W_L

Hopefully, within three generation, HIV and AIDS might be a memory; a footnote like the black plague. I do want to ask those that were old enough to live through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980's to share their stories and share the knowledge of what happened.

I was pondering this thought as I keep hearing the radio responders, chiming over and over again about how the US is a Democracy and their voices matter in the decisions. This lie to people might maintain order and this dream of democracy has been with many for a long time, but the US has never been a democracy, nor has any of her current allies. Sure, every nation has varying forms of representative government, but no nation has had a direct universal democracy as the primary form of government. I feel like the truth should be known by everyone that they alone are not the voices of law, but people still want to believe that they are. Around the world, people are hoping for democracy and more control over their lives, but is it not a fact that your life is not really your own to control beyond the limits of your actions and thoughts. Beyond those limits, you must compromise and work on common goals to change anything else with others. Perhaps, one individual's way might be better if everyone follows it, but while your assertion of individuality is true, what of the counter point? You don't even need a liberal/conservative split, a simpler question like are right handed people better than left handed people, it can start a fight in this kind of world with absolute personal assertion. I have theory that those seeking a Democracy in such form are seeking something messianic. It's almost religious, how the ideal of self can be built into a shrine with unbelievers denounced and expelled into the wilderness. Just my two cents

The back story that accompany Exodus explains the motivations and evolutions of the character to this point. If you know who or what Benjamin Cross really is; his tacit support adds another point of context. When people are forced to the point of extinction, what will become of the survivors? From movies like Munich and the history of Israel, I drew historical parallels to set up my plot.

Yum! It was a great series; Bostonians had tempered optimism before the game; I won't lie, it could have gone either way. Well, it's close to four decades for Boston, but it was worth it. To Canadians: Well, you guys had the majority of power plays in the 7th game as all the sports analyst thought would happen. However, nothing was scored during them for you guys, so I mean you really can't blame the Bruins for playing perfect defense. One of those goals was actually knocked in by accident through the collision during your power play.

BRUINS WON the STANLEY CUP!!!!!!! 4-0, SHUT OUT

EHhh...Have a Bowl of Chowda Go Boston! We have a track record for being the city of under-dogs beating up the big bad bully of any sports, we're only missing Hockey and Soccer.

Bruins 0-1 Canucks Well, we kept it a low scoring game against the NHL's best scoring team Blue, We will have a game 7 in Vancouver, damn. I was hoping for that one to be in Boston, but we got to keep the faith. P.S: I will give you $1,500 if you want to unload your seat or seats

Thanks for the clarification, True about the Sox, but I thought our first win was worth remembering more. We went from a 3-0 series to a complete washout for the Yankees. Seriously, I stayed up to midnight each night for the games and even began shouting until my throat became extremely sore and I had my high school final presentations. Now back to Hockey: Bruins and Canucks are tied 2-2, we have the momentum in the series, but the Canucks have the home advantage, which could turn the tide again. I am hoping that we can win the next game with our current momentum. Even if the Bruins have to face game 7, we'll be back at home and it will make parade preparation easier.

My little contribution to the theme of walking on the wild side with a reflection on the wild nature of modern humanity in poem form

What matters anymore? By W.L Where are the Creators of Destiny? Where are the Shapers of Fate? Found in the words of History Lost in the blogs of Hate We have lost all Hope We have found no Faith Love within helps some Cope Despair within creates the Wraith Oh specter of Doom Thou hath’ consumed us at Last Where are our noble Virtues? Where are our enlightened Truths? Discarded from the mental Views Taken from the last of our Youths

I appreciate your humble opinion and the ideal family issue is kind of warped in human thought. One person's dream is another one's nightmare, children should not be made into an image of what people want or desire, if we go down that line of logic, mankind will be doomed to eventual self-destruction. I want people to remember these issues; I want people to know that at this very moment, while we see so much progress in the world of gay rights, there remains a very scary under-current. The practices of "aversion therapy" are still booming, camp loads of kids are still being forced through this kind of "treatments", and there has been little that has been done about them other than small legal actions that have at this point achieved little or nothing. Even if marriage equality becomes legalized in all 50 states, GLBT rights and human rights in general cannot be sustained by my generation or the generations that follow us as long as our population is culled, caged, and exploited. Even though I am a fierce conservative and understand the complexity of how this type of treatment can be maintained by deaf ear by people of influence, but if I were ever given the power, it would be my life's mission to see to the eradication of this practice.

I know some one will invoke the Godwin, but I kind of got a few hours to think over the comparison to Dr. Mengela and complicity.. Graeme,in the US, we have a code of conduct for medical professionals that puts equal emphasis on patient knowledge for procedures as well as doctors engaging in procedure. For a parent to follow orders rather than asking deeper questions about procedures, it engages in complicit action by default. When many people in society accept such practices, is it not a form of repression by any other name? Do parents, doctors, and religious leaders have this right over a child even if it is tacit complicity based on assumed facts? Also, the techniques that were described comes from a very long line of anti-gay pseudo-psychology called "aversion therapy" or positive encouragement as the old euphemism is known. It is destructive on adults to attempt aversion therapy, let alone a child. In the end, families have to ask themselves one very clear and simple question: How much do you want an ideal family at the cost of sanity?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/07/sissy.boy.experiment/index.html?iref=obnetwork I felt sick to my stomach after reading this story. I knew from background research these pseudo-psychologist existed when I began writing Exodus with strong emphasis on how far these guys could go, doing this stuff on kids should have been classified as what truly is, Child abuse. You're taking a helpless 5 year old boy and torturing him in order to "nip the bud" of homosexuality. (I know this could become heated, but I think this is a general topic that all of us should chime in on, irrespective of political views, because there is something universal in this issue, if Graeme or any other mod thinks this gets deteriorated to political points, then it should be moved to Soapbox) Also as a food for thought: When trying to isolate, examine, and exterminate a certain group of people based on noticeable characteristics, these people are no longer trying to be doctors in curing a disease as the "cleansing" of society is what their ultimate goals are. They are more akin to Dr. Mengela and yet we allow them to do this under the umbrella of parental rights. The studies and research used by Reker's is still being used today, while the US has forbidden the old style of therapies, we now have much more privately owned places, basically "Conversion Camps", where parents can send their kids to without regards to their rights.

Maybe we should have some kind of legalize death matches in the US, where people can kill each other in more extreme versions of sports? (I don't remember which science fiction story had this, probably Heinlein, but the idea just came my mind) I kind of agree that some sports are better with a bit of danger mixed in; I understand that safety of the player needs to be addressed, but how the players play the game is up to them.

I heard the suspension is supposed to be several games, but are they playoff games or are they season games for next year? I am hoping for another parade, so I can get my Jersey collection complete, Pats 01 and 04 (didn't get 03 for some reason), Red Sox 04, Celtics 08, and now hopefully Bruins 2011

Hey, we still won 8-1, so it's cool with me if a little biting makes my team perform better. Whatever they have in their system must transfer through the bite, maybe the Canucks are Vampires

Well, if people want to avoid violence, just watch golf I really don't follow Hockey that much until the Bruins finally got to the Stanley Cup this year. I started watching more and more after the final Lightnings vs. Bruins game. It drew my attention and the interesting field positions and open aggression got my interest. I know many sports pundits from Football, Hockey, and basketball have argued this point; much of the old ideal of sports has degraded over the years due to the increase of rules, referee calls, publicity, and wealth into a shadow of their former selves. People watch sports for the thrill, not for the humanity, they watch soap operas for that. I get the argument that sports should be made more safer, but the continual reduction of danger, risks, injuries, and everything else about games changes what made the game fun and interesting. Tim, you out of all people, I thought would enjoy watching a good game, relaxing with a mug of brew, and kicking back with friends as your team kills the opposition. Every point is like an instant orgasm, every hard hit sends shivers down your spine, and every fight makes you just want more. (Yeah, I know, I don't seem like the type, but I do love my sports nights out and ice cold Sam Adams. My theory is that the most intellectual people want times in their lives where they can turn off their brain and enjoy their animalistic side.)

Well said It's raw human emotions and it makes perfect sense in the context of the game, just like the wild European football riots. Out of the sports listed, I find baseball to be the most tamed and kind of boring in general. Even as an avid Red Sox fan, I don't really follow any other team in the league, because there's nothing to watch. Besides, brawling and man-on-man contact is fun to watch; probably subconsciously erotic in an narcissistic way. :D

Subs for me as well. One of the worst English dubbed Animes in my memory is and was One Piece. The Japanese version of One Piece was interesting and more adult, but the english dubs by Viz made it seem like crap. One piece does get draggy, but at the very least, the storyline and dialogue is better in Japanese versus English version.

If you think of this as merely a sound of defeat, it might be too early, sorry for being the wet blanket. Focus on the Family right now is losing political clout among conservatives and their war chest is starting to feel the impact. By saying that they are losing the fight against gay marriage, they are actually trying to regain political and financial power that was lost. The anti-gay groups have been tapping themselves out financially due to the economic downturn, because most of their investments were real estate based to begin with. This is a cry for money and support rather than a sound of defeat. With the bad economic numbers, I don't think they will see either. It's a good sign; it might not be the sound of defeat, but it shows their influence is weakening if they need to resort to scare tactics to pay off their obligations.

Due to my personality, Death Note has to be my favorite of all the anime I've seen and I've seen a lot. I don't think you could fault the anti-villain, Light, for what he was trying to do in ridding the world of evil, nor could you hate L for doing his job. I loved the story and thought the idea was brilliant. As for other Anime, I have seen Evangelion several dozen times, very psychological and kind of strange, but enjoyable. On the lighter side, I highly recommend Gravitation if you like comedy and Yaoi (Why can't the writer expand the EX series, too) I freely admit to enjoying Naruto ()I know it's weird, but I was watching the show as an english sub before Cartoon Network imported it and I still watch Shippudden. I want to see what happens in the end). Along those lines, I have also seen every episode of Dragon Ball, Z, and GT, sometimes more than once (Especially the Cell Games) I watch Mecha Anime too and I count Beast Wars and Beast Machines as Mecha as well, but there is something about modern Mecha anime that seems to be shallow versus the older ones like Zoids and the first Gundams. On a related note, as a kid I collected about 100 of the original 151 Pokemons (even after this many years, I still want a mew) and started playing Yu-Gi-Oh in high school as well. Whether it is anime, manga, or collectible cards, I love it all.

I know, it's odd that I watch Woody Allen movies, but even though, I am conservative and this film is very overtly anti-conservative and extremely liberal. However, I still enjoy it despite the fact for several good reasons: 1. Few movies today have any hint of wit or satire on a level like Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. In essence, he is satirizing what we have come to see in Time Travel genre stories, a desire to live better through the past, while ignoring our future and present. Another key point is the pedantic nature of scholarships and historical study, people who study history forget to live that history and see it in their own life. On the topic of historical study, I would also like to make a differentiation between Woody Allen's conservative pedantic caricature, Paul, the liberally past minded Gil, and how I view history. History is a living tribute and a monument to everyone that has come before us and will come after us. As a lover of history and cultures, I can imagine myself in the past just like gil from time to time. As a history bachelor degree holder, I also somtimes have my Paul moments of scholarly historical knowledge explosions like a google search engine. Then, there is my final side, the science fiction writer, who dreams of the future with aliens, artificial intellignce, and the greatest times that are to come. I think history should be viewed as all three perspectives, a living memory, a scholarly fact, and a cause for the creation of the future. 2. I really love the surrealistic twists and turns that the story takes with the character of Gil. There's also a sharp contrast to the staunch and stony character of Ernest Hemingway, who historically was a tragic realist in his writing. I can see in Woody Allen's plot a internal debate going on inside the mind of a writer: Should we focus on surreal elements that provide us with thought and insight or realism that provide perspective and social commentary.

You have my deepest sympathies; I really hope that you will get out of this rut.

Well, I am still single and searching. The modern gay dating world is large and wide, but I feel like there really is a lack of communication and more hip grinding than actual understanding. I also have come to the conclusion that I really need some one to balance me off; it's sad to say it, but I really need a more liberal voice in my life My past few boyfriends have been very similar to me and we usually hit it off, but our relationship sags as time goes on. I need someone to combat my beliefs and opinions and I can do the same. As for commentary: NY-26 looks like a democratic victory, ugh! (I know many readers will celebrate, but it is not a happy time.) The Republican Party is going to have a big issue coming soon. Recrimination is not something that will be held off from the press for long. I think now with what happened in NY-26; the wagons will be circling around Conservatives. As much as Medicare hurt, the missing 10% of voters in NY-26 a Republican heavy district could easily have won a Republican victory if there was no such thing as a Tea Party Movement that skewed voters. It's going to be painful for Republicans in the next few months; the worst case scenario is that we will have to go back to the desert to search again.

You forgot to include shipping and handling The Rapture thing just need to end.