Former Member

[Cockney is from London’s East End.] 🎶 Sometimes you're better off dead There's gun in your hand and it's pointing at your head You think you're mad, too unstable Kicking in chairs and knocking down tables In a restaurant in a West End town Call the police, there's a madman around Running down underground to a dive bar In a West End town In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls West End girls Too many shadows, whispering voices Faces on posters, too many choices If, when, why, what? How much have you got? Have you got it, do you get it, if so, how often? And which do you choose, a hard or soft option? (How much do you need?) In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls West End girls West End girls (How much do you need?) In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls Oooh West End town, a dead end world East End boys, West End Girls West End girls You've got a heart of glass or a heart of stone Just you wait 'til I get you home We've got no future, we've got no past Here today, built to last In every city, in every nation From Lake Geneva to the Finland station (How far have you been?) In a West End town, a dead end world The East End boys and West End girls A West End town, a dead end world East End Boys, West End girls West End girls West End girls West End girls (How far have you been?) Girls East End boys And West End girls And West End girls (... forever) And West End girls (How far have you been?) East End boys The West End girls The West End boys And West End girls The West End girls The West End boys The West End girls 🎶

Really Eric? “Extortionary”? That’s proper? ;–)

Shouldn’t Ellis have said “I don’t go ‘round telling porkies!”? (Porkie pies/lies) ;–)

My impression is that Brits hated Dick Van Dyke’s version of Cockney because it was so wrong! I’ve read that the Dialect Coach who was hired was incompetent and taught him something that isn’t even close to the real thing. Real Brits would laugh at how bad it was!

Gender roles! Jeff is very old-fashioned and un-evolved. Women take care of the house, the kids, and all the softer emotions (ie just about everything other than anger). Of course, while he’s apparently bringing home the bacon, he’s not taking care of the fence or any of the other ‘manly’ chores around the house. ;–)

Oh yeeeeeeeaaaaaaah! That was promised a few months ago! We were told that Devon, Colin, and the gang were going to be traveling to a new country soon. ;–)

People who normally drop letters tend to over-emphasize them when they try to speak ‘proper’ English. An interesting example is how JFK always talked about ‘Cuber’ during the missile crisis. He added the ‘missing’ r that wasn’t really missing. ;–)

It’ll be the next demonstration ‘sport’ at the LA Summer Olympics… Women’s only, not Men’s or Pairs/Groups, of course, due to entrenched homophobia. ;–)

Is this like some kind of weird synchronized pole dance or something? ;–)

Maybe there could be updates from Wesley’s Journal? ;–)

After the last chapter, I was having trouble seeing how Drake & Jimmy would progress from their stalemate. All hope seemed lost. There didn’t seem to be any way for them to get out of their mutual stagnation. But you get them together in a manner that made sense for the two of them. It didn’t seem forced or unnatural. You managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat! ;–) So what’s next for ‘Drimmy’? A wedding? Kids? ;–)

In my Comment just above yours? ;–) I was going for a play on the two uses of Madonna, but I should have made that clearer somehow. The whole Freudian Madonna/whore complex. Both Brad and Melissa seem to be much less Madonna than whore. ;–)

It’s been Christmas for about two centuries! ;–)

That’s much more common that people named ‘November’! ;–)

Doesn't that make him the Emperor? Or is he the Royal Consort? Or just one of many in the harem? ;–)

Well Brad is certainly not Madonna. And Twister isn’t dancing. But I’m sure Kyle would love to have copies of the pictures Melissa took of them mid-game! ;–)

I can identify with Jeff to a degree. I also have an avoidant personality. When I panic, I shut down. My best friend couldn’t figure out why I ‘wasn’t’ panicking! He didn’t see me running around like a chicken with its head cut off. But my therapists explained to me that my reaction, while less common, isn’t unusual. It’s like the Fight or Flight response which neglects to include Freeze as an option, but various animals use the three strategies to deal with predators. I’m never good at planning, but when I was faced with eviction eight years ago, I wasted the 90 days I was given by the court. I didn’t pack anything until the last couple days and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do when I had to leave. I left behind many things I wish I had kept because everything was done in a huge hurry. On the other hand, I was kind of a hoarder and having to abandon most of my things has made my life much easier. I have accumulated some things since I became housed, but nothing like the sheer volume of stuff that I had before. And my current limited income with no credit cards (just a debit card) prevents me from spending too much on unnecessary junk. This is not to say I haven’t wasted money on stuff, just that there isn’t as much of it. ;–)

I never fell asleep in class, but that doesn’t mean I paid any attention to what the teacher was saying! In history class especially, I’d read ahead in the text book or I’d draw cars, fantasy maps, or ridiculously complex house plans (with secret passages and staircases). I didn’t really get much of an education in school. I used to read the encyclopedia or dictionary at home. Now I get distracted in Dictionary.app because it shows Wikipedia pages as part of the definitions – much easier to get sidetracked! ;–) The only piece of paper I have to prove my education is my high school graduation! I attended Community College, but don’t even have enough credits for one of the theoretical two years it takes to graduate. If they even gave me any credit after I avoided taking the mandatory English Placement Test prerequisite to take History or English (Fantasy & Science Fiction) classes. ;–) On paper, I have no education. ;–)

They should call him Hellis! ;–) I would think having such a strong olfactory sense would get to be very annoying. I have a fairly normal sense of smell yet I have trouble when I’m around people who slather themselves in too much cologne or perfume or use those smelly soaps and detergents – especially when they add extra stinky stuff! The world is filled with overwhelming stenches of various sources. ;–)

Maybe David & Simon will get lucky and Jeff will confess to having a foxhole fling with a buddy while in Vietnam or something! ;–)

Aren’t you supposed to say that your husband is your muse? ;–)

I think Jeff’s problem is that he doesn’t know how to relate to anyone except as if they were fellow soldiers (or the women soldiers prey on). He treats his kids as if they were part of his unit, not like children. He lies to his neighbor – having one of his kids mow the neighbor’s lawn, like he once promised, would ease some of the tension between them. I’m afraid of how Jeff will react to the news that Simon is Gay. Everyone in the family has been trying to keep that fact hidden from Jeff for a reason. Even Jon wouldn’t reveal it to his father, seemingly the only line he wouldn’t cross! Will the pieces come together in Jeff’s mind? Will he figure out that David’s ‘girlfriend’ is really Simon? Or is he oblivious enough to be relieved that David’s ‘girlfriend’ will somehow protect him from Simon’s Gayness?

I’ve never had any complaints. ;–)

@Mikiesboy didn't seem to be affected. Another Tim, @Timothy M., @craftingmom, @Puppilull, and others were struggling with a dry spell. Many of them have recently posted stories! ;–)

Some men just can’t stop bragging about their ‘endowments’! ;–)