Ron

The Sam Cooke song had me looking for another appropriate song as well. I include the link (because I cannot figure out how to get video to actually show) to the Darlene Love version of Chapel of Love which had it's 50th anniversary of being recorded in April, 1963. Ms. Love sang every voice on the recording in what is known as overdubbing. The song was made famous a year later by the The Dixie Cups in 1964. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v669V_UjiDo edit to add: I remember singing and dancing to the Dixie Cups version as a five year old. Good times!

I didn't understand a word of it but it didn't stop it from being a great fun thing to watch. I loved it.

I like the slow set up for the rest of the story. Things happen along the way and it's all very interesting and it all leads to this. Nice, not all in your face in the first chapter.

In real life that line would usually mean someone gets hurt and you give us a family of hurt. That was a powerful look at life in a day for them. Very emotional and intense. Well done.

I just had a look at the page Graeme and there is an external link to GA near the bottom of the page.

I've had the pleasure of landing and take off from the old Hong Kong airport. When coming in at night, you could look out your window and see into the skyscrapers right outside next to you. Very cool and fun. Of course there were an awfully lot of wonky landings there over the years. Now you have to land way outside and take a train ride or a long cab ride in.

advocatus diaboli has created a thread that gets responses from the site admins. You might want to cross post there. It's not a bad idea for a wiki-page.

That was 'cute(ish)' but TJ Smith, keyboardist on the couch, is dreamy.

I read Colorado Game first and in the reviews (you can learn a lot from reviews) people kept commenting on how much they loved the characters from The House Always Wins. So, I read it and I will save the rest for discussion day.

Cassie is not merely a flatterer, or dare I say... flatter-nista. She has a great beginning chapter to her story Geeks as well.

Anyone who goes into a relationship not expecting past baggage probably shouldn't be getting into a relationship at all. There is always baggage of one sort or another. Still, it doesn't mean you have to share everything and if you think it does, once again you probably shouldn't be getting into a relationship. Sharing tidbits about family members with someone you love, such as that time you caught your cousin Suzy blowing your neighbor in the back seat of his car is a far different subject than telling that Uncle Jimmy shot and killed a man in a bar fight and never got caught. Two very different things, one you can share and snicker together about at every family get together and the other you carry to your grave lest Uncle Jimmy comes and gets you. Share - Don't Share. It is really not as difficult as you make it seem. Omissions and Lies - Folks lie all the time in relationships about small things. Most of the time the lie is to prevent an argument and a smart partner knows this because he/she will have done the same thing. If you catch your partner in a lie and it's not important, be smart, let it go. And don't lie about the big things. If you can't say anything because you are sworn to secrecy, then say you can't say anything if the subject comes up. Because if it's not yours to tell, say so, don't hem and haw about it, that only creates more interest. As for omissions, the advice is very much as with lies. Say you and your partner dress in formal wear for a fancy doo. He steps into the room puffed up and all proud of himself but he has chosen a cumber-band in a garish shade of puce, his favorite color, that you hate. If you're smart, you will say that he is the most handsome man on the face of the planet and watch him all pleased, big smile on his face and looking at you like he wants to devour you. See, you just omitted the fact that you hate the color and because of that, you are going to get laid later that night. But if you omit the fact that the doctor called about those test you took last week and he said you have two weeks to live... Well, I leave that one for you to decide. There are levels and degrees of everything, W_L. Nothing is set in stone for any two people, you feel your way around each other and make up the way you want to be, together as you go along. Things change over time, you will change, your partner will change and you will change each other. Fidelity is something to be defined by you and your partner. You two will be the decision makers and be damned the slings and arrows of friends and family if you're smart about it.

Egads, now I think I have to.

Well, maybe since Mann is providing a cheering section. We'll see what I can do.

I thought about the anthology as well but then, that is just one theme - Recipe for Disaster - and if you are not moved or inspired by it *shrugs*. It could have competition from NaNoWriMo as well. But Holiday themes are right up the alley for many folks and there may be quite a few takers if the themes are interesting. Only one way to find out. The tricky part is choosing an end-date that doesn't find people caught up in the Holidays. You want readers, right?

I have an idea for 275 - The Twist. But jeez, I only have a week?

As a suggestion, you may want to limit themes again to 8 or 10 and after they are taken - open the themes up for additional writers to pick any of the themes. One theme may get more responses than others but at least every theme will have one author. Besides, you may get an author that would like to take on a second theme for fun. Just an idea. edit to remind that depending on the end date, this may compete with assorted Holiday goings on. You may not fill 32 vacant slots anyway, that is awfully ambitious thinking.

Here is an unconventional theme for you: Mistletoe and the Ho!

Mine would be and unfortunately is...pepperoni and mushroom pizza with extra cheese. I'm defenseless!

A CD Walkman will sound better playing through a DAC as well

Ha, Mikeal is stealing kisses from a seemingly drunk guy by the pool and he is worried that saying the word fabulous makes him sound gay. Too much! I like how he first tests the waters with a light caress of his thumb under the guys lip. That was actually a pretty intimate gesture for a first approach. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Digital Audio is the future of music I think and there is good reason for it, it is amazingly portable. Unfortunately, it is impossible to play digital from a computer directly and get excellent sound. The computer clock puts out a synchronous signal and music needs to be asynchronous so no matter what you play the music through, it will not sound ideal. You need a DAC (digital analogue converter) that will take the computer signal and convert it to get the best sound from it. DAC's also can have the ability to upsample the signal and make the music sound even better. But no amount of upsampling will take an original signal that has been dumbed down in mp3 and make it sound spectacular. My playing is like this: USB Hard-drive --> USB Cable --> Computer (lossless music files) --> USB Cable --> DAC (upsampling to 24/196) [CD is 16/44.1] --> RCA Interconnect Cable --> Stereo (integrated) [this could also be surround processor for TV system] --> Speakers ------ or you can bypass stereo/surround processor if you have powered speakers. or this: Computer --> plug in asynchronous DAC --> Headphones or RCA Interconnect Cable --> Stereo (integrated) [this could also be surround processor for TV system] --> Speakers ------ or you can bypass stereo/surround processor if you have powered speakers. but mostly this: iPod Classic (lossless native ACC encoded music files ripped with error correction) --> Pure i20 iPod dock (which contains a DAC) --> Digital Optical S/PDIF cable --> Upsampling DAC (you can skip this because dock contains its own DAC [non-upsampling]) --> RCA Interconnect Cable --> Stereo --> Speakers I get amazingly excellent sounding music from my iPod on my system. I also get amazingly excellent sound from my downloaded 24/192 FLAC files from my computer. I am fortunate to have an amazing pair of stand mounted speakers, B&W n805, to listen to the music from. But even with great speakers or great headphones, if the music is dumbed down or going out in the incorrect signal it will not sound its absolute best. I hope this post isn't too far off topic, after all you need some way to play the jazz. I'm not aware of a way getting Blu-ray music files onto a computer but you can get downloadable DSD (SACD encoded files) and there are computer softwares available (just as you would need to play FLAC encoded files) to enable playing them from your computer. Once again, you will need an asynchronous DAC connected to your stereo/sound processor to be able to do so properly.

While I do think people can change and some do, there is so much truth in the dialogue of this chapter. Thanks, Andrew for creating such a dynamic chapter within the confines of the word limitation. Well done!

Rustle, that was so wonderfully sad. I know that's oxymoronic but it is both truly wonderful and so very sad. Great story!

Oh, my God *closes eyes tightly, sings - la,la,la,la,la* must get image out of head! Great story !

Best Ghost Story Ever! Of the sentimental kind that is Although, there were a couple of spooky moments as well. You even managed to make me feel sorry for the would be thief and that takes some doing, my friend. The set up was great and that little moment when Jonah speaks out after reading something amusing in The Guardian... so poignant. When Jonah began crying, I have to say that I couldn't hold back anymore either. Poor Shashi got erased. Cheers, Excellent!