Tipdin

I'm not sure if I should be jealous or horrified. Although, I just might like a love-life that required supplies by the gallon and pound....YEEHA! Oh my, the fantasies are flying now!

OMG. LMAO!

You're quite correct. My partner and I have spent a good deal of money trying to insure that our wishes and plans are protected. We've signed over power of attorney, medical power, and set up our real-estate investments so that we each have Right of Survivorship, (who ever remains alive gets the goodies). It cost us time and money to try insuring that we get what all other married couples get automatically - and it pisses me off. We shouldn't have to fight for what is rightfully ours; what is automatically given to everyone else. And of course, we are also not able to have the same tax advantages as all other married couples - which costs us money as well. The system is broken and too few people are willing to admit that - and that pisses me off. Black people got the right to vote. Then women got the right to vote. Blacks got specific protection under the law. Physically challenged people got specific protection under the law. I think it's time WE get the same rights that everyone else has been given.

You are not alone. There are, oh, I would guess others in the same boat. Ten or twenty MILLION others! First, you have the responsibility to stay true to yourself. Second, you have the right to say no when you want to say no. I also think you answered your own question. You can simply tell them what you told us, here. 1. You know you're not cut out for being in the situation in which they want you involved. 2. You don't want to offend anyone or make any enemies. 3. You have exams coming up and want to focus on getting good marks. 4. You hope all goes well for them. And if you think you need even MORE reasons, you could always add that you're a worrier and getting involved would mess up your beauty sleep!

My parents were wonderful to me and my partner. We, of course, couldn't legally marry in Minnesota, and back then there was almost no place that would preform a religious ceremony for us. So we had the "after-party" anyway. We sent out invites and it was a blast. Here is my take on gay marriage: A wedding and a marriage should be separate issues for everyone and cannot be performed at the same time. Wedding = religious Marriage = legal Or chose whatever words you prefer. A marriage should be no different than buying real estate. You go into an office, sign a bunch of papers and bingo, you're done. There should be no Justice of the Peace, no blessing, no elevation of the situation beyond a legal document signing - just like when you buy a house or sell a chunk of land. It is a legal issue. Now. If folks want a blessing, or some kind of religious ceremony, that's fine - you can even do that without being legally locked together. It is a religious issue. The two things SHOULD be separate and distinct issues that cannot replace each other. Churches that are not gay supportive can practice their religion as they see fit, and churches that are gay supportive can operate as they see fit as well. Becoming one operating unit in the eyes of the law happens every day - we call them corporations. I owned several of them over the years. I was a single operating unit in the eyes of the law, when I owned a telephone answering service with my parents. I was a single operating unit in the eyes of the law, when I owned a house restoration business with a friend of mine. I was a single operating unit in the eyes of the law, when I owned a construction company with my boyfriend. Becoming one operating unit in the eyes of the law happens all the time - and SHOULD be able to happen - if two people want to become one LEGAL unit, they should be able to do so. If two people want to share a religious ceremony with friends and family, they SHOULD be able to do so. It simply has nothing to do with the law.

Sure! I used to wear pants with no pockets at all in the 70s and 80s; they were called Angel Flight pants. They showed off my ass and fit like a second skin. Everybody (with taste) wore then back then... It's so sad that today, everyone wears tents or garbage bags that hide everything within - no fun to look at - at all!

Isn't it sad that so few people try to queue up for a free hug? I would be first in line - er, well, I might actually BE the line - but I'd collect my free sample! Especially if the hugger is cute!

Excellent questions! My first thought is to look up the DNA testing labs and contact them. Here's a snippet I found on Wkipedia: The DNA profiling technique was first reported in 1984 by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester in England, and is now the basis of several national DNA databases. Dr. Jeffreys's genetic fingerprinting was made commercially available in 1987, when a chemical company, ICI, started a blood-testing center in England. I'm sorry I haven't got better answers for you.

In today's world, in general, is there really that much difference between male and female personalities? I''m not talking about sexual orientation or specifics, but could you even tell if someone on the Internet was one sex or the other? It would be interesting to set up anonymous chats to see if people can figure out if they're chatting with a guy or a gal. No deliberate deceptions, just normal conversation to see if there is a discernible difference.

Ok, see? THIS is why cloning is a GOOD thing! I'll take two!

Hi James, to whom was your note directed? If it was a suggestion for anyone, then I can tell you that I have seen all the Star Wars movies. In fact, in 1977(?) when the first Star Wars movie came out, I saw the thing nearly 30 times - it was COMPLETELY new technology at that time - I loved it! As for Tolkien, I've tried - several times. But there were so many words that foreign to me that it was like trying to learn another language. I really enjoyed the movies based on his books though...

Most book that I have read were by straight narrators, (or writers). Their sexuality is rarely relevant, assuming they are not projecting their opinions into the story. If they are, then that will definitely affect the story and my reaction to it.

Being learned or educated does not necessarily make for a better person. To me, it's far more important that a person behaves honorably. Facts and figures can be found in a million places in a millisecond, just go to the Internet. Granted, conventional knowledge can be a useful thing, but then meeting someone with a completely different take on life is rather like an adventure; so many things to discover or see from a new perspective. Talking to a mirror can get old VERY quickly. I enjoy meeting others who have fresh ideas and possible new vantage points from which to view a given subject. For what it's worth, I've never read J.R.R. Tolkien, Twain, or any other supposed classic either. I never heard children's fables until I was in my twenties! And I didn't learn what a noun or adverb was until I was fifty years old! But I could talk for hours about Alexander Jackson Davis or H. H. Richardson, or A.W. Pugin - names about which the vast majority of the world hasn't a clue! Just because we don't know what someone else knows, doesn't mean we don't know anything at all. Being learned or educated does not necessarily make for a better person.

I tend to write emotions according to whatever the character is feeling, not necessarily me. With that said, I often write stories that fit the mood I'm in at the time - and music can determine or alter my mood, as well.

That's just wrong - on SO many levels!

People actually DO that? I've never even HEARD of someone to whom that actually happened. I don't think I would like that either. But I do like that tired old song titled, Do You Hear What I hear? (Probably from when I had to sing it as a child in a school concert.)

Results Thrill and adventure seeking - you score 8 out of 10 This consists of items expressing desires to engage in sports or activities involving some physical danger or risk such as mountain climbing, parachute jumping, scuba diving, speeding in a car, etc. Experience seeking - you score 5 out of 10 This descibes the desire to seek new experiences through the mind and senses by living in a nonconforming life style with unconventional friends, and through travel. Disinhibition - you score 4 out of 10 This describes the need to disinhibit behaviour in the social sphere by drinking, partying and seeking variety in sexual partners. Boredom susceptibility - you score 4 out of 10 This indicates an aversion for repetitive experience of any kind, routine work, or even dull or predictable people. Other items indicate a restless reaction when things are unchanging. Your total sensation seeking score is 21 out of 40

This is interesting stuff. My partner is a therapist and has dealt extensively with this issue. When he owned his clinic, he had many gay therapists on staff to cater to gay clients, and this issue was VERY common. Promiscuity is more common that most people realize, regardless of orientation. I have known a few people that, (IMHO) were well adjusted and who lead active sex lives. If the activity is not an addiction or symptom, I really don't see anything wrong with promiscuity. If I had had the heart of a lion rather than a mouse, I probably, ...no I WOULD have been more promiscuous. As the song says; so many men, so little time...

Right now, I live in Midwest America. I descend from one of the first families to settle Canada, (Ouellette) having emigrated from France about 1630. As they moved into the US, I acquired Algonquin blood. One of my great grandfathers came from Italy with his Norwegian wife. A great, great grandfather came from Newburgh, Scotland. My other great, great grandfather came from Bohemia (Czechoslovakia). His son, my great grandfather, married a woman from Ireland. Seven nationalities, so I guess I'm part of that great American melting pot. I've traced three of my four grandparent's genealogical lines back to the 1500s. The stories and information one collects while hunting down their ancestors is amazing.

I yearn for the sixties - if we wore clothes at all, they were skin tight so you knew EXACTLY what you were getting!

My brother-in-law was a prison guard for a couple of decades. He verified that in prison, low-riders CAN be a sign that says you're a bottom and want some 'luvin.'

I'm a big fan of HP and subsequently, Daniel Radcliffe - especially when he takes his clothes off! I was a bit disappointed by the movie though. It seemed to gloss over or omit too much of the story. I look forward to part two.

Tell us how to do that! (Tipdin jumps up and down, all excited.)

I live in a rather small neighborhood of rowhouses, where there are large collective mailboxes in just a few places. The homeowner where my mailbox is, has become something of a local hero. They put a trash bin next to the mailbox, and it is FILLED by the time the trash collectors come around. Most of my mail doesn't even make it to my house anymore! I wish I could somehow delete the ads on my computer screen. I don't notice them much anymore, but every now and then, I see one flashing or going crazy, trying to get my attention. Those are the products I will boycott.