Conner

Goats have lairs??? I always use 5-star hotels. Good planning requires room service! Conner

My name is Bond. BondWriter. Sorry, that doesn't work. I'm listening to the French kiss song. I like it. She sounds sexy, that's for sure. Maybe some day in your blog you could tell us how the French got credit for the French kiss (the kiss, not the band.) Congrats on the blog. Conner

I hope you all realize that your "estimates" will only encourage CJ to make sure you're all wrong. If anything, goats can be stubborn; mind you, not as bad as humans. Taking bets, Jack? I'm shocked. Conner

I have a much narrower view of what constitutes porn than that provided in the dictionary. Videos, mags, books are porn when the sole issue dealt with is sex. There are no cliffhangers in porn. The plot is about having sex or displaying sex. Character development is set around likes and dislikes of sex. There's no love or romance in porn. There's no intimacy in porn. When purchasers buy porn, they already know how the story/film will end. In porn, the climax is always a climax. No one buys Playboy or Playgirl for the "articles". They want pics of beautiful naked people. There's no mystery. They bought it solely for sexual gratification. Pardon me for providing an example. Deep Throat was one of the first feature length porn films that actually had a plot and a script, too! What was that plot? The starlet could not seem to enjoy normal intercourse. Arrangements were made to bring in all sorts of male studs in an attempt to gratify her. None of that worked. She goes to a doctor. The doctor examines her and then informs her that her clitoris is in her throat. Guess what happens next? The ironic thing about that movie was that it had more dick than I've ever seen in a gay porn flick...and just one starlet. Stories here at GA are not porn. Not even close. We are sexual beings. It's one of the ways we express ourselves. It's the most intimate act between two people who care about each other. I completely understand when authors are 'reluctant' to write sexual scenes into their stories. Why? I believe it's because of the intimacy they associate with sex. Maybe it's just good old performance anxiety. Nothing to be ashamed of there. Conner

I'm not in favour of capital punishment (CP). That said, I'm very fortunate to not have any family or friends who have been victims of serious crimes. So, from that perspective, my position has never been tested. Some factors to consider: Deterence: CP is not a deterent to those that would commit a capital crime. Deterence is one of the main considerstions in sentencing an offender, both individual and general deterence. Protection of the public: Obviously, that's the most important issue in sentencing. CP is very effective in this regard. Well, duh! Imprisonment also works. Mind you, the parole system needs better 'prediction' tools on recidivism. Often, it's a crap shoot. On the other hand, many murders are crimes of passion - very low recidivism rate - so why CP? Rehabilitation: A nice idea that never worked. Again, another crap shoot. Our prisons are over-crowded and underfunded to begin with. Sense of Justice: The courts are paying more attention to what victims say. Victims and families need a sense of closure. Society as a whole needs that as well. CP as retribution is very effective. Lenghty sentences, without eligibility for parole, are also very effective. Sanctity of life: That's an issue of personal conscience. Then again, we have many pro-life advocates who support CP. Did I shed a tear for Sadam Hussein? No, I didn't. So CP is also a subject where individual congruence can vary significantly. In Canada, CP was done away with some 30+ years ago. Here, the federal government has total jurisdiction over the making of criminal law. Thus, our criminal code is the same in every province and territory. The provinces have total jurisdiction over the administration of criminal justice. Conner

You are definitely a "cool member", Colin. You're right, of course. Keep on truckin', dude! Frankly, I'm envious, if truth be know. Conner

What a grand lad you are to compliment my name. Yes, people do have a habit of blaming someone or something when they should be taking a closer look at their own actions. This habit is not by any means restricted to youth, either. A lot of us find the maturity to stop playing that game. Some of us don't. It is these people who invariably become a 'victim' in/of their own lives. Blaming is not my issue. This is what I got from the first part of the post: Some teenagers prefer the 'nurture' argument because it allows them to blame a neglectful father for their sexual orientation. The genetic or biological explanation wouldn't allow such blame (because whatever genes do get 'activated' is often a roll of the dice). As such, they're content to support the nurture argument so that they can continue to blame dad. Is such a scenario possible? I suppose it is. The unaddressed variable here is the neglectful father. Is the father actually neglectful towards his son or is the neglectfulness the teenager's perception of his father. Had the post stopped there, I might have been alright with it, then again, maybe not. I'm not sure. In any event, that's a moot point as the post goes on to say: the teenager holds on to the nurture argument so that he doesn't have to face the possibility that his father's neglest was brought on by his orientation and not vice versa. That's when the bottom fell out, I guess. Conner

I have re-read this post several times trying to find some sort of message that could be interpreted as the least bit instructive. I can't find any such message. I do find the post to be callous and insensitive; it treats a complex issue in the most superficial way. Tell me I'm wrong, please. Conner

That's Blackheart???? Damn, CJ, you just had to kill him off, didn't you? I think catching him and tying him up would have been a much better idea....then we could sort of tickle information out of him. Or even better, put him in a speedo and take him to a pool party at Veronica's. Graeme, I don't get it. What do sailors need a port for to get lots of sex? I mean, you know, with a whole ship full of gorgeous men!!! Yes, in my next life I'm gonna be a sailor....or maybe a fireman...I've always wanted to try out one of those big poles. Oopsie! I gotta go now!

Loved that chapter, CJ! It figures that you'd come up with a scientific solution to Chris and Steve doing the anchors away thing. For more drama though, you could have had Chris pull a sextant out of his butt! Btw, Graeme, a sextant has nothing to do with sex. Thank the heavens that the guys are both 18 now. Of course, that never got in their way. I'm happy for me. I can now drool more publically and feel comfortable about it. *drools* I'm way too tired to write more....a demain. Conner

Happy B-day!!! EC 21? You're still a pup!!! Conner

Congrats, Graeme. A milestone for sure! Of your 2,000 posts, I believe I only disagreed with about 400 of them. That means, of course, that you're right 80% of the time!!! Conner

No wonder my steak is always tough. It's all bull! Conner

The behaviouralists of the world will hold you in high esteem, Razor-dude. You're right to be skeptical, of course. Hair whorls, ring finger size, birth order, the size of some gland in the brain...it's all overwhelming...and these are only physical manifestations. They do not prove genetic/biological cause and effect. They simply hint at it. We are also products of our environment...parenting, culture, nutrition, childhood trauma, education, social interactions....that list goes on too. One question, though, how do behaviouralists explain the existance of homosexuality in some 500 different species of animals? Conner

Even with the multiple asterisks, there is a certain clarity to what you said. Conner

Happy Fourth!! Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Conner

Hehehe! Nice chapter! Between you and Jack, CJ, I may never have to take another holiday. Chris & Steve are just so great together. Chris buying a speedo to cut Steve off at the pass....that was hilarious! If they head out to that shoe store, they deserve everything they get, including the headstone designed by EMoe. So, CJ, do you have issues with the government and their security procedures in airports??? I've always loved that expression, cluster f**K. So was that ending supposed to be a cliffhanger??? :wacko: They are in an ocean, a very spacific ocean, in fact. All they'd have to do is float and they would be carried into shore. Conner

FOR GOAT EYES ONLY

All the best, Luc. Take care. Conner

Obviously, reincarnation is an issue for some members. I am among them. However, it is a most intriguing question. I answered in the context of "if I had the chance to do it all over again". I answered No. Conner

Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! So, now it's time to tout the Canadian horn a little! Here's something on our contribution to movie-making. Celebrating Canadians in Hollywood Movie Insider Anne Brodie says Happy Canada Day to our stars Most people aren

This only proves CJ's a lurker here, Conner

Happy Canada Day!!! Canada rocks!

None of what I have to say is even remotely new. It is something that we need to keep in mind with all this stuff going on. When it comes to the popular press interpreting science-based publications, take it with a grain of salt. Whenever the likelihood of a publication being sued over any particular piece is remote, you can bet your sweet cheeks that some degree of creativity is involved. Patrick and Thomas and their mom may well be entirely fictional. They are a source and sources are confidential. If mom exists, why is she talking about her young son's sexuality to the popular press. Right, she's being paid. Then, there's the medical profession. They're not much better. These are the people who had homosexuality classified as a mental disorder until 1973. That's not exactly the dark ages. I was 22 at the time. Of course, this classification was never based on any personal bias, it was based on the available science. Yeah, right. Government and medical plans probably announced that they would no longer pay for "gay" treatment therapy. Another thing to remember, many of the physical attribute studies that we've been following here were conducted with gay researchers at the helm. Even with the best of intentions, bias will always come through. Someone has to interpret the results. Someone has to find new funding for more research. As they say, life's a bitch and then you die. Conner