Graeme

I know of no empirical evidence for reincarnation. It's possible, but I personally doubt reincarnation exists. I certainly can't prove it one way or another, as it requires the assumption that there is something non-physical that is part of a person, that existed before that person was conceived, and exists after that person has died. I don't know if that assumption is valid.

I'm jumping in late, but I thought I should give my views on one of the topics of discussion: Yes, being deaf is a disability. However, what is being left off is the fact that disabilities range from minor and trivial, through to major. In many situations, being deaf is not a disability because it has no impact. As an example, being deaf is insignificant when working online as there is still very little content that requires the ability to hear. As such, being deaf can be a minor disability. A deaf person can have a restricted ability to communicate in some situations -- the example above about the couple at the theatre is a good one. But in many cases, that's no different to someone who lives in a country where they don't speak the language, with the added complication of never being able to speak that language. On the other hand, sometimes a deaf person has an enhanced ability to communication, such as the example of being able to communicate in a noisy environment. What is really important is how a person copes with a disability. As has been mentioned above, there are people without limbs who, while technically disabled, are able to do everything they want to do because they have that mindset -- are they really disabled? I even recall hearing of someone who was blind who learnt to drive... :wacko: My first job was located near the Victorian College for the Deaf. I was always impressed by the kids on the tram communicating happily. As far as I could tell, they were normal teenagers who simply used a different language. In the interest of disclosure, I have a minor disability -- I'm short sighted and astigmatic and have needed corrective lenses since I was ten. I don't consider that minor disability to be significant, or something that defines me in any way. I certainly don't belong to a 'short sighted' culture

With the 2008 Summer Anthology, the anthology team trialled the use of short blurbs on the index page. We would really like to know if they were effective. Please let us know via either voting or with comments if you think they are a waste of time or something that we should keep doing.

Oh, okay. Since you asked so nicely. I'll email some to you now.... :mace:

I warned you....

Hi! I'm not sure if we've ever met, but welcome back Nick's still around, and still writing great stories. I'm hoping he'll respond in person to this thread, because he usually checks in every day or so. That birthday party sounds great, but it's a little far for me to come I hope you'll excuse me

That's what I was thinking of when I did that line

If someone would like to suggest alternatives for "Eight bikes a-crashing", I'm happy to listen Some of the other ones are pretty weak, too, and could do with replacement.

I don't see why someone has to be ignorant to knowingly sleep with someone they know is HIV+. It's a calculated risk, and that's their decision. Equally, if they terminate that relationship and ensure they are tested before they sleep with someone else, I can't see the problem, especially if they are up front. In the period of time where they may not know their HIV status, they need to tell any prospective partner, but after tests have shown that they have been negative for a year (say), then I don't see what the issue is. I certainly don't consider them to be ignorant. Okay, we're clearly talking about two different things, then, because the statement you've made is not one that fits the thread I was thinking of. Indeed, I don't think the issue of people with HIV sleeping around has really cropped up in the thread I originally thought you meant.

And thank you to C James, who has been the anthology coordinator for some time now. He's done a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make sure they all come together, and this one was no exception. Thanks also to all the editors and others who have helped the authors. I've noticed a number of names that kept cropping up when I read the stories, so I want to thank you, too, for your work. Without your help, the anthology wouldn't be what it is

C James has given us a short history lesson with a dash of humour. And, of course, I noticed that he had to include a character with the name of Erik (the Norse spelling of Eric). I'm beginning to think he's got a fixation with that name. The fictional speculation at the end was poignant, but very Norse in nature. He wasn't going to let himself die quietly in the lodge -- he was going to go out showing his defiance at the world that had changed on them, condemning them to death. There are a lot of mysteries in history, but I always find them fascinating when someone points them out to me. Thanks, CJ!

To be fair, the topic being discussed here is different to the one in that other forum (assuming it is the one I'm thinking of, of course -- I could be wrong ). There's no doubt that it is safer not to have sex with someone who's HIV+ -- which is partially what this thread is discussing. The question here, though, is would you do it, even though it's not as safe? There are certainly people who have decided that, yes, they would, if they took appropriate precautions to minimise the risk. I don't think anyone really thinks that the risk would be eliminated, but if they are happy with the level of risk that they are taking, then that is not being irresponsible. As an analogy, the safest way to avoid being killed in a war is to not go to a war in the first place. However, there are many people in the world who do go to war for what they consider to be good reasons. That doesn't make them irresponsible. They have judged the risks and decided to proceed anyway because they feel that the benefits outweigh the risks. The same applied in the topic being discussed here -- if someone feels that the benefits outweigh the risks of contracting HIV, then that is their decision and their right.

As many of you are aware, we've been getting ready to post the 2008 Summer Anthology. This is arduous work and entails many heated discussions. :wacko: One of those discussions led into the subject of the themes for next year's anthologies. C James said we shouldn't ask him to pick the anthology themes for next year, because he'd pick things like The 12 Goats of Christmas. Steph and I immediately started working on an entry, just in case that does end up as an anthology theme. We'd like your opinion on it. I started with: On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Goat roasted with plain gravy. On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Barbecue Goat with baked potatoes. On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Goat filet mignon. Steph suggested an alternative, starting with: On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a Goat nibbling on the fake tree. After a bit of effort (naturally, this took priority over doing anything for the anthology), we came up with: On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Twelve cliffs a-hanging Eleven evil endings Ten villains laughing Nine plots a-twisting Eight bikes a-crashing Seven Goats a-roasting Six shadows lurking Five Mushroom Clouds! Four mines collapsing Three red herrings Two lovers dying And a Goat nibbling on the fake tree. We think it could do with some more improvement, though. Any suggestions?

Further on that, there was report in The Age newspaper today: Oral Sex Blamed for Throat Cancer Rise

I started out as a reader. I had found a number of stories that had 'touched' me, but I didn't have any inclination to write until I read some narrative in one story, where the lead character was reflecting on how he lost a couple of friends when he came out, but for opposite reasons. One rejected him because he's gay. The other rejected him because he hadn't trusted him enough to tell him earlier. That got me thinking on the impact of someone's coming out on those around him. I realised there wasn't any stories (at that time) that covered that subject, so I thought I'd try to write one. Before I started, though, I visualised one scene and tried to write it down. If the written words didn't have the impact that I wanted them to have, if I couldn't give that scene the emotion I wanted, then I was going to stop. As it turns out, I was happy with what I wrote, so I went back to the beginning of the story and started to write. I had a couple of people offer to edit and review the first couple of chapters, and that was that.... I hadn't wanted to write something that had been done before. I didn't want to do 'just another story', so until I had what I considered to be a unique slant on a topic, I wasn't interested in writing. Even after I started, I tried to make my stories as unique as I could. Now, I'm not as fussy. I'll use story ideas that are fairly well known and just put my own spin and style on them, but when I started I was scared to be considered to be a copy-cat. If an idea was 'original' I wasn't going to write it.

Oh to be young and single again... You look great!

Welcome, Jimmy! It's always good to meet another person who recognises the truth when they see it. Can I point out that as an admin, CJ has the ability to post his own chapters? He can't blame Joe for any delays....

Children are a responsibility and an obligation. One thing that can be said about same-sex couples -- if they have children it is almost always because they've thought long and hard about it (the main exception is when one partner had children prior to the start of the relationship). I couldn't live without my two boys -- and that's not quite an exaggeration. If something happened to them, I wouldn't be surprised if I became suicidal. They mean that much to me. They can be aggravating, annoying and awfully antagonistic at times, but I still love them and want them to have happy lives. So, I understand those who wish to have children of their own. As for how to get them, a lot depends on the importance that's placed on a genetic link to the child. Gary is correct in that it is not as important as people may think. Once you become responsible for a child, that is what's important. Not whose sperm or whose eggs was involved in the initial act. One of my sisters has two children. Only one is the biological child of her husband. The other was born through IVF using donor sperm (the second was born after advances in IVF technology made it possible to use her husband's sperm). You can't tell that by looking at the family, though -- he loves the elder child just as much as the younger. Since I went the 'natural' route for my two boys, and I'm not looking to have any others, I'm not really in a position to say how I would go about it if I was in a same-sex relationship. I suspect I would start by fostering (legal for same sex couples here in Victoria), and then try adopting (currently not possible for same-sex couples here, but the law is hopefully going to be changed soon). The other options are much more complicated, both emotionally and legally. As an example, I don't think I could force a mother to give her child to me to raise, even if that was the agreement ahead of time. eg. If she changed her mind and decided to keep the child after she had become pregnant with my sperm. A child should never be a prize in a tug-of-war between adults. I would prefer to 'lose' than to subject a child to that.

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

:king: :king: :king: Happy Birthday, Vic! :king: :king: :king:

Anyone who believes that those four paragraphs will make any difference to how they feel about the ending of this chapter should go back through ALL the old chapter discussion threads. I can't remember which one it was, but CJ made this offer once before, and it turned out to not help. In that case, the opening paragraphs of the next chapter were to do with The Scar and his plotting, and nothing to do with the situation that had everyone concerned. I think it was in the discussion thread for chapter 19, but I'm not sure.

Happy Birthday! Thank you for being here.

Do you really want a forty-five year old Australian as an alter-ego? What I said is something I've heard other authors say, so I don't think it is particularly unique. Relax, Kit, your mind is safe. Though, having said that...

I think that definition is over-analysing things. Reading has, for me, always been about escapism. I read to escape. In my teenage years, it was to escape my life, which was largely boring and not particularly interesting (being an introverted gay teen in a society where there were no out gay teens didn't help my social life). That followed through to the rest of my life, where I read because I want to leave the life I'm in and visit a fantasy world. Needless to say, most of personal print library is science fiction and fantasy. It was online stories like Don Hanratty's "Working it Out", Brew Maxwell's "The Foley-Mashburn Saga" and Dewey's "Brian and Pete" where escapism met reality, and they helped me understand and finally accept myself. But even today I read because I want to be entertained, and taken to another world. I don't look for things in a story, per se, but if a story doesn't take me to another world, I'll stop reading. I'm not interested in life; I'm interested in another life. I don't want to be reminded about my place in the world; I want to know about other place, other situations, other (better?) people. It's why I've enjoyed Dom's "Desert Dropping", Dan's "Dreams of Humanity" and "The Rider's Pride", and CJ's "For The Love" and "Let The Music Play". They are all stories that take the reader out of the world they live in and put them in another place. That's what I look for and that's what I found in those stories. I'll be honest and say that there are a lot of other stories here at GA that I haven't read (eg. That story of Dom's is the only story of Dom's I've read. I haven't read the rest because I know I'm going need to find the time to read them all in one or two sittings, because I won't be able to stop). As an author, reading is important, but reading great stories is a two-edged swords. I like to write. If I'm reading, I'm not writing. That's the main reason there are so many stories here at GA that I haven't read. I know that if I get started, I'm not going to stop. Even though most of my print library is SF&F, I don't write that stuff. I tend to write relationship and contemporary stories, which, strangely, are not stories I would normally want to read. But I like to entertain. I like to think I'm putting out stuff that does to others what I look for in what I read -- to be taken to another world, where the lives of the characters touch a chord and make the reader want to be, or even fantasize that they are, in that world. I'm not an author who needs feedback on what I write to be happy. I just need enough to know that I'm meeting my goal of touching people, and making them think. And since I get that much, I'm happy