Bill W

I usually think in terms of trigger objects, not trigger words, so I'm interested in seeing what people do with this.

To @Rowdy Reader and all the other new members of GA: no matter who you are or your reason for joining Gay Authors, I believe you'll be glad that you took this step. Gay Authors is more like a family, than just a place to read stories, and you'll find that you'll be welcome here. Besides reading a lot of great stories, the are many other opportunities here, like responding to comments in the Forum or even adding your own. Don't be fearful, because you won't find anyone laughing or being critical of what you have to say. Many will give positive responses to any topic that you may want to ask about, except political questions/comments can only be made in the "Pit", not in the Forums, such as "The Lounge". I, and many others, hope you become a very active member here. PS: When reading stories, don't be afraid to leave a comment or click on an emoji to let the author know what you thought about the chapter or story that you read. You'll find that the comments will be greatly appreciated and you might even get a comment or an emoji in return. Good reading and enjoy your time here.

Many idioms/expressions have their origins in a different time period, a particular occupation or activity, or a mistranslation, as the above example. The confusing part is that the idioms don't always mean or interpret into intended meanings. For example: Saying someone is "under the weather" means they aren't feeling well. If you refer to something is "a piece of cake", you're merely saying that it is easy. If someone "spills the beans", it means the person has divulged a secret. Is someone tells you to "stop beating around the bush", he wants you to quit stalling and get to the point of what you were saying. Someone saying "break a leg", is just using a theatrical term meaning they're wishing you "good luck". If someone tells you "the ball is in your court", they're merely using a basketball expression meaning "it's your decision as to what to do next". If someone says they're going to "kill two birds with one stone", they're merely saying they're going to "achieve two goals with a single action". And if anyone tells you somethings costs "an arm and a leg", they're merely indication that the goal is very expensive or costly. If a woman is referred to as a "Karen", or a male "Ken or Kevin", it merely means that they are a middle-age white person who is perceived as entitled or is excessively demanding. I hope these idioms aren't too outdated and it helps to shine a light on why these are sometimes difficult to understand.

English is not an easy language to learn and master, even for native speakers. As some of the others have suggested, if I were you I would start writing simple stories in Romanian and then use a translator to convert them into English. I'm not sure how good these translator programs are, so then you could take the translated stories to your English instructor/tutor and ask them to go over the translated version with you and point out the errors the translator made. When you have the corrected translated version, reread it several times so you can see how your original version in Romanian has been converted into English. Note not only the errors the translator might have made, but also the corrected sentence structure to see how your story in Romanian should should have been written in English. Do this several times with various ideas you have that can be turned into short stories, and by writing it in Romanian first and then seeing how you could have written it in English may help. It won't be easy, but if you are serious about writing, then it is an learning procedure that may help you reach your goal. I wish you the best of luck and commend your effort.

Nuclear energy generation heavily relies on thermodynamics, as the process of converting the heat produced by nuclear fission into usable electricity is governed by the laws of thermodynamics, particularly the second law which limits the efficiency of the energy conversion process within a nuclear power plant.

Polly want a cracker - ummm, I mean Rolly?

Are you sure you're not the crazy person?

Yes, there have been instances when children were born with extra limbs, although those limbs weren't fully developed and wouldn't be much help in carrying anything. And yes, Desi, that would leave Lucy, I mean Mac, with a lot of 'splaining' to do.

Not if she wanted to check and make sure she hadn't forgotten buying for anyone or wanted to wrap the presents before Devin could peek to see what she bought him. Sometimes what you think is easier isn't what the person involved is considering.

I guess they might be able to add extra hands, if Shiva actually lived on the earth. And possibly they could do it even if Shiva hadn't lived on earth, but I doubt the boys would have thought about doing it in front of Mac's parents. Maybe if they were at the cabin, however.

Any presents that needed boxes may have already had them and she might have purchased the wrapping paper as well, so it was already there. She could have wrapped the various presents while make sure she hadn't forgot buying for anyone in the process and to keep Devin from seeing his gifts.

Did you ever consider that Mac's mom might have used their SUV when they did the shopping, since she knew her way around to the stores better? And maybe Devin's mom wanted to check and make sure she had everything before they went home.

I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, but just because things are going well, it doesn't mean it will end soon... or does it? I guess you'll have to wait to find out.

Chapter 34 – Another Joint Thanksgiving CSU lost their next football game to Wyoming, 15-24, but then they turned around and won there next two games. They beat San Diego State by a score of 22-19, and Nevada 30-20. That took us to the Thanksgiving break, and Devin and I were eager to get to my house for the joint Thanksgiving celebration with our families. We were able to leave after we ate breakfast on Wednesday morning, since we were able to talk our professors into letting us

I remember reading a lot of books of Tall Tales and biographies of Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Helen Keller, etc. (all written for younger readers), as well as other juvenile material, but the first books outside of that was "Treasure Island" and then "Kidnapped", both by Robert Louis Stevenson. From then on I was hooked.

Quote by @wildone I remember back in Grade 4, our Language Arts teacher, that's what they called it in elementary and junior high school, not until high school did you call it English, started reading us the Hobbit. I was enthralled It was my favourite time of the day. After having it read to us I had to reread it and own a copy of my own. We lived on an air force base way in the middle of nowhere, so not really a place to find a bookstore. I think we had a library, but I was in elementary and their might have been one in the junior high, or most likely the high school. So on one trip to the big city 4 hours away, I convinced my parents to stop at a bookstore in a mall. Once going in, I looked for the Hobbit, but didn't know where to look. A lady helped me and my dad find it and Dad looked at the price and said no way. I'm sure I was much to old to have a tantrum at my age, but I do believe I did and all ended well when we walked out with me owning the Hobbit. When I was in elementary school, the teachers would often read to us after recess (playground) to get us calmed down. My sixth grade teacher read us a chapter from "The Hobbit" by Tolkien each day at the start of the year, and then a chapter from "The Martian" by Ray Bradbury each day after Christmas break. I'd always been a reader, although not those particular books, but it inspired me to expand my reading materials, and a lot of the other boys to start reading after that, since the stories had been so exciting.

Quote of @wildone Saturday AM I thought I would see if there was anything interesting on Prime. I haven't been on in a while. After the other week of me saying I haven't finished some of the streaming shows that I have watched past seasons of, I saw that Season 2 of the The Rings of Power was out and streaming. The thing is, it was so long ago that I can't remember the Season 1 happenings Don't worry, @Krista is keep a collection of retirement home pamphlets handy for when it is time for me to check in. So what could I do but rewatch Season 1? That is what happened to my Saturday. Personally, I prefer binge watching shows like that, because I'm less likely to forget or get confused when I start watching again. Yes, I know that might be partially due to my age, but I find it's much preferable.

Pebbles can range from the size of a marble to the size of a golf ball. David would have used one about the size of a golf ball when he slew Goliath.

When I was eight-years-old, I had a convulsion due to high fever. Before I was released from the hospital, and even after, I was given electroencephalographs to determine if there was any lingering problems/abnormalities. A unusual and interesting side effect of the electroencephalographs was that I couldn't feel electrical shocks for several years afterward. Since we lived in the country, it meant I could grab ahold of my neighbors electric fence and step over it, but when anyone was with me, they would get a shock and unusually jump back and start swearing. They would also want to know why I didn't warn them about being shocked, and I'd have to tell them I didn't feel a thing. Of course, most wouldn't believe me and thought I'd set them up on purpose, which sometimes I had, but not feeling it myself it wouldn't dawn on me what would happen to them, and this was all do to the electroencephalographs I'd had.

All I know is that when I was in the UK in the early 1970s, I was told pants was the term used for the undergarments and the out garments were referred to as trousers. The confusion in my use of the terms upset the young boy and he was leery of being around me from that point on. At the time, if I was referring to the undergarments I would have said underpaints or briefs. However, if I was still in the US I probably would have referred to them as tighty whities, because that's what most guys were wearing at the time.

Reading the topic title, this was not what I was expecting. I thought these prompts would be about hypothetical ideas about dissecting or eating bird brains. Man, was I way off base.

I think it's best the I not respond to this comment. It might get me in deep sh...

Mac makes sure the lies he has to make is close enough to the truth so hopefully he won't make a mistake.

It looks as if @Myr is using the "National Spelling Bee" word list for his recent "Word of the Day" entries as of late.

Don't worry, Zombie, Bill wasn't disappointed. The version provided above showed the actor's in all their glory.