JamesSavik

Remember, remember the fifth of November, The gunpowder, treason and plot, I see of no reason why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. In 1604 a group of disaffected Catholics decided that they had a belly full of Protestant King James. One Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament and King James with many kegs of gunpowder. It didn't work out and Fawkes was executed but November fifth has been an unofficial holiday in Great Britain and many countries in the Commonwealth ever since. Although the Gunpowder Plot didn't work out, it did serve as a wake up call to an arrogant king that the people wouldn't put up with his shit forever. Fawkes ghost was recently resurrected by a graphic novel and movie called V for Vendetta. I shan't waste your time by giving up the plot. That is a joy that you should discover yourself. The story does raise questions about what some people would do to be free. This is a question that many Americans couldn't be bothered with but we had better start. Dictatorships don't arrive escorted by marching bands. Dictatorships creep in quietly like a fog, with whispered conspiracies, labeling dissidents unpatriotic and making scapegoats of unpopular minorities. Does this sound at all familiar or have you been too busy watching MTV to notice? Valarie's Story I was born in a rainy burg in Nottingham in 1975. I passed my eleven plus and went to girl's grammar. I met my first girlfriend at school. Her name was Sara. Her wrists. Her wrists were beautiful. I sat in biology class staring at the pickled rabbit fetus while Mr. Our teacher said it was an adolescent phase that people outgrew. Sara did. I didn't. In 1994, I stopped pretending and took a girl called Christine home to meet my parents. A week later I moved to London to go to college and study drama. My mother said I broke her heart. But it was my integrity that was important. Is that so selfish? It sells for so little but it's all we have left in this place... It is the very last inch of us... But within that inch we are free. London. I was happy in London. I played Dandini in Cinderella. The world was strange and rustling with invisible crowds behind the hot lights and all that breathless glamour. Work improved. I got small film roles, then bigger ones. In 2006, I starred in "The Salt Flats." That's where I met Ruth. We fell in love. Every Valentine's Day she sent me roses and, oh god, we had so much. Those were the best three years of my life. In 2010, they came. And after that there were no more roses... Not for anybody. After the takeover, they started rounding up the gays. They took Ruth while she was out looking for food. Why are they so frightened of us? They burned her face with cigarettes and made her give them my name. She signed a statement saying I'd seduced her. I didn't blame her. God, I loved her but I didn't blame her. But she did. She killed herself in her cell. She couldn't live with betraying me, with giving up that last inch. Oh, Ruth. They came for me. They shaved off my hair. They held my head down a toilet and told lesbian jokes. They brought me here and pumped me full of chemicals. I can't feel my tongue. I can't speak. It is strange that my life should end in such a terrible place but for three years I had roses and apologized to no one. I shall die here. Every inch of me shall perish... Except one. An inch. It is small and fragile and it's the only thing in the world that's worth having. We must never lose it or sell it or give it away. We must never let them take it from us. I don't know who you are but I hope you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and things get better and that one day people have roses again. I don't know who you are but I love you. I love you. Valerie. Excerpt from V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

If he's a new bf, something personal might be cool. Burn him a compilation CD of music that you both enjoy.

I don't like the manned vs robot debate. I think that they both have valid place but both should be applied with praticality in mind. At the present time, Mars is in reach but only if we mortgage the future. The moon is easily in reach but it too is not worth the expense. In my humble opinion, I think that we should make better use of the space station, transition to the next generation "shuttle" and continue to use robotic probes as pathfinders. With a space station, why is it necessary to launch a stand alone space telescope? Why not add it as a module to the existing space station? If something goes wrong, it doesn't take a manned mission to go fix it. The guy minding the store can get his tool belt out and go fix it and it doesn't take a billion dollar space shot. George Bush, I know you follow my blog. Hire me, put me in charge of NASA and I'll fix the problems. We won't make Mars until 2030 but we aren't going too anyway.

I have to say all of the above. Stories are all different: different genres, tones, lengths, paces, mood, plot, scene, flavor, setting... Any one of these elements can add to (or detract from) the chemistry of a story. Many stories are memorable because of the characters. If I must vote, my vote is for appealing characters that learn, persevere or survive a trial. A solid character concept will carry a story with a weak plot. If you don't believe that, how does network TV survive? Other stories are fast paced action thrillers with lots of sexy gunfire and car chases. However, without sound characters with depth, action stories are like Chinese food: they are good going down but you are hungry again in an hour. Some stories are all about atmosphere and setting. Gone with the Wind just wouldn't work anywhere but in the South during the latter days of the Civil War.

Well said Matthew. I second that. Of course being a beast myself, I see sweet Kitties and Mathematical Goats as kindred spirits.

Arecibo is one of several radio telescopes that SETI currently leases time on. SETI's funding comes from private foundations; most of which take contributions from the general public. SETI is in the process of building a facility of their own which is optimized for their uses. They plan to use digital signal processing with an array of small dishes to monitor millions of channels at once. SETI- primary website Allen Telescope Array SETI is controversial. It enjoys quite a bit of popular support but mainstream scientists are skeptical about its science, methods and value. Paradoxically, SETI enjoys solid funding which it uses to assist other programs like upgrades to existing radio telescopes and the search for planets beyond our solar system. While many scientists roll their eyes at the mention of SETI, they are always glad to see SETI arrive because they bring money which makes them the most welcome of guests.

World-class radio telescopes face closure November 4, 2006 Jeff Hecht for NewScientist.com news service Source Link Two of the world's best-known radio observatories

Haggard is a public figure. The standard of privacy for a public figure is quite different from a private person. Public figures- like celeberities or people elected or appointed to public office- routinely get criticism for their past actions and/or their personal lives. Any religious leader that has taken a high profile stance against gay rights and then uses a gay prostitute can't hide behind thier privacy. Haggard is fair game and speaking as a gay person, whose rights this twitchy little b@st@rd is on record as attempting to restrict, I say release the hounds. What hasn't been addressed in Haggard's behavior is his use of crystal meth. That a serious felony matter that carries a mandatory minimum sentence.

I'll bet that you've got enough furr left over to knit anothr litter of kittens.

I'm sure that Betty Bowers is mortified. I agree Jack. Lately the press has been like a bunch of 7th graders at PE that has found out one of their classmates is gay. It's always fun to see a hypocrite take it on the chin, I just have to wonder how much blow-back this is going to cause and to whom.

Oh he's cured.

Hubble mission will be devilishly complex Kelly Young for NewScientist.com news service 01 November 2006 Source Link The space shuttle's final flight to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope will be one of its most complex yet, featuring five spacewalks and some quick bolt changes usually reserved for the pit stops of car races. On Tuesday, NASA announced to great fanfare that it would send a shuttle to service Hubble as early as May 2008. If the mission were successful, Hubble would have six working instruments for the first time since 1993 and would be able to do science until at least 2013, adding about five years to its professional lifetime. "Looking back on the last four years, without reservation, today is my happiest day to be at the office," said Preston Burch, Hubble's mission manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, US. The mission had been cancelled in 2004 because of safety risks to the shuttle crew

We really should take over. A gay led world would be much neater and cleaner place; aestetically pleasing without the tendency of sending young men off to slaughter each other. We would have more creative uses for them.

Myr- GA is an outstanding achievement. The only place I can think of where there *might* be more stories by/for/about GLBT people is Nifty. Nifty does NOT have the consistent quality of GA nor does it have the community. GA also has the added bonus in that we don't have to wade through tons of stories about various fetishes involving gerbils, whips or law enforcement. :wacko: What you have created transcends sexuality, literary accomplishment or social networking. Here GLBT young people, that may well have no other exposure to our community and issues, can see for themselves that we are individuals and not the petty stereotypes that our detractors would have you believe. I think that they will grow up happier and healthier people for the experience. For this you have my genuine admiration, gratitude and respect. James Savik

Another interpertation of the Swan image.

I would hire JSmith as a web administrator in a heartbeat. I have seen a lot of people with half his skill working in the business. We are very fortunate to have him.

Update: Pictures of "the Swan" by amateur astronomers. The Swan in all its glory by Paolo Candy. Another view of the Swan by Rheman.

A friend and fellow author that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for is having a crisis of confidence. I will not name him but I too have suffered from this type of criticism. Some people can not tell a plot element from an endorsement. When a murder occurs in a story, is the author endorsing murder? When drug use happens in a story, is the author glorifying it? Silly questions? As authors, I believe that the interesting stories are told on the edge. Somewhere on the border of normalcy and madness there is a place where drama comes from. That place can be mundane or high brow. It can be common or rare. It is about people in conflict facing adversity and without it our stories are just so much soggy granola. I have read stories that glorify drug use. I know what they are when I see 'em. Yawn. I have read stories that are nothing more than a common masturbation fantasy typed with one hand. Snore. You know what they have in common? They are simply not interesting. Touchy subjects can be addressed if the author handles it right. If you start reading a story and stop four chapters in because a character smokes a joint, then you don't know what happens in the other umpteen chapters. You miss the character suffering negative consequences like failed relationships and hanging out with a lower class of people. You miss him getting busted and asking himself what's wrong with me. You miss out on that characters chance at redemption or his fall into jails, institutions or death. So you see something about a story that makes you uncomfortable. GET OVER IT. Here's YOUR chance to look at situations that you would never chose to face without getting your hands dirty. Here's your chance to experience things vicariously that would cost you body, soul or life to experience and maybe... avoid, identify with or recover from or perhaps have empathy for people who have actually been there. An author is NOT his work. At his best an author is a catalyst to help the reader see and understand with different eyes. At his worst he is a propagandist or a pornographer. It is up to the reader to make this determination for himself. If there is truth in his work and an author has applied his craft with heart, then the work will stand or fall on its own merit. As an author all that I ask is that you think for yourself. -JS

I found GA when I was searching for Comicality's Shack out Back. After stuffing myself at Comicality's buffet ( :wacko: <urp ), I wandered around the corner and discovered a whole lot more.

Thank you Kitty. You rock! ps- I miss you in Dixie.

Discovery of Gamma Rays from the Edge of a Black Hole Press Release of the Max Planck Society Oct 26, 2006 Source Link H.E.S.S. discovers drastic variations of very-high-energy gamma rays from the central engine of the giant elliptical galaxy M 87 The astrophysicists of the international H.E.S.S. collaboration report the discovery of fast variability in very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the giant elliptical galaxy M 87. The detection of these gamma-ray photons - with energies more than a million million times the energy of visible light - from one of the most famous extragalactic objects on the sky is remarkable, though long-expected given the many potential sites of particle acceleration (and thus gamma-ray production) within M 87. Much more surprising was the discovery of drastic gamma-ray flux variations on time-scales of days. These results, for the first time, exclude all possible options for sites of gamma-ray production, except for the most exciting and extraordinary one: the immediate vicinity of the super-massive black hole which is located in the centre of M 87 (Science Express, October 26, 2006). Fig. 1: Image of radio galaxy M 87 seen in visible light. The central region, from which the VHE gamma rays are seen, is located in the upper left part of the image and the relativistic plasma jet extends to the bottom right.(HST) An international team of astrophysicists from the H.E.S.S. collaboration has announced the discovery of short-term variability in the flux of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the radio galaxy M 87. In Namibia, the collaboration has built and operates a detection system, known as Cherenkov telescopes, which permits these gamma rays to be detected from ground level (see notes). Pointing this system at a nearby galaxy, M 87, the team has detected VHE gamma rays over the past four years. The real surprise is, however, that the intensity of the emission can be seen to change drastically within a few days on occasion. The giant radio galaxy M 87 [editor's note: this is a reference image of M87 from my own files.] This galaxy, located 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, harbours a super-massive black hole of 3 thousand million solar masses from which a jet of particles and magnetic fields emanates. However, unlike for previously-observed extragalactic sources of VHE gamma rays - known as Blazars - the jet in M 87 is not pointing towards the Earth but is seen at an angle of about 30

Wow! Striking Green Comet Suddenly Visible in Evening Sky Robert Roy Britt Senior Science Writer for Space.com October 26, 2006 Source Link Tony Wilder of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin photographed comet Swan amid city glow this week. A faint meteor was captured streaking across the right side of the image, too. Credit: Tony Wilder What had been a modest comet seen only with binoculars or telescopes flared up this week to become visible to the naked eye. Comet Swan, as it is called, is in the western sky after sunset from the Northern Hemisphere. It remains faint, likely not easy to find under bright city lights but pretty simple to spot from the countryside. It is a "fairly easy naked-eye comet," said Pete Lawrence, who photographed the comet from the UK. "The tail is now showing some interesting features too." Find it The comet, also catalogued as C/2006 M4, is about halfway up in the sky in the direction of the constellation Corona Borealis. As with most comets, this one looks like a fuzzy star. It has an interesting green tint, however, indicating it has a lot of the poisonous gas cyanogen and diatomic carbon, astronomers say. Sam Storch, a long-time sky watcher from Long Island, NY, said the comet appears "quite a bit deeper than any other green I have seen in any sky object, even planetary nebulae." "Comet Swan is very easy to find," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist. "In good binoculars it appears as a bright, symmetrical and surprisingly green blob." Legendary objects Comets, the stuff of legend and myth, are frozen leftovers of the solar system's formation. Most orbit the Sun out beyond Neptune, but a few wander through the inner solar system now and then. As a comet gets closer to the Sun, solar radiation boils the frozen gases, along with dust, off the comet's surface. Sunlight reflects off this material, creating a head, or coma. Some comets never get very bright. Others brighten dramatically. Some even come unglued as they round the Sun. Some comets, like Swan, also sport a tail or two. Such detail is best seen with binoculars or a small telescope. Comet Swan was discovered last year. It makes its closest approach to Earth today. Eventually it will return to the distant reaches of the solar system.

Don't break out the champaign just yet. In 2004 Karl Rove orchestrated the placement of numerous ballot initiatives which outlawed gay marriage in key states. The theory was that putting something on the ballot that would inflame the conservative base would be useful for Bush who has big problems with that part of the party. I find the timing of this verdict suspect. Coming so soon before the midterms, I have to wonder if this is the rumored "October Surprise". The GOP has played the gay card over and over and over again. The Foley Scandal makes this much more difficult during this election cycle but we're already seeing it. I don't think that it is gaining the same traction that it may have had in past. After all; what is REALLY scarier-- a few thousand gay couples married or more inept and corrupt republican leadership?

Slang crossing the globe at the speed of fiber optics.

Cats behave a lot better if you have them neutered. Maybe that would work with kids?