Graeme

Think of it this way. Would it be "big news in the UK" if a former British PM came out as gay? Australia treats in major sporting heroes as huge celebrities. Anything to do with them is news here, and the bigger the sporting success, the bigger the news. Ian Thorpe is our most successful Olympian -- he's a major celebrity here.

The rumours have been following him around for years. Pretty much all through his swimming career, in fact. I was surprised that Sir Michael Parkinson asked the question, but in hindsight I'm guessing he was told he could ask it. Ian Thorpe's response shows that it was a question he was happy to answer. Indeed, it appeared he wanted to answer it. I think he made the decision to come out in that interview, and Sir Michael was informed accordingly. Despite that, the majority of the interview was on Ian Thorpe's battles with depression and mental illness in general. As for why this is big news in Australia, Ian Thorpe is one of our greatest male athletes, ever. He's our most successful Olympian and our most successful swimmer. Swimming is a major sport in Australia, at least at the times of the Olympics and Commonwealth games, and it's a sport where we regularly do well on the world stage. There are other athletes that are arguably greater (Sir Donald Bradman being the main one to spring to mind), but in his field, he's easily the best Australia has seen. Worldwide, Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps would be the only two swimmers I'd rate above him, and it's arguable in the case of Mark Spitz as to which one was the greater swimmer, Ian or Mark.

I heard a small extract of the interview on the radio this morning. Apparently he wants a long term boyfriend and to start a family I'm sure there will be a few people interested in the position...

Thank you!

Thank you! Ultimately, it's a simple love story, but I'm a romantic at heart.

After years of denying it, apparently he's admitted being gay in an interview that's screening at the moment on Australian TV. Ian Thorpe reportedly set to reveal homosexuality in tell-all interview with Sir Michael Parkinson This guy's been harassed for years on the subject. If he's actually gay, I feel sorry for the way he's been hounded. If he's not, I feel sorry for the constant questioning that's going to continue. Do I care if he's gay? Not really. I think it would be great as a major sporting role model, but I don't want him to come out because of that. I'm still waiting for the day when it doesn't matter. A collection of media reports on the subject...all from before the interview with Ian Thorpe actually airs Who cares is Ian Thorpe is gay? 15-year-old closeted me, that's who Ian Thorpe's courage will inspire others, says Matthew Mitcham (Matt Mitcham was openly gay when he won a gold medal in diving at the Beijing Olympics) Despite Ian Thorpe's announcement, 'poofter' remark from commentator shows how far we have to go Ian Thorpe reveals he's gay Ian Thorpe acknowledges he's gay, let's hope he's happy as well (this is the one I most agree with) Some of those articles refer to another incident that happened this weekend: AFL commentator Brian Taylor slammed for homophobic slur on Geelong's Harry Taylor The juxtaposition of the two events is going to make Brian Taylor's mistake very long lasting....

I still hear 'brilliant' at times, but it's largely been replaced with later terms. In defence of my hypothesis (furiously rationalising after the event), the main replacements have come through sporting channels, so the impact of professional sports commentators is outweighing the generational bias. That's my argument and I'm sticking with it (until someone points out the flaws) Don't worry. It took me years to learn to say 'ethnicity' -- a word I needed for my job (it's used in healthcare, though happily in Australia it's now largely replaced with Indigenous Status) Actually, I believe most schools will accept either spelling (American or British), so students get the best of both worlds here in Australia. It's only when you go into business that you need to pick one and stick with it. Nothing annoys some customers more than finding a document that's half American spelling and half British.

I guessed correctly Despite being very liberal in some respects (as Wicked Witch mentions), Tasmania is very conservative in others. It's an odd mix. Hobart is very sedate -- not a vibrant city that's open all hours. Indeed, it largely shuts down at night (apart from the casino and a few other isolated places). Of course, I've largely been there during the week (for work) and flying home to Melbourne for the weekend, but I don't believe the weekends are much different. It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight -- there's not a lot happening....

Thank you, Maarten! I like character driven stories, where the plot evolves from the actions of the characters. That's very much what this story is about. The characters are all there, so let's see what happens. The only outside events I'm planning are those that occur in real life.

Ty's reaction will be interesting As for Neil, what celebrity (and Jim now qualifies) doesn't have a stalker? But who's really at fault, there? Is it Neil, or is it the situation that Neil's found himself in?

I dislike the term 'typical' because there's rarely such a thing, but I'll agree that Neil's behaviour isn't unusual. I don't think it's the norm, but he wouldn't be the first person in a poor situation who thinks that someone will be able to save him.

Yes, Ty's eighteen. Can his father force him home? Not legally, but that doesn't mean he can't put pressure on him.

It was Saturday lunchtime, and the Lilydale Leopards’ game against Collingwood was due to start in a couple of hours. Neil Rosewood checked his appearance one last time. Sporty casual was what he was aiming for – smart enough to look good, but casual enough so that his parents wouldn’t think he was overdressed for what they believed was an afternoon with some friends. Neil snorted as he put on a thin jacket to help hide the clothes he was wearing as well as for protection in case the light rain

I think there are two major drivers of shifts in English: the young and business. Each likes to twist words to mean what they want them to mean, and in some cases those changes make it into the general population. Out of the two, I think the younger generation has more impact because the way they use words remains as they get older. Sometimes, though, business usage spills into sporting usage (with the advent of increased business practises in major sports) and from there it gets into the general population. Hmm...it sounds like I'm describing the spread of a disease....

It depends on the direction you're facing. If you're going forward, it's a leap. If you're going sideways, it's a shift

Xtro, based on the information supplied, I can guess which city Wicked Witch lives near. If it's the one I'm think of, I've worked there and it's a pretty conservative area. It's one of the last states to decriminalise homosexuality, but it's also one of the first to introduce a same-sex relationship registry. That state is still evolving and it's certainly got liberal parts, but it doesn't have a strong gay community (I looked when I was working there a few years ago). That doesn't mean there aren't other gays. I know of someone who lived in that area who used to be active here at GA a few years ago, though I haven't seen him online recently. But getting in touch with other gay guys, especially gay guys of a similar age, is tricky.

There's a very interesting essay by Drake Hunter over at The Mail Crew website. I think it's relevant to this discussion. It's about words.... That essay examines in passing the biological basis for language and how we interpret words. It can be heavy going in parts, but I found it fascinating. One thing I complete agree with is that words are labels. Just like labelling people is often inaccurate, words are not always accurate, either. People can hear the same word, but understand it in different ways.

An interesting topic. I've found that most (not all) of the time, when there is a large argument about something, it usually comes down to the two sides having different definitions for the same word. The simplest example is one we'll all be familiar with: homosexual. What's the definition is it: Someone who has sexual relationships with a person of the same sex, or Someone who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex Yes, yes, I'm ignoring bisexuality for this example, which just goes to show how complicated things can get real fast Anyway, the two definitions can be resolved down to "actions" vs "attraction". Some people define homosexuality by actions (first definition) and hence it's a choice. Most people (and the generally accepted definition in scientific/medical circles) define homosexuality by attraction (second definition) and hence it's not a choice. Two definitions being used creating two different perspectives and consequently massive arguments. Putting my moderator hat on for the moment: This topic can easily fall into a political argument, especially about the meanings of words commonly used in political circles. Posts deemed to be of a political nature may be removed without notice. Keep the discussion civil and don't snipe at people with opposing views to your own.

Writer's block is one of the biggest obstacles we face. The problem is that there's a lot of possible causes, and the solution is different for each of them. The simplest is the one mentioned in the article -- writing yourself into a corner. I did that with my last novel...and I eventually realised I just had to change one thing in what I'd written to pull myself out of that corner. It wasn't a big thing, but it changed things from being blocked to being able to finish the story. The other one I had for a long time was simply not being inspired. I waited, and eventually the inspiration came back. It took me three years, but it came back Hopefully, when that happens, it's a lot shorter for everyone else

Marriage still strong, 80 years on When I saw this on the TV last night, I couldn't help think of a young married gay couple I know of in California, and hoping that they make it to 80 years, too

I agree with Suvitar Studies come first, but I did miss the twins and their friends. The conversation at the end was interesting. It's still not clear if Ethan was teasing, or flirting. I think Josh came over as flirting, which should hopefully encourage Ethan to resolve once and for all whether he's interested. That night, when it's just Josh and Ethan, should be interesting....

I can't offer advice directly because my concerns when I started to write were different to yours. I didn't mind other people reading it -- I was more concerned about whether anyone would like it, and whether the story would stand out. However, the first step is, I think, to recognise that you might fail and decide that a failure (if it happens) isn't the end of the world. The Internet has the advantage that you can post things anonymously, which helps relieve some of the pressure that can come from a potential failure. Once you accept that failing isn't the end of the world, you can give it a go. A surprising number of times, failure doesn't result Best of luck! Graeme

This was the lead article in the news on the radio this morning here in Melbourne It's a pretty big deal for the youngster. Even better, he showed a decent level of humility in the post-match interview.

C James has contributed a lot of anthology entries over the years. Were you asking about just the two above, or all his anthologies? One of my favourites is No Shirt? No Problem! which is, I think, the first anthology entry he wrote. The Muse is one of his most original, and Three for Jake was later expanded into the Premium novel Jake. And that is by no means all of his other anthology entries

I'm running a little late, but... :joe: Happy Birthday! :joe: