eric312

Well, crap! The picture showed up in the preview. :-(

Personally, I've never wanted to learn how to speed read. Reading is my escape from the pressures of everyday life. By taking my time and savoring what I am reading, I can picture, in my mind, what is happening in the book or story, as if watching it on television. Why would I want to trade that for being able to read more books in a shorter amount of time?

When I saw Stephen King's name, I had to post. I've been a King reader for over 35 years. This obsession of mine began with Firestarter, which I read when I was 13. But, out of all the books he has written, my absolute favorite is The Talisman which he cowrote with Peter Straub. I've had to replace my copy twice because I've read it so many times. Now I have it on Kindle so I don't have to keep buying it.

Okay, what I'm about to say could get me killed considering where I live. Personally, I hope Alabama loses. I am not a football fan. I chose to attend a college that didn't have a football program because the schools that have a team put entirely too much emphasis on athletics and not enough on academics. Besides, I'd really like to see all these obnoxious Alabama fans knocked down a peg or two. It gets really annoying listening to them telling everyone how great they are. So, Notre Dame, please do us a favor and kick Alabama's arrogant butt off the pedestal they continue to put themselves on. Rant is now complete. We will now return you to our regularly scheduled program.

Ted Louis has some really good stories on his website. It's been bookmarked in my favorites for several years.

I've been having the same problem. I still haven't figured out what the problem was. The app works fine on my tablet, which is a good thing, since my desktop died last night. :(

I am not rich and most of the time I live paycheck to paycheck. I've contributed before when I've had the extra money to spend. But, just knowing I have a place to go to read some great stories is thanks enough. I'm more than happy to contribute to AwesomeDude when I can and no thanks are necessary.

When He Was Five is the first story I read by Cole Parker. Since then I have read and enjoyed all his stories multiple times. As a matter of fact, just the other night I reread Cottonwood Creek Park, Dinner For One and Scurvy Dog. I can always count on Coles stories when I need something good to read.

Seriously?!?!?! This is, even by MY standards, way beyond twisted! Sandy Cheeks is wearing skin tight leather while spongebob is on his hands and knees wearing a dog collar and leash. I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks! I had to use wikipedia to get some references for this little horror story.

I just found out that a co-worker of mine, one I consider to be a good friend, has jumped on the Chik-fil-a bandwagon. I knew she was, in my opinion, a little too religious, but I never saw this one coming. Taking into account she two of her sisters are lesbians, her pro Chik-fil-a stance was a real shock. Any advice on what I should say if the topic comes up? Losing one of the few friends I have is not high on my "Things To Do" list. Usually, if she begins her bible speak, I just tune her out and think about something else till it's over. I'm not sure I'll be able to hold my tongue if this subject comes up.

Maybe I'm putting in my two cents where it doesn't belong, but I hope you don't mind input from a reader. I've noticed that all the comments so far are from authors. Not just any, but ones that I consider some of the best. I have read everything I've found written by Cole, Gee, Colin, Beagle, Chris and Des and all but one by EleCivil. What can I say, I'm an avid reader. In terms of sex scenes, for me, it depends on how it fits into the story line. I can tell you right off, I tend to skip over the extremely graphic scenes. I know the mechanics of it all and I really don't need the author to describe every pant, thrust or drop of sweat. But, as long as it helps the story along, I have no problem with a scene that expresses physical love in the form of sex. Yes, to me there is a difference between a sex scene and a love scene involving sex. A sex scene is only meant to arouse the reader. A love scene involving sex is used to illustrate a growing (no pun intended) emotional bond between the characters. And, no, believe it or not, I'm not a prude. I just prefer the old adage, "Less is more". The imagination is a extraordinary thing. Sometimes a subtle suggestion can go a lot farther that a running commentary. But, that's just my lone opinion. I hope I didn't intrude where I shouldn't have.

I just finished reading this on my Kindle app. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon it, but I'm glad I did. I loved this book! The characters are somewhat eccentric but realistic and well-developed. The story is a roller coaster of emotions. If you get a chance, read this. You won't be disappointed. I apologize if my "review" is not very informative or insightful. I'm not accustomed to reviewing stories or books.

I loved this story! As an accomplished, and recognized smart-ass, I just have to say, Beagle got that part of the story perfect! This story made my night!

I just finished reading it. I have to agree with Beagle, it was an entertaining story. Once I started it, I had trouble putting it down, in order to get to work on time.

That is said to be the scene in which the word fuck was used four times. Apparently, the word was cut from three other scenes to placate the MPAA. However, I have not seen the film so I cannot say for sure. Living where I do, I have a feeling I'll have to wait for it to comes out on DVD before I can see it. It's opening in 55 more markets on April 13th, but my little backwater town is not one of the markets.

The MPAA has finally agreed to change the rating for Bully. It is now rated PG-13! http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pg-13-rating-granted-for-bully-by-mpaa-without-cutting-crucial-scene-146358165.html

I've been following this since I first heard about it. Not only have I signed the petition, but I am also one of the people who have emailed the MPAA about changing the rating. Give a voice to the victims of this epidemic. Sign the petition. Email the MPAA and let them know this is the 21st century, not the 19th. The people they are "protecting" from those seven "awful" words have heard, and more than likely, used them before. The only thing an R rating will accomplish is preventing the people who NEED to see this film the ability to see it without a parent. Sorry. I HATE bullies with a passion! I think I'm done with my rant for now.

Maybe I'm part of the minority in Alabama, but I think Santorum is a dangerous nutjob! I've tried to listen to some of the things he has said and all I can think is "are you f-ing stupid?". This guy needs to slither back under the rock he came from! But, if the country ends up suffering from a case of mass stupidity and he gets elected, how difficult would it be to a Canadian citizen?

I just finished reading the stories from the "Coming Out Challenge" I was looking forward to them since I found out they would be posted on the 15th. I finished all but one last night. Unfortunately, the fact that I had to get up early for work kept me from finishing. Unlike a lot of people, I didn't read them in order. I saved couple for last because the authors are personal favorites. All in all, I have to say, all the stories were amazing! Excellent work everyone!

I must say, I've never had that problem here. I have tried to read stories on sites that use different background schemes other than solid colors. Some have use variagated colors and some have used pictures. If I come across a story formatted like that, I don't even try to read it. I've tried, but anything other than a solid color background is too distracting and difficult to read. You wouldn't believe the headaches I've had from trying to read some of those stories. Sure, it may be a good story, but it's not worth the healthy dose of perscription meds it takes to knock out one of my headaches! Dude deserves a big thanks for making this site so easy to read. So, THANK YOU DUDE!!!

Neat! I want some of those!

Google translator says: "Congratulations fortune". Maybe it's because of the old characters that it's not translating it correctly. I'm thinking it means to convey a wish for a prosperous New Year to everyone?

I have to say I agree with this. Now, don't get me wrong, I would go crazy without my internet, desktop, tablet, smart phone and iPod. But, I see people everyday, who are the products of the computer age, that can't spell or do simple mathematics. They've relied on computers to figure this out for them. It's very disturbing to go into a store, pay for something, and then wait for the cashier to figure out how much change they should give you back. What's so hard? The register tells you EXACTLY how much change is due! It's even worse when I get an email or memo from a supervisor that has misspelled words and poorly constructed sentences. (Actually, one time, I made spelling and grammar notations on one and gave it back to the boss. Strange, he didn't seem to find it as amusing as the rest of us. ) Maybe I'm just being overly critical, I don't know. I grew up in the time when computers weren't assessable to the general public. I had to learn how to do math without a calculator. I had to learn how to correctly spell words without the luxury of spell-check. It just seems to me that school is no longer about learning the 3 R's. It's about learning Google, Wiki, and whatever else they use to find what they need.

You can never go wrong with a Cole Parker story. I have read and re-read all of his stories many times. They're just as good the third fourth or fifth time as they are the first.