Paladin

Me too. I enjoy creature comforts.

As we expect from @CasualWanderer82, this is a beautifully written and carefully crafted love story. Everywhere, people meet and fall in love, but what happens when the lovers live in different countries, are from very different societal groups and possibly with different sexual orientations? Damien works in an exclusive Caribbean resort and is tasked with looking after celebrity guests, NFL star quarterback Bruce Levinson and his wife Kate. It turns out Bruce and Damien have more in common than they think, including the drive and conviction that has allowed each of them to be successful in their careers. But love threatens that success and the accompanying lifestyle. With some cheeky references to a football game, The Red Zone takes us with Bruce and Damien through this maze. The story is full of twists, turns and surprises that make it a captivatingly excellent read.

Two misfits held together by sexual activity and little else. A recipe for disaster.

You are totally correct @drpaladin and I was wrong in suggesting that an Osteopath in Australia is equivalent to an OD in US. Osteopaths in Australia are not registered as medical practitioners and cannot prescribe medication. Nor are they permitted to perform surgery. I do think that in Australia they are more qualified than your four points suggest. The qualification is either a double bachelor degree (health science and applied science) or a bachelor degree followed by a masters degree. These are all university courses which include supervised practice. These courses are shorter than an Australian medical degree (usually bachelor degree followed by a doctorate) of 6 or 7 years followed by supervised practice. I am not an osteopath but my personal experience with AHPRA is that registration and the requirements for maintaining registration each year are not a simple processes.

So, John could be Cottontail. How interesting! If so how “fake” is cottontail? Does John's very ‘ordinary name’ hide that he is a member of a famous journalist family? If his name is fake, maybe the glasses are as well. When John was involved with Connor’s S.H.I.T groupies he commented about having information about Connor, and Connor’s public exposure looked like the work of an insider. Was John reporting undercover for Xpress all the time? Jamie’s meeting with Rusty and Matty raises all sorts of possibilities, or just as likely, all sorts of false leads. I’m waiting to find out.

I was going to say "how appropriate, I had a session with my Osteopath today." In Australia to be an Osteopath you have to complete an approved qualification and be registered with the Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency so I assume he is the equivalent of the American Osteopathic Doctor. Oh and, I actually did have a session with my Osteopath.

The online etymology tells us: 1733, "an admirer of a fine art, literature, science, etc., one who cultivates an art or literature casually and for amusement," a borrowing of Italian dilettante "lover of music or painting," from dilettare "to delight," from Latin delectare "to allure, delight, charm, please," Originally without negative connotation, "devoted amateur;" the pejorative sense "superficial and affected dabbler" emerged late 18c. by contrast with professional.

You left out the play The Misanthrope by Molière to provide balance

I'm beginning to wonder if the definitions of misanthrope that come up in our searches are an example of "political correctness". I easily found this definition on line "Anthropo- comes from the Greek ánthrōpos, meaning “human being” or “man.”" Given the way women have been dismissed though history it is likely that misanthrope meant 'someone who dislikes the company of men'. Today we would have to first use "mankind" and then "humankind". I love that language does reflect society. My problem is that every time I see "misanthrope" I think "mistletoe", which has parasitic relationship with it's host that a misanthrope would not understand.

Yes Greg has again adopted children. He is also "father" to all all the friends he has changed. He should be in line for nomination as "father of the year". Quite an achievement for a 17 year old!

The saying is that familiarity breeds contempt. In situations like driving and working familiarity does breed complacency. Although as Churchill commented, "without a certain degree of familiarity we could not breed anything".

Exactly how I feel, and particularly in terms of where it will end up.

Strangely, complacency is not how I feel when I click on "Word of the Day".

I would never put chicken liver pate in my porridge.

Thanks @sandrewn for making one of my favourite words even more interesting. I have used it in relation to people and their behaviour and some people have used it in relation to mine. Even so I had not come across it in Philosophy. Unfortunately I don't have access to the full article at present and will need to go through a library. The concept is that a proposition is incorrigible if it cannot be corrected; that is, it is not possible that belief in it should be found to be mistaken. Robinson is arguing that all propositions and judgements are corrigible and therefore able to be corrected or found to be mistaken. The thing here is that most religions contain propositions (beliefs) that their followers regard as incorrigible (not possible of being mistaken). Is Robinson correct? While I've used incorrigible, I've never until now used the word "corrigible".

Exactly my thoughts as well. Along with the implication that people who go to them get acquitted in criminal cases.

Yes @Philippe consent laws can be a tricky area. However, it is important to understand that at the time and place this story is set consent for gay sex is irreverent. Gay sex was illegal irrespective of the age of the guys involved or their consenting to the sex. The penalty could be prison and most often very public exposure that could, and often did, lead to being sacked from your job. Fortunately, today in the same place, sex between Jake and Danny would be totally legal.

1975 seems like another world doesn't it @Mark Ponyboy Peters. At that time a person was considered an adult at 18. As you point out male homosexuality was illegal so there was no age of consent for male homosexuality. For heterosexual sex it was 16. Now it is 16 for both. Attending school was compulsory until age 15, now 17. There is no law saying when you can leave home. Children are still technically under the legal control of their parents to age 18. Courts will recognize the that parental responsibility reduces as children approach 18. As you say at that time the lads have to be careful, very careful. @Mark Ponyboy Peters, you are portraying this period of time perfectly.

The following covers how Pathological is generally used: adjective: of or relating to the practice of pathology adjective: caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition adjective: caused by or altered by or manifesting disease or pathology Pathological is regularly used in common speech and writing, especially with the second meaning, but it is not used in diagnosis (apart from "pathological fracture"). In diagnosis a disorder is described using a scale of severity.

Their lies are unraveling as they have sex on Jamie's channel. Even his livestream subscribers, or at least one, noticed. Who was the one who made the comment Cottontail read out? Is it Arthur or maybe, Cottontail's brother? Loved the chapter. Next please.

So we find out why Pittsburgh is the largest Barony in the USA. Will it split back to being three Baronies in the future? If so who will be the Barons? Boels was an idiot in more ways than one. What did he expect to achieve by his outburst? Greg resigning? Greg undergoing conversion therapy? Let him continue to be baronet without swearing allegiance? A flash of lightening to strike Greg dead, maybe.? Nah, his death was justified. Will all the Baronets now want formal gear held together by velcro? Good business for Robert. Great chapter.

Yes @Mark Ponyboy Peters it's a very insightful saying. Thank you for your kind comment, but as I said it's part of my history and I don't dwell on it. I only told it to reinforce the importance of the message you had Jake explain. I'd also endorse Jake's use of therapy.

Well Bruce wasn't kidding when he told Damien that he and Kate had an arrangement adding that Kate's role in the arrangement was to protect him. Kate certainly showed that she was driven and excellent at protecting Bruce. It's just that she can't protect him from LOVE. Like @Cane I'm curious about Bruce's siblings and Colt. Are they still around? What about Bruce's vow that Colt would be with him when he became famous. Fantastic writing @CasualWanderer82

For a while I have been reluctant to comment on this story. There are a variety of reason but with this chapter I have to comment on Jake's attitude to his rape and bashing. His response to Nate is: It’s . . . it’s just one of those things that I refuse to let get the better of me. If I can’t push it aside, if I can’t move past it, it will just eat away inside me, festering and growing to the point that sooner or later something is going to explode . . . and that’s not going to be pretty. While physically I’m okay, I can’t forget about what happened . . . and I won’t ever forget about it . . . but I’m sure as hell not going to let it stop me from doing the things I want to achieve in life. That’s what the psychiatrist that I saw back home told me to do, and so far it seems to work.’ ‘So, you’re just going to move on with your life?’ Nate asked. ‘Pretty much. What else can I do, apart from wallow in self-pity, or allow the hate to build and build and build until eventually I strike out at something . . . or someone.’ ‘But what about, you know, revenge, or pay back? Don’t you want to hit whoever did it to you?’ I believe there's a Navajo saying "You can't see the future with tears in your eyes." which neatly sums up what Jake is explaining. I haven't been raped but in 1981, I was bashed by a couple of gay hating young men that resulted in me being briefly hospitalized and being interviewed in hospital by police. The uniformed police were as hopeless as their spelling. The Detective was understanding but realistic. Wanting revenge or payback is futile and keeps you imprisoned in what happened. Yes, when possible allow the law or authorities take over and extract retribution. Jake, here has realized the danger, particularly at that time, of retribution and escalation. (We see that internationally today) How did I cope? By doing what Nate explains. It's part of my history and some scars are still with me, but it doesn't define me, and I only find a need to talk about it on occasions like this. Nate's desire for revenge is understandable, but you can't live there. Always remember "You can't see the future with tears in your eyes" and the future is what we want.

I admit that this is a word I've never used and don't recall ever hearing or reading. That is until now. Thank you @Myr for taking my vocabulary into unknown territory. I'm not sure if I love you or hate you. The searching I did indicates that this is one of those words which rather than being in general use is mainly used in a particular context, and in this case legally. While it can simply be condoning someone's behaviour it can also result in being legally 'hoist with your own petard'. For example an employer who condones or overlooks theft by and employee, then not being able to take legal action again the employee for theft on a later occasion. This is condonation in the legal sense, although @sandrewn may see it as Karma. I was interested that a number of example I came across related to divorce proceeding, and not being able to use as grounds for divorce things that had previously been condoned. Australia has a process referred to as "no fault" divorce. A divorce can be granted if the couple live separately for at least 12 months and that the marriage has broken down and there is no reasonable chance they will get back together. Very few end up in court. I seek condonation for such a long post. Love this blog.