Oh, my god. I need one of those soooo bad. You have no idea what my commute has been like ever since the elephants figured out how to wear disguises.
It’s kind of weird that two of these stories happened within a week or two of one another … somebody must have been giving the damn lions driver’s ed or something.
Space is vast. Lots and lots of open… well… space…
Epic Space Battles seem to ignore that. 
It’s worst with Japanese Sci-Fi. :lol:
EDIT
I love how the most dark hearted of the Star Trek captains, ended up becoming a god. :twisted:
Considering DS9 and its dark tones and spirituality, why were so many people caught off guard with BSG’s reboot? Hell, from episode one Moore introduced spiritual and mystical concepts and still people bitched about the spiritual aspects of the last season.
But yes, it is a bit odd about the battles… but probably realistic. I don’t think human (and similar being) perception lends itself well to space battles, so warfare would probably be as confined as the shows demonstrate.
Humans don’t fight wars unassisted anymore. Naval battles are fought hundreds of miles apart. Missiles hit targets waaaaay beyond the horizon of human sight. Computers do all the work. If you have a weapon that can fire and destroy targets from 5000 miles away, you use that weapon from 5000 miles away… not until the enemy is 50 feet away (unless you’ve got a death wish). A realistic space battle would be fought from the distant range that the weapons operate from ¬ñ just how modern naval ships battle miles apart.
Star Trek and Star Wars are fighting naval battles like the old canon and sailing ships did… who only fought that way, because their guns would only shoot from a visual distance (and sometimes only right next to the target). I think they do it for the visual appeal, rather than the realism… like the sound in space deal.
We still have close combat situtations with ships from time to time, as well as with tanks and aircraft. Life isn’t like “Battleship”, where ships simply remain distant and firing salvos at long distances. That might work in some battles, others however will be forced into the close combat as depicted in Star Trek/Star Wars.
Really though, we have long range missiles now and still send infranty into the thick of battle. Why would the future be any different?
I think you are missing Narg’s point. There is no doubting that the chance of a close battle still exists. However, given the current and foreseeable future of warfare (provided, of course, the world doesn’t somehow fall in to a new dark age), the chances of such a battle dwindle with each new technological development. In a future with space battles, there is no reason to believe this would change. In any case, Narg’s point is that these space battles always are up close and personal.
As for your comment about infantry and long range missiles, it is like comparing a sword and a scalpel. Yes, a missile will kill enemies just the same. However, if the chance of collateral damage exists, they will send in infantry. Believe me, armed forces would much rather use a missile, as it doesn’t risk the lost of an asset which costs a hell of a lot more than a missile (in more ways than one). In the vastness of space as depicted in such SciFi, the worry of collateral damage is practically nill, unlike the worries about battle in Earth orbit (what with all those fragile satellites). All you need do is look at the uproar over China’s use of an ASAT missile for example of the uproar about the use of weapons in Earth orbit.
I understand the collateral damage point and infantry. I don’t see that changing in war regardless of technology. In fact, it is more likely that collateral will grow worse as our destructive capabilities progress.
Ship to ship battles in Star Wars and Star Trek are almost always so close due to the nature of the narrative. Usually the ships “bump” into each-other in proximity and start fighting or they are close to each-other at the beginning of the battle to start off. There have been several scenes where there is an attempt at long range tactics, but as with real ship to ship battles that will usually devolve into close combat or retreats if it is drawn out. Quite frankly, the only “long range” fighting that should be prevalent is ground to air. But usually the ships are at an advantage in these examples or the fights are short.
What Superman is teaching your kids.
Where’s my money, bitch?
Don’t make me ask twice.
What’da ya mean you were tired?
Superman. Beating Wonder Women since the the 1990’s.
I bet they got the idea from a game/cartoon/movie/etc. :roll:
U.S. military children arrested in Japan
As if the US military needed any more issues in Japan about crime.
… are people just cruel or simply stupid? Rope, across a road? How can someone not think that is dangerous?!?
However, this is not limited to US kids/citizens either. I saw plenty of dumb/cruel things that Japanese do that are similar when I lived there.
I’m not sure about that. If I recall correctly, in WWII, retreating German forces often strung piano wire across roads to decapitate Allied forces in Jeeps. Maybe some genius in the group heard a story about that and thought, “Hey, I wonder what happens when you do something like that”, then went and did it with rope.
Piano wire would seriously maim, and probably kill, you. But it would be unlikely to decapitate you. Instead, you would be ripped off of the bike, violently, and swivel around the wire by your neck. This would probably slash your neck very severely, but because there is nothing holding the rider to the bike, it is unlikely to be powerful enough to penetrate and fully sever the spine. The connection between the bike and the rider will be rent asunder before the rider’s neck.
And that’s if it manages to catch you at just the right angle. If it was high, and hit the helmet, it’d probably break as it tried to slide over your head. If it was low, it might be stopped by the clothing and simply cause a bad accident.
I would like to present the world’s greatest piece of erotic literature, written in the late 19th Century. No eroge has contained anywhere near one million words plus of ero-scene text - in fact, it’s probably outright longer than any eroge that’s been released so far (in as much as you can compare languages/translations in that way), and more remarkably My Secret Life achieves that without discussing anything outside of sex.
The chapter headings by themselves are incredible, for example; Molly’s virginity verified. ¬ï All three on the bed. ¬ï Molly refuses me. Betsy’s rage. ¬ï My prick up Betsy temporarily. ¬ï Molly convinced. ¬ï I mount her. ¬ï A wriggler and screecher. ¬ï The bed pillow employed. ¬ï Stroke number one. ¬ï The bloody sequel. ¬ï Stroke number two. ¬ï Betsy screwed. ¬ï Stroke number three. ¬ï Molly spends. ¬ï A night’s cock-work. ¬ï Three in a bed. ¬ï Three weeks with Molly. ¬ï My erotic whims. ¬ï Difficult postures. ¬ï Betsy’s assistance. ¬ï Molly on Betsy. ¬ï I fuck Betsy. ¬ï Molly jealous. ¬ï Betsy frigging herself. ¬ï Sudden disappearance of the two. ¬ï Reasons months after. ¬ï The washerwoman in quod. ¬ï The Priest’s interference. ¬ï With Betsy in a Bath. ¬ï Fucking under water. ¬ï The Brothel in J***s St. closed.
Furthermore and more importantly, you can pick almost any paragraph in the book, and it will almost inevitably be thoroughly amusing and ‘educational’, one example being; 'What I saw through the peephole had one special consequence. It satisfied me that my prick was a full sized one, and well beyond the average rather than less. - Out of a hundred which I saw, there were not as far as I could judge twenty larger than mine, and Sarah said there were not ten. I saw one or two Brobdingnagians, perfect battering rams, but the largest of all was the titanic shaft of the man who whacked Sarah’s buttocks with it and knocked it hard on the table as well, tho its big plum shaped, swollen head was bare of foreskin, and was carmine with lust. Sarah said his was the largest she had ever seen, and that talking with others of her class who had also seen it, they were all of the same opinion. ’
As well as being filled with humour and general depravity, the book also provides very interesting insights into late 19th Century Victorian Society at large. Therefore, I encourage everyone to read it, if nothing else, for science. 
Yes. Sadly the one ugliness in the game. Pity too considering the real beauty of football… (okay, definitely not that noise someone thought was music):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88kZWeF7sLg
Edit:
And http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHS-lMJUqGQ … better music too, still doesn’t really fit the pace of the clips though.
well there is a good side and there is a bad side and then there is an ugly side. Just because Henry mad a lapse of reason, France go to to world cup while ireland stay out.
Another thing that amazes me is, people are crying of recession and inflation everywhere, at times like this a team just shamelessly spends money on players, http://www.betinf.com/spain_transfer.htm being a madrid supporter myself, I would like the best players to come to the team, but this amount of money is crazy…
Some of the contracts are ridiculous… but being Rossanerri, I’m not complaining about the breathing room that Madrid’s spending spree gave us.
I detest the diving in football, and the salaries from time to time, but it is all worth it on match-day. Even one game like Italy-Germany (2006 WC) or even the recent Bari-Juventus match is worth suffering the ugliness. No other sport can touch the grandeur and wonder of football. Really looking forward to June now… looking forward to seeing how well both England and the US will do given their draw and yet deeply amazed at how many people favour the ever choking Spaniards and Brasil. For some reason, I just don’t see either team going all that far. In fact, England, like Italy in 2006, seems to have that “aura” about them. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the drought end.
But, despite that… FORZA ITALIA!
Actually I have been supporting Spain for a long time, their culture is totally different from the rest of word, so they struggle to adapt sometimes. Their team is very strong right now. The thing with Brazil and Argentina is that football is dominant sport there, especially in Brazil, so people put everything on the game, elevating it to a religion like status.
As with England, they have good team, but unless they manage to get a good goalkeeper, even Capello can’t do much, and Rooney doesn’t have a complementary strike partner right now.
Italy, in 2006 only had the aura of the alleged match fixing scandal.
anyway I am looking forward to June too, I hope spain put together a good run.