English equivalent of our expression by God. Although this story is almost surely apocryphal, it is true that bigot was used by the French as a term of abuse for the Normans, but not in a religious sense. Later, however, the word, or very possibly a homonym, was used abusively in French for the Beguines, members of a Roman Catholic lay sisterhood. From the 15th century on Old French bigot meant

I don't think it's fair to equate CRPG romances to book romances in terms of quality. A book can peer into the minds of its characters and an author has several thousand years of book romances to draw from. A game maker is trying to create an interactive romance but one that is only a 5% of the story, if that. Novel writers can assume that their audience will sit through several hundred pages of relationship developing but not so with PC games. A developer has to do a balancing act. Besides, the majority of novels have poorly developed romances

Nightclever: "To be honest, I am a little taken aback by it when I hear about other people's sex lives, especially when it's something I don't understand." I'm rarely taken back and I haven't met a sexual peccadillo yet that I didn't understand. Men, women, dogs, furniture, leather, stuffed animals, or sensory deprivation, desire is desire. I might not have the same response but that's beside the question. My stepfather likes his steak well done and I like mine rare but I still understand why he likes it that way. People love beer and coffee, two substances that taste horrid to me, but I still understand why they drink them. "Please, PLEASE don't call me prejudiced - I'm probably one of the more volatilly-inclined gay rights defenders I've known of. " You can defend gay rights and still be prejudiced. I know an openly gay man who's prejudiced against gay men. One really has little to do with the other. "Still, I don't want to think of other peoples sex lives, and I see in no way how that's wrong." That's not germane to the earlier topic; I don't think anyone is advocating having a character go into detail about their sexual experiences. Now, if you're saying that just knowing someone's sexuality bothers you then I feel for you but I don't think it's fair to suggest people keep that information to themselves. I mean, even a wedding ring gives it away. " I find that you're lying to yourself, when you place yourself in a hypothetical position that you have no personal experience with." To a certain degree, all experiences are universal because there are only a finite number of human emotions and sensations. I might not know what it is to lose my mother but I can hazard a guess. I don't know what it is to skydive but I've been in a car accident (intense adrenaline rush) and I've ridden a roller-coaster (euphoria caused by fearful but controlled situation). If I mix that with the physical sensation of cool wind whipping my face and dropping then I have a good idea of what it feel like. Not perfect, but good. As long as I don't try to convince myself that it's *exactly* what it feels like then I'm not lying to myself.

Regarding Chocolate: It's more natural to eat chocolate than it is to eat a carrot. During the majority of human evolution sweetness could only be found in fruits so the human brain developed a preference for sweets. Likewise, humans have a desire for fatty foods because they were scarce before the domestication of animals. That natural preference is biologically inappropriate during the modern era but it's still natural.

Jaguars Forever, When I said that murder, theft, and rape happen in nature, I was saying that they happen in nature. Animals murder, steal, and rape each other. As for 9/11, humans are communal creatures and those communities often fight against one another. That is human nature. Now, do I think it's moral? No. Is the form in which it occurred natural? No, humans didn't evolve with planes and nuclear warheads, we're not biologically hardwired to deal with the amount of death we can cause.

Nartwark, Mental masturbation is unnatural. Craftman would never engage in it. Ivan, Not really. I expected this to happen. It's still about gayness, sort of.

I was responding to jaguars forever with that last post. You still haven't answered my question..

I'm confused about your point. You're saying that if an animal kills another of its species then it's due to human interference?

Actually, the thread rules are against the posting of pornography or the use of excessive profanity.

Masturbation happens in nature all the time... but it's unnatural because a planet full of people who only **** wouldn't breed? **edit** Gorth: " we have sex with as many partners all autumn," A man's sperm count rises in autumn.

Are you you unequivocally certain they are 'natural'? Those tendencies could just as likely be hard-wired into our genetic makeup, as they could be learned & adapted through upbringing and our environment. I'm saying they happen in nature. **edit** Yes Craftsman, I'm arguing with you because I think it's a sickness and I just can't admit it.

I'm trying to follow your logic here but I'm having problems. Being gay is unnatural because if you don't ever have sex with a member of the opposite sex then no breeding happens. If no breeding happens then the species die out. Makes sense. But, if you have sex with both then breeding happens. However, how is the occasional homosexual act any different from masturbation or absence? After all, a planet of people who only masturbated or never have sex wouldn't breed, either.

Craftsman: "bisexuality. Is it natural to comibine a natural act with a unnatural one? No. " Wait.. are you saying homosexuality an unnatural preference or an unnatural act?

A planet full of bisexuals would survive, wouldn't they? That is your argument, isn't it? That homosexuals who followed their preference would never breed and, therefore, die out? Bisexuals wouldn't die out though, would they? So you're saying bisexuality is natural.

So bisexuality is okay?

No, vegetarians say eating meat is immoral, not unnatural.