Random Thoughts About Avatars

[Sir Toose]

Do avatars change the way you feel about other posters?

Example: SC, I love ya man, but I seriously wanted to punch out your other avatar. Now that you have Brad I'm not feeling the same animosity. Could be just that I've grown to like you too, I don't know. Is it weird? Is it Toose specific?

[Holden Pike]

Your Frank Frazetta (http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/57/042_1-3.jpg) pic only makes me think back to when I was sixteen and the kinds of posters I had plastered over every inch of my walls and ceiling, listening to Zepplin, not doing my homework - ah, sweet misspent youth! But it doesn't make me think of you any better or worse in any way.

[patti]

toose, your two avatars couldn't be more different......yet you're distinctly you. i think an avatar suggests the poster's self-image in some way-it speaks to the public for you. it's kinda like a signature.......but signatures can vary greatly from regular handwriting....
aside from an initial effect unique to each poster.........your personality comes through via your comments.

[Yoda]

That's a really, really good question. I think our avatar does indeed change the face we put forth here...it's inevitable. The comments do more for that perception, no doubt, but I cannot say that the avatar plays no role. It MUST. Even if that doesn't hold much weight to some of you, surely the fact that each person CHOOSES an avatar to display publicly means something? What a person chooses to let everyone see as a sort of representative image of themselves has got to mean something, even if they choose something goofy.

Hell, I say we expand this thread: why'd you choose the avatar you have? I'll kick things off: I chose Yoda because he is, simply, one of the coolest muthas of all time. He's calm, collected, wise, but very powerful and sharp. He's a Warrior Priest, man.

[Sir Toose]

Ok Chris... I like your slant.

I chose the Frazetta because the warrior looks like I feel at this point in my life. I have principles that I will bend for no one, I am midway through my career and I have fought hard and bloody battles to get to this ground I stand on. I am a survivor, I come out stained, but I come out whole. I have no fear of other people at this point in my life either. I am experienced, I am stronger than ever and when I bring it, I bring it wicked. I love the confidence of being my age. You get to the point where you realize that if you believe in your convictions and you don't f*ck with the gifts that God gives you, you are untouchable. In other words, show me love and I'll give it back tenfold. Show me anger and hate and I will crush you under my bootheels.

[Holden Pike]

Me likey smiley face.

[Sunfrogolin]

I like Yoda and your previous avatar Toose. I'm afraid of Firegods.
Yoda is not cool, he just looks good in that pic.

[Yoda]

Originally posted by Sunfrogolin
I like Yoda and your previous avatar Toose. I'm afraid of Firegods.
Yoda is not cool, he just looks good in that pic.
Have you lost your mind, boy?! Yoda's beyond cool. Look at what he can do! He can beat the crap out of anyone, but he doesn't want to fight. He's the smartest guy out there, but can't put a sentence together to save his life. WARRIOR PRIEST! Peace, understanding, and wisdom...but when someone threatens the tranquility of the world, he puts a stop to it.

[Sir Toose]

Agree with you I do, knows the ways of the force he does:rotfl:

[sadesdrk]

Matt- Great thread idea (even if Chris moderated it;))
I totally understand where you're coming from on your avatar choice. I've always wondered about it a little...now it makes perfect sense, of course.:)

Chris- you own the Yoda.

I chose Betty Boop for a couple of reasons. One: I've always loved her. I think she's so super cute. Two: People always tell me I remind them of her. I guess I have a disporportionate head and large eyes, or someting.;D
and Three: She just is a good representation of me. Sex Kitten/Goof. That's me...in a nutshell.:laugh:

[thmilin]

ah, it has arrived.

toose - i liked your old avatar (the first) best, because it was so cute and silly and goofy. and rotund. i wanted to squeeze it and see what sound it made. then, the second, the furious bull ... i understood, because, you were um, on The Path. I think your third avatar just shows the same, this time using a humanoid. :D

but it was clear you were changing representation of yourself. it's like, clothes. our avatars are the "face" we greet folks with and our personal choice does impact how others view us, from intrigued to unmoved to irritated.

i've always thought holden's was cute and oddly didn't fit the nature of his posts yet, his tagline does. a strange cocktail that seems to fit him.

the yoda thing man - he looks like such a GQ macdaddy there, chris, i know i've said it before. like he's turned to the camera and raised one sexy eyebrow to say, in a Troy McClure voice: Hello? Can I .... help ... you? on a side note ... a company i know, which is huge and which i can't name, has a system they use internally called YODA ... acronym for something, but ya wonder whether the techie nerds who developed it had anything to do with the name ...

sades avatar: well duh! hehe.

mine: um, i think this is my first and only avatar, no? i couldn't be arsed to try and find one that suited me at first. nothing came to mind. then i thought - my queen, my goddess, my badass female, i need a pic of her! and so i hunted. the hunt was hard, the chase fast. i finally found her - sketched by a fan in such simplicity. the others were too much, this, this was bliss. and so i shrank her ... it was a struggle, she lost some of the edges but i sacrificed those tender parts for the crowning glory - her face.

she definitely represents what i wish I were, had, could be. brilliant, wicked, enigmatic, witty, a sense of humor, fiercely loyal in her own way, sexy, knows what she wants and goes after it, dominant, submissive switch who loves as intensely as she hates and can kick your ass with love as well as with the coldest, unflinching ease. she is the epitome of a modern woman, in my book. oh, and, she's beautiful. heh. ;)

[mecurdius]

No, but they do tell a lot about a person:
Sades is just like betty boop
TWT reminds me of yoda
Toose umm i got nothing
BUT HOLDENS! thats him in a nutshell: omnipotent master of space and time, hes just like that

the only person it works for is LB: he looks a lot scarier with the other avatars (the pictures of him)

[The Silver Bullet]

Why don't I have an avatar?

Well, there's a few reasons.
The very first avatar I ever had was of Felix the cat. The thing was my username was Felix and so it made perfectly logical sense. It was also a bloody fine avatar, okay? Nice size and everything. I was quite proud of it. I like my avatars to make sense, I guess. Mine name is the Silver Bullet. It should be a bullet, or a water pistol or something of the sort. It should make sense. And yet I don't mind you guys using one's that don't think to names or anything. It's just me. I am an anally retentive person, it seems.

I'm getting a new one made up for IFN and so I might end up using it here also.
Either that or I'll find an avatar with a silver water pistol or something on it....

[Sir Toose]

Originally posted by The Silver Bullet
Why don't I have an avatar?

Well, there's a few reasons.
The very first avatar I ever had was of Felix the cat. The thing was my username was Felix and so it made perfectly logical sense. It was also a bloody fine avatar, okay? Nice size and everything. I was quite proud of it. I like my avatars to make sense, I guess. Mine name is the Silver Bullet. It should be a bullet, or a water pistol or something of the sort. It should make sense. And yet I don't mind you guys using one's that don't think to names or anything. It's just me. I am an anally retentive person, it seems.

I'm getting a new one made up for IFN and so I might end up using it here also.
Either that or I'll find an avatar with a silver water pistol or something on it....

Logical sense from an artist? Why the insistence on being so literal? My av represents a mood... a feeling specific to me, it needs not be a picture of me as "Toose" is a family nickname for me. SB, why "Silver Bullet"? Something had to trigger that username. You probably went into it already but I don't remember reading it.

[spudracer]

Are you saying I should go back to my Mr. Potatohead avatar? :rotfl:

I'm always up for change so I'll stick with mine for a while, change it and continue the cycle. :D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by spudracer
Are you saying I should go back to my Mr. Potatohead avatar? :rotfl:

You should.:yup:

[Sunfrogolin]

Dood, Yoda can't fight. He's too little. I'm like 50 times stronger than him. Sure he'll block my light saber but the force of the blow will send him flying across the room like he was hit with a baseball bat. And he's so short, it's like, hmm.. is he gonna swing at my belly button or swing at my belly button? He could swing at my feet but I don't even have to jump up, I could just lift my foot and kick him in the head. Not to mention the reach disadvantage. My arm is like, I don't know, 2 1/2 feet long, his is like 8 inches. Ha! He can't even turn out the lights to use the force to his advantage cuz his light saber glows in the dark.

[mightymose]

Come on man! Yoda wouldn't even have to get near you to whup your butt! Didn't you see him raise the ship out of the swamp! You don't think he could throw a rock at your head without batting an eye?!?

As for my avatar... well not only is it fitting given my name, but it also describes me as a person... I'm always there to help people out, I believe in truth, justice and the American way (to borrow a phrase, LOL), and I don't let the bad guys off light!

In short... I'm a bad a** mutha who don't take no crap off of nobody (but I love to help out my friends!).

Oh yeah... I took the old school MightyMouse b/c I am a bit old school myself... I'm fairly conservative in most things and I love things from the past, be it movies, books, or anything!

[Yoda]

Sun: are you high?! Yoda would beat you senseless. It wouldn't even be remotely close. Allegedly we'll see the chief of the Warrior Priests himself in battle in AOTC, so maybe then you'll see what he's capable of. Until then, I leave you with one of his immortal quotes:

"Judge me by size, do you?"

[The Silver Bullet]

You want me to get an avatar to suit my mood?
I can. It just will feel wrong to me. And yet I look at yours and they all make perfect sense....

....I think too much into stuff.

:yup:

[patti]

sooooooooo.......what do you all suppose it means when we don't have an avatar?
is my soul a lackin? :p


it means i don't have a scanner and haven't bothered to have some potential avatar candidates scanned for me. :rolleyes: not that i'd be able to settle on one image........

silver......i totally agree with you.....i think too much about it all too. can't decide....want the PERFECT one!!

[thmilin]

patti, must you have a pic of yourself or couldn't you just search the net for something suitable?

same for you SB ...

hehehe, I like you're description of beating up yoda, sunfrog, cracked me up. :D

[Monkeypunch]

Honestly, I picked my avatar because I like the anime series Ranma 1/2. That's about it, really. (Although I too as a youth traveled to China with my dad, a renowned martial arts master, fell into a cursed spring, and now can in fact change into a red haired girl when cold water is poured on me. This is a real inconvenience.)
Oh, and Yoda is the coolest of all muppets. He could kick everyone's ass just by thinking it, but wisely, he chooses not to. He is the epitomie of puppet Zen.

[BrodieMan]

this is a cool thread, but i am so deeply miffed that no one can see my avatar clearly.

it's a black and white picture of page..... he's throwing his head back while he lifts his guitar in the air. his right hand is strumming, and his eyes are shut. the guitar is the double-necked gibson that he made famous by using it to do "stairway" when they played live. man. it looks awesome when it's big, i'm telling you.

[Holden Pike]

Patti chose an Avatar! It also happens to be one of the designs she chose for her body too. Quoth the Raven: nevermore!

:D

[Sunfrogolin]

Oh we're back to throwing rocks eh? :D
Well then I'll just have to whip out a flame thrower and fry him like a little green chile. :rotfl: Or I'll fight him in the middle of the Bonneville salt flats where there isn't anything to throw at me, not even rocks. ANd I'll wear that bear suit that guy on tv made out of duct tape so he can throw me around all day if he wants. Eventually he'll get sleepy and loose his concentration, then I'll strip off the bear suit and clobber him. Hahaha!:yup:

[patti]

i am indeed now the proud owner of an avatar.
thanks to Holden and chris and some yummy wine.
:D

BTW ravens rule.

[thmilin]

yaay, patti, see! I knew you'd find somethin'. a tattoo, eh? and where, eggzactly, is it placed? ;)

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by patti
i am indeed now the proud owner of an avatar.
thanks to Holden and chris and some yummy wine.
:D

BTW ravens rule. Coolness. Patti has an avatar. Me likey.:)

[patti]

thanks y'all.

thmilin...i wasn't looking for an image of me.....but an art image, preferably something i'd made myself.
Holden suggested the ravens....i have it tattooed on my left shoulder/above my bicep.

i say hi to practically every crow/raven i see. they are magic, IMO.
:cool:

[The Silver Bullet]

The peer pressure is killing me now.
Patti!! Why?! Why?! WHY?!

:D

[patti]

sorry silver.......it's something you'll have to deal with always.....good ol' peer pressure.
heh heh heh :p

[Sir Toose]

Originally posted by patti
thanks y'all.

thmilin...i wasn't looking for an image of me.....but an art image, preferably something i'd made myself.
Holden suggested the ravens....i have it tattooed on my left shoulder/above my bicep.

i say hi to practically every crow/raven i see. they are magic, IMO.
:cool:

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore."

I love it Patti!

I had a pet crow named "Lucky" when I was a kid. That bird was smart! My mother used to make me eat outside because I would let him eat off of my plate.
:D

[patti]

oh toose, thanks.......those words are just so great. and how cool that you had a pet crow. my grampa had one named Bart. he stayed in the big ol' oak tree just in front of their farmhouse and we would come out and call him. we'd put our arm out and he'd land on it...or on our head.
we used to feed him, of all things, alpo dog food from the can! we'd put some on a fork and he'd glug glug it down.....very verbal as he ate.

he disappeared one day.....we thought maybe he'd been shot by a farmer. dunno. sad loss.
i have fantasized about finding myself a young pet crow ever since.

toose, i watched a PBS Nature program on Ravens a couple months back.....i taped it....the woman who spoke through most of the show had a pet raven.......fascinating creatures.

i wish you could see it. i wanted Holden to see it too.
maybe i could dupe the tape. it is worth watching.


:cool:

[Sir Toose]

Lucky's favorite food was bread and milk. My crow did get shot. He played a game with me where I would run and he would land on my head and yank my hair. And fly off. He tried it with some kids that lived in town (on halloween of all nights) and one of the fathers shot him. Never forgot that cheeky devil.

I'll keep my eye out for the PBS special... they usually repeat them.

[spudracer]

Someone PLEASE mention mine. :D

[The Silver Bullet]

Why'd you change back?
On the reccomendation of Sades?
While I normally admit she has a knack for such things, in this case going back was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong...

Zap was so much more you.
Get him back. He suited you so well!!

The inhumanity....

[The Silver Bullet]

The Psychology of the Avatar (http://www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/psyav.html)

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by spudracer
Someone PLEASE mention mine. :D I'll mention it; I'm SO glad you brought it back. I think I know you a little better than Silver, and I just think Mr. Potato Head suits you. Silver, you are a cheeky devil.:devil: Kent did not make the wrong choice here, mmm-mmm...good choice. Good kent. Bad Matt.

[The Silver Bullet]

Sadie will mislead you!!
Stay clear thou of the woman in leather!!

We''ll just have to take this outside and settle it the old fasioned way, eh?

;D

[Sullivan]

Teevan Face (http://server41.hypermart.net/iovpater/teevan-face.png)

This is a piece of art done by a guy, Teevan, who's moderately known in the demo/GFX scene for his 8-bit work.....not all of which I like, but I did like this.

I'm not sure why I chose this....probably because it's fairly masculine, while at the same time conveying a bit of understanding and clarity. You can see...not so much in my cut-down version, but in the full-sized picture, a hint of awareness in the eyes. I like this, because I think strength and awarness are a powerful combination.

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by The Silver Bullet
Sadie will mislead you!!
Stay clear thou of the woman in leather!!

We''ll just have to take this outside and settle it the old fasioned way, eh?

;D I would break you in half. :king:

Woman in leather...I love it.:laugh:

Seriously Kent, you are the potato...I love the Potato Head avatar.:yup:

[patti]

sullivan, i like it a lot. :)

[spudracer]

Originally posted by sadesdrk
Seriously Kent, you are the potato...I love the Potato Head avatar.:yup:

Why thank you Sadie. And you ARE Boop. ;D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by spudracer


Why thank you Sadie. And you ARE Boop. ;D And I thank you, kind sir. The Boop will never leave the side of my posts...ever, never.:love:

[Yoda]

The Boop thought of changing her avatar awhile ago. Thankfully I helped talk some sense into her, though I doubt she ever REALLY meant it. You can't change it. You just can't. It would never work. Fire would fall from the sky, the land would be overrun with locusts, the Four Horsemen would overthrow the earth, and the server would crash when you tried anyway.

[spudracer]

:rotfl:

Yeah that damn server. :D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by TWTCommish
The Boop thought of changing her avatar awhile ago. Thankfully I helped talk some sense into her, though I doubt she ever REALLY meant it. You can't change it. You just can't. It would never work. Fire would fall from the sky, the land would be overrun with locusts, the Four Horsemen would overthrow the earth, and the server would crash when you tried anyway. Ha!
That's funny. Too bad you're still a meanie-pooh-head, Chris.

[thmilin]

wait a minute, wait a minute ... aren't *I* the woman in leather?

you know what i've always wondered? what the HELL is Boop SITTING on? the London Bridge? what IS that ... *peers closer*

[spudracer]

DUH, It's obvious.

It's Betty Boop she is sitting on. :D

[Yoda]

It looks like a big sandwich to me, honestly.

[BrodieMan]

my two cents:

i like spud's empty homer head better. it was cool and homer is one of my favorites. patti's new logo RAWKS. i love it. :D i want mine to be visible. any suggestions? i'm jealous of all the crystal-clear avatars everybody else has. ;)

here's link if you were wondering what mine looks like:

http://208.223.11.14/multimedia/photos/jimmy27.jpg

hope that works.

[BrodieMan]

lol.... it doesn't work :D

i am the only person in the universe that could screw up someting that simple.

if anyone has any technical problems, be sure to ask me, the Computer King. :king:

[Sir Toose]

Originally posted by thmilin
you know what i've always wondered? what the HELL is Boop SITTING on?

She's sitting on her fine a$$ you eeediot! :D

[BrodieMan]

i think the question is:

is it a sub, grinder, or hoagie?

twt's right. boop's on jarod's subway diet, methinks.

[Yoda]

I took the image and blew it up to like 10 times its normal size, and I can't make it out. It still looks like one of those big, long Blimpy © sandwich things.

[BrodieMan]

i think we're on to something. :yup:

[Yoda]

I think you're right. That avatar conveys images of sex and food. The two primary desires of man. That's how she does it. That's the lure...that explains it ALL. :yup: It almost makes too much sense.

[BrodieMan]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

you're too smart for your own good, chris. :rotfl:

you definitely know the score.

[patti]

i think she's sitting on an intertube, a log, or a pier/dock. it looks like wood to me.
...gasp......... she's sitting on a ................woody.
:yup:

[BrodieMan]

lol.... a woody. you're baaaaad....... :p

hey, maybe it's a cookie inside a giant glass of milk.

anyway, it's time for my medication. :dizzy:

[patti]

sades!! what is that? what is betty sittin' on in your avatar? hmmm?

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by Toose


She's sitting on her fine a$$ you eeediot! :D She is sitting on her @ss and the letters," Betty Boop". :yup:

[Marcellus]

Takeshi Beat Kitano simply because I was blown away by Hana-bi.

His character's calm, complacent, and shows infinite love towards his dying wife, but at the same time, he is a fierce and unrelenting killer.

It's all about that balance.

[The Silver Bullet]

Maybe I'll just use Spud's Homer head to my own advantage and just change the underneath word that said "Spud" to "Bullet" or something...

Why is this so hard on my brain?

[spudracer]

Silver, I added in the Spud and blue background. I got it as a just an image. So adding in your own thing wouldn't be tough.

[BrodieMan]

where did you say you got the homer thing? are there other simpsons avatars available?

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by The Silver Bullet
Why is this so hard on my brain? When I first saw your user name, Matt (not to be confused with the OTHER Matt) I thought of Silver Bullet, and how that's the only thing that can kill a werewolf. Maybe you could get an avatar of Peter, or a werewolf.

[The Silver Bullet]

I am shocked and appalled that you would even suggest such a thing.
I will not even dignify that with a response.

Oh, too late.

:laugh:
:D
:love:

But still.
No.

I don't think I'll be doing that .

[spudracer]

Originally posted by BrodieMan
where did you say you got the homer thing? are there other simpsons avatars available?

I'm sure there are other Simpsons avatars, but I haven't seen any lately. I saw some a few months back but have forgotten where I saw them at.

The Homer image I got was from Tucows. Originally a wallpaper I just saved the sample image resized it down and cropped it to a fitting size. :)

[BrodieMan]

i'm so steamed that doesn't work so well for me. oh, well....... i'll find something visible soon, i know it. :D

[Fez Wizardo]

lol, psychology of avatars? noo! just the only one with a fez and a monkey :)

and it seemed there was a common misconception in other places of a fez being a Foreign Exchange Student (they fail to realise that would then make it FES)

although now it seems i've stumbled onto new problems of being called pez....

[Fez Wizardo]

one question though

WHY ARE MOST OF YOUR AVATARS BLACK N WHITE!!!! ????

Toose (practically)
Patti
Thmilin
BrodieMan
Mightmose

bring on the colour :)

[Sir Toose]

Originally posted by Fez Wizardo
one question though

WHY ARE MOST OF YOUR AVATARS BLACK N WHITE!!!! ????

Toose (practically)
Patti
Thmilin
BrodieMan
Mightmose

bring on the colour :)

It's a gray world my friend. Shades of gray wherever you look. Brilliance of color is a gift.

[spudracer]

Maybe their sets are in Technicolor yet. :rotfl:

[Yoda]

Originally posted by Toose
It's a gray world my friend. Shades of gray wherever you look. Brilliance of color is a gift.
What Matt is really trying to say is "it looks cooler." :D

[Fez Wizardo]

oho!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

i'm such a child, only nice bright colours do it for me :D

[The Silver Bullet]

You've driven me to it.
You all deserve to die now.

[sadesdrk]

It has that, O Brother Where Art Thou, feel to it. Well done.:D

[Fez Wizardo]

*** Fez Wizardo ^5's The Silver Bullet

It's in colour :D

[sadesdrk]

Originally posted by sadesdrk
It has that, O Brother Where Art Thou, feel to it. Well done.:D Okay, when I wrote this...he had a different avatar. It was like this antique-looking mug shot. I liked that one far better...this "yelling one" is obnoxious at 8 in the morning.:eek:

[The Silver Bullet]

I have another one being made up.
I'll change it again.

Get an Avatar, they said, see the world, they said...

[BrodieMan]

hey, i love black and white. it captures that vintage feel that you can't get with color. it's just not the same, my friend.