>> ^TheFreak:
That's the type of thing that's so immensely power that you expect someone to die just from being in relative proximity to the event.


Yeah, I had a Marvin the Martian moment when it was over...

"Where's the KABOOM?!? There's supposed to be an earth shattering KABOOM!!"

Just saying no offense before you say something doesn't just make everything you say okay. I would say some of the drugs I've used can give you quite an extreme and earth shattering experience, BUT time and again they have been proven not to be deadly or harmful. It is easier to overdose and die from alcohol than most of these drugs. So in that respect it's quite unlike Evil Knievel, because his stunts actually had quite some chance of death and I'm sure he knew this as well.

No offense, but you need to chill the fuck out, we were just engaging in debate on the basis of your statement.

Otherwise, here are some free Rules of Thumb for improving your writing skills. Most of them apply in other languages as well.
(from my pal Rootlesstree) :

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat).
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons are bad too.
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands and abbreviations, etc.
18. One -word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is probably not the best way to propose earth shattering ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a million times worse than understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you (have) any words out.

Where was the kaboom?? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!

well i guess the most important thing is how it is "to you"

for me, it's nonsense not to put the numbers in either ascending or descending order according to the size of the unit.

but hey.


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Well, to me, it's all about the way that's it's written.

129908 is 12 September, 2008. The same goes for 12.9.08

But when using a slash, like 9/12/08, it's September 9, 2008.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
nice one for giving me the opportunity to rant about the retarded way americans insist on writing the date

you didn't "correct" the date format, you americanised it. I like the symbolism, american marine tells the world how to write dates, and thinks he's doing an educational favour.

just kidding around, it's obviously not earth shatteringly important. but seriously, month, THEN day, THEN year?


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Wait - what's your pet hate? People correcting the way dates are written or people that write dates like that?

because you say "Nice one" with a smile, and at the same time, downvote my comment.... I'm lost...

In reply to this comment by MINK:
heads up! i replied...

you just made my day! hit one of my pedantic pet hates right on the button!
nice one


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
4/9/2008 = April 9, 2008
9/4/2008= September 2, 2008

hence "9/11"

Well, to me, it's all about the way that's it's written.

129908 is 12 September, 2008. The same goes for 12.9.08

But when using a slash, like 9/12/08, it's September 9, 2008.

In reply to this comment by MINK:
nice one for giving me the opportunity to rant about the retarded way americans insist on writing the date

you didn't "correct" the date format, you americanised it. I like the symbolism, american marine tells the world how to write dates, and thinks he's doing an educational favour.

just kidding around, it's obviously not earth shatteringly important. but seriously, month, THEN day, THEN year?


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Wait - what's your pet hate? People correcting the way dates are written or people that write dates like that?

because you say "Nice one" with a smile, and at the same time, downvote my comment.... I'm lost...

In reply to this comment by MINK:
heads up! i replied...

you just made my day! hit one of my pedantic pet hates right on the button!
nice one


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
4/9/2008 = April 9, 2008
9/4/2008= September 2, 2008

hence "9/11"

nice one for giving me the opportunity to rant about the retarded way americans insist on writing the date

you didn't "correct" the date format, you americanised it. I like the symbolism, american marine tells the world how to write dates, and thinks he's doing an educational favour.

just kidding around, it's obviously not earth shatteringly important. but seriously, month, THEN day, THEN year?


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Wait - what's your pet hate? People correcting the way dates are written or people that write dates like that?

because you say "Nice one" with a smile, and at the same time, downvote my comment.... I'm lost...

In reply to this comment by MINK:
heads up! i replied...

you just made my day! hit one of my pedantic pet hates right on the button!
nice one


In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
4/9/2008 = April 9, 2008
9/4/2008= September 2, 2008

hence "9/11"

Where is the earth-shattering kaboom?

>> ^Rotty:
I can understand the "wow factor" if your reference is the Amiga - but really, there's nothing earth-shattering here. Nice, but...


It's hard to beat old demos like Second Reality.

>> ^residue:
It's a shame this had to happen to "Baby chimp plays a guys stomach like a bongo"


I know, right?? I thought it was top 15 material for sure, but so far it's only got three votes, so maybe it isn't quite as Earth-shatteringly awesome as I thought. I do have a soft spot for chimps, as you might imagine.

Anyway, I tried arvana's suggestion, and everything seems to be working fine now, so it looks like his cookie theory is correct.

>> ^Sarzy:
And no, I didn't just pick the first sex video I found and throw it up here. I really and truly believe that this is a great video, something people should see and worthy of being on the site.


Sarzy, my agreeing it is a great scene does nothing to alleviate my strong feeling that it shouldn't be here. I can find tons of beautiful, magical, artistic sex scenes from world cinema. There are probably sites for appreciating that kind of content, but I don't want this to be one of them. Porn has a connotation of cheap : fair enough, don't call this porn; this is adult content. I don't know about this being something "people should see." I bet I can find tons of more moving, more arousing, more beautiful sex scenes, at least by my lights. There is no social crusade needed here. This isn't a dirty secret that needed to be exposed. Yes, Nicole kidman's character is more turned on by her own beauty than the touch of her lover. Not earth shattering. The Greeks talked about that a couple of thoousand years ago.

I can understand the "wow factor" if your reference is the Amiga - but really, there's nothing earth-shattering here. Nice, but...

QM, No.. Insight Magazine is owned by Washington (Moonie) Times. Rev. Crazy-ass Moon is a media mogul, just like Rupert Murdoch.

Fact is that any reasonable "news" outlet has two sources, or at least does 5 minutes of googling and/or research to confirm the BREAKING STORY. But what Faux News does is report any crazy crap and have fifteen minute speculation tirades (how is this news?) on completely fictional made-up crap. Do they call Obama campaign? Do they call Insight? Do they try to find out anything about the school / terrist training center? Do they read one of his two books? No, of course, you are right, it is the CommieNews folks fault. Clearly.

When FoxNews has two of its programs covering FauxNews(tm) of some made up smear campaign... and no other network is talking about said Earth-shattering journalistic breaking story.. That tells me Murdoch planned his ooops-how-could-we-know smear. And to say Moonie Times and Murdoch are not lock-step with der fuehrer is just as stupid as your assessment of Bush.

something profound and earth shattering with the utmost tact, i'm sure!

Marvin The Martin: Where's the KABOOM? There was supposed to be an earth shattering KaBOOM!