GaryK

With BK's permission his project, Alternative Sexuality in India is available for download as a .pdf file from one of my servers.

My guess is nobody else has commented on it because technically it's against the rules as set out in the FAQ. But since you and I are so friendly I felt it would be perceived as a joke instead of insulting a member. That's why I made a point of stating that you and I are friends. BTW, I still think dinner should be sun-tea and snake meat. And now let's get back on-topic, says the King of Off-Topic.

I do know that many cultures have things similar to the Two Spirit concept. A quick bit of research shows that in fact Aboriginal culture does include mixed gender roles and they even refer to it as the two spirit concept of Native Americans.

I'm not so sure about that Michael. As a beta-reader we often have to do our own research to be sure the author is presenting an authentic scenario. With sci-fi/fantasy there's often not much need to do research. However, take the novel our mutual friend is writing. I've needed to do a little research into subject matters I've never dealt with before just to be sure he was portraying things accurately. You might find if your beta-readers enjoy doing research they can do as good a job for you on this new book of yours as they've done in the past.

I'll only do this because Rose and I are friends. You just used a euphemism.

Get over it. Gamey is good! However I will gladly eat whatever you feed me on three conditions. No Brussels sprouts, no Ginger and no Guacamole.

My summer vacation will take me up the east coast of the US this year. Maybe I'll make it out there during the fall or winter vacation. It would be nice to meet you face-to-face. I'm finally going to meet one of my best friends for the past 10-12 years face-to-face this summer. We usually talk on the phone every day. We've run a website together that's celebrating its tenth anniversary in April. Some sun-brewed tea and perhaps some sauteed snake meat would be a nice meal for us to eat together.

Is there ever a time when it's not summer in Aridzona?

Both of these seem yummy. If I had you here to cook for me I might never feel the need to go out to eat.

What a great topic Kevin! For me it largely depends on where the conversation is taking place and what we're talking about. If we're in a restaurant or bar it doesn't matter how serious the conversation is. I will always be distracted by any eye-candy that passes by me. This annoys my father to no end when we have brunch on Sunday mornings at a Jewish deli across the street from the University of Miami. Those college guys are so hot I can't avoid being distracted. Even if my father and I are having a serious discussion about the usual topics: politics and history. In a more casual setting it depends upon the discussion. If it's serious then you'll get my undivided attention. That's the respectful thing to do. If we're just hanging out and doing other stuff then I'll pay attention while continuing to do other stuff. When it's via IM it depends on the person and the subject. I've got one author I chat with frequently. He's always in an 18-wheeler and his keyboard is a moving target. So it takes him a long time to type a short sentence. I'll usually do something else while waiting for his reply. In other cases when I know the person is paying 100% attention to me they'll get my undivided attention. I had a fascinating conversation with BK this afternoon that lasted over an hour. He had my dedicated attention the entire time. Tim and I tend to chat on and off all the time. So I guess in summary it's hard to apply one rule since there are so many variables.

OK, how about the second best marinade? I don't like Ginger (or Mary Ann although the professor was kinda hot).

Does it really need to be mentioned? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKqMq9V2R2E...feature=related

I added a few myself.

I never read the book so I really don't know how much was left out of the movie.

It all depends on where you use the lingo. I'm sure you're seeing that my IM style is vastly different than the way I type in the forums.

It also applies to the IT world.

It depends on the situation. For example, here's one of the Terms of Service from the model car forum (make note of the #1 result! ) I run: 7. Posts should include proper sentence structure out of consideration for our many members who do not speak English as their native language. That means using capitalization, reasonable punctuation and no excessive abbreviations. Posts should be structured as if you were writing a letter to someone instead of sending a text message. The goal is not to have perfectly written messages, rather to encourage a writing style accessible to all members, including those who don't speak English well, or who have to use translation services.

I guess that beats filming it at an atm.

That gets back to the whole subject of euphemisms for death. You make a good point about putting a pet to sleep and then telling your kids to goto sleep. Yet another reason to avoid euphemisms. Especially for such a serious topic as death.

On behalf of all beta-readers, thank you!

Dark and scary works well for me in combination. GoF had both in abundance.

It was certainly the scariest. At least for me it was.

Oh my! I guess it depends if was, er, visible or covered up! When I lived with my parents I used to get caught all the time. Mom would knock on the locked door, we'd hurry up and get dressed... I'm sure she wondered what took us so long to open the door.

You willingly admit this after all the grief you gave me for not reading the books, just watching the movies?