Durkoala's Desultorily Droll Drivel and Discourse (Random Banter Thread #212)

[Durkoala]

Welcome to the next Random Banter Thread! I hope your visit is a pleasant one. Please follow the guidelines posted below to make this an enjoyable experience for everybody.

If you wish to check on earlier Banter, there is a list of all... the... oh, my that's a lot of threads. Anyway, we have a list of links to previous incarnations, although I can't say for certain if they all work.

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From the end of the last thread:
- Reflections on recent surgery
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Wherever you may be, I'll lead you all in the Bants! said he


-------------------
So, since I have a captive audience, I would like to talk about the most metal book of my childhood, since I forgot to do so earlier.

I'm sure that some of you are familiar with The Iron Giant (I'm not, because it's on my deluxe 'To watch' list, for things that look so good I want to own a physical copy before I watch them). While it looks to be a very good film, few people know that it's actually based on a children's book by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, The Iron Man. While it overall looks like the film is better put together, it roughly covers the first half of the book, where the Iron Man is peacefully befriended and not nuked. The second half starts with a distant star suddenly flying towards the Earth at ridiculous speeds, before stopping at a distance where it hovers meancingly in the sky, larger than any other star. Telescopes pick up a batlike object approaching earth from the star and watch it for three days until it lands, and is revealed as a gigantic dragon. I don't mean gigantic as in, able to fight Mecha around a city; this is a dragon the size of Australia, which is also where it lands. After it declares it wants human sacrifices or it will devour all life on the planet, all the nations on Earth attack it with all their weaponry, but are ineffective. Watching this on the television, Hogarth turns to his biggest friend and begs him for help. The Iron Man, who is far smarter than the movie version, comes up with a plan.

The Iron Man is flown to the beaches of Queensland, beneath the dragon's head, where he challenges it to a trial of endurance. When the dragon confidently agrees, the Iron Man lies in an oil fire until he is glowing white with heat. When he cools, the dragon mockingly asks for the fire to be lit for its turn, but the Iron Man tells it that its fire is there and points at the sun.

Each of them endures their fires for increasingly longer times: the Iron Man's mechanisms are seizing up and his skin is beginning to melt and the dragon's wings are shrivelling and it showers the earth in diamonds formed from its boiled fat. Eventually, the dragon yields and agrees to be the Iron Man's servant and no longer threaten the earth. At night, it circles the planet, singing songs of peace at his orders.

So, that's the most metal book of my childhood, about a giant robot setting himself on fire to fight a continent-sized dragon from outer space. Definitely one to read to your kids, IMO.


In other news, my mum's cut my beard off and left about a centimetre. It took about a year to grow.

[Solse]

So, since I have a captive audience, I would like to talk about the most metal book of my childhood, since I forgot to do so earlier.

I'm sure that some of you are familiar with The Iron Giant (I'm not, because it's on my deluxe 'To watch' list, for things that look so good I want to own a physical copy before I watch them). While it looks to be a very good film, few people know that it's actually based on a children's book by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, The Iron Man. While it overall looks like the film is better put together, it roughly covers the first half of the book, where the Iron Man is peacefully befriended and not nuked. The second half starts with a distant star suddenly flying towards the Earth at ridiculous speeds, before stopping at a distance where it hovers meancingly in the sky, larger than any other star. Telescopes pick up a batlike object approaching earth from the star and watch it for three days until it lands, and is revealed as a gigantic dragon. I don't mean gigantic as in, able to fight Mecha around a city; this is a dragon the size of Australia, which is also where it lands. After it declares it wants human sacrifices or it will devour all life on the planet, all the nations on Earth attack it with all their weaponry, but are ineffective. Watching this on the television, Hogarth turns to his biggest friend and begs him for help. The Iron Man, who is far smarter than the movie version, comes up with a plan.

The Iron Man is flown to the beaches of Queensland, beneath the dragon's head, where he challenges it to a trial of endurance. When the dragon confidently agrees, the Iron Man lies in an oil fire until he is glowing white with heat. When he cools, the dragon mockingly asks for the fire to be lit for its turn, but the Iron Man tells it that its fire is there and points at the sun.

Each of them endures their fires for increasingly longer times: the Iron Man's mechanisms are seizing up and his skin is beginning to melt and the dragon's wings are shrivelling and it showers the earth in diamonds formed from its boiled fat. Eventually, the dragon yields and agrees to be the Iron Man's servant and no longer threaten the earth. At night, it circles the planet, singing songs of peace at his orders.

So, that's the most metal book of my childhood, about a giant robot setting himself on fire to fight a continent-sized dragon from outer space. Definitely one to read to your kids, IMO.

That is really damn cool. The one thing that I wonder about that might affect the story's coolness is how it was presented. I feel like if the story was written with a lighthearted tone made for kids to enjoy without being scared, reading the book wouldn't seem as cool as your synopsis. Hopefully it was the same level of cool as your summary, though. I love "over-the-top awesome" types of stories, and I'd probably enjoy that book if it was similar.

...

That was a word salad. I feel like I was doing the textual equivalent of mumbling there. Oh well, I'm tired.

In other news, my mum's cut my beard off and left about a centimetre. It took about a year to grow.

Aww, that sucks. Why'd she cut it off, though? A beard done well looks awesome.

ION: I've had a really busy week, with project after project after project, so I haven't had much time to visit the forums. Luckily, that week is over, so I can finally relax again. My computer's hinge actually broke on Wednesday, but the computer still worked, so I was able to hold out until Saturday, when I got it fixed. I'm really glad that I won't have to worry about the entire screen of my laptop coming off any more.

Also, are there any ice hockey fans here? With Round 2 of the NHL playoffs already in action, I've been really hyped.

[Qwertystop]

Huh. Knew it was from a book, never knew about the dragon. Have you seen the deleted scene?

[LaZodiac]

Holy crap how bad is your health that your fat turned into diamonds when set on fire. That was really awesome Durkoala, except the part where I guess Australia got destroyed.

Shame about the beard.

[Durkoala]

Huh. Knew it was from a book, never knew about the dragon. Have you seen the deleted scene?

The one where the giant dreams about destroying planets? Yes, I've seen a few clips. It's one of the few things I don't like about the adaption, because it pretty conclusively rules out the implications that he's a nature spirit with psychic powers in the sequel. The other is his childlike mentality as in the book(s) he's more of a selfish beast civilised through kindness, honesty and peaceful intentions, but perfectly capable of speech and reasoning. Both of these changes work well in the light of the film's messages, however.

That is really damn cool. The one thing that I wonder about that might affect the story's coolness is how it was presented. I feel like if the story was written with a lighthearted tone made for kids to enjoy without being scared, reading the book wouldn't seem as cool as your synopsis. Hopefully it was the same level of cool as your summary, though. I love "over-the-top awesome" types of stories, and I'd probably enjoy that book if it was similar.

...

That was a word salad. I feel like I was doing the textual equivalent of mumbling there. Oh well, I'm tired.

Thanks! It's remained with me since I first read it at about eight years old. It's always a shame when adaptions cause the originals to be forgotten, no matter how good those adaptions are (Howl's Moving Castle and How to Train Your Dragon are others that particularly annoy me, even though the films are fantastic).

Ah, I forgot that America has a different attitude to children's books. While I think there is a line in the British publishing industry, I'm not sure where it is. Thinking back, I remember the hero's parents being killed before the main story starts (Harry Potter, James and the Giant Peach and I'm sure there were others), characters being devoured pirahna-style (Edge Chronicles, Redwall), nameless heroes being devoured in droves by a monster and said monster being graphicly stabbed to death (The Karate Princess series, which admittedly was fairly unusual for the series), children being trapped in tunnels with the adult villain verbally prying out the information from them, something like a nuclear reactor going critical on the the heroes' favourite island hangout (the Famous Five), and chilling sequence where an adult unpleasant neighbour steals the power to stop time off the hero and throws him in front of buses and into the sea in a matter of seconds to make sure he stays quiet, followed by him realising that there's no way he can win against somebody larger and stronger who can be anywhere or make him disappear in an instant(Bernard's Watch). Then I went to high school, and things got even worse.

So, all of that makes it a bit difficult for me to judge scariness for children. I do think that children do like a bit of fear in their stories, and everything turns out fine in The Iron Man and the monsters (the Iron Man and the dragon) do reform. There's definitely a few scenes that could be scary, such as the Iron Man being buried alive and absolutely livid, his escape from being buried alive where he rips up a hill, the dragon's threat to eat all life on the earth and the implication that anybody who happened to be standing in the wrong part of Australia was crushed by the dragon, but I don't think it's worse than a lot of popular fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

As the book is actually meant to be read to children, like a bedtime story, the language is fairly simple from what I remember, but I don't think it detracts from the awesomeness. Like I said, the author was Poet Laureate, so he's pretty good with his words. It wasn't super light, but it wasn't as dark as say, Harry Potter. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if the simpler language hasn't turned you off by the time you actually reach the dragon, you're probably going to enjoy it, but it can be hard to take the story seriously initally.

Aww, that sucks. Why'd she cut it off, though? A beard done well looks awesome.

ION: I've had a really busy week, with project after project after project, so I haven't had much time to visit the forums. Luckily, that week is over, so I can finally relax again. My computer's hinge actually broke on Wednesday, but the computer still worked, so I was able to hold out until Saturday, when I got it fixed. I'm really glad that I won't have to worry about the entire screen of my laptop coming off any more.

Also, are there any ice hockey fans here? With Round 2 of the NHL playoffs already in action, I've been really hyped.

She thinks it looks more civilised like this. In a way it's helpful, because it was slightly oddly off-centre and now I can grow it back without having to wait a year.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

[Teddy]

Thanks! It's remained with me since I first read it at about eight years old. It's always a shame when adaptions cause the originals to be forgotten, no matter how good those adaptions are (Howl's Moving Castle and How to Train Your Dragon are others that particularly annoy me, even though the films are fantastic).

I'm actually one of the few people who read the book but haven't seen the film.

[Durkoala]

I'm actually one of the few people who read the book but haven't seen the film.

Huh. The first film's ok, but I haven't seen the second one yet. I'm a bit worried about how you said book in the singular, as that implies that you haven't met The Dragon Furious yet.

Holy crap how bad is your health that your fat turned into diamonds when set on fire. That was really awesome Durkoala, except the part where I guess Australia got destroyed.

Shame about the beard.

It's normal for space dragons that have been baking in the sun for ten minutes. Besides, the thing is pretty close to being an Eldritch Abomination in the sequel (The Iron Woman, which is hardcore Captain Planet, starring Mecha Poison Ivy). Don't worry about Australia: as this is a children's book heavily based on fairy tales, it was mostly fine except for the implied squashed mountaineers.

I'll survive being debearded, somehow.

[Haluesen]

So, since I have a captive audience, I would like to talk about the most metal book of my childhood, since I forgot to do so earlier.

I'm sure that some of you are familiar with The Iron Giant (I'm not, because it's on my deluxe 'To watch' list, for things that look so good I want to own a physical copy before I watch them). While it looks to be a very good film, few people know that it's actually based on a children's book by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, The Iron Man. While it overall looks like the film is better put together, it roughly covers the first half of the book, where the Iron Man is peacefully befriended and not nuked. The second half starts with a distant star suddenly flying towards the Earth at ridiculous speeds, before stopping at a distance where it hovers meancingly in the sky, larger than any other star. Telescopes pick up a batlike object approaching earth from the star and watch it for three days until it lands, and is revealed as a gigantic dragon. I don't mean gigantic as in, able to fight Mecha around a city; this is a dragon the size of Australia, which is also where it lands. After it declares it wants human sacrifices or it will devour all life on the planet, all the nations on Earth attack it with all their weaponry, but are ineffective. Watching this on the television, Hogarth turns to his biggest friend and begs him for help. The Iron Man, who is far smarter than the movie version, comes up with a plan.

The Iron Man is flown to the beaches of Queensland, beneath the dragon's head, where he challenges it to a trial of endurance. When the dragon confidently agrees, the Iron Man lies in an oil fire until he is glowing white with heat. When he cools, the dragon mockingly asks for the fire to be lit for its turn, but the Iron Man tells it that its fire is there and points at the sun.

Each of them endures their fires for increasingly longer times: the Iron Man's mechanisms are seizing up and his skin is beginning to melt and the dragon's wings are shrivelling and it showers the earth in diamonds formed from its boiled fat. Eventually, the dragon yields and agrees to be the Iron Man's servant and no longer threaten the earth. At night, it circles the planet, singing songs of peace at his orders.

So, that's the most metal book of my childhood, about a giant robot setting himself on fire to fight a continent-sized dragon from outer space. Definitely one to read to your kids, IMO.


In other news, my mum's cut my beard off and left about a centimetre. It took about a year to grow.

That is insanely metal. I want to read this book now, I need to head to all nearby libraries. WHY HAVE I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS YET??? Dragon vs Robot is just MADE of awesome!

I'm somewhat amazed at your beard diligence. I can only manage about a week or so with mine before urges to remove it get strong and the face foliage must be dealt with. A year? That is some beard dedication right there.

ION: I've had a really busy week, with project after project after project, so I haven't had much time to visit the forums. Luckily, that week is over, so I can finally relax again. My computer's hinge actually broke on Wednesday, but the computer still worked, so I was able to hold out until Saturday, when I got it fixed. I'm really glad that I won't have to worry about the entire screen of my laptop coming off any more.

Also, are there any ice hockey fans here? With Round 2 of the NHL playoffs already in action, I've been really hyped.

Yay for computer repairs, and a removal of busyness! What kinda projects did you have to do, just curious?

Fan of the game itself, not of any teams, and no sports channels anyway. Though I kinda wish I was, hockey in any form is fun. How is that hype then?

I'm actually one of the few people who read the book but haven't seen the film.

Yes, that'd make you of a very few Teddy. Hehe just picking a bit. I'm the other way around, but I did love the movie as a kid. Haven't seen it in so long though...


ION: I return from some time of vanishness, but that's kinda become the norm. Wanted to banter, but just didn't feel talkative lately. So with the rising of a new thread, I felt it was time to come back. For a bit. Today is movie day, gonna go see the new Avengers with my grandma, and we are both really looking forward to it.

Also, the YouTube thing is still in fact a thing. I would link to a recent cool video, but putting a link to the whole channel is easier and sensible. Playing Morrowind, Fable 2, and Portal 2 for now. Probably some small gameplay videos of other sorts later. I invite people who like that sorta thing to check it out. And Zodi, I am sorry for not keeping up on Skyward Sword. I'll binge watch as soon as I am able and join some conversational stuff. I meant to do so awhile ago...I get distracted easily. Sorry.

[LaZodiac]

That's okay Halu, everyone can go at their own pace

You're gonna have quite a bit of backlog though, oh man.

[FinnLassie]

Hmm. Mm.

*looks around*

A new thread. Yes. Not a lot of dust. Perfect timing...

*sets camp in one of the corners*

Time to sleep.

[Cuthalion]

Hmm. Mm.

*looks around*

A new thread. Yes. Not a lot of dust. Perfect timing...

*sets camp in one of the corners*

Time to sleep.

*lights a bonfire*

Did anyone bring marshmallows?

[Teddy]

Huh. The first film's ok, but I haven't seen the second one yet. I'm a bit worried about how you said book in the singular, as that implies that you haven't met The Dragon Furious yet.

Hmm...
Now I can't remember if I read one book or two. I'm actually starting to lean towards two. Brief me on the plot of the first one and I'll be able to tell...

Yes, that'd make you of a very few Teddy. Hehe just picking a bit. I'm the other way around, but I did love the movie as a kid. Haven't seen it in so long though...

Hehehe...

But yeah, I'm bad at watching films.

ION: I return from some time of vanishness, but that's kinda become the norm. Wanted to banter, but just didn't feel talkative lately. So with the rising of a new thread, I felt it was time to come back. For a bit. Today is movie day, gonna go see the new Avengers with my grandma, and we are both really looking forward to it.

Its okay, it's been pretty low on activity around here since Curly went back into hibernation. I've wanted to write things myself, but pretty much everything interesting in my life right now are things I'm not allowed to talk about, because Illuminati...

Enjoy your movie, though, and say hi to your gradma from me!

*lights a bonfire*

Did anyone bring marshmallows?

Sorry, we ate them all yesterday!

[LaZodiac]

Blargh I am the most sick.

[enderlord99]

Blargh I am the most sick.

With what?

Pneumonia? Malaria? Botulism? A previously undiscovered superbug?! A bioweapon created by aliens specifically to wipe out humanity?!

[Haluesen]

That's okay Halu, everyone can go at their own pace

You're gonna have quite a bit of backlog though, oh man.

Oh I know I do. I do have a limited amount of data, at least for the next couple of days. So I can't watch a lot. I have to wait until I get the better internet which should be later this week. Then, there can be video binging for a bit.

*lights a bonfire*

Did anyone bring marshmallows?

Sorry, haven't had any for some time. This makes me desire some though...got chocolate though at least. And brauts, for those into cooking such a thing over fire.

Hehehe...

But yeah, I'm bad at watching films.

You don't have the time, or just aren't interested? Or some third thing I hadn't considered.

Its okay, it's been pretty low on activity around here since Curly went back into hibernation. I've wanted to write things myself, but pretty much everything interesting in my life right now are things I'm not allowed to talk about, because Illuminati...

Enjoy your movie, though, and say hi to your gradma from me!

Oh, she did? I guess I have been gone awhile...when I was last posting she was all over the thread. Ah well, okay then. Guess there's no pressure. I work better with no pressure.

Oh dear, Illuminati things! I heard nothing, saw nothing.

I told her, and she said hi too. As far as the movie...I will explode in excitement about it shortly.

Blargh I am the most sick.

That is rather terrible. Hey, Zodi's immune system! Kick it into high gear!


ION: An Avengers movie. MY GOSH. I can't even words. Long story short and devoid of spoilers is that the hype was worth it and the movie was great, amazing, other piled on words of goodness. If you are the sort that likes actiony movies or superhero movies and haven't seen it yet, I encourage you too. Those who are not fans of that kinda movie, well anything I have to say will likely not change that, so no harm done. But my grandma and I enjoyed it very much, and so today is a swell day. All I need to do is post a video today and I will feel as if the day has been most wondrous and productive.

[Qwertystop]

With what?

Pneumonia? Malaria? Botulism? A previously undiscovered superbug?! A bioweapon created by aliens specifically to wipe out humanity?!

If this is a scale from one to five, I expect the answer is somewhere around 0.5 - very bad cold/flu.

[enderlord99]

...Okay, so I now know that Zodi is not the most sick among all humans on the planet.

And based on that guy TaiLiu made a card for, she isn't the most sick member of this forum.

So, for what set of living creatures is Zodi a member of, without any other member being more sick than her?

[LaZodiac]

With what?

Pneumonia? Malaria? Botulism? A previously undiscovered superbug?! A bioweapon created by aliens specifically to wipe out humanity?!

A very sore throat and a stuffed up nose.

...Okay, so I now know that Zodi is not the most sick among all humans on the planet.

And based on that guy TaiLiu made a card for, she isn't the most sick member of this forum.

So, for what set of living creatures is Zodi a member of, without any other member being more sick than her?

The set that exaggerates for comedic effect. Though damn if I don't FEEL like the most sick. I blew my nose so hard I clogged my ear a little.

[Qwertystop]

So, for what set of living creatures is Zodi a member of, without any other member being more sick than her?

Trivial answer:
The union of the set of all non-sick people and the set containing only Zodi.

[LaZodiac]

I have seen Ultron and it is great. Stop being butts and go see it.

[Feytalist]

So happy Star Wars day everyone I guess.

I have seen Ultron and it is great. Stop being butts and go see it.

This is truth.


It is tradition to spend May Day totally hung over, right? In which case, I did it right. Basically the only thing I remember is 4AM in the morning, in the kitchen, making waffles. They were delicious.


Also new thread wooo.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

I have seen Ultron and it is great. Stop being butts and go see it.

Wow, even being sick, you saw it? Nice.

I on the other hand, must wait until Mrs. Wombat has watched thor 1, 2, cpt merica 1, 2, and the first avengers before we go and see it. Granted I haven't see the second editions of thor or cpt, so there's that too.

[Doorhandle]

Wow, even being sick, you saw it? Nice.

I on the other hand, must wait until Mrs. Wombat has watched thor 1, 2, cpt merica 1, 2, and the first avengers before we go and see it.

That sucks.

I liked the philosophical points the move made...

Spoiler: but most of them are spoilers!

Show

Maybe it's just my inner Genius:The Transgression Fanboy, but the speech Tony made about being the mad scientists, and his futile attempts to control the planet's destiny were interesting. The entire "no difference between order and chaos" thing also reflected my own thoughts on the subject, although I think the writers were being poetic for the sake of poeticness there. Ultron was also an interesting villain, even though it seemed like even he didn't quite understand his own goals by the end.

My headcanon says this is due to his machine brian evolving and changing through the equivalent of decades of development in just a few days, or just due to being immature and unsure of what he really wanted, but there's little evidence of that in canon.

Such a shame about Quicksilver/Pietro though. He had a good run for a sacrificial lion.

edit: Also had a career seminar today, and the english teacher of all people said "may the 4th be with you."

[Devmaar]

Thanks! It's remained with me since I first read it at about eight years old. It's always a shame when adaptions cause the originals to be forgotten, no matter how good those adaptions are (Howl's Moving Castle and How to Train Your Dragon are others that particularly annoy me, even though the films are fantastic).!

I'm not sure How to Train Your Dragon is an adaptation, the plot of the film has slightly less to do with the book than Inglorious Basterds has to do with the history of World.War 2...

[enderlord99]

Most statements, and a large portion of questions, can be made creepier by responding to them with the phrase "not since the accident."

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Most statements, and a large portion of questions, can be made creepier by responding to them with the phrase "not since the accident."

How did you come to that conclusion?

[Teddy]

You don't have the time, or just aren't interested? Or some third thing I hadn't considered.

I'm not very interested to go see a film on my own, and I lack the social assertiveness to organise something with my friends...

Oh, she did? I guess I have been gone awhile...when I was last posting she was all over the thread. Ah well, okay then. Guess there's no pressure. I work better with no pressure.

I think she slowed down pretty soon after your last post, so there's that...

But yes, no pressure.

Oh dear, Illuminati things! I heard nothing, saw nothing.

Good, good.
*pat, pat*

I told her, and she said hi too. As far as the movie...I will explode in excitement about it shortly.

If this is a scale from one to five, I expect the answer is somewhere around 0.5 - very bad cold/flu.

I don't think that scales in order, actually. I would rank pneumonia over malaria in terms of severity, malaria is just much more wide-spread. Also, what says that the humanocide virus is a bad experience. Perhaps you'll actually feel good and invigorated before it kills you, thus encouraging you to spread it...

Trivial answer:
The union of the set of all non-sick people and the set containing only Zodi.

Even more trivial answer:
The set containing only Zodi.

ION:
Today is a high sensitivity day, apparently. It's not a particulary enjoyable experience, suddenly you hear every little annoying sound there is to hear. Especially smaller brothers...

[Solse]

Yay for computer repairs, and a removal of busyness! What kinda projects did you have to do, just curious?

Fan of the game itself, not of any teams, and no sports channels anyway. Though I kinda wish I was, hockey in any form is fun. How is that hype then?

I had to deal with a long essay which took a while and really stressed me out. Luckily, I finished it, but unluckily, I have more projects this week. There're less this week than last, though, which is good.

The hype is real, my good Haluesen. It's odd -- I'm not a sports person at all, but hockey is the one sport that I enjoy watching and playing. All the others bore me half to death, unless we're counting e-sports.

Ah, I forgot that America has a different attitude to children's books. While I think there is a line in the British publishing industry, I'm not sure where it is. Thinking back, I remember the hero's parents being killed before the main story starts (Harry Potter, James and the Giant Peach and I'm sure there were others), characters being devoured pirahna-style (Edge Chronicles, Redwall), nameless heroes being devoured in droves by a monster and said monster being graphicly stabbed to death (The Karate Princess series, which admittedly was fairly unusual for the series), children being trapped in tunnels with the adult villain verbally prying out the information from them, something like a nuclear reactor going critical on the the heroes' favourite island hangout (the Famous Five), and chilling sequence where an adult unpleasant neighbour steals the power to stop time off the hero and throws him in front of buses and into the sea in a matter of seconds to make sure he stays quiet, followed by him realising that there's no way he can win against somebody larger and stronger who can be anywhere or make him disappear in an instant(Bernard's Watch). Then I went to high school, and things got even worse.

Damn, British kids' books sound *awesome*! Bernard's Watch sounds especially cool. What you described there sounds like something that you could find in a, you know, non-children's book. Part of me thinks that I would love having access to this kind of literature when I was a kid, but part of me knows that I would be too scared to actually read them.

So, all of that makes it a bit difficult for me to judge scariness for children. I do think that children do like a bit of fear in their stories, and everything turns out fine in The Iron Man and the monsters (the Iron Man and the dragon) do reform. There's definitely a few scenes that could be scary, such as the Iron Man being buried alive and absolutely livid, his escape from being buried alive where he rips up a hill, the dragon's threat to eat all life on the earth and the implication that anybody who happened to be standing in the wrong part of Australia was crushed by the dragon, but I don't think it's worse than a lot of popular fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

Just speaking from my experience, the things that I was scared of as a child were things like getting a disease and dying suddenly, or that a burglar/murderer would suddenly break into my house. Things that *could* happen, and could happen very quickly. I dunno if that's what everybody else would be scared of things like that, but I feel like if I read The Iron Man, the only part that would really bother me is how the dragon from space suddenly kills most people in Australia.

As the book is actually meant to be read to children, like a bedtime story, the language is fairly simple from what I remember, but I don't think it detracts from the awesomeness. Like I said, the author was Poet Laureate, so he's pretty good with his words. It wasn't super light, but it wasn't as dark as say, Harry Potter. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if the simpler language hasn't turned you off by the time you actually reach the dragon, you're probably going to enjoy it, but it can be hard to take the story seriously initally.

That makes sense that the language is simple. I don't necessarily think that flowery prose with big words everywhere would necessarily make something more epic, so I guess I'll take your word for the fact that the author makes the scene sound as awesome as you said it did.

She thinks it looks more civilised like this. In a way it's helpful, because it was slightly oddly off-centre and now I can grow it back without having to wait a year.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I guess it's good that your beard will come back better than ever when it regrows. Having to talk to someone with an off-center beard IRL would slowly but surely drive me crazy.

Thank you, I'm glad that you -- Aww, damn, it's Monday night now, isn't it. Goddamnit, time flies way too quickly for my tastes.

ION: After hearing everybody rave about it for so long, I just got Shovel Knight! This is my first videogame purchase in a long while. I've recently mainly been focusing on Super Smash Bros Melee, so I haven't played a platformer in a while (save for Cave Story, which I wouldn't really call a platformer). One thing that I noticed is that it is damn hard. Like, really damn hard. I died 29 times already. It's still a great game, and I think that it was definitely a good investment.

[Sgt. Cookie]

At uni and a guy's having an epileptic fit in the next room. Yelling out in pain. It is... not pleasant to listen to.

[Qwertystop]

At uni and a guy's having an epileptic fit in the next room. Yelling out in pain. It is... not pleasant to listen to.

If it's any consolation, I think you're unconscious while having a seizure - he's yelling, but not hurting.