TetRefine

So you basically have to be a freezing cold or baking heat city to be ranked most livable? I don't buy it.... Also, "most livable" is very subjective. My parents couldn't fathom the idea of living in a large, crowded, noisy city yet I love it. I couldn't fathom the idea of ever again having to live in a quiet, boring, over-aged suburb yet it's great to them. How can you rank something so subjective?

He's damn lucky he didn't get a felony. He might as well have just moved into his parents basement at that point. It's bullshit though that we he allegedly did is even considered a felony anyway.

Well duh, ugly teens don't attract as many views.

Of course it matters still in America. We all still have our prejudices, and how we view different races is based on our own personal experiences, and those around us. I grew up a white boy in a town that is 97% white, so I didn't really know how it felt to be the obvious outlier in a group of people or just in everyday life. My first two years of college I didn't have a car, so I relied a lot on the bus to get where I needed to go off campus. The city in which I went to college was 80% black, and every time I stepped on the bus, I was one of (if not the only) white people on the whole bus. They would stare at me and give me nasty looks and make me feel incredibly uncomfortable just because I was white. It's an experience I'll never forget and it has made me very conscious about how I make other "different" people feel in similar situations because I've learned how much it sucks.

So I've been living here in my new place in the "new" city now for a month and a half. Everything that was new and exciting before has become routine and comfortable, and no longer has that "oh wow, this is so different" factor. And that I think is a good thing because it makes daily living more comfortable. Riding the subway, driving in insanely aggravating bumper-to-bumper traffic every morning, going to a new gym, living in a very dense neighborhood, finding new places to shop, etc. have all just become routine and a part of every-day life. Yet this still doesn't feel like home the way living on campus did or how I feel when I go back to my hometown. While I feel totally comfortable and happy with my new life here in the city, there is still something strangely foreign about this place that has prevented me from feeling completely at home here. I think some of it has to do with not really knowing anyone here yet. The only person I really know here is my boyfriend, and while he's a great companion I would like to make other friends. I miss my friends from college like crazy, and while most of them are only a 20 minute drive out to the suburbs, it feels like now we are in two totally different worlds. Plus they have been all over the place this summer, so getting everyone together has been tough. Hopefully that'll change soon though. Although one of them I can see permanently kinda disappearing though, as he's getting married in a couple weeks and moving farther south from the city. I'm happy for him, but it really sucks to know that he's basically gone in a couple weeks. I feel like now that I've settled in to life here I should start finding ways to meet new people, because if I don't I'll go crazy. It's tough going from having a very close group of friends to basically having none overnight. How long till this place really feels like home?

I've heard of Steamworks. They are a bathhouse chain (which I didn't know existed). But bathhouses in the US have basically become a place for old guys to hang out and hook up. Young guys pretty much stay away from them now and stick to Grindr, Jack'd, and clubs/bars. I've never been to a bathhouse before, and based off what I've heard from other guys my age I probably won't.

I didn't know Cia was a dude? But if you mean Camilo, then yes he has been. But we went through a breakup that seemed very permanent at the time and essentially was. Although we eventually got back together, it lasted long enough for me to know what the whole process feels like.

Be straight up. Don't bullshit him and be honest with the why's, what's, and how's questions he will surely ask. Breaking up isn't that hard figuring out what to do, but actually doing it is extremely hard. I went through it once before and thats how I did it.

My dad accidentally discovered my undeleted porn history on my browser when I was 17. He asked me about it, and having no excuse I had to admit to it. He was perfectly fine with it, as was my mom who was told later that night. It helped that both my parents aren't really religious and one of my mom's cousins who she is close to is a lesbian.

Thats what I said. That up-front payment is far from being chump change.

The fact that this book was so utterly popular for so long proves most people don't know a good book if it slapped them in the face. Same with Twilight, and its the reason why the tag "New York Times Bestseller" doesn't persuade me to read a book. I gotta give props to the author though. She put out a completely half-assed product and became super-rich doing it too. Now she's going to make even more money with a bunch of big-budget Hollywood movies.

You guys are turning this into a semantics circle jerk. I'm just afraid that boys acting like boys will become something to be looked down upon and they will all be expected to be sensitive, gentle, and non-agressive. It seems like we are trying to somewhat feminize males and masculinity. There is a reason football locker rooms are very anti-feminine and anti-gay. Because masculinity is a trait that is absolutely essential to succeeding on the field during game-day, while femininity is a detriment to that goal. They can't contribute, so therefor are worth nothing to the team. The same goes for certain occupations too. Things like construction and policing and such have very similar attitudes because strength and masculinity are prized and essential to functioning properly in those jobs. So don't just think they are blindly ignorant for no reason.

Something very interesting happened today at work that very much relates to this topic. I'm currently working as a Youth Counselor at a day camp. During pick-up time, the kids (between the ages of 7-9) were talking about getting married and other random stuff about marriage. One of the kids mentioned something about a show he'd seen where two "old grandpas" got married to each other. As the kid put it, "they were both like, 80 or something". Not one of them made any mention to the fact that they were gay getting married to each other. The whole conversation turned into how it was weird that old people could still get married. Now whether they just didn't pick up on the fact that they were gay or they just didn't care I don't know. But the kid was very clear it was two men getting married that he saw, yet none of them made mention to the fact of it. I think that's progress. Note to add: This camp is located in a very wealthy, exclusive, and liberal suburb of the city so these kids don't come from "average" backgrounds, but regardless it was encouraging to see such young kids having no problem with the issue.

Are you trying to get me publicly lynched on Yawkey Way?

Sorry to say, but I definitely prefer Manhattan clam chowder over New England. Half my family is New Yorkers and the other half is New Englanders so I was fed both. Manhattan wins because New England always makes my stomach feel so over bloated any time I eat it. Of course I would never admit this in real life where I'm from because I would be hung for treason.

At least where I live, it seems that nobody with any real education believes that anymore. Although since I live in a big city that may not be representative of everywhere. Even a lot of people without much education are smart enough to know that notion is total bullshit. I think it has to do more with exposure then just being formally educated in general. My argument is this: why would anyone voluntarily choose to be mocked, ridiculed, bullied, and live in constant fear of rejection and judgement? It defies any common sense logic.

Vegans are just hypocritical idiots.

Calamari is another really good fried seafood. The best calamari I ever had was on vacation in St. Thomas from this little shack restaurant tucked away from the main road that had an absolutely beautiful view overlooking one of the bays. It was dirt cheap too, like $7 for a large basket. That was 9 years ago, and I'm determined to get back there before I die.

Growing up in New England and spending a significant amount of time on Long Island as well, seafood was always a summer staple. Clams, scallops, lobster, cod, salmon, and swordfish were constantly served hot off the grill or the boiling pot for BBQ get-togethers and the like. It obviously tastes even better fried, but its horribly unhealthy and I try to avoid it as much as I can. To me, this (swordfish) is more mouth-watering then fried seafood.

One lady lost here brother and sister-in-law on Malaysia 370, and now her step-daughter on Malaysia 17. Talk about freakish and shitty luck.

Oh I could definitely make it juicy. Especially after learning in the years since high school that some of them were total homos with secrets.

Locker room culture is all about establishing dominance and bravado. Homophobia and gay-bashing is just one tool used for this, among many other things. I could seriously probably write an entire sociology/psychology textbook on my experience on my high school football team and how the dynamics of the locker room worked out.

The article touts him as the "hottest player in the world cup", yet he is far from it. There are other Argentine players that are hotter then him IMO.

Wrong Turn 2. The movie was absolutely horrible, but it's hilarious because everything about it is so bad. My roommate and I laughed so hard we almost pissed ourselves when we watched it.

King's Park (NY)