Addym Kehris

Wow, and the hits just keep on coming. And I mean that in the kindest way, believe me. I'm making notes on it all, trust me.

Thank you, Lugnutz. I should have done this a long time ago, but it's hard to admit when you've reached the end of your resources. I've heard it said that 'change is good'. Well, here's to making things good once again. It's been less than 12 hours and I've received $25. That's .4% of the goal. LOL. Since I hadn't expected any response quite so soon, I'm happy and encouraged. Here's to young men with old, decrepit bodies trying to make a new path.

I'm finally having to take my hat in hand and request assistance. Addym is my creative half who is not having much success with publishing his books. Wayne (my real name) is the half who has to deal with the mundane matters of life. For the past six years I've been unemployed because my knees and hips prevent me from getting employment in my career of choice, construction. It doesn't help that I'm 59 and employers, at least in this area, are looking for younger men. During that time, I've had to rely on friends and family to keep me off the streets. My latest landing pad is becoming difficult and I need to do something drastic to change my circumstances. What I'm striving for is a career change into the Voice Over industry. I've been assured many time in the past 30 years that I have the voice for it. Well, I have found a school. Unfortunately I do not have the funds to make this dream a reality. So I have set up a fund raiser on gofundme to raise the $6000 that will cover tuition, equipment, travel (to get professional demo tapes created), design and implementation of a quality website, and creation of a small space to do the work. For those who are sympathetic and wish to contribute to my efforts to return to an independent life, please use this link: http://www.gofundme.com/b87sv8 Whether you contribute or not, thank you for taking the time to hear me out. Wayne <Addym>

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is proof of the average intelligence of our elected officials. We are in such good hands, wouldn't you say? The saying is Kill all the Lawyers. It's not the lawyers we need to worry about.

You simply gotta love the Supreme Court of Iowa. What a unique way to knock down the spurious arguments.

And that, my dear Nigel, is a perfectly reasonable and logical solution. Of course, expecting governmental officials in this country to exhibit anything remotely resembling reasonable and logical actions is taking us into the realm of wishful thinking. I saw a recent article where two, elementary age, boys were suspended because they were caught looking at pictures of firearms. It is apparently irrelevant that the pictures were in a school book that the school had issued the boys. Another boy got suspended because he ate his pop tart in such a way that he ended up with a very lethal gun. I imagine he had a pocket full of Reese Pieces for ammunition and intended to run amok. More injustice has been done in this world because of adherence to the 'letter of the law' and not allowing for the 'spirit of the law'.

Okay, the earrings are certainly more feminine than masculine, but I fail to see where Chase's (not 'the kid in question') physical appearance is altered by the subtle application of makeup. His is, as he describes himself, gender non-specific, not just psychologically but physically. That face could be male or female, with or without makeup. The more confusing aspect of his appearance would be the feminine clothing he wears regularly. But since a DMV photo is a headshot, that would not be visible in the photo. I don't recall the DMV requiring Chase to change his clothing to appear more masculine. The statements of the DMV say repeatedly that the makeup would confuse law enforcement. Really? WTF is that all about. I was recently at the DMV office here in Florida and I didn't see any of the half dozen women getting photos taken being asked to remove their makeup. And a couple of them were obviously wearing HEAVY makeup. Talk about appearance altering. Despite what the DMV said, they were zeroed in on Chase's attire and their tiny minds had to humiliate the young man. Frankly, this is just another example of our bigoted bureaucracy in action.

I heartily agree with your assessment. The backup singers were a nice touch, but they were TOO strong. I also think they need to rework a bit of the arrangement. During their second performance, Charlie was forced to step on the end of Leo's rap and we couldn't make out what he said. But then, these technical issues will be resolved, I imagine, when they are placed in the care of a producer/director that is sensitive to the little nuances. I imagine Simon is a good music producer. He's made enough money at it surely, but the boys need ALL of their message to be heard, not have it be overshadowed by backup singers or each other. LOL.

I don't believe that puberty will be a hindrance for the boys. At 15, it's quite likely that Charlie has accomplished all the necessary changes. Yes, his voice may still get a bit deeper, but he's not attempting to reach those really high registers anyway. As for Leondre, puberty won't affect his rapping. So long as he continues to write meaningful songs and Charlie keeps selecting appropriate counter melodies, they have every chance to make a success. It's going to depend on the relevancy of their messages and the management of their careers. I for one, admire the boys. First, they are well spoken for boys their age. They are polite and appreciative. They do have a talent that could grant them at least a modicum of success for a time. But most of all, I admire the lack of fear in displaying their affection for one another. And I couldn't care less if they're gay or not. The fact that they display their love for one another in public, demonstrates a lot of courage. I wish them all the good fortune in the world, and I'll be keeping tabs on where their careers go. The one encouraging fact about the contestants in these contests, as far as Bars and Melody is concerned, is that many of the non-winners do very well following the competition. Many of them doing much better than the winners. Well, I for one, will see.

Yes, I know, we're the older generation and we should have no appreciation for rap, but these boys actually have a message with their combination of rap and music that's pretty awesome. Out of 50,000 original applicants/auditions, these two took third place. But don't feel sorry for the boys, they're going to do quite nicely out of it all. http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/britains-got-talent/bgts-bars-melody-land-record-deal-us-tour-simon-cowell-big-plans/

I subscribe to the BGT YouTube channel and was fortunate enough to catch that first performance shortly after it aired. The boys have succeeded in wowing everyone in their next (the semi-final) performance and won that stage. They are now slated to appear in the Finals tomorrow. It will likely get posted late tomorrow or surely by Sunday. I don't know if they're good enough to win, there is a musical theater boy band named Collabro who are wowing everyone as well. Fortunately, Bar and Melody are realistic enough to know that they may not win it all, but know that this is still a tremendous stepping stone for them. I know this because I spent an hour one evening reading all the news releases and watching all the interviews since that initial performance. Hell, Ellen Degeneris flew them to Cali for an appearance. Simon Cowell likes them and is quite likely to sign them and get them recorded, win or not.

Well, that's nice. I remember when I first got access and made my first comment in a forum, it was something much like Hoskins did here. I got lambasted from all corners because of it. Sigh. Perhaps Chris wasn't offended by it, but I was. But obviously I'm not allowed the same consideration, so fine. No one need worry about future inappropriate responses. MIke, go ahead and remove my login and my story. I'll post my stories elsewhere.

Well, my goodness, aren't we touchy. But frankly, from your own rant, I'd have to say that you don't really need the term rednecks defined for you. You seem to be doing a fine job of living it. Anyone reading your response without seeing what Chris wrote would assume that he'd insulted you personally. You have certainly gone out of your way to insult him. I bet the great state of Michigan can survive a little criticism without getting up in anyone's grill over it. Perhaps your response would hold some water if you had included links to all the stories about how 'Michigan' has responded to this outrage of dismissing a teacher over teaching history. Show all of us ignorant types some of the backlash from the fair-minded citizens of 'Michigan'. Better yet, how about some response from the political and/or judicial sectors? Chris, at least, gave us a bonifide news release to read so that we could judge his response. All you've given us is a typical knee-jerk, redneck response. Come better prepared when you want to lambast someone, Hoskins. You only make yourself out to be a bigger fool than the person you're accusing of the same.

Wow. Those parents deserve an award. LOL. But then, so does Ryland for his courage. Did I mention, WOW? Oh yeah, there it is above. But it's worth repeating.

My favorite is number one. I know that I become irritated when I've sat with a story for several chapters and feel as if I've struggled to get that far. And don't even get me started on an unsatisfactory ending to an otherwise great story. Our stock and trade is the enjoyment our readers get from our efforts. I know I always strived for a strawberries in cream reaction from the reader. You know, that feeling of having had a very enjoyable dessert, and the desire for more, despite how full they are.

Okay, this whole outsourcing idea has some merit. Perhaps with all the writers here we could pull together a provocative referendum that could be placed on the ballets nationwide. We are, after all, a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people'. So let's hear 'from the people'...all the people.

Oh you are so right...about the dirty mind bit anyway. I went ahead and looked up the first book. It's a guide to Sunday School Workers. Of course, if that worker included certain eclessiastical types, that might still be for the dirty mind.

So, a friend sent me a little gift and stuck it inside this card. Imagine if Jesus had to become politically and nutritionally correct: Couldn't help it, I laughed myself silly.

Hmm, a story in Mardarin. I'll break out my copy of 'Mandarin for Dummies' and get started right away.

Yup, Cole got me. Damned if you aren't correct. I got so caught up in the 'sequentially' issue that I completely glossed over the glaring error of 'becoming', which should be "become". In addition, the word 'for' should be replaced with 'as'. So, I apologize for becoming so focused on one aspect of the problem that I failed to address the remainder of the issues present. Thank you, Cole.

Oh please, Graeme, let's try to avoid mindreading here. The sentence itself adequately sets forth the intent. It is a perfectly acceptable use of the English language. Here you're attempting to define the relevancy by your own standard, I believe. By reading the sentence literally, we see that Jones was a local icon for a time before the national icon status came into effect. This says to me that this was simply a local story that could very well have faded into obscurity had it not been for the subsequent national exposure the incident received. I don't find that sequence of events irrelevant in the least. I find it encouraging to know that the national press has taken up the banner of this issue and not allowed it to fade into some state's archives. Now please, before anyone gets their knickers in a bunch, I can agree that consequently and subsequently could have been used. But there is nothing what so ever grammatically wrong with the sentence. I've had English professors that would have applauded the unique and concise construction of that sentence...as well as a few editors.

Well, since we've digressed this far: Sorry to disagree with you and Cole, but sequentially is perfectly acceptable in this instance. The writer is saying that Jones has become a local icon first and that led to becoming a national icon. That is two sequential steps.

Okay, this is effing rediculous. I know you people like to digress from time to time, but what happened to the original point of this praticular forum. What, does no one have an opinion about the injustice of it all? Has there been one damn comment about the content of the article? No, everyone seems to feel that the content is unimportant. Very sad.

By far, the best advice I've heard on the subject.

In preface to my response, let me first say that I've been misunderstood before and I want to make it clear from the onset that I'm not responding the person posting. It is simply that this is a suscinct stating of the question and that is why I quote it here. In response, No. Let's not get started with labels. I come to AD to read well written stories that will never appear in the mainstream publishing. Publishing house paranoia prevents these stories from appearing anywhere but on sites like AD. I'm not the least hung up on the gay/straight label where my reading is concerned. Bring em on. My only requirement is that they be well written, with a stimulating beginning, middle, and ending. My opinion is that there are many perspectives and messages that we could all benefit from encountering. If some of those messages come in a 'straight' story format, then so be it. I'm a member of the LGBT community and I willing accept that there are many views on any given subject. If someone comes to this site and encounters a story that offends them simply because it does not contain a gay theme or a gay character, then I'd say the individual has issues that need to be dealt with. Anyway, that's what I think.