Syuurin

Banned because I've never heard of Adelaide.

Someone's not a cat person. Glad you all had fun. Spending money on things you don't get to do that often is indeed worth it. (: And thanks! We just saw a place today, and it might be the one. Fingers crossed. Happy Easter, Deathstorm! Glad you're feeling better.

Yeah, we're planning to get cats, so that's making things harder...

Should this person return, I'll point out that I'm a (mostly) cis woman and am always up for discussions about gender... To briefly answer, 1. I would think that there are more men than women involved in the genre; however, it's also quite possible that many women who like metal are simply less visible--I've found some women to be reluctant to attend concerts, for example, because they have a slightly skewed view of what it will be like (as well as very legitimate worries, such as having no one to go with). However, most of the concerts I've been to have had a fair number of women, and in my personal experience the skew toward male and male-identified people is definitely less than, say, what I see in my computer science major or at video game-related events. I cannot, however, speak for broader statistics; I can only provide anecdote. 2. I think this depends on the sub-genre. Personally, I associate power metal and viking metal, for example, with hyper-masculinity. Progressive metal and 'classic' heavy metal also feel a bit masculine, but not nearly as much the former two. However, I wouldn't particularly associate sub-genres like doom metal or black metal with masculinity, especially on a group-by-group basis. To provide a female perspective on how this might affect listening habits--given that I dislike masculinity as a concept (as it causes a number of problems which I won't get into here, unless someone wants me to), I prefer to listen to subgenres and bands that don't strike me as hyper-masculine, but I do still like progressive metal and many classic bands. There are also plenty of women who do like more masculine groups. 3. To be honest, I don't have a strong answer to this. I've never faced delegitimization as a metal fan, and in general get the impression that metal has less issues regarding this than some of my other interests, like video games or programming, where women often face more overt discrimination (they're assumed to have less knowledge about the subject, to like it only for male attention, etc). Perhaps it has something to do with the genres of metal I like being generally less accessible; i.e., men are less likely to assume my interest in them is illegitimate. But I've never felt that I had to "prove myself" as a fan of metal. This is, however, my individual experience. 4. I am not entirely sure what you mean by this question. I'm supposing it's about how women are portrayed in metal, in which case, I haven't taken the time to think about this very much so far. I would say that from what I have heard, women are sometimes sexualized in a negative manner perhaps in terms of being defiled or serving as a temptress (often, such references use religious imagery). Likely, the hyper-masculine or at least overtly masculine subgenres/groups have more problems in this regard. I've definitely come across lyrics with an "I'm just a man doing lonely man things and I don't have time for girly woman-y things" vibe, or lyrics with a "damsel in distress" vs. "masculine hero" dynamic. I would, however, have to find and analyze lyrics in a more in-depth manner to determine to what extent and in what ways the portrayal of women in metal is (or isn't) problematic.

Banned for pretending to be John F. Kennedy.

That's still a lot. o.o (Says the college student, to whom everything is expensive.) Meanwhile, the hunt for a 2-bedroom for my friend and I continues unresolved...this is so much more stressful than when I was looking for my studio.

Haven't heard either. I'll give them a listen, though.

Tried to go with things I actually listen to. "Y" and the second "u" were tough, though.

Yeah, I'm down on the south side (not suburbs, but nowhere the lively parts of the city, either), so you have to bus to the loop or take the L to one of the north side/west side neighborhoods to find anything interesting. But if I lived anywhere else, my school would be 40+ minutes away by public transpo rather than 10 minutes by foot, so.

Solefald Ymir Unexpect Unbeing (The) Ruins of Beverast Isis Negură Bunget

8/10 my style, props to you Might prefer a version without vocals, though. Because I was with K-pop fans all yesterday: 4i32ANEa5mk Remember that we are rating the music and not Gain's incredible, incredible body.

I Am A: Neutral Good Half-Elf Druid/Sorcerer (1st/1st Level) Ability Scores: Strength-11 Dexterity-17 Constitution-14 Intelligence-17 Wisdom-14 Charisma-14 Alignment: Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment when it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable. Race: Half-Elves have the curiosity and ambition for their human parent and the refined senses and love of nature of their elven parent, although they are outsiders among both cultures. To humans, half-elves are paler, fairer and smoother-skinned than their human parents, but their actual skin tones and other details vary just as human features do. Half-elves tend to have green, elven eyes. They live to about 180. Primary Class: Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Secondary Class: Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast. Funnily enough this is exactly what I was when I played the game, minus the sorcerer part.

Public transport here can be super unreliable, but I still love it compared to having to drive everywhere like in Texas. It helps that Chicago is pretty walkable.

If you go to distortedreality.wordpress.com, the blog isn't even being used. I wonder if we could just use something like distorted-reality for the URL instead?

At least we're insulated.

HIIIIIII MINDYYYYY. Also, this. Lol. In Chicago, we're regularly in the negatives by Celcius' measure (and even by Fahrenheit). And people still bike.

Yeah, I feel like trying to write things about exes often results in bringing back more unresolved feelings than it fixes...

We are the most topical. What are you talking about. Graduated? Leave of absence?

Too many people I know have had to go through that... I hope things get better for him soon. :/

Hey guys, I know I haven't been around in forever, and I don't know if you all talked about this already, but as a person who does the coding thing I would totally be down with learning how to write/writing a custom WordPress theme for you.

gaming Despite all its flaws, I like FFVIII a lot, so I decided to buy it before considering VII. I played Grandia 3 a long time ago but always wanted to try an earlier game, so with your endorsement I'll probably get it. O: