MJ85

About that...turns out that apparently such seven-figure advances were becoming more and more commonplace at the time that he wrote/released this. That in turn makes me wonder if maybe it wasn't actually as "highly anticipated" as that would suggest? IDK. The Rise of the Seven-Figure Advance (article is from 2014)

This kind of makes me wonder how Phil's history with Matt...came about, so to speak. Back in Chapter 4, Matt said Phil was one of the only people who knew he was gay, doing so "with an expression on his face that [Luke] found difficult to read. [Luke didn't] know if it was guilt or shame, or a combination of both". Then in Chapter 10 when they were play-fooling around, it occurs to Luke that Matt and Phil had been lovers...

And here I was thinking this should've been Monday's word of the day.

A perfect example of how it can be both the most populous city in the U.S. and fairly isolated/insulated unto itself.

That is specifically a sample, where it's made overt that at least parts of the already-existing song are being re-used in the new one, and the creators of the previous song are credited. See also: "I'll Be Missing You" sampling "Every Breath You Take", "SOS" sampling "Tainted Love", "Fantasy" sampling "Genius of Love" - just to name a few.

Zonked is what happens when you just got swindled into Making a bad bad Deal.

Full disclosure: Apparently Kramer and said partner (David Webster) had originally had a relationship in the 70s, but it ended somewhere before 1978 - and that split is in turn what inspired the book. They'd get back together in 1991 - and then, in turn, were together for the rest of Kramer's life.

I could be wrong, but somehow I suspect the second question is the one that's more pressing for Steve here. I go back and forth between briefs and boxer-briefs - briefs slightly more often, I usually just switch if I'm feeling kind of "constricted", so to speak, on a given day. For instance, yesterday I wore boxer-briefs, today I'm wearing briefs. Form-fitting/supportive, and not too tight. I gave up regular boxers years ago - too loose for me, which I don't really find comfortable, especially when they'd bunch up. (And if it matters, having that "slot" does not help; I entered "yes, I don't use" for #2 because while most of my pairs don't have it, some still do.)

Old habits die hard?

I myself am 5'6, so I'd probably consider guys who are...say, 5'9-5'11, taller than me enough that it's noticeable, but not really beyond that. Go 6' and above, and for me it starts to look like a mismatch if me and the other guy got together. In any case, the consistent reference to David being tall made me wonder what kind of height dynamic was in play here.

Question. I'm not sure if this has really been mentioned or not, but how tall are David and Corbin? With the continuing references to David being tall and the moment where he helps Corbin up onto the table, it makes me wonder.

Now that makes more sense. The one potential X-factor in this is - technically, we don't know yet that Lee was the other guy who picked Corbin. Dom and Hutch never actually confirmed that Lee was the second guy - Corbin just guessed that Lee and David were the two, and from among those two choices in his mind, decided to give up Lee. David is obviously confirmed as one - but what if Lee did actually pick someone else?

Spoiler alert? No...rather, I was figuring, why would he tell just anybody? Why tell David of all people just to brag? (Plus also, the possibility that lovestruck David slipped up somewhere we (and Corbin) wouldn't otherwise be privy to.) Does this mean we should expect him to go full-on dynamite explosion when he finds out as opposed to simmering his anger into some kind of future power play?

There's something about the fact that Lee apparently told David all about...well, them (and Lee wouldn't just go offering that up for no reason) - that makes me wonder whether Lee isn't already expecting them to hook up.

I'm not sure if this is 100% true or not, but I've heard that the story of the making of Bohemian Rhapsody boils down to that it started out by focusing on Freddie without any kind of reservation. The inherent problem, however, is how you pull that off without involving the rest of Queen whatsoever. Three guesses as to whose viewpoint that film really takes...

And in a strange case of life imitates art:

Pulling this from one of the older threads I linked previously: I finally ordered this off Amazon, and it came in last weekend. Watched it once, then proceeded to watch it three more times. Why did I not pick this up sooner? Also, a couple weeks ago, the local LGBT non-profit around here was a co-sponsor of an entry into a film festival, which was the Finnish film A Moment in the Reeds. Definitely an engaging film, even if I could only lament how it ended.

See, this is one of the two main reasons why I did not go see Brokeback Mountain when it was released in theaters, and is the main reason why I don't really have interest in ever watching it now. I had the basic plot spoiled for me when I was reading an article addressing its then-current controversy, and knowing that it ends so unhappily killed my interest completely for the simple fact that we've had more than enough unhappy LGBT stories (both real and fictional) already, dammit. (The other main reason I didn't go to its theater release is that its release was mere weeks after I'd only just begun to come out in general - no way in hell was I going to risk going off to see it alone, and my odds of seeing it "not alone" were pretty much nonexistent.)

Cheating , but: British electronic group Years & Years released their 2nd album Palo Santo on Friday. I'm now on my 3rd stream-through of this album as I type this. I got into these guys three years ago, when they released "Desire", followed by "King", and a string of appealing singles led to their first album Communion that July. To say that I was both looking forward to this album and hoping it would be just as appealing as the first would be an understatement. I definitely recommend.

While the generational shift (noted above and on the previous page) is very much a thing, so too is the fact that Pride events (as we here in the States know them) have a very distinct US origin - seeing as they rose out of commemorating the Stonewall Riots and all. Of course, the UK has also had their own LGBT hang-ups over the years; Section 28 (or Clause 28) comes to mind.

I suspect that competition with other Prides or other events in general - as noted above - is a large part of it. Around here in the Tri-Cities, ours has changed dates four times over the course of the decade: It began in later June, and was held on the 4th Saturday in June for its first three years (6/25/11, 6/23/12, 6/22/13). In 2014, amid changes to the group who planned the event, it was delayed until August. (8/16/14) For whatever reason, the new leadership elected to then move it to July. The change was intended to be lasting, but in fact it only lasted the next two years. (7/25/15, 7/23/16) Amid a second round of group changes, it moved back to June last year. The date last year (6/10/17) was intended to coincide with an event that we decided to partner with. That didn't go as well as we hoped, so this year we pushed it back to the end of June (the 30th to be exact), which has the benefit of not competing with any relatively close Pride here in Michigan. Which brings me to my next point. In deciding to finalize our date for this year, the biggest sticking point was how to either not compete with other Prides at all, or how to compete as little as possible. Last year's Pride ended up on the same weekend as Motor City Pride in Detroit, which made a number of people up here unhappy - never mind that Motor City is a full weekend, whereas ours is only Saturday. But on that point, here's a rundown of the main Prides that ours have to worry about competing with: Ferndale - was June 2 Motor City (Detroit) - was June 9/10 Lansing (titled Michigan Pride), Grand Rapids - both are this weekend, June 16/17 Flint - June 23 (is not particularly large BUT is the one that is geographically closest to ours - ergo, competing with them is a VERY bad idea) *Traverse City, as noted above, has their main festival on the same weekend as Flint, but as Traverse City is a couple hours' drive north from the Tri-Cities, there's not a heavy level of competition with a Flint or others. Our Pride is also not overly large - but with the appeal that a Ferndale/Motor City/Lansing/Grand Rapids have, it's easy to have ours lose out to theirs. Chicago also has a level of appeal around here even with how far away they are - I just checked their date; for whatever reason, they're having Pride this weekend and their Pride Parade next weekend (June 24). (Why on earth they're splitting the two, I'd like to know. ) Lastly, it's my suspicion that the appeal of having Pride during Pride Month in June has certainly increased. Last year for sure this was the case, and not just for our area - Lansing had held theirs as late as August in the past, but last year moved it back up to June. Most if not all of the others, however, have consistently stayed in or near June. (Ferndale will sometimes be at the very end of May, but only on years where the calendar aligns just so - like when a weekend falls on May 30/31 or May 31/June 1. Their aim has always been to "kick off" Pride season, essentially, by having it the weekend after Memorial Day.)

LOL. Realism died the moment the Eagles made it this far. With Wentz out, who would have predicted that they would? The mere fact that they weren't favored to even get by Atlanta, let alone Minnesota, makes the fact that they're not favored to win here either, not worth all that much. Having said that, I want to see Brady & Belichick make it #6.

*scrolls up, reads* When I read this last night I interpreted it as you were having an actual breakup, not...an abstract breakup, so to speak. (I thought it was you and your boyfriend were breaking up, not you were breaking up with the club scene. )