Former Member

I got my Blueblood fix and now I’m jonesing for Makarovia. ;-) I think Mitch and Colin should go on a little vacation to a quaint, nearby little country that’s famous for being Gay-friendly… ;-)

This isn’t a TV ad, but I had to post it somewhere… No, this isn’t what you think it is!

No, then he shoves! The virgin is going into a volcano, right? Oops, someone lost their balance and fell in! ;-)

Ditto! ;-)

I was chastised severely when I unknowingly hinted at that.

When did Matt have time to let Jon know about his brother? As far as Jon is concerned, a stranger walks in with his husband and somehow he reads their minds? You forgot to mention that Jon is psychic! That will make it much easier for him to be a pediatrician since kids can’t always verbalize what they’re feeling! ;-) A pediatrician will be very useful for Matt’s new foundation. But a psychologist would be even more critical. Throwaway children will have psychological problems that will probably be more significant than their (physical) medical issues.

Consumers often do not realize what sorts of little things they can do to reduce waste. For example, all those K-Cup pods for Keurig machines. They’re non-biodegradable and difficult to recycle because they are so small. If you insist on using a Keurig, you can get buy refillable pods. Coffee grounds are biodegradable and can either be composted or placed in green waste bins. In San Francisco, groups collect excess food from restaurants and cafeterias to distribute to homeless shelters and other similar venues. Food waste is also collected by the waste disposal company, composted, and sold to farmers as highly sought-after mulch. Holiday trees are chipped in many cities for use as mulch too. All of these diversions from sanitary landfills reduce the amount of material that ends up there. There are plans available online for machines to shred plastics, melt the pieces, and repurpose the material. These are designed for neighborhood-sized organizations. Everything that can be reused helps the environment. My memory isn’t great, but I think the material they were using was the plastic soda bottle caps and they were turning them into bowls and other useful things. I think they can turn soda bottles into polyester for jackets, too.

He also winces when Tyler pats him oh the shoulder, but passes it off as clumsiness.

I’m glad I Followed this story. I’d almost forgotten about it because it had been so long since the last chapter! But the characters and situations were memorable enough that I didn’t need to reread the last chapter to remember what was going on! ;-) All of these characters are so damaged. We all have baggage, but these guys each have more stuff to haul around than most small towns! Terrin desperately needs help – the signs are there and I’m surprised that with all their experience in abuse no one has noticed yet. I’m eagerly awaiting Part Two…

…And today, the test is even painless, easier, and faster! Just a quick mouth-swab and a 20-minute wait to find out! Even fewer reasons not to get tested! If you are sexually active, consider taking PeEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis of Truvada). According to Wikipedia, this use is currently approved in major countries including the US, Canada, Australia, France, Brazil, South Africa, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, Israel, Taiwan, Kenya, Scotland and others. There are ongoing and planned demonstration projects in countries like the rest of the UK, Sweden, Mexico, India, Thailand, and Spain. Please check with your medical provider or public health clinic. Many people, but not all, who are HIV+ have managed to get their viral load down to undetectable levels with proper medications and medical care. They haven’t been cured, but medical professionals believe they no longer infectious. The medications and medical care is extremely expensive and very time-consuming. There is still no cure and no vaccine.

Thank you, my friend.

I do my best! ;-) It’s a little frustrating to read because it’ll never be finished. Some of his other books are more satisfying. But there are a few that are justly controversial – one (Hogg) includes underaged characters, but the publisher got around prohibitions on that by arbitrarily adding 100 to the ages of (only) those characters. It has some serious BDSM content with a PA being performed with a rusty nail and numerous unsettling scatological references. I discovered the book because it was on a list of books a Fantasy & Science Fiction teacher wanted to use, but the book was out of print at the time. It’s easier now to find those sets of books these days – back in the ‘80s, it wasn’t something I could find at suburban mall bookstores. I read one of Delany's memoirs (The Motion of Light in Water) and soon after read Bio of an Ogre, the memoirs of Piers Anthony (most famous for his Xanth series). I was surprised when Piers Anthony mentioned reading The Motion of Light in Water too. Motion also describes some real events in Delany’s life that were adapted into fiction in his books. A few of Delany’s fetishes are mentioned – they help explain why certain features are described in minute detail in some books. Delany identifies as Gay, but was bisexual in behavior in his youth having even been married and having a daughter.

I warned you about these unscheduled illnesses! I don’t understand why you can’t plan them like everyone else! It’s so disruptive when you just up and get sick! ;-) I’m following too many stories. I was thinking Leah was a baby sister or something at first. So many stories, so many characters! Even some duplicate names! ;-)

Back in 1984, Openly Gay Samuel R Delany’s Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand had protagonists who were matched to several decimal points. Unfortunately, the novel was the first of a proposed ‘diptych’, the second book of which was never published (and probably will never be finished). Delany is an interesting author of Science Fiction/Fantasy and non-fiction – unusual for the SF genre being an older Gay African-American. So the idea of having a computer or other neutral third-party matching people is not a new idea – Science Fiction inspired Tinder- and Grindr- type apps.

‘They’ is a perfectly acceptable gender-neutral singular pronoun and has a long history of use. Other, newer pronouns are less recognized, especially by those for whom English is a second language. At this point, I’m still using ‘they’ but am willing to adjust in the future.

Yes, but I’m waiting for @Timothy M.'s muse too. Is it possible their muses ran off together for a little ‘something-something’? Then they should both be back refreshed and ready to inspire their ‘mused’! ;-)

Well, you’re perfectly something… ;-)

There’s also a writer who waits until he’s going to post the next chapter before he replies to Comments (to avoid spoilers?). He’s very consistent and he does respond, so I’m used to the wait. I think he reacts sooner, but I wouldn’t mind waiting even for that (unless the author is in a once-every-couple-years schedule for posting new chapters). ;-)

What? You don’t preschedule your illnesses either? What are you, some kind of hippie that just lets random things happen? ;-)

Nothing like an ex to stir things up that don’t need stirring! ;-) I’m like Geoff, I only see the negative things about myself. But I’ve been diagnosed as having Cognitive Dissonance, so I have an excuse! It was always easy for me to come up with the negative that an interviewer was supposed to see as a positive (perfectionist tendencies), but incredibly difficult to come up with positives (frequent tardiness isn’t something a potential employer wants to hear)! ;-)

As Timmy said, I also was referring to a theoretical newbie who might just do it to build numbers.

And if someone decides that a solitary is a sufficient Comment on dozens of stories? ;-)

How do Brad & Zoe feel about Cody? We know that Angela wants him to get together with Trick. Having people around you who support your relationship makes things a lot easier. ;-)

Isn’t that what FAQs are for? Of course, it does help when questions posed in said FAQs are actually answered. Ignoring questions tells users that the writers of those FAQs do not value them.

Some anti-bullying campaigns work on empowering those silent observers who don’t think they can do anything. It doesn’t take a whole lot to change the culture of the school by speaking up instead of silently appearing to condone the bullying. When bullies realize that most of their classmates don’t agree with them, the incidences are reduced substantially. For some reason, Burger King ran an experiment in one of their restaurants. Several actors who appeared to be students pretended to bully a fellow classmate (also an actor). Some restaurant patrons were given burgers that were intentionally crushed and torn up before they were wrapped up. A significantly larger percentage complained about their hamburger than confronted the bullies. (I’m sure it’s because consumers seem to think that service workers are somehow subhuman and feel no shame at blaming them for anything they don’t like regardless of whether it is the fault of the person standing in front of them.)