Clueless Camping by Timothy M

[Timothy M.]

Shamefully inaccurate stereotypes   - not all Australians have wombats, some of us have numbats, wallabies, wollies, or bandicoots.

 

the best part about that specific comic was the drunken Danish statement at the end. readers went absolutely beserk in the comments over that.

[Bucket1]

the best part about that specific comic was the drunken Danish statement at the end. readers went absolutely beserk in the comments over that.

 

Oh we we would definitely ask 

[Timothy M.]

OK, ch 7 is now back from Kitt, and I'm just in the process of finalizing the last few matters. I'm hoping for a Friday or Saturday posting.

 

To remind you of where we are, here are some links to the area (Dragør) where Jacob's parents live, and the view from their house (the bridge and the skyscraper in Sweden).

 

Dragør see http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag%C3%B8r

Øresund Bridge see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge

Turning Torso Malmø see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_Torso

 

Kitt suggested I add a chapter with a glossary for Danish names and terms (since there are several in the coming chapter). Does anyone have an opinion on this?

[AC Benus]

 

Dragør see http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag%C3%B8r

I always like to see how wildly different Wiki pages are in various languages. Above is Timothy M's original Danish page, and here is the more paltry English language version 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag%C3%B8r

[Timothy M.]

Chapter 7 is live !

 

Here is some info about traditional Danish cuisine and the water of life:

 

Snaps see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snaps or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akvavit

Smørrebrød see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%B8rrebr%C3%B8d or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_sandwich - and http://satwcomic.com/tall-food-is-good-food

 

Kolonihaver are small allotments for growing vegetables and getting away from the city, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_(gardening)#Denmark

[Timothy M.]

AC inspired me to expand the bit about cycling, but it's true that it's hard to live in Copenhagen and not cycle. They even have courses for immigrants (especially women) from countries with no tradition for cycling, since being able to cycle is a job requirement in various situations e.g. homehelpers for elderly people. See https://www.cyklistforbundet.dk/Alt-om-cykling/Cykling/Laer-at-cykle-som-voksen/Kurser-Sjaelland and http://navisen.dk/blog/indvandrerkvinder-cykler-for-jobs/ and http://navisen.dk/blog/kbenhavns-kommune-vil-have-indvandrerne-med-pa-cykelblgen/ (all in Danish) and the cute video on http://hovedstaden.drk.dk/sw106661.asp  - . In one article I read, there was also a woman from US having fun learning to ride a bike at the age of fifty.

 

Copenhagen as bicycle city, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Copenhagen and  http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/bikecopenhagen and http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/bike-city and http://subsite.kk.dk/sitecore/content/subsites/cityofcopenhagen/subsitefrontpage/livingincopenhagen/cityandtraffic/cityofcyclists.aspx

[Bucket1]

I commented in the reviews that I enjoyed the longer chapter but Tim you were right it wasn't longer at all. Maybe there was more to-and-fro between the 4 characters. Maybe I was nervous about meeting the parents too.

 

However I think you have misinterpreted my comments in the reviews, you said

 

Thank you. I find it somewhat funny that all of you mention the length of the chapter, since it isn't longer than any of the others. But I'll take it as a sign that I can keep on posting long chapters at wider intervals rather than shorter chapters more often.

 

My comments should not be interpreted as meaning that you can post long chapters at wider intervals - I'm a greedy reader, I want long chapters at shorter intervals (no pressure  ). I have got caught up in the story - I want Evan to see the new Russell, I want Chris and Jacob to roll their eyes when the twins do twin things, I want the engagement party, I want J&R to buy the rings that will symbolise their love, I want the story behind the dad's issues, I want...

 

Well, you get the picture.

[Headstall]

Out of "likes" but i'm with you Bucket...I want it all too...

[Kitt]

Oh good lord! Tim, you have created a couple of monsters.

[Timothy M.]

Well, it's wonderful to be wanted, and I promise to deliver most if not all of the things on your wish list (and feel free to add to the list, everyone).

 

But I can't promise shorter intervals, I spend a lot of time writing and improving the text. Then I send it to AC and he does a very thorough beta reading, after which I use a week or so of discussing the various issues with him and rewriting the text. After most of them are settled, the chapter goes to Kitt for a final editing and for her opinion on any issues where AC and I disagree. I often leave the final version lying for a couple of days and then I read the whole thing again to make sure there are no mistakes relating to earlier chapters and within the new chapter. Only then am I ready to post.

 

So you must expect at least two or three weeks between postings, now that you've caught up with me. I've only just begun writing ch 8. Sorry. But I do appreciate your eagerness for more, and small occasional proddings will probably keep me at my task.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Timothy M.

[Bucket1]

Well, it's wonderful to be wanted, and I promise to deliver most if not all of the things on your wish list (and feel free to add the list, everyone).

 

But I can't promise shorter intervals, I spend a lot of time writing and improving the text. Then I send it to AC and he does a very thorough beta reading, after which I use a week or so of discussing the various issues with him and rewriting the text. After most of them are settled, the chapter goes to Kitt for a final editing and for her opinion on any issues where AC and I disagree. I often leave the final version lying for a couple of days and then I read the whole thing again to make sure there are no mistakes relating to earlier chapters and within the new chapter. Only then am I ready to post.

 

So you must expect at least two or three weeks between postings, now that you've caught up with me. I've only just begun writing ch 8. Sorry. But I do appreciate your eagerness for more, and small occasional proddings will probably keep me at my task.

 

Small occasional proddings will come your way...

 

What ever you are doing, you should keep doing because it is working. Us greedy readers will just have to be patient. (mumbling something about an unfair universe...)

[Bucket1]

Oh good lord! Tim, you have created a couple of monsters.

 

Monsters indeed - we are called aficionados!   Or is Tim really Lady Gaga?

[Timothy M.]

Monsters indeed - we are called aficionados!   Or is Tim really Lady Gaga?

 

Don't insult me ! I'm not a fan of her (though I can't say I haven't heard her music in the radio, without knowing who it was), and I suppose it's impossible to avoid seeing the occasional picture in passing.

 

But I do love fans of my story, so they aren't monsters to me. And in return for reviewing and posting you are allowed to be as demanding as you want.

[Timothy M.]

On Wednesday October 1^st it's the 25^th anniversary of the first same-sex legal civil union (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_union) in Denmark and the world. There are several celebrations going on in Copenhagen, including an exhibition opening today.

See http://lgbt.dk/equallove25/

Edited September 29, 2014 by Timothy M.

[Irritable1]

Tim, you asked me to say more about what I meant by this in my review :

 

. I do have reservations about how untrammeled his journey is by the realities of life (money/job/neighbors) but in a way that makes sense, because for a lot of us our time of "expansion" began in college or whenever we first felt free

 

What I'm trying to say is that the guys are pretty much free to focus on their own emotions 24/7 right now. For Russell, who has never had the freedom to be himself, it makes sense that he almost CAN'T develop without that indulgence. I don't know that it needs changing. They do seem very insulated monetarily to me .... But maybe that's just my own class issues

[Timothy M.]

You're quite right, Irri. The whole camping trip was to quote chapter 1: "A glorious bubble of time and space which might end now." And Russell needed this to come out (of his cocoon). So I'm glad you approve.

 

As for money, I've chosen to let the parents solve this matter by paying for their past and future travel together. It's an easy trick, true, but on the other hand Jacob and Russell have plenty of other challenges to face, lol. And it's certainly not unusual for young Danes to travel around Asia for three months based on their savings. I have at least two cousins and a couple of friends who have done this.

 

Remember university tuition and basic grants for all students are payed via taxes in Denmark, so jobs can be used to supplement your income in order to afford better lodgings, nicer clothes and food, and to save up for travel or other luxury.

 

Since both Jacob's parents work, and they only have one child, and the mortgage of their house is most likely small, they are well able to afford helping their son and his boyfriend. It's quite common for upper middle class parents to aid their kids financially, eg by buying them an apartment. In fact, this practice has driven up the price of small apartments in Copenhagen to a troublesome degree.

[Irritable1]

Hee. Well Timmy my love, I am a working American middle-middle-class parent and after I'm done paying for college, the Dove and the Glint will need to save up for their own sapphires no matter how nice their partners' eyes. But I'm still very happy for Russell that he's found such a nurturing family to turn to.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Irritable1

[Irritable1]

And I'm hopelessly addicted to Scandinavia and the World now. I hope you're pleased....

[Timothy M.]

And I'm hopelessly addicted to Scandinavia and the World now. I hope you're pleased....

 

YES ! Another fan of SATW created. Awesome   

[Irritable1]

At breakfast in Bergen one morning in 1999 there was this fish stuff that I recoiled from because it was slimy. I mean, visible stuff sliding off it when you lifted up a piece with the spoon. It was labeled, laconically, "Eel." And I've lived to sort of regret not trying it. Anyway, this brought back that missed opportunity.

[ColumbusGuy]

I have to agree with Gary and everyone else on the meeting with 'Dad'...he may be rational, but that doesn't always stop a person from also being cruel and ruthless when their aims are thwarted.  If his social prestige is ruined already by his children leaving along with his wife, then what has he to lose?

 

I'm not entirely sure that even confronting him together will be enough to limit the damage he could do...his wife has courage, but only it seems when he isn't there--and so far Russell and Evan have chosen to be absent rather than face him down to the end.  Not a promising sign for a happy outcome to the issue.  I would prefer to see Jacob, Chris and Jacob's parents present as well.

 

I wonder about Jacob's uncles in Singapore--could the reason they don't visit the rest of the family be that they are more than gay--that they are also lovers?  There is a bond between twins I suppose, would that seem too unusial to extend it that far?  I'm technically an only child, so no clue, but there was a set of twins in high school who were pretty close.

[Timothy M.]

I wonder about Jacob's uncles in Singapore--could the reason they don't visit the rest of the family be that they are more than gay--that they are also lovers?  There is a bond between twins I suppose, would that seem too unusial to extend it that far?  I'm technically an only child, so no clue, but there was a set of twins in high school who were pretty close.

 

You're not the only one to raise this question, lol. But while I'm not giving anything away on whether they are gay or not, I will say that nothing like that is going on. Unless all my readers suddenly demand to have incestuous twins in the story.   Then I may reconsider. 

[ColumbusGuy]

Don't give out any spoilers...   It isn't uncommon for close family members to live together: when I was a kid, the farm across the road was occupied by two elderly sisters who lived together all their lives--one was married for sure as the farm passed to their grandson.  Okay guys, let's keep our minds out of the gutter!   I don't know if any sort of brothers ever experimented together...I had older half-sisters I grew up with, and a half-brother I met only once who is about 12 years older than me.  By the time I was 14 all my sisters were married, so I was home alone when the parents were at work.  I do suspect that sexual preference is genetic, mainly because one of my nephews is gay also, though his brother wasn't.

[Timothy M.]

Just to pass time while you're waiting for ch 8.

 

To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (Bible, Titus 1:15)

 

I don't know. Maybe it's just me who has a dirty mind.

 

 

 

    

 

or maybe waiting in the airport got to me...

 

Edited October 15, 2014 by Timothy M.

[Bucket1]

Ooops...

 

I think I fail the dirty mind test or is that pass the test?