Diogenes
-
Content Count
181 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Story Reviews
- No Story Reviews
Comments
- Rank: #0
- Total: 79
2 Profile Followers
About Diogenes
-
Rank
Member
Recent Profile Visitors
-
To my handful of fans who are wondering when I'm going to continue with the story of Mark & Carl that I began in About Carl:
I'm having trouble getting motivated on the sequel, Loyal Opposition. I have the rest of it diagrammed and know what I want to do with the two characters, and I intended to continue their story while immersing them in the world of politics, which is a big interest of mine. However, I'm finding politics to be a very toxic and unpleasant subject right now (including here in Canada) and to be honest I'm just not feeling the enthusiasm to write on that theme at the moment. I will get back to this story at some point, but I have to put it on hold right now until I'm in a better frame of mind.
That being said, I'm planning to write a series of loosely-connected short stories set in the fictional Selkirk County of the About Carl series, about gay men living in rural Ontario (a subject close to my heart). I plan to start work on that very soon.
Stay tuned!
-
Your namesake (or rather elements of his life and philosophy) makes an appearance in my new project. Instead of a wine barrel, my modern version sleeps in an old tequila vat
-
Conservatives in Canada are generally a different breed than in the US. Canadians pay high taxes for a generous social safety net and public health care; no political party in Canada would advocate dismantling any of this, conservative or otherwise. Fiscal conservatism in Canada usually means things like rolling back subsidies for corporations, selling off state-run industries, eliminating supply management in agriculture and curbing the considerable size and compensation of the civil service.
-
Ah, yes - Carl.
-
Chapter 2 of my new story "Loyal Opposition" has been published. I hope you enjoy it.
-
I had a moment of disorientation as I gradually surfaced from a deep sleep. What day was it? Was I late for school? Sunlight was seeping into the bedroom through the closed curtains, and I could feel Dan’s naked body stretched out beside me, radiating warmth, his arm casually draped over me. Through the fog of sleep, I realized that it was Saturday and I had two days of freedom to spend with my boyfriend. Maybe we’d start with some slow, lazy love-making. I rolled over to face him, gazing at his handsome face as he lay sleeping beside me, his dark black hair dishevelled, his whiskers shading h
-
Another heartwarming chapter, Parker. I love stories like this - ordinary men finding love in real communities. It may seem commonplace to straight people, but to gay men like me it's really sweet, and unusual.
-
Thanks, Parker. Yes, those darn cell phones seem to be going off at the most inopportune moments. This particular cell-phone scandal is based on a real event that happened a few years ago to an Ontario politician during an election. He too was forced to step aside with just weeks to go before election day.
-
Thanks - it's good to be back to writing again now that I've finished off some other projects. I'm enjoying taking these characters off in a direction that is completely fictional - I can indulge in some fantasy with them. This new story is also a way for me to incorporate my love of politics - particularly appropriate right now, I think.
-
There seems to be something about politics that brings out the worst in some people. I wonder if the rush of being a politician encourages some men (it always seems to be men) to engage in risky behaviour, or if risk-takers are just naturally attracted to politics.
-
Yes, ridings are redrawn every 10 years after the census. The principle for redrawing boundaries is that every riding has the same number of people in it. Consequently, cities have latge numbers of geographically small ridings while rural ridings like Selkirk-Ettrick River are very large but sparsely populated. This is similar to Congressional districts in the US. -
The bell rang announcing the end of the last period of the day, and my students noisily gathered their things and headed out the door. In the hallway, locker doors slammed, and 900 teenagers, glad to be finally released on the last day of the week, headed for the school buses. Over the din I heard the familiar burst of static from the school’s ancient PA system, warning that an announcement was coming. My ears perked up when I heard my name. “Mr. Nielsen to the office, please. Mr. Nielsen.” Dammit. It was Friday, and I was anxious to get out of the Milfield High School building and head home
-
Chapter 1 of my new story "Loyal Opposition" has finally been published. I hope you enjoy it.
-
Prologue: A Brief Introduction to Canadian Government & Politics
Diogenes posted new chapter in Loyal Opposition
Most of the characters in Loyal Opposition are involved in Canadian politics, either directly or peripherally. For non-Canadian readers, here’s a brief civics lesson on the Canadian political system which might help explain some unfamiliar terms used in the story. Canada is a federation comprised of ten provinces with full powers and three territories that have partial powers, each with its own elected government responsible for constitutional areas of regional interest. There is a federal government responsible for constitutional areas of national interest. As a legacy from Canada’s origin a
