AFriendlyFace

WOOO HOOO! Happy Birthday to a very special and wonderful member! The forum is richer for your presence, BeastKid! May the day bring you all the things you need and most of the things you want! May your year be full, happy, and healthy, and may your life lead you down a path of contentment! All the best, Kevin

WOOO HOO! Happy Saint day, Francois!

Hmm, or perhaps left-handed people that are gay are more likely to come out. They might be thinking, "Well, I already braved battles against the right-handed world! Next stop, making the heteros accept me! " ...well probably not, but you never know -Kevin

It always amazes me how completely beautiful everything you write is, Luc. This is certainly no exception! Well done! Thanks for sharing it with us, I love it! -Kevin

LOL, I suspect something like "sluty" or "whorish" might have set Chase off even worse!

Awww Thanks guys (and girls)! LOL, I guess I shoulda changed that avatar long ago! I just wanna say for the record that I think you're all aces too -Kevin

Interesting thread! We seem to have a couple of significant differences with how we read books, Liddy! For example I can never go out of order, skip, or scan. I have to read every word in exactly the right order, and I get irritated with myself if I even catch a few words, or a name or something in a subsequent chapter/paragraph. I also get really frustrated if I know how the book is going to end. However I definitely can, and often have, quit reading books at all stages of completion (or lack thereof ). I definitely do all of these and agree completely! That is one of the pluses of online work, not really knowing how much is left. It seems to me that that extra element (again at least for me) is the interaction available online! Online, we can interact with the authors! And often not just at the end of the story in the form of some comments, but even chapter by chapter! Often we can literally communicate with the author as the story is unfolding! The other thing is definitely the extra pleasure gained from being able to discuss it with each other! I think a lot of people have had the experience of reading a really great book and wanting their friends and family to read it too so that you could talk to them about it! This doesn't always work out though. Sometimes they have different taste, are too busy, or don't get to it until it's been awhile after you've read it and you yourself have forgotten many of the main things you wanted to discuss. With the forums we don't have to worry about these things! Presumably everyone here, and definitely more than likely anyone posting in the story threads, has read exactly what we've read! We're all on the same part of the story at the same time! We can happily speculate about what's going to happen next, or talk about our favourite scenes with the knowledge that we're not "spoiling" it for anyone else, or that the other person might mention something we haven't read yet. So yeah, I think the big plus is the enhanced capacity for interaction! I definitely read more online than in print myself (and most of the physical, "print" things I read tend to be magazines versus actual books). I guess the biggest plus about a physical book though, would be that it's a physical book. You can take it with you where ever you go. Granted we could print out the chapters as they come, but then we'd have to keep them all together, or accept that we couldn't check back at the older ones. Plus there's all there's a lot of other potential inconveniences, like running out of paper or ink, or simply trying to orderly store all the loose pages. Anyway, great thread! My vote is for internet fiction! Take care all and have a great day Kevin

LOL, yup, now you know the truth! We only discuss the really important matters here at gayauthors Awww The little n looked like it needed a hug? Personally, I love alternate spellings as long as they're either acceptable alternate spellings or spellings purposely done for effect. It is troubling if someone doesn't realize the mistake, but if someone purposely and playfully exploits it I take no issue. I personally love cramming my words together into a lazy, phonetic concoction. For example: gonna sorta didja woulda coulda whadja couldja howdja gimme lemme I'm also not particularly bothered by things like: Nite skillz laff and all the many other similarly spelt derivations. However, as I said the person needs to know the correct version first. Ahh, that's a good example! I actually prefer "Ad verT is ment" to the American pronunciation ("Ad ver tize ment"), however I think "shhed ule" (as opposed to "sKed ule") sounds a bit like the person has a speech impediment. Rest assured, given the recent rash of celebrities and politician (auto)biographies you'll find quite a few asses in US book titles nowadays 'ave a grate day ya'll N ta'ker -Kevin

YAY! I also noticed that we still don't know exactly what Dennis ended up deciding to do at the end of chapter 3. It looked to me like he must have just signed the report, then later privately called Alana and explained everything to her, including that he'd signed because he felt pressured to and because he was being threatened. Is that what everyone else concluded? Don't do that!!! One other thing I noticed: doesn't it seem as though Gerald is developing a drinking problem? I certainly got that impression. I suppose it's somewhat understandable (perhaps not the best word) considering all the pressure and stress he's under right now, but it looks trouble to me! I'm eager to see the 5th chapter! Awesome job, Nick Kevin

Tragically, these things don't happen as often in the workplace (or at school or at home) as they ought to. This was a fantastic chapter, Nick! I confess I've just read the 4th chapter as well, but I wanted to comment on my initial thought about what Dennis was going to do. I thought he was going to pick up the pen and write something naughty on the report instead of his name. Like "F%# you, you crook!" or something to that effect -Kevin

I think your title is fine, however I do clearly remember thinking "Oh, I'm surprised ___ isn't the title" when I first read the poem. Unfortunately, I can no longer remember exactly what it was that had passed through my mind. The only suggestion I can come up with now would be: "In my memory" It seems to sort of fit and the line appears twice in the poem:

Well I shan't reveal how I voted although it may have been influenced by recent events (such as being called a postwhore in the other thread after I stuck up for my fellow Lurker!) *gasp* but I'm still willing to bet that even there, true to form, they've both posted considerably more there than me!

Very good points, Graeme. But what about: It seems to me like The Scar is definitely aware of Dimitri's fear of heights and already using it somewhat to his advantage when they meet (further intimidating him, etc.). So it seems somewhat possible to me that he might later decide to try to dispose of Dimitri by somehow exploiting that fear. I definitely agree with your reasoning, and you may indeed be correct, but somehow I suspect that there's further backstabbing to be done, and I think Dimitri's acrophobia will play a role in it. **whispers to CJ** You'd better correct that typo before someone else (like Steve!) notices it Actually that was exactly what I thought about when I made my predictions. Why would they have to "sneak" them out of Jerry's place if they were eighteen? I think there is a lot more about these girls than what has been presented. That seems like a good guess, Steve, but my initial reaction was simply that the girls' father would be ticked off and might be influential. As I recall they were there accompanying their father who was dressed as a Roman Senator (well one of them was a friend of the daughter if I remember correctly). What if the Roman Senator was also an American Senator (that would be just the kind of cute, little ironic joke people like when picking costumes)? Even if he's not, he's likely to be influential if he was at the fund-raiser in the first place! -Kevin

Good point! Or perhaps Brennan hasn't worked out his own feelings about homosexuality yet and is trying to figure out how to handle having a gay best friend? After all the other guys are already talking.

I'm grateful for: 1) Salads!! Have I already been grateful for these in this thread? They're just so good! Especially if ya mix in lotsa mushrooms and various types of nuts! 2) Text Messages! I just got one whilst making this entry, and it made me smile 3) My favourite pair of shoes! I have quite a few pairs of shoes, but this particular pair is really wonderful! They're comfortable, they're trendy, they look great with everything, and they're really easy to put on and take off! 4) My Lucky She's such a nice cat. 5) Sleeping It's a great activity, and I'm pleased to be one of the few Americans who regularly gets enough (mostly because whatever else I should be doing I refuse to get up and do it unless I've been in bed 7-9 hours )

Nearly all my friends are GLBT, with the exception of my work friends. Oh I also have several childhood straight friends left, but as far as the people I've befriended in the past two years (since moving to Houston) they're nearly all somehow affiliated with the gay community, again with the exception of my friends at work. Actually I often feel like I ought to participate more in the "straight world". Even the majority of the restaurants, club, events, etc. that we go to tend to be very gay-oriented or gay-friendly.

Seether - "Truth"

Awesome! Way to go Well you could be silly and say something like, "So how did I come out? Let's see I saw these shirts for "Safe Zone" and decided to go to this meeting..." Well I suspect you'll already know my opinion. I think you should go! It sounds like it'll be alota fun, and you can probably make it as cheap or expensive, or as tame or as wild as you're inclined to do Besides, I think you'll really be glad you went later! Glad to hear everything's going well! Take care and have an awesome day! Kevin

Ohh I knew that was today I don't know why I forgot! Happy Re-unification day!

Hey Jas! Welcome back! It's great to hear from ya again -Kevin

Great chapter! My guess about what Helen is ticked off about would have be something regarding the hotel across the street and Eric's dawn time escapades on the balcony. It seemed much to odd to mention that the building across the street was a hotel if that doesn't play into it somehow. Alternatively it could have something to do with their noisy limo ride (shouting through the streets at midnight!), or perhaps something regarding the girls (but I'm definitely betting on one of the two former scenarios). I don't think it'll be about Chase and Brandon being gay at all, because 1) I don't think it would have already come out, and 2) I don't think it would be so obviously Jon and Eric's fault that Helen would focus her anger on them and primarily ignore Chase and Brandon. I don't know if this has been speculated on before, but it seems quite apparent that Dimitri is planning to execute Valdimir after everything is over with. I wonder if The Scar has similar plans for him? (Or conversely if he, Dimitri, has those same plans for The Scar?) I found Jon's words to be quite a surprise. I didn't think he felt that way at all I'm glad Eric stood up for them though. There's no doubt I like Eric better of the two. That said I thought Chase over-reacted to Jon "interrogating" Brandon during the handball match. Don't get me wrong I thought his actions were more or less justified after he overheard what Jon was saying, but I think he was getting mad over nothing before that. As long as he didn't threaten Brandon, I think it's perfectly fair to try to find out his "intentions". Sure it's a bit nosy, but it shows that he cares and I think close family and friends should look after each other in that way. Anyway I'm looking forward to reading more! Take care and have an awesome day everyone! Kevin

That was great, Jason! I really enjoyed reading that. It was very sad and evocative. My two favourite lines were definitely:

Hmm, I would say more melancholy than outright dark. Perhaps even bittersweet. Interesting! Thanks for showing it to us, Francios. (LOL, though I can't quite see the similarity ) Have a great day all! Kevin

I didn't finish the article because I've been having quite a few headaches lately and the tiny print was making it worse , however, I did have a few comments about these sections: This strikes me as a ridiculous logical fallacy. There's no way all of humanity could ever be purely homosexual any more than it's ever been purely heterosexual (which is evidenced by the authors own indication that apparently this was coming up as far back as Biblical days, but which of course is quite logical and not dependent on this argument in the first place). It's just as ridiculous as assuming that all people are going to eventually be exactly 5'9'', or everyone will someday really enjoy the taste of coffee. Those are just ludicrous suppositions and regardless of any apparent trend they're still not going to happen. This section is just asking to be compared to relationships between older or infertile heterosexual couples. Similarly it apparently castigates everyone who doesn't get married and reproduce (a position which has mostly fallen out of favour in today's Church). Another obvious time to point to the instances of homosexuality appearing in the animal kingdom, which are of course quite numerous. That's about as far as I got. I think it's wonderful that you want to write an essay opposing this view! That's really courageous and responsible of you! I agree that almost surely it won't have an impact on the author of this article, but as you indicated in your post if it helps cauterize the damage he's doing with this article in the public opinion of the rest of the people it's well worth it! You may indeed convince others One more thing, this entire thread is a bit borderline with regards to GA's policy of avoiding matters of religion in The Lounge. It seems pretty harmless right now since we're all in agreement, and no one is harshly criticizing anyone else, nor is any specific religion being derided. However, I would like to remind everyone to keep things friendly, and not attack anyone else, including specific religions. Take care everyone and have an awesome day Kevin

WOOO HOOO!! Happy birthday, Centaur! It's a pleasure having your around the forums and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future! Have a fantastic day and an awesome year! -Kevin