Crackerwriter

I'd like to make something absolutely crystal clear to readers, so that they are left in no doubt. I firmly believe that you will lose more authors, and will continue to do so, unless you start writing back to them and giving some encouragement, no matter whether they are the best writers or just beginners. I know, because I've been personally told by some authors, that they are sick of writing stories, just to see them posted, but without any comment or feedback. That's the biggest change we need around here. I'm done with muttering. I'M NOW SHOUTING IN THE HOPE THAT THERE ARE SOME READERS WITH A MODICUM OF INTELLIGENCE WHO WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. You've already lost me. I'm going. How many more will it take before you change your attitudes?

noted. Your editing will still get done even if I'm not here.

Don't feel bad about this Patrick. He put you in an impossible position by telling you, so it's down to him not you. After all it wasn't you that was taking stuff was it? If it was in the UK, he would definitely be getting the sack for what he's done. A few illict "perks" although still strictly speaking illegal are often overlooked with an accompanying bolocking. If you're feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing then talk to your supervisor about it. She will at least appreciate your honesty and should hopefully have a sympathetic ear, if that will make things easier for you. Just don't let your own concience bother you.

I suspect because of the time difference I may be late with this, but Happy Birthday anyway! Have a good one! :king:

after all the replies, he'l be GREEN with envy!

Not TOO much cake though, for those of us who are diabetic! LOL. Have a great day! :king:

Good; just as hoped. Now all we have to hope is that his friend is ok too. See? Maybe someone was listening Umbathri? Who knows? The jury's still out as far as I'm concerned. I try and keep an open mind on that one. Please send more thanks and 'hugs' back to Anne for that one.

Let's all hope he pulls through fine, and that his injuries are minor :wacko: . Send our thanks back to "Anne" please Green.

My fault! I should never have sent it back to Patrick without making sure that it was in a publishable state! Patrick, being Patrick is keen for us to see what he can do; which, all things considered, is not an unreasonable thing. However, I should have been a lot more severe with my first edit and advised him of a few of the points Jamie raised. But hey, all things considered, it's not that bad a start. Let's not beat the guy TOO hard for trying at least. There are those that never make it that far. And yes, best that some critisism come from some of the fellow authors first. I'm not really an editor, as i can sometimes tell from my own published stuff, but I am trying to help. So if there's someone else who'd care to take on the job of second-edit, I'll happily plough through the raw stuff as it were, and get it in some form of readable state first! (Throws down glove as a challenge.) * * * * * * * * * * And anyway, shouldn't we have been posting comment in the Cafe, not the Library? (Smax wrists of all those who lead me into that trap.)

WoW! Two birthdays together? Happy Birthday to you as well Jota Jota 21 :king:

:king: Happy Birthday Pyro! Hope you're feeling loads better by now.

I'll second your two cents Dom! The worst aspect is that if you published leaflets with " Your ignorant attitude actually was responsible for 'X' Nos of suicides," they'd probably cheer. It's sickening, and if there are any gay rights at all it should be made illegal to distribute such propaganda, and treat it the same as racism. That way they'd be entitled to their own opinions, but not allowed to foist them on the rest of us!

Congratulations. Nice that 's come before the time the countdown finishes. I wish I could hope that mine would do the same, but I'd have sincere doubts about that! It's hard enough getting the odd email - but thanks to those that bother!

To be honest, and trying to take a detatched view of the whole thing, the only people who will know the real truth are probably MJ and the boys concerned. I think it's quite possible that MJ has never quite grown up mentally as far as loving other children goes. It's quite possible that whatever happened to HIM in his own childhood has left an indellible mark on him, and that he just wants to still be a young boy himself, and can't see that his actions and ideas are inappropriate at his current age. From an outside view, it appears they've got his cross already built, and the trial is a mere front for what seems to be a determined effort on the part of the authorities to nail him to it. I remember seeing the interview they filmed during 'The Making of Thriller' with the director, (was it Landis?) and how child-like MJ appeared then. It was as though he still wanted to be treated like a child then. Recent events are not a surprise to me when you look at it in that context. It's quite possible that he's being manipulated by his advisors who are getting as big a slice of the cake while they can, before the bubble bursts. If there was irrefutable evidence, then I would say fair enough, he's guilty. I just wonder how much has been fabricated. Incidentally, I am not particularly a MJ fan. I just don't feel without knowing the truth, I can condemn the man unfairly. To return to the main point, I think that individual boys mature at all different ages into young men, and you can't truly define an age at which a young male is mature enough to take his own decisions on having sex. The law has dictated an age, erring on the side of caution at which under normal circumstances, a young man ought to be able to make his own mind up. Unfortunately, some can and some can't. I think it's highly likely, though not a firm rule, that a male who is destined to be truly gay, knows what he wants to do at a far earlier age than someone say who might be slightly bisexual and still confused over his feelings. I just don't think there is a hard and fast rule here, so the law errs on the side of caution.

an excellent tale!

The simple answer is probably "no". But then you'd expect that really wouldn't you? After all, the lucky ones who are able to come out and lead relatively normal lives, are hardly in the majority surely? I suspect that most of us - and I hope no one minds me speaking for what IS probably the majority - that gay guys and gals, (I use the term 'gay' broadly here), have had to creep quietly out of the closet later in life than we'd have liked without slamming the door and drawing too much attention to ourselves. Most of us probably grew up in the fear of being 'found out' and rejected by everyone we knew, or hung by the balls until we were dead. It's been said that today's society is more tolerant than of previous years. Really? Did the vast masses of people change overnight because of a few gay rights laws? I doubt it. What may be law doesn't necessarily change a person's own opinions that quickly. It takes time and acceptance. The resistance to this type of change though, is huge. People who have even a trace of alternative sexuality coursing through their veins will stand up and shout as outraged as the rest, for fear of being noticably different. It's a great comfort then to know that there is an element in society who will still support a gay young teen when he or she most need it, and help lead them away from taking a fateful step over the line of no return. We need better factual education of the dumb-headed masses who would mercilessly persecute what they don't understand. It doesn't mean you have to educate kids in school to know everything about sex and its variants. Just to let them know that there are people who might seem different to themselves, but who really are just the same human beings, and they should not fear them through lack of knowledge. Take away the fear of the unknown and half the problem disappears with it. Having said all that, perhaps we should have a few more stories about 'out' younger couples. But would they be just as enticing? Or would you be yawning by the end of chapter one, over what you realised was like another TV 'soap' story?

Anyone seen or heard from WoodCarver within the last week and a bit? I know he's not been well, had an injury at work; computer crashed as well but he posted since then, but now nothing again. Anyone in touch by other means who could find out how he is? Mike

I once had a really threatening email accompanied by a virus. I mentioned it to a friend who without my knowledge at the time, sent him "destroy.exe" concealed within something or other. (It wasn't even picked up by Norton). Never heard from the guy again, so I guess it did its job.

:wacko: I will never watch 'Exorcist 3' again. The sight of that lil' old lady crawling around the ceiling completely did my head in. Mind you, I was checking out a certain type of Welsh fungii at the time. (Smax own wrist.)

I've thought of a far more accurate one this morning I think, since I'm having a bad day! It's "This 'Ole House" by Rosemary Clooney (Probably George Clooney's grandmother cosidering the age of it). I can hear all the under 50's muttering "wtf" , but it's there on Bearshare if you're interested. Yeah it is an oldie; so am I ! I was experimenting to see just how old some of the recordings go on Bearshare. I even found one download of Les Paul's 'Little Rock Getaway' for heavens sake. That was something one elderly relation use to have on an old 78RPM shellac job! Who else is old enough to remember 78's? - Probably those who would have heard of Rosemary Clooney!

A big welcome to everyone who's just joined recently. Movieguy47 beats all of us to this section, (what would we do without him?), so I'll say hi to everyone on his list and anyone else who's joined since!! Nice to have you all with us.

And I hate to say this, but there's another story version just like it, except that it's about a kid who never gets picked for his baseball team. I read it about two years ago. The boy goes to practice every week, but never gets picked for the team. Nevertheless he and his father attend every game, every week. However one week he begs the coach to let him play. Against his better judgement the coach agrees and of course the boy has a brilliant game and the team win. After, the coach asks him why he never played like that before. The boy explains that although his father always came to the matches, he never saw the game because he was blind. During the week he died, and so this game was the first he ever saw the team and his son play. Sorry to put a downer on this Rainbow, but you can see the similarity I'm sure. If I can find it, I'll post the original to you.

Here's an item which came up on the main news just recently. There's currently an advert running on TV, for the 'Crazy Frog' mobile ringtone. (That's a cell phone ringtone to those across the pond). Now whether they've withdrawn it or not, I must admit I haven't seen it on since the item hit the headlines, but apparently the animator thought to give the frog dangly bits. ( 'scuse me, ) Just why, I can't imagine, but the uproar started because a few younger kids asked an awkward question or two, like kids do, because they tend to notice these things. Previously, I must have seen it on about a dozen times, and didn't even think to look! Mainly because apparently frogs don't have dangly bits. If only the parents had just said - "well it's a boy frog dear" and left it at that, I don't suppose anything else would have been said. But no. Now it seems to have caused a major row - it'll prolly sell like crazy!

I wish you'd warned us Myr! At 5:45am I wasn't at my brightest and was trying to figure out why the damn site wouldn't let me in! Just a thought, but it might pay to put a warning tab on the loggin bit for people to use their full email as username? After scratching my head for a couple of minutes, - no splinters yet - I suddenly remembered the posting about the top site thing and the possible reason popped into the lagged brain. :wacko: