ALVIS

Wait, you're only a freshman sophomore? Wow. Wouldn't have expected it.

Anyway, heed Black Six's advice above, but I must put in my two cents -- if the teachers know the material and can help you become acquainted with it, AP Calculus and AP Physics are must-takes. I took them junior year and really enjoyed them, because my teachers were knowledgeable and helpful. (It also helped that my dad has a Ph. D in Physics and my mum teaches calculus at university, haha, but it was mostly the teachers.)

With that lineup, it looks like your high school years are going to be very engaging and stimulating, so... have fun!

Oh, Xenoblade is the best. You're going to love it.

Nope, never. I constantly watch my peers struggle and fail and despair. And while I'm not always blatant about it, I laugh and I laugh and I laugh. XD

Don't get me wrong. I get angry and worked up and sad and disgusted about plenty of things, most of them political. Feeling sorry for other people, though... it takes a lot to get that out of me. You'd have to really be struggling.

As for shame, well... I think we all have those memories that keep us lying awake some nights, correct?

First things first, I volunteer at the Saint Louis Zoo, so write me off for bias if you must. But I think my points are still valid.

Zoos began as entertainment, yes, and they still serve that function for the majority of the public. People (mostly parents with kids, of course) come to see cool and exotic animals that they wouldn't otherwise see. Note that the Saint Louis Zoo's admission is absolutely free -- that makes it more accessible for everyone. (Of course, the food and merchandise is way pricey to make up for that, but still.)

The difference is that -- at least at my zoo -- people come for entertainment, and they walk away with knowledge. I volunteer in the Education Department, and our whole thing is information. Some of the above commentators are right; zoos are kinda boring. The animals aren't running around killing each other like you see on nature documentaries. They live pretty decent, well-fed lives, so there isn't a lot of excitement. But start telling guests about all the cool adaptations and behaviors these animals use, and they get hooked.

Guests love to hear about how cool animals are in the wild. This is the point where you can talk about the problems they face -- not just from natural predators or hazards, but from pollution, poaching, and other human maladies. That's very saddening to people. Gorillas are getting killed because we mine cell phone components from their forests? Oh, no!

That's when the important stuff comes in. These gorillas live half a world away, yes. But ordinary guests can still do something about it. It's simple -- just recycle their cellphones instead of throwing them away. That keeps some of those crucial components available for reuse, reducing the drive for miners to encroach on gorilla habitats. My zoo has a phone recycling bin right next to the gorilla exhibit, for just this purpose. It doesn't take with everyone, but many people will remember that and think more carefully about their cell phones in future.

And it's not just us volunteers and educators. The whole zoo is covered in signs, videos, and other modes of information communication, all with the end goal of promoting conservation and environmentalism. Obviously, there's plenty going on behind the scenes, as well; I've been helping to care for American burying beetles in the Insectarium, and next month we'll be releasing them into the wild.

That's why zoos are so important. In this day and age, they don't exist to entertain. They exist to educate and inform.

This seems very counter-intuitive to me. One would think that "warning points" would register the number of times you've been warned.

WHAT THIS IS I DONT EVEN

Meh, you can't get much better than a Sakurai game. The man is brilliant with video games!

WHAT THIS IS I DONT EVEN

Similarly, the Police Officer could be the village/metru's resident Toa, a la Lhikan or Jovan. One of the main differences between Bionicle and Mafia games would be the justice system; it seems most Bionicle villains were either imprisoned without trial or killed (without trial). Alternatively, they could be the Vahki, and the Vigilante would be the Toa.

Another suggestion for Detective is that they wear not Masks of Psychometry (which would be handy, but would perhaps not tell others' roles), but they would wear Masks of Truth to judge what a villager was hiding.

Although there's one major roadblock, at least concerning disbelief suspension: Toa, Matoran, different Kanohi, Dark Hunters, Vahki, and others are all very visually separate, and you'd think other players would immediately notice other players' types (and therefore, roles). Unless everyone is a Matoran, or disguised as such. The Dark Hunters could have half the villagers working for them, the Toa could wear a Mask of Illusion, et cetera, et cetera.

The best part of a move to Bionicle is the possibility for very awesome death scenes. There are so many imaginative ways to off someone in Bionicle; this includes all the regular killing method s of the Mafia and more.

And look at me, only having watched:

- all episodes from 2005 onwards

- The Green Death

- The Three Doctors

- a small bit of The Key to Time

How ashamed I feel.

Similarly, I check BZP multiple times every day (and noticed the forums' return immediately), but I rarely have the time to sit down and write Makuta Hunt. Mainly because I'm lazy and procrastinate a lot, especially when I set all the deadlines mentally, but homework, choir, and other writing hobbies (I summarize our latest D&D sessions in episodic form) also factor into it. Thankfully, homework will be out of the question come next Wednesday.

He was the astronomer whom they're naming all those recently discovered planets after, right?

I'm not picking up on the pattern here, but that's probably just me being thick.

Do you mind if we lynch you in iBrow's game while you're gone? XD

Seriously, though, I know where you're coming from, although I don't think my situation's ever been that drastic. A break from BZP and the Internet can be very healthy, as I've discovered through various holidays, trips, and the Great Dataclysm.

How odd and slightly worrisome. My school is primarily populated by apes, and even they understand sarcasm.

I myself grasp sarcasm all too well, making rather too much use of it. I also experience a scathing amount from my "friends," namely the female ones. Ouch. ><

Could be worse. I've learned that if our school ever really caught fire, half of us would die screaming, thinking it was just another badly-timed drill. Those who did escape wouldn't do so by exiting quietly and calmly; they'd survive by vaulting over everyone else, shoving people out of the way, and bolting for the doors.

...Yeah, our fire drills don't go very well. At least the weather is nice.

I rarely have lucid dreams, mostly lunatic ones. They're still fun! XD

I am now the Demon Lord who presides over the surface you look upon. Weeping Angels cannot compare.

Are you talking about the "explosive runes"? Because Weeping Angels are far superior in any case.

Well, if you're not taking it, then I could definitely stand to be Stormageddon: Dark Lord of All for a few months. But I want an Avatar: The Last Airbender name change first.

Ouch. ><

I'll have to be plenty careful. My computer is slow sometimes already (although it doesn't show any signs of a virus; it's just slow).

I know. I see what Moffat meant when he said that the enemies for this episode made the Weeping Angels look like "stuffy old statues"* - the very concept of a creature you see all the time but can never remember had me lying awake for a bit longer than usual last night. Plus they just plain look creepy, especially when they're not in focus. I jumped the first few times we caught sight of them.

On a related note, I pity anyone who was expecting more answers than questions in the first half of a two-parter. That was one epic episode, though, and I can't wait for more.

*I do take offense to that, Steve.

I noticed a few small grammar errors, but those really couldn't detract from the hilariousness of the spoof as a whole. Once again, you amaze me - especially with my unexpected cameo (although I could have anticipated it, given I'm an Angel ), which were golden. Loved the "he'll make us review his MOCs" gag. XD The suggestion to "praise his color scheme" really had me laughing there. I do put you through so much trouble, don't I?

Drop to the ground, maybe?

Yes, that was the idea. XD

Has anyone else ever noticed how ridiculous those signs on low-hanging door frames are? "Watch Your Head", they order. But it's a physical impossibility! You can't really watch your head, based on the placement of your eyes (technically, you can watch your eyelids, which are a part of your head, but I don't count that).

And even if you COULD watch your head, what help would that be? Okay, so I see a low-hanging door frame ahead. I intently watch my head, because the sign tells me to. Dum de dum de doo, okay, I should be - *bonk* OW! What help was THAT?!

So really, these signs should just read "Beware the Low-Hanging Door Frame". But I guess that's not really catchy. :/

Indiscreetly counterfeited in the exact likeness of such yarn added to the reviews concerning the most recent set of musings in the collection of Sumiki's thoughts:

Sumiki, alas, at the tenebrous hour, did find it unwise to permit himself to absolve memory of his most secure verbal key. For it was the key that granted that great gift of trust, of solicitude, of frankness and honesty, of earnesty. That verbal key, so sophiscated, so beautifully crafted, so as to permit access into that matrix of creativity, that wondrous machine, electrically connected to many other such devices, in a technological display of utmost intellgence, the magnum opus of the homosapien creaturekind.

In his cerebral lapse, the aforementioned knowledge of the unlocking element did vanish, yet foreseeing this event he had the prudence, or perhaps foolishness, though nary shall it be discerned by mortal reason as to which of those two, that he allowed such vital information to pass into the claws of one Lhikevikk. Lhikevikk, that eccentric acquaintance, whose nome de plume doth haunt the minds of those who search out the magnum opus of the homosapien creaturekind. For it was that bizarre entity who seized upon such knowledge, and took it upon himself to exert that power for his own demented purposes.

At the centre of the nocturnal timeframe, half past into an an even more tenebrous hour, the being awaited the cerebral lapse of self-awareness prophesied by the unfortunate comrade of his. His organs of vision shifted asynchronously, searching out the vicinity for potential risk of testimony, of evidence circumstancial, anecdotal and empirical. Silently, he stalked forward, his visual organs bejeweled with contemplation of the sensational act of limited sanity he was preparing himself to execute. Locking his sight onto the luminous surface, radiating the knowledge of that matrix of creativity, he set his digits to execise the power bestowed on him by his oblivious accomplice. Appliying pressure to the lettered quadraliterals on the device below te luminous surface, he typographically inputted the knowledge so bestowed on him, of that complex verbal key designed as a countersign of trust, so that the wondrous machine would be deceived, believing erroneously that its faithful comrade Sumiki was requesting its services.

His act of trickery complete, he began to seek out the information locked inside the wondrous machine. Most fortuitously, he happened upon a certain arrangment of the miniscule points of colour on the luminous surface, the arrangement being that which detailed the musings of its proper owner. Reaching out for the control device, zoologically named, he shifted its location, so that a small irregular figure, displayed on the luminous surface, might alter its own position to that of rectangular shape marked in modern script with words detailing a command to create a new collection of thoughts to be displayed on that list of collections which rightfully displayed those of Sumiki. Applying pressure to the upper left corner of the zoologically named control device, the luminous surface transformed in response to a different display, this one requesting the typographical input of a new collection of thoughts. Returning to the lettered quadraliterals below, he concocted a vichyssoise of verbiage that could only come from such a perturbed mind as his, bearing little rational congruance and being most incoherent.

His act of madness complete, Lhikevikk, returned to the unconscious Sumiki. Being wary so as not to disturb his slumber, he discreetly related a ficticious account of how it was Sumiki who had written such a raving. Escaping surreptitously, Lhikevikk left Sumiki in the utterly incorrect notion that it was himself who hath typographically inputted such nonsense.

...

what the heck did i just write