BigBen

I fervently join you in that hope.

I don't believe it is appropriate for random readers on a site like this to try to offer criticism, however kindly intended. In order to be constructive, criticism has to be offered in the context of an established relationship of trust and friendship. There is too much room for misinterpretation in comments on a site such as this one. Better to be positive, or else say nothing at all—and sometimes even a comment the poster considers positive can sound hurtful to the author. Given all that, it would seem that the only practical course to take, whether a work is not to one's taste or not up to one's standards, is simply to move on to some other story.

Especially given the rumors circulating about him.

It's a sweet, poignant story, and one I like to come back to, from time to time.

Something about this story caught my eye, so I broke my rule about avoiding unfinished stories. And sure enough, by the time I managed to read through to the latest available chapter, it had been marked as on hold. And the beginning is so promising, too. I really like Ronnie and Taran. I keep coming back, hoping against hope for a new chapter. Oh, well. . . .

I don't normally read works in progress, as too many of them end up on long-term hold, but these stories are so cute I can't resist. Mrs. Travers seems to be the fly in the ointment here, but Mr. Travers is clearly on to her and I have every confidence he will stand up for his boy. It is a blessing to have at least one parent in one's corner. And "Would I Lie to You?" is a great show. I'm a big fan of David Mitchell's.

A great little story about a closeted university student on a winter holiday in the Lake District. He becomes involved with a rescue team sent up Helvellyn to assist a couple of climbers in trouble. In the course of events, the main character becomes thoroughly acquainted with the team leader. The complication is that the student is still in the closet, whereas the rescue team leader is "the openly gay villager." The story is good-humoured, and the drama is low-key. The two main characters handle their developing relationship calmly and pragmatically, with the kind of matter-of-factness that is the British outlook at its best. There's no great conflict here, merely a charmingly-drawn slice of life. Any reader who finds the story at all congenial is likely to be drawn back periodically to read it again. It's a great little story.

Just re-read this on AwesomeDude. I didn't know it was posted here, as well. It's a great story. Makes me want to visit the Lake District!

We've been fortunate. My niece and nephew both contracted the virus, but we have been able to keep my ninety-year-old father safe, so far. He has repeatedly tested negative, as have my sister and I. A dear friend of mine, who is a nurse-practitioner, came down with the virus a few weeks after her second shot, and she credits the vaccine with her survival (she is in her seventies, still working, and still going strong). I am hoping that, should Dad become infected, he will be equally fortunate and also have a mild case.

Casper van Dien was gorgeous, but he was no Juan Rico, that's for sure.

Kate Griffin is the open pseudonym used by Catherine Webb for her urban magic novels. She states that her publisher (or was it her agent?) advised using a pseudonym in order to spare her young adult readers the confusion of running across a novel written in a wildly different genre. Amanda Cross was the pseudonym adopted by the late Professor Carolyn Heilbrun of Barnard College for her mystery novels. Her detective was Kate Fanshaw, a professor at an unnamed women's college in New York City. At the time I was introduced to the series, Heilbrun's true identity was as yet unknown, and many believed it was because she was not entirely kind to the colleagues she skewered. It could also have been simply because academics who write popular works are shunned by their colleagues, especially if the books sell. Eventually, the novels became popular enough for Heilbrun to drop the pseudonym, and the later books were billed as "by Carolyn Heilbrun, writing as Amanda Cross."

Stellar's profile won't load on my desktop, either. I am using Vivaldi on Windows 10. Is the Vivaldi engine Chrome-based? If so, that would tend to confirm others' Chrome-related problems. On the other hand, my profile loads almost instantaneously. What is the difference between our profiles?

Yeah, Truman started the process of racially integrating the U.S. Army, but it took decades longer for being gay to stop being a reason for a dishonorable discharge. I know gay guys who served before Don't Ask, Don't Tell was implemented, and they had to be extremely careful, especially during the periodic witch hunts. Depending on what they were caught doing, they could well have ended up in Leavenworth, as well as discharged. I was very fortunate that the Viet Nam draft ended just before my number got called up.

Halfway Home, by Paul Monette

I enjoyed the slog across Marduk and the machinations to get rid of the bad guy, but there was something a bit unsatisfying about how it all got tied up at the end. Of course, they left enough loose ends to have quite a few more volumes, so perhaps that was on purpose?

Our joke used to be, "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

I've run into that "coke" thing. In New England, we do the same thing, except everything's "tonic." If you want what most of the country calls "tonic water," you have to ask for "quinine." Television and the movies are homogenizing the language, but I savor the regional differences that remain.

Wow! You came back with a vengeance! It might not have worked, having T.J. show up at the hospital, but you certainly managed it. I'm glad you kept the vinegar between him and John, instead of making them all sweet and sappy with each other. I was actually looking for a different story on Nifty, when I saw the new chapter of this story, so I re-read it from the beginning, and I just have to say how enjoyable it is. T.J. is a hoot! So now, look, I read Gaiman's blog post, "George R. R. Martin Is Not Your Bitch," and I take his point, but nevertheless, you need to keep writing and write fast, you hear? I'm gonna need another T.J. fix, and soon! 😁 Seriously, I'm sorry to hear about all that's been going on for you, and I truly hope you can have an easier time for a while. Thank you for this chapter, and God bless.

I only ever wear natural fibers, and in summer it's loose cotton or linen clothing that lets the air circulate. I have no qualms about going commando, since wet underpants in the butt crack are not a thrill (to me, anyway; how you get your jollies is your business, lol!). Since cutting out virtually all the carbohydrate from my diet, I stopped burning so easily, so I sometimes go shirtless, though the site of my naked torso is not a thrill (to other people, anyway; fortunately, I don't have to look at myself, lol!). I tend to prefer hot coffee even on hot days, but once I reach my caffeine limit, I switch to carbonated water for the rest of the day and drink to thirst.

You reminded me of a Web site called "Hairway to Steven," which was dedicated to the lovely Steve Kelso, a beautifully hirsute model for explicit gay photos. The site is gone, but there is still an abundance of photos of Mr. Kelso floating around, and looking at them might provide some visual solace for your auditory distress.

In hockey there is the regular hat trick of three goals in a game, but there is also the Gordie Howe hat trick, in which a player gets a goal, gets an assist, and gets into a fight, all in the same game.

Is Mrsgnomie related to CJames, by any chance?

I'm not sure I do, but "nekkid" does sound like more fun, lol! (As opposed to "nude," which is just naked with an art history degree.)

That was a funny scene! They should have seen it coming, you should excuse the puns. You inspired me to look up the phrase in flagrante delicto, and the result was interesting. I thought for years that delictum meant "passion," whereas it actually means "crime." So instead of meaning "in flaming passion," as I'd always assumed, the phrase actually means "in the heat of the crime." The things one learns! The phrase still fits, but strictly speaking, the real crime would have been if Matt and Seamus hadn't been trying to get it on, lol! Let's hope Aidan doesn't learn to pick locks any time soon!😁

It's great to see Matt and Aidan moving in with Seamus. All that paperwork reminded me of what it was like trying to be a couple, back in the days before marriage equality. Health-care proxies, powers of attorney, making sure both names were on the deeds, beneficiaries were correct—and still someone could throw a monkey wrench into the works. You go through a lot of the same legalities taking care of a parent's affairs, but people don't give you the same static, because that is normal, while trying to make a life with someone you love is deviant. . . . Good chapter. It's great to see the guys moving on as a family. It's bittersweet that the story is drawing to a close, but I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with these characters. We just need to get the boys married, Mike put in jail, and Jay and Loe together, and we're done!