JamesSavik

Some people know my story. Some don't. I'll tell it again because I think it'll be useful to Hayden. When I was 12 I was 100% BOY. Muddy, fishing, camping, hiking, hunting redneck kid from Mississippi. I was a also a boy scout. I started fooling around with my best friend. We were quiet about it. No one else knew. We had a tight assed Mormon scoutmaster who had a anti-gay witch hunt and threw five of us out. He wasn't satisfied with just mind-f**king us. He went to our parents and told them. He told other parents so their kids wouldn't "catch" gay from any of us. He basically set us all up for several years of hell. We were "out". It was 1976 and the rural south. I won't go into detail but needless to say it was really messed up. I was in a fight my first day of jr high before the first bell. I still had bruises from when my dad kicked my ass. One of the football coaches took care of me. I was a pretty good defensive player. I played defensive end/linebacker and I did really well. Our 7th grade team finished 9-2. The best record that any of the schools teams had had for years. I earned a spot on the "red" team- THE schools main JV team. The coach that had helped me out went on to a job at a college. My next coach was a real asshole. He didn't want me and wouldn't play me. That pissed me off and so I took it out on his favorites in practice. I was a bully. I was a nasty bastard and I beat on those kids like ugly red-headed stepchildren. He finally started playing me after I'd run off several of his players. Ninth grade year we had a different coach. He wanted to win so he played me. We went 8-3. I changed schools as a sophomore and things went to crap. I got suspended (school and football) for fighting with five guys who had no consequences. I didn't play and took a lot of abuse and cheap shots. When I finally did get to play on special teams, I was a head hunter. I was high on speed and was out to knock people out. It was how I let my anger out. The better I played, the better my standing on the team. We weren't really friends but when they found out I could play, they got off my back. I had drug problems too and cultivated the image of a crazy, messed up hood. Most people didn't mess with me because I was moody and unpredictable. Some days I'd fight at the drop of a hat and had learned how to fight really well (out of necessity). At first I was playing football for fun. Later on it was more about I'm going to play and if you don't like it, I'll take your head off. That's me: Abrasive, combative and belligerent because that how I could make them back off. I wasn't a nice guy. As the Brits say- I was a right bastard. In a way I became worse than the bullies. If they went so far, I'd go further. I wouldn't hold back. If I knew I was going to lose, at least I'd make it hurt. It's been 30+ years and I am the last of the five. I'm still a right bastard.

Star Wars 1-6 Alien 1 & 2 Star Trek 1-4 Next Gen 1 & 2 LOTR 1-3 2001 Day the Earth Stood Still Dune Serenity

I'm not a member of that group but you might call me a "prepper". Living without power for days after hurricane Katrina would make anyone a "prepper". I'm betting that Sandy made a lot of converts. Disasters suck. The time you spend preparing for them up front will save tears or maybe even you life. I don't think that this has anything to do with the situation.

The Vermilion Cannery The storm started out modestly near the Cape Verde islands off the coast of East Africa. The prevailing winds took it across the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic where it grew to become a category 3 hurricane but it was too late in the season. When Hurricane Mona entered the Gulf, instead of strengthening like they often do in August and September, it meandered through the cooler waters of October and November losing strength. It brushed Hati and Cuba and then made a bee line for the coast of Louisiana and Texas. The storm came ashore at Cameron, Louisiana as tropical depression Mona just short of hurricane strength. It collided with an East bound cold front and began to move East across Baton Rouge into Mississippi and finally Alabama before it came apart. In its path the storm dumped 6 to 18 inches of furious rain flooding parts of South Louisiana and Mississippi that most storms missed. Cameron barely noticed the storm. Built on stilts, the town that had been destroyed so many times by hurricanes was built to survive them. The residents simply drove out of town and returned when it was over. The swamps of south Louisiana are criss-crossed by numerous oil and gas pipelines. Before the refineries could make the crude usable, the pipes had to be checked from Port Arthur all the way to New Iberia. Pilot Jeff Chandler and a couple of engineers from Acadia Oil and Gas got in a Bell 407 helicopter and began to follow the pipes west to east. They could easily see that the storm had done its usual damage to the swamp but spotted no leaks and all of their transit and right of way markers were still in place. After spending most of the day looking at the lines, Chandler turned the helicopter North-West at Freshwater City to land at Lake Charles. A few minutes later he saw it. Just a little West of Freshwater City was a huge old cannery. The factory had been built on a deep water channel so fishing boats could deliver their hauls for processing and be picked up by ocean going freighters. Chandler had used the old cannery for years as a reference point because in the vast, featureless swamp, you had to remember any sort of landmark. Chandler had no idea how long the factory had been there. The pier was long since gone leaving only a row of posts in the water. The factory had collapsed and much of the timber scattered by the storm revealing a large concrete structure hidden underneath. Chandler said to his passengers, "Hang on a minute. I want to see what we have here." He circled the big factory twice. The waterfront side of the factory was gone. There was definitely a large concrete structure under the building which had originally stood on big steel I-beams. One of his passengers said, "What do you suppose that is? Storm shelter maybe?" Chandler replied, "I don't know. It would be an awfully big one. That old building has been here as long as I can remember. After surviving hurricanes Audry, Ike and Rita, seems a shame that little blow like Mona took her down. Well, we're burning the companies gas, lets go home." After a fairly routine hop to Lake Charles, Chandler returned his passengers safely with good news. The oil and gas people could get back to work. The mystery bug bit Chandler. He flew over the site any excuse that he had. There was nowhere safe to land but he took pictures and a got good GPS fix on the site. He even spotted mounds of oyster shells out behind the factory building. After talking to a few people, he decided to go to the Vermilion Parish seat at Abbeville and see what he could discover about the mysterious cannery. He drove the hour and a half from Lake Charles and camped out in the Parish Clerks office. It took him forever to find any documents regarding the site but they began in the thirties. The company paid its taxes in 1938 as Finster and Klein. They wrote a check on the New Orleans Industrial Bank for the staggering sum of 1,812.35. Chandler kept going backwards. 1937, 1936, 1935 until the property was purchased and the factory constructed in 1934. Every year they paid between $1200 to $2200. The old country clerk brought him a dusty folder with very little contents with 1934 written in fine penmanship on the cover. He said, "Thought you might like to see this. It's the articles of incorporation for all the companies founded in 1934." Chandler opened the folder. There was only one document. He looked at the old man who shrugged and said, "It was the depression. Not much was going on here." According to the documents, in 1934 Finster & Klein of Wilhelmshaven, Germany founded the Vermilion Cannery. It paid taxes and abruptly stopped in 1939. So, it was a German owned company that abruptly shut down at the outbreak of World War II. That was all Chandler could discover at the parish clerks office but at least he had a name and some dates. Later that evening, Chandler got on his computer and began to do some searching. He found that Finster & Klein were a subsidiary of Krupp Industries. Their ownership was close to Hitler and very influential in the Nazi party. In 1940 their holding in the United States were seized by the FBI for suspected espionage activities at various sites along the East Coast. At a couple of locations that they missed, Nazi spies were radioing the comings and goings of allied ships at American ports. That wasn't completely sorted out until late in 1943. Wow! Chandler rolled away from his computer. He picked up his cell phone and called a friend in Freshwater City. "Hello Louis. This is Chandler, how you doing?" "You still running charters?" "Good. You free Thursday? There's a place I want to see up close..." * * * Chandler arrived at the marina at Freshwater City at dawn in time to catch Louis Bossard having breakfast. Louis smiled at seeing his old friend and said, "Jeff, how you are boy?" "Fair to middlin' Louis. How does the weather look?" "Good, good. A little cold for fishing. What you got in mind?" "You know that old fish cannery off Decater Point?" "Yeah, sure. Mona knocked most of it down." "I wanna see it up close." "I can get you there. There's a deep water channel all the way to the place." Chandler told his old friend about the factories checkered past. Bossard agreed that it was worth a look so they loaded their modest gear in a Sea-Ray Weekender and took off. They had to go South for deep water before they could turn West. It took them about an hour to get to Decater's Point and they could see easily see the huge old factory. As they were traveling Bossard said, "You know, I can believe there might have been Nazi spies in these parts. It's damn hard to get to, remote as hell and I run diving charters to about a dozen wreaks within a hundred miles of here." Chandler replied, "It's about halfway between New Orleans and Houston. If I wanted to keep an eye on Gulf shipping, I couldn't think of a better place." They approached from the deep-water channel and tied off on and old pier piling and climbed up to the railroad cross ties to what must have been the main dock. The first thing Jeff noticed was the rusting remains of a tall radio mast that had collapsed in the storm. They could easily see the formed concrete underneath the collapsed rubble. After investigating it, Chandler discovered that it was even larger than he thought. He took out his camera and began taking pictures. Bossard said, "Grab onto this big piece and pull Jeff." They pulled on the old rotten timbers and they collapsed away from the structure revealing what appeared to be a very large rusty black metal door that extended along the waterline along the water front side of the factory. Bossard said, "Well I'll be damned. Am I looking at.." "Yeah. I believe so. It looks like an old U-boat pen. The Germans built a ton of these in France to service their U-boats safe from air raids." "What's it doing here?" "Isn't it obvious? The Feds could shut down the business but all of this stuff was still here. It's the only dry land in 30 miles in any direction. It's ideally suited between two of the United States biggest ports. They shut the place down but all the Germans needed to do was sneak a crew in here by sub and they are good to go." Bossard said, "I think we just solved the mystery of why there were so many ships sunk out of Houston and New Orleans." Chandler took his big mag light and struck the iron door knocking a hole in the rust. He braced himself and kicked enough of it the rust away to clear a small passage through. Bossard said, "You aren't thinking.." Chandler said, "I sure am." He turned on his light and looked inside. There was a concrete walkway just inside and he stepped through. Chandler disappeared inside and Bossard said, "You OK in there?" "Yeah Louis. Come on in. You aren't going to believe this." Louis crawled through the hole in the door and walked down the concrete walkway to join Chandler. He whistled and said, "Would you look at that." The unique black form of a U-boat was lying on its right side at a 20 degree angle against the opposite wall of the pen. On it's conning tower was the Nazi swastika and its identifier U-757 in white letters. Chandler said, "I heard of this boat. When things were falling apart in 1945, a bunch of the Nazi big-wigs got aboard to escape being captured and tried for war crimes. The Allies thought that it was destroyed by a British bomber in the Irish Sea." Bossard sighed and said, "Well, if you ask me, it looks like they made it."

Aspergers is defined as an "autism spectrum disorder". Apparently it is one of several forms of autism. From what I understand, Aspergers varies greatly in degree of how profoundly it effects individuals. Some are easy to spot but many individuals that have it are high functioning. In the past, some weren't diagnosed for many years but diagnosis criteria have improved. What really characterizes Asperger syndrome is severe difficulty with interpersonal relationships. Some Aspergers sufferers can't read facial expressions or emotional states in other people. This guy is a professional surfer with Aspergers:

Peyton Manning.

Frightening adj- Causing fear, dread or terror noun- The act of inspiring with fear verb- 1. Cause fear in 2. Drive out by frightening Derived from: fear, fright Fear is a very primitive emotion. It is one of mankind's most basic emotions which is often exploited for all sorts of purposes. It sells vitamins, burglar alarms, hand guns and nuclear weapons. It is powerful and a very real presence in the human psyche. In our evolutionary past, fear was a necessary survival tool. That saber toothed tiger wasn't a happy kitty. That pack of wolves was a clear and present danger. Fear told our ancestors when to flee or when to fight. Clearly fear is a hard-wired into our consciousness. It's not pleasant either. The physiological response to fear and anxiety is uncomfortable and decidedly unpleasant. (see Psychology Today: The Anatomy of Fear http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/crisis-center/200807/the-anatomy-fear ). Acid stomach, accelerated heart rate, dilation of pupils: your body is literally getting ready to fight or flee. So... why would anyone want to be afraid? It's a rush. Our brains release a cascade of chemicals that very literally alter and accentuate our consciousness and heighten our awareness. Who hasn't enjoyed reading a book or watching a movie that "kept us on the edge of our seat"? The arch-types and symbols of literature from its most ancient beginnings from Beowulf to Alien push these buttons in a masterful way. So what's scary? Ghosts, mummies, vampires or zombies? Traditional horror relies on symbols and images from the mythology of numerous cultures. For instance, the oldest "monster story" might be about the zombie. The dead, or perhaps the undead, inhabit the nightmares of cultures as far back as ancient Babylon. All of these creatures share a common thread- they are supernatural and they are dead. They have passed the mysterious gateway of death and come back as an abomination. Hungry for blood in the case of the vampire, zombies that crave human flesh or even ghosts that drain life energy so they may return to life. All in all something nasty that you would rather not have in your basement. These creatures tap into cultural myths and archetypes that exist in all of us. They push our buttons on a primitive level that we may not even be aware of. Modern man can enjoy a good ghost story but in the end, that's all it is. We know that it's fiction. We walk out of the theater and leave it behind. What about reality? Isn't it every bit as scary because it could be true? What about disaster, plague, terrorism or war? We live in a very dangerous world inhabited by some very evil people. We learned that lesson on 9/11 and are reminded constantly by terrorists and the acts of deranged individuals. To me the really scary stuff is what could really happen. When you think about it, there's more than enough going on in the world that could inspire brown trousers. Even a small nuclear exchange would be a horrific humanitarian disaster. Modern conventional warfare is a horror all its own. The bolt from the blue of a terrorist attack is something that no one that has experienced will ever forget. God forbid that we ever experience germ warfare or a super-plague. We are beginning to see books and movies that explore these new horrors. The Day After ( Nuclear War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After ) Red Storm Rising ( Modern warfare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising ) Debt of Honor ( War, Terrorism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_of_Honor ) The Omega Man (Germ Warfare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Omega_Man )* Sum of All Fears (Nuclear terrorism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sum_of_all_fears ) Soylent Green (Ecological disaster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_green )* The Day After Tomorrow (Greenhouse cliff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After_Tomorrow ) Contagion (epidemic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagion_%28film%29 ) When we talk about the literary genre of horror, it has changed. No longer are we talking about mythology. Horror is with us every day. Can we look at it without screaming? _______________________________________________ * - available in its entirety on youTube Note from the outline: Germ warfare, bio-terrorism, nuclear terrorism... *ACK! Runs away*

I'm not a big believer in magic. If the Mayans knew something that we don't, maybe. I don't think so.

Happy Birthday to... The Best Editor. EVER!

No. I don't want to talk about it. Baby killing assholes. Losing Roan. I wish I could have called this weekend off as a bad idea. Times like this it's hard to be clean and sober. If you've ever been in a fight and you've been hit a few times, you taste blood before it really hurts. Now I'm going to crawl inside my headphones and listen to good music loud and tune out the world. I know that I'll have to come up for air sooner or later. Now- I just want to tune it all out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60zM2sQ_4o

Happy Birthday *stays clothed*

I'm going to say this- not to be cruel but the be honest. A lot of young men don't know the difference in being horny and being in love. His behavior is bisexual and he's acting homophobic- like he's not comfortable with it. As an older guy, I can tell you that I've attended many weddings (traditional) of guys that I've slept with. A few of them wanted to continue after they've been married. Everybody wants to have their cake and eat it too. It just doesn't work.

It takes many people a long time to figure it out. There are people who get married have kids and come out at 30, 40 or later.

I never met an Aussie that I didn't like and, I liked Roan better than most.

I agree with you Pup. It's time we started talking about Nit-Wit control. That's where the problem is.

This week, I added the House http://www.gayauthors.org/story/jamessavik/thehouse and a new chapter of Operation Hammerhead http://www.gayauthors.org/story/jamessavik/operationhammerhead

Speed Run Evergreen Scorpius Sector Jeff Mason awoke in the dark. He was in some kind of transport, and he was moving. There was gravity, and he had a sharp pain in his left wrist. He noticed that he was wearing a headset. He said, “Where am I?” A voice answered, “Good morning, sunshine. You are in a cargo hauler. We had to knock you out to remove the tracker bug in your left wrist. We were able to take out the other one electronically. With luck, the Ministry g

Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogleberd Met my old lover in the grocery store The snow was falling Christmas Eve I stole behind her in the frozen foods And I touched her on the sleeve She didn't recognize the face at first But then her eyes flew open wide She went to hug me and she spilled her purse And we laughed until we cried. We took her groceries to the checkout stand The food was totalled up and bagged We stood there lost in our embarrassment As the conversation dragged. We went to have ourselves a drink or two But couldn't find an open bar We bought a six-pack at the liquor store And we drank it in her car. We drank a toast to innocence We drank a toast to now And tried to reach beyond the emptiness But neither one knew how. She said she'd married her an architect Who kept her warm and safe and dry She would have liked to say she loved the man But she didn't like to lie. I said the years had been a friend to her And that her eyes were still as blue But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw Doubt or gratitude. She said she saw me in the record stores And that I must be doing well I said the audience was heavenly But the traveling was hell. We drank a toast to innocence We drank a toast to now And tried to reach beyond the emptiness But neither one knew how. We drank a toast to innocence We drank a toast to time Reliving in our eloquence Another 'auld lang syne'... The beer was empty and our tongues were tired And running out of things to say She gave a kiss to me as I got out And I watched her drive away. Just for a moment I was back at school And felt that old familiar pain And as I turned to make my way back home The snow turned into rain --

Looks interesting. I like games where I build stuff. I'm a Civ fan from way back.

London is one of the worlds great cities. Wish I could pop over for a pint and try my hand at soccer hooliganism.

As this may be considered political, I am re-posting it here in accordance with site rules. Reposted from http://lgbtqnation.com _______________________________________ Scientists claim to have solved the 'evolutionary riddle of homosexuality' http://www.lgbtqnati...-homosexuality/ A group of scientists say they possibly have solved the question of what makes a human being gay, according to a study published Tuesday by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS http://www.nimbios.org ). According to the study, published online in The Quarterly Review of Biology, "Epigenetics" – how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called "epi-marks" – appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs. The team, led by University Of California Santa Barbara's Dr. William Rice and Dr. Urban Friberg from the Uppsala University in Sweden, found that gay people get that trait from their opposite-sex parents: a lesbian will almost always get the trait from her father, while a gay man will get the trait from his mother. Sex-specific epi-marks, which normally do not pass between generations and are thus "erased," can lead to homosexuality when they escape erasure and are transmitted from father to daughter or mother to son. According to the study, sex-specific epi-marks produced in early fetal development protect each sex from the substantial natural variation in testosterone that occurs during later fetal development. Sex-specific epi-marks stop girl fetuses from being masculinized when they experience atypically high testosterone, and vice versa for boy fetuses. Different epi-marks protect different sex-specific traits from being masculinized or feminized – some affect the genitals, others sexual identity, and yet others affect "sexual partner preference." However, when these epi-marks are transmitted across generations from fathers to daughters or mothers to sons, "they may cause reversed effects, such as the feminization of some traits in sons, such as sexual preference, and similarly a partial masculinization of daughters," according to the study. The study purports to solve the evolutionary riddle of homosexuality, finding that "sexually antagonistic" epi-marks, which normally protect parents from natural variation in sex hormone levels during fetal development, sometimes carryover across generations and cause homosexuality in opposite-sex offspring. The mathematical modeling demonstrates that genes coding for these epi-marks can easily spread in the population because they always increase the fitness of the parent but only rarely escape erasure and reduce fitness in offspring. Sergey Gavrilets, NIMBioS' associate director for scientific activities and the study's co-author noted, "Transmission of sexually antagonistic epi-marks between generations is the most plausible evolutionary mechanism of the phenomenon of human homosexuality." _________________________________________________ Predictably Bryan Fischer of the Family Research Council was quick to discuss the study calling homosexuality a "birth defect" and suggested that it may be screened for and parents may elect to abort. Expect all the usual right wing wackos to change their position on abortion as soon as they figure it out. Might be a while as that crowd is fairly obtuse.

Novels get the lions share of attention in literature but, a good short story with punch and finesse is always a lot of fun to read. In my opinion, the short story is more difficult to write than a novel. Not necessairly more work, but more difficult. In a novel, you have room. You can take the reader on a song and dance tour, develop characters, work the setting and develop the plot for a few hundred pages. In a short story though, you've got to get down to business. Every word must carry its own weight and have purpose. The definition of a short story is fairly nebulous. There is no set range for the word count. A short story is defined as shorter than a novella which is in turn, shorter and a novel. See? It's clear as mud. However- the same techniques used for longer works like characterization, setting, plotting- are also used for short stories. Because the short story is a much shorter work, you've got to get down to business from the very first word. You can't wander too far afield. The Traditional Three Act Story Structure In the novel, you can see by the generous page counts that you've got plenty of room to maneuver. Short stories, which can also use this structure, can run the whole gamut in one page. It is short stories more so than any form of prose, that prove the maxim: brevity is the soul of wit. Examples; If a picture is worth a thousand words, good example are better than me blathering on for a few thousand words. Two authors really stand out in the world of the short story: O. Henry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry Saki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki You can easily find many of their stories free on the web. Closer to home, our own Graeme http://www.gayauthor...g/author/graeme is very good with this form. I would venture to say that the vast majority of our anthology entries are short stories. I hope that I can generate some discussion and interest in this form because if you can write a good short story, you have all the tools necessary for writing a novel. It's simply a matter of more work. Exercises: Try out ComicFan's writing prompts. They can and have resulted in a number of posted stories.

tillykke med fødselsdagen hyvää syntymäpäivää bon anniversaire Alles Gute zum Geburtstag hamingju með afmælið breithlá sona buon compleanno gratulerer med dagen С Днем Рождения Grattis på födelsedagen з днем народження However you say it, Happy Birthday!

At weddings obnoxious old people say, "you're next". They stopped when I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Semi-autobiographical: there are parts of this I took from experience but most of it is fiction.