What is the Reason for Hideous Avatars??

[Bird of Prey]

Yes - in case anybody is wondering - this does belong in PC&E, because methinks it speaks to a contemporary malaise. I'm willing to defend my premise if valid - I could be wrong based on any response here - but first, I'd like to know why so many exhibit such hostile avatars, or broadening the question: why anybody has chosen the avatar they choose. . . .

I chose mine because I think she epitomizes an age that - strangely enough - was the end of innocence. . . .

[scarletpeaches]

I chose mine because tt42 is the photoshop ninja and I am one of an unholy trinity.

[robeiae]

Hideous or hostile? I don't think the terms are synonymous.

My avatar might appear hostile, but I'd bet there are few--very few--that think it's hideous.

[Zoombie]

I chose mine cause I'm a massive massive Homeworld nerd...

[robeiae]

I chose mine cause I'm a massive massive Homeworld nerd...
Fixed that for ya...

[Zoombie]

I am a nerd, yes, but my specialty is Homeworld.

[Bird of Prey]

Hideous or hostile? I don't think the terms are synonymous.

My avatar might appear hostile, but I'd bet there are few--very few--that think it's hideous.

No, yours isn't hideous, but I do view it as hostile. I don't know if you care to share why you chose it, but I'm certainly interested. . . .

[rugcat]

Doggie!

[Bird of Prey]

I chose mine cause I'm a massive massive Homeworld nerd...

What does that mean, Zoombie?? Really, I don't know; I ask in earnest. . . .

[robeiae]

I am a nerd, yes, but my specialty is Homeworld.
The fact that you divide nerdiness into specialities is troublesome. You may have to be vanquished.

[cscarlet]

Umm... Who DOESN'T love a dog in sunglasses? :D

(Plus, she's my furbaby. She's always adorable to me, and I'm all that matters ;))

[Zoombie]

He chose it cause Firefly is AWESOME. Doth their need be any other reason?

[sulong]

Mine is for the sake of the blind.

[robeiae]

No, yours isn't hideous, but I do view it as hostile. I don't know if you care to share why you chose it, but I'm certainly interested. . . .
The avatar is Malcolm Reynolds, from Firefly (Sci-Fi TV series). Philosophically, we're kindred souls. And I'm a fan of the show. The particular pic is just the one I liked most, of the ones I could find. If there was a good one with him wearing a bonnet (which he did, in one episode), I'd probably use that one.

Of course, at other times my avatar is Harvey Korman, from Blazing Saddles, or Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. They're not hostile, but both--like Mal--lend themselves to excellent title and location lines.

[BenPanced]

i liek choklit meelk

[AMCrenshaw]

anarcho-pacifism.



AMC

[jennontheisland]

Hm. I'm guessing I may currently fall into the hideous category.

Mine's the result of a little rep game I'm playing with another member. All of my av and title changes (and most, if not all of hers) for the past couple months have been an inside joke.

[raburrell]

The cat may have had hostile intent, but the kid didn't.

[Prozyan]

Not too mention, like Mal, Robeiae is often fightin' a war already lost. :p

I picked my avatar because I dislike little girls who want ponies.

[Zoombie]

What does that mean, Zoombie?? Really, I don't know; I ask in earnest. . . .

Well, Homeworld was a real time strategy game made in 1999 by Relic Entertainment. It was billed as being the first truly three dimensional RTS, but what captured my imagination was its haunting music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jzeQIJf4PE), beautiful graphics (well, beautiful for the time) and its spellbinding narrative that tells the story of an exiled race struggling across an entire galaxy to return to their ancestal homeworld, Hiigara.

Its stuffed full of mystery, wonder, and genuine emotion. Plus, the gameplay is innovative and the multiplayer is balls-to-the-walls awesome.

My avatar is Karan S'Jet, the leader of these Exiled peoples. She volunteers to have herself integrated with the colony ship that will take them home, sacrificing her biological body so she can guide her people home.

(Why yes, the game IS riddled with references to Judaism...though Karan, unlike Moses, does actually get to set foot in the promise land.)

EDIT: Also, the end credits to the game have a song by YES that was written specifically FOR Homeworld. Which is AWESOME.

[Cyia]

I luvs my puppy.


I chose mine because tt42 is the photoshop ninja and I am one of an unholy trinity.

One of those is you???

(And none of the avatars are as hideous as whatever that was that kept popping up as the header picture yesterday - some kind of yuletide gremlin or something. I am so happy someone showed me how to addblock pictures.)

[Bartholomew]

No, yours isn't hideous, but I do view it as hostile. I don't know if you care to share why you chose it, but I'm certainly interested. . . .

It's a character from Firefly. o.O

##

I chose mine because I really like his coat, and Gilder was my favorite character in Skies of Arcadia.

[Zoombie]

It is a pretty bitching coat.

[Bird of Prey]

The avatar is Malcolm Reynolds, from Firefly (Sci-Fi TV series). Philosophically, we're kindred souls. And I'm a fan of the show. The particular pic is just the one I liked most, of the ones I could find. If there was a good one with him wearing a bonnet (which he did, in one episode), I'd probably use that one.

Of course, at other times my avatar is Harvey Korman, from Blazing Saddles, or Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. They're not hostile, but both--like Mal--lend themselves to excellent title and location lines.


You see, I didn't know that!! I thought your avatar was out of a movie - fairly recent, re. British about WWII, with Kiera Knightly. What the heck was the name of that?? ATONEMENT!!

[robeiae]

Not too mention, like Mal, Robeiae is often fightin' a war already lost. :p
Really, that's it in a nutshell.

[scarletpeaches]

One of those is you???L-R it's Libbie, tt42, me.

Fed up with seeing so much crud being passed off as 'acceptable' in our chosen genres, we decided to launch an all-out attack on the publishing world.

In full armour of course.

[Bird of Prey]

Hm. I'm guessing I may currently fall into the hideous category.

Mine's the result of a little rep game I'm playing with another member. All of my av and title changes (and most, if not all of hers) for the past couple months have been an inside joke.

Yes, imho, it does fall into the hideous category. So THAT'S the reason why. . . .

[Zoombie]

It's just a zombie, BOP.

[jennontheisland]

Well, that and I do like men with brains. ;)

[robeiae]

You see, I didn't know that!!
This is the themesong from Firefly (consider it being sung by my avatar):

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

[Cyia]

Well, that and I do like men with brains. ;)

But do you want them to bring their own BBQ sauce to go with the brains?

[robeiae]

L-R it's Libbie, tt42, me.

Fed up with seeing so much crud being passed off as 'acceptable' in our chosen genres, we decided to launch an all-out attack on the publishing world.

In full armour of course.
Barbarians at the Gates out for Mates?

[jennontheisland]

But do you want them to bring their own BBQ sauce to go with the brains?

I prefer gravy.

[Zoombie]

Ironically, this picture of Karan S'Jet is from Homeworld 2, which SUCKED. But its a better drawing, so there you go.

[Williebee]

Hideous? Hostile?

What? You don't want to touch my monkey? :)

(Mine is a picture of Willie B., majestic figurehead of the resurrection of the Atlanta Zoo.)

But I do want to hear how you get from odd avatars to "a contemporary malaise".

[Williebee]

In full armour of course.

of course. :)

[Cyia]

Hideous? Hostile?

What? You don't want to touch my monkey? :)

(Mine is a picture of Willie B., majestic figurehead of the resurrection of the Atlanta Zoo.)

But I do want to hear how you get from odd avatars to "a contemporary malaise".

Dude, that's not a monkey. :D

[Bird of Prey]

Hideous? Hostile?

What? You don't want to touch my monkey? :)

(Mine is a picture of Willie B., majestic figurehead of the resurrection of the Atlanta Zoo.)

But I do want to hear how you get from odd avatars to "a contemporary malaise".


Well, I don't think I said "odd." I kinda like "odd." But I'm sure I said "hideous," and "hostile." . . . .

I find your choice fascinating; I'm afraid to say appropriate. To me it would be a compliment; to you, it might not be so. . . .
Anyway, it was Jenn's among others that prompted the question. . . .

[jennontheisland]

Well, when my opponent makes her move, I'll be changing mine for the next round. It's all up to her, BoP. ;)

[Medievalist]

No, yours isn't hideous, but I do view it as hostile. I don't know if you care to share why you chose it, but I'm certainly interested. . . .

http://www.hulu.com/firefly

And it does make sense if you know Robiaeaeaeaeaeaeaeaeae's stance, and the program.

[Bird of Prey]

Well, when my opponent makes her move, I'll be changing mine for the next round. It's all up to her, BoP. ;)

It doesn't get worse, does it??

[Medievalist]

The avatar is Malcolm Reynolds, from Firefly (Sci-Fi TV series). Philosophically, we're kindred souls.

Mal "bad" from the Latin.

[jennontheisland]

It doesn't get worse, does it??

I never know what move she's going to make. She's damn good at .... whatever it is we're playing.

[Medievalist]

Yes, imho, it does fall into the hideous category. So THAT'S the reason why. . . .

At least it's not a friggin' squashed gopher.

Now that's just sick.

[Williebee]

Yeah, "odd" was my choice of word. Probably not an accurate one, except maybe for Jenn's, you know? :). But no less an opinion than saying "different/hideous/hostile" whatever. No offense intended, and none taken for the compliment.

[jennontheisland]

At least it's not a friggin' squashed gopher.

Now that's just sick.

Our game would have to take one helluva turn for one of us to play a squashed gopher.

I tried to find a pretty zombie....

[Bird of Prey]

At least it's not a friggin' squashed gopher.

Now that's just sick.
Admittedly, but I saw a pretty disgusting looking hairless dog. . . .

[Kathleen42]

Really, that's it in a nutshell.

I don't care why you picked it. I'm just happy that I get random glimpses of Mal when you post ;)

[Kathleen42]

A: I'm on a Bridget Jones kick. B: Because publishing really is scarier than dating. Or at least as scary.

[robeiae]

At least it's not a friggin' squashed gopher.

Now that's just sick.
Cleary, that's something that only an anti-social deviant with delusions of grandeur would pick (no offense, William).

[icerose]

Our game would have to take one helluva turn for one of us to play a squashed gopher.

I tried to find a pretty zombie....

I actually really like your avatar. The zombie looks like she's saying "You lookin' at me?"

As for my avatar, what can I say, I like fairies and I'm far too lazy to go find a picture for myself. Changing my avatar is one of my rewards when I actually get either a movie poster or a book cover that belongs to something I did in my posession. Then who knows, it might count as one of your hideous or hostile avatars because I just write dark.

[Magdalen]

Mine's not hideous or hostile. . . for now!

[jennontheisland]

I actually really like your avatar. The zombie looks like she's saying "You lookin' at me?"

As for my avatar, what can I say, I like fairies and I'm far too lazy to go find a picture for myself. Changing my avatar is one of my rewards when I actually get either a movie poster or a book cover that belongs to something I did in my posession. Then who knows, it might count as one of your hideous or hostile avatars because I just write dark.

Aw, thanks Rosie.

I hope you get to change your av soon. :)

[William Haskins]

I chose mine because I think she epitomizes an age that - strangely enough - was the end of innocence. . . .

same here.

[backslashbaby]

It's Chagall with doves. That equals awesome :D

[Bird of Prey]

same here.

A boy of the sixties, William. . . indeed, given the symbolism, the style and the irreverence. . . you'd almost think you were born in that monumental decade. . . . .

[veinglory]

I choose mine because I am a shameless self-promotion machine.

Buy my books.

[Gregg]

Easy - helicopters are the coolest machines! I love flying in them and had the good fortune to actually fly one. Just awesome.
Problem is they are expensive so I don't get much chance to fly. But I can dream.

[Dommo]

I chose mine because I enjoy trolling people, and live off of the lulz.

[Gretad08]

I'm not savvy enough to change my avatar. Actually a Mod (I think it was Mac :)) changed it for me and I have no idea how to create my own.

[thothguard51]

I have been told in some of my writing groups that if I changed my Avatar, others would not feel so threatened by my critiques. What do they want, a valid critique or a sexy avatar?

[icerose]

I have been told in some of my writing groups that if I changed my Avatar, others would not feel so threatened by my critiques. What do they want, a valid critique or a sexy avatar?

See my little line above my avatar. Sexy avatars don't help. They're just looking for excuses.

[Xelebes]

My avatar is pretty!
Oh so pretty!
My avatar is pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity!
Any avatar who isn't mine tonight!

[Clair Dickson]

I guess mine could be one of the hostile ones... though it's cute for a porcupine.

It's apt though. I'm fairly prickly, though the quills only come out when provoked or threatened. The rest of the time, they're just there to remind people to keep a safe distance.

I prefer to think of it as mildly anti-social rather than outright hostile.

[wannawrite]

Mine (for now) is my kid running barrels at the county fair last summer. She placed. I was proud. The memory makes me happy. Also....I forget how to change the damn thing, so it looks like she is gonna be running those barrels for awhile.

[joyce]

Where else can I post weird pictures of my dogs?

[Giant Baby]

I got nuthin'. It's just a picture of me that's always reminded me of the girl I'll always be.

[MGraybosch]

It's just me doing a Kubrick Stare. You'll get over it.

[dclary]

Well, that and I do like men with brains. ;)

I could feed you for a day here, babe.

[jennontheisland]

I could feed you for a day here, babe.

A day? That's it? Hardly an offer worth considering. :tongue

[dgrintalis]

I hope mine isn't hostile. I'm smiling. All the better to hide the dark tales I have hidden in my brain. :D

[MissKris]

My avatar changes depending upon the ms I'm working on at the time. The pictures are character inspirations. Which reminds me, it's time for an avi change, since I've put one ms aside to simmer and re-opened another that had been simmering.

[BenPanced]

i liek choklit meelk!

[MissKris]

i liek choklit meelk!

With whipped cream, it appears.

[Polenth]

My mushroom came from when I was an active member of Elfwood. It was common to use bits of pictures you'd produced as livejournal avatars.

The mushroom is part of the first 3D rendered picture I created (which is here (http://www.polenthblake.com/art/digi/hungry.html) for the curious). Somehow that avatar stuck, over all the others.

[MelodyO]

Hideously CUTE, you mean. Cutely hideous? I like to think he's waiting for that special someone to come cuddle, rather than waiting for someone so he can suck out all their bodily fluids, and not in a fun way. :D

[nighttimer]

My last avatar was Boy Howdy!, the icon designed by R. Crumb for CREEM magazine and if you don't know what CREEM magazine was, you're too young for me to explain it to you.

My current avatar is Carla Gugino leaning over a stool because...well, because she's hideously hot in a little black dress. :e2brows:

[SPMiller]

I am the reason for a few of the so-called hideous avatars, thank you. What can I say?

As for myself, I can't think of any image that represents me except possibly my face, and even that is misleading, so I've never used an avatar.

[backslashbaby]

I changed. That's not Chagall and a dove; it's me and my little guy. Merry Merry Christmas with fuzzy hats n' things :D

[dclary]

Rhymegirl said she was going to find me a scantily clad Mrs. Claus avatar. I decided to join her in her search. I found one I liked mucho.

[backslashbaby]

Very pretty. Here is a bit of Christmas pretty that I love (although when did Red Riding Hood mean Christmas?). It's a Christmas commercial. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuHj4dt0Y6M

[STKlingaman]

I think mine stirs fear in anyone
who sees it. Not only is it terrifying,
but just the sight of it could cause
the weak of heart to drop dead.

Oh wait,I thought you meant my
picture, you mean
<------ Woodstock,
before Yoda, and Jedi Knights there was

WOODSTOCK
The true force of the Universe.

[Fran]

Mine is Lister, my big ginger pudding who died last year. He'd lie on me when I was reading in bed, and he was so gormless I used to put my cigarette packet on his head and he just sat there taking it like a lump. So one day I took a photo of him.

The only male in my life who's ever truly loved me. So that's why he's there. :)

[Noah Body]

Mine's stylish, suave, and urbane, much like myself -- plus I'd lay odds the guy's a drunkard, so what's wrong with that?

[Albedo]

I dunno. Cos leopard seals are awesome? (Almost as much so as jumping spiders, but they was taken already)

[Jersey Chick]

<---- Do I really need to essplain??

I liek Huge Ackman. Nothing hideous 'bout him... uh-huh, no way, not possible...

I sometimes change it up to reflect the holidays (I was Heat Miser 'round this time last year, I was Charlie Brown as the ghost who had "a little trouble with the scissors" for Halloween. I've been Linda Hamilton - armed and dangerous, if only she could remember where she put the ^@!@#$ bullets.)

It'll change again after the holidays - for now, this is my gift to my fellow Huge-lusters... :D

[Wayne K]

<---- Do I really need to essplain??
No.

That is all.

[Wayne K]

My avatar is me signing my agency agreement, it's beautiful.

It's not Jersey Chick's avi, but still, I touch myself when I look at it.

[cray]

*looks around*


please tell me BoP is not talking about me!?

[Jersey Chick]

:scared:

Hides from hideous battery life-form....

[Haggis]

Admittedly, but I saw a pretty disgusting looking hairless dog. . . .

You never were fond of Sam the Ugly Dog, were you?

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o15/Damnhaggis/uglydog.png?t=1260366797

[IdiotsRUs]

Mine is Lister, my big ginger pudding who died last year.

You stole my cat's name! We found him in a box and he likes curry - what else coudl we call him? Sadly Smeghead died a few years ago :(

I suppose Tank Girl could be seen as aggressive. It's just that my hubby reckons that if I were in comic book format, I'd be her.

[cray]

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-fc/paperbag.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[dclary]

Mal "bad" from the Latin.

Thanks, River. :p

[Ellefire]

I likes the ugly doggy :D

I found mine whilst looking for something on Stephen King. I do like it, it's all meesteeerious and spooky (and not at all ooky) . I got three avatars I tend to use for everything. The cat's eye, the cover of Pride and Prejudice With Zombies, and one of a daisy that my young daughter took.

[Don]

I guess mine could be one of the hostile ones... though it's cute for a porcupine.

It's apt though. I'm fairly prickly, though the quills only come out when provoked or threatened. The rest of the time, they're just there to remind people to keep a safe distance.

I prefer to think of it as mildly anti-social rather than outright hostile.
That's the same reason the New Hampshire Free State Project (http://www.freestateproject.org/) picked the porcupine. It's a statement concerning the right to self-defense. I thought perhaps you were a member when I first saw your avatar. :rolleyes:

http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/45212/2563078520100527759S200x200Q85.jpg

I've been using Mr. Bob Hope for quite a while now, but I think I'll be returning shortly to my tribute to the crashing American dollar. That's a much more terrifying prospect than any other avatar I've seen here.

[BenPanced]

i liek choklit meelk!

[Magdalen]

My avatar is me signing my agency agreement, it's beautiful.

It's not Jersey Chick's avi, but still, I touch myself when I look at it.


TMI

[Celia Cyanide]

*looks around*


please tell me BoP is not talking about me!?

I certainly hope she isn't talking about me. For obvious reasons.

[tarcanus]

I've always found forum-goers' need to use avatars as a bit lame. I mean, it could just be the Forums that I frequent, but when the purpose of a forum is discussion and since the predominant thing I tend to see people using avatars for is showing off, self-promotion, or games I decided to forgo using one.

Of course, a secondary reason would be that there are no pictures out there that I can find that I'd really want to make my avatar. So maybe I'm bitter.

=]

[Ellefire]

I find mine useful for finding where I am in a thread. I scroll really fast until I see the whitish blur and then I know everything after that is unread.

[defcon6000]

Mine's stylish, suave, and urbane, much like myself -- plus I'd lay odds the guy's a drunkard, so what's wrong with that?
I always thought that was Mel Gibson in disguise...he certainly resembles him.

Avatar: I gots one! :D

I usually use my dancing Gir gif, but since I can't use gifs...:(
So I shopped around till I found something cool and fiery...oxymoron!! Explosions are just awesome - from a distance.

[mscelina]

The Doom Bunny changes outfits for the season.

And the Doom Bunny is a long-running querying joke to the tune of several years. You can always tell how my querying is going (save at the holidays) by the bunny avatar. If it's going well, you get the viking bunny. If it's going poorly, you get varying degrees of smartalec bunnies in various states of discontent. The current Doom Bunny expresses my attitude toward Christmas as well as my current querying status--which is nothing but waiting, waiting and more waiting.

You can never tell when the Doom Bunny will change her coat. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOM.

[tiny]

I'm hurt. Really.

[Gravity]

I picked mine because I happen to think The Phantom never get the love he deserved.

Plus he's much more svelte than I'm ever likely to be.

[darkprincealain]

I chose mine because it was the best Halloween pic of me. I did crop out the majority a bb gun I am holding, to not appear hostile and stay within file size parameters. :D

[Jersey Chick]

Mine's stylish, suave, and urbane, much like myself -- plus I'd lay odds the guy's a drunkard, so what's wrong with that?
And wait, let me guess -

You once had an awkward moment...

just to see what it felt like.


damn, I just realized I watch waaaaaay too much television.

[Bird of Prey]

I have been told in some of my writing groups that if I changed my Avatar, others would not feel so threatened by my critiques. What do they want, a valid critique or a sexy avatar?

I think yours is kinda beautiful. . . .

[Bird of Prey]

You never were fond of Sam the Ugly Dog, were you?

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o15/Damnhaggis/uglydog.png?t=1260366797


Yeah, Haggis, that's on top of the hideous heap. . . .

[BenPanced]

The Doom Bunny changes outfits for the season.

And the Doom Bunny is a long-running querying joke to the tune of several years. You can always tell how my querying is going (save at the holidays) by the bunny avatar. If it's going well, you get the viking bunny. If it's going poorly, you get varying degrees of smartalec bunnies in various states of discontent. The current Doom Bunny expresses my attitude toward Christmas as well as my current querying status--which is nothing but waiting, waiting and more waiting.

You can never tell when the Doom Bunny will change her coat. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOM.
http://pics.livejournal.com/benpanced/pic/0007yzxt

[Bird of Prey]

Hideously CUTE, you mean. Cutely hideous? I like to think he's waiting for that special someone to come cuddle, rather than waiting for someone so he can suck out all their bodily fluids, and not in a fun way. :D
Oh. Well, I hadn't thought of the second option which has somewhat influenced by initial opinion. Still, unless he grows fangs, we'll call it cute in a Melodious way. . . .

[Toothpaste]

I do not feel my avatars are hideous. I think they are beautiful, and I know others do too as I get reps for them. I like to post men I am crushing on at the moment, so that I can see them and admire them every day.

Currently Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is my choice. My reasoning:

One, he's hot. Two, I am rewatching all the LOST seasons in prep for Feb so he's on my mind. Three, I think his story arc, out of all the story arcs on LOST is the most intriguing and the most solid (I find some of the other arcs, though fun, have been manipulated a bit much or have become tedious - Sawyer's story has always felt right and gone from strength to strength). Four, the actor is just getting better and better.

Five, he's the inspiration for one of the main characters in my current WIP.

Six, he's hot.

[Misa Buckley]

Mine is me with Lani, taken at Creation's Farscape Convention and used because it brings back very happy memories.

And you have no idea how tightly I was holding on ;)

[Lyra Jean]

But it's a philosoraptor! Raptors are carnivorous. If you seen any of the Jurassic Park movies you know that the majority of humans lose when fighting dinosaurs. So why not have the philosoraptor think about how humans would taste. And I like dinosaurs.

[William Haskins]

http://fashionablygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/raptor-jesus.png

[Bird of Prey]

But it's a philosoraptor! Raptors are carnivorous. If you seen any of the Jurassic Park movies you know that the majority of humans lose when fighting dinosaurs. So why not have the philosoraptor think about how humans would taste. And I like dinosaurs.

Points well taken!! Yours has zoological AND intellectual merit, and as such is quite an achievement. . . .

[dclary]

But it's a philosoraptor! Raptors are carnivorous. If you seen any of the Jurassic Park movies you know that the majority of humans lose when fighting dinosaurs. So why not have the philosoraptor think about how humans would taste. And I like dinosaurs.

Clever girl.

[Bird of Prey]

Clever girl.


Lol!! Well done, Mr. Clary. . . .

[Rarri]

Because ...
I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

:D

Ahem. I do find avatars very useful as it's generally how i recognise people; a habit learned from an old board where people changed their usernames more frequently than their avatars and sigs.

[William Haskins]

what is this thread about again?

[robeiae]

Your desire to mock my faith, every chance you get.

[AceTachyon]

I chose mine because he's The Man With The Hat.

And if adventure had a name, it would be him.

[William Haskins]

Your desire to mock my faith, every chance you get.

oh.

[robeiae]

Don't try that innocent routine with me. You're going to heaven, and there's nothing you can do about it.

[William Haskins]

okay. i am ready.

[Shadow_Ferret]

iz ferret wiff reindeer antlers.

Only hostile if he gored you.

[BenPanced]

what is this thread about again?
About 127 posts long.

[William Haskins]

About 127 posts long.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u292/Sl3v3n/strongjesus.jpg

[dclary]

iz ferret wiff reindeer antlers.

Only hostile if he gored you.


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vC43AIa-0YU/R-95CnJxioI/AAAAAAAABcI/tHWLjYdDlNU/s400/al_gore_1.jpg

[Shadow_Ferret]

Now THAT'S hideous.

[Bird of Prey]

About 127 posts long.

Ben? Where do you get your avatars, Ben?

Do you design them or is it a trade secret??

[Shadow_Ferret]

I don't know if he customized it for Christmas, but that character is Cheese from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

[mscelina]

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u292/Sl3v3n/strongjesus.jpg

I had such a great comment typed here, but decided it would be offensive. Dang!

[Bird of Prey]

I don't know if he customized it for Christmas, but that character is Cheese from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.


Aha. Thank you, Shadow. . . .

[robeiae]

I had such a great comment typed here, but decided it would be offensive. Dang!
Was it about Tim Tebow?

[Zoombie]

What is the Roman's one weakness?

BOWFLEX!

[Jersey Chick]

**snerk**

[BenPanced]

I don't know if he customized it for Christmas, but that character is Cheese from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Yup. Give the fert a cookie.

[mario_c]

My normal avvie, aside from it being a custom ace of space card from a Flash project that went nowhere, is a statement on cutting to the chase, if you will. It represents my style.
But seasonally, I always dress as Walken. Cause I got a need...

[jodiodi]

Mine is currently a random dog in a Santa hat.

In the past I've used all 3 of my doggies as well as Uga. I love my pups.

[mario_c]

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u292/Sl3v3n/strongjesus.jpg
And I'll raise you...
ETA never mind - linky please:
Link. (http://www.bad-religion.net/Espanol/SINGLES/FOTOS%20GRANDES/american_jesus.jpg)

[History_Chick]

Mine is issue one of my comic. I guess some people could be offended that Death is feeling her up.

[rhymegirl]

I choose and post avatars based on my moods and the seasons.

It's Christmastime now and I'm a fun-loving kinda girl. Hence, the current avatar.

[Adam]

Mine is me. Any hideousness is genetic, and not intentional. :D

[LOG]

Mine is me. Any hideousness is genetic, and not intentional. :D
ROFLMAO

I chose mine because I had just spent a whole week staring at this image (http://www.werewolf-movies.com/screens/movie_121-3.jpg)(<<Zoombie says iz kreepeez)for my wallpaper.

The thing still gives me the creeps every time I look at it...

[jodiodi]

I post puppydogs 'cause there are no digital or online pictures of me in existence. Plus, if there were, my countenance would drive people mad from the horror.

[Zoombie]

ROFLMAO

I chose mine because I had just spent a whole week staring at this image (http://www.werewolf-movies.com/screens/movie_121-3.jpg)for my wallpaper.

The thing still gives me the creeps every time I look at it...

GAH! Warn people about how creepy that is! SERIOUSLY!

[LOG]

I thought I made it clear...but okay.

[jodiodi]

I like it.

[Art_Sempai]

Mine's sprite art I made for a shooter.

[MGraybosch]

Mine is issue one of my comic. I guess some people could be offended that Death is feeling her up.

I just wonder what Persephone thinks, knowing that Hades is like his younger brother Zeus after all.

[Kitty27]

I chose myself for an avatar because I never post pics of myself on other sites.

Hopefully,I'm not frightening anybody!

LOG,the howling is LOVE!

[Thump]

I always have a variation on Elphaba because I love Wicked, both the novel and the musical and strongly identify with the character. Also, I like to think that for the right cause, I would stand up for my beliefs even if it means people will shun me.

[maxmordon]

Mine is Brad Majors, from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

[robeiae]

Please don't show us your aces, Max.

[Haggis]

ROFLMAO

I chose mine because I had just spent a whole week staring at this image (http://www.werewolf-movies.com/screens/movie_121-3.jpg)(<<Zoombie says iz kreepeez)for my wallpaper.

The thing still gives me the creeps every time I look at it...

Do you know if she has a sister?

[Zoombie]

I'm actually going to be changing my avatar as soon as Aaron Diaz finishes drawing the next Dresden Codak comic strip. See, I like having the main character of Dresden Codak (Kim Ross) as my avatar for three reasons.

A) I like the weird, futuristic humor, and bizarre, symbolism filled imagery that Dresden Codak uses.
B) Kim is a cool character!
C) Kim is also hot.

[robeiae]

The future is bleak and dreary, Zoombie. And we're all gonna die.

[SPMiller]

You need to try harder, Rob, if you want to succeed. The second sentence is true, but it has no punch.

[robeiae]

Zoombie still thinks that he'll live forever.

[benbradley]

I can see where some would see change in the Twenty First Century, and especially the high and increasing rate of change, can be seen as hideous and hostile, but the alternative is Global Thermonuclear War, or maybe a global recession. Actually, either or both would only delay the inevitable. Just the idea of superintelligent computers can make some people recoil.

The hideously well-dressed man carrying the cardboard sign is from page 368 of the book of that title by Ray Kurzweil (http://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Near-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0670033847/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0). He plans on living a long time.

Yes, superintelligent aliens will be with us within decades, but they're not coming from Outer Space (that we know of), they're being built/grown right here on Earth.

[Zoombie]

Eh, I'm not entirely sold on the whole Kurzweil predictions. That is, I'm fairly sure that the future won't come out the way he says it will.

BUT...they are too cool to ignore! And, even if it all is baloney, they make for great inspiration for sci-fi stories.

[LOG]

Do you know if she has a sister?
That's a male.

[AMCrenshaw]

Yes, superintelligent aliens will be with us within decades, but they're not coming from Outer Space (that we know of), they're being built/grown right here on Earth.

Odd I might see this as progress without change.



AMC

[Zoombie]

Huh?

[Sarpedon]

I chose mine because I think she epitomizes an age that - strangely enough - was the end of innocence. . .

I would dispute that there ever was an age of innocence. In bygone days, most people died at a young age due to disease, starvation, or violence. Only recently has this changed. People tend to romanticize the past, and denigrate the present. Perhaps people respond to this negative perception of their times and by extention, themselves, by using ugly avatars. ha

I picked mine because its a greek depiction of the character who's name I took for my screenname. Sarpedon is the naked, dead dude. The standing bearded figure is presumably Zeus, the other two are Sleep and Death.

Kind of depressing, actually.

[Haggis]

That's a male.

I could have sworn I saw cleavage.

[Rowan]

Yes - in case anybody is wondering - this does belong in PC&E, because methinks it speaks to a contemporary malaise. I'm willing to defend my premise if valid - I could be wrong based on any response here - but first, I'd like to know why so many exhibit such hostile avatars, or broadening the question: why anybody has chosen the avatar they choose. . . .

I chose mine because I think she epitomizes an age that - strangely enough - was the end of innocence. . . .


My choice is based upon a love of horses. :)

[Bird of Prey]

My choice is based upon a love of horses. :)


And a noble love it is!!

[benbradley]

Eh, I'm not entirely sold on the whole Kurzweil predictions. That is, I'm fairly sure that the future won't come out the way he says it will.

BUT...they are too cool to ignore! And, even if it all is baloney, they make for great inspiration for sci-fi stories.
He does predict a lot of things, that have variable diffuculty to predict. One thing he predicted was the year text-to-speech software would run on a smartphone. The technology (the software) already existed, and it was a simple application or Moore's Law to see when a smartphone would run it.

What's harder is to predict other things, as in what new applications will come along with more powerful cellphones and how they'll be used. You can surf the web and do things like Twitter, but still one of the most common uses is sending text messages (with or without sexpics - I doubt sexting was predicted), and the phone companies love it because it (at least with a pure text message) is by far the highest cost-per-bit that any customer pays in the 21st Century to move data.


So yes, my Hideous Avatar represents teen sexting and who knows what else will be done with near-future devices.

[Zoombie]

I bet the instant VR comes about, cybersex will enter a new era of awesome.

As a professional cybersexer (The polite term is erotic roleplayer) I eagerly look forward to this day.

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

It's a hippopotamus, eh?

Cuz really, who doesn't love a smiley hippo sporting a moniker that makes New Zealand boys famous?

[blacbird]

I avoid the problem altogether.

caw

[mario_c]

The future is bleak and dreary, Zoombie. And we're all gonna die.Yeah, I liked The Road too, just not that much.

[Don]

I bet the instant VR comes about, cybersex will enter a new era of awesome.

As a professional cybersexer (The polite term is erotic roleplayer) I eagerly look forward to this day.
You can get paid for that? Nobody told me, dammit!

Although I did pick up a few Lindens here and there in earlier days.

Oh, wait, wouldn't that qualify as prostitution? Although I thought the same thing about phone sex lines, and apparently they're legal.

[Fran]

Mine is now a funny picture a friend of mine emailed me last week to cheer me up.

And boys ARE stupid. :tongue

[ejaycee]

I chose mine because it's a wallaby who frequents our garden and sits at the front door looking perky.

And it's a wizard because... It's symbolic of... That twirly thing you use to beat eggs... and what they do for society... what're the called?

Oh.

Egg-beater.

Thing.

[jilly61]

Mines a reminder to stay off the chocolate and biscuits.

[Diana Hignutt]

Why my hideous avatar? I'm ugly. Pretty simple, really.

[maxmordon]

Mine is now a funny picture a friend of mine emailed me last week to cheer me up.

And boys ARE stupid. :tongue

Didn't a company in Florida got sued for using that as a T-shirt since some men alleged it was sexist (misandrist, I think is the word)?


Mine is Jasper Morello, from The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello.

[Fran]

Didn't a company in Florida got sued for using that as a T-shirt since some men alleged it was sexist (misandrist, I think is the word)?

Possibly. But if women complained about every sexist image of them in whatever medium we'd have time for little else in life. If anyone's massively offended I'll change it. :)

[Don]

I'd rather just throw rocks back. :D

[Fran]

I'd rather just throw rocks back. :D

A bit of equal-opportunity rock-chucking never hurt anyone!

Um...

[LOG]

I could have sworn I saw cleavage.
But all you can see is the head. Where do you get cleavage?

[Millicent M'Lady]

My avatar might appear hostile, but I'd bet there are few--very few--that think it's hideous.

Not hideous, not hideous at all... *drools in appreciation of Robovowel's fine avatar*

[Millicent M'Lady]

Oh forgot to add, my avatar is hostile because sandcastles must be stopped.

[AryaT92]

None of the avatars I could upload were of correct size and I didn't feel like resizing them yet. I chose this because it appealed to me for whatever reason, more than batman or the rest of the default avatars on this forum appealed to me :)

[Haggis]

But all you can see is the head. Where do you get cleavage?

I have a vivid imagination.

[robeiae]

And a dirty mind.

[Silver King]

Mine is a phallic symbol. It wasn't intended to be and was chosen merely as a pretty cool shot of a fish I captured in flight as it fought for its life. But almost immediately, other members seized upon its erect form thrusting upward as if it symbolized a phallus searching for a wet seam in the sky.

Now I just act like that's what it's supposed to represent, even going so far as to change my current user title as part of the joke.

If anyone is interested, I can post a larger version of the avatar, even though Rob has already seen it before, several times I believe. :D

[Zoombie]

And the new Dresden Codak pops up and BAM! I have a new avatar.

This DC was a clever combination of interesting metaphysical idea, a bittersweet story, and a bit of irreverent humor at the end.

Link: http://dresdencodak.com/2009/12/16/lantern-season/

[sassandgroove]

Mine is my cute dog. Sometimes I post me. I know Silver King likes this one.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/2947053009_6947a72a55_m.jpg
I use my dog because I love her and like to look at her. I use me becuase I'm me. I don't usually use guys I am crushing on or bands I like because I don't want to be defined by them. I did use Def Leppard in 08 before I went to see them in concert. Gotta represent. Even on the Def Leppard boards I use me. Sometimes, like at NaNo I used something to represent what I'm going through, I had an LOL CAT at a keyboard. Once we were joking about Goldilocks so I made a Sassylocks avatar. That was a loooong time ago. Once I found a picture of Ban Deoderant when there was a thread from Jenna joking about banning people. I've had the hello kitty avatar, too. Stuff like that.

[jodiodi]

Speaking of Def Leppard, Joe Elliot was in front of my husband and me in the security line at the Phoenix airport back in 2002 or 2003. He bitched about having to remove his shoes.

[sassandgroove]

Hell- I bitch about having to remove my shoes. :D Was he alone or was he with someone? Did you say Hi? Do you even like Def Leppard? ;)

[jodiodi]

I love Def Leppard. I think he was with some blonde chick.

I didn't say anything to him. He's a former future ex-husband and I told my husband I just didn't want to bring up sad memories for him.

[sassandgroove]

"former future ex-husband"?

Do you mean you had a crush on Joe?

Sass- who had a crush on Sav.

[jodiodi]

Oh yes, I adored Joe. And, for some reason, Phil. Two completely different types but I crushed on both of them.

Then again, I also had one on Joe Perry from Aerosmith.

[robeiae]

I love Def Leppard. I think he was with some blonde chick.Actually, he was with Tiger Woods. But don't tell anyone...

[mario_c]

Dresden Codak...it's a beautiful thing. And a thing of beauty. And so another story begins...

[Zoombie]

I need to change my signature!

And then I did

[lividseras]

my eyes... because i couldnt think of anything else to put as an avatar.