Zombie

This book has stuck in my mind ever since reading it, aged about 12, at school during lunchtimes. I'd sit in a secluded corner of the school library, munching my sandwiches out of sight of the "No Food Allowed" notice, while my mind was transported back to neolithic times and the adventures of the time-traveling adolescent boy from 1950s America. I know it wasn't great literature but it made a big impression on me. The fact that, aged 12, I was experiencing certain feelings towards other boys, reading about this boy making friends with a big, muscley and protective Cro-Magnon may have had something to do with this ... Sadly the book is now out of print and copies I have seen for sale are very expensive. Maybe I shouldn't re-read it, but just remember the lunchtime pleasure I had in that school library (not that sort of pleasure Y_B! ) So what books do you remember that had a big impression on you?

Maybe truer to say some have become acceptED through common usage? Here's another one "(at this) moment in time" - never fails to get the vein on my temple pulsing Re "empty space" - I think people often say this when they mean "unused space" e.g. in a building

Hi Rob Welcome to GA To answer your question GA allows authors to get immediate feedback from readers (which you may or may not want ) and to set tags for readers searching for particular story types. But more than that GA is a community where you can join in - and create - a whole range of threads, chat, blog and contact other members directly. Have a look around, and have fun!

Heheheh I suspect thinking about it isn't the problem ...

Yeah - they call it Heart-Attack-on-a-Plate ...

Yeah, it kinda got all smeared. Damn, I'll have to watch it again to find out ...

Big bowl of steaming porridge - keeps the munchies at bay till lunchies *looks at big muscley Scottish guy on porridge packet and thinks Mike must be an imposter*

This cookery video comes from yet another US male fashion house (underwear and swimwear specialist, Andrew Christian) and shows how to create a delicious banana split and chocolate sauce. Warning: contains graphic images of explicit and uncensored kitchen activities. The video will be of interest to two groups: 1. those who are interested in making delicious food, 2. and those who aren't. Finally, before you hit the Play button, just a couple of points: to the first group, go and get a pen and paper now; to the second group - you should be ashamed of yourselves http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=DP1tQdagARc

Dusty Springfield Goin' Back Heard this again over the weekend. Carole King wrote it, but Dusty sang it best. Just a click away ...

Yeah - all we need now is the tricorder Seriously, it's great that sci-fi has been the inspiration for new ideas

Specifically why is complimenting girls / women such a minefield? I learned this aged about 12 when my big sister came back from the hairdressers feeling pleased with herself, and I said (in all innocence ) "What happened to your hair???" Didn't go down too well. Not well at all (I'm often reminded ...) Last weekend there was a newspaper article about this (must have been a quiet news day ...) warning men this is treacherous ground. For example (apparently), it's perfectly OK to say things like: "You've lost weight!", or "You look slim" "I like your smile" "You smell nice" (*rolls eyes in disbelief*) But it is not a good idea to say things like: "I like your makeup" (she will think you mean "You've got far too much makeup on!") "You look well" (one of the worst things you can say apparently - she will think you mean "You look fat" and get in a bad mood) "You look like your mother" (equally bad) On a blind date: "You don't look as bad as I thought you would" (no lie - this was in the article!) "You've eaten well" (means "You look fat" again) "You don't sweat much for a fat girl" (OK, I made that one up ) As the book says, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus ...

Dreadful. Maybe it wasn't gay-related - the report says the victim "tried to break up a fight between two men" - but it doesn't make it any less terrible. Sadly it's not just Canada where this happens: http://www.bbc.co.uk...tshire-15834042 I assume there'll be a full inquiry into what happened, a public report and appropriate action including: Who was responsible and accountable for his risk classification? Who was responsible and accountable for signing off the one hour pass? Were there adequate processes for all stages of this guy's treatment? Were adequate procedures in place for every process? Was there full compliance with all these processes? Recommended changes needed to prevent this happening again. Prosecutions if criminal negligence is suggested. No consolation to his loved ones, but they deserve no less.

What about Werecats? They're pure evil ...

Heheheh, the brain is the sexiest and naughtiest organ of all

Um, no. I think you're confusing soft porn and erotica. Soft porn requires some level of sexual activity. This is just an ad selling a clothing brand so all the guys are clothed in A&F stuff throughout. That's the film-maker's trick, making you think you saw things you didn't. All the "action" was happening in your brain. So go and take a cold shower immediately and cleanse yourself of all those naughty, wicked thoughts ...

Like most human interest stories, last night's doc gave no clear answers to the questions raised: - did the stroke make Chris gay? - was he really gay all the time but prior to the stroke had "successfully" suppressed his gayness? (to himself and his family/friends) - and if he was really gay all the time but had "successfully" suppressed his gayness, could he still claim the stroke "made him gay", bearing in mind his "latent gayness" might have emerged later? - or was it all one big lie? I was satisfied that he was genuine in his belief - he seemed an OK guy - but maybe strokes also affect reasoning and self perception / awareness parts of the brain too? - what actually determines sexuality: genes? hormones? foetal conditions? brain "wiring"? experience / environment? or combinations of all these? If Chris is right then the answer - or one answer - is in the brain (and the parts that die during a stroke and subsequent rewiring) Whatever the answers, it's clear that our understanding of the brain is still in its infancy and that the more we learn about the brain the more we realize how much more we don't know about it.

Thanks for this The listings mag says things didn't go well with his mum sadly

Ah yes, keys. Good one - gotta have a strict routine for those otherwise they just vanish into another dimension. Same with locking the front door - I've got a little mantra I say, so when I'm driving off I remember I said the mantra and therefore I know the pesky door's safely locked

Interesting. It's not wrong but an archaic form of English that was in use at the time of the first America settlers which then died out in Britain but continued in North America. That's why there are "gotten(s)" in Shakespeare and it may still be in use in some dialect English

I was re-stacking the dishwasher and a friend said "why?" Well, for me there's two ways to stack a dishwasher. The right way. And the wrong way. And this one was stacked wrong - all wrong. So everything had to come out and go back in again - the right way (*what's wrong with that? *) Which set me thinking. We all have our own ticks and foibles. These say things about us to others, things that may be quite different to how we see ourselves. So for me, dishwasher "management" is normal, for others it's OCD A few years ago at someone's house, I opened his kitchen cupboard and nearly had a heart attack. He must have liked baked beans, and evidently bought them in bulk because they were all neatly stacked, with their labels all pointing the same way I've never had such a fright. Baked Beanz Man probably thought this was just "tidy guy". Neat and organized. For me it said "serial killer". So what do you, or your family or friends, do that's just a little bit weird? C'mon, 'fess up ...

Will it have an infinite improbability drive?

Other Sports Require One Ball. Wrestling Requires Two Warning - Abercrombie & Fitch's video may cause uncontrolled physiological responses ...

The way motorists are screwed for money. I recently dropped off my brother at the local airport. They've changed the layout - to get to the terminal drop-off you now have to pay just to stop the car for five seconds for a passenger to hop out (he had no luggage). That's legalized robbery. These airport guys are extorting money just for the privilege of allowing their customers to be delivered!! And motorists queue up patiently at the payment barrier and just give 'em the money!! Personally I'd have these airport guys strapped down and have deeply unpleasant things done to them ... So back to my brother. Yeah, that's right, I did a U-turn and dropped him off half a mile away and let him walk!

61 years with the one you love. Wow, Bob, you are one lucky guy. Should you write about your hot encounters? The important thing is all those memories of good times that you have. I guess there are only three important things that make a life - those we've loved, those who've loved us, and the memories we have

"Australians have gathered for a celebratory mass culling of poisonous cane toads that have plagued farms and threatened native species for years. Hundreds of participants in five parts of northern Queensland fanned out across the countryside in search of the pests. Hours later they returned to town, snacking on sausages and sipping cold drinks as the toads they had collected were weighed, measured and killed as part of the state's inaugural "Toad Day Out" event. "To see the look on the faces of the kids as we were handling and weighing the toads and then euthanizing them was just...," Townsville City Councilman Vern Veitch said, breaking off to let out a contented sigh. "The children really got into the character of the event." That was 3 years ago, in March 2009, Australia's inaugural toad killing festival. And this year's killing has just taken place. These critters were introduced into Australia 75 years ago to combat beetles but that plan went horribly wrong and the toads have since bred and spread and done terrible damage, killing native wildlife and destroying natural habitat. They do sound disgusting. Some introduced species have been beneficial in certain parts of the World but there are loads of other examples that have done terrible damage. Question is, what to do when it's gone horribly wrong? Let the new species run rampant? Or try to kill it like the Ozzy fun-fest, or perhaps introduce its predator, then the predator of that predator, then the ...... The obvious response is "they shouldn't have done it in the first place" but not all species are introduced deliberately and whether intentional or not the results can be equally devastating. (Note to Mods: if things get lively can you move this? )