Graeme

Sometimes we need to be pushed. We're not always the center of the world When you've been in the closet for a long time, stepping out can be extremely difficult and challenging. For me, personally, it took until I was 40. Scott beat me by eighteen years, even if he was encouraged

Thank you. Gramps had trouble communicating his feelings, and he was the sort of person that wouldn't tell someone what they had to do, but he managed to force Scott in the end

Yes, Ross is at the verge of something, and he's not liking any of the results he can see. As for Kevin...

If you go back over the previous two books you'll find that that's how I've been using the radio show quite often. I'm aware that there's a lot of detail that the readers won't know, but that's also true for a lot of people in Melbourne (I didn't know a lot of this detail before I started doing the research for the story), so it's logical for them to explain things during the radio show

The AFL teams are quite happy for their players to be working on their university degrees while still playing. I'm not sure of the details, but since Charlie is already doing his degree part-time, that would fit in well. The AFL, and the AFL Players' Association in particular, are very much aware that players have a limited life. It's rare for a player to still be playing by the time they reach 30. That means that they need to be prepared for life after the AFL and a university degree is one of the options that the AFL actively supports. The draft is broadcast live on TV, though in 2014 that was through a pay-TV channel so only the subscribers to that particular supplier could watch it live. It was also broadcast on the radio (I listened in on the Internet broadcast and took lots of notes ), and also updated live onto the AFL website. Anyone interested would know the results within seconds of it happening.

Yes, they make a good couple, don't they?

I did have some ideas on how to extend this story, but I never worked out how to end it. Sorry, but I don't start stories now unless I know how to finish them.

There are currently no openly bi or gay players in the AFL, or any bi or gay players who have come out after retirement. Personally, I would prefer it if they never felt pressured to do so. While they would be a great role model for a lot of young men, I believe a person should come out because they want to, not to make a statement. As for Kevin, he may have some interesting times ahead We'll all have to wait and see...

Isaac Long wiped his feet on the mat outside the front door. “Thanks again for the offer for dinner. You didn’t need to do that.” Oliver shrugged as he waited for the Hawthorn recruiter to enter the Bronson Avenue house. “We’re all here at dinner time, and what’s a better way to talk about our teammates than over a good meal and a bottle of wine?” “Usually, I’d still turn you down because of the imposition, but since I have to be out this way to visit a number of people and because you insiste

I was at the edge of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria where 173 people lost their lives. I know people who lost their homes, and of people who lost their families. One local was a volunteer fire fighter. After fighting fires on that Saturday, he later found out that the rest of his family had perished in the fires.... One of my lasting memories after we returned home was going through my wardrobe and picking out all my old suits. I was donating them for use by the survivors who had lost everything and needed them for the funerals of friends and family. Even as I type this, the memory is bringing tears to my eyes... My heart and thoughts go out to all involved. I hope and pray that there continues to be no loss of life. Houses can be rebuilt. Lives can't.

Congratulations, Cole! A well deserved promotion.

The opening few paragraphs, where Toph was speaking in third person, was an interesting formal contrast to his still stilted by increasingly less formal way of speaking. Indeed, the ending of the chapter brought that out even more, with the description of the painting of the old bank and bridal shop in contrast to the casually dressed boys and girls in front. Very nice Unless my memory is faulty, this is also the first chapter where Toph has addressed the reader directly. I wasn't sure in the earlier chapters if this was an internal monologue or maybe a diary, but twice in this chapter he's explicitly told the reader that he would save something for later. That tells me that this story is written in the form of a diary. I'll admit that those two occurrences jolted me when I read them because it was the first time Toph had done that. There's nothing wrong -- it just wasn't foreshadowed as far as I could see. I'm wondering if that's also a sign of him changing, since he was probably too schooled in formal writing styles before to do something like that.

I liked both posts, but I thought I'd point out that there's only a week between the two Having said that, good news deserves to be repeated

Scientists make good ants go bad

True, but how many people would recognize that term? I'll be honest and admit that I wouldn't have.

Large Hadron Collider shutdown by a weasel

There are often weird and/or wonderful stories about science, and I thought I'd start a thread for them. Two that have cropped up this week: Do Australian bearded dragons dream? How peacocks shake their tail feathers

I agree about Baker. That was the funniest part of the chapter. I'm still not sure if he's gay, too, or just upset because Efrain treats his boyfriend better. Baker's obviously jealous I'll admit that I was surprised at the "record scratch" comment. I didn't think someone of Cory's age would know what that was, let alone use the phrase. The other thing that surprised me was the speed of their texting. I personally find the idea of using phones to send texts when you're with friends weird, but I've seen too many teenagers and young adults do it that I wasn't surprised that there was a texting conversation going on at the same time as the vocal one. A fun, if slightly confusing at times, chapter. Thank you! It's never easy writing a conversation with lots of people, especially when there is more than one thread going at the same time. Well done!

Actually, it's today (damn timezones!). It's a public holiday both here in Australia and in New Zealand. Thank you very much for the thoughts, though. It's very much appreciated. Yes, the day is for all veterans, not just those from the first (or second) world war.

A Preston and Indie chapter. Yes! One thing I noticed quickly is that in the opening scene Indie didn't have quite the cutting wit and sarcasm as he used to have. That's a strong indication of the effect Preston has been having on him. Preston, on the other hand, hasn't changed Lots of options for a favourite line in this chapter, but I'm going with: And he sat there, within groping distance, engaging me in what had to be the most intelligent conversation I'd ever had with someone who'd previously had their dick in me, and it was all I could do to not beg him to say juxtaposition again.

Stolen medals returns in time for ANZAC Day ANZAC Day (today -- 25th April) is Australia's and New Zealand's equivalent of Veteran's Day in the USA.

Beautiful

On a related note, I remember a book on writing I read a long time ago that commented that we have five senses, but too many authors only write about two of them (sight and sound). The richest descriptions involve as many of the five senses as possible.

I don't think Jim will mind if someone else becomes the "first gay AFL player". He's never liked being labeled as "the gay footballer". Ross is the same in that respect, though with a deeper revulsion to the idea of being labeled since Jim's had half a year to get used to be out to the general public. I think all the Leopards accept that Neil's father has turned around. Neil's problem is with his mother. She's not rejecting him, though, and tries to show that she loves him. She can't accept that he's gay and has a boyfriend. Everything else is fine. Yes, that's not perfect and she should accept him totally, but she's human. We're not perfect.

Ross's fears are nuanced. He's not afraid of being gay, he's afraid of what being gay will mean to his future. To be precise, whether it will impact on his chances to become an AFL player. He doesn't know how homophobic the clubs are (the official word is that they're not, but he doesn't know how much that is lip service and how much is reality), but he doesn't know that there would be a media frenzy if he came out. The two combined is what's keeping him in the closet. If he wasn't aiming to be an AFL player, he probably wouldn't be having a problem, especially as his best friend has shown that he's gay-friendly. Neil and his mother may never fully reconcile. Unfortunately, that's a fact of life. They love each other, but Neil being gay may always be a wall between them. If that turns out to be the case, the best they can hope for is that the wall isn't too high. That's not what we want, but sometimes that's what happens.