Zombie

Bubble gum. Also Children's toys sealed in military strength clear plastic packaging with the seams welded together by an industrial laser to create an impenetrable package designed to turn normally-well-behaved children into screaming balls of anger and frustration. Parents / older children / passers-by eager to help release the toy from its plastic prison will suffer broken nails and lacerated skin or hospitalization.

"This won't hurt" just before the dentist plunges a 6 inch needle into your gums ...

As a banal adjective it is meaningless. But it does have uses e.g. it can be funny and effective as an ironical response, or used as a dismissive put-down.

Is this 4 days to the Apocalypse? (**hopefully**)

"take care of my friends" has a ring of horrible finality. For the "friends" that is. Then maybe I watched too many episodes of The Sopranos ...

Two interesting posts on the Washington Post website: "... as uncomfortable as you may be, there are myriad alternatives to Google, and you are free to unsubscribe from them whenever you wish, so the only person to fault here is yourself if you're complaining" But the following poster suggests that it is not quite as simple as that "I'm neither lazy nor addicted to Google, but I am not 'free to unsubscribe from them' whenever I wish. I work for an organization that uses Google for our website hosting, email, document sharing, calendars, etc. I have no choice, other than quitting my job (not an option), about continuing to use gmail, Google docs and calendars. I don't like the idea of Google having information about my health because I've had to email human resources and my supervisor to let them know I'll be out because I'm sick or have a doctor's appointment (or for someone in my family). Email because we are located in different buildings and written documentation of absences is preferred. It's also not the business of Google to know when I have out of town meetings, etc. or any other event that needs to be posted onto my calendar for selected others in the organization to access. Note the word selected - my calendar cannot be accessed by the entire organization - only by my supervisor and others in my department. Perhaps, before making remarks that are more than a bit smug and holier than thou, you might want to use some of that commensense to think about others who are in similar situations through no fault of their own and who cannot just walk away from Google and their upcoming invasion of privacy program (which users cannot opt out of)."

Yeah, agree with pretty much all that's been said. Mine? Well, it's supermarkets again. Bit of a theme going on here. To add to all the woes from andy021278 and Greg_A and Cyhort: You join a queue and the person in front of you has a gargantuan sized trolley so full of stuff the wheels have left grooves in the floor, and having off-loaded onto the conveyor her (sexist? Moi? But it's true!!) month's worth of provisions is just standing there doing nothing for the next 5 minutes before she finally gets to have her turn at the checkout, when she struggles with packing her horrible (but sometimes quite interesting) purchases into enough plastic bags to keep a chemical plant in business for a whole day until - oh joy! - she packs the final revolting item AT WHICH POINT she then gropes around for her handbag and, after struggling to open it, rummages through its completely disorganized, and quite possibly unsavoury, contents until she finds her wallet / purse - which also has to be opened via a fiddly catch - then flicks through 100 different payment cards until she finds the one that hasn't already gone over its credit limit before presenting it to the now-nearly-dead-from-boredom checkout girl / boy (not always obvious) with a triumphant and completely unnecessary flourish, as if expecting a round of applause from the now very restless and positively hostile queue. Peeve? Peeve is far too polite a word to describe the murderous feelings that flood through me every time this happens. Now where did I put my blood pressure tablets ...

What's your favourite music that never made it in the charts? You know the sort of thing - bands that won't be appearing on X-factor / Idol anytime soon. Here's a couple to start you off: Wild Beasts ("Bed of Nails" by the UK band live at the BBC) ( copy + paste this into browser window if the link doesn't work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3uPqgerVE ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3uPqgerVE Greyboy Allstars (cover of 1971 "Hot Pants Breakdown" by the Ohio funk band The Soul Tornadoes) Heheheh - there are no prizes for spotting the connection between this crazy video and the song title ( copy + paste this into browser window if the link doesn't work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uon_Qft-Dk )

That's an interesting point of view. If anyone wishes to discuss that view further can I suggest the thread is moved because then, I think, it will be moving into the realm of another place ...

Interesting. Apparently during the Doubleclick acquisition Google promised the Federal Trade Commission to introduce improved user privacy such as "crumbling cookies" and a "privacy dashboard" to help consumers understand the functionality of their user settings, but never followed up on this. Thanks for the duckduckgo suggestion. I'll give it a try

Fair point. If it was just products you could consciously choose not to use or buy. But the spread of activities and the ability to combine data mean it's not so straightforward e.g. we don't choose to be mapped (a gift for burglars: http://www.mypropertyguide.co.uk/articles/display/10098/using-property-websites-to-plan-the-perfect-burglary.htm, and bad things have happened to some people opting out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11827862), and we don't choose to have our personal data sniffed: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/11/google-gives.html. I would prefer a search engine that just used targeted advertising based on search criteria. So, perhaps I should reword my question: "are there realistic alternatives to Google that are as good" and that just use targeted advertising for their revenue?

"Don't be evil" is Google's informal corporate moto. But if you Google this question you get 540,000 hits suggesting, at the very least, some concerns. When Google first launched it was brilliant. A blank screen with a box. You typed in your search words and you got the result. Fast. Speed and simplicity. A winner. No wonder it took over the World. But of course it has managers. And developers. They (and all other software suppliers) see it as their job to change things. If they don't change things: 1. how can they justify their existence? 2. they won't "leave their mark" (a bit like dogs peeing on lamposts). So now we have an increasingly cluttered and complicated Google page. With things moved around regularly. Don't know about you, but if everytime I went to the kitchen for my favourite snack I discovered someone had been "changing things around" to "improve the user functionality" so now it takes me 10 minutes to find my high salt, high fat, nutritionally valueless snack items, then I'd be pretty ****ed off. And all the time Google is gathering more and more data about us and spreading its tentacles more and more into every aspect of our lives: Gmail, Chrome, Android, Maps, Wallet - there's no end. And we love those tentacles. Until they throttle us. But it's not just Google doing this. We know information is power. And we know power tends to corrupt. And now we have Google's new Privacy Policy. So should we be concerned? If so what action should we take? And are there realistic alternatives to Google that are as good? (er, that's "good" as in not bad ... I mean as in not "not evil" )

Here's a little factoid from IMDB some of you will know: "When James Cameron was writing the movie, he intended for the main characters Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson to be entirely fictitious. It was only after the script was finished that he discovered that there had been a real "J. Dawson" who died aboard the Titanic. This "J. Dawson" was trimmer Joseph Dawson, who had been born September 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. His body was salvaged and buried at Fairview Lawn cemetery in Nova Scotia with many other Titanic victims. Today, his grave stone (#227) is the most widely visited in the cemetery." Most visitors must be aware the grave is not Jack Dawson's. There's something quite moving that this young man (23), a "stokehold slave" who was probably regarded as the lowest form of human life when he perished on the Titanic and whose impoverished birth to unmarried parents wasn't even registered, should now be remembered (a BBC doc about his short life was made in 2001): http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/the-real-jack-dawson.html

I really have no idea what you're all talking about ...

Ah, but perceiving beauty is all about the emotional response. I suspect (but I don't know) that someone who is unable to experience emotions would not be able to perceive beauty. Is there a physchologist reading who can comment? I agree - the Google pics are insipid. His appearance only seems to be striking when you see him in performance. "Still" pics sometimes work really well for some people but not others. I don't know why that is. You're right, human response is complicated. And I agree, I don't find him hot either, even though I appreciate his beauty. For me, a hot guy will be "rougher" looking e.g. Luke Mclean, the rugby fullback / fly-half for Italy (Italian blood, Aussie raised). He's in a short YouTube vid "5 Stylish Ways to Tie a Scarf" - also worth watching for those who've never quite known what to do with a scarf ( if the link failed to show just cut + paste this into the browser window: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X14XKtZzfw ) Frankly, for me, however he tied his knot it would look pretty damned hot. Meantime, I'm searching for the vid on how to remove his clothing .... I agree. I may be gay but I can be equally struck by female beauty e.g. Julie Christie in Day for Night. Good point. And that's the problem with beauty. It fades. Whereas a rugged "manly" guy's looks can get better with age. Example, the older Gregory Peck and Cary Grant (imo) look much better than their younger selves. Yeah, that's a good point KC. If someone is exceptionally beautiful / handsome / good looking and they know it - that can be really bad. For them, and for those around them. You're absolutely right. Also, if we all looked the same and had the same emotional responses to each other then life would be much less interesting and fun too!

Now that's interesting. I accept that, for you, those pics are the epitome of beauty. Yet for me they do nothing. No reaction. I guess beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. But I'm still curious to understand what it is that strikes us visually when we see someone, maybe passing in the street, and we are arrested by their physical beauty. May not happen very often, but when it does - WOW! Thanks for the post.

In Britain we love to moan. About anything. About the weather, TV, next-door's cat, the fat + gristle "bargain pie" bought for £1.50 at the service station (what did they expect?). Recently people have been writing in to newspapers and blogs complaining that nineteen year old Douglas Booth, the actor who played PiP in the BBC's adaptation of Great Expectations shown recently in the UK, was "too beautiful". Just to make myself absolutely clear here, he is grab-your-eyeballs-by-the retinas beautiful. This guy could not walk down the street without causing death and mayhem. Multiple pile-ups, people stepping in front of buses - that sort of thing (he can also act and it's a terrific production - if you get a chance to see it you won't be disappointed). Of course we're just talking physical beauty here. Not the inner self thing. But "too beautiful"? Is this possible? And what is physical beauty anyway? Here are some pics + clips from the BBC adaptation: http://img.thesun.co...82_1429977a.jpg http://www.tumblr.co...fore=1325121619

Thanks Red I'm just surprised that the ship could have been turned through 180 degrees by the wind. Does the AIS data show the ship's orientation - or has that been assumed? My mistake. Queen Mary 2 is the liner (stronger hull apparently) According to the C4 doc passengers were picked up at various points along the route and some had had no instruction which must have added to the panic and confusion. I think I'll stick to dry land. Now where did I put that Poseidon Adventure video .... There's now a wiki webpage on the wreck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster According to this: - two data recorders have been recovered (a 3rd is still underwater) plus hard drives containing additional data have been recovered from the ship's control panel. Surely these can't all go "missing" - passengers reported that "the Titanic theme "My Heart Will Go On", sung by Céline Dion, was playing in a restaurant when the ship hit the rock". Oh joy

I'm puzzled CJ. The ship was sailing roughly NNW alongside the island when she struck. She then heads roughly NNE? Then she gets blown back to the island by wind alone? But the pics I've seen show her prow pointing southwards alongside the island - so she must have turned around. Could the wind have done this? Surely she was just a cruise ship. Not a liner. I'm not a naval architect but I believe there is an important difference. A liner costs about 40% more than a cruise ship because it is much stronger and more seaworthy. E.g Cunard Queen Victoria is a liner for transatlantic crossings - needed to cope with very rough Atlantic storms. Her sister ship Queen Elizabeth, however, is just a cruise ship - you wouldn't want to be out in a rough storm in that baby. Coupla Qs 1. how soon after boarding was lifeboat drill in your experience? 2. why didn't the ship have a location transmitter beacon activated - C4 doc this week showed Italian search + rescue cockpit footage and the pilots were circling around in the dark looking for the ship with their infra red cameras begfore it was eventually located 3. re compensation - aren't the passengers basically stuffed by the contract terms they will have entered into when booking their tickets? 4. if not how can the US courts get jurisdiction - Italian ship - sinks in Italy Guess you won't be rushing to cruise again on Costa anytime soon ... Or indeed any Italian line. Ever again

The ability to go back in time and tell myself when I'm taking the wrong path or about to do something real stupid. Or just to give me next week's lottery numbers

They just have been (heheheh). But that's what's so wonderful about about personal favourites when they're different. Would be so sad if we were all the same.

Get the DVD of Michael Bourne's homoerotic all-male Swan Lake, and gape at Adam Cooper's magnificent, sweaty torso and fabulous hairy armpits. My favourites? Here are a few in no particular order. Hope there are some you like: Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg Originally for piano, imho this later version for string orchestra sounds so much better with its gorgeously lush sound. The first movement (Prelude / Praeludium) is so uplifting and full of life. If you're feeling low, put this on and raise your spirits. Wedding Day At Troldhaugen by Grieg A distinctive performance of a joyous piece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMFuTpchns Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach (originally Elves' Song in Les Fées du Rhin) The vid proves that opera does not have to be sung by big ladies with wobbly bosoms. I'll be surprised if you don't know this music (used in lots of movies e.g. Life Is Beautiful), but if you haven't heard it before then lucky you - you're in for a real treat. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdc2zNgJIpY&feature=related Baïlèro Performed with a real sense of longing by the beautiful María Bayo, this is an old folk song in Occitan (an ancient French language) which Joseph Canteloube arranged and orchestrated along with other songs he collected which he called Chants d'Auvergne. It's about a hunky shepherd being lured across a stream by someone (another hunky shepherd?) so they can ... well, that's for you to imagine: "Shepherd across the water, you are hardly having a good time, sing bailero lero... No, I'm not, and you, too, can sing bailero... Shepherd, the meadows are in bloom, you should graze your flock on this side, sing bailero lero... The grass is greener in the meadows on this side, bailero... Shepherd, the stream flows between us, and I can't cross it, sing bailero lero... Then I'll climb down and come to you, bailero..." www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxspdNcRuWk Britain Thou Now Art Great by Henry Purcell Hey, I'm English so what's wrong with a bit of trumpet blowing? OK, there are no trumpets in this piece, but it is by England's (maybe) greatest composer. And with such an uncontentious title () the piece is restrained, subtle and ... well, just hauntingly beautiful. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnUETmG1edg Ground by Henry Purcell Written in the 1600s, this transcription for two guitars has a timeless quality. Jakob Schmidt is mesmerising too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_McQKdi1fE As Steals the Morn by Handel Handel's music sublimely interweaves two voices to words adapted from John Milton: As steals the morn upon the night, And melts the shades away: So truth does fancy's charm dissolve, And melts the shades away: The fumes that did the mind involve, Restoring intellectual day. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOPNjNHdxeA This commentary is also interesting: http://homepage.mac....F/BestSong.html Well Tempered Clavier by JS Bach The harmonic twists and turns mean you've no idea where Bach's taking you until, magically, all is resolved. Some might feel this is played a little too fast but there are plenty of other interpretations out there if you don't like it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LnRSgaDbV8 Goldberg Variations by JS Bach Glen Gould's unique performance. http://video.google....208089899995423 Fugue in D Major BWV532 by JS Bach Busoni transcription played by Georges Cziffra, one of the great 20thC pianists (he also lived an incredible life). Purists may disapprove of meddling with Bach but I like it. So there! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF1sFEr90ww Piano Concerto by Robert Schumann An old recording by the legendary Michelangeli. The final movement is stirring, surprising and very satisfying. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CExW3G9LHNM Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams Vaughan Williams used to be regarded as a very "English" composer but he's much better known in other countries after this music was used in Master and Commander. I guess this piece will now forever be linked with the sea but, for me, it always evoked a sense of the English countryside. And the maker of this incredible HD vid clearly associates it strongly with landscape too (click on "Show more" to read how he made it). www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnD1Ev6kZlM&feature=related Concerto for Double String Orchestra by Michael Tippett You might find Tippet's dissonance, counterpoint and rhythms sound strange. But listen through to the end and you will want to hear it again. . www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekTqSv5oA3I La Nuit Américaine by Georges Delerue I saw Day for Night on TV in my early teens and the theme music has stayed in my head ever since. Maybe because I knew I should be attracted to Jacqueline Bisset (she never looked better) but was very distracted by a hot young guy playing an extra who kept appearing for brief but tantalising moments. That's probably why I remember it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSqfhjt-Gg8 If you've read this far then here's a bonus for you: Evgeny Kissin - The Gift of Music (1998) Feature length documentary about the brilliant Russian pianist including part of his performance at the 1997 Proms concert. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvosX-JXD9A Are these pieces classical, romantic, baroque or something else? To be honest, I don't care. Music is just there. To be enjoyed by everyone. Music plugs directly into my emotions (I read recently "Music is an emotional shortcut to the soul"). You may understand the terminology, forms, structures, phrasing and interpretation but it's what you feel that matters. Sure, the more you know about music the more you can find to appreciate and enjoy. But the key thing is the raw emotional response that great music can create in all of us however much or little we might know. Also important is state of mind because mood affects what you want to hear. If I'm on a high then I might want something challenging, but if I'm feeling depressed or melancholic then I need happy music to cheer me up. P.S. 1. GA website won't let me post more than two "live" links - but all you need to do is copy and paste the "www.etcetc" into your browser address window and it should then open up to play. 2. The vids should play smoothly but if they don't then try downloading them (480p is a good compromise).

Thanks rec. Some of the others may also be on GA but I must admit I haven't bothered to check - my bad

OK, you've not had many story suggestions so here are just a few of my favourites. They are all enjoyable reads. Before I list them, when I'm checking out a story I have a checklist: - does the opening sentence grab me? - is it finished and is the ending satisfying? (I always read the last sentence to check it doesn't end in a funeral` LOL ! ) - what is the genre (I like slow burning / developing relationship stories) - is it long enough for character and plot development Not foolproof but I have found some great stories this way including: Getting a Life by Jamie Anderson (http://www.nifty.org...getting-a-life/) Genre: gay-beginnings / relationship 9 chapters About the story: - unusual relationship but very well written and funny - quite a lot of sex but unusual and funny - alternating POV may irritate but you can always skip one POV and still enjoy it Two Distinct Divisions by Horatio Nimier (http://eu.nifty.org/...inct-divisions/) Genre: gay-beginnings / relationship 12 chapters About the stories: - computer biker geek meets lawyer - writing style is not perfect but the 12 self contained mystery stories (where the geek outwits the lawyer) are interesting and very well plotted (OK you may find some plot holes but overall the standard is pretty high) - nice developing relationship across the 12 stories, sex very low key Living in Surreality by Shadowgod (http://shadowgod.gay...words/lis1.html) Genre: gay-highschool / relationship 28 chapters About the stories: - very well written - growing up new friends boy / girl / boy characters and how they develop A Shot of Bourbon by Shadowgod (http://www.gayauthor.../ashotofbourbon) Genre: gay-highschool / relationship 5 (longish) chapters About the story: - very well written - trail biker boy and his growing relationship with his best friend Jakes Hand by R.E.C. (http://eu.nifty.org/...ips/jakes-hand/)Genre: gay-beginnings / relationships 18 chapters part 1, 11 chapters pt 2 About the story: - really well written, strong emotions - found, then lost, then found again student to adult relationship tale starting in the early 60s - spans the Vietnam years with a convincingly told plot - satisfying ending. Thats-life by W.E. (http://www.nifty.org...ege/thats-life/) Genre: gay-college / relationship 21 chapters part 1, 11 chapters pt 2 About the story: - best friends one gay, one straight - yes, it's a cliche!!!!!!! - but of its kind it is exceptionally well done - very satisfying ending. - this is the author's one and only story - shame, Seal Rocks (http://www.nifty.org...ool/seal-rocks/) Genre: gay-highschool / relationship 30 chapters About the stories: - beautifully written - strong emotions - very moving ending When-i-first-met-mike by DS Elliot (http://www.nifty.org...-first-met-mike) Genre: gay-beginnings / relationship 5 (long) chapters About the story: - dentist encounters homeless guy - story of their developing relationship including harrowing flashback of previous abuse - well written C James - all his stories! (http://cjames.gayauthors.org/) Genre: gay-relationships Mostly long multi-chapters About the stories: - mostly action / adventure, but some romance - no explicit sex - lots of cliffhangers - some violence and horror inflicted by the cruel author, including blood-spurting deaths, but the main characters are not usually permanently maimed - outstanding short stories are "Category 5" and "Three for Jake" Sorry if the list is a bit long but I hope you find something to enjoy here if you've not already read them all

Well now, see, this is obviously where your whole life has gone tragically wrong. This snappy scenario has been described many times in the forum and this particular scene was predicted in the ch96 thread (OK the victim was wrong, but that's a mere detail ). You're obviously getting out far too much, and living your own life. If you'd only spend a bit more time studying the forum posts you would be fully prepared for The Goat's scenes of blood-spurting cruelty and avoid nasty surprises like this.