lagomorph

I think I've probably got you beat on the boring, gobears. I read three different newspapers each morning, and I like to see who picked up something that the others missed. Probably 90% of the books I've read in the past few years have been political or historical nonfiction, but that's mostly because of college. But I am also a Stephen King fan, and I own an absurd number of his books. I have to agree that The Stand is the best, although I've always liked IT as well. I can get into some other horror stuff too. Lovecraft is good if you can get past the long, rambling descriptions. Apart from that, my tastes are all over the place. Right now I'm reading Kurt Vonnegut, but trying not to explode before the next Harry Potter book is available. I'm not terribly into science fiction, although my boyfriend keeps trying to get me hooked on William Gibson. I sort of like detective stories, and I've always loved Sherlock Holmes. Well, I could go on all day recommending books, but as far as websites, there's a Harry Potter site I look at every day (I'm obsessed, I tell you), the forums here, some other story sites, and a couple message boards I belong to. Also, more news. I'll look at NPR online, TomPaine.com, and of course sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com, just for a good laugh. Shadows, I'm curious, what's on your reading list that you're avoiding? Val

My favorite is when he called Al Franken a "vile smear merchant."

Brothel creepers? Oh the images that puts in my poor head.

Well of course, Ben. You have to have enough shoes to match all your purses.

Happy birthday, Deb.

But did all the purses make it?

From the AP: The United Church of Christ's rule-making body voted overwhelmingly Monday to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, making it the largest Christian denomination to do so. The vote is not binding on individual churches, but could cause some congregations to leave the fold. Roughly 80 percent of the representatives on the church's 884-member General Synod voted to approve the resolution Monday, a day after a smaller committee recommended it. The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ, said with the vote on Independence Day, the rule-making body "acted courageously to declare freedom." The resolution calls on member churches of the liberal denomination of 1.3 million to consider wedding policies "that do not discriminate against couples based on gender." It also asks churches to consider supporting legislation granting equal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples and to work against laws banning gay marriage. A small group of conservative congregations had proposed an alternative resolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and suggested that supporting gay marriage could lead to the church's collapse. The Rev. Brett Becker, who represents a group of the UCC's more conservative churches, said it's possible his congregation at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Cibolo, Texas, will leave the church over the resolution. "I would like to see us stay in the denomination and network for positive change," said Becker. "However, many of my members have expressed very clearly that this decision would cause great consternation and that, if this happened, they would want to see us leave." UCC leaders said individual churches have not been polled about their views. Formed in 1957 and traditionally strong in New England, the United Church of Christ has a tradition of support for gays and lesbians. It is distinct from the more conservative Churches of Christ, which has some 2 million members in the U.S. The UCC was criticized last year for its television advertising campaign featuring a gay couple, among others, being excluded from a church. CBS and NBC rejected the 30-second ads. In the early 1970s, the UCC became the first major Christian church to ordain an openly gay minister. The church declared itself to be "open and affirming" of gays and lesbians 20 years ago. "This is a significant moment," said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, of Cleveland, coordinator of a church coalition addressing gay and lesbian issues. She said the decision emphasizes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are "spiritual people who love and are loved by God." But Becker said he doesn't think Monday's vote was representative of the wishes of most church members. "If we had put it to a vote of the people in the pews, it would have failed overwhelmingly," he said. "This is truly Independence Day for the UCC

From New York Times: TORONTO, June 28 - The House of Commons voted Tuesday night to extend marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples throughout Canada despite strong opposition from the Conservatives and a splintering of the governing Liberal Party caucus. The vote sealed two years of provincial court decisions that gave same-sex couples the right to marry in 8 of 10 provinces and one of the three northern territories. When the Senate approves the measure, considered a formality, Canada will become the third national government, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to enact such rights. Though the vote was largely symbolic, advocates for gay rights hailed it as a milestone because it was the first time a Canadian legislative body had voted to change the traditional definition of marriage beyond a union of a man and a woman. "It's about the right to love," R

Com, I have to say I wasn't expecting to see a post from you, at least not this soon. It was definitely a welcome surprise. It sounds like you've rediscovered life, and I'm so glad to hear that you're happy. You deserve to put yourself first every now and then. Val

Some excerpts from an AP story: Because of public perceptions, Jackson will have to change his lifestyle. "He's going to have to not let people easily enter his life. He was very generous to people who didn't deserve it," Mesereau [Jackson's lawyer] said. As for letting children sleep in his bed, "he's not going to do that because it makes him vulnerable to false charges." Some jurors indicated that they were inclined to believe Jackson had such a past, but that it did not prove the current allegations against Jackson. "He's just not guilty of the crimes he's been charged with," said Ray Hultman, who told the AP he was one of three people on the 12-member jury who voted to acquit after the others persuaded them there was reasonable doubt. "He probably has molested boys at some point." Two other jurors and one alternate who appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" raised their hands when asked if they thought Jackson may have molested other children but not the 2003 accuser. "We had our suspicions, but we couldn't judge on that because it wasn't what we were there to do," said Eleanor Cook, 79.

I just found this site earlier, and I nearly laughed myself to death. http://www.sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com/ Even if you hate politics and only have the vaguest idea who Bill O'Reilly is, I highly recommend that you "Listen to O'Reilly read from his smutty book Those Who Trespass, while Janeane Garofalo laughs hysterically in the background." Val

I'm glad to hear someone say that. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard, "Well, I don't know if he molested this particular kid or not, but I'm sure he did SOMETHING." Isn't that an interesting insight into how people think our justice system should work. Val

You beat me by two minutes, J. I guess I'll be the second. Happy birthday, Vic! Val

World domination starts in Australia. There is only one border to protect, and you get the extra armies at the start of every turn. Control of Australia and South America is the key to success... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I want Madagascar. It's pretty isolated from attack, and you can sweep from there through Africa, to South and North America, and then Europe is good for the taking. Val

As a general rule, I can't stand when writers do this. It feels like cheating to me, like the author just couldn't decide on a point of view and said, Ah, screw it, I'll do both. If you want a three dimensional view, there are much better ways to go about it. I think third person omniscient is best, where the narrator knows everything; all thoughts, feelings, and actions. The worst part about these switching first person stories is when you end up reading the entire story twice for no good reason. Say, for instance: "When I finished speaking, he just stood there silently, with a shocked look on his face." Then in the next chapter, every bit of the dialogue is repeated, and we get: "When he finished speaking, I just stood there, unable to think of anything to say. I know I must have had a shocked look on my face." Why? What is the point of this? Am I really getting into the mind of that second character? But I've seen this more times than I'd like to admit. I want to say that a professional writer can make things like this work sometimes. Even then, there needs to be a really good reason for it. There's no point in defying convention just for the sake of defying convention. But for amateurs, I'd say learn the rules before you try to break them. Val

I hate it when... Every time I open my mouth my boyfriend accuses me of nagging I have 9 days to renew my lease and no one is offering apartments for August yet Some idiot rings my buzzer but wants the apartment upstairs I can't get a job without experience and I can't get experience without a job I get sick and the ear that I'm not already mostly deaf in gets stopped up Val

DK, just wondering if you've ever been to www.mugglenet.com. They had a link to the trailer about 3 seconds after it became available. Actually, they're like that with everything. Nothing like a bunch of obsessed fans.

Something I really hate is when an author makes practically every character in the story gay. I've seen this happen so many times. At first it's just the main character, and then his love interest, and then a brother, an uncle, the milkman, and 5 different friends. I mean, come on. Unless there's something in the water in these towns, there have to be some straight people too! Something else, although this usually happens right at the beginning, is a long, involved descrption of body parts. How many inches long and wide, yada yada. In an otherwise good story, that just bugs me for some reason. Like before we can find out about someone's personality or even age, we must know the penis size. Finally, some people just don't know when to quit. After 27 chapters of bliss, suddenly one of the main characters has to move away or something. I mean, it's a little late for the conflict, don't ya think?