Res

What's up with Robin being left-handed? (I skim-read this thread to see if anyone else had brought it up and didn't see anything - am I missing something?)

The rational argument for keeping and maintaining natural parks and endangered species lies in their ecological value; scientists were amongst the first people to establish national parks, and science and national parks have had a symbiotic relationship forever. The land is not just sitting there doing nothing and no rationalist would even attempt to argue that. Your understanding of what is and isn't rational seems faulty here. The rational argument for hospice care lies in the acknowledgement that human beings have personal autonomy. What does get debated is when the person themselves chooses euthanasia, or is rendered completely incapable of decision making, but that doesn't necessarily apply to people in hospice care. I'm not sure what your last paragraph is attempting to prove. In modern society many decisions, including the majority of current laws, are based upon reason and knowledge rather than religious belief or emotional response. That one can draw strength from such beliefs in no way dictates that humans should believe in a god(s). It's also possible for people to be negatively affected by the belief in a god. Really, one's belief in a god should be an absolute personal matter. It's also tough to say to what degree religion is harmful/beneficial due to its inherent nature; it's virtually impossible to raise someone from birth to have a neutral stance on all belief systems.

Gyro >>> Taco (if you can find a decent one, that is!)

Sorry! And yeah, I've always struggled with my weight anyway thanks to hypothyroidism, but it's been *harder* for sure, and my husband has gained 20 lb in his 30s... I'm also losing hair, but I've also been off thyroid meds for several months (my endo retired) so I'm hoping that'll cease once I find someone new. Kids don't help. And the lack of sleep...

Shortly after 30 was the point for my husband and I at which we really seemed to start aging. I think we still look younger than our actual ages (I still have no crow's feet) but there's more of a difference between 31 and 33 than between 20 and 29.

This is fabulous, A++ photo

Ooh, Sean Spicer has resigned.

Er... nothing extra, so I guess the usual meat/tzatziki/tomato/onion and whatever spices are used.

Well, except King Arthur likely didn't even exist, which only goes to illustrate how easily history is distorted!

That's true, but at least he seemed to comprehend what it was there. In the part I quoted it sounds more like he's referring to life insurance?! ...eh, not that it matters anyway, at this rate.

That's true, but at least he seemed to comprehend what it was there. In the part I quoted it sounds more like he's referring to life insurance?! ...eh, not that it matters anyway, at this rate.

Does Trump understand what healthcare is? Relevant bit quoted from this transcript: "TRUMP: But what it does, Maggie, it means it gets tougher and tougher. As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of."

Yikes, that sounds awful, I'm sorry. The longest I've been without a shower was 3 days and that was bad enough!

Takumi is the only character I'm really rooting for and if he's not in the game I'll probably not be buying it.

I didn't see the dentist for nine years in my 20s; luckily I inherited good teeth genetics and I was fine, still no fillings. :) My brother and younger sister have been the same height since they were about 5 and 3; however, there's only 2 years between them. Niko's predicted to end up roughly 8 inches taller than Anya so he'll overtake her at some point, just a question of when! I'll have to look at their charts to see when their curves might collide.

Oh, and my brother is due with his first in Dec; first cousins for my kids from my side of the family. There's only 5 lb difference between my two right now; I wonder if Niko will overtake his big sister?

Ooh, a Hobbit-style party sounds fab! 3 is definitely worse... I can't believe Est is standing already! And I hear teeth that come later are stronger. ;) (I googled and apparently some dentists believe this to be true?)

I agree that I'd rather it was Jaime than any other little brother. I'm not really sure what I want from Arya; it's fun watching her enact revenge, but I'm far more curious about/invested in Sansa and Jon and the others.

I enjoyed the season premier; I feel as if they are continuing the strengths of last season (IMO the best season) and it's good to see the more even-handed treatment of the male and female characters continue. Arya's scene was fabulous and a great way to open the episode. The editing in Sam's scene was great and really drove home the drudgery. It was good to see Jon behave as a true leader, even if it was at Sansa's expense. What do you think of the theory that Arya might kill Jaime, don his face and kill Cersei, thus fulfilling two prophecies/promises?

The problem is when Mathilda's ending is viewed in context of all the other women's endings: - Celica marries and is inferior to her husband - Mae marries and has kids - Genny marries - Delthea returns to her village, marries and has kids and doesn't touch magic again (although at least her character has a basis there) - Tatiana remains obsessed with Zeke - Clair marries (down) - Faye returns to her village, marries and has kids (and yet still pines after Alm) The only female character not to marry (apart from Sonya, and hers is not a happy ending) is Silque, and she just goes off to do her good missionary work like a faithful woman (so, married to the church?) Meanwhile the men get various, often badass endings. Tobin gets a castle. Jesse founds a kingdom. Clive becomes first captain of the knights. Conrad becomes chancellor, etc. Not all of them are great but even someone like Kliff, he journeys to a distant land before having a kid, rather than returning to his village.

I'm not sure of FE demographics but as a general rule, as 80s and 90s kids grow older, the average age of a gamer is getting older. It probably depends on what communities you hang out on - I'm mostly surrounded by FE fans in their late 20s and 30s in other groups. I'd like an older protagonist, wouldn't have to be too much older, but a non-teen would be nice.

Do you mean more options for romances, or the introduction of another support for the established relationships? I'd have liked to see the latter but not the former. I'm not opposed to avatars but I don't think they've been implemented terribly well in any of the games I've played (I have no experience with Kris). I really disliked Mark as an avatar; they are totally superfluous. I enjoyed playing Robin in Awakening, but with both Robin and Corrin you're ultimately not really customizing anything other than their appearance. Children I'd rather not see, I haven't played Geneology yet, but what spoils me on children is that one parent always has to remain vague and mysterious, unless the children are static and the parents are pre-set. It makes the supports awkward to read/the supports don't always fit the characters. With regards to older games and marketing, I would absolutely play the Tellius games if they were to be remade. I keep considering buying them but can't justify the prices currently. However, it wouldn't be because of Ike because the fandom has really turned me off Ike (although I might end up liking him! I'll keep an open mind). I hear they're good games and they're Fire Emblem and those are the two reasons I want to play.

My favourite is (somewhat obviously, given my entire thread on him) Lukas. My least favourite is Clive. As a character it's not so much that he's the worst, but he's exactly the kind of character I love to hate.

True, what I should have said is that who the 'bad guy' is is a matter of perspective. And from most of the world's perspective, the U.S. is.

This analysis of the proposed Republican healthcare bill is surprising to see published on Forbes. I mean, the U.S. IS the bad guy, no real ifs about it. The problem with most popular media is we grow up with a warped perception of what a 'bad guy' looks like. And actually, a lot of what Hollywood puts out - with the small guy rebelling and winning against the evil empire - reads as pretty anti-U.S. to countries in which the U.S. is very much the evil empire. So the U.S. literally pumps out the propaganda that incites people to act out against it. The U.S. is even the bad guy to its own indigenous people.