Alyska

One archetype I'm getting a bit sick of is the cartoonish feisty girl type. You know, hotheaded, likes to brag, typically runs head first into battle (but is ultimately never really as effective as the male hero), and is eventually revealed to have a softer, more caring side (SURPRISE! Betcha didn't see that coming. She's a real girl after all!). Whenever I see one, it feels kind of lazy on the part of the writers- like they wanted a "strong female character" without thinking about what that phrase actually means, and that they're relying on an archetype a bit too much. TLR's version of Kiina falls squarely into that category. Also, has anyone noticed how only female characters tend to get described as "feisty"? The only male character I can think of that has ever been described as such is S######-Doo. And we all know how popular he was. If a character is hotheaded, sharp-tongued, but actually, y'know, competent, there tend to be other words we use to describe them - to me, "feisty" implies angry mediocrity. As for best female characters? I'm going to nominate Toph. She transcends the "feisty" label by pulling off feats that are genuinely on par with the other heroes, and her wacky sense of humour definitely helps set her apart from other female cartoon characters. So many writers are convinced that girls cannot be funny, and it's refreshing to see a character who defies that.

I think I recall reading somewhere that the colour-gender thing is still reversed in Denmark (ie, blue for girls, pink for boys). So, that might actually explain the Bionicle thing, given where Lego comes from...As for me, I don't mind pink. There's even a little bit of it in my wardrobe, although I really prefer red personally.

You don't need any points to access that one. It should be available from the start. Of course, it will troll you if you specifically want to go there, so be prepared to go to the Pleasant Forest frequently.

I checked a wiki, and it seems to be still available. But yeah, I haven't been in the DW much, either- mostly because it's repetitive and time consuming- plus the fact that I've got virtually everything I wanted from it by now. At least with the Pokewalker, you didn't have to spend much time on it to accumulate points- it did that by itself. Actually, now I'm wondering whether the dream world will be expanded upon for B2/W2. There could be potential to develop a story for Fennel and the laboratory...

I thought the Spooky Manor area was still available...

She may not have had two hearts. She's a human-timelord hybrid, after all.

On the weight thing- it is considered fashionable- normal even, for a girl to be moping over some minor aspect of her appearance (There's a wonderful scene in the film Mean Girls that beautifully lampoons this). And there's that awful song that goes "You don't know you're beautiful/That's what makes you beautiful"- because high self esteem is just undesirable in a girl. I don't know whether any of you heard the story of the online columnist a few weeks ago that attracted so much backlash because she claimed that attractive people like herself don't have it so good. She got thousands of complaints calling her ugly, narcisstic, and plenty of other words that I can't write here- because HOW DARE she, a woman, think of herself as attractive?Now, I'd be lying if I said I was 100% happy with my own appearance, but I generally don't feel the need to complain about it. I'd much rather complain about the social trends and institutions that make women (and, sometimes, men) feel this way. Like the fact that I am a perfectly healthy weight, but because I'm quite short with big hips, I find it difficult to buy jeans that fit without having to modify them- thus implying that my body shape is somehow "abnormal" (which it isn't), and that people my shape don't deserve to be catered to. Now I know why Pohatu doesn't wear pants.So, Tekulo, I wouldn't put the blame entirely on the girls you speak of- they're just doing what's expected of them. When acting "fashionably insecure" starts to trump showing respect for the people around you, however, it's a sign that this is really starting to get out of hand- that people are encouraged to care more about their own appearance than they are about the feelings of other people... and I have seen it too, in my own friends, so I know where you're coming from, but I believe the quote in the above post is surprisingly applicable here, too:"Don't hate the players, hate the game."Also, speaking of the Hunger Games, one thing that bothers me is how people tend to overlook the basic premise. Like how my mum was surprised that I felt a bit down after reading it:"Mum, it's about teenagers being forced to murder each other. Isn't it supposed to be depressing?""Oh, I didn't really get that vibe from it. I thought it was more about survival skills."But, now that I think about it, I guess I did learn some important survival kills from it. like, if I'm ever fighting for my life out in the wilderness, starving to death with people trying to murder me, I should immediately start snogging the nearest boy, and a package of food will magically drop from the sky!I'm not criticising the story at all- as I said before, it's a good premise and very well written. However, if you're going to enjoy something like that, I think you need to recognise the premise for what it is, and you should be prepared to recognise the horror of the situation. If you just get caught up in the glitz and the action... I think you might be missing the point.

You forgot "merging timestreams together by doing the Macarena".

Heh, I know I'm late to this, but I was just looking through the previous page and the discussion on whether ponies or Bionicle is more of a deterrent to girls...I'd say it really depends on the girl. If she's spent a reasonable amount of time on the Internet, it's likely that she'd be familiar with bronies and see that as a relatively normal thing, whereas collecting Lego as an adult might be weird. Then again, she might be a tomboy who hates anything pink and conventionally girly, sooo... yeah. It's pretty much impossible to speak for women in general, and I know I wouldn't really be deterred by either.That said, I DO have a story of a guy who seemed to fancy me being deterred by ponies. It wasn't in real life, thankfully- It was right here on BZP. He'd been following me around, sending me PMs about random things, and posting in topics immediately after I'd posted (even if he clearly knew/cared nothing about the topic in question)- it was seriously weirding me out, but he wasn't doing anything outright creepy, so I couldn't report it. Anyway, he followed me in here and made some ridiculous claim that if MLP made references to one of his favourite movies/shows, he'd become a brony. It was then pointed out that MLP contained references to half the things he'd mentioned, and he started trying to deny all of them. And then he went even weirder and started speaking in Fancy... and then he ran away, and never bothered me again. YAY! Happy ending!

There's good reason to cry even if you are a fan- it's just wrong on so many levels:1. The Hunger Games has a bit of an anti-consumerist theme, thereby making ANY kind of merchandise a ridiculous idea.2. Personality-wise, Katniss is about as far removed from Barbie as it's possible to get, and I think she'd be pretty peeved off about the existence of such a product.3. The Hunger Games is about teenagers murdering each other for sport. Barbie is typically aimed at five to nine year old children. I think this doll is more aimed at adult collectors, but still...On the plus side, Barbie's figure DOES somewhat accurately mimic that of a malnourished young woman whose family struggles to find food. :PAs for me, I think saying whether I "like' the book or not is... complicated. I think it is a very well written and engaging book, but I think that's different to liking it. It pushed all the right buttons, and left me feeling emotionally ruffled and disgruntled, which, I can only assume, was the point. I can't really say I liked it, but I get the impression that I wasn't meant to like it, and that simply liking it would be missing the point. But, then, so many other people loved it, so now I wonder whether I'm the one missing the point...

I haven't been here in a looong time, so apologies if this is already posted, but there's a rather good MLP project on Lego Cuusoo at the moment. It looks as though it clocked up 1000 supporters or more in its first month!http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/11176I'm honestly not sure how the licensing would work (being owned by Hasbro and all), but if this gets to 10 000 and Lego really can get ahold of the rights... good for them!

Whenever the first info for a new Pokemon game comes out, regardless of how awesome the plot sounds or how many Pokemon are available, my brother and I always start with the same thing...Riffing on the protagonists' outfits!Me: Okay, the girl looks like the product of a wild night involving Sailor Moon, Princess Leia, and possibly Minnie Mouse.Bro: ...Is that meant to be a skirt she's wearing?Me: Actually, I think it's some sort of frilly short-shorts.Bro: ...Me: Hey, at least she's wearing leggings underneath.Bro: Yeah. Wait a minute... the guy is wearing them too!Both of us: o.0Cruel, I know. But I am really excited about the expanded dex. And it seems you can just catch Eevee in the wild, which is unusual...

*cracks knuckles*I have been gone waaaay too long...@Alex Humva- On your point about education- I'm studying teaching at the moment, so I might be able to shed some light on the subject. Generally, the impression I get is that as a teacher, you need to be flexible enough to cater to the needs of your particular group of students. Now, you're obviously going to have a high degree of diversity within your class, but generally, most teachers often find particular interests or strengths that are common within a group, and that's something they can take into account when planning lessons.So, you do generalise, but it should be based on what you know about the students as people, not necessarily just on gender, (or race, ethnicity, culture, etc for that matter). Now, maybe that's harder to do in a high school environment as opposed to primary school (which is what I study), but even then, you should at least be trying to get to know the students and figuring out how to cater to the lot you've got.As for segregation... generally, I think it's unnecessary, mostly because I think it's healthy for girls and boys to mix, but I can see some of the merits- eg, some all-boys classes with a male teacher providing a strong role model have been shown to produce good results in some of the "rougher" schools- but like I said, I think that it very much depends on the nature of the students, and it wouldn't be right for everyone. Hope that helps- I actually have a workshop about gender tomorrow, so I'll get back to you if I learn anything interesting. As for all this talk of cyborg barbies and Hunger Games, Mattel presents...Katniss Everdeen Barbie!I am honestly not sure whether to laugh or cry...

I'm using a Lightningrod Zebstrika alongside my Gyarados in Doubles. It's great for Gyarados, but Zebstrika isn't a particularly good offensive Pokemon in its own right unless Lightningrod actually activates. When it does, it's amazing (and hilarious), but when it doesn't it's pretty ordinary. Now I'm really hoping they release Lightningrod Zapdos...Of course, the best bit about Lightningrod in the Subway is that the AI is too dumb to figure out that electrocuting Gyarados isn't going to work... so they just keep trying again and again, boosting Zebstrika's Special attack to insane levels in the process.On a side note, which item is better for Zebstrika in Doubles- Air Balloon or Focus Sash?

I generally refrain from using perfect-IV/hacked Pokemon competitively, although I will occasionally use some of Mat's distro Pokemon in the Battle Tower or for breeding. I don't consider breeding to be a huge task- after all, you can hatch eggs with one hand and do something else on the computer with the other, right? Anyway, I'm not opposed to other people hacking, but I don't do it myself, and if they glitch their game up in the process they'll be getting no sympathy from me.That said, I actually really disagree with the whole concept of IVs in general- if there was one thing I would like to take out of the Pokemon games, it's that. I mean, think about it- IVs mean that some Pokemon are genetically "better", and therefore all-out superior, to other members of their species. I can understand the Natures thing- after all, when you hire somebody for a job, you 'll want someone with a And if you're serious about battling, you are actively encouraged to set up breeding programs designed to produce these perfect individuals, all the while producing dozens of unwanted, "imperfect" individuals that you either release into the wild at Level 1, or leave stranded in a PC Box for the rest of their lives (I guess you could compare it to real-world animal breeders, but even then, the "imperfect" specimens are not always treated humanely). And the worst part is I DO IT. I practise eugenics because of Pokemon. Look what you've done, Gamefreak! It just seems really at odds with the game's message that every Pokemon has the potential to succeed and deserve its Trainer's love.That said, I hatched a really awesome Blitzle the other day Timid nature, Lightningrod, IVs approx 17/29/30/31/3/31 aaand 70 BP Hidden Power Ice. Because I am a TERRIBLE PERSON..

If they're direct sequels, then that almost requires two new player characters, and new rivals. Otherwise, how do they explain you starting from scratch with no Pokemon or items?As for the forms, I think White Kyurem is an improvement on Reshiram, design-wise. It looks more... I dunno... balanced, rather than having an Eiffel-tower body shape (Long neck, squat body). As for the black one... it's an improvement on the original Kyurem, but it's not an improvement on Zekrom, if that makes sense.

So, my current plan for getting loads of legendaries off the GTS...1. Mug a bunch of Clefairies and steal all their moon stones.2. Use Moon Stones to evolve all my leftover breeding project Nidorans3. Put Nidokings and Nidoqueens up on GTS asking for legendaries.4. PROFIT.Actually, it's much easier to just breed Eevees and evolve them into Glaceon then put them up for trade, (Everyone loves the Eeveelutions) but I need to do something with all these Nidorans.Anyway, I was mugging Clefairies for about five hours, and I eventually got a shiny one!

Well, ponies tend to have unusual family naming traditions, so it's possible that "Flim Flam" was somehow their family name, and, when the twins were born (I assume they're twins) their parents decided to split the name between the two of them.

...and others sound like they just made up random crud. I guess that's what happens when you get ten year olds to fill the pokedex for you.Yeah, Shedinja's entry was already on my list, along with Grimer being made from "toxic sludge exposed to x-rays from the moon!"

Changing the subject here, but does anyone have a favourite implausible Pokedex entry? I personally like the one about each Teddiursa's paws having a different flavour, simply for the mental image of how the pokedex writers figured this out.I'm tossing up the idea of a comic series centred around the more questionable Pokedex entries, but I want to collect a few of the more infamous ones first...

My favourite part would have to be the highlights on the armour- it really gives off the impression of a lingering glow after the fire.

I like the group photo idea! On a semi-related note: Does anyone know if someone has made a file of pony Flash objects available for free download/use?

As far as I can tell, no. I only did a quick Google search, though, so there might be some floating around.

Ah, well, thanks for looking. I found a semi-solution- exporting images from the Pony generator, putting them in Flash, and then using the "Trace Bitmap" feature to make them usable as flash objects. (Although, you still have to go through the process of manually breaking the pony down into individual objects, and the resulting image isn't quite as sharp as I would like.).Anyway, here's my OC, Paintpot Smudge, done using a combination of pony generator and Flash.

I like the group photo idea! On a semi-related note: Does anyone know if someone has made a file of pony Flash objects available for free download/use?

In one of my classes at university, we were having a class discussion about children's writing, and how it may not always be... um, politically correct. After the session, I showed my lecturer a page of Axe Cop (specifically, the part where Axe Cop meets "The Girls" superhero team, concludes that all girls are dumb, and hits them with his axe). She was laughing so hard she nearly fell off the desk she was sitting on.