Vapymid

AP's picture he posted in the Music thread reminded me about this... K_5prQHTs0U I retained fondness towards this piece since I was little Anyone else remembers this? Regards

Just wait please, I'll hold it for you - for safekeeping. Not even joking... @Amadeus: I agree. But clinical depression is not something I can help with and it's normally caused by underlying health issues, even though the trigger may be a stressful event. I'm not qualified to talk about it so I won't. But for those who are just feeling low under a lot of stress - sometimes just snapping out of negative thinking makes the difference between a moody spell and slipping into chronic depression. So, if there is a chance I could help with my little motivational quip without there being any danger of making it worse - why not? Regards

I'd say you're thinking: "Hmmm, pretty..." Regards

There's your problem right there... Well, some would say that - on the left side of the Pond, of course! It's OK though. It's easy to see when they are lying by a little cross-referencing. They mostly don't, just misinterpret things sometimes... Exactly! Nor does a bunch of statistics. http://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn He is a respected journalist, hardly pro-Putin, who knows what he is talking about not from a kid sitting in Washington DC counting shells dispatched to Ms Fairy Godmother, Moderate Rebels Street, Syria, but from traveling the whole area extensively and for years. OK. He is not as categorical as I am in saying that all rebels in the end are controlled by ISIS - he is saying they "cooperate" when they don't fight... It's alright. To me it means the same... I'm pleased though that Mr Cockburn is of the same opinion as I am on a lot of other matters, like Russian involvement etc. Regards

It's against the law to make marriage proposals at 11:45pm... Any so made is automatically becoming null and void. Regards

Man, you have your hands - you know what to do. But, in general - if you want some, you need to work for it. Don't expect someone to give it to you out of pity - and if someone does, that won't be the kind you want... Regards

Thank you, thank you, thank you, guys! Much appreciated! Oh, a Vappy Birthday? That's nice! Regards

Ah, sorry, my bad, Jeb. I often find Americans irresistibly tempting for snapping at... *licks lips* I'll stop now! And RandomGuy, I agree with you again - about general incompetence of military there. That's true. And that it's too early to see if any tactical successes would translate into anything more. It's fine. Where I disagree with you is the motivations of the players involved and the nature of those players. It's a dirty gangster war where the thugs fighting are egged on and directed by outside interests and the guy who will win will be the most ruthless one and who has the bigger stick. Oh, thank you for enlightenment about RT. I haven't seen it in years. I mostly use BBC for news Regards

Don't listen to them, Jeb! They are blind! Hehe, well, BTG is blind and Zaraki... His head is just in the gutter - Oi! Zaraki - stop leering! She's not yours! You look absolutely stunning, Miss! Regards

Ah, Jeb! Thank you so much! Yes, you succeeded - yet again! This wide grin on my face just won't go away! And you make me blush at the same time... So, you have a blushing, grinning, happy Vappy Thank you, guys! So nice to see your good wishes first thing in the morning! Zaraki, man! Congratulations! Happy birthday to you and all the best and good health! Regards

Hehe, I notice that a lot - for Americans, everything that doesn't fit within their comfortable worldview must necessarily be someone else's propaganda. It's sad but I don't really care. I say things how I see them - time will tell if I was right or wrong, so, let's just wait and see. And yes, Russian planes alone (nor American ones, for that matter) won't be enough to turn the war. But Russian planes covering Iranian troops on the ground seem to be working much better. @RandomGuy - if for once you stop the patriotic America v Russkies fervour and try to look at things how they are, you will understand a great deal more about the world we live in (you may not like what you see though). Regards

It's the gender of what the word describes. So it will be this: So you need to know the gender of the noun which the pronouns refer to and adjectives describe... This seems to be a good explanation here: http://www.russianlessons.net/lessons/lesson6_main.php Also, about your other question - I learned most of my English vocabulary from reading. My major breakthrough was when I read and made myself understand the libretto of Jesus Christ Superstar (I could sing the entire 90 minutes of it in my head at some point - I liked it so much ) Then I started reading simplified books in English and after the first few tough pages I reached the point where I would deduce the meaning of an unfamiliar word from the context, rather than going to the dictionary all the time. That helped a lot - it was like a progressive change: without distraction of the dictionary lookup I could follow the meaning of the text more easily and that, in turn, let me guess the meaning of any new words more easily too. Regards

Oops. I seem to have touched a raw nerve here. And you're saying there are no red faces in America. Hehe The picture you are trying to paint is based on wishful thinking. I agree with you on one point - a lot of dick waving is involved on both Russia's and America's side - that's par for the game. But the rest... No, sir. ISIS is a descendant of "Al Qaeda In Iraq" but its main base is now in Syria. They do control everything in the "rebel" areas. ISIS is funded and supplied by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. ISIS is also tacitly supported by Turkey. All the other rebels are basically subservient to ISIS now. They have to be. With the Kurds - just see how quickly the US support will evaporate if ISIS wins over. "Who, Kurds? Never heard of them, nope! Ask the Turks, maybe they'll know. Hehe." And, please, there are no "moderate elements" there. In situations like that all "moderates" get killed or run away in the very beginning. Everyone who's left are either diehard cutthroat thugs or dead. Regards

Oh, man, that must have been stressful... The worst I have ever had pulled on me was a knife and I didn't like that a bit... @Jeb - you are the first person I met who apologises for not drinking, hehe Regards

Well, I wanted to try to be objective and suggest possible alternatives... But, to be honest - I'd rather be seeing you on this forum, typing on your phone, than having you tipsy and singing drunken songs with a bunch of overbearing relatives Call me selfish... And I'm sure there are other people here on this forum, who share my preferences. Regards

There is a saying in Russia: "Пьяный трезвому не товарищ" and another: "Трезвый пьяного не поймёт" - there is a big gap between the moods, social needs, perception of the drinking part of any company and those staying sober. That gap is in most cases cannot be fully bridged. The jolly drunken members cannot understand why the sober ones do not see the fun in their jokes and the sober are just bored watching clear symptoms of intoxication in the drunken ones. So, I know how you must feel about your evening programming... Maybe you should warn them before they start drinking that you will not take part in their discussions, so they know what to expect and let you be... Or, have a small glass of wine - as an experiment. Just to see if that will bridge that gap? Regards

It's high stakes for Iran. Assad is their base on the Mediterranean and a force keeping Sunnis in check. That is why the Saudis & co are so happy to bankroll and support ISIS and use it to remove Assad and deal a big blow to Iran. That's why the Iranians take it so close to heart. Russia is mostly afraid. They know what will happen if Assad falls. Without that regime, ISIS will wipe out the Kurds (with the help of the Turks) and will create a Saudi satellite-state which will upset the balance of Muslim power in the region and splash a wave of terrorism across Europe and Russia itself. Then they will drown all the Alawite population in Syria in blood. What numbers Assad kills now will pale into insignificance. The only alternative for ISIS in Syria is Assad. Let's face it - there is no "moderate Syrian resistance" which America so likes to talk about. There are just ISIS-controlled or affiliated local gangs. All the best equipment that goes to such gangs ends up with ISIS pretty much immediately. And the longer the war goes in this current stalemate state - the higher the chances of ISIS succeeding and the higher the death toll will be. So, Russia is trying to force a decision in that war now. Help Assad suppress ISIS in Syria and deny them their vital base. Once that is done, ISIS in Iraq will die. The US is realising there is no other choice but - to publicly admit it means some seriously red faces all round. So, it's convenient for America to let the Russians to the dirty job and take all the political risks while criticising them half-heartedly from afar. Hehe. Politics. It is dirty Regards

@Jeb - no, I don't mind at all. Go ahead with the new subjects! Re #10. There are plenty of situations when using your phone would be rude. Mostly, when you are expected to participate in the social or business discussions that are happening around you and pay attention. Using your phone in such situations, unless it's an emergency - will be quite rightly taken as disrespect. Examples would be a formal dinner or a board meeting. If you are not an active participant - I don't see the harm in using the phone though. Usually, there is an unspoken line dividing those sitting around the table from those elsewhere in the room. In situations like this, though I'd say you should use your phone - just to show the rest of the company that you are not involved and don't want to be involved in their socialisation, the way they are going about it. Re #11 Well, apparently there are a lot of people like that. They refuse to allow their deceased relative's organs to be used, as if it was their inheritance somehow. Beats me, why? And closure - I understand some degree of denial may exist. But if your loved one was on a plane that was last heard from several months ago - what else do you need to accept that they're dead and to move on? Re #12 Hehe This is invariably a scam... Try to look under the table and see the panicked reaction of the "Medium" Subject #13 - Physical punishment I accept, to a degree, the need to physically punish children. However, I only find it acceptable for parents to do it and only to their own children. Not for anyone else - not teachers, not relatives, nobody. Also, the purpose of the punishment should be snapping out of a tantrum or deterring from dangerous behaviour - not inflicting pain as such. Beating for pain - that would just be child abuse for me. Also, the age is important. Once the child is mature enough - the physical punishment becomes humiliating, more than anything else. And this is totally counterproductive. It just generates resentment and resistance, more than compliance. Basically, by the age of 10 - 12 maximum, that should stop. I'm talking about boys - have no idea about girls though. Wouldn't probably spank a girl older than 6 or 7... Also, once the child knows the concept of getting a clip round the ear or being spanked - a mere reminder or a threat will work in most cases and - that's important - whether it's actual punishment or a threat, it must only be used as the last resort and very sparingly. Otherwise, if it becomes routine, the child will be desensitised and the punishment will be pointless. Finally - no slaps on the face. I suppose, my attitude may sound a bit archaic here Regards

Depression is caused by inability/refusal to see a viable future for oneself. Could be solved in two ways - think positively about your future. There is nothing there that shouldn't be solvable or couldn't be overcome (until death, that is, hehe... ) After all, billions of people manage to live their lives out and most of them in much worse conditions than we do. or - don't think about the future at all. I mean - why bother about something that is purely hypothetical now? You can't foresee your future. I know that as a lot of my own expected future is now well in the past and it's totally different to what I could imagine when I was young. So, if you can't foresee it - why the hell should you assume that it will be bad. Take each day as it comes. When it's time to make a decision that may affect your future - yes, think about it. But at all other times - just don't. Regards

@Jeb: Such a nice design. Goes well with your Dawnstrider ship (nice to see you've finished that one and, oh, it's beautiful!). PAMI, eh? A sinister machine but such clean lines. If I were to be shot, being shot by PAMI would probably have made me much less upset than I would otherwise be @HT: You have an active imagination, man. Nice to see a bit of dark humour sometimes! @Jek: Ah! Those are nice! Especially the whale and the Byronic bloke in the last portrait. Regards EDIT: Oh, wow! That dragon is so beautiful! I went through your gallery on DA and you really have perfected that "glowing" colour technique over your past few drawings, Jeb. I'm so impressed. And aesthetically pleased. I really like your dragons. And the big cat - oh, such a beauty!

Does Binky now have cooled food? XP Nah, it's just to keep him warm in winter as he doesn't qualify for the Winter Fuel Allowance... It can be really cold outside in the North in winter, while it's balmy +3°C in the fridge all year round! OT: Litigious Regards

To mark my newly discovered personality - here is a little collection celebrating my Angelic brethren and sistren ...and paying tribute to those who have sadly fallen Regards

But if you instead keep yourself alive, that would annoy the crap out of all those people, right? Well, me being me - that's what I'd recommend you to do... Then laugh at them. Regards

Subject #11 - "Playing" with the dead Ah. I think there are two ways to look at it. One is my personal perspective on my own dead body. Well, I really don't care what happens to it when I'm gone. You can cut it, burn it, eat it, feed it to animals, take out organs for transplantation or whatever - I won't mind in the least. However, I know that for a lot of people a dead body represents a symbol around which they build their own coping mechanism. They feel a strong need for some form of "respect" to be shown to that symbol as for them it transposes into respect towards the deceased person. I can understand some of it - to show outward respect feels a proper thing to do, to placate the mourners and to satisfy their sense of attachment to the person who is now dead. Basically, doing that to the body we in fact are helping the living to cope. I can certainly accept that. I totally don't understand objections against organs donation though... For me it's inconceivable why anyone should be upset if a portion of a body could be salvaged to help another living human - especially, as otherwise that portion of the body will be completely wasted or burned to ashes. Also, I don't understand the whole thing about "closure". Why are people so hung up about it? Why do they need to see at least a piece of a body to move on? Is it really a part of human psychology or is it a result of some cultural indoctrination? For me there was never any need for any "closure". If someone is dead - they're dead, that's closure enough for me... Subject #12 - Spirits Well, that's going to be a short one for me The only spirits whose existence I recognise and believe in are those found in bottles... Anything "paranormal" simply doesn't exist for me in reality. I don't mind too much if I come across it in a book or a movie if that's a plot device in an otherwise interesting setting... But if someone tells me seriously they are in touch with spirits - all they get from me is an ironic remark or a condescending smile... Sorry! And, yes, it is now known that human senses of presence can be affected/triggered by natural or technogenic phenomena such as infrasound. That accounts for the feelings of "hauntedness" or phantom touches. Everything else - mediums talking to the dead, ectoplasm, invocations - is invariably proven as scams and fraud and is not worth spending brain cells on thinking about. Regards

We can make a nice team... Adolf will lure the uninitiated, Osama will preach to the faithful and the Angel will punish the doubtful with Heavenly fire... The world will be ours in no time, mwahahaha! Regards