AFriendlyFace

I wish I'd write something. I have all these ideas for things I'd like to write about, and often I mentally make up a whole set of characters and a story line; I just never seem to be able to sit still long enough to actually write it

Woo Hoo!! Happy Birthday Nick!! I hope it's a really awesome one May this year be better than all that preceded and the next year better still Kevin

Welcome Back Viv! I'm so glad you had a fun and safe trip. Wow that is a huge coincedence that you got to be there for both the times it snowed on that mountain! I loved the last chapter it was awesome! I really feel like I know more about Stephan now . So glad to hear the next one is right around the corner **sneaks around the corner and has a peek** Aww I'm sorry to hear about that poor little girl , at least you got to be warm for a little extra time though and spent the duration reading . I gave that book as a gift to someone, but I've never read it myself. I want to though, that and Tuesdays With Morey. Anyway glad you had fun and are back safe and sound, take care Kevin

I suppose I didn't make that clear enough. What I meant was the dichotomy for good and evil actions exists (I.E. there is an objective right and wrong), but few people ever actually exisit as purely good or evil. Thus for people I wouldn't think of classifying them strictly into one camp or the other. Also I say the dichotomy exisits for actions but specifically I'm only referring to moral actions; I make no claims about the virtue of everyday, mundane actions (though these would be interesting to debate).

LOL Oh Green I loved that story! Definitely my favourite of the three, not that the other two weren't excellent as well ! Anyway really great, I got a huge kick out of it Way to go! Can't wait to see what part 4 is about! Kevin

Perhaps Chaz ate something which did not agree with him. **sigh** I probably shouldn't let a lame joke be someone's first impression of me lol. Welcome Chaz! I'm so glad to see you registered and with your own SN . It's great to meet you, from what Green's written about you, you seem like an awesome person Well I was going to vote for seperate personally, but I'm glad for you guys and wish you two all the best Hugs and smiles! + Kevin

That's all very interesting! I have a question. How did you guys find all these fascinating facts out?? I'd love to checkem out myself.

I agree with this 1,000%!! The thing I find most appealing about gay relationships is the potential for a high degree of equality and the dissolution of gender stereotyped roles!...well that and boys are hot!

I agree that was awful! But I think Viv's got the right idea! Wait for him to "come around", then remind him that he owes you an all expenses paid "fun day". So sorry this happened to you, hope you're feeling better and doing well, Kevin

But morality is clearly based on intent. It's the whole concept of "knowing any better". If you don't know any better you simply cannot logically be evil. My sweet, loving, delightfuly cat would be completely happy to catch a mouse, torture it a little, almost let it get away a few times, then slowly kill it. But no one could reasonably argue that he (or any other animal) is "evil". He's completely self-involved and totally incapable of identifying with the other life form. It could be argued that to some extent Aaron is similarly self-involved and obliveous to the repercussions of his actions, but that would of course require knowing what's going on in his head, which we don't. And clearly Aaron is capable of being moral or immoral, whether or not he usually operates from a position that enables this capability is another issue entirely. As for very few people ever labeling their own actions and intents as "evil", this is very true. And this is also why I, personally, believe that there are virtually no completely evil people by objective standards. LOL this definitely sounds like something I would do. "gee we were having such a nice flight, I really wish you wouldn't do this!" Still assuming that plea proved unsuccessful it would present an interesting problem. (1)If the person isn't "evil" by my standards, this means that they really do mean well and believe their actions to be justified. They are likely a fundamentalist to their cause. As such it would be all but be impossible to convince that they were wrong in the first place. (2) If the person is "evil" by my standards, this means that the person doesn'tmean well, and is likely unhappy and eager to sadistically spread this misery and torment to others. This second, much less pleasent, individual is clearly the easier of the two to deal with and possibly persuade. With this person it would be a matter of convincing them that their own life were worth living, that there was still something left for them. Then pointing out that they could never have this something if they crashed the plan, OR even if they just killed us (since I could argue that a successful escape from the authorities is unlikely). Alternatively, I could try to figure out what happened to them to make them hate people, find out what acts and types of people they hate so much, then perhaps show that certain other passengers did not fall into these classifications. Basically use the immoral person's capacity for morality to attempt to bring them back over to a moral stance. Wouldn't be easy or even likely by any means, but this second individual is the one I'd rather deal with. The first is either so convinced of their cause that mymoral position is meaningless to them, OR if I could somehow "shake their faith" it would create a very dangerous psychological vacuum in a VERY bad situation. Agreed almost completely with everything mentioned up to this point in your post. And the part I disagree with: I believe the good/evil dichotomy doesexisit but few (if any)people actually meet the criteria for being completely good or evil. Everyone else varies from situation to situation, and all that can really be said is that a certain person has lately been consistantly one or the other. I like this idea of scale and agree with you; it's all a matter of perspective. and Davy's mention of God and subsequent reasoning that without a belief in God (or some higher power)there isn't an objective "right or wrong" is very fascinating. My personal belief is that there is indeed a God, and thus an act canbe objectively right or wrong. However, I don't feel that people can ever objectively judge someone elses actions as "evil" (or even "good" if you want to be pedantic). No, "good" and "evil" do depend on the intents behind these acts and one person can never completely know another's heart. It can be argued that you could judge your own actions as either good or evil, but even that is debatable. I think Davy also brought up the issue of "vindication". For me that's completely irrelevant. People have their own means of vindication (and will seek it according to their own perceptions and not "objectively" anyway). Further, while the concept of "karma" is appealing I think it begs the question of "good" and "evil". Surely being "good", especially from an objective standpoint, isn't contingent on some perception of reward. Similarly if "evil" is only based on punishment, courage and masochism become involved to an unnerving degree. No, clearly being "good" or "evil" requires that the person be beyond expecting, wanting, or fearing karma. If one's actions depend on a perception of consequences (for person themself) then morality is reduced to something akin to our own legal and/or social system(s), with of course I do believe to be completely essential I just feel that in and of themselves they are also completely amoral (in that they lack an objective moral value either way). Almost entirely agree with this post as well. VERY fun debate everyone, I enjoyed it. Take care and have a sensational day! Kevin

Thank You Matt! LOL so you take back your sarcastic remarks from the other day? On the first point, as ridiculous as it is, I've been feeling "old" lately myself. This is mostly because I'm in my final year of undergrad, and practically everyone in my classes and "circles" really is younger. Similarly I'm all but the oldest at work. I particularly found it unpleasent when a new "younger" (and incredibly gorgeous! ) guy started a week or so ago, and I suddenly found myself getting flirted with by my coworkers quite a bit less. ... I fixed it though, I started wearing tighter pants and shirts, dressed up more in general, and dyed my hair a new colour. (Catastrophe averted for now ). Anyway So while I know I'm not really "old" I hate being the "oldest"...Still I'm moving soon and I'll have to make new friends anyway, and undoubtedly in my "new circle" I'll be one of the younger ones ( Yay! ) Very interesting! Is this similar to the ancient Greek practice where by there was a "beloved" and a "lover", and their roles were vastly different? Good!! Please do, I'd find that very interesting. Yep, you're right. People set in their ways (dinosaurs), who have a strong, unwavering belief about how things should be, are very scary. I don't think I'd want to be one personally though...well most of the time anyway...it's true that often such blind certainty in the validity of your stance can be a major boon, and is of course all but invaluable in "crusade" situations. Personally, however, I tend to approach life from a relativist point of view and, much like the "old people" you described, see everything in shades of gray. I dunno, Alice seems like the sort of women who's very sure of her opinion and good at forcing it on others. Perhaps she would intimidate Aaron. As silly as it may seem a scary, grandmotherly figure can do more to shame someone than the biggest, meanest man. I for example have always been more intimidated by my own grandmother than either of my parents or anyone else in my immediate family. I think it's a mixture of the kind of certainty just referred to, a candid bluntness, a huge proficiency for guilting, and a general ability to channel century old "codes of behaviour". Anyway have an awesome day everyone and take care! Kevin

Well I'm game to give it a shot if it's a time I'd be available.

awww that's just so teriffic! I'm glad for you guys ....I was just thinking, that would never work for me though, I mean I'd love something romantic like that, but as soon as I get home from a trip (long or otherwise) the first place I HAVE to head is the bathroom. Oh well If I ever get a fantastic, romantic boyfriend and expect a similar game awaiting me, I'll stop at a gas station or something on the way home. Anyway: Take care and all the best to you guys, Kevin

Exactly!

I agree this is such a teriffic place!! Group Hug!! Now if I could just remember to go into the live chat.....I only seem to think about at really obscure times when no one's around.

Oh ok fine! ***Shuts his mouth and smiles***

This is true; once you've been to Europe you never go to bed early again!

Silly thought, but it might help if while you're pacing, waiting for the next chapter, you imagine the next chapter frantically pacing back and forth anxious to be read. Not only do some words "leap off the page", but sometimes whole chapters leap out of books

Hey Dom, LOL I agree with you; men are definitely not ugly naked. But then neither are women. Oh some women are ugly naked, but then some men are too. I think it really just depends on the person. Of course there's more guys I'd rather see naked, and I'm more into them, but there's quite a few women I wouldn't object to seeing "as nature intended". Did you ever see that episode of Seinfeld? I think it was the one where Jerry had a girlfriend who always hung around naked; so Jerry started trying it and she freaked out; so he was telling Elaine about it and she was saying how the female body was a work of art and the male body was more "utilitarian" (Like a jeep I think she said)......anyway good episode, but I disagree, naked guys are hot. Awesome about working on more DD!!! I can't wait for the next chapter! Sorry it's so cold there; our weather as been really bipolar the last month, we've managed to have some of our coldest and warmest weather of the winter all within a week. It's dreadful, I stepped out this morning in long-sleeves (thinking it would still be cold) and was sweating before I could get across the parking lot. **sigh** I hope we get another little cold front though, I love long-sleeve weather! All the best (and then some ) Kevin

Well I just took it up about a month or so ago, and Louisiana is a very hot state. Also as someone said it's very similar to rollerblades; I didn't really have to "learn" at all. I just got on the ice and found that I could do it (Like Rory). So perhaps Luke, Dave, and Angela had similar experiences. I agree with what someone else had said: there doesn't need to be concrete reason. If I remember correctly that was the night Dave finally asked Angela out. He was probably just in a goofy sort of mood. I agree I plan to stay young and active forever.....or get old trying So I was really ticked off at Rory for not calling his grandmother! I mean what a crumy thing to do. You'd think losing his mom would make him appreciate his family more. I still have a bad feeling about Alice's health, but I guess we'll know soon enough. As for Seth and Rory's first time, well I was really nervous about them leaving that door open! I mean it would have been very possible for someone to come home early unexpectedly (Like Seth himself did). Also I thought it was really funny when Rory stopped and asked "are we starting now?" Did anyone get the impression Rory had a lot more "on the ball" (no pun intended) than Quinn? I mean just in general with these sorts of things he seems to catch on faster, but I suppose he's at least thought about them more. I think you guys might be right about Grandma Alice signaling the beginning of the end of the story, but still no telling. I'm just going to strap myself in and enjoy the ride! Take care all and have a great day! Kevin

Actually the lie is the one about having slept standing up. I have this weird thing where I hate going to sleep and I hate getting up. I mean I have no trouble falling asleep, it's just actually getting in bed is tough. Same with waking up. I usually wake up pretty well after I've been up a few minutes, but I never want to get out of bed. So one summer when I didn't have school or work I started doing this weird thing with my days where I kinda took three days and merged them into one. I'd sorta stay up for nearly two days then sleep for nearly a day. It pretty much worked because I'd finally get so tired I WANTED to go to bed, and then I'd finally get so hungry I wanted to get up.....but of course it isn't very practical, not to mention confusing......people kept talking about stuff that happened "yesterday" and I'm thinking: "yesterday! that was earlier today"....but really it was 17 hours ago or something.

Well I was mostly just in a goofy, good mood when I wrote that. But yeah actually; some of my best friends have been "homophobic" (they just didn't know I was homo at the time so they weren't phobic). People can be horrible to each other, and do horrible things. But for the most part I think everyone more or less "means well", and I think everyone has a good side (somewhere). People make mistakes, they're ignorant, selfish, stupid, and misguided.......but they're not so bad really. Just the other day I was having this conversation with a friend of mine, and she was saying how she thought Brokeback Mountain was really hot and how it was turning her on. She's really teriffic though, later someone asked her what she'd do if her boyfriend left her for her gay best friend (not me). She laughed and said she'd be really upset and hurt, but on the bright side she'd be glad for her friend because he can't find anyone and her boyfriend is a great guy. Anyway, I guess I can't really answer the question myself, not being a woman...but I usually find any sort of love story/romance to be really touching and great! I've had several lesbian friends and I'm always really happy and pleased about their relationship. Also, I think there's something about it being two guys - who are traditionally less romantic and "sweet" - who are so in love or into each other that they're willing to "fight the system" or whatever and stand up for how they feel. And yes, I think it is partly seeing people of the desired gender behaving how one might wish them to behave. Anyway just my thoughts, have an awesome day everyone and take care! Kevin

Happy Birthday!