Crymson

Congrats to both alliances. In honor of this treaty, I shall cut down the world's tallest tree with a herring.

Knew it weeks ago. I was actually somewhat perturbed at the first section of your announcement. There had already been enough major changes tonight. Anyway, congrats.

You will be missed, probably even by your enemies. At this point, so late in the proverbial day, the alliances that really won Cybernations are those who made the most impact upon it. The Mushroom Kingdom ranks among the very highest in that category. For TOP's part, it's saddening to lose one of our closest allies, and certainly our closest activity partner over the past two years. What started as a marriage of convenience between us---albeit one whose genesis was deep mutual respect---blossomed into a working relationship of tremendous productivity and impact. Farewell.

Hahahahaha, that's a funny one. I'd get into it, but then I'd really be discussing moderation issues.

My last post had nothing of the sort, but nice try. That said, you do bring up the the pertinent fact that if not for our kindness and leniency, your time in this game would have ended more than five years ago.

I've had two posts deleted by Schattenman now. Clearly I'm revealing things that he doesn't want to have people know.

Didn't you just waste your time responding to one of the densest, daftest members of this community?

I'm not discussing this any further until you watch Plinkett's review of Revenge of the Sith. Take it or leave it.

Your post is so chock-full of arrogant stupidity that I won't even bother responding to it. Your explanation of Padme's death was the only part that I found entertaining. Apparently being choked for 15 seconds means death. That's funny. Anyway, the movie itself and literally every canonical Star Wars source out there disagrees with you, but since it's obvious that you're an egotist, it doesn't surprise me that you continue to argue the point anyway. In other words, you're unwilling to watch these highly-touted masterpieces because they disagree with your views. Got it.

A year is longer than 12 months? Apparently you equals everyone.

Ah, mhawk. Truly one of the worst leaders ever.

Thanks. I worked hard on those three posts.

Oh, SNAP! If this were 2010, I might argue with you, but it's 2013; I just don't care.

Absolutely.

Isn't it a bit egotistical to refer to yourself in the third person?

I'm so glad that my significance to you merits such an expenditure of time.

Doitzel was (like you) an inveterate attention whore, obsessed with obtaining and maintaining significance. And outside of a very small group, nobody liked Zhadum, not even his peers in NPO.

Anakin was fooled into becoming evil. Palpatine manipulated him (in unbelievable manner) to believe that Padme would die in childbirth otherwise, with Palpatine himself being the only one who could keep it from happening. The cost of Palpatine supposedly saving Padme was that Anakin turn to the dark side. Palpatine's single bit of leverage was the visions that he introduced to Anakin's dreams. Anakin was an unbelievably stupid character who fell for a ruse concocted by a guy whose kind was legendary for its lies and deceit. The story depended on Anakin being a moron. Padme died of a broken heart. The medical droid outright said that there was nothing medically life-threatening, and that she was dying because she had lost the will to live. This is an indisputable point, so don't bother arguing about it. This is the typical refrain from people who were born closer to the prequels than to the original series, and who grew up exposed to the flashy battles and special effects that the prequels provided. Kids tend to favor war and flashy things to actual storytelling. I'm not saying that this is you, but this is the general reasoning behind the words of those who simply cannot appreciate a good story---nor, for that matter, any story that is not filled with CGI. The effects were revolutionary for their time. More, they were used properly: as a supplement to the story. In an interview from way back when, Lucas openly said that special effects could not make a movie. He apparently forgot this in the interim. The power of the original trilogy is that unlike the horrid story in the prequels, it told a yarn more than sufficiently interesting to keep people emotionally involved. The characters were excellent, and audiences became invested in them. The special effects are more than good enough, even today. Oh, so you've finally resorted to the typical method of those who believe the prequel trilogy to be superior: accusing me of being hidebound. Quit the ad hominems, please; I could just as easily accuse you of being a foolish youngster incapable of recognizing a good story and instead merely interested in special effects. The prequel trilogy had an atrocious story rife with awful, unbelievable characters, and was little more than a platform upon which Lucas could utilize his new CGI technology. That is why I disliked it, so spare me the crap. Episode I was an abomination, Episode II only slightly less so, and Episode III is considered the best of the trilogy purely by stint of it being the least flawed. As for the idea that Revenge of the Sith is "darker," that was not the point of the trilogy from the beginning. Lucas felt compelled to take that direction after the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the first film and the lukewarm reception received by the second. And if you think that Empire isn't dark, then I don't know what to tell you. I find it funny that you cite the final Senate scene as a powerful moment, given that it's a microcosm of how plainly imbecilic almost every single character in the series is (this was necessary in order for the plot to proceed). Plinkett, who created extremely intelligent and thoughtful (not to mention hilarious) for all three movies, sums up that scene very well: Yes, the prequel trilogy created its own mold. That was George Lucas taking full control of every single aspect of the series' direction, with absolutely no oversight. He even wrote the entire script for each movie by himself, and was the single mind behind hideous characters such as Jar Jar Binks. Gary Kurtz once said that Lucas tends to get rid of people who disagree with him, and this absolutely shows in the prequel series. Suffice it to say that I'm very glad Lucas will not have creative control over the next trilogy. I'll leave you with the suggestion that you watch Plinkett's reviews of the prequels. They have rightly become quite famous and will be very eye-opening for you. http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/

Episode III is terrible, just like the other two films in the prequel trilogy; and if it did inspire emotion in me, then that emotion was frustration---frustration at how awful the movie was, and how plainly inept George Lucas is when left entirely to his own devices. The plot of Episode III was one giant hole, a black hole that sucked everything else into it. Palpatine's plan was ridiculously convoluted, made little sense, was predicated upon the proper conclusion of a legion of uncertain outcomes, and depended entirely upon the unconscionable, unbelievable stupidity of almost every single notable character in the series. And how did it end? Akakin was tricked into becoming evil; he did not turn to the dark side because he was seduced by its power, but rather because he was fooled by Palpatine into believing that Padme would die otherwise. Yep, Anakin willingly left behind all of his lifetime of training and every one of his friends---many of whom he went on to murder---entirely on the power a series of obscure dreams and the claim of a Sith Lord whose kind was known for its evilness and duplicity. He then went on to do everything the guy told him, again for no apparent reason. Did I mention, too, that his character was spoiled, pretentious, and intolerably whiny, and thus completely unlikable, and played by a terrible actor to boot? I found Anakin distasteful and annoying, and thus his fall, which Lucas meant to be tragic, held no emotion whatsoever for me; for one to be a tragic character, one needs to be liked by the audience first, and Lucas failed utterly at making this happen. Then Padme, who was surely one of the most bland, featureless characters ever to inhabit an entire trilogy of movies, died of a broken heart, a trilogy-ending premise so immensely ludicrous that it could only Lucas could have actually put it into a movie; no director worth his or her salts would ever dare to do such a thing. The guy couldn't whip up an ending that even made a bit of sense, so he settled with this, an ending outright insulting to the fans: Padme died because she just couldn't handle breaking up with her secret husband. Gee, wow, what a strong character! Again, no emotion: her character lacked any emotional appeal, and thus I didn't particularly care when she died. The single part of the movie that was even remotely emotionally jarring was when Anakin slaughtered a bunch of kids. This was of interest solely because I was surprised to see such a thing in Star Wars. The rest of the movie constituted the typical deluge of excessive special effects, boring story, and stupid characters. Did I feel emotion in any of the original movies? Absolutely. I was invested in all of the characters from the start. I felt Luke's loss when Obi-Wan died in A New Hope, and cheered when the heroes defeated the Death Star. The love story between Han and Leia in Empire had depth, and Han being frozen in carbonite was a moving scene. Vader's revelation of his relation to Luke was a genuine surprise, and that movie's end left me wanting to know what would happen next. Return of the Jedi got a bit silly, with the Ewoks and all, but I was nevertheless still emotionally invested in the plight and the ultimate victory of the Rebel forces, and the redemption and death of Vader was a poignant story arc. The ending, though infested with Ewoks, was still heartwarming, and provided a satisfactory end to the series. Speaking of fleet battles, remember that huge battle at the start of Episode III? You know, the one with all the special effects? Its participants: clones and robots, neither of which the audience had any reason to care about, all the more because everyone knew that Palpatine was in charge of both combatants. Nay, this was merely an avalanche of CGI, and was a microcosm of the prequel trilogy as a whole: Lucas forgot that he had to get the audience emotionally involved, instead opting to base the trilogy primarily on a bonanza of bright lights and shiny images. If you need more explanation as to why the prequels were horrible, watch Plinkett's reviews.

I thought that the CN Skype circles were all but dead.

I agree.

In GPA, perhaps; the stories of infighting there, at least from the past, are well known. It's certainly not true of TOP, as we have not had any sort of intra-alliance rivalry in six years (and that one was resolved quickly).

We rarely came into actual contact, so I don't think that it could be called a rivalry.

I doubt that 2007 TPF and 2013 TPF have much membership overlap.

An astute decision, though the continued treaty tie to NPO makes it somewhat meaningless.