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Messages - Wayne
16
« on: January 22, 2005, 02:28:24 am »
After five uncomfortable months had passed, Xan sighed. He shot Miles in the face, then hooked up with Lan, since she was cute and naked and attracted to other people with serious problems. Kane, who first had a whirlwind (heh) romance with the new priestess, eventually ended up with Yumi. He worked out his differences with Xan, and the two of them double-dated with their chicks and killed like freakin' all the bad guys. Then they lived happily ever after. The End! (?) Yeah, heh, if this thread is going to die with my name on it, then I want it to at least be funny!  )
17
« on: January 06, 2005, 06:41:22 pm »
The only problem with that is that "Sher" (typically spelled as "Shere" or "Sheer," due to pronunciation) is Hindi, not Arabic; and isn't pronounced the same way. It's cool, though; and anything that connects one of my favorite El-Hazard characters (Shayla) to one of my only favorite Disney characters (Shere Khan) is an automatic plus.
According to this site, "Shaila" is a Hindu name meaning "living in mountains," which is actually pretty funny. The closest Arabic name is probably "Salah" (or "Sahlah"), which means something like "smooth" or "soft." (...heh.)
Oh, yeah. Another contender: Ephraim's daughter was named Shera, which is Aramaic (and is a generic name that refers to a female relative).
18
« on: December 26, 2004, 05:15:47 am »
"Mizu" is water, yes. That's about the only one I know. *chuckles*
Most people probably already know this one, but oh well-- "Ifurit" (ee-fur-eet) is literally how the Japanese would pronounce "efreet" (or "ifrit"), which are spirits from Arabic mythology. There's no special term for a female genie, but "Efreeta" (which becomes "Ifurita") seems like a logical extension.
I've seen some Japanese sites actually just call her "Efreeta," which is more technically correct, I guess; but it's just weird. *chuckles*
For even more trivia, the "genie of the lamp" in the story of Aladdin wasn't an efreet or a djinn-- it was a marid. (The genie of the ring was a djinn.) So just think about that next time you watch the last OAV of El-Hazard-- if the Japanese writers had done more research, Makoto might've been yelling "Marida!" And that's just not the same.
19
« on: December 07, 2004, 12:06:13 am »
Sorry to be stupid, but I don't know this one. Understandable; being a video game instead of an anime.  That's Valkyrie Profile, which I own but've never played. *chuckles*
Azumanga FF7 > *. If it was sized differently, that'd be my wallpaper now. :] All the roles are pretty much brilliant, although Chiyo seems out of place as Cait Sith. (But who else would she have been? :\)
As for the anime itself... you'd probably like it, Eric, since you know a lot more about Japan and its culture and language than most of us (or at least me, anyway, heh). Azumanga Daioh (AD) is probably the most "Japanese" anime I've ever watched-- tons of in-jokes, wordplay jokes, and cultural references. I read the subtitles (which helpfully explain about half of them... I think :| ) like a madman, and I'm still not sure what's going on sometimes.
But on the whole it's exceptionally good, and probably the best anime/cartoon derived from a small-panel comic (which the AD manga are-- they resemble American daily strips uncannily). The show is largely comedic with a handful of serious/dramatic moments, and most of the focus is [obviously] on character interaction, which is by far the anime's strongest point (AD is rare in that I liked pretty much all the main characters-- and that never happens).
The big drawback are the couple of episodes that focus on more unusual and surreal happenings (one is the token "dream" episode, which is a complete throwaway except for the punchline (...well, sort of) with Chiyo at the end)-- since most of those are Osaka's, she has the dubious honor of having both the best and worst scenes in the anime (in my opinion, anyway).
...but yeah, long review short (...heh, too late now), it's a very good comedic series that gets better the more you know about Japan. *chuckles*
20
« on: November 02, 2004, 01:51:21 am »
I was surprised when you mentioned that, but yeah; looks like Elecbyte's site is down. :/ Weird. Mugenation still has it available for download, along with a lot of extras. I never really got into Mugen (fighting games on PC? Preposterous!), but it might be fun to try to make El-Hazard characters for it. *chuckles*
Devastator/Sentinel/Justice spans three "games" (well, two games and a mockup picture ) and makes a killer "Killer Robot" team. I'm seeing real potential with a Roll/Shinobu/Allielle team of cute-but-useless little girls, too, heh.
21
« on: October 15, 2004, 01:43:25 am »
Rob-- Pretty cool. Is that from a game you're working on or something?
I always thought El-Hazard would be best suited as an RPG-- I suppose a weak puzzle game like the Saturn one wasn't bad (could've been a lot worse), but one of the primary draws to the show was the sense of mystery and exploration (and a world where the chicks had all the combat power, but I digress ).
Speaking of which, if there were better anime-based fighting games than the atrocious DBZ ones, a game with El Hazard characters would be cool (not enough for their own game, though; unless you wanted to toss in noncombatants). But naturally neither of those will ever happen.
Jinnai-- Yep, KOTOR is one of the best games I've played this year. My top five or so of games always have some Bioware or Black Isle titles up there... Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 2, Knights of the Old Republic. They've had some duds (single-player Neverwinter Nights? :/ Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel?  ), but both companies make (or used to; in BIS's case) some great games.
22
« on: October 13, 2004, 07:40:01 pm »
Ha ha, same here. I turned 22 on July 22nd of this year. *chuckles*
It's interesting how many members posted here that aren't around any longer. Wonder what happened; I highly doubt EHOL would've had a bad string of forum melodrama that always seems to hit the other forums I attend, especially since the average member age is older than most.
23
« on: October 13, 2004, 05:13:00 pm »
Heck, I've played videogames more than when I was a teenager. (Not by much, admittedly, since they were always a large fraction of my time; but a little.)
I play a lot of RPGs, in particular the increasingly mediocre Final Fantasy games and others-- most recently Skies of Arcadia and Square's Threads of Fate. I haven't played Disgaea or any of the other games in that line (I only recently got a PS2).
And speaking of which, for the last week or so it's been Guilty Gear X2 and Dynasty Warriors 4 (in which my brother's been playing most of it and has been trying to get ultimate weapons; I help out with my custom general, Wong Wei ), and a little bit of FF5 (I've never finished it, and I like the job system).
I'm always a year or two behind on games, since I like to wait for the prices to drop a bit before getting anything; it only makes sense. But yeah, I'm a big gamer as well-- so are a lot of people around my age (22), and even my father plays computer games a lot. It's not that rare. :]
24
« on: October 13, 2004, 05:05:16 pm »
Both of Jinnai's voice actors are very, very good at representing both his speaking voice and his cackle. If I had to pick, though, I'd probably lean slightly in favor of the Japanese seiyu, just because the laugh is that much funnier with the Japanese accent to it.
I do like the El-Hazard English dub; all of the characters fit their roles and the variety of accents and styles makes the Japanese dubbing seem almost boring in comparison. (I say "almost" because the Japanese voice work is incredibly good too, and I find that pretty rare in most anime; I'm usually not that impressed by "the original" voice acting.)
The unfortunate exception is Shayla's voice actress. When I first heard her ask about "that Nah-naa-me chick" in her horrible Southern drawl I wanted to jab my bokken in my ear. :-/
And slightly off-topic, I still have to give the award for the best anime cackle to Rumi Kasahara's Pixy Misa. :]
25
« on: October 12, 2004, 11:21:23 pm »
Does anybody else here have an LJ besides us and Jeff? *chuckles* The more the merrier, so:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sirwayne/
And good catch on the El_Hazard name. I like the picture of Qawoor.
26
« on: October 06, 2004, 10:45:44 pm »
 ...
So Jinnai gets to choose between the bug lady, a killer android, and... another killer android.
No wonder the kid is so messed up. :/
27
« on: September 25, 2004, 09:02:14 am »
I see what you mean, Rob. *chuckles*
Lar-- Eh, it happens. I'd join, but I'm already a member of a couple different casual boards, and I'd probably just end up harassing the people on your debate forum with my religious conservatism.
28
« on: September 21, 2004, 02:53:02 pm »
Just in case anyone was wondering where I've been (doubtful, nobody's posted in the RP in the last month and I have zero new PMs, heh), we had... a little incident in late August. I'll go ahead and post this from my LJ:
"During an electrical storm a little over three weeks ago our house was hit (no damage, from what I can see) and our router, DSL modem, and the two connected computers' (mine and Draco's laptop) Ethernet cards were fried. As in dead. :/ Here's basically what happened during that time (and for those curious, I spent my time away from the 'net mostly playing Skies of Arcadia, Threads of Fate, and FF6-- yay for catching up on RPGs)....
We called Southwestern Bell the following Monday (the damage was done on Friday the 27th); the storm had knocked out our phone line (my stepmother insisted that was the only problem, shaking her head and giving me some "Duhs!" when I told her the hardware had been damaged too-- I was a big enough man not to laugh when I was proven right, heh). She didn't let me talk, and the SBC people said to wait until the DSL service was restored (that Friday, the 3rd). We waited. Surprise surprise, it didn't work.
I called on Monday the 6th to tech support, and stated that our old modem (a Speedstream) had been damaged during the storm. They asked me some questions (I'd already run all the tests but unfortunately the girl I was talking to was in India and apparently "I've already verified the problem" wasn't on her script); eventually they connected me to sales and they offered to both send us a 2Wire wireless hub + DSL modem (above my protests that we already had a router and wouldn't need one, heh) and lower our monthly rate to $29.99 (now that one Dad and I jumped at), their new rate. Naturally, being a big company, SBC doesn't advertise that they changed their fees-- if you don't call them, they leave you at the old payment plan. Heh.
So anyway, the modem arrived on Thursday (I think; it was sometime that week). It didn't work. When the modem was plugged in the Ethernet light came on (I used a USB connection cable-- more on that later), but the DSL light never did, despite being properly connected. We called SBC tech support on Friday, and they told us that there was a problem with our DSL line and they'd reconnect on the following Tuesday (the 14th now). I doubted that (the discrepency was the change in our payment rate but with a one-month suspension since we were without service) was the problem, but what to do? Well, that day rolled around and, no surprise, it still didn't work. We called tech support, got someone actually competent, who explained that a lot of 2Wire modems had been shipped with faulty software (as ours was-- the computer could access the modem's IP, but the software was for the wrong modem and messed up the DSL signal). He volunteered to send a fixed 2Wire modem, but I asked for another Speedstream (since we already had a hub), and he confirmed that. 2-3 business days... it arrived last Friday (the 17th).
It didn't work either! Annoyed now I called Efficient (heh) Networks, the company that makes Speedstream modems, and discussed the problem. After confirming that the DSL light came on but the Ethernet LED did not-- whether I connected the modem directly to my computer or the router's WAN port, and couldn't use its IP address to connect with it at all-- he said that it was probably a bad modem as well (I added that I could ping our previous modem, which cinched it), and to call SBC. I do, and this time get someone else from India (or somewhere near there; it was like a female version of Apu from the Simpsons, heh). Grr outsourcing. I think maybe the Democrats are onto something there. Anyway, she can't resolve the problem either (duh), and transfers the call to the mysterious (and American) "level 2" tech support. Felix goes through another couple tests (apparently tech support staff never share notes), then asks me to try connecting the new modem to another computer. I grab Draco's laptop and plug it in-- nothing doing, no Ethernet light. He thinks that's odd, and offers to send a tech over on Monday (yesterday, now)-- if the modem needs replaced, like I think, there's no charge (but obviously if he fixes a problem on-site then there is). I mention this to Dad and Sue and they think it's cool, so we confirm it.
A tech (who, surprisingly, actually lives here in Fulton) drops by around noon (fortunately I eat late-- unfortunately my friends call late and I get about a 15-minute interruption in my pizza due to consecutive phone calls regarding D&D, grr... but that's a different story). I have the modem in hand and he plugs it in to his laptop. It works instantly. To add insult to injury he plugs in the DSL line and brings up an IE window. *sigh* He suggests that maybe the storm blew out both my computer's and the laptop's Ethernet cards (if you remember from paragraph #1 that is indeed what happened), and to try replacing them, since obviously the modem was good. I'm puzzled as to how the 2Wire worked on the new one did not-- until I remember that I used USB to connect the 2Wire modem! A bit more sheepish now I sign his form (and the notice that $60 will be added to our phone bill for his visit) and wait until after dinner. We drop by Radio Shack, get a new Ethernet card and a wireless card for Draco's laptop (and immediately add a bloody surge protector), and head back home. ...we then realize that our "new" router (bought and installed two days before the storm) was damaged too! We fly back to Radio Shack with about ten minutes before closing (I do not speed, naturally :] ), hand in the router and grab another (Linksys Wireless-B), and head back home. Plug in, set up... and "We get signal."
And it's about freakin' time."
So, let that be a lesson... of some kind... to everyone. Always use surge protectors (even though they don't always work :-/), and remember that even a major setback can have some good results (why, if I hadn't been disconnected, I would've never beaten those three older RPGs! ... >_>).
And I guess there's another lesson about the incompetence of major companies (I left out just how many hours we racked up on hold in those various phone calls; it averaged out to around 15 minutes apiece) and the "side effect" of the outsourcing problem, but I digress.
Anyway! Back and glad to see the site seems to be up and running steadily, which is cool. Hope everyone else is doing well, and remember there's only a little over three months before Christmas. 
29
« on: August 26, 2004, 03:45:57 am »
Sorry; I was waiting on the folks who didn't post in that last "cycle." So here we go.
Fuji-- Sounds good, but I hope you can get Miles to a medic or something. Xan would be a tough guy to take down for a soldier in good condition; your guy's been getting beaten down, smacked around, wounded, and now his nose broken. He really doesn't stand a chance in his current condition-- large amounts of pain are a big handicap in gunfights. *chuckles*--- The Roshtarian sun rose slowly, and although Xan had enough light to see by he took his time jumping from rooftop to rooftop. His agility was exceptional; as typical for his race what he lacked in sheer physical strength he made up for in speed, and had little trouble clearing gaps that would challenge all but the best-trained humans. Of course, a decade of learning to fight and kill had such dividends. And unlike some Xan relished his training, spending much of his days constantly improving himself and his capabilities... all for the purpose of assassinating their hated enemies in El-Hazard. He'd been so effective the sheer thrill of life-or-death struggle had been lost on him, and he never particularly enjoyed hand-to-hand combat... so he had taken to using guns, and developed his own code of sportsmanship to ensure the "prey" had a fair chance at survival. It was not out of compassion, but rather the dark knowledge that those who were engaged in combat, and lived long enough to realize they were the hunted and would inevitably die and their resistance only prolonged the end... that was what he lived for. The humans deserved no better. Most weren't worthy of his attention, or had done nothing specifically "wrong" against him or his people. But forty-one years prior one human, his friend, and his pet demon goddess put an end to last grand plan of the Phantom Tribe and its leaders. Makoto and Ifurita might be out of reach, if the rumors were true... but other rumors said they had left behind a daughter, and his old friends-- and their family, increased through the years-- were still alive. But not for much longer.Such thoughts consumed him as he ran and leaped across the tops of the city, bound for the palace. He thought about facing Kane and his friends again, and paying him back for what he did... a fine hunt, a grand fight... and the end of another human related to those he was sworn to kill. And he grinned. --- Xan's route soon ended on a guardhouse near the palace proper, and to his surprise in the distance he saw a pair of humans leave back through the doors, enter a vehicle of some kind... and then drive back into the palace. He shook his head-- he couldn't be sure at that range, around a hundred feet; but one seemed to be a woman and the other didn't look like Kane-- though the girl did, oddly-- and put the incident out of mind. Sena had said that the youngest Jinnai was in the throne room when she had identified him, and that was where he would begin. --- And that's also where I end. Fuji, your post makes it sound like he fell all the way down to the ground outside the palace (which would really hurt if he dropped from the throne room or anywhere near there, heh). If that's the case you can start the duel, since Xan's likewise on the grounds. If not (and he's still in the palace) then let me know; and if you want to do anything special for the duel or delay it a bit you can PM me or post it (since, again, Miles doesn't have much of a chance in his present condition, heh).
I also went ahead and advanced the clock a bit towards a little into dawn. This is because we have normal humans running around a really big castle in the dark-- which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. *chuckles* Plus it sort of helps provide a reasonable timetable, since nobody really knows just how much time has passed, and somebody needs to put their foot down, darn it.
30
« on: August 06, 2004, 04:49:43 am »
Utena is much better with a side of Thumbnail Theater.
I never took to the series myself... too long to get into, and really, really bizarre at points. Plus there's the minor fact that I'm a conservative religious guy and Utena's got... stuff. *chuckles* It does get points for the art and animation, though.
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