Spidey243 : Yeah, I just happen to be around those types of people XD I think most of them are theater people, because most of the people on my floor were theater majors and I've met many others after that have done theater in some way. I even do theater myself and have often met people my age who still collect Pokémon cards and games 

I actually used to collect Barbies around the time I was 12. When I say that, I mean that I got collector-grade Barbies that never left the box. I ended up donating them to a charity auction a while back and they all sold. But the lady who started me on them was my babysitter and mother of my best friend at the time. She was a hard-core collector and had probably around  400 dolls or more the last time I saw her collection (I was about 9 then and now I'm 23). As for MLP, many of my college dorm-mates would buy blank pony figures and paint them themselves or would collect different figures of their favorite pony from the show. I think there were about 4 people on my floor who would do this and they could often be seen or heard talking and swapping tips on how to fix the hair of a particular model (usually Pinkie Pie), so yes, adult women do collect Barbies and MLP figures, you just have to know where to find them!

ranger master : I had encountered the same problem and yes, you can, you just have to assign the buttons by double-clicking the screen. It will go through the assignments with you, just make sure you press only the button you want to assign the symbol to! If you press the wrong button, you'll have to re-assign the buttons from the start again!

David-san, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for lowering the price on the PSX accessory: I had been trying so hard to earn enough Viz for this item that I nearly cried when I saw your announcement just a few minutes ago. I will be happily playing these games for months to come! THANK YOU. So much.

   God bless,
            Shatatomyo 

If Demons didn't exist, wouldn't that prove that angels don't exist? Think about it: Satan was exiled with other angels who followed him, but they could no longer be called angels, so what would you call them? Another good question would be where did the term demon come from? Are Evil spirits and demons one in the same? If not, what is the difference? I think we can agree that Satan is not God, thus he needs lackeys to send out, wouldn't he? Then again, God sends angels as messengers, so how exactly do demon work? By bringing chaos into a home or by agitating the chaos already there? I just keep coming up with more questions. In any case, have you tried to talk to a demonologist or an exorcist? They may be able to help you understand with support from the Bible (of course, I could be wrong as I haven't done that myself and have yet to need to).

I'm a bit lukewarm on the subject: I find them fascinating from a cultural perspective (like Ireland's Fae, Japan's Oni, ect.), but as to the actual existence of Big Foot and the Chupacabra, well, I think it is within the realm of possibility, though so far most evidence has been either forged or too blurry to be believed. People who aren't believers may question me on why I believe in God, but not so much in these legends and my answer would be somewhere within the realm of 'I have eyewitness reports right here' and pull out my bible. At least the Bible is chronologically accurate. As for the 'monsters' being within the realm of possibility, scientifically they could be possible. If you think about it, there is much about the world that we don't know or haven't even seen. Who am I to say that such things don't exist right here and now due to natural selection (not to be confused with evolution)? These legends could have been man-made without us knowing, since mutations are not unheard of. It is either this, or the witnesses saw a like animal and thought it was something else entirely (I'm thinking Manatee and Mermaid). This is all just conjecture on my part, though. 

Of course you can! Fellowship is important, but it is only one part of a relationship with Christ. The fact that you are even asking this question just goes to show that yes, there can be faith without religion. Religion is like a set of rules and represents more man than God, which is probably one of the reasons why you feel the way you do. I myself have a huge problem with Mega-churches for about the same reasons: they focus the teachings on you and how God can benefit you and how God is there for you. This isn't to say that God doesn't care about us, we are his creations after all, but the problem is that it isn't all about us. It is about him and what he did. 

The church is the people, but if the people are self-centered and don't care for other's spiritual needs, how can they then be called a church? Now while it is good to have alone time with God yourself, don't count out the importance of fellowship. Start a study group that focuses on teaching exactly what is in the Bible without deviating from the context. A chapter by chapter teaching will not only help you grow, but will help those who come grow in their faith as well. Researching to supplement what you don't understand is also a good idea, just make sure that, once again, don't deviate from the context (that means little or no book-jumping! The last thing you need is spiritual ADD, though if you need something specific to illustrate a point in the present reading, that is okay). I hope this helps and I pray you will grow in your faith even more as you step out on your own, my friend.

Your sister in Christ,
               Shatatomyo

I'd like to buy a vowel :3 ---> A

Alcohol itself isn't the problem, though people have long since forgotten why they are adverse to it. I think, and feel free to disagree, that it is the behavior of having too much alcohol; acting in a manner unfit for a follower of Christ. In Biblical times, the water was often unsafe to drink (sheep piss, anyone?) and that is why wine was used more often then. Now, wine is more for commemorating events than it was then. The real fear is that some denominations believe that you can lose your salvation by doing the wrong thing. So, removing the temptation will remove one more way to lose your salvation. The way that I have been taught, however, is that there is no way to lose your salvation once you have it. You can remove yourself from the belief, but the salvation factor is still there. You either have it, or you don't because you've never heard it. Am I making any sense?
In any case, I personally drink wine myself occasionally!

I guess it does a little bit: I had some friends who did it occasionally, but they weren't Christian, so they wouldn't get why it would bother me at all. I'd maybe grimace, but I usually didn't say much about it. I knew that it was inexcusable for me to do that and I lived to be an example for my friends. This  does not mean that I didn't curse myself, though I tried hard not to and succeeded more often than not. We can't always control our actions and some words I didn't consider as curses such as 'crap'. It is a somewhat charged question because it depends on who is listening.

I have a few favorites: Kiki's Delivery Service (the older version, not the crappy anniversary 2010 edition. It made me cry), Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Cat Returns. I absolutely love Billy Crystal as Calcifer and Anne Hathaway as Haru! Phil Hartman did a fantastic job as Gigi, which is why I can't stand the 2010 edit of Kiki because they cut out many of his parts and then had the nerve to dedicate the edition to his memory. Yeah, thanks Disney! Way to remember Phil! I'm sorry about my rant, but I feel pretty strongly about this issue.

This is kind of a hard question, because I play RPGs (turn-based) so it is rare to have a cheap death, but there was one time when I was playing Pokemon with a friend and we were trying to do a Wedlocke challenge (something I've never done before) and not ten minutes into the game I failed the challenge... death by Pidgey.
Another time I had difficulty with a game, it was (shockingly) Lunar: Silver Start Story. Funnily enough, this later became the first game I ever beat. I actually got stuck trying to beat the second boss of the game. No matter how much I leveled up or strategized, I could not beat this stupid giant sewer snake-dragon thing! It frustrated me that when I let my friend borrow it (different friend), she was easily able to beat the game in a weekend. I'm glad I tried to beat it after she gave it back because it quickly became one of my all-time favorite old-style RPGs (the second being Golden Sun)! 

I recently bought/pre-ordered two game this month. I bought Atelier Rorona Plus and I pre-ordered Fairy Fencer F both for the PS3. I used a gift card for Rorona, but FFF cost me somewhere around $45? For a game that hadn't been released yet, the price was spectacular...until I started to play it. The tutorials are just plain annoying and try to cram way too much information in sitting. Rorona is an absolute treasure just like I expected it to be because I love the Atelier series and the tutorials are partially interactive as well, so you don't feel too overwhelmed by the alchemy system.

That is actually a much harder question to answer than most might think! I'm a huge fan of RPGs, especially turn-based old style ones like Golden Sun, the early Final Fantasies, Lunar, Dragon Quest Monsters, ect. I've only recently gotten into games made by NIS, which is quickly becoming another favorite studio of mine (and that is impressive because I am super picky). I've gotten into the Atelier series and am currently playing Rorona plus, but I also have Meruru, Annie, and Ayesha. Annie is the first I played from the series and despite that it is a time-management game, it is incredibly addicting. Turn-based battles are only a part of the game rather than what the game is based on like so many other RPGs. The entire Alchemy system is mind-blowing in and of itself and the fact that the Alchemist is the only person in your party that can use items makes you second-guess whether or not to heal your team mate now or wait another turn and risk them fainting. On top of all this, you usually have some kind of competition or task-based missions that you must complete within a certain time. So not only do you have to make the items requested, but you have to gather the ingredients and make the items before the due date. You get more points if you finish early, but get a game over if you fail. The characters are fairly easy to get along with and have some fairly well-developed back stories that you can uncover by completing requests from them. I could go on all day about why I adore this series, but I won't keep you. I love the Atelier series because you are involved the entire time and time is of the essence. 

Thank you for your comment! You are right that Japanese people do have pride and they should: they have a long and rich history that influences many things, the entertainment industry being one of them. How about other countries? I just got done watching a promising French film called Ernest and Celestine and it had a lot to say about racial differences and even points, in some cases, to the fact that despite how we look on the outside, we really are the same. The scene where there are two identical court cases are being held. The similarities between the mice and the bears' justice system lead both judges to let Ernest and Celestine go unpunished, in a sense. This is more of a world rather than a cultural lesson, but the fact that it applies to pretty much anyone would probably knock the socks off of some people who hold blind fear and hatred toward another race/culture. The U.S. and Iraq come to mind in particular. 

Thank you for your post! The answers do help, even they aren't exactly what I meant. I love studio Ghibli myself and I am studying to become a animator. As for the benefits of watching these films, what kind of cultural benefits would you gain? As a result of watching these movies, do you have a better sense of Japanese culture? How about a different perspective of the world as a whole? Once again, thank you for answering and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Hello everyone!
   
   Just to give you the skinny here: I am writing a 7-8 page paper on foreign animated (family) films and their impact on US culture, so to speak (it is a little more complicated than that, but this is the gist).

   This is where you guys come in: I want to generate a serious discussion, meaning scholarly language/thoughts/ideas in response to each other and the questions I will post here. Please be courteous and do not just put 'I agree' or 'I disagree' as this will not help at all. So, without further ado;
1. What is your favorite foreign animated film (any countries outside the US) and why? Please list the title, year, and country of origin!
2.Do you feel this film you chose needs more recognition?
3. What are the benefits to watching foreign films in general?

   I think I'll leave it there for now and hopefully more questions may be generated! Thank you for all who decide to participate in this discussion, I can't thank you enough. The discussion will end on June 21st, 2014.

I hope so too, but it may take awhile...

Well, I have never made a game, so I don't if I can be of any help, but I like puzzles. Some of the best ones I've encountered so far are from Golden Sun (many light and pushing puzzles as well as ability-activated puzzles), Chrono Trigger (time-solving), Lunar: Silver Star Story (I almost always get stuck wandering the last castle for an hour or two), and recently I played The Star Stealing Prince made by Star Cadets and it had a really good (somewhat difficult) statue puzzle where you had ask for clues from each statue in order to give them their names back. There were a lot of statues and I had to use a pen and paper... I hope that helps a little!

It isn't the metro app screen. I'm having the exact same problem and I followed all the instructions on the help forum. The new update is Windows 8.1 and I just had it installed yesterday. I've been trying to get the plugin to work, but nothing is working. I don't know if the new overhaul is just incompatible for the current version of the plugin, but whatever the reason, the usual tricks don't work with this problem.