AFriendlyFace

I love Screaming Infidelities! ...I probably ought to be quiet about them though "Big Casino" - Jimmy Eat World

Happy Birthday, dude!! I hope you have a fantastically happy and wonderful day, and may the coming year bring you all the things which make life fun -Kevin

Yes, I've heard a lot of things like this about bottled water recently. As I indicated before, for me I think it's largely a psychological thing. I may try to start using a water filter system if I find I like the water as much. A big aspect of it too though is that the bottles themselves are more convenient than lugging around a big glass of water. It's amusing that in the UK "DWI" has such a vastly different meaning than in the States. **Scandalized look** This afternoon I had this delightful coffee/alcohol drink it was ridiculously tasty! I think I'm going to go make a pot of herbal tea now -Kevin

It's good that you're adjusting to your situation, but never give up hope. Even if you can't make it away for your first year of university, I bet there are other things you can do, such as applying for LOTS of scholarships and financial aid, and working and saving up money so that perhaps your 2nd year you'll be able to Hang in there Yes, I agree. I think the best thing that can be done is just what he's doing. He's giving the issue a human face with a personal story. It's easy to sit there and spew hatred and intolerance as long as you don't see the victims are hear their stories, but by being out their and making his story known he makes it much harder for people to be insensitive and casually dismissive. Sympathy and compassion are much better mechanisms for changing people's hearts than anger or combat. Just my thoughts, Take care all Kevin

LOL, sounds like a great idea! I've played but always wanted to give it a go! Oh that sounds wonderful! I love football (then non-American version). It's my favourite sport actually! I used to love playing it when I was younger! I've been considering joining a gay softball league. Just because it's about the only gay sports league around here that I've been able to find. I'd much prefer soccer/football. -Kevin

Awwww Thanks everyone!! You guys really made my day! I'm extremely flattered! Believe me being a part of this community and getting to know all of you has most definitely been a great pleasure!! Thanks! -Kevin

Hey Guys Just wanted to let you know that we had created that thread in the Soapbox. Thanks for the suggestion! Take care, Kevin

Thanks guys Very helpful and informative!

Hey Everyone We are indeed discussing this, but of course most of the other Moderators and Administrators aren't around right now so it'll take a bit of time. I will say that extreme censorship has never been something Gay Authors has encouraged or enforced, and I certainly don't see that changing any time in the near future. I would be stunned if we just sat down and came up with a list of words that people couldn't utter without getting themselves into trouble. As always the intent and context will be paramount in determining what is appropriate and what isn't. There have certainly been numerous instances over the years of people using perfectly "civil" language in a completely uncivil way and just as many instances of people using "vulgar" language without any intention of hurting or offending anyone. Obviously we don't want people sitting around spewing profanity, but I think we'll always take a fairly light hand in the matter as long as people aren't being malicious or purposely inflammatory. There's certainly no cause for alarm. As I said I would be very surprised if any policies were changed as a result of a discussion thread about this topic. At most it would likely be a discussion and nothing more. Take care everyone, relax, and just use common sense - as everyone has been doing - when it comes to determining what's appropriate and what isn't -Kevin Gay Authors Moderator

My gosh! That doesn't seem like long enough Oh yes, please do if it's not too much trouble sorry if I came off as overly defensive. Oh my I'm so sorry Ieshwar. It definitely sucks! I sincerely and deeply hope that as time goes by the laws and climate will change for the better and/or you'll move to a more accepting place. I know it must be really hard in the meantime though and I'm so sorry. If there was only something I could do to make things better for you. Take care, Kevin

Hey Viv I would definitely say NO! I suppose Dan's right though in that it makes a difference where the person is from and what type of accent they have. When I was growing up the way my friend - a cajun - said "feeling" was identical to the way he said "filling". Which just shocked the socks off of me when I realized it! It also turned out that he was completely unable to distinguish the difference when other people, even those without that sort of accent, said the words. Perhaps you could make a suggestion about where he might store them Take care, Viv -Kevin

Hey Richie, I'm sorry you're going through all this I know about friends moving and it definitely blows! When my two very close friends moved away last May I spent days before, on the day of, and after breaking into tears randomly. And now I'm faced with another very close friend moving away in 2-3 months It definitely sucks, but I think what it comes down to is whether or not they're happy and whether or not it's the best thing for them to do. You said he feels like he needs to go. Is this a general desire to see the world? Is he getting a new job or going to a new school? If those are the sort of things, then yeah it definitely sucks but it really might be something wonderful for him. If it's something cruddier like having to move to take care of family or something like that, then it's definitely not going to be as "good" for him, but it's probably just as important, or maybe more so. In any case, chances are he's got a good reason. I've also been on the moving away side a couple of times. It's tough and it completely screws with your way of thinking. You might not bother to get to know people better because you think you'll be gone soon, you might sorta keep thinking of all the things you'll miss like someone's birthday, or in my case I had a pregnant friend and I knew I'd never get to see the baby , and in general everything just takes on a different perspective. Sometimes there is a temptation to distance yourself. It doesn't necessarily mean you don't care about the people. In fact it might mean that you care about them so much you don't think you can get through it. I guess what I'm saying is I know how hard it is for you, and I know how hard it is for him. (or at least I can sorta guess on both accounts) All I can say is that you've got the right idea. You should cherish the time you've got left together. Try not to spend it fighting, or avoiding each other, or focusing on anything but the good times you've had together. Also, you're probably thinking there's no way you'll stay in touch, or that it just won't be the same or whatever. Well it won't be exactly the same, but that doesn't mean it can't still be really good. I have a much better and emotionally closer relationship with one of the friends I left behind two years ago. With another we have a surprisingly similar relationship to that which we've always had. As for my two friends that moved away, I stayed in touch with them two, and it actually looks like they might end up moving back. Point is if you want to stay close you will...regardless of distance. I hope you feel better and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the time you have left together in the same city. And when he does leave...well eat a pint of ice cream and watch Will and Grace -Kevin

You were right! He is planning to move in with the boyfriend. The trouble is the guy lives in Kentucky! He's a flight attendant so he comes to Houston a lot, and they often spend the weekend and stuff together, but apparently they've decided it's time to do the moving in thing, and they've mutually agreed that William should move there. Yep, Scott's pretty upset about the whole thing, plus he's out a roommate! AND to top it all off something else kinda cruddy just happened to him. So I'm seriously feeling for Scott As for William...well I'm pretty conflicted. I'm going to miss him like crazy of course! And I'm just kinda in shock about the whole thing. But I'm also pretty happy for him. I mean he's really happy and excited, and it sounds like he's just ready to leave Texas in general. So even though I think he might be rushing things and moving more quickly than I would advise, I think in general if he just wants to get out there and try something new he might be doing what's right for him. I mean I up and moved to a new state and I didn't have a boyfriend - however new - waiting for me. I'm just really torn. I mean he is a very independent person, and I think he'll be fine. I mean he'll definitely meet people and make a lot of new friends, and I could see him being fine even if they did break up. Plus he'd have the option of coming back. I mean I know we'd welcome him back and do what we could to help him get back on his feet. So all in all I think for him it might be a good decision. He's doing something he wants to do, it has the potential to turn out really great, and even if it doesn't I think he'll be okay. ...now I just need to explain all that to Scott.

Oh my gosh! This is shocking! I certainly hope there are activist groups lobbying for the addition of some appropriate child abuse laws! I'm sure having these laws fall under a different section would also be good for the cause of getting the homosexual sex thing struck down. Otherwise for once people can (justifiably) argue that it would pave the way for child molestation if the laws were removed. Does this mean then that the maximum sentence for cases involving child molestation is also only 10 years? Wow! Sounds like quite an undertaking! I'm proud of you Beasty! I'd love to thumb through it sometime, although to be honest I'm unlikely to just sit down and read the whole thing in a sitting. It's definitely something worth knowing about though! -Kevin

Welcome to the support group, Rose! SOOOOOO, don't keep us in suspense, what did you think of TLW?

This is fantastic, Corvus!!! I can already see this entering the next round of Dom Trivia "Dom has been compared to which classic author?"

In that case perhaps "Jerry" has already died?

Wow! That's both shocking and disturbing! I read a similar article about water recently that focused on bottled water, basically saying that the chemicals the water absorbs from the plastic might be extremely toxic. Then it went on to point out how these toxins in the plastics that we use for all sorts of things get into our bodies. It turned out that some ridiculously high portion of people, even young people in remote areas, all tested positive for the various toxic chemicals in their bodies. I would be interested to find out if actual people could be tested and found to have trace amounts of these drugs in their bodies. I'm assuming they probably can't be since in smaller doses they would probably be metabolized by the body too quickly or simply be undetectable. In any case it certainly gives us something new to think (and worry) about. Thanks for the info, Nick -Kevin

Hmm, I find it a bit odd that they would use this law as a way of prosecuting the miscreant instead of just having standard child molestation, rape, and murder laws. I'm assuming they do have these laws and just sort of "supplement" them with this law as a way of getting an even more serious sentence? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make that implication at all. I just thought maybe the penalties - while legal and following the system - might be stronger. Well that's pretty crummy Thanks

Theory of a deadman - Santa Monica

If you don't mind me further prying - and I suppose I ought to just do research on my own - but just how often are these things actually prosecuted and what are the penalties? I'm assuming it's not like in parts of the Middle East where they might execute a gay person if they "caught" them? Would you actually go to prison? Or have to pay a hefty fine? Or would it most likely just be ignored or dropped? What about the gay prince? Can he actually get into any kind of trouble? Or is he sorta out of danger since he's a prince? Sorry to bombard you with questions, Beasty -Kevin

Is there like a page of tips or something available? I mean I know the basics like using quotes and plus signs and what not, but I still generally suck at producing an effective search! They're either WAY too broad and I have to do too much wading, or I come back with a screen with like 4 things (that I wasn't looking for) and the suggestion that I should broaden my search. LOL, okay I'm seriously very curious about this story now!! LOL anyone else know what it might be?

I'm kinda weird with regards to tap water. First off I'm a major water drinker. I literally drink about two gallons a day on any given day. I usually buy about 18 gallon jugs of water when I go to the store, then also pick up a couple of 24pack cases of bottled water. I never drink tap water at home. Most of the time I make sure to carry 2 or 3 bottles with me whenever I leave the house, and I try to leave a couple in my vehicle for "emergencies". Plus most of my friends have bottled water on hand too, or else do some sort of water processing. If I expect to be somewhere for an extend period of time where I'm not sure of the water condition I'll take quite a few extra bottles. That said, when it comes to restaurants, bars, and clubs I always just ask for "a glass of water". Now I know that this "glass of water" has basically come from the tap, but I somehow trick myself into thinking that since it usually comes from some sort of drink fountain, or drink sprayer set up, it's "special". So no I don't drink "tap water", but I guess I sorta do, but sshhh don't tell me

Wow! This really puts things into perspective! Here we are in the states fighting to get equal rights with regard to marriage, and you guys are stuck just fighting to be able to legally have a relationship Asked for what? Asked to be gay or asked to be treated badly for it? I always get a bit defensive when people - especially gay people of course - say something to the effect "I didn't ask to be this way". Makes it sound like it's some sort of a curse. It's a blessing as far as I'm concerned, and if something freaky ever happens and I turn straight I'll ask to be gay again -Kevin

"Ain't No Other Man" By Christina Aguilera