Chris James

http://now.msn.com/now/0404-jesus-face-stingray.aspx?ocid=todnow11 My personal vote is the image looks more like Des.

What a shame that young Tom is so hard to look at...ahem, but that's not the point of my post. Such a comely lad. I always wonder about someone so young achieving global status in any form of competition. What he has done looks so incredibly dangerous and we have had Olympians die when attempting much less. I do hope he doesn't feel like he has to top this at some point, but if he has that real competitive spirit he probably will do something. I tried my hand at surfing on water since I was always big on water sports. (NO, I did not mean that) The idea of slapping rollerskate wheels on a 2 x 4 did occur to some of my friends who at least had the sense enough to wear football helmets. Of course that did nothing for the road rash when they crashed and burned. All it took was one little pebble on the street and...disaster. Not that I had a death wish, but I did build my own go-cart with the help of a friend and his father when I was thirteen. Roger had one too and we used to take them out into the neighborhood when the parents weren't home, got chased by the cops a few times but never caught. I think all kids have that need to approach the edge and tempt fate. Pushing the horizon, or whatever you call it, has always been a means of asserting maturity. Let's just hope the fame doesn't go to young Tom's head...but I imagine the money he will make might come in handy.

Have you seen a humorous T-shirt comment lately? There are some really good comments printed on shirts these days. My current favorite: Wyoming: Where Men are Men, and the sheep are concerned...

The second ammendment, we are discussing: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Forget the guns for a moment, what did the forefathers really say here? What is a militia? At the moment they are a bunch of idiots with guns that are hiding from the FBI because they plot to overthrow the government, at least that is the popular feeling. When did we lose track of the "well regulated" part of this statement? I think there are many in this country that would agree that the Supreme Court is out of control. The current guns laws are due to their ignorant intrepretation of the constiution. But Presidents get to appoint the Supremes and G.W. Bush gave us some real nasty candidates. If there are any good examples of why we should have term limits in American government then the Supreme Court is a gold mine of opportunity. The American constituion, like the Bible, is a document in need of a major overhaul. But unfortunately we don't trust our politicans to do that job. If something like a constituional convention were called today we would have entirely too many idiots trying to assert Biblical concepts into the mix....and I would be applying for Canadian citizenship. But back to the guns. Anyone who owns a gun should be held accountable for the use of that weapon. If the gun commits a crime then the owner must pay the penalty for not being in control of the damn thing. The only true sense of justice would come if someone was killed with the gun and the owner was given a lethal injection. Doesn't matter how or why, if you lose track of your gun you pay the price...period. Otherwise I have a John Donne kind of suggestion. Anyone who kills another person with a gun should be required to eat them. Bon Appetite.

I would love to see Bully in my local theater, but upon review of the hundreds of movie showings in South Florida this film is not being shown...anywhere! If I wanted to see teens kill one another I could go see Hunger Games in every multi-plex within a hundred miles. But it seems that violence and body count seem to trump a few 'dirty' words' said by the teenagers in Bully. Okay, I am pissed off and just sent my editorial opinion to the local paper about this bullcrap. All because the MPAA gives a thumbs down and places an onerous rating on this film. Let's keep the important issues from view, and in this case we don't even give parents the right to take their children to a very important film. Perhaps they will all go to see Hunger Games and be so inspired by the violence that they start killing off others in the neighborhood. Reap what you sow, folks...reap what you sow.

Try this on for size: I started to read a mystery book, which shall remain nameless because I put it down rather quickly, where the author used the em dash as a means of attribution in his dialogue. Looked something like this: John-- So it seems that this formatting program won't allow me to actually use an em dash, oh bother. Fred-- Well, that's a pain in the ass and makes it hard for the readers to get your point. John-- I don't know about that, they're pretty clever people. And so on. I understand the desire to modernize writing, but what publisher in their right mind would allow such nonsense? The pages looked like a script with formatting like that and I despised reading it. Maybe it was a good story, but they lost me within a few pages because of this approach. I am one of those conventional readers and writers who likes his 'he said, she said.' Although in my work there is a lot more of the former than the latter. The word 'said' is somemthing that almost vanishes from the mind when used in dialogue, and I do agree that using the character's name in a sentence becomes burdensome. I say harken back to your grammar school days and use the language properly or become a monk. They don't talk and do nothing but drink wine and eat cheese all day. Not a bad life.

Goodness! Thanks to E.J. and colinian for clarifying my post. Yes, the commentary is on YouTube under the video. Perhaps I should have my editor look at all my forum submissions and correct errors. Nope, poor guy has enough work to do.

Music speaks from one generation to the next. It really doesn't matter what age the musician, just the important things that drive the song. In this time of gay teen suicides, driven by bullies who place no value on the lives they destroy, it is refreshing to see that there are those who do care: If you will read the short paragraph which explains why he wrote this song you will understand why this young man has made an important contribution to his generation. Thank you, Sawyer.

Mind Over What Matters by Addym Kehris. (Published by CreateSpace) In the past few years I have purchased some gay themed books on Amazon and am now aware that they are tracking me. This morning I found an e-mail from Amazon touting some new gay-themed fiction, and Mind Over What Matters was on the list. So of course I ordered it...not because I need to read the story, but I would like to support the author. You see...I have already read the story, at least the first of what may become a three part series. The author, pen name Addym Kehris, is a friend of mine and I helped edit the original story. How much easier it is to be critical of someone else's work, and I was an ogre on this one. To give you an idea of what is in the book would take pages, but I will just say that the opening chapter will immediately grab your attention. The young hero of this story has led a difficult life and now finds himself surrounded by a nasy gang of men who have raping some young boy ass on their minds. It doesn't turn out quite the way they expect... A blend of science fiction and fantasy, this Earth bound story takes us to one of the planet's most unexpected places...Fair Atlantis. You thought it was a myth? That's because they wanted you to believe it is. The pages roll out a multitude of characters, each more interesting than the last. But eventually our young hero meets his mate and...you'll just have to read the book. Young gay characters always seem to doubt their feelings, but the hero of this story has an unusual number of conflicts to resolve. A tale of intrigue, Mind Over What Matters is more than the title. Think of it as a clue to how our hero solves his problems. Give it a try and support a starving author...aren't they all? The book is $13.33 from CreateSpace or Amazon (tax if it applies, and shipping of course) https://www.createspace.com/3808357 (you may read further story infomation at this site)

The most popular film in the U.S. at the moment is Hunger Games...I'll let that soak in for a second. This film depicts teen on teen violence and death in a game show/reality show environment. Personally I do not plan to see it but the reviews and plot are posted on various sites. The film is rated PG-13 for the violence and some bad language. WTF? The only controversy over the film is that they cast black actors in the two leading roles and many people who read the book thought they should be white. That absurdity seems to make the news, why doesn't the soft rating? Let's face it, 50-100 years from now the majority color of the population will be slightly brown due to the diminishing role of European ancestry. We may disagree with the MPAA rating for Bully over language issues, but they come off as whimps over the rating applied to Hunger Games. Can't you just feel the behind the scenes activity that allows such obvious nonsense to go on? Major studios vs. independent...I think the ratings are not impartial and someone needs to audit the bank accounts of those who apply the ratings.

The driving force behind NOM reads like a who's who in the Christian right. It is no suprise that a fundamentally religious bunch have formed a non-profit to raise cash to interfere with state governments. Perhaps documents like this are necessary to push these people off the cliff and get their tax exempt status changed. NOM is in the business of spreading fear to the ignorant, while those with knowledge see them for what they really are...bastards all.

Belive me, I get comments about my "attacks" on religion. Just the plain facts, folks, I could never make up the horrors we have been reading about the church these days. And here we go again: http://www.christianpost.com/news/roman-catholic-church-issues-apology-to-thousands-of-australian-women-52878/ You will note that I am sourcing this story from a Christian website, so let's have no doubt about the sincerity of my post. The list of trangressions by the church grows longer all the time and once they are called to account for their actions and pay the damages I imagine we'll see priests on street corners holding tin cups and begging for money. But then when they are done they will crawl into their Mercedes and drive back to the parish for a spot of...(I'll let you guess, but it won't be tea). Nuff said?

Thanks for the heads up, Camy. Free? Amazon? What will they think of next, LOL.

http://usnews.msnbc....-hugging-school Yes folks, hugging is outlawed at this school in New Jersey. I won't go into what I think of the state in general, but this hands off approach seems consistant with what their latest Governor has to say about LBGTQ issues. But moving on: Let's stop hugging. In fact, why don't they put students in a plastic bubble so that can't even touch one another? Just another rule that makes it easier for administrators and teachers to ignore the students. This touch and you die approach is deadly. What are humans if not affectionate? Why would we eliminate the one gesture that most kids feel is important in social interaction? Yes, hands below the waist, butt grasping and all the variations are not welcome. But how do we stop kids from sharing an emotional gesture with their friends. Is this where the bubbles would come in handy? Hugs prevent bullying, there I've said it. A hug is not a kiss or a punch, both of which schools might like to prevent. Kids won't hurt someone they hug, and if a student objects to being hugged they could wear a button that says: Don't hug me. Those are the ones I would rush off to the nearest counselor. Hugging is social behavior, not anti-social. If it turns into a grope then discipline needs to be applied, but then that is all part of the learning experience. When schools stop allowing students to interact in a responsible way then their mission has failed. I am all for corporal punishment in schools, but only when it is applied to the backside of idiots like this principal. Just hand me the paddle.

http://now.msn.com/now/0322-pope-mexico-cartel-ceasefire.aspx I suppose these Mexican drug lords must think they are good Christians. The joke is on the Catholic Church.

I am not a cruise taking person, although an Intergalactic version would probably interest me. Somehow I don't think these two idiots who were having sex out in the open should be pitied. Somehow they had to know that others could see them, and that brings up certain mental conditions that I won't go into. Dolts, baffoons, or just plain idiots, they offended local laws and got locked up. Sodomy laws can't be flaunted, although in most places they exist with little enforcement...unless you are in Africa. That brings up all kinds of ideas: what does it really mean when they say "when in Rome..." Sodomy seems to have a spiritual connotation there. But when you let it all hang out like these guys in public I say you get what you deserve. I don't know how sodomy is defined in this tiny country, perhaps it is aimed at gay people more than straight. But I doubt if even a straight couple could copulate in public and get away with it. I would imagine making love on an intergalactic cruise would be delightful. All those stars and deep dark space. Once the replicator hands you a nutrition bar for dinner, and you get a little time on the holodeck, I would think a good boinking under the stars might be nice. I mean what else would there be to do with all those days, weeks, months, and years at light speed?

Okay, we get enough of the bad sort. Bullies and bashings and killers on motorcycles. I needed something to make me smile and found it here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46812342/ns/today-good_news/ What an adorable lad, I think even Des would agree since they have...um, had something in common. Come on now...smile!

I can't tell you how something like this affects me. I had a lay teacher try to molest me when I was 14 and turned my back on the church at that point. I did have the small satisfaction of busting his nose, but if I had been a more violent personality there would have been murder in the parish. That was the 1960's when priests got away with anything they wanted. Enough said...but they still haven't suffered enough to my way of thinking. P.S. Thank you Des, that piece by Soraya Chemaly was brilliant and powerful. Something every man should read.

I knew there was a good reason I left the Catholic Church behind in my youth. http://worldnews.msn...g-boys-in-1950s This goes way beyond the pale of civilized thought. What kind of animals would do something like this? The Catholic clergy it seems. I am disgusted.

I think a lot of these really radical conservative state legislatures are discovering that they are on the wrong track. Their personal ambitions, fueled by illogical views and religious fanatics, are not being supported by the people in their state. Jobs, energy and the economy are the top concerns. The old gay issues are just not something anyone wants to see their elected officials batting around anymore. (Thank Goodness) We can only hope that any targeted gay rights issue will be met with voter disapproval. This is why guys like Rick Santorum are on the decline. His old scare tactics don't work anymore. And his latest rant about banning porn just proves how out of touch he really is. That case was decided in court long ago and nothing Santorum can do will ever stop legal free speech. As for Tennesee and their moronic anti-gay bill, they must have heard the ACLU gathering outside the state house door. How much longer will the people of that state put up with such a waste of tax payer dollars?

Overall I enjoyed the story, James. Yes, your main character is a rude and selfish person, or at least he is on this day. I had a few smiles, saw that humor was part of your plan. Flash Fiction always leaves a few gaps because there is little space for background. But the emotions you evoke in the reader would make this a difficult read if it was any longer. But I can empathize with Peter, we all have bad days. There is a little envy involved as well. Wouldn't we all like to take the opportunity to tell someone off? I have a short list of offenders that deserve at least an F U on occasion. But civility injects itself just in time and I do nothing of the kind. I do however mourn the loss of that chocolate cake (is that Cole I hear screaming in the background?)

When you see something like this you have to cheer for the good guys. In this case the son of notorious bigot and hatemonger, Fred Phelps, will get his chance to chastise daddy. Wow, would I love to be there. http://usnews.msnbc....ocid=todmsnbc11

I am always so very happy to see videos like this. We are all one in sharing the sadness of the Japanese people in this terrible tragedy. I have a lifetime attachment to Japan, having spent my childhood there. One year ago, and yet we have hope:

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/rock-group-8220-junkyard-prophet-8221-delivers-controversial-202200759.html Controversial is putting it mildly. If there was gay child in that audience and he was mine I would be scrambling for the phone number to the ACLU. Christian rock is bad enough, but this? Who let these hatemongers in the door of a public school. Time to lawyer up.

All right, Bruin...I liked Work Experience, perhaps not as much as Xenophobia which had a broader reach. I know it was important to set the stage of a relationship between father and son prior to the big revelation, but the boy's mother seems to have become a far more important character there at the end. I did like the way you introduced the gay couple to the story, and their purpose became apparent very quickly. I've installed a few kitchens in my time, built a few houses as well, so I was not afraid to tackle that part of the story. I would have liked to see a little more of the forestory on the boy's life as he began to discover his feelings, but then that would have made the story longer. Okay, you get a gold star for this one. Not quite as shiny as the one you deserve for Xenophobia, but just as pretty.