Reveilled

Yeah, well, your opinion is wrong. Seriously, though, the main issue that people like me have with dubbing is that lines have to be rewritten in order to time correctly with what is happening on screen. When in the original production the character says something that takes three seconds to say, but when translated into english would take seven seconds to say (either because the english words are longer, or more words are required to carry the same meaning), in a subtitled film you'll get the translation of what was said in the original language, while in a dubbed film you'll get a shortened version which doesn't quite mean the same thing (it may have lost some complex meaning or have been bowdlerised), or worse, you'll get something which doesn't mean anything like what was originally said. Case in point, Dragonball Z. I think the show is awful no matter what language it is in, but it is a textbook example of the problems with dubbing. In the English dub, the characters never use the word "kill". They say "send you to another dimension". This is because the dub was made for Childrens' TV, and you can't say such a bad, bad word like "kill" on kids' TV in the United States. The dub changed many parts of the show's dialogue for the sake of marketability. Another example is when Anime are ripped wholesale out of their settings in dubs. To many anime fans, there is nothing more annoying than Japanese characters discussing money in dollar amounts, English teachers becoming Spanish teachers, or worst of all, a film originally set in (for example) Tokyo switching to be set in (again, for example) New York. In the subtitled version, these elements will often (but not, I admit, always) be preserved, and instead of removing Japanese cultural references altogether and replacing them with American ones, shows in which Japanese culture is integral to the show (comedy shows set in present day Japan, for example) will not only be kept in, but translation notes will sometimes be provided. If it isn't an anime that is being actively marketed in the west, the dubbing can often adequately preserve the original meaning, as it is likely then to be an anime being aimed specifically at anime fans. The problem is that when it isn't being actively marketed in the west, the voice actors themselves can often be sub-par. Thus, in the opinion of many anime fans, dubbed anime represents the dumbing down present in the commercialised world of big western films being brought into anime. Subs present the filmaker's original intent behind their film, while the dub represents the "marketer's cut" of the film. Dubbing is to subtitling what consoles are to PCs, if you get my meaning. All in all, I think that it's far better to watch a film in its original language with subtitling, regardless of its country or origin, or whether it is animation or live-action. And I've never noticed this "Oooh Aaah" thing you speak of, personally. (possibly Un-)Interesting Dubbing Fact: The English dubs of the French children's show The Magic Roundabout have absolutely no similarity with the original French episodes' storylines. The writers for the English version threw out the French scripts and wrote new ones using the footage from each episode.

YOU WATCHED IT IN ENGLISH?! :angry: Ugh! That's--that's--that's like pissing on the original artistry of the thing! It's...awful! Phillistines! All of you! Films should be watched as the filmakers intended them to be watched! In the original language! Makes me sick.

Because it's never been done (nevermind the fact that this particular party hasn't always been called Republican)? Theoretically, they can be removed, but theory has never been a good justification for what can or cannot be done in the real world. Getting rid of Bush is easy: just wait three more years. Getting rid of the political elite who propelled Bush to power? Nigh impossible. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Eh? From what I always understood of US Politics, the Democrats (formerly the Democratic-Republicans) have been around since forever, and their opposition has changed as the base ideology of the opposition has died out. The Federalists gave way to the Whigs, who gave way to the Republicans. And at least according to Wikipedia, the republican party was founded in 1854, and "is not to be confused with the Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson or the National Republican Party of Henry Clay". Getting rid of the Republican party might be impossible (at present), but if Bush continues to manage the country and his popularity as he has done already, the Republican party might be able to force its neoconservative and anti-secularist members back on to the fringes of their party. That might be possible. Besides, getting rid of the Republican party itself wouldn't change anything. After all, as little as 50 years ago the deep south used to give stalinesque returns of >90% of the vote to the democratic candidates, but today the republicans are in charge there, and unless the deep south was a hotbed of free love and bleeding-heart liberalism in the 1950s, I'm betting that if the Republican party just disappeared one day, either a third party would step into the breach as the new second party, or the Democrats would become more socially conservative again to take over the south once more.

Maybe now I'll get planning permission from the UN for my glass parking lot. "

Why are we so concerned about Iran when Finnish farmers can have nuclear testing facilities in their greenhouses?

I don't have time for the map right now, so I'll get that tomorrow. Oh, and sorry about not listing who had builds. I completely forgot. :">

My head asplode. Who buys a gaming console for something other than the games?

BWHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ah, this gives the Nintendo fanboy in me a warm and fuzzy feeling. As Hades so eloquently put it, DIE MICROSHAFT DIE! :D

I don't think it's properly explained in the film, but The solar system that Firefly/Serenity is set in was colonised by an alliance between the US and China, making mandarin a second language for most of the characters. Curiously (at least, from what I've noticed in the show and film), it seems that while most spoken word is English (with Chinese swearwords), most written word is Chinese.

What a load of Twaddle! Trinidad and Tobago will pwn j00. When T&T hoist the trophy above their heads, I'll be here to see you eat your words. Forged from the Love of Liberty in the Fires of Hope and Prayer with boundless faith in our destiny We solemnly declare Side by Side we stand Islands of the blue Caribbean Sea This our native land we pledge our lives to thee Here every creed and race find an equal place And may God bless our nation

That was something I used to think about back when I was a good little Catholic boy. Would God look think it okay for me to kill in self defense, or would the only "right" think to do, to truly take the moral highground, be to lay down and die? If I truly believed in God then I had nothing to fear from death, as it would simply bring me closer to God sooner rather than later. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ah, but Eris doesn't bring to heaven those who were unable to appreciate the gift they were given in this life, as they would therefore surely be unable to appreciate the gifts of the next life. Thus, if I allowed myself to be killed, I would be sent to hell for not defending the gift I was given. Of course, I'm not Christian, so maybe those arguments don't apply to my god, but I can see a case for permissable killing in Christianity by virtue of the fact that there is a case for it in my religion.

I've felt bad about it. Whenever I try to roleplay evil people, I always find myself unable to do overtly evil things like mugging or killing people. Taking over a planet and having millions of its inhabitants killed is easy, I just can't do it when I'm on a personal level with my killee.

I dunno. I'm pretty sure my deity's okay with me killing in self defence.

Yeah, let's get ourselves a shiny new glass parking lot!

Newere translations of the bible, like the NIV, list it as Thou shalt not Murder, which certainly makes sense given how many laws in Leviticus have death as a punishment. Since it's God's command telling you to do it (supposedly), it isn't unlawful, so it is killing, but not murder. Supposedly.

Updated. Looks like there might just be one more year in this.

Skankycat? That might be a scandinavian prostitute. "

I think you'll find that when I went down to the beach and saw Kiki, and she was all like "Eeuuhhhh", then I was in fact like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!".

*pulls out a knife* This thread is going to Cuba! No, no, on second thoughts, this thread is going to a French bakery!

What's that got to do with a thread about breakfast foods? Go away, you threadjacker, you!

I think a croissant without wings is suitably European. Maybe a croissant and a little pot of jam. Mmm...what were we talking about, again?

Making beer? "

I think there are already rules in place for offical government buildings. I'd imagine it's got the pagans grinning anyway. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm concerned chiefly with business outlets here, though. But frankly, if government buildings ban overt displays of christianity while allowing overt displays of other religions, then I think that is wrong regardless of any previous institutionalisation of Christianity. If you ban a teacher from saying "Merry Christmas", you must also ban the teacher from saying "Happy Hannukah" or "Eid Mubarack" or any other religious holiday, otherwise it is state-sponsored religious discrimination. Speaking as a Pagan, banning teachers from saying "Merry Christmas" doesn't get me grinning. Similarly, the worker might not have freedom of speech in his place of work, but the owner of a business should. If the owner wants to ban nativity scenes, that is their prerogative, but if the owner wishes to allow them, the government should not ban it.

Back up a second. Regarding stores displaying nativity scenes, are these being banned by the government, or being banned by the higher-ups in the company responding to pressure put upon them by their customers?

"king"? I believe you mean kin. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Woah. I can't believe I've gone 13 years not knowing the lyrics to we wish you a merry christmas because of some piss-poor proof readers for my school's hymn books. That's...mind blowing.