Tipdin

The human brain is set up to label things. Our brains automatically categorize and identify in order to understand and remember. All of that is simply the mechanics of neurotransmitters. The hurt only comes in when people treat each other badly because of a label. ...or worse, when we think of ourselves as being "less than" because we have bought into a negative view of a label. If someone believes that dragons and leprechauns live down the street, we'd dismiss them with a chuckle. But when someone believes in homophobia we take them seriously...? If someone wants to believe in their meaning of the label of gay or godless or ugly, what the heck do I care? It is not my own belief and has nothing to do with me - I have no reason to pay any attention to such things. If they tell me I fit their label, ...so what...? I don't share their definition of those labels, so it's the same as if they were telling me that dragons have 5 legs and leprechauns are all over six feet tall. OK. Have another drink. I am not obligated to believe that a given label means what YOU think it means. I do not believe that all leprechauns have red hair or Irish accents. Are you obligated to agree? So when I say that I believe that all gay men SHOULD be manly and have back hair, are you obligated to believe that as well? So why would any of us feel obligated to believe that being gay is inherently wrong or bad? Why would any of us believe that we can't be great writers, or great thinkers? Why do we accept someone else's definition of a label? Really. Why do we buy into someone's ideas or beliefs? I don't think people under the age of 30 are as willing to automatically buy into the status quo as people of my generation or before me. I applaud that. Why should you? Being gay used to mean something so horrific that many of us committed suicide rather than give in to it. Now, I see young kids announcing their homosexuality almost as if it were a challenge. The horror is gone. Cripe, the shame is gone and it's been replaced with an amazingly POWERFUL sense of... F-you! I support that philosophy. If you want me to believe something, then give me a damn good reason - or get the hell out of my face. I said it before, and I think it's worth repeating: Talk all you want. Label everything you want to label. It only matters to me when I decide it matters to me. I'm glad that you young'ens are challenging, ...well, EVERYTHING! I say, go forth and remake the world! (But please make it better, not worse...)

Sometimes it's fun to visit other worlds and live other lives. Some series went on for so long, that I was afraid I might fade away from this world and fade into the other!

I'm right there with ya' man!

Boo. Hiss... I think it was love at first sight. Who knows what might have happened if... The love has lasted and can be freely expressed now. I think I'll keep the memory as is, I like thinking it was love at first sight, sorry.

Musicals were my life for may years. I've been singing and dancing my whole life. I met my fisrt husband doing a musical. My current husband toured with a couple of Broadway shows. We have friends and family in Hollywood who are involved in the biz, from writing stage plays to TV production. I miss doing them - a lot.

When I was a kid, I had a menagerie of critters, including hamsters and gerbils. During a severe illness, I couldn't feed and water them. I kept telling my folks to make sure the animals were ok, and they kept assuring me. When I felt better, I found my hamsters and gerbils near death from starvation. Both pairs died, along with several other animals. To this day, I still give my 80-year-old parents crap about letting my pets starve to death. They may not be human, but they're still important to us!

AMEN!

I hate that you say love is not in your future. How can there be a future without it?! Even if it's not in the form of a partner, it can come in many forms! We're taught to think that we all SHOULD have a partner and that, in itself, will make us more complete and happy. Perhaps you are someone that will have very close friendships that last a lifetime. Friendships seem to last longer than partnerships anyway! And isn't it sad that we're taught not to talk to strangers? That stranger may have been the most amazing person you would ever know, sleep with, live with, love with, play with! Next time you're at the airport, you find a stranger and go say hi to her. Or at the mall, grocery store, fingernail place, makeup counter, ANYWHERE! Then report back here, thank you.

The man in this video had some interesting points. He was awfully disrespectful, but if one can look past all the labels that come to mind for HIM, he addresses some valid issues. Many people try to avoid being pigeon-holed for good reasons. Humans tend to like everything nice and neat, especially their categories of right and wrong, good and bad. And most of us have a need to be accepted, even by those we don't particularly like for some reason. We fear being labeled because it might be a label that doesn't have the designer rating that we're taught to think is best. Sorry Tet, but here comes the age thing - again. Usually, by the time someone gets to my "dinosaur-ick" age, labels no longer have the power they once had. Being gay once meant something so horrific, that I would rather have died than be thought of as 'one of them.' (And almost made it happen!) Today, being gay is not such a big deal for most people. Being left handed used to be a big deal too. I refused to use my right hand and demanded left-handed desks in schoolrooms. Being a southpaw meant being different, and being different meant not-as-good-as... Society has come a long way and so have I. Call me whatever you want, even OLD... big deal. (It's pobably an accurate label anyway!) Eventually, the old saying of sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me - actually comes true. It only matters now when it matters - to me.

My cousin lives in Christchurch and I haven't been able to get a hold of her. She's in her 70s and lives alone. Her house was damaged in the big quake a few months ago, and it has not been repaired yet. I'm trying NOT to think about the possibilities.

I know what you mean. I started reading The Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks, I think it started in the late 70s and it's STILL going! I gave up. I began Ann McCaffrey's Pern series, which started in the 60s and that one is still going too! I gave up. In the early 80s, Tracy Hickman started the Dragonlance series and that exploded into a billion books! I gave up. It gets to be too much for me. I am curious about all the story lines and characters, but I just can't keep up with all the books. Many of the later books in some series are not even written by the actual, original author anymore. Because it kills me to leave all those characters, I learned that if I don't start a series, then I don't get trapped. However, many publishers now require authors to write series...

Well known to whom....? I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General, from The Pirates of PenzanceBecause We Can Cancan, from Moulin Rouge Hand Jive, from Grease One Jump, from Aladdin Maniac, from Flashdance Holding out For a Hero, from Footloose I just Can't Wait to be King, from The Lion King, Elton John's version Window to Window, from naked Boys Singing, dance version Stayin' Alive, from the movie of the same name.

Wow, I'm surprised and a bit sad. So few old-world romantics! YES! I do believe in love at first sight. I think it's unusual in today's world, but still possible. I fell in love witha boy when I was 17. I didn't even know his name, but I knew I had to meet him. I was a REALLY naive virgin and lightening hit me hard - it burned me to the ground. Forty years later, we're still loving each other. He was the first boy I fell in love with and the first boy I ever had sex with. Sadly, we have not spent the entire 40 years together as a couple. His family sent him away to be 'cured.' Thankfully for me, it didn't work! The poor thing tried though. He's divorced with three kids now. But his kids know about us and it's cool.

I guess I'm weird, ...or a whore. I like the intense encounter. It's like that perfect moment, if it doesn't end, it's no longer a perfect moment. Thankfully, we can all have what we want: Single encounters, short affairs, or lovely, long relationships.

Your post made me chuckle. It reminded me of my own college dayz - they sort of coincided with the disco era. I was in the theater and danced to all sorts of music, from ballet to jazz to tap. A friend of mine owned a gay bar at the time, and I wound up teaching some of his employees how to strip..! Too many years of cartwheels and back-flips has ruined my back, but I still love music. I hate listening to the same songs over and over as well, and that's why I NEVER listen to the radio. I love my iPod! It's been playing almost 24/7 for the past few years and it's usually set on random. Lady Gaga may be followed by Brahms or bring in some Billy Idol. I love the variety!

Gosh, there are so many! It depends on how fast you need the beat to be. You can also jump onto You Tube and search for aerobic music too. Bonnie Tyler's Waiting for a Hero is a good one. Almost anything by Dead or Alive. Celine Dione's River Deep Mountain High is guaranteed to give 90% of listeners a heart attack. Savage Garden's Affirmation has a very fast beat as well.

Quick question, nothing deep. Do you prefer stories to be in a series of books, or would you rather enjoy a good story and have it done within one book?

AMEN! I'm in college now and not only should they smell great, they should be collector's items - maybe I can make some cash to pay tuition!

Hi, my name is Tipdin and I'm a book sniffer. My last sniff wasn't long ago. I've been sniffing for over 40 years now. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to kick the habit. At this point, I'll even enjoy a sniff of my old books. I can't help it, I'm surrounded by them, and I'm weak...

Should a celebrity be open or not....hmmm. Personal choice, but I would hope they would be open so that young people will learn that there is no shame attached to it. If the celebrity is closeted but makes comments against, or moves to oppress gay people, I will be first in line to out them. I had a few friends that were semi-well known local celebs, and ended our friendship by outing them after they made bigoted remarks against gays. If someone wants to be private, that's fine, if they want to be a hypocrite, I'll call them out.

I too enjoy all sorts of music, but classical is loved especially well. My mother was a classical pianist and a favorite piece that she used to play, very UN-like the way it was written was called The Fifth Nocturne, by....AH! I can't think of who wrote it. She would pound the keys so fast and harshly, that afterward, the piano would need retuning! But me default listening music is DANCE!

WHAT?! No farmville? Oh man.....

I like your old-timer friend. And I think you're right, attitude has a great deal to do with quality and quantity. My great grandfather retired from his hardware store when he was 86 years old. He said people had changed and it was no fun working anymore. At 90 he bought a new house. At 97 he quit driving. He and I had a good relationship. He was so laid back! Nobody can remember ever hearing a complaint coming from him about his health or about another person. He did have a cute saying though: "If you can't say something nice, just say nothing." ...And there were times when he'd be walking away from a crabby customer muttering under his breath; "Nothing. Nothing. Just nothing." Attitude. Never leave bed without it!

It's good that you are aware of this. My own partner does not fit my list of requirements, and yet we've been 'officially' together for nearly 20 years. We've known each other for over 30 years. At times he is my sail, at other times he is my anchor. But he is always my friend and someone to whom I can look for inspiration. Yes, I could make a very long list of his faults; however, my life is immeasurably better because of him. ( And can you imagine? The twit claims that I'm not perfect either..! )

Quite fascinating. My father was an inventor for Honeywell, and I was an architectural designer so innovation was a basic way of life for my family. There have been many entrepreneurs in my life and seeing this video has fanned a waning flame. Thank you. I will send a number of people to the website and I know they will turn around and do the same.