Thanks for the link! I think that was one of the ones I'd saved to read later, but this'll bump it to the top of my list. :)

See, that's the main reason I worry about my friend so much. He's a young student that's on his own financially, and currently just staying at a (wonderful) friend's house. He can't afford this, and he gets really evasive if I bring up the money aspect of it. He's a big enough butthead (said with affection!) that I…

Well said — I'm not sure if I'm reading to call it a full-fledged cult, either, but it definitely has that whiff about it, doesn't it? Thanks for the link — I'll add it to my "I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU, LANDMARK!" list! :)

Thanks for such a great response! No worries about me — I love my bestie to death, but he already knows it'll be a cold day in hell before I join up. You've done a much better job than I did of articulating some of the issues I've had with it — and I did the exact same thing, "Wait, I type it into Google and 'cult' is…

This is only slightly related, but does anyone here have any experience with the Landmark Education Forum? I've been doing a lot of internet research on them ever since my best friend became involved. This is my best friend, my brother, my hero I'm talking about here, so I tend to be slightly overprotective. So far,…

Bah, I wrote you that freaking novel and didn't even answer your last question — yes, games have definitely changed enough that you should give them a try! There are so many genres out there, I think there's a game for everyone. (Hell, my mother loves playing my Crosswords game on my 3DS when I'm in town.) Games like…

I've been thinking about this since last night (I take nerd recommendations very seriously!). In a lot of ways, the Mass Effect trilogy could be a great place to start, because it's got such a wonderful story and it's great for all sci-fi lovers, with two caveats: 1) IMO, the first one has a few flaws that can make…

It's kind of silly, I admit, ha! But I seriously impulse-buy books, and I can drop $80 in under ten minutes at the bookstore — and I really shouldn't be spending that money. But they're so shiny... and they have that new book smell... O.O;

I do really like some of their colors, so I'll give them a try next time I'm splurging! :)

I ALWAYS paint my nails at night for the same reason. I'm even getting better at waiting long enough so I don't have blanket-creases in them. :) Everyone thinks I'm obsessed with glitter — I just use it to cover the blanket marks!

YISSSS. Tell her to do it. Right now. Random Internet Woman wills it so! :D

Your "childish" is somebody else's "informal". I mean, I can't firmly declare why it's so prevalent, any more than I can any other linguistic phenomenon — my guess is that it's just another aspect of the general "informalizing" (yeah, let's just pretend that's a word for a second) of the language. I mean, look at…

I swear, half of my hygiene/beauty routines have come to involve extra virgin olive oil. I use it (and castor oil) to clean my face, and to moisturize everything (face, hands, feet, elbows). It's the only facial moisturizer I've found that doesn't make me break out.

I could definitely believe that the producer just put his foot in his mouth, and that the developers intended something else entirely. I haven't had a chance to play the game yet, and I still want to give it a try — I'm not trying to malign it (at least, not until I actually play! ;). I like hearing (erm, reading)…

I agree with you that the portrayal of rape is not inherently anti-feminist, but the trope of adding a rape to a female character's plot simply to garner sympathy (women in refrigerators, anyone?) is definitely not treating women equal to men — I mean, I can't remember the last time I saw a male raped in a videogame…

*applause* Oh, I like you.

Yes, let's talk about that, because that's CERTAINLY much more important. Ugh.

Yes! My current plans are to play the series again once I finish thoroughly enjoying Fire Emblem (and, you know, finishing the semester and making money and stuff). It's just such an awesome world to play in.

"I've never encountered any that actually let you shape your character as a human being to the extent that Mass Effect does"