EnderAndrew

I was kidding.

He's not down the the Bloods. He's Grove Street.

Okay, a lot of people seem to either be unhappy with Anakin's fall to the darkside, or they don't get it. Let me tangent here for a moment. So as a Star Wars geek, I figure I'd break it down and see if it starts to make a bit more sense for other people. To do so, we have to go back to Episode 1 for a moment. I know, I know. It sucked. But here we have little Annie. Wasn't that a great idea? Anyways, he lives the white-boy version of slavery, where he gets to run free, play with his friends, race and tinker with things. However, he is a Momma's boy. And the one thing that bothers him in life is that his mother is a slave. The other important thing to note is that everyone tells him that he's uber-powerful, and he saves the day in the Battle over Naboo, despite being a tyke. Now, fast-forward to Episode II, which is more palpatable. Again, he knows he is a child of prophecy, and extremely powerful, but the Jedi go out of their way to hold him back. He has premonitions about his mother dying, but he is told to ignore such things and follow orders. The Jedi dogma keeps Anakin from saving his mother's life. He promised to rescue her and failed. Then then swears to never allow something like that to happen again. Fast forward to Episode III. Anakin is the most powerful Jedi alive, save perhaps for Yoda, but they refuse to compliment him or call him Master. They're afraid of feeding his ego, but instead they frustrate him and fuel his rage. That's wise. He has visions of Padme's death, and Yoda tells him to let go and get over it. That's ****ing helpful. Yoda saw what happened with Anakin's mother, and doesn't put two and two together. Anakin failed on two promises, and he won't fail on his third promise to protect Padme. Anakin doesn't have much in life except for two people. Obi-Wan and Padme are everything in the world to him. Obi-Wan however doesn't compliment Anakin, or show any praise. He praises Anakin to Yoda and Mace, not realizing that all Anakin needed was compassion. The one person to show Anakin compassion is Padme, and the Jedi order tell him to let Padme die. Compound that with the Jedi Order suddenly telling him to not trust, and spy on the one person who does give Anakin praise and compliments. Anakin is a soldier. He doesn't plot or politic, nor does he have any love for it. If the Jedi placated him with praise, he never would have turned. Instead, they stifle him and refuse to utilize him. All Anakin wanted was to use his power and serve a cause. The Jedi cast him aside, and Palpatine offered him a new cause. Palpatine put him to work and fed Anakin's ego. Even better, Palpatine offered Anakin the one thing he desperately needed and couldn't find anywhere else, and that was a way to keep his promise and protect the one person truly dear to him. Did Anakin turn on a dime? No. And that shocked me. I was worried that in watching the film I wouldn't know when to support Anakin as a character, and when we were to lose empathy for him as he turns to Vader. Lucas in a bold and genius move keeps Anakin as a dark, yet empathetic role throughout the film. Anakin is Faust, selling his soul to the devil, not because he wants to be evil. Faust is a fool with seemingly good intentions, but fell prey to ambition. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Anakin attacked Mace Windu because Anakin was in the right. He tried to uphold the Jedi ideals, as Mace Windu only sought to strike someone down. And after Mace died, Anakin knew that he had crossed a point of no-return. He could never return to the Jedi. And why would he return to an organization that did lie to him, manipulate him, discourage him, undermine him, stifle him, and contradict their own teachings? Palpatine was genius in his manipulations of all parties involved. Anakin simply wanted to believe there was a cause worth fighting for, and the Jedi could not provide that. Personally, I would have liked to see Palpatine sell it just a tad more when he ordered Anakin to kill the Jedi. In killing the Jedi, he would be saving countless more lives by preventing more years of civil war. He was keeping the Republic/Empire safe and upholding the same vows he had been his whole life. Anakin didn't turn and betray anyone in his mind. He sincerely felt betrayed by everyone else in his life. And as he allowed himself to wrap himself in his pain and anger, he couldn't see reason, let alone the repercussions of his own actions. Some of you can't seem to accept this as a reasonable fall from the Jedi order. Yet I've seen people follow this trend countless times in real life. How many people commit crimes of passion? Are they cold-blooded murderers born evil, or did they allow their own pain and anger cloud their judgement to where they could no longer see the repercussions of their actions? People also seem to really hate Vader shouting "Noooo!", but I think Lucas was trying to invoke a little Tennessee William's level of drama. Instead of Brando screaming "Stella", we hear Vader shout in desperation. If it were Anakin who whined, we could accept it. Vader isn't supposed to show weakness. It destroys the image we want to see. But it doesn't bother me. I see Vader in a new light. He isn't born pure evil, and I prefer my villians like that. RotJ always bothered me before, how Vader was supposed to be pure evil, and he suddenly turns on the Emperor to save his son he never knew. Now RotJ isn't so lame, as we learn that Anakin was once a good man. He also demonstrated his ability to sacrafice everything for his family. When he shouts "Noooo!" in RotS, I see Anakin finally realzing what he has done. His actions sink in, hammering further in the realization that he can never turn back. He has destroyed (in his mind) that which he previously held dear.

I thought it was a nice touch the book came sealed in a mylar bag, so that an act of penetration was required to read the book.

I hate pop music, but I enjoyed a lot of Madonna's videos. I respect her as a businesswoman, though I don't care for her as a person.

I think some might feel Viet Nam games are rather insensitive given the actions of US troops in Viet Nam. We're making heroes out of people that perhaps shouldn't be idolized, and making villians out of people that perhaps shouldn't be villianized. Sadly, given the tone and audience of such a game, I think it has a much worse affect on the public. People take that game seriously. A JFK assassination reenactment won't be taken too seriously by most people. Exploitation tactics are often obvious in their tactics. When you go out of your way for shock value, you lose credibility.

go away mr. 5000 posts. You need to go outside and breath some air, and stop sitting down all day at a computer. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I get paid good money to sit infront of this computer and type this at the moment.

I rather liked Jersey Girl. The only negative press I read on the picture was before the release by people who were more concerned with Ben Affleck's love life than the quality of the film. Jersey Girl was the first film in years to make me cry and laugh outloud in the span of two hours. Other such films include Life is Beautiful and Almost Famous. It's not as good as Chasing Amy, but it's still a good movie. Vixen defends Mean Girls but rips Jackson. When you attack him as a director, again you are listing a boring story. You may forget that Hollywood for some 40 years has called Lord of the Rings impossible to adapt to the screen. And while it is not 100% faithful, there are some who feel the books meander, and aren't the best books written on the planet. I am among them. I also feel that the LotR trilogy remains one of the best adaptations I have ever seen. Fight Club may be the best book to film adaptation I have ever seen. Regardless, you claim to be a huge movie buff, and also claim to understand the role a director has in a film, but you've yet to back your claim. You blamed him as a director for the overall story, which the director is not responsible for. You still have yet to really come up with a complaint, let alone a valid complaint about his directing style. Last time I checked, LotR:RotK stands as one of the most highly acclaimed movies in all of cinema history, despite what I feel to be a weak story. The climax is weak, and the main story continues on well past the non-existant show down with Sauron. Yes, Jackson cut down on much of the after-math of the Shire, but as is, many felt the movie was too long. The real climax of the movie was probably the slaying of the Witch King, and not Frodo's battle with Gollum. Jackson is an auteur director who has a strong hold on every aspect of his film's production. The quality of the production is evident throughout moreso than most any other film I have seen. His visual storytelling is quite good, and editting the lengthy films for a theatre is a task that would make most directors cringe. For those who enjoy the story, there are far more details that one can really attempt to cram in. As much as the Harry Potter films turn a profit, one can not help but draw a comparison and see how much better LotR looks in comparison. The Harry Potter books are easier reads, and possibly more enjoyable. Yet the Harry Potter movies leave out major plotlines that weaken character development, where as the LotR movies were much more faithful adaptations overall. I called you a troll, because while I respect an individual's ability to not like LotR, I maintain any true student of film should be able to recognize brilliant talent when they see it. I think Tim Burton in an ass, and I hate half his films, but I recognize him as a great director none the less. Any "movie buff" who puts Mean Girls abot LotR in terms of quality knowns nothing about film.

Killing presidents is bad? Man, you learn something every day.

There are some extrordinary conspiracy theories about these forbidden children of angel and human cross-breeding, and that this bloodline will be at war with the Merovingian line in the end-times. Some also suggest the Catholic Church is secretly controlled by the Grigori line. I suggest that pie is mighty fine!

BG1 I could explore in 25 hours. Try doing that in say Morrowind, Gothic or Ultima 7.

ToEE had a good combat engine which was a plus. Lionheart had a really good city in Barcelona. They both had that going for them. I'm not saying they were great games. I'm saying they had some semblance of a redeeming quality which makes it hard to believe they are the worst games that come to mind.

Are the pictures of certain "B" words?

Now you're talking. Don't forget Pong. I can still play that. Seriously.

My favorite magazines have pictures as well.

Ultima 0 was Alkabeth. Ultima I was when you took on Mondain and his Gem of Immortality.

There were a few incidents I felt the game was tough. For instance, G0T0's yacht without a Force User. Atton and Mira were getting knocked around. When Atton had to single-handedly fight the Twin Suns, that was tough, etc.

There are some pics I want to see. I mean of Yoda and Sidious going at it again, not of well, the other topic being discussed.

http://www.armory.com/~crisper/Scorch/ Happiness is getting the clot in your leg, not in your brain. Happiness is finding out it was only syphillis. Happiness is purging the people who were loyal to you, just for fun. Happiness is Chris Farley, carved like a Thanksgiving Turkey. Happiness is a nymphomaniac lobbyist. Happiness is when the blood of the unbeliever splatters everywhere, yet doesn't land on your wool jacket. Happiness is a canister of nerve gas, a large satchel, and a good running start. Happiness is a hug. Happiness is a hug, delivered in a firm, unyielding way, lingering for just a bit too long, in order to communicate the message "I own you." Happiness is a hug, delivered in a firm, forceful way, snapping the spine just halfway up, in order to communicate the message "You mildly irritated me." Happiness is fear and ignorance. Just trust me on this one. Happiness is the crotch rot coming under control. Happiness is that charming little creaking noise the rack makes during the first turn. Happiness is the skin peeling off in large, satisfying sheets. Happiness is bouncing the rubble. Happiness is keeping the shelter door cracked open a little bit, just to keep things interesting. Happiness is a lead pipe. Scorched Earth Party - "Because love is my bottom line." - Jeff Vogel Scorched Earth Party

I restarted Ocarina of Time recently, and got bored. I made it to Hyrule Castle, and then just put the game down. I dunno. I've never actually beat it. Last time I played it, I loved the game, and got so far as the Shadow Temple, and then my N64 died.

In the fall of '96 a few buddies of mine all decided to seceed from the country and form our own. We posted notes on dorm room doors claiming we now owned said property as part of our own country. No one opposed us, no doubt in fear of our mighty power. Thusly, West Denmark was born. We believe in two political parties. The first is the Scorched Earth party which is all far beating to death the 90% of the world that are too stupid to live. The Beer Party on the other hand is the only party who really promises change. All other parties are the same. They are pro-family and anti-crime. The Beer party is pro-crime and anti-family. However, we don't hold elections as that requires work. I've been a Presidential Candidate for West Denmark for near 9 years now. I don't think the elections will ever really happen though.

I may have to "acquire" those.

There is also this one. http://quizilla.com/users/EnderAndrew/quiz...t%20Denmark%3F/

No, I mean real men hexedit their save games telepathically.

No and very few beat-em up games have online play surprisingly enough.