Graeme

I think he'll say Eric because 1. he doesn't want to indicate he fancies Chase, and 2. it was Eric that took those short into him. You'll notice that Brandon smiled after he put them on. He realised that they were very revealing, and is thinking that Eric did that deliberately. I had to look up that word, and I was absolutely shocked! Their father did that for them! I think that's well and truly beyond the call of duty on his behalf. Those sons of his should be very proud of their dad for what he did. I don't think I would've done the same....

Since you're CJ's editor, and since the last chapter is due to go up next week, I'm assuming that you've seen the last chapter already.... So, would you care to clarify if this was your vote for what you believe has happened, or for what you wished had happened (since I'm guessing you already know the answer as to what CJ has written)?

Happy Birthday, Julian! B) Have a great day. B)

G'day, Pietro! Welcome back, if that's appropriate

Thanks, Benji! I had forgotten that the FBI is involved. It is possible, even likely, that the mystery person who released Chris is an FBI agent. That makes a lot more sense than it being Eric. I noticed the "pick the lock" comment -- while Eric has shown an admirable range of skills, for him to be an expert lockpicker would just be too much....

I believe the weather at that time of the year is known as "snuggling" weather -- you need to snuggle to keep warm. You'll probably have to find your own snuggling partner, though....

Don't forget to allow money for accommodation and meals. You can be surprised how quickly they can add up, even when you're doing things on the cheap Good luck for everyone who ends up going!

Unless C James is an absolute bastard (always a possibility -- he likes Eric, after all), then the ending of that chapter is just misdirection. He's done something similar before, I'm sure, though I can't remember exactly when. Steve slumping lifeless is really Steve unconscious. The impression I had was that he wasn't conscious in the first place, or barely so. The gunshot is the shot that either killed the Sheriff or injured him enough for him to let go of Steve. Who is the mystery shooter? I don't know, though there are certainly a few possibilities. I don't think it's Eric -- I would be surprised if he was that good a shot, to start with. Now, if whoever released Chris also released at least one other person, then that opens up a lot of possibilities. The situation with Jacob surprised me. I didn't think police officers would normally be that easily corrupted. However, there was a hint in the previous chapter -- how could the sheriff (in his phone call) be so sure that there was only one deputy available? He obviously had inside information as to the health of the other deputies (he may have known that they were sick, but he couldn't be sure they were still off work unless he had a source). Time to go back to sleep until next week....

I think this is a great idea, even if I can't make it.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I've seen ugly gays with no taste in clothes. I've also met a gay guy who was definitely below average in intelligence (I believe he qualified for a disabled-person pension here in Australia, he was sufficiently mental impaired). This has been discussed before and it was mentioned that there is a natural selection process in which gays come to GA that means that the members here tend to be more intelligent than the average. That doesn't mean I don't like your idea -- I just don't think it's true....

Welcome to the club I know that sound facetious, but I've been through the same thing. I've heard my name mentioned at the same time as other authors that I think stand head-and-shoulders above me, and it's taken over a year for me to accept that, maybe, I'm as good as them. It is extremely difficult for an author to judge their own work. I think this is because readers only see the end product, while the author sees all the options that were considered, maybe even tried, and then discarded. When an author has a style that is quite distinct, like yours, it becomes even more difficult. The same goes for subject matter. Different subjects have different target audiences. You can't really compare a horror writer with a romance writer -- the reader are generally too different and are looking for different things from the author. Nothing you write will every appeal to everyone -- that's just a fact and just because some people don't like a story, that means nothing more than those people didn't like it. My comment on your last blog entry still applies. Everyone needs a balance in what they are doing. If that balance means you take more time away from the internet, then that's the balance you need. Don't worry about it and just enjoy yourself. Graeme

I still think Saturn is even better. Transport's the only real issue....

Actually, the rumour is that C James is just a front for Shadowgod. An unwitting lackey, if you like. I don't think anyone has seriously suggested that they are the same person. After all, one's human (or possibly divinity), and the other is, well, a goat!

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day.

I believe this, too. I don't think many people really appreciate the difference the internet has made, especially to the GLBT community. Prior to the internet, those of us who were in the closet were isolated. Now, even a closeted person can have contact with other GLBT people and gain confidence in themselves, all without significantly endangering themselves.

1000 posts! :king: :king: :king: :king: :king: That means the goat sub-group has *starts counting furiously* a big percentage of the posts here at GA! Congratulations!

Where you have the advantage over me is that you are now aware of the situation and the risk. I wasn't. I'm sure you'll find someone, someday. I didn't have any real sort of relationship until I was well into my 20s. I didn't get married until I was 27. I can appreciate that the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to tell someone you've known for years that you're gay, but I'm confident you'll find the strength to do so -- even if you have to borrow part of that strength from your boyfriend (see, I'm an optimist ). Hey, my best on-line friend was still in the closet at the age of 36, but he's now in a very happy relationship that's been going for almost 18 months, and they are looking for a house to buy together. Good luck!

Take as much time as you need, Nick Everyone needs to balance their lives, and it sounds like you need some quality downtime. Enjoy!

I suspected your definition was wildly different from mine, and I was right. You are, at least partially, using behaviour for your definition. By your definition, I'm straight because my only observable gender of interest is female (my wife), but if something happened to my wife, I would "turn" gay, as I have made the decision that I would never do to another woman what I did to my wife when I came out to her. However, the observed behaviour doesn't correspond to a change of my sexuality. It is a change in the way I allow myself to express my sexuality, which is a subtle but important difference. Equally, most of the things you've indicated have nothing to do with sexual orientation, though I'll concede they are all to do with sexual preference. Most people use sexual preference as a synonym for sexual orientation, but it appears obvious from your post that you do not. I will agree that sexual preference (the things that one likes to do sexually; the things or people that one likes to have sex with) is very much driven by your environment and conscious & unconscious decisions that have been made. Bad and good sexual experiences with something can turn a person off or on to that particular activity. Okay, based on your definition of the proof required, and what you are looking for, I can be quite confident in saying you'll never see the proof you are asking for, one way or the other, in your lifetime (and I hope you reach the ripe old age of 200). Sexual orientation AND sexual preference are functions of the brain, and the brain is the most complex organ in the human body. We haven't even mastered understanding memory, which is an order of degree less complex than trying to understand motivation. Trying to determine the exact trigger(s) (be those genetic or environmental or a combination of the two) that control higher brain functions is way beyond us at this point in time.

You're onto something here. I might be able to convince my wife to go if it's held off planet. I'll just enlist my youngest son to work on her. He wants to go to Saturn, so if you pick one of Saturn's moon, I think I might be able to make it....

Some great photos there! It looks like the usual mix of solidarity floats, political floats and raunchy floats. I hope you had a good time.

Sorry, but Jamie's right. Tickets to Europe aren't too bad because there is a lot of traffic between Europe and North America. Unfortunately, that's not true for Australia. USA to Australia return tickets are well over USD$1000 and can sometimes approach USD$2000. Being serious for a moment, the number of members that would be able to attend any convention is probably quite low. Besides the financial cost being prohibitive for some members (especially the younger ones), some won't be able to go for social/personal reasons. I fall into that last category. One of the promises I made to my wife when we were working to keep our marriage together was that I would avoid "gay" groups. I can interact over the internet, but going somewhere to meet other gay guys (or girls) is out of the question. Sorry.

When I came out to my wife, the counsellor recommended a set of books that we read. One of them was by a journalist, Sue Joseph, in Sydney who put an ad in some gay newspapers, asking to interview men in heterosexual relationships. She's my wife, He's just sex (the book is down near the bottom of the list). It is also available in the USA through Amazon, but it's a lot more expensive because they import it from Australia. I couldn't finish it -- the book scared me too much because I could read a lot of myself in the stories and feelings expressed in the book. It covered not only the men, but their wives, healthcare workers and people who ran support groups. Similarly, I could only skim the article above because I could understand what they said and did, and I really didn't want to read it. It is my fervent wish that situations like this are a dying phenomenon. As homosexuality becomes more accepted by society, the need to live double-lives like this will hopefully fade away. Ieshwar -- I understand what you are saying. There will be a lot of cultural pressure on you to marry a woman. All I can say is to try to do everything you can to avoid it. It can cause a huge amount of pain. I sincerely wish no one has to experience the pain my wife went through when she found out I'm gay.

From London? Try 23 hours. I've done that trip too many times.... Deal! My favourite beer (lager) is Cascade, from Tasmania, but you can also get a handful of UK beers here if you're really homesick.

While I'll concede the UK is more central than Australia, I still want to put forward that Sydney is a wonderful, gay friendly city that has lots to offer for lots of visitors....