Tiger

I can actually see that. It's a very intense song really. And Tarin... Mmm Bop is disturbing.

A definitive answer for that is all but impossible. Back then ships depended much more on the ocean currents. If the was blowing against the ship, it added more time. If the wind was blowing with the ship, the voyage would certainly take less time. There's also other issues such as storms, and those can really put a damper on the time. One of the worst issues, of course, is getting into battles at sea, which can tack on a lot of time IF it causes severe enough damage to the point where you must have your ship repaired at the nearest port. There's also the issue of food. Most meats and such would packed with large amounts of salt to preserve them. However, it only lasts so long, so if you run out of food, and especially fresh water, your ship is in trouble. You would have had to restock on food from time to time. Luckily, it's not as far as some places. Corsica is an island that east and slightly south of the Iberian peninsula (Spain). It is considered to be a region of France and has been a part of France since 1764 (almost 350 years). Anyway, estimating travel time was far from an exact science, and even with all of our technology today, you cannot estimate an exact time of arrival, because there are too many variables, although it would be a much shorter voyage today. Now, for my comments about the chapter. I thought it was great. There was tension, love, and politics. Oh yes, it had everything we've come to expect from Mark. I see foreshadowing, however, of how poor Cavendish will take it when he is reassigned or whatever. He will take it really hard. He has many lessons to learn I'm sure. I'm also quite certain it's a good thing that George is on his voyage and away from London. This will give The Brotherhood as well as his wife and father to do what they can to give him more credibility, and hopefully by the time he returns, we'll find that Admiral Wilcox is a former admiral who has been forced out of the navy in shame.

I find myself trying to remember what drugs he was using. Wasn't it pain killers? I doubt pain killers (except maybe dilaudid, morphine, and MSContin, the latter of which did not exist in 1968) could cause someone to fall quite that quickly. However, heroin and methamphetamine (again did not exist then) could cause someone go down hill that quickly. Those are some serious drugs. So while the idea that just pills would do that is far-fetched, the idea of someone dying so quickly from using certain drugs is not out of the question, especially when needles are involved. If someone could remind me what he was using it would help. I do remember him using the needle, but I'm trying to remember whether or not he was on heroin.

Jeff was a complicated character. I don't like what happened to him. I don't think placing blame on JP is fair though. He is flawed. But why wouldn't he be? His father was a cold-hearted bastard. His brother was an asshole. His mother was a whore. What about that household suggests that JP would be "normal"?

That was accidental. I don't know why I did that. I'd certainly hope you wouldn't make one of your characters like Donald Trump. Not only is he an arrogant pig, but he's also an ugly f**ker.

Enric, Steven dies in World War II after impregnating Stefan's mother, who was probably became a whore shortly after that. Anyway, he won't be marrying that girl, at least I doubt he will be unless he does so right before he's off to France. So really there's no point in saying that it will last, because we already know it will not. This is unfortunate, but that's how the story goes.

Well, Granger has already been f**ked by a future king.

In my last blog entry I expressed outrage at the proposed changes to curriculum in Texas. This article has recently been posted on the Texas ACLU website. They, along with the NAACP, have drafted and sent a letter to the Texas Board of Education. While the ACLU did not yet suggest there were going to take litigious action, they did use legal precedents. I think this could be a huge legal battle that redefines what state boards of education can and cannot do, at least that is my hope. It was several years ago when the Kansas Board of Education wanted to do away with the teaching of evolution and replace it with bullshit creationism. Personally, I think the federal government needs to create legislation that would completely obliterate federal government funding for states who make these kinds of changes. Anyway, there's the article.

His grandfather is in Antigua. That makes a difference. His grandfather is not under the microscope like those on the British Isles.

He's probably right about that. Also, he'd never get with Granger either. In those times it was bad enough to even sleep with other men, let alone ones so far below or above your social status. It's still probably a big deal in the UK but not to nearly the same extent as it was then.

Ricky, the problem some have with Cavendish is that he's not Calvert. Some really wanted him to stay. They love him to pieces. I don't blame them. He was a yummy character. Hopefully they'll get used to "Gravendish" soon.

That's a good one paya! I love that one. So this song is said to be the sexiest song ever...

Well, that's at least one god born in November too. Me!

I agree completely, Mark. Someone needs to do something about this. Education is too important for a group of misguided bible thumpers to destroy the education system like this. I just emailed the ACLU in Austin. This needs to be challenged in federal court. It's not about Republicans and Democrats. It's about the future of our children.

Steve, since when is 10 Republicans voting in favor of something and 5 Democrats voting against something not partisan? It says exactly that in the second paragraph. If any special interest groups are involved, it's the conservative think tanks, especially the religious zealot/bigot assholes who hate anyone who is not straight and white. And some of the board members were quoted, saying that education has a liberal bias. So this liberal bias myth conservatives made up is their excuse for rewriting history and promoting the "free enterprise system" in a good light instead of the flawed system that needs to be done away with in the US and replaced by the mixed market systems that have made almost every single European nation plus Canada and Australia better places to live than the US. Essentially, they're turning history and economics into fiction to promote their extreme right wing views. Mussolini would be proud.

I do sometimes. In fact, a certain someone has gotten me into the idea of wearing them more often.

I enjoyed the chapter. The Brotherhood is definitely an interesting twist. I like the idea of an orgy and Stonehenge. That sounds hot! Oh, and it seems that even Spencer is intimidated by Sir John. I love it. Poor Granger though... he'll be stuck having an admiral on his ship for a while. I'd always thought admirals had their own ships. I'm a little confused about that. :wacko:

It says it right in the article that it's the Republicans, Steve. If there's any special interest groups involved, it's likely the Evangelical preachers. Also, I've toned down my language a bit. I'm still mad as hell though. I've been fuming about this for several days.

So here's what's going on. Apparently, the f**king morons who come up with curriculum plans for the entire state of Texas basically want to throw away basic facts and replace it all with revisionist history and junk science. Education should not have a political sway, but the damn Republicans in Texas want to ruin education for every single child in Texas for the next ten years and it f**king pisses me off. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

That song definitely makes me want to rip someone's clothes for sure, James. I have a few more that tend to make me feel frisky. Buttons by PCD (And no, not because of the ladies in the vid... it's the song itself. It's downright steamy.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_0JywrfPuY Closer by NIN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVgBuwM9zcQ

This song is quite suggestive. Every time I hear it I want to rip a man's clothes off, and well, you get the picture. It's called "Pony" by Ginuwine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKnhW5kf34

It's definitely a good short story. If you read Mark's series, you definitely won't be disappointed either.

What I mean is that if someone's first post here, that means that Mark popped their cherry.

All it takes is a first post.

Hmmmm... I still go with The Land Whore. Stefan was so much fun in that one. I think Bloodlines is second followed by Be Rad.