C James

Shadowgod had done it again.... Based on Egyptian mythology, this is a very moving peice, and like Graeme, I found Bes' end wonderfully done. I think the stranger is our old freind RA.. I think my favorite line was "I'll meet you halfway". However, I find somthing else interesting. Ra was, amongs other things, the egyptian god of Shadows. Their Shadowgod. Hmmm, is this fiction, or an autobiography?

Please give them a

Totally agreed. Actually, I take issue with the current definition of "conservative" when claimed by Republicans in social policies; they don't fit with the classical definitions of conservatism, which espouse individual liberties, not pandering to reactionary groups such as the religious right. Another problem with most of the Republican Congress was that they aren't conservative on fiscal policies at all; they became just as enamored of political porkbarrels spendfests as had the Democrats in their heyday. Hence, a lot of the real conservative base hates their guts, and that was a huge part of why they lost last November; many of their core supporters stayed home in disgust. I agree about leaking, but the fact of the case is that Richard Armatage, Dep. Sec State, was the leak. This is documented, and there is no evidence at all that Libby had anything to do with the leak. Yet, Armatage wasn't charged, but the guy who WASN'T the leak gets three years in the slammer? Ugh, only in DC... Clinton has every right to weigh in on any issue, but, he should be made a laughing stick for this one; what he did was exactly what Libby did. To put the Libby case in context; think on this. What would you say if a former National Security Advisor smuggled documents out of the 9-11 commissions archives, depriving them of the chance to review them during the investigation, and destroyed said documents? He even his some under a construction trailer so he could retrieve them later (Oh yeah, he's the national security adviser and he does THAT with classified files? ARGH!) The person in question is Sandy Berger. He plead guilty to the charges, and walked away with a 10k fine. Yet, Libby lies though wasn't the leaker at all, and he gets three years, and a quarter-million fine? That is insane. I won't defend Libby at all; in fact, I think he deserved his sentence, but Berger did far worse and Clinton the same, and they basically skated. Only in DC... I'm disgusted with both parties. And James, I agree with the post you made about the hypocracy; that is a glaring case, it turns my stomach, and I'd sure like to see the ass charged, too. Typical politician; the laws are for the little people, not them.

I can sure identify with your fear of bridges. They usually don't bother me too much, but I have a fear of heights. There's one in particular that bothers me the most; the harbor bridge in Lisbon, Portugal. The deck is made of a metal mesh, lots of holes. Looking ahead out the windshield, it looks fine. But if you look down from the side window, you see all the way down the the water, and the big ships passing underneath (its quite a high bridge). That bridge gave me a massive case of white knuckles (and I was stuck on it for half an hour: traffic jam). CJ

You're badly mistaken on the facts; No one, not even the prosecution, claimed that Libby leaked anything. What he was prosecuted for was claiming to have learned of Palme's identity from a journalist; in other words, he lied under oath., Just like Bill Clinton. Just like Clinton, it was a fact not necessarily germain to the case, but it was perjury and obstruction of justice. My point is that they did basically the same thing, and yet Clinton has the unmitigated hypocrisy to criticize the commutation of Libby's sentence?? I'm not saying I support what either of them did: I don't. My point is that for Clinton, of all people, to weigh in on this issue was one of the most hypocritical things I've ever seen, yet it received little notice. And that's the whole point; there is so much hypocrisy in politics, on both sides of the aisle, that we hardly take notice anymore. That's what bothers me; it bodes very ill indeed.

A very profound blog indeed. I've never been able to "understand" the dominance/submissive thing, and that's probably why I have never been able to fathom authoritarian fiction. The core point here though, is just becuase its not my thing, doesn't mean I think there's anything wrong with it! I like Pepperoni and Peanut butter sandwiches; they aren't everyone's thing either, but so what? We're all different and the world would be dull if we wern't. I think Bondwriter is a wonderful role model; He's very "out" about his interests, including his screenname, and above all helps people understand what, to many, is a little discomforting due to lack of knowledge. Many people think that any kind of tie-up automatically means heavy S&M, and that a person interested in one would be interested in the other, which is quite untrue. I'm not ashemed to admit that I fell into this assumption myself: When I first got to know Bondwriter, I assumed he'd like just about anything having to do with tied-up characters. So, I dropped hints about an upcoming chapter of my serial, which he was both reading and proofreading, because I thought he'd like the scene, an indian-style stake out of two protagonists, as part of an action/adventure story. Turns out, that wasn't his idea of interesting, so I'd given him false hopes due to my misunderstanding of his interests. Oh, BTW, Bondwriters interests are far from limited to what he's stated. He writes damn good "mainstream" gay fiction, and rumor his story "Blow Up" in the Summer anthology is superb. (I've read it, and it is). CJ

Hi Bondwriter! Congrats on the Blog! I love the layout too. Glad your gig went well! CJ

I don't see why you make such a fuss... I'm just an average goat, writing stories on the internet... Chris did manage to find a Hawaiian version of Piedmont, didn't they? LoL. Well, that was all the doing of the Eeeevil Blackheart. And, um, watching me? Surely that is a very boring passtime... Why don't you save yourself some trouble? Or, if you insist, you could always wait until I've made 52 or 53 of the 55 posts you mentioned. Shhhhh!!! ACK! Another leak!!!! But, surely, it would be an ideal niche market... Fiction about gay goats seems to be terribly under-represented on the internet...

Hrmmmm... I know McCain's campaign is in financial trouble, but I didn't know it was this bad... I mean really; sending his top staff out to give $20 blow jobs in order to raise funds...

Now, now, Fossil, no leaking... Remember, you're the anonymous beta reader, so nobody knows you've seen the chapter already... It's a seeecret... Shhhhh... The title is actually... Homegoing. Ok, rather uninspired, but that's the title. Or, I might change the title... Or I might not... I really don't know yet... Can't make up my mind. Hrmmmm.... There are several other good titles that come to mind, but all of them would be spoilers for a few surprises in the chapter. If I use a chapter title that's a spoiler, I suspect that the Echidna might object... And those spines are sharp... OK, after much prevarication and rumination, I'll stick with Homegoing as the next chapter title. Heh, I almost slipped up and give the title of Ch 35, Hell's Fury, as that of the next chapter! That would have been doubly bad: it would give the wrong name for the upcoming chapter, and it would reveal the title of 35 before 34 had been released! 5-star hotels? Conner, you need to get back to your roots.. There's nothing nicer than a nice pile of hay in an old shed, out on the range...

Thanks for this, James... I'd heard about this guy, but not about the gay angle (that he was the one soliciting money, or from a male). Whoa..... Yes, that is indeed the height of hypocracy. I loved the line above all: That said, I'm disgusted by enoutmous bold-faced hypocrisies exhibited by BOTH parties. My favorite example was during Schwarzeneggers's campaign for California Governor; Then, the Democrats attacked his past as a womanizer, while the republicans claimed it was "old news" and "no big deal". The hypacricy was glaring on both sides, as they had both revrsed their prior positions for political expediance (with the side benefit of exposing both sides as opportunistic hypocritical liars). Or my favorite recent example: The Clintons criticizing Bush for commuting the jail sentence of Scooter Libby. That just takes the cake; Libby was charged with (and convicted of) perjury and obstruction of justice; not even the prosecution claimed he was the actual leak (in the Palme case) that was being investigated. Bill Clinton, too, was charged with (Impeached for) Perjury and obstruction of justice. Both Clinton and Libby are now disbarred lawyers as a result. Yet, Clinton apparently didn't feel that perjury and obstruction of justice was grounds for removal from office, let alone jail time, in his own case. I'll also mention the pardon of Marc Rich and hundreds of others. Yet Clinton felt free to weigh in on the Libby commutation, and it didn't even kick up a media storm. Why? Becuase these days, it seems hypocrisy is the normal thing in politics.

But... But... But... How come Bondwriter isn't a pincushion by now!?!!?!??! And changes? Uhoh.... Sorry, Bondwriter, but there is one flaw in your recount... the great escape occurred in very late 1969. Thanks, that was good! Hi Aillie! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks taking Echidnas are evil... Hmmm, however we know he types (a lot: he's a dedicated postaholic) , but can he talk? Red Lasers? Well, let's just say that I feel it's my calling in life to help people see the light... The coherent light, that is. :nuke: BTW, I usually mention the title of the next chapter right about now.

A superb chapter... The mural, just, wow... However, what struck me the most was Matt calling Dan "Dad"... That was just so evocative. Excellent chapter, and thank you for not killing Jacob.

Discuss Luc's story "Lightning on the Water", in this thread. Spoilers below!!! Spoilers below!!! Spoilers below!!!

Jan's idea was a good one; I may have to gice that a try... As for a voice interface, wouldn't it be problematic if most of the words in my stories were "Naaaaa!"? Thanks!! Actually, no, you are doing the reviews, while what I'm doing will be just regular thread comments. And his reviews are GOOD... Trust me on this if nothing else. I've already created the threads, so those posts are, in fact, a big part of why I'm in peril of bumping up against 4k soon. ACK SPOILERS!!!! Echidna? Oh Echidna... Here is a job for your anti-spoiler spines!

Thanks Steve! And thank you VERY much for all the work you have done, both on FTL and helping me as a writer. You're the best Anonymous Beta Reader ever! If you keep this up, I might even, eventually, stop insisting that you remain anonymous. Seriously everyone, FTL is a team effort. Emoe, Shadowgod, Bondwriter, and Captain Rick have played a huge, huge role, and so too have all of you in this thread, and the commenters in eFic, and via PM and e-mail. Thanks!! I'd also like to add special thanks To Graeme, for his guidance and support. Hi Emoe!! Yep, Easy enough to tip over. I'm sure that isn't good for 'em, either. ROFL! Yes, that looks like a mountain goat; they have far better balance than I... Bondwriter wrote: If a goat can stand on a stick, I'm willing to believe it may type on a keyboard. I had no doubt after reading the chapter that Blackheart was dead. The evil guy never dying is a clich

Okay, okay, begging, pleading, and throwing myself at your foeet (you always wanted a goatskin rug, right?) Are the spots on your car a clue, or a hint that you want us to wash your car? Or both? This whole "blackheart" buisness is indeed troubling... I have no idea how that got started. We await with anticipation LiS 27...

"Best timeline ever"... Hmmmm, I think under these circumstances, that qualifies as a cliffhanger.

So Richard does get his just deserts? I tend to agree about Raul; he played a role, was made look like a fool, and his part, to me, is over. Of course, I'm eagerly awaiting news of what happens between Cody and Joe. :ranger: As for what you could have done to Jacob, it's not as if you didn't have alternatives; I did after all suggest a minor hangnail as an option? In all seriousness, due to the title of the old FotH, here was my guess; Matt, not Jacob, was heading for the grim reaper. The alluded to pills that turned out to be Violas, and the mention of the heart metaphor, made me think that "Failure of the Heart" was meant literally. I've gotta ask, did you ever intend that, either the plot, or the allusion, or is it just my whacky imagination? And I agree with whoever said that you write death well; You do, darn you. Yeah, Jacob's accident was superbly done. It was like being right there, watching. He also conveyed Jacob's feelings with great clarity. Speaking as someone who has been in a major wreck (though not of a motorcycle, and I wasn't seriously hurt), he also caught the "world whirling around you" feeling all too well.

Hmmmm... You sure do raise interesting points... In my opinion, I use the "movie guideline". If the movie is primarily intended to be sexual, then it's porn. If however, the sex is just integral the the plot, then it isn't. My own opinion is (and this is even more critical for text than for movies); It it's not unique or different, why bother? I once saw a story on Nifty. It made me laugh, so I read a few chapter. I wasn't laughing at humor, I was laughing at the author. Out loud. The author had written two or three sex scenes, and cut-and-pasted them throughout his story. Typos and all, over and over again. In any case, I think one issue here is individual tastes; the author isn't going to please everyone. Some readers like a lot of sex, some don't. The same applies to movies; everyone has different tastes. In the final analysis, the one person the author has to please is themselves. THEY need to like the end product of their labors, so they need to do it as they see fit.

You are so hard to please! I do wish you would make up your mind... You didn't want Blackheart to die, so I proposed a plot twist to give you what you want and bring him back... Then you wanted an Aussie, and I agreed, but you turned your nose up at the sheep-sheerer (and threatened to have him sheer me!) And now, I figure out a way for you to have your Aussie surfer, and again you seem recalcitrant... Tsk, tsk, it seems that both writers and hackers are sooo temperamental.

Discuss Lugh's story "Death of Innocence", in this thread. Spoilers below!!! Spoilers below!!! Spoilers below!!!

Ahhh, well, this is true, but... Complicated. "Living in Surreality" Is actually total re-write (including huge amounts of new stuff, plus some plot changes) of a story over at the crvboy story site. The story there is called "Failure of the Heart", and the Authors name is, quite coincidentally, "Blackheart". And just how much reading comprehension you you expect from a goat? Well, Good point.. OK, so, how many years would it take Eric to gain Aussie citizenship? OK, a quick google seems to indicate a residency requirment of two years. So, that would make Eric an Aussie around his 18th B-day, just in time to re-connect with Blackheart. perfect... Looks like Blackheart will get his Aussie surfer after all, just like he wanted... (I aim to please...) This explains a very great deal indeed... But, I'll also note that you, being an Echidna, mainly eat bugs, so perhaps your epicurean credentials are not quite sterling...

I do hope you mean Jake, the freind, and not Jake, the dog... Not for that kind of fun...

Awww, I had just the character in mind.... Smiling with lecherous intent through his few remaining tobacco-stained teeth as he cracked open a can of Foster's, the sheep-sheerer, still covered by the dirt, grime, and sweat of the day's labor, batted contentedly as the corks hanging from the rim of his battered old hat as he waited for Blackheart to arrive for their date... And, ummm, you wouldn't really have him sheer me, would you? That's just sooo mean... A surfer with an Aussie accent he wants, that's what he shall get... (never let it be said that I'm not helpful...) Eric, fleeing it Australia, picks up the accent in an effort to conceal his identity... Taking up surfing to pass the time and enjoy his large bank accounts, Eric, replete with a new passport, journeys to Hawaii, heading for the North shore of Oahu. Of course, while there he just has to look up his old pal Blackheart... I have cloven hooves, so the toe thingy works just fine.. And of course, I tried it with two pairs of flip-flops... Hrmmmm, Yes, I do see a problem; Blackheart just doesn't look Eeevil enough... But, after chapter 26 of Living in Surreality, who can possibly deny that he is? And I have been typing (not easy, with hooves...) I'm not only keeping up with FTL, but I've also written a story called Catagory 5 for the summer anthology, and I'm working hard on the first few chapters of my next serial, "Let the Music Play". LTMP is the same genre as FTL: Action/adventure, and the plan is to post the two chapters of it alongside the last two of FTL. Well, "Aloha" means both hello and goodbye, and they nearly did go goodbye from that mountain... Or, it could be said that he was trying to make their vacation a permanent one... Thanks Bondwriter!!! I had a lot of fun writing that chapter. The "forever" scene just popped out, and is one of my favorites in the story. The Blackheart encounter was fun, too. Ahhh, but you didn't say lifeguard/triathalite types... Thus leaving yourself open to my helpful interpretations... As for Eric.. Poor, misunderstood Eric, he'll be . and As for Mr. Williams, you'll just have to wait and see. Thanks!!! McDonnalds menus vary in some areas. You won't find Portuguese sausage and rice, nor Simian, on Mainland US menus. I think the oddest McDonnalds item I've ever seen had to be the Samauri Burger, in Hong Kong. And as a side note, if you love good Chinese food, China is not a good place to find it. :wacko: As for Pineapple, on a hamburger? Uggggh, that's almost as bad as having it on Pizza... As for the end of various characters, all I can say is that Ch 38, or maybe 39, depending on how things pan out when writing, will the the finale of FTL, followed by an epilogue. Blackheart told me himself that he'd never ride a harley, he much prefers Yamahas. :