W_L

I do like having female friends, just don't expect to change me, hehe. This topic is interesting, how can you really ascribe "straight acting" anymore? Metro-sexual fashions have overridden the effeminate connection with gay guys. Since the people emulating the style like feminine characteristics, but they are straight; I can't see a real line of difference. They might not wear wigs or dresses as it is not part of the style, but I can count a few metro-sexual guys that would make you doubt their sexuality based on their mannerism. As for preferences, I agree that everyone has their own preference and straight guys are sexy to me, because they are the guys that I can not have. The captain of the diving team in high school was one of my first straight crushes; I knew he was straight due to his numerous infidelities with his girlfriends (ah high school). I would make the forbidden fruit argument that the guys, you cannot have, are the ones wanted most. There are other preferences people have: Twinks, Studs, bears, Daddies (Scary thought), Fems, and others. I might like Twinks and studs, but other people might prefer bears for their own reasons, so it is really the individual.

Watch Salo, you will be unhappily surprised at how deep human depravity can go. Not historically accurate, but I think the visceral and psychological shock value makes it a great film.

Thank you, Next part is coming up. If you look closely, I had added a few hints about future issues coming up. Also, get ready for the deciding battle for the Mediterranean at Gaza in the land of Canaan. (Didn't I mention the Canaanites earlier in my installments, something about the destruction of Sodom and the repression of sexual rights. ) It's getting complex and this mini-arc will have huge ramifications for ages to come.

RIP Michael He might have been a bit different, but I will miss him. You don't know what you lose until it is gone.

Aliens movie series was frightening even if they are dated now. I love psychological horror. Hitchcock movies are scary and fun, since they leave things to your mind to create. It is not just the psycho in Psycho that scares you, but the slow build up. As for horror moments upon revelation, there are scary scenes in things like Outer Limits and Twilight Zone that were great. My favorite scene of shock goes to Twilight Zone "To Serve Man": "Mr. Chambers! Don't get on that ship! The rest of the book, "To Serve Man", it's... it's a cookbook! " Best line ever!

I hope he will get better and come back soon.

Christians do not believe in Reincarnation Interesting, most Christians believe in an eternal soul, but they do not believe in reincarnation. The examiner article is interesting. I remember some one saying that believing in ghosts means you accept the paranormal or spiritual concepts of life, but what does believing in reincarnation mean if spiritualist reject the concept.

My 22nd Birthday is tomorrow, so I am thinking on the ideas of eternity. The quote highlights a Taoist principle of reincarnation under certain interpretations, but it also poses interesting ideas on the nature of one's existence and life. If your birth does not begin your life, then could you trace your life story back to the previous generation's action culmination in your creation. If death is not the end, then can you interpret into the future what your actions will create. A look backwards and a look forward into the future is a deep concept about life that extends beyond one person's lifetime and one person's desires. A reason why I appreciate certain German philosophies over the English or French is the intrinsic need to look backwards and forwards upon the nature of human actions, which is similar in line to the Far Eastern view and it creates a bridge between existence and life, which neither English or French philosophy creates. Well, just be lucky, I don't have a mid-life crisis yet; the existential issues might force me to form a new ideal altogether.

They need Ron Moore and Ira Behr for DS9, ignore Berman and Braga. For all its flaws, the 4400 under Ira Behr had a great concept and was number #1 TV show for a good reason. I mean he is one of the conceptual writers for TNG "Best of Both Worlds", the pinnacle of Star Trek series.

You know the other question now is who will play the Next Generation crew after TOS has run its course. Versatility wise and cool bald headed Picard choice for me would be Michael Rosenbaum. I know he might seem young right now, but age him a decade and I can see Jean Luc. If Sylar can be Spock, why can't Lex Luthor be Picard? For Riker, I would pick Ashton Kutcher for his rugged looks. I can't think of any good actors for Worf off the top of my head, Michael Dorn was really good in that role for both TNG and DS9. Though, I had a crush on Wesley, I would pass on recreating that character. Data should be the Mac guy, Justin Long. I want our favorite android to be represented by Mac rather than PC. Geordi is going to be hard as another LaVar Burton will be hard to find. Perhaps, Denzel Whitaker after he ages a few years. That's basically the male crew members for the Next Gen. DS9 has to be done by Denzel Washington as the lead Benjamin Sisko, there are few African American Actor that have his great range. Forrest Whitaker is good at drama, but he lacks something in the seriousness factor. Morgan Freeman is great too, but he can't take the role due to age; he might be a good Father Sisko. Anyone has ideas about future cast ideas.

Well, I am staying at the Sheraton in Toronto, right next door to the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame and a few blocks from the gay district of Church/Wellesley St. This trip is my attempt to have some fun as working around state politics is very monotonous and dull on the lower levels. One good thing about working for government is the amount of Vacation time.

You know in the first drafts, I thought TJ and Kevin should have gotten married, but it would have been a bit too unrealistic and cliched in my mind to go from intimate spiritual connection to marriage. Moving in together is much better and it builds on the theme I was trying to portray that "seizing the day" means going out both metaphorically and literally of you own surroundings, yet keeping something from your past with you. TJ will never forget Cody, but he will no longer be haunted by things that could have been or would have been if Cody did not die. The first journey out was a slow breakthrough, if you interpret Cody psychologically, he is TJ's subconscious mind trying to get him to move beyond the grief. If you interpret Cody spiritually as a ghost of a former lover, then it's the process that spirits are supposed to go through to move on to the next plane of existence or reincarnation depending on your interpretation. It's classic theme, but the ghost aspect can be real or psychological.

It was excellent work from all of you boys, girls, and girlish boys or boyish girls, hehe!

Jack Frost- I just get a bit nervous if I am going to ask for directions to cool gay places from a stranger. Graeme- Thanks for the Travel magazine suggestion, I need to invest in one Nephylim- I would love visiting Wales and Cardiff Bay. If I go to England, I will try o visit as much as I can and maybe take the tram to cross the channel.

I love traveling and I enjoy learning about new places. However, I have never been to the gay scene at any of the travel destination I go to. I've been to New York, Montreal, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Charleston, Memphis, and other spots in continental North America a few times, but I did not visit any of gay areas on my travel. I want to go, but I am not sure how you should ask a stranger about the best gay part of their city. The internet offerings are cool, but they tend to focus too much on the fashionable crowd of metrosexual looking gay clubs that I find kind of off putting. Does anyone have good hints for gay travel? Fun stories about places that are cool to go to?

Chase, you are my favorite Absurdist. Sorry to hear your grandma passed away, but if you need some one to handle your inheritance taxes just call me. Hmm, I got a strange thought: If both are true Death= Certainty and Taxes= Certainty Then, this must be true: Death= Taxes Since I am equal to this: Me= Taxes Thus: Me= Death :lol: I am Death.

Well, it's my first time in Toronto, It's for the Blink 182 Reunion show, which has sold out in my area and I need a weekend show.

Aww, Ribur welcome ot GA, I am glad to see you over here. Strange no one made a comment on my subtle hint at the smoking ceremony or the positive emotional realizations from it that Martin received. Unlike Marijuana, Peyote is predominantly a good high with deep introspective realization; I haven't met anyone with a bad experience using it. It is also a famed herbal supplement for southwestern native American tribes during their ceremonial, spiritual, and cultural celebrations. The Euphoria and oneness of nature are some of the highlights that people experience after use. It's an interesting plant, and I dare say better than weed.

Hey Guys, I'm visiting Toronto on the August 7th through 9th for the Blink 182 Reunion tour. (I love Blink!!!! ) Know any good places for a twenty-something gay boy to have fun at. Also, any good suggestions for cafes, bookstores, clubs, bars, strip joints, and ect. would be welcomed.

I love learning about regional stuff. There are plenty of places around Boston that is supposedly haunted as well. Methodwriter if you hear anything good please tell me.

Here's a place to discuss my newest experiment in story writing. I've read a bunch of gay westerns and they seem so simple and romantic without the tension or dramatic grandeur that is associated with the western genre. However, I have seen a bunch of old western films and they seem so cliched and fictitious on how people lived versus the reality of the west and the complex cultures interacting with one another. I also wanted to change the western hero from the gun toting vigilante to the morally ambiguous outsider to western culture as most hired guns and lawmen were in the old west. The Native American cultures were not unified either like in movies or TV dramas that showed only one tribe at a time; it was a complex mix of cultures fighting each other and the white settlers encroaching on their lands.

I would also like to take the chance to thank my editor, Kevin. The Ghost idea is poignant and interpretive for each person; you can say Cody is a psychological ghost or a paranormal manifestation for TJ. By the way, I wrote this story as a tribute to a fellow writer, who died in 2001. I recently re-read some of his old stories and remembered how they amused me as a young closeted teen, when he was on nifty for a while. In some ways, this story serves as closure both for the characters in his story and reality of the situation. I hope it provided people, who remembered those stories, a fitting closure and others, who remember this forgotten online writer a fitting goodbye story. This was his site and now serves as a tribute page to the life an amazing writer. Cody's Pad Here's the story that was almost forgotten: Story page for Cody and TJ This story can stand on its own as a tale of rediscovering life after tragedy or it can stand as a final conclusion to living life to the fullest from whose stories will not continue again.

I find the two best settings are either in the past or in the future. In a story set in the past, your historical research is reliable if you do enough of it and seek out multiple sources. In a story set in the future, you can hypothesize ideas about future social, technological, and even geographic developments based on what we know and possibly could learn. For a story set in the present, it will be based on the writer. Research is key, but your story should be something you like exploring in different landscapes and settings. Sometimes, I borrow perspectives from several different regional writers to get an understanding of the area I am writing. It makes a lot of sense if you have not visited Flagstaff, Arizona or San Juan, if you can understand the people, places, and perspectives from other authors.

James has the right idea, most of the oval or sphere shape universe representations in books are merely for readers expressions rather than actual shape of the universe. We have no way of abstractly viewing the edge of the universe, so there is no way to define a real shape. As for growth factor, it depends on many things. First, which theory do you ascribe in cosmology? Big Bang theory is usual culprit, but there are other theories now working in tandem. Several have fixed expansion rates based on the spacial expansion and temporal distance from the big bang epicenter, but there are certain theories with unstable or random expansion rates based on a universe that has a certain curvature. M theory based universes are higher dimensional constructs altogether eliminating size, depth, and spacial compositions as meaningful factors. (Cosmology and Artillery history were my first two loves as a kid. I loved thinking of how a big bang could create so much stuff in the Universe and as any other young boy, I loved my gun play. The first book I read was the Physics of Star Trek, if your son is interested in cosmology and sci-fi, then I recommend it and the sequel books that will teach him a lot about advanced Quantum mechanics through allegories of Star Trek stories and mathematical universal theories based on how Star Trek Technology works.)

Sorry, I thought you were referencing something else. I have heard about abuse victims having latent memories of their abuse. Being haunted by ghosts of things past is another aspect. There is an interesting line between psychological ghosts and physical manifestations of the deceased souls. Mark and Kevin have highlighted doubt on the existence of ghosts, but I would say psychological ghosts under their presented views would still be real. The physical manifestation of deceased people is something that extends beyond just mortal fears or memories; it extends to the very boundaries of knowledge and perception. It wouldn't just be a question of life after death, but the very ability and limitation of scientific thought for the creation of the paranormal. If skepticism is the beginning of scientific inquiry into the natural order of life, then I would counter the disbelief in ghost and other paranormal phenomena by scientific evidence and say skepticism of scientific principles is also necessary. UFO's had a similar history of disbelief due to the association of UFO's with sensitive issues of national security and secret black projects. As for the alien connection, as I stated earlier, it would not really alter my view that there is alien life and we have made contact. The issue would be in our ability to deal with alien relations. Human beings are stupid and small minded in many ways. Religion, societal patterns, and other things might be changed inexorably by these beings. For instance, let's hypothetically say these beings have one sex and believe in no higher being. What would happen to the God fearing people of earth at that point? Some will condemn these beings and cause an interstellar incident that might turn a peaceful first contact into a bitter feud. Before we can accepts our friends from the stars, we must accept ourselves and without that first step of accepting human differences among our species, then we will not be ready for the strange life forms in the universe.