AVATARS - Should They Be Meaningful?
AVATARS - Should They Be Meaningful?
I was looking at an article here and seeing that on it one member used as an avatar the image of John Durham, and another used Paul Newman acting as Hombre and I thought maybe its time I changed my avatar to represent the person that I am. For the last while I've been using the flag of Canada, since that is and has been from birth my citizenship and makes the point that I'm not an American even though 99% of the NT membership seems to be, and especially since there are members who make an issue of the fact that I'm living in China. From the time I joined NV I used the user name Buzz of the Orient which I'll never change. So I began to wonder what would be befitting, that would indicate the person I am. There are a lot of possibilities.
1. The "HAT".. This is used by many members, but I think I'm more creative than that indicates.
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2. Jesus Christ I guess not, because it would really upset some members here, especially one in particular.
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3. Joe McCarthy Actually that would be a better fit for a few members here who act like him.
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4. Albert Einstein Having flunked calculus that might not be suitable, even though he wasn' t a great student.
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5. Alfred Dreyfus Sometimes I feel that I'm being unjustly persecuted but Zola's not around now.
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6. Buddha Not a bad thought, it's a possibility.
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7. Myself Well, quite a few members do use their own photo
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8. A caricature of me It's fun, but no, I guess not.
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9. The best pet I ever had - my buddy for 17 years.
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10. Know what? I think I'll just stay with what I have now for the time being.
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Is everyone happy with their avatar? Are they you?
I've always been happy with whatever avatar I've chosen since first being a part of discussion groups in 2011. My screen name has always (like yours) remained the same.
Are they you?
No they are never me. They are usually involved with some current event. For instance, the John Durham avatar will remain up until he delivers his report. It is based on what I consider an important mission.
My first avatar on Newsvine represented basically nothing other than a male icon.
I think that from the time I joined NV about 12 or 13 years ago I've changed my avatar only 3 or maybe 4 times.
Same here!
Initially joined NV to provide facts to AGW deniers and my avatar was a group of penguins. Another member (a climate change denier) then started using my avatar so switched to what I am still using today here on NT.
Seemed appropriate for an environmental scientist.
I had the same avatar in 8 years on NV and never changed it. When I joined NT, I chose a avatar of a old sailing ship. Being retired U.S.Navy, it suited me and still does.
Mine has always been the same, from the vine to here.
Seems a bit oxymoronic to use an avatar with flames for a person with "cold' in their name, but I understand the reason is due to your profession, not your name.
By "you" I meant your personality (whether or not it's a photo of you).
personally I would prefer a more provocative avatar. something that would instantly infuriate neo-nazis and white supremacists. but I use the existing avatar because it pleases somebody that could make my life ...uncomfortable... on NT.
How about a picture of garlic? It works on vampires, so maybe it will work on neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
actually I'd prefer an avatar of a right wing demigod's head meeting a louisville slugger at 0.1 second past the moment of a 90+mph impact. ... kind of like in the movie
I know who that is...
Yes. My avatar represents who I am.
I don't know about meaningful, but I think just using 'the hat' is kind of lazy. Not that an avatar tells you much about a person, but it's nice to see something different than 'the hat'
I was originally going to say that the hat indicates laziness and/or lack of creativity but I realized that that would be a good way to make enemies and lose friends so I toned it down.
You see how I don't worry about those kinds of things -
If you were going to change it, I vote for the caricature of you or your cat! You could always switch them up though.
There is a member who changes his avatar every day he posts on this site, but I prefer consistency, and in fact IMO there should be a rule that every member must retain throughout their membership consistency of either user name or avatar.
That's a little strict I think - but I understand about the changing avatars. I just don't take sites like this all that seriously. Or any social media site.
Because of where I am, and my wife's English is limited, NT is sort of a connection to the English speaking world for me - allowing me to communicate, to dialogue with many people, so it is of more importance to me than it would be for pretty well any other NT member.
I like to change mine up every few months. Right now I have daffodills from my yard only because I'm in "Think Spring" mode. I'll probably go back to my fishing sign in a couple of months.
I personally like the photo of yourself. It's a well done photo and you look very handsome.
I didn't realize that Buzz. I didn't mean to be flip or anything. I understand now about the ability to communicate with lots of other people - like a life line as it were . . . .
My avatar is from an animated show called 'Robot Chicken' Her name is Bitch Pudding and she is a rip off from the Strawberry Shortcake franchise or whatever you would call it, back from when I was a little girl. She is raunchy as hell!!! I love her!!!
Bitch Pudding
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Voiced by
As her name suggests, Bitch Pudding is aggressive, sassy, promiscuous, foul-mouthed, and insensitive, often mocking and demeaning the other Strawberry Shortcake characters in various ways. She often says, "BLAM!" after insulting someone. In return, she is disliked by many Strawberry Shortcake characters, who all attempt to kill her by dumping her into a volcano in her own special episode .
Apart from her appearances in Robot Chicken's Strawberry Shortcake skits, Bitch Pudding joined most of the show's original characters in the opening skit of Season Five.
Bitch Pudding was also part of the ensemble cast in " The Rescue ", being one of the many defenders of the Mad Scientist 's lair. Notably, she was one of the few characters (apart from the Scientist himself) to put up a decent fight against the Robot Chicken. Despite landing numerous blows and maintaining the offensive for most of the battle, Bitch Pudding was eventually overcome by the Robot Chicken (and his wooden sign, brought in response to her insulting his mother), who knocked her over a railing to a messy death on the floor below.
Despite appearing to die in The Rescue , Bitch Pudding makes a cameo in Season 6 episode Immortal . She was given her own special episode in Season 7, the " Bitch Pudding Special ", in which the other Strawberry Shortcake characters decide to murder her by paying their mail-delivering bird to drop her into a volcano, a fate she narrowly avoids. After encountering a race of creatures called the Shlorps (parody of the Smurfs), she ends up back in Pastryville, only to find out the citizens' plot to murder her when she sees a festival celebrating her supposed "death". She eventually gets even by murdering them all by setting their church on fire with them inside, and then finishing them off with a minigun once they break out.
In season 8, she returns in "Bitch Pudding's The Crucible", a parody of The Crucible , and "Murder, She Bitched", a parody of Murder, She Wrote .
In season 9, she appears in more sketches, including a parody of The Sound of Music titled "The Sound of Bitching", where she takes on the role of Maria von Trappe.
In Season 10, she appears in more sketches, including parodies of The Handmaid's Tale and Psycho.
Bitch Pudding is a skilled fighter, whether utilizing her bare fists or any weapon. She's successfully gouged out a woman’s eyes, and also shoved a man into a plastic-melting machine inside a bingo ball factory.
Like I said - Bitch Puddin' is my kind of gal!
"I personally like the photo of yourself. It's a well done photo and you look very handsome."
I have to agree! Quite handsome!
I love the women on this site.....
Katee Sackhoff is a good choice to voice her character. I loved her as Starbuck
She is quite raunchy! I love in the beginning - she spews all these insults - and the voice says 'that's a lot to unpack' LOL!
Now I know why my son liked to watch Adult Swim when he was a kid
Avatars that move and bounce around are very distracting
I agree.
I totally agree. They are not only distracting, but, very hard on the eyes.
Quite a while ago I posted an avatar contest - calling for the members to vote to determine the best avatar. It was won by Nona62. I recall that I voted for CM, as I thought her avatar was the most creative and meaningful.
Ah C'mon Buzz, my avatar is some phat slob getting shot in the fat belly with an actual cannon, and it's payload, a cannonball. I think it complements my Moniker Lewinsky quite swell, as they both blow
and I agree with ya on the there should be some sorta consistency so as we know who the individual is, but whatever. All I know, is No ONE could
ever figure out who I was, cause my method of mannerisms and characteristics whence it comes to the written word, can easily be disguised, then discussed, then DISGUST, cause don't really care
if I might upset someone with fragile hair, as it's not the points, that are split, it's the ends to the means I never meant, cause split ends sends me on
a condition, where as I try to tame my heir and be more manageable, for KNOW WON won't be left for a loss of yards in the 100 meter dash to dine
that which I didn't find, as wasn't looking, cause had to shut my eyes that I got soap in, cause I can't see, how or why the right is always pickin on me,
as they seem to feel they are much brighter than i , yet, somehow or other, I just can't seem to come around to their way of thinkin
, and I've tried, as I've even been so bold to occasionally start DRINKIN, especially when so many here B leavin they're
head and shoulders above me, as they sit and scratch THEIR heads, while explaining their mental superiority, yet not comprehending my posted
statements, which to me,. is quite ironic, so pas the gin, and maybe some tonic...
Well, it's not so hard to identify you by your writing style.
yea , but that whole month I self suspended, my animation never ended, and my new persona never gonna reveal the real deal as to who I really m
cause I forget to remember sometimes, so I started a dismemberment club, thus everyone fits into the wood chipper a little easier.
I'm beginning to think that maybe I should change my avatar now and then myself.
LOL as lazy and lacking creativity as mine is I am content with it
Here is one that you could use.
That is nice
Nice picture Kavika, but that's not freefalling. This might be more like it.
When I see the hat I always think of a detective.
It makes me think of Indiana Jones.
It's about 10:30 pm now and I'm done for the night, but I don't think it's necessary to lock this article so I'll leave it open and get back to it in the morning. Good morning to you all, and good night to me.
If you're thinking of using an image of Christ, here's a much more likely one:
... which would surely annoy that same person even more.
Why would it annoy him more?
My avatar is a stratigraphic history of my attitude toward NT... or rather toward NTers.
Currently, the top layer is an antifa symbol. I can think of nothing more important in America today than opposing fascism.
Won't do at all.
Far too handsome...
Okay, I know, it's bound to attract all the women and make all the men envious. But then how would it affect the LGBTQ?
Buzz is the only Canadian who sports a flag. Basically you could drive from Halifax to Vancouver and never see one.
Due to where I work I see several every day but I get what you mean
Having lived in Canada from birth for most of my life I do know that Canadians don't wear their patriotism on their sleeves with such open displays as Americans do. I'm surprised that people don't paint their houses with the Stars and Stripes - maybe they do but I've not seen it. A number of years ago I created a group for Canadians here, but I think that if there are any Canadians other than me they're probably too polite to join if I did it again.
Bought a Canadian flag patch for my young cousin who went bumming around Europe with a couple of her girlfriends one year at the height of anti-American feelings. She had planned to sew an American flag patch to her backpack. She was dangerously ignorant of global politics.
It was half a century ago that American backpackers were sewing Canadian flags on their backpacks. For the last little while at least I've worn clothing/hat that identify myself as Canadian when I go out here.
You know... I've had the same avatar of Pussyfoot and Marc Antony since I started. I was always like Pussyfoot, taming the "big, mean dogs" so to speak.
I thought about changing it once and for some reason, it wouldn't save. It just wasn't important enough for me to try and figure it out. I don't know if I did something wrong or it's more difficult than it was when I started here at NT.
Mine is from an Italian comic called Ranxerox. He's a defective cyborg charged with protecting (often with excessive brutality) a precocious teenage junkie. He kinda looks like me though.
happy with their avatar? Are they you?
Yes Buzz and good article,
My avatar is a picture of me in front of my drums I surrounded it with a distorted brightly colored "frame" to help me see it more easily.
Yes I am happy with it.
I'm also glad we are able to change it and our screen name at will.
Recently I thought about changing my screen name ( To one I had been using elsewhere) but didn't want to give up my identity here, it was nice to be able to just add what I wanted to become my new screen name here now.
I added the "Realistically Thinkin Or Duu" second half.
Now I am crazy happy with my screen name.
lol
Mine is my beagle Jasper who passed away about 4 years ago. He was a little sweetheart. I just got a beagle mix and will probably change my avatar to a picture of him. His name is Oliver and he's a rescue.
I had a miniature beagle named Buster. This is him:
We lost him when he was mauled by a coyote. Here he is fishing with us.
He was beautiful. I just love beagles.
That's so sad! But he's so cute!
Me, too
Buster was a great dog. I originally didn't want him because I had lost my beloved Missy only 4 years before this. But Mr G knew some people that needed to find a home for him because they were going overseas. So he gives me this sob story that Buster would have to go the shelter if we didn't take him. That tore at my heart strings like he knew it would.
Come to find out that everybody he worked with wanted him. I fell in love with that dog the first night we had him and so did the kids. Everybody loved him, even the neighbors and friends, and he loved everybody.
That must have been awful.
It was. He came into the house all tore up late one night (we had a doggy door). The kids found him and woke us up. MR G took him to an emergency vet where they said he was too tore up and we had to put him down.
Oh, how horrible. I'm sorry your family had to go through that.
thank-you for your kindness. I think I would like to get another beagle when I retire, but I want to find a beagle rescue
What a sad story. When my buddy, my cat Fidget, who was with me for 17 years died I cried longer and harder than when my parents died. There is a bonding with a pet that is unexplainable.
One of my best friends, Frank, lost his kitty Hobbit and went to work that day. He was a mess. Crying his eyes out. His boss told him to go home.
I think that we should get bereavement when our fur buddies go.
They're family. I agree!
I don't have any pets right now but I love cats and dogs. I think when I retire I'll get a cat and a dog. I want to be able to devote my time to them and having a dog will give me a good incentive to get exercise also. I think I'll get a chihuahua. I had one named Teddy who was a rescue. One of those furry chihuahuas. They're so cute.
Yeah... I thought that too. I'm still a lazy bum.
Good for you.
I use the stupid cowboy hat because this site won’t let me change it. Every time I try to change it I get some error code “you have entered an invalid or reserved user name”, which makes no sense. Kind of ironic since I hate country music more than anything in this life.
OMG! So, it's not just me?
We agree on that for sure!
- A cocktail waitress in the Blues Brothers.
My husband loves the Blues Brothers. I was never a huge fan. I know... shock and horror.
Exactly.
My avatar is The Cheech Wizzard (a lizzard) by the underground artist Vaughn Bode. I made a statuette of one of his lizard subjects in college and I still have it to this day.
>punt<
From 2007 to 2011 I changed avatars to things that were current events or meaningful to me.
No one on NV ever minded, in fact when a popular member passed away,
it was not unusual for hundreds of people to adopt the deceased member's avatar for a week or so.
When I was divorced in 2012 I changed my name permanently to avoid my Ex on line
but the name came from my newish wife's emails and conversations with my Ex,
both of whom could not recognize the others description of me. Hence two personalities.
