Zombie

Seems to me the point of life is the people we meet, know and love. But, if we live long enough, it must also mean loss. Someone has to go first and it's so cruel. The only consolation is you have all those happy memories, Jo Ann

Martha Reeves - you rock!

happy birthday Greg! present's on its way...

Happy Birthday big birdie! *you can close the snatch game now * .

"teen being the operative word" nuff said

street parking avoids the problem .

Good blog And you're right, unless you're commissioned to create something specific for someone else - nothing wrong with that - you should always do it "for yourself". If you earn your living from whatever you create all that matters is that you become skilled at what you do, and that you understand the difference between doing "a job" and being honest with yourself - which is why I never pay attention to the likes of Mr Leonard who want to impose "never do this" rules on creation

the Rule of Law must prevail. But that doesn't preclude laws and judicial processes being part of ongoing public discussion and being continually reformed. In fact, law reform, and judicial process reform, have been essential elements in Britain's story For example, England too once had the Grand Jury system, in fact the US's system evolved from this. But it was abandoned in favour of prosecution being decided for serious cases like this by what is now called the Crown Prosecution Service on a "is there a case to answer?" basis, with the testing of evidence and testimony being the exclusive function of trial by jury. As for the "r" word I prefer the "d" word because, whatever the reasons, if elected representatives and policing do not adequately reflect that society then they are in a state of failure. And if that remains unaddressed the future does not augur well

Excellent blog Daddy. This has been widely reported, and maybe seeing from a distance helps, but it seems pretty obvious that for democracy to be viable the majority have to feel they have a stake. A sense that "we're all in this together". But on the racial issue, I don't see how the citizens of Ferguson, and probably many other parts of the US, can feel that when two thirds, or thereabouts, are "black" [i assume this means "African American"?] yet they are governed and policed by an overwhelmingly "white" [i assume this means Northern European ethnic?] minority group of citizens - they simply cannot be considered to be representative of the people they govern and police. It is not representative democracy. You put it very well - the US has to address this, and urgently.

have a good one Addy

A horrific incident. But as Irri said you did a good thing that day and gave comfort to another human being in extreme distress. So you too should take comfort from that.

hmm, seem to recall when I was a teen life was all about pushing the envelope. No-one got killed, they got some free ice-cream and they got a life-lesson on boundaries thrown in for free too. All sounds good to me .

Sinéad O'Connor singing Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U her face throughout, and the genuine tears A Great Big World - Say Something I'm Giving Up On You when the old guy hugs the wife he's just lost

Here's a few more English slang terms scarper, leggit - run off, disappear slapped - hit innit - conversational padding e.g. "He was comin' at me - innit - so I slapped him one." a bad 'un - a criminal, ranging from petty theft to gangland killer scallywag / scally - a young criminal e.g. "the two of 'em, they're a couple of right scallies" dodgy - dubious transaction, probably illegal well dodgy - dubious transaction, definitely illegal quaff - to drink, usually beer ale - beer bladdered - the need to make frequent "rest room" visits after quaffing too many ales sharpish - quickly scoffing - gobbling food sharpish ringburner - physiological effects after getting bladdered and scoffing a Chicken Vindaloo done up like a kipper - ripped off, conned, hoodwinked spank the monkey - er, "self stimulation" by a guy tosser - a guy who habitually, er... see above shat it! - please be quiet [usually an irate male to an overly talkative female] slag - an "easy" woman / term of abuse e.g. typical BBC Eastenders TV show scene: "Shat it you slaaaag! You fat slaaaaag!" .

Sticking to the edited question [i didn't see the original] which is not would it be a good / bad thing, but simply: if it existed and was "safe and easy" would you use it? It's already been pointed out that being anything other than "straight" [if that is even a reality] has had and continues to have a bad impact on the individual quality of life lived by many, never mind those who live in the dozens of countries where homosexuals are discriminated against, imprisoned, or even murdered by the state. So I'm pretty sure a long queue would quickly form. As for me, before I accepted myself for who I am - and that took a long time - I too would have been in that queue.

No. Religious persecution swung both ways - Bloody Mary favoured burning Protestant "heretics". James I / VI was actually tolerant of Catholics. He just drew the line at regicide

I like to think of this thread as a Public Information Service, warning about the dangers of allowing dolls to infiltrate themselves into people's homes. But recently I've been having doubts. Is it possible I may be wrong? Could it be that the real risk is not from the dolls... ...but from their owners?

or not?

I don't want to alarm you, because I know some of you reading this thread are a little nervous of spiders ...but there could be a SPIDER LIVING IN YOUR EAR! Katie Melua's spider infested ear horror! Right now. Warm and cozy. Maybe laying some eggs. Anyway, just thought I'd share with you all. Have a nice day

just caught up with this Jo Ann. We miss you and look forward to when you're able to come back again

I had an older brother so, from about 10, I got to play with his toys 1. a box of matches, a bottle of methylated spirits and a pressurised steam boiler (hey it had a safety valve to stop it exploding - as long as I remembered to grease it up now and again ) 2. a chemistry set with explosive chemicals 3. pellets of solid rocket fuel jammed into a tiny Jettex motor - lit with those handy matches again - attached to miniature missiles aimed next door...

Yeah go for it It's pretty common in publishing and TV etc to develop another person's ideas - "based on an original idea by xxx" "developed from a story idea of xxx". Printed books may even have a dedication and/or an explanatory note. I'm sure you'll come up with something appropriate. The important thing is to get the stories up on GA for all these hungry readers

You're taking a shower. It's warm. Pleasant. Nice and steamy So you can't see too good. Then you notice something... In the corner. Something black... No, that's not quite right... ...you notice something black... and HAIRY So you poke it... ...and suddenly...... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhh!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlF6qrnq4nc We don't know what happened next... .

It's not the despair: I can cope with the despair. It's the hope... [John Cleese - Clockwise]