FreeThinker

I have uncharacteristically kept away from this discussion, after the two previous discussions on this topic in 2012 and 2013 and my vigorous defense of Nifty So I will try to maintain some civility. Let us not forget what Nifty is. It is an EROTIC stories archive. Unlike Claude Rains in Casablanca, one should not be shocked to find EROTIC stories on an EROTIC stories web site. Shockingly, some people actually like to read erotic stories. Some people like sex. I venture a guess that some Awesome Dude members actually get erections occasionally. Nifty performs a good service for the gay community. It is a bastion of free speech (we all remember what that is, I hope) and it is a venue for anyone who wishes to express themselves. I admit there is a lot there that I don't care for and topics which I don't read. But, I won't criticize Nifty. I am grateful we have Nifty and grateful it was around when I first began writing gay stories. Without Nifty, there would never have been "Courage and Passion," "A Canterbury Tale," or "The Foxwood Chronicles." That said, I am also profoundly grateful for Awesome Dude and I am proud to be associated with the many fine and talented writers here. Let's just not climb up on any high horses. And, there are members here whom I would not have become friends with were it not for Nifty.

Rupert Murdoch. I should have known. Whenever there's a stench of fraud, Rupert Murdoch can't be far away.

A friend has sent me this wonderful video of a flashmob in the Antwerp train station who suddenly begin dancing to Do-Re-Mi from Sound of Music. I know some people might think it too sentimental, but Sound of Music is my favorite movie from my childhood and this was my favorite song. This is amazing. I can't imagine the work it took to organize and rehearse this!

In my early stories, I didn't outline or plan ahead or even know where I wanted to go-- and it showed. I my recent stories, I have written detailed outlines which I end up changing as I write the story. My characters often don't like the outline I've written and go off in their own direction. Jeremy and Rafael were quite independent in that regard. As Rafael said, "Jeremy's a bullheaded little bastard." I understand Cole's process, wanting to have the story unfold as he writes, and it is fun to have the story reveal itself as I write, but too often I have written myself into a corner and the outline is the only way I can avoid that.

One of the great writers of the Twentieth Century has died. E. L. Doctorow was a brilliant author and his Ragtime, World's Fair, The Book of Daniel, and The Waterworks are among my favorites. He was also a vigorous defender of writers and free speech with his work in PEN. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/22/author-el-doctorow-dies-in-new-york-aged-84

I've just finished watching a special on my local PBS station featuring the gifted Ethan Bortnick. This fourteen year-old performer is amazing. He has an incredible voice and an amazing stage presence. His web site has links to several of his videos and I highly recommend them. http://www.ethanbortnick.com/

I don't think I would use the word "detractors." This is simply a discussion, sort of like the creative writing classes some of us have taken in which we read each other's writing and comment. I enjoy the back and forth about different stories and I find it very helpful to get a variety of points of view.

No matter what your opinion of him may be, it can now be said with complete certainty that Donald Trump has his head up, if not his own ass, at least someone else's. Behold! The Donald Trump Butt Plug! http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/15/donald-trump-butt-plug-3d-printing

I don't think I will read Go Set a Watchman. I love To Kill A Mockingbird so much that I cannot bear to see what Harper Lee had originally planned for Atticus. The New York Times says that he is portrayed as a racist and bigoted opponent of integration in what was basically the original version of Mockingbird. I am so grateful Miss Lee's editor told her to rewrite it and place it in Scout's childhood. Atticus is the ideal American, the man we should all aspire to be and I can't bear to see him portrayed as a hateful, Southern bigot. Instead, I am picking up the old paperback copy of Mockingbird I read in seventh grade and will re-read it. Publishing Watchman is a mistake. It tarnishes a character that we have all come to revere. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/books/review-harper-lees-go-set-a-watchman-gives-atticus-finch-a-dark-side.html?&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&hp&_r=0

It depends on the character and the circumstances. If it's in the personality of the character to do so, then so be it. The narrator in third person viewpoint should not, though, if he or she is not a character in the story. The omniscient narrator is neutral and profanities would violate that neutrality. An exception might be if the narrator is a participant in the story simply by narrating, even if he never makes an appearance in the story in any other capacity.

Most of my stories are cathartic. I am in each of my stories in some form and there are times when it is almost too painful. The scene in Act Two of Wicked Boys when Jeremy hears his father speaking of how proud he is of the boy was agonizing for me to write. I think those are the moments when a writer's work is most realistic. Sometimes, it has to hurt.

Chalkboards from `1917 were discovered in an Oklahoma City high school that reveal teaching from a century ago. THEY DON'T TEACH CURSIVE WRITING ANYMORE????? http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/chalkboards-lessons-1917-uncovered-oklahoma-school-n375866

More links. Here's a link for some interviews. I can listen to this kid all night.

Joey Alexander is an eleven year-old Indonesian prodigy who is taking the jazz world by storm. He is amazing. "Technique is important, but for me first when I play it's from the heart and feeling the groove." http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/12/arts/ap-us-music-joey-alexander.html?_r=0

I thought hiking the Appalachian Trail was what Republican governors said they were doing when they had affairs with Argentine bombshells.I didn't think anyone actually did it, although I have had nasty and lascivious thoughts about Robert Redford since I went through puberty, so I guess I can say, quite honestly, that I want to hike the Appalachian Trail with Robert Redford-- and he's still hot.(I think that sentence could have used an editor).

Libera has a new video tribute to immigants, particularly the Irish immigrants who came to America during the Great Famine of the 1840's. I don't know if American school children are still taught this song, but every child of my generation learned and sang it and this is the most beautiful version I've ever heard. There was a movement back in the thirties to make this the national anthem rather than The Star-Spangled Banner because it was less militaristic.It's a beautiful piece of music and Libera perform it with their usual skill and emotion.

I am so glad to see Dude has brought this story back for his Pick this month. This is an absolutely delightful story and one of my favorites on the board. It is sensitive and understanding of the problems teen boys face and the love their best friends have for them. Please read this wonderful story!

Mary Norris, a copy editor at The New Yorker, has some interesting comments on grammar, punctuation, and writing. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/10/mary-norris-comma-queen-interview-between-you-me

I have been struck by the ease with which people today are willing to reveal their most intimate secrets online. Not only do people not care about a sense of privacy, but they seem to want to confess openly anything that happens in their life. That said, before people start thinking I've completely gone around the bend and become a <gasp> conservative, I applaud the kid. I think because of this lack of concern about privacy, which can be quite detrimental in some respects, this boy is quite fortunate to live in an environment where he is able to talk about his feelings in this regard with such freedom. Because society is so open on this subject, it is easier for boys to come to these realizations about themselves at a younger age than my generation was or others. In my day--when the Lord turned people into pillars of salt, to quote Rafael from Dance of the Wicked Boys-- if a twelve year-old had thoughts along those lines, he was told he was just going through a phase and would change his mind when he went through puberty. I didn't. (change my mind, that is. I did go through puberty, which was quite traumatic and eye-opening). The kid's fortunate to live in more enlightened times, and I hope that in ten or twenty years, a gay boy won't feel it necessary to come out, that simply being queer will be just one of many facets of a multi-dimensional person that doesn't merit special attention.

An excellent story from the master. I like the way he delved into Dennis's head and explored his feelings, his insecurities and fears, his embarrassment. Cole has a special empathy for young people and an understanding of their emotions that is rare.

Thank goodness they didn't ask them who won the English Civil War! Snookie was a character on the MTV "reality" show, Jersey Shore. I am embarrassed that I know that. I am horrified that American university students, even if they are from Texas and subject to the Republicans' new education standards there, don't know America won it's independence from Britain, that we declared independence in 1776, that the Union defeated the Confederacy in the American Civil War, or that Joe Biden is Vice-President, but they know Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Anniston before he was married to Angelina Jolie. Maybe we should demand some kind of intelligence test before we let people vote.

Watch this video and mourn for your country. It would be easy to say--Well, they're Texans--but I fear this would happen no matter where the test was taken. Interesting. They don't know the Vice-President or who won the Civil War, but they ALL know who Snookie is. http://safeshare.tv/w/oHbxeOtsOP

Happily Ever After was very moving. I wish I had known people like that when I was that age. I lost my father when I was young and I can relate to Randy's pain. And, the story makes me nostalgic again for the seventies, especially the music. I spent a part of my childhood in the Dallas Ft Worth area and several years later in Austin, so the story has more personal attractions for me. Another good job!

I've just finished "The Place In Between" and it's one of the best stories I've ever read. The detail makes it so realistic. I can hear the bugs chirping and feel the heat of the Saturday afternoon. It brings back the memories of when I first came out and my first forays into the gay world. The boys come off as real and you care for them. This is a masterful story. I urge everyone to read it. I'm off to read the next two now. Congratulations James! Good job.

My crush when I was sixteen was Vince Van Patten, from the Sunday evening TV show Apple's Way. That wonderful seventies blond hair....