Wynter

I just finished 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, which you've probably heard of by now if you haven't been living in a hole It's a very different take on the whole apocalypse story. It's beautifully written and very haunting. Frankly, I had to stop reading for a while part way through because it was depressing me. It's incredibly sad but well worth the perseverance. "The Road is a 2006 novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. It is a post-apocalyptic tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, almost all life on earth. The novel was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 2006." Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road I also highly recommend 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. It's a kind of dark modern fantasy with a good dose of humour. If you don't know Gaiman, slap yourself, and then go find a book store. He's brilliant. "American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning[1] novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow." Wikipedia

Agreed. I doubt that there are many Christians on this forum who wouldn't like a more accepting community but all the same, this is technically a controversial issue.

Duly noted. Thanks for the clarification. This is of course, the most important part of their argument. The problem, is that we now need to convince the fundamentalists who use these arguments. It will be difficult as many of them will simply not want to understand. Others will lack the education to grasp the importannce of semantics. A further group will simply find another excuse to hate homosexuals. This is as much a cultural problem as a religious one and there will be no simple solution. Which is not to say that we should give up.

I'm not sure how GA stands on comments about religion so I'm not sure exactly what's considered appropriate to voice here. I'm an atheist so I'm used to accidentally saying the wrong things and have learned a certain level of caution over the years. Those who find satirical songs about religion funny should Youtube a comedian by the name of Tim Minchin. 'The Good Book', 'I Love Jesus' and 'If you open Your Mind too Much Your Brain Will Fall Out' are particularly good. It should be noted that Minchin is a master of satire and irony, beware of taking things literally in his songs. Just to be clear, he is in no way a homophobe, I've seen him live and the stand up portions you don't see with these songs on Youtube make that clear. Have Fun, Wynter

Duly noted. That's a shame, I spent 10 days on a Catamaran in the Whitsundays and loved every second of it. WILL DO Well I'll try at least. It's definitely on the top of my list of things to do upon arrival.

I watched the whole thing and loved it. Persoanlly, I don't believe in God but it was nice nonetheless to see Christians who can think for themselves and show the fundamentalists for the ignorant people they are. And I think ignorance was the key in all of those people's acceptance. Too many people simply accept what authority figures tell them without questioning it. It was wonderful to see people actively researching for themselves instead of blindly accepting someone else's opinions. If only more people would act that way without having to have gay children of their own to prompt them. The cartoon in part 4/5 was great.

Art is the voice of the soul. By that I mean, it expresses our deepest thoughts, desires and dreams. It can be self conscious, wild or unforgiving. It can be anything we are because it IS us and it is always personal. Your teacher reminds me of one of my English lecturers who, when asked to define the term 'text', pointed to a chair and said 'this chair is a text'. I'm not sure if what he's asking for is a list of 'things' that could be considered art or something more esoteric. Another English lecturer asked us to define poetry, which turned into a really interesting discussion as no one in the room had the same answer. Which is what I think your teacher is probably getting at also. Art is what we make it. Hope that helped, Wynter

Connor, I'm aware of the climate, a friend is currently in BC on a work holiday. I've always maintained that I'd rather be cold than hot. Since it was 40 degrees or more most of this week that seems like motivation to move to me. I'm not sure how I'd deal with -25, guess I'll have to try it out. Jack, My apologies for mislabelling "Québéois" as French. I have plans to begin French lessons this year (Will be useful travelling to Europe or Canada)but my plans for moving are fairly flimsy at the moment. I just graduated from university so I'd be planning to come with a work visa intitially and then see what I think. My prime motivation, I'll admit is the gay community. I've only been out to my friends for a year or so now and my first three trips to the local gay bar have left me underwhelmed. Note, it's the ONLY gay bar in the state. Australia is roughly similar in size to the US and our states are generally bigger so we're talking thousands of km between gay bars. Which isn't to say that it's a BAD bar, it's just got too many women (read: lesbians, straight girls hiding from straight men and drag queens) and nowhere near enough guys in the 18-25 range. South Aus is also fairly redneck when it comes to a lot of things. We were the last state to introduce 'domestic partnership agreements' which are basically gay marriages in code so the religious groups don't get upset. Adelaide, our capital (read: only city within several thousand km) is called 'the city of churches', sometimes nostalgically, other times with considerable sarcasm by the more metropolitan cities. We have churches powerful enough to get their own ministers appointed to the senate and that seems to be getting more common. Basically, I want out. It's funny, but there are a LOT of people I've spoken to who see Canada as some magical place we can run away to. I've focused my sights on Montreal because I want to live somewhere where there's big pool of gay guys to ummm 'fish' from . Also because it just seems generally awesome. I don't have many plans to look at the rest of Canada, maybe to visit but not really to live in. I'm gonna stop now coz I've already erected a wall of text. Wynter

Sydney is well known in Australia for having liberal attitudes toward homosexuality. Sydney itself hosts the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras which is televised nationally on prime time tv. NY and SF sound fun to visit but I have intention of ever living in the US. That's a politically motivated opinion though rather than any feelings towards Americans in general. And so i shan't elaborate Thanks for the input guys

So is Montreal the giant gay paradise my imagination is making it out to be or should I save myself a few thousand and move to Sydney isntead? I just can't see how a city that holds its own gay olymics and has an entire quarter devoted to the gay community can be a bad thing. Sydney has supposedly gay suburbs and there's a whole street of bars and clubs that vary greatly in style. But it lacks guys with french accents. I live in a small city that bosts... one gay club. I hear there's, like a bar somewhere too. Oh and there's a sauna LOL not going near that thing. Thoughts?

The first Twilight movie was terrible. I was determined not to see the second one until I saw Talyor Lautner shirtless. The several scenes where just stands there all godlike made the terrible acting bearable.

I feel like a small child who's just been told he's getting a puppy which will either be a Golden Retriever or a Labrador. Either way I'm excited. I like HS a lot but WT has been taunting me for so long that it will be great to have an update.

Ok so this may sound a little odd coming from a gay man and I don't mean to offend anyone but... drag queens scare me. They're ok from a distance but up close they make me jumpy. Probably doesn't help that I got hit on by one recently at a gay bar... though in hindsight he may have been deliberately trying to freak me out coz I'm almost never picked as gay without telling someone and I was with a female friend. So yeah.. not sure if it's the makeup or the hair but I find them really intimidating for some reason.

American God's is one of my favourite's too. Neil Gaiman is an incredible writer. Have you read his collaboration with Pratchett, Good Omens? It mixes Pratchett's humour and Gaiman's sensibility in a really interesting way. I see a lot of fantasy authors in people's lists but no Ray Feist or Robin Hobb. Admittedly, Feist's stories get a tad silly toward the end of the latest series (he's running out of ideas the poor thing) but his early books, particularly Magician, were great. Robin Hobb is an all-time favourite and if I wasn't gay I'd propose marriage to her. She's a great one to read if you love character driven stories. She has some of the most interesting character relationships of any fantasy author I've ever read, and she twists the heartstrings like no other. Also, Jacqueline Carey is an interesting fantasy author if you like your fantasy a little twisted. One series features a female prostitute as the heroine and another recreates the LOTR clich

Kitty your link doesnt reach a specific page, merely the writing prompts index, so forgive me if i regurgitate old ideas. Im definitely in favour of moving away from seasonal stories. As Graeme mentioned many of the past suggestions have been hard for non north Americans to connect with. Northern influence would suggest white winters and travelling carollers. Australian christmasses tend towards outdoor bbqs on hot summer days (it was somewhere near 40 c today) and i've yet to see groups of people signing carols in the street. I'd like to see something a little more complicated to see what people can really do. Starting a story with a particular phrase or just by using a picture were techniques used in a short stories topic at my Uni and they can be really fun. The people in my class came up with all sorts of things yet all started at the same point. It's not just that the previously used story prompts werent universally familiar, they also tended to have similar plots. I've only actually only got one suggestion for a theme. Its a line from the ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde. Wilde was imprisoned for acts of sodomy (side note: there were no such laws against lesbians because the queen refused to believe they existed lol!) so maybe people could remember that when they read the line. Though the actual poem was about a murderer I think the line could easily be adapted, meaning is contextual. the obvious way to twist it would be a metaphor to the way many homosexuals live double lives to varying degrees. However, how you approach the idea could vary immensely. Or take the idea in a completely diffrent way, the whole point of this sort of prompt is to explore different perceptions. If u like the idea the whole thing is on the net here Wynter

I agree with Metallica completely. Nothing else matters might sound depressing but it exudes quiet courage and resolution, plus the message suits my attitudes perfectly. In my angrier moments I find Marilyn Manson's Disposable Teens comes closer "Yeah Im a teen distortion/ survived abortion/ a rebel from the waist down". There are plenty of songs I could have put here for similar reasons but I wouldnt say that this defines my life though, because it only represents one aspect of my life. There's one other song that springs to mind, Billy Joels Piano Man. I don't know why but it never fails to make me feel happy whenever I hear it. It's bittersweet and funny, profound and full of life in every shade of grey. I might not have lived long enough to fully appreciate it yet but it makes me smile whenever I hear it and for now I think that's enough. Piano Man It's nine o'clock on a Saturday The regular crowd shuffles in There's an old man sitting next to me Makin' love to his tonic and gin He says, "Son, can you play me a melody? I'm not really sure how it goes But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete When I wore a younger man's clothes" La la la, de de da La la, de de da da da Chorus: Sing us a song, you're the piano man Sing us a song tonight Well, we're all in the mood for a melody And you've got us feelin' alright Now John at the bar is a friend of mine He gets me my drinks for free And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke But there's someplace that he'd rather be He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me." As the smile ran away from his face "Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star If I could get out of this place" Oh, la la la, de de da La la, de de da da da Now Paul is a real estate novelist Who never had time for a wife And he's talkin' with Davy who's still in the navy And probably will be for life And the waitress is practicing politics As the businessmen slowly get stoned Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness But it's better than drinkin' alone Chorus It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday And the manager gives me a smile 'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see To forget about life for a while And the piano, it sounds like a carnival And the microphone smells like a beer And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?" Oh, la la la, de de da La la, de de da da da

Who cares? Frankly I do. I dont doubt that finding a definite cause would lead to treatments and cures and Oprah specials etc. However I don't feel that to be a sufficiant reason to avoid the issue. Yes, it would be hard but in the end I believe that people aught to be given the choice. Personally if I was offered a choice I really don't know if I would take it. A large part of me would like to fit in, while another part sees no problem with what I am. All knowledge is valuable, I don't think I could make a decision until I knew exactly what caused it in the first place. Homosexuality as Mother Nature's way of cutting down population growth? It's a great idea but I can already hear the religious solution to population growth: Abstinace. The Catholic Church will abolish Sex before it encourages homosexuality. The Bible is far too blunt on the subject for them to change the policy. Im not seeking prevention methods, merely understanding of myself. What makes me the way I am, to understand human nature. I've always felt understanding leads to acceptance (tolerance is not enough!). I suppose what I really want in the end is a way to break down to the stigma. Wynter

Okay, I've been thinking about this alot recently after watching a sixty-minutes feature on identical twins with unidentical sexuality. I thought this was an amusing idea when I read Dom's The Log Way, but this show featured very similar situations and I've recently discovered a similar situation in the family of a guy at my work. The show had a central question: Why are some people homosexual and while the majority are heterosexual? The case of identical twins shows that it cannot be a purely genetic difference. But then being raised in the same family it seems illogical to say it's purely the result of enviromental influences. This has me extremely confused and I thought I'd put this question out for all to comment on, especially some of the older members who have had a lot longer to ponder. So, Why are we Gay? Why are some of us effeminate/masculine (in case of lesbians) while others are indistinguishable from other heterosexuals? The show featured statistical evidence to show that the more older brothers you have the greater your chance of being gay (data did NOT support a similar correlation in females). Does this hold true for any of you out there? Wynter

Kurt, I don't know how things run in the US but when I was in school two hours was the recommended level for year twelves (Seniors/last year). Also our teachers advised no more than ten hours a week for work. In the end though I think it comes down to the individual and how effectively you use your class time (lol one of my main problems). Is say do as much as you need and if that means two hours then . Also, Uni IS much easier but it's also very easy to fail because nobody cares if you're not doing your homework so long as you pay your fees. Hell NO! As an English major the mere thought of...whatever that is sends a shiver down my spine (not a good one ). Hope you don't mind me asking I'm just curious...what's the story with the Pope picture? Wynter

It would seem that I'm the only one who hasnt seen this before. I found it really interesting because i found i could read it just as quickly as if the spelling was correct. Was this part of a phonics vs 'whole word recognition' debate? Wynter

Hey Juss, My advice is pretty simple: DON'T! If a straight guy did that speech it wouldnt lead to anything, but if you do it people are probably going to start wondering. You're 14 so that means year 9/10, right? One speech about discrimination at year 9 isnt enough to out you, but what about all the other little things, the signals you arent even aware of? The fact that you dont have a girlfriend (an assumption, i couldnt bring myself to do it), the fact that you dont make fun of homosexuals, maybe you even get angry and defend them a couple of times publicly? All these little things are what add up to an outing. You've got to think about this long-term. When you come out you want it to be your choice. I've seen it happen to someone else when I was in High School and it really messed up his life. I don't know what your situation is, but for me that would have been a disastrous situation. Seriously, you'd be better off doing the 'White Australia Policy'. If it wasnt so horrible it would be funny, if you mention the riduculous entrance tests you may even score a couple of laughs. There is plenty of information out there and it's an important part of Australian history. It was blatant prejudice and discrimination and you can approach it quite easily, it only officialy stopped in the 70s so you'll be able to find immigrants who faced discrimination to interview. Link it in to the recent cronulla riots and u've got a piece of cake assignment. Hope this doesnt sound too bossy but I can understand why you want to do this and thats exactly why I wouldnt. I got into an argument with my religion teacher about christian attitudes like 'hate the sin not the sinner' and it raised a few brows. I think he understood because in the end and he subtly told me to drop it in a nice way with a knowing look and a nod toward the class who'd all started watching. Anyway, hope this helps. Wynter

I agree

what the hell is TOSOm?? have i missed something? i didnt see anything by dom in story announcements