Former Member

Are the pirates and the Consortium just listening on Eric & Peter’s conversations? ;–)

An iPad is much more useful than a Kindle. Even my ancient seven year old iPad can do all sorts of things. I’m trying to figure out how to replace it though… ;–)

Yes, it’s still the middle of the night in Thornland… ;–)

Especially since it’s after midnight in Oslo. ;–)

Are you as good as @Thorn Wilde is at editing? ;–)

Well if you were more perfect, @Thorn Wilde wouldn't have such a difficult job! You just need to drop a few distraction, like coffee, whiskey, and cider… ;–)

There’s still time for you to write that Jett has decided that’s his new pet name for the man he loves (after he figures out that they are, in fact, not two different people)! ;–)

The Royal Hawaiian government had been recognized by the US, England, and France. It was the first non-European government to get that kind of recognition. Even so, there were illegal occupations by ship captains that had to be undone by the governments involved. None of the three Atlantic governments wanted any of the others to control the valuable central Pacific islands. But just as with California, immigrants from the US (illegally assisted by the US military) overthrew the legitimate government and installed themselves as a new ‘Republic.’ And just as with California, the new ‘Republic’ petitioned to be admitted to the Union. There was a delay in these plans because the US administration was disinterested in acquiring territory thousands of miles from the US Mainland (with a majority population of non-whites). A change in administrations made Hawaii a US territory. Similar to how Native American languages were treated on the Mainland, Hawaiian was banned for many decades. The Hawaiian culture was suppressed. There have been efforts to teach children to speak Hawaiian and to bring back the Hawaiian culture (dance, arts, and crafts). Unlike the portrayals on TV and in movies, most Kama’ainas* (Hawaiian residents, not necessarily Native Hawaiians) use relatively few Hawaiian words in every day conversation. This is why Hawaii is the only state with a Royal Palace in the US. There are still pretenders to the Royal Kingdom. There are a few who want to return Hawaii to independence. * By the most generous definition, I might be considered to be a Kama’aina because I lived there from when I was a few months old until I was 8. My 3½ year older brother has a similar claim. But my younger brother has a much better claim since he was born there. I look similar to half of the population there. However, I am definitely a Californian, born and raised (with a only short vacation on ‘our’ tropical islands).

Like other Polynesian cultures, Hawaii had been much more accepting of nudity and variations in sexuality before Western missionaries imposed their moral standards on the native population. The muumuu is a colorful, relaxed version of the Victorian-era neck-to-ankle-to-wrist dress. The coconut bra is a very inauthentic fig leaf-style compromise. Many of the showier features of ‘authentic’ commercial celebrations of supposed Hawaiian culture are actually imports from Tahiti and other places. I’m not sure about the fire dance, but the fastest pace hip-shaking dance is Tahitian, not Hawaiian Hula. Disney is especially guilty of distorting, diluting, and polluting cultures with its ‘interpretations.’ Modern Hawaii is a fusion culture. American plantation owners imported workers from Asia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Portugal who brought their foods and cultures with them (replacing each group as they became disgruntled with working conditions and pay). You will find local favorites that have origins from all over the world. Crack Seed is a very salty Chinese preserved plum eaten as a snack. Saimin is a blend of several Asian soup styles and is even served at McDonald’s. Portugal contributed Malasadas (Lenten donuts that are sold as festival food), Portuguese Sausage (linguisa), and King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread (based on a Portuguese sweet bread used by sailors because it stayed fresher longer than regular breads). Teriyaki is Japanese and you’ll find Teriburgers served as fast food. Spam Musubi is a blend of Japanese sushi with the canned meat that became popular during WWII when other meats were in short supply. Hawaiian Shave Ice (not made with the more granular crushed ice) is a modification of a Japanese treat.

I want to point out that Honolulu is not pronounced Hah nah loo loo the way most newscaster think. It’s Hoh noh loo loo. Hawaiian is easy because they have so few letters in their alphabet and the vowels are very consistent in their pronunciation. Hawaii has been a part of the US for neatly 120 years and a state for more than 60 years!

Fishhook on a weight. Good one. Enjoyed this.

I just had a twisted thought. What if Sabrina is the baby mama! And what if Sabrina told her father that April Summer was the father rather than Jett? ;–)

Finally! April topping Jett! You know this is the scene I’ve been waiting for, @Laura S. Fox! I’m tired of the smaller, prettier young man always bottoming for the older, bigger, darker, hairier, more muscular top. Especially in early Gay porn, the bleached blond was always the bottom with very, very few exceptions. Even though their pubic and leg hair were all so dark it was very clear that they weren’t natural blonds. It’s so much more erotic when the physically more powerful man visibly relaxes and invites himself to be penetrated anally. Versatility means that both partners know what the other is feeling when they try different positions and actions. Flip flopping adds variety. ;–)

I’m wondering if a MIG welder is even remotely hot enough to melt the frozen heart of a passive-aggressive mother… ;–)

What? You guys act like I’m the only one who thought about that! There aren’t any rules that prevent Wayne from posting a new chapter every day, or even twice a day (separated by at least 8 hours)! ;–)

You could always switch to daily postings… ;–)

Why do I have the impression that Wayne wrote this scene based on his personal experience? ;–)

One major issue at a time! ;–)

Mentioning that things even exist outside some people’s comfort zone seems to trigger anger and fear.

Um… Wouldn’t you prefer a little more privacy when you and yours get ‘as excited as Grant’? Children probably don’t want to see what Santa & Mrs Claus do when they get randy… ;–) I’m not calling you old or anything.

Grant missed an opportunity to wrap up the Journal and present it as a gift! Sure it would have provoked questions. But it would have been over and done! ;–) But the story would have ended too. And it’s too soon for that. We need to drag out Grant’s conundrum for a few more months (in our chronology). Keep Grant bouncing between ecstasy and misery for another year. ;–)

The term ‘Politically Correct’ is only used by one side to demonize a topic and poison the conversation. It is a trigger phrase used to shut down discussion. At least twice it was used to justify censoring a Topic.

It’s much better to leave a very small tip in order to make it clear that the tip was not forgotten. ;–)

[sarcasm not aimed at anyone in particular] If this were a ‘How Energy Efficient Are You’ test, some people would be complaining that they’re rich enough to not need to worry about saving energy. How dare any of us impinge on their right to waste money! What business is it of ours to question their need to have open spaces where energy nazis have triple-paned windows? Just for that, I’ll run both my air conditioner and coal-fired furnace all day and all night even when I move back to my cave half the year. [/sarcasm]

It was only one tire, so she could easy switch to her spare. And there was no puncture or cut, so the tire only needed to be refilled. Is she had been more careful, she might have been able to squeeze her Volvo into the space without shoving my car out of her way. Or she could have looked for a more appropriately sized space somewhere else!