Trebs

Advil and Motrin are both brand names for ibupofen in the US - though Motrin tends to be more thought of for menstrual cramps (I think because of their advertising campaign) - but both are just pure ibuprofen. I saw nurofen for the first time reading a story (The Price on nifty) with the characters living in England. Similarly for paracetamol - I think it was one of Mike Arram's Peacher stories. In the US, Tylenol is a brand name for acetaminophen (and very famous as it was also the source of tampering in the early 80's which led to increased care in packaging of shelf-drugs such as foil wrappers and shrink-wrapping around the lids). I think it's more of a historical reason as the colonies based their legal system on English Law (also frequently referred to as Common Law). Now, 49 of the 50 states use the precedent based common law system, with just Louisiana using a civil law legal system based on French law (and its predecessor Roman law).

I can see the dilution aspect, but as long as it is a minor part of an author's work, I don't see any issue with it. Whether there are no LGBT characters or if there is a gay or bi character in the story who never sees any romance, I think such a story as part of a current author's body of work is acceptable. Now - possibly a simple disclaimer of "Unlike my other works, this one doesn't have any blatent gay romance but I hope you like it" or some such may help take the edge off. And - well, on a TOTALLY PERSONAL level, I'd rather not read about explicit straight sex in a story that has absolutely no gay romance (heh - I can barely tolerate it in a story where a character sleeps with both genders). On the other hand, there are a few authors here who I LOVE what they write and how they write it - and if they posted their shopping list, I'd probably read it (ok, exaggerating, but ya know...)

NOTE - I have no idea but a brief look gives: Y Mochyn Du = The black pig in welsh Most of the links seem to reference a famous pub in Cardiff, it looks like the name is from a welsh folk song. Get the impression there are other connotations but can't find it in a cursory look...

In reading stories, it isn't just the idioms, it's also sometimes just other word differences. The main ones that come to mind are "chemist" instead of pharmacy, "boot" instead of trunk (for cars) and the names of various drugs ("paracetamol" instead of Tylenol or acetaminophen, and "nurofen" instead of ibuprofen or Advil). To be honest, in most cases, I find it a delightful way of expanding what I know about - when I run across these differences, I usually take a break and check them out on wikipedia to find out what they equate to. PS - thank you Nephylim for translating "hob" - one fewer word to look up ;-)

Mike - get with the program - once he GETS the guy, he can go to pot ;-)

If you re-read it, Jeremy is not the bottom...

Thank you to all - had a great birthday and as tomorrow is the first day of school for Dan's niece and nephew, heading to bed now to have an early night. I appreciate all the well-wishes!

I'm not exactly sure but it almost looks like you're implying that it's bullshit... I may be reading too much into what you wrote though - not sure PS Windows mobile FTW!

Can't say anything about starting new stories since Dan's been doing it a lot recently - but, most of it is VERY good. Take your time, work on what you want (as usual) - you know we love your work and will be here for whatever you produce. <hug>

Or tell him that you're thirsty and would drink from his tap?

How many times do we have to tell you Steve - pictures, WE NEED PICTURES!!!

And the door knock interrupting what might have happened... At least Dan isn't a cruel person who would use that as an opportunity to make certain people totally change their minds...

Corvus and Mike have a point - even something simple like "Ya, my ex Bill is watching Mina, our dog, today"

Drewbie - I think that's always on John's mind... ;-)

Just finished reading it (for the first time at least) - FANTASTIC wrap-up... I especially loved Horst's Plan "A" for George... I'll miss reading about the guys, but look forward to any future stories of yours...

Vic - you're almost making it sound like Dom is a formulaic writer or something...

Thank you Mike, Julian and Rigel... appreciate the thoughts. And while a big part of me knows that I'm not ready yet and still have more recovery to do - I AM BORED!!! lol - just missing the office. But you're right - I need to be able to handle a full work day before risking one. At least the commute part is easy as my work is about 10-15 minutes away on decent surface streets.

I LOVED the ending... especially after the little clues that

The one exception I might note is the first two or so posts of a thread - especially if the thread goes up before the official story announcement. Sometimes seeing the discussion thread and clicking on it is how I find out about a new chapter and use the link there to get to it... Plus - some people might not be as careful when they see the listings in "View New Content" to differentiate between an announcement thread and a discussion thread (esp when the reply count is 0 or 1).

WOOT - a new Dom chapter... and OMFG - what an ending...

Gotta remember to stop making promises in my blog, like "I'll post tomorrow" - heh. ANYWAYS... So - the doctor visit LAST WEEK went relatively well. Dr Arai was still happy with my progress, only thing was, I also got a dose of reality at the same time. I had been hoping that I might be able to go back to work in say, early September. So I brought it up as far as - "I know the schedule says I can go back to work after 5-6 months, but what about earlier". I knew I was in trouble as I saw her bracing toward the beginning of the sentence, and then totally do a double-take at the end and she said "Earlier?" Uh-oh... So - we talked it through a bit and she did say that I POSSIBLY could go back earlier, but to consider easing into it, like part-time to begin with ("Better than starting full-time and then having to drop back and feel like you failed"). We talked about dates and she thought Oct for full time would work, but to also play it by ear. I also had thought that this was my last Stanford visit - but she still wants to see me, just every three months (well - better than having to drive down there every two weeks). I still go in for follow-ups every two weeks, but now I get to do those with Dr Spears, my local doctor. Otherwise, things are going pretty well. My stamina level is that I'm up about three hours at a stretch before hitting a wall. I'm doing a ton of reading since that's the only thing that is keeping me from being totally bored out of my mind. I've always loved reading on a handheld (right now, my AT&T Tilt, a windows mobile phone - previously on an internet capable PDA). So I'm scouring various story sites, nifty, best of nifty, etc... One thing I HATE - getting really into a good, well-writen series - only to read the last chapter to find it is UNFINISHED. One reason I love sites that accurately post "Completed" vs "In Progress". Though, if the author is still going, I have purposely read through their in progress stuff as well - just when they do post a new chapter, I have to frequently re-read the previous chapter to remember what is going on and who the characters are. Ironic thing, is in addition to the web-based stories I'm burning through, I have a number of physical books that I WANT to read, I just... keep putting them off. One in particular, is the completion of the Sword of Truth books - I still have NOT read "Chainfire" - though Dan and I own it, Phantom and Confessor (the last three novels in the series). Not sure why - I've tried about 4 times, but I just can't get into Chainfire. That's about it for now - NOT gonna promise another update immediately, but when the mood strikes me, ya, I'll definately update - heh. Take care, and thanks again to everyone for their well-wishes... It is much appreciated.

As I said earlier, there are changes for the better all of the time - just saw an article about Lutherans moving towards even more gay-inclusiveness One quote from the article that well sums it up:

Great info - thanks Rigel

Normally I just do this with Dan but... WHERE'S 51!!! /ducking On a serious note - VERY much enjoyed 50 though Lastly, I'm hoping that floor of the hotel is a bit crowded - you know, so maybe some people, like say Keith and Brian, would have to double up - just to help with the crowding, ya, that's it...

From their website, the relevant description: Personally, I'm agnostic. Technically, I'm Catholic as my Irish Grandmother made sure each of my father's three children were baptised though none of us were ever confirmed. My parents basically let us choose our own religious direction - we never had to go to Church (except about 4 times, when visiting my Grandmother) - but if we wanted to, we knew our parents would take us to any Church we choose. I did go a few times to my next door neighbor's Church and had many long religious discussions growing up, but before I even left high school, I firmly viewed myself as an agnostic. This was done after a lot of research, interest and investigation into a variety of religions and spiritual practices. Also - being gay had nothing to do with these views as that wasn't even something I accepted about myself for a few more years. Now - other than the Catholic Church, I personally look well on many religions and their followers. Well - even individual Catholics, depending on the person, I may look well on - it's just the dogma of papal infallibility and the views of all recent Popes on homosexuality, condom use and abortion. [NOTE - I do NOT want this to tangent onto a discussion of abortion - I am merely statement my disagreement with the Catholic Church's view of the subject - if you want to discuss abortion, this is not the thread] One church that is referred to positively in many gay stories I come across is the Episcopal/Anglican branch. Don Hanratty, Sequoia, Etienne, Mike Arram are to name just a few wonderful authors whose stories include characters worshiping and being welcome in various Episcopal/Anglican churches. I'm especially attuned to real life news about the Episcopal Church as a close friend from work - his mother is an Episcopal priest and he has held various lay positions in his local church. So when I find stories, such as the recent Bishop searches in the Los Angeles diocese (as well as one in Minnesota or Wisconsin - forget which) where the final list of candidates in both cases include lesbian and gay priests. Not to mention of course the already previous Bishop of New Hampshire - who hopefully will soon be joined by at least one or two others. Reading references in some of the above mentioned stories, does make me see the sense of wonder, of community, of sharing that is obvious these authors and many others who attend churches feel. I can appreciate that even though I personally do not share their faith. Mike - thanks for starting this topic and showcasing the gaychurch website - it looks like a great reference. As to the question regarding non-Christian faiths, I know the reform branch of the Jewish religion is typically gay-friendly (and some Conservative denominations are as well). I know there are gay muslims out there and would guess there are web resources available if searched for. Just as any other human institution, religions and churches are adjusting to changing demographics and viewpoints - and that's a healthy change all around.