Former Member

I suppose a modern concrete house could be engineered to withstand a potential tsunami. Just about any building near Pacific Ocean shores need to take potential tsunamis into account. Being in the center of the Pacific Ocean means that earthquake/underwater landslides anywhere along the Pacific Ring of Fire could cause a disaster in Hawaii. There have been several in recorded history – and super-tsunamis scoured the Kawaii coastline creating those steep cliffs that are so photogenic. A major earthquake in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska caused a tsunami washed away an elementary school (among other buildings) in Hilo on the Big Island in the 1946. Tsunamis have hit the US west coast and earthquakes on the US west coast have caused major damage in Japan and other locations in the eastern Pacific. There is a warning system set up to alert residents and visitors who might be in harm's way.

That’s just immoral!

I think when you don’t have any reason to question your heterosexuality, you probably don’t wonder if there’s any possibility that you might be attracted to someone who is not of the generally considered to be opposite sex. If everything you are taught seems to match what you are feeling, there probably isn’t any reason to wonder about other possibilities. If the vast majority of messages and images you encounter appear to align with your feelings, there probably would be no reason to think you aren’t like the majority of the population. Not all of us who are not Kinsey zeros, cis-gender, or otherwise not what society thinks is typical realize that at an early age. While it’s common to come to that conclusion during puberty, some are much older, and some are much younger. It’s amazing what you can convince yourself when you are in denial. There are often unconscious signs that are visible to those who know what to look for even (especially?) when you are desperately trying to hide your real self even from yourself. What Jake and Alex found might not last. It might be a temporary thing that ends when they’re no longer confined in that facility. Or it might become a completely unexpected kind of longterm relationship for Jake. ;–)

When I read the first couple sections, I guess I wasn’t paying much attention because I initially thought there were three different men! It became clear very quickly that there were only two men. But it was still very confusing as to the reason others were so confused about their identities! (In a very good way, of course.) Twins separated at birth are popular stories when they become known. It’s like the adopted child meeting their biological parent(s) and/or siblings for the first time times a million. There is that discovery of similar features and behaviors. And sometimes, the mysterious situation of having children with identical names long before they met each other. Supposedly, they no longer split up twins and try to avoid splitting up siblings when fostering and adopting. But there have been recent stories of girls adopted out of China whose paperwork was intentionally falsified, apparently in order to make adoption easier for the orphanage. There are many foster children already inside the US who will never have a stable, longterm placement before they age out of the system. Many are difficult to place due to age, disabilities, and legal issues with their biological parents. I have a cousin who is adopted. He caused my Aunt problems by embezzling money from her bank account, but she certainly wasn’t the perfect parent either. For some reason, he refuses to respond to contacts from any of our relatives except the cousin who is closest to his age (they’re the two youngest) and me. He ignores letters, emails, and calls from our Aunts. He’s our family’s other black sheep! ;–) One of my nieces is adopted too. When she first joined our family at a year old, she was frightened of all the strangers who looked and smelled different. I never carried her like I did her brother and cousins. But after I gave her brother a piggyback ride, she wanted one too. I put her on my shoulders because she was so much smaller at the time, but we were on a hillside and the height frightened her. My Aunts wanted to take pictures, but I refused and put her down right away because I remember being forced to pose for pictures when I was terrified and I didn’t want her to have that memory too. ;–)

I wouldn’t want to have been Geoff, if Joy hadn’t had to reset her expectations of Geoff, when Joy become much more reliant on physical assistance as she progresses towards the end of her life. She was so demanding of him at a time when she was physically capable of taking care of herself. I think she’ll be a difficult and demanding patient for whoever is her caregiver in the future. :–(

Gloria has worked magic! The phone message was the brightest spot in Geoff and Joy's relationship in the entire series. Hopefully, it’s the start of a healthy, adult relationship! ;–)

But isn’t that a bit like discussing bisexuality with a straight man? ;–)

@Geron Kees‘ Charlie Boone series is a mixture of comedy, drama, fantasy, and romance. They are holiday themed, but so far, no Cinco de Mayo, Lunar New Year, or Harvey Milk Day stories yet. A fun cast of characters will keep you entertained. ;–)

I’m curious as what you look for in a story first. I read a variety of stories, but there are certain genres I avoid. Others highly recommend stories from some of those very genres even in the lists posted so far! A to Z has to be one of my very favorites of all time. @Timothy M.’s in-progress The Cardmaker and the Caretaker is another favorite (I’m sorry, I don’t know how to get those fancy links).

I thought it was pronounced toe ma TEE yoz… ;–) Any idea roughly how long it should be baked (for those of us who only have a range and a microwave)?

Geoff continues to gain confidence, but still struggles with insecurity. Tony remains a loving and patient boyfriend. In a story free of teenaged angst and turmoil, Geoff and Tony confront conflict and drama with adult dignity and experience. In a world filled with manufactured Reality TV drama, Soul Music is the equivalent of a BBC/PBS drama sans period costumes. ;–)

I am amused by the petition effort to get HBO to reshoot the final season! I cannot imagine HBO throwing multiple millions of dollars into an admission that they were wrong to force the producers into a shorter season than the story required. And I cannot imagine the producers ever admitting that they shouldn’t have bowed to the pressure from HBO. At the rate GRRM is going, we’ll be getting the ninth book some time around 2040… ;–)

I’m glad you resisted temptation. Lesser authors would have left us with a massive cliffhanger. The other two lads would have joined in the attack, leaving Tony and Geoff unconscious, battered, and bleeding on the sidewalk. Kylie and her friends would have called 999 and sirens would be heard in the distance. Gay Bashing is an unfortunate fact of life. Even in the middle of Gay ghettoes like The Castro, there are insecure young men and boys who feel the need to ‘prove’ their masculinity and heterosexuality with violence. Clearly, those homophobes are unaware of the fact that a large percentage of Gay Bashers (physical as well as verbal) are struggling with unwanted attractions to other men. Bashing is often an externalization of the internal conflict over their sexual attractions.

Is this solely a physical transformation? Are there personality, psychological, and emotional changes too? How did such a solitary being deal with the psychological ramifications, especially the initial change, with no one to talk to?

You mean like the final two seasons of Game of Thrones? ;–)

The earth didn’t move when they got shot? ;–)

Rather than just adding more cash to their Clipper Cards, Adam and Colleen should be buying the (Discount) Monthly Pass. I’m not getting the impression that the boys are using any system other than Muni, so the flexibility of cash value on the Clipper Card is outweighed by the lump-sum price for unlimited rides during the month. Cheaper per ride than the cash price if you use the system regularly. It will still be cheaper for me to use the cash option for the ten days I’ll be attending the eleven day Frameline film festival. Both Muni and AC Transit (the bus system that serves most of the East Bay west of the hills) price their monthly passes for users who will be riding more than 20 days in the month. The other options they offer (for visitors) don’t match my needs either. ;–)

I was under the impression that Ezra’s parents pressured him into leaving town. Maybe he was too nervous to ask yet? Does Ezra intimidate him? Is he still cogitating over the possibilities? I agree, but @Aceinthehole can't answer all the questions in a single chapter! ;–)

The drive to learn more about his history through his mysterious, long-unknown biological donor seems to be much stronger in Artie than with some other people in similar situations. Adam doesn’t help clearing up the questions Artie has. No one who could, has been very forthcoming. The evasiveness and lack of transparency increases Artie’s curiosity instead of diminishing it as they intend. Once his questions are answered, Artie’s interest in staying in contact may disappear too, or he might find a need to remain connected. Artie has only been away from Texas a matter of months. It’s too soon for Texas accents to sound foreign to his ears. Ezra grew up in the same small town as Artie, Sarah, Adam, and Sadie. Why does his ‘deep Southern voice’ seem so remarkable to Artie?

Well, I’m still wary of Ezra. From only having his mother and Sadie in his life to being surrounded by all this testosterone with only Charlene and Colleen to dilute the atmosphere, Artie sure has had a dramatic change in circumstances! But he seems to have adjusted well. And now Ezra has given up all parental rights in favor of Adam. I would have thought Ezra would've wanted to negotiate at least some visitation rights… ;–)

I once had a manager who ‘hated’ the store’s Receiving Manager. It wasn’t very long before she married him! He was sexy in a butch, husky way. Not at all my type, but he was a really nice guy and I think they made a lovely couple. ;–) A much happier ending than a coworker (from around the same time) who had an on-again/off-again love/hate relationship with a long-term boyfriend. When they were apart, they missed each other and couldn’t stand to be apart. When they were together, they fought constantly and bitterly. Finally they broke up for good. She eventually met a nice guy and got married. Before the wedding, he actually offered to go to a bar with me to pick up blonds/blondes (this was before my redhead obsession joined my blond obsession). ;–) I always love seeing the A/I Team pop up! Even if the Imp managed to cause consternation and chaos at CC. Maybe especially since the Imp caused consternation and chaos at CC! ;–)

Was the event significant enough for the Icelanders to note its Seismic rating? (Around here, you don’t notice 1s and 2s. You barely hesitate for a 3, but 4s make you wonder if it’s going to be significant. 5s make you look for someplace to duck under. 6s and 7s are the ones you remember and talk about for the rest of your life. But if it’s your first earthquake, you might panic in a 2 or 3 – and then you feel foolish when you realize only newbies reacted by diving under a desk!) ;–)

The Wisemen and Shepherd costumes were robes too. It was a sexist gender thing. Like I said, it was a relatively small congregation. It was never a question of finding enough roles, it was more a question of finding enough bodies! Good night! ;–)

It’s 8am here on the Pacific Coast and I haven’t gone to sleep yet. First Thorne distracted me with his Blog posting, then you posted this just as I was about to turn my display off. I think you plotted with each other to keep me awake! ;–) Good night! ;–)

Can Angels get pregnant? ;–)