C J

It seems to me that if your making any money with your book or website then copyright owners want paid for using their material. Otherwise there's no basis for a legal claim. These companies aren't interested in what someone does if there isn't any money involved.

Sex, religion, politics, race, nationality, culture. There are so many things people use to distinguish themselves from others. There will never be a time when everyone and everything is tolerated. Humans are too self centered, and that's just the way it's going to stay. Speaking strictly about sexuality, I don't believe being gay is an issue for most people. It is in other countries, but not in the U.S. I feel like people who know me don't think "gay" every time they see me, they think "Chris" and say hi. I think some people try to push the issue in other people's face by doing silly crap, like marching down the street wearing thongs, and similar stuff. If you act natural, and forget about your "gayness" then your probably going to get along as well as anybody. One thing I'm pretty sure of, and I think history proves it, is that nobody will ever see a day when people get along with everyone, no matter what you try to do. Life, whether your gay or not, is a social venture, and yet nobody can make you play their game unless your willing. If you believe otherwise then someone besides yourself is your master.

I figure people who become preachers aren't any different than people who become something else. Human nature isn't withheld from anyone. People who do the right things have just learned something that others still don't know. I think the important thing to do no matter who you are is care about the other people who live here. The problem is not everyone is going to do that. Still, if I do that in my little part of the world it will make a difference. If I don't do that it will make a difference also. It's always important to be the kind of person you want others to be. If your not then your not being honest with yourself or anyone else. We can't expect the world to change completely, but we can increase the number of people who do the right thing, starting with ourselves.

There are plenty of people who believe aliens are here now. They're not letting everyone know they're here, so they must be pretty smart. In Texas they seem to want cow lips and stuff like that. In Peru they were after gold. . They must be making some kind of weird alien jewelry or something. I think I might have seen some gold plated cow lips in a UFO shop on the history channel. Who knows, maybe they want the lips for something else. They take other parts too, so they might have some creepy fetishes going on. In any case I'm not really anxious to meet any of them, I just want them to admit what they've been doing, and promise to get the cow parts from the slaughter house instead of stealing them off the ranch. It's impossible under current standards to sell a cow that's missing their lips and other things.

I feel compelled to add that proof reading and editing your message before posting it is also a very highly commendable activity. I regret that I only indulge in this important function 99% of the time. The 1% that I neglect is due to time restraints. It's not possible to type and squeeze at the same time!

I didn't think details were needed. I said norms aren't always right, and I expect most people to know that not every accepted norm is a bad thing. Norms do need to be challenged, but I think everything needs to be questioned. Acceptance of anything without thinking about it and deciding whether it's valid or not would be silly. My point was simply that there needs to be some structure, or accepted norms, for any society to function. I don't really care what anyone wears, but I like the fact that most people wear clothes of some sort in public.

I don't mind what others decide to wear. I imagine a dress is about as comfortable as a piece of clothes can get. Scottish men wear kilts, which are just skirts. Social restrictions are always kind of weird when you really take time to think about them. The thing is, I don't think boys in dresses are attractive. I think most girls would say the same thing. At some point this boy will stop wearing dresses because it's going to be too much trouble when he gets older. Social norms aren't always right, but they have an important place. If there wasn't some recognizable "norm" then society wouldn't be stable enough to function. Still, I wouldn't criticize a guy for wearing a dress, but I'm pretty sure I'd laugh a little. Now excuse me, I need to go freshen up my mascara.

Hi Bryce, welcome to the most friendly site I know about. Snoop around and see what's here to do and make yourself at home. There are some great people here so I'm sure you'll be happy your here.

Everything can be called art. Everything can be called something else, too. As Lincoln said though, calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg, and the dog still has four legs and not five. At some point the whole attempt at fine tuning the definition of art, or any similar word, becomes a little silly. The same effort could be made to define nonart, but what is the point. Not everyone will agree, and I see nothing to be gained. It's a little amusing to see, but otherwise where is the value.

OK, I don't mind that people get bored and start picking at words beyond reason. Personally I like to depend on the actual definition of words. In this case it's art, and this is googles offering: art1 ärt/ noun noun: art; plural noun: arts; plural noun: the arts 1. the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. "the art of the Renaissance" synonyms: fine art, artwork More "he studied art" works produced by human creative skill and imagination. "his collection of modern art" synonyms: fine art, artwork More "he studied art" creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture. "she's good at art" 2. the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance. I think that answers the question sufficiently. Now the real issue to wonder about is the application of the word to a particular thing. Anything someone creates could be called art. It seems to me that only the observer can decide in their own mind whether or not something is art. I don't think painting a picture of something in exacting detail is art. A camera can do that. Like the definition says, art is a creative activity. If a written work is simply a report of actual events then it's not art, it's journalism. If it's imaginary, or created in the mind, then it's art.

Gays have been picked on for a long time, and are killed in some countries. I like the nazi history of gay persecution because it highlights the importance of political involvement. I think if the German people had been more responsible for their own government history would be different. Even after the defeat of the nazi's gays were persecuted and kept in prisons. A lot of terrible things were done to them. The U.S. didn't do anything to help them either. They were truly alone in the world. Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania have the death penalty for being gay. According to Ampped 66 other countries punish people for being gay. That puts a lot of people in serious danger, and it's one huge reason why people need to be politically active. As I see it those who refuse to pay attention to their country's politics are guilty of a social crime because it will lead to tyranny and the criminalization of what are actually people's rights.

I don't remember being there, but I'm sure there are times when someone else is sure I just left there. Probably that black square spot, which I suppose is the capital.

I wonder some of the same things. It's easy to feel alone and insignificant in a world stuffed with 7 billion people. I think the best I can do though is work to understand myself, so I spend time looking inside and asking myself questions. Sometimes I discover amazing things about me. Learning more about myself helps me understand other people better, because we all have similar wants and needs. Emotions can blind me sometimes, and just knowing that is a huge help. I think we all have an impact on the world, right where we live. Maybe we don't always know it, but I think everyone does, and it's important in some way. I'm probably not going to have some major impact that will change the world in a profound way, but what I do will still make a difference, and I think that's true for everyone. It's like being part of a machine, and the machine is affected by each part in some way. Sometimes it's good and sometimes not. That depends on the condition of each part. So, all the parts are important, and for us it means keeping ourselves in as good a condition as we can.

What is a knocking shop?

No gay life stuff around here, and I don't mind because nobody cares that I'm gay, so life is the same for everyone.

I didn't intend to make anything personal of it and I'm sorry I offended you. I could have used better ways of saying what I did, but I didn't. Sometimes I should wait and post another time, and this was one of them. Anyway, please don't take it personally.

OK, well I use the word very, and I don't know anyone who uses the word morose in casual conversation, but I don't know anyone who talks like the British do either, because I don't live there. I get tired pretty fast of those who want to make an issue of how people speak and the words they use. It's like the idea of political correctness. There is no real purpose to it, except to make "rules" for how we communicate based on the idea of other peoples feelings. I promise you this, if I have something to say I will say it, in my own words, in a manner that suits myself. If someone is offended by that then they have a personal problem and I'm not going to change my speech to suit them. I don't expect anything different from that when others are speaking, and I'm not offended by others choice of words. I judge people by other things, like their ability to understand, how they dress, and whether or not they stink when they get close to me. People talk differently in different places. The north, south, east and west all have different ways of saying the same things. Who cares? I suppose someone who considers themselves "cultured" would care. That's fine for them, and it's their right. It's my right to find that laughable, and to consider these kinds of issues nothing more than tripe contrived by those who wish to be superior in some twisted way. Talk is talk, and words are words. If you need to complicate common communication with silly things like what words someone uses to express something as simple as "he's very bad" then you don't qualify to talk to me. One word sums it all up: PRETENTIOUS

This seems pretty silly to me. Who uses the word sagacious? Or morose? Why would using the word very mean someone was lazy? I think there are better ways to figure out whether someone is lazy. How many women scrutinize the words men use? If a woman is judging your use of the word very, is she really going to be open to being picked up any way? The whole premise of this is very febble.

I don't get it myself. I'm not a teen any more, but I don't see myself as old. I don't have teeth that I can take out, I'm not wrinkled, I'm not tired, my hair isn't grey, I can run up stairs, I can see everything for miles and I have no issues with my erectile function. As far as I can tell, the older I get the better I am at everything I do. The only thing that seems to be different now than when I was a kid is there's less time to do all the stuff I want to. The truth is I don't care about getting old. I don't think I'm old now, and when I do get old I'm still going to celebrate my birthday. I've got a lot of time to go before I get old, so why worry about it now? There's too many things to do and I need all the time I have to do them. The getting old thing will just have to wait it's turn!

I'm not a poetry critic, so I can't really say much about any poem as far as is it a good one or not, but I liked this one, because it's expressing true feelings and it makes sense. I would keep on with poems, and read other poems, so you can get more comfortable with the process. Poems, I think, are a way to say something that adds some emotion to the subject. Using words in unusual ways, so the reader has a unique picture of the situation. If you keep doing it you'll get very good at it, and your poems will become recognizable as yours. I think you should do more, especially if you enjoyed doing this one.

I don't chew gum, it just don't do anything for me. It seems a lot of other people do though, and sometimes I wonder if they have some kind of emotional disorder. Why would someone need to have their jaw working all the time? Maybe they need to keep it loosened up or something. Maybe they're still growing teeth. Maybe they're trying a new kind of diet where they chew but don't eat. I guess some people just like their mouth to be full of juicy spit. Anyway, it's not nice to chew gum when your talking with someone. It's also bad when your in a meeting. Church is a bad place to chew it. One of the worst times is when your brushing your teeth. Well, except for old people who have teeth they can take out, then it's OK. One of the most nasty times to chew gum is when your kissing someone. I don't think that kiss will last long. I suppose that might depend on who your kissing. Maybe they want to chew your gum too, and you could share in between tongue swipes. You could mix it up too. You chew cherry gum and they could chew cinnamon, and you could trade every other kiss. I'm not sure cherry and cinnamon go together very well though. So, it seems to me most the time chewing gum is just not a good idea. Besides, there are a lot of other things I would rather chew on. I mean, gum is just, well, gum. How much fun can it really be?

Still, no other system has or can beat capitalism. It has flaws, but so does everything else people create.

I challenge anyone to show me an economic system that compares to the success enjoyed in a capitalist economy.

Nobody is forced to accept any product or service. It doesn't matter what the price point is, if you don't like what someone is selling you simply don't make the purchase. In the free market system (capitalism) the desires of the consumer drive the actions of the seller. In the rare instances that the seller lies to make a sale then the seller loses ultimately and the honest sellers take up the slack. There has never been a workable alternative to capitalism. Without the profit motive there would be no motivation to create new and useful products. If your willing to take an objective view of the issue, then look at the history of commerce. Civilization has been around a long time, and many different economic models have been attempted. None have come close to the performance of capitalism. The most advanced, most prosperous, and most long lived societies all owe their economic success to capitalism. History tells the story in fine detail. Capitalism is the engine that drives innovation and progress. Everything else promotes stagnation and dependence.