vwl

I have always liked What Makes a Family despite the slowness of updates and the need for an editor. What is refreshing is the plot, which has a theme oriented to thinking adults and is mostly absent of clichés. According to the author, the conclusion is in sight. The story is at http://www.nifty.org...makes-a-family/

The story is now up to chapter 16. Still good. http://www.gayauthors.org/story/lilansui/electricblueandcatnip/16

Though the writing starts out a bit ponderously, Gif's Island, by Nicholas Hall, is an appealing story -- at least through Chapter 6 and it is finished!. Look it up at http://www.nifty.org...gs/gifs-island/

Eva Cassidy does one of the better versions of Over the Rainbow and Imagine, which are on her Songbird and Imagine albums along with outstanding covers of other songs like Fields of Gold, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Early Morning Rain and many more. There are three CDs that capture most of her work.

I concur with the plaudits above. A well done story.

What Chris has done is describe an undercurrent of society that he makes all too plausible. A wonderful read.

After a hiatus of hiatuses, jpm770 is back with another chapter of Joe College, which is a fine read despite its slow publishing pace: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/college/joe-college/joe-college-22

Though he calls them chapters, Horatio Nimier's pieces of Two Distinct Divisions are self-contained stories -- more like an original story and a set of sequels.. The latest Chris and Mike story, just out, is at http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/relationships/two-distinct-divisions/two-distinct-divisions-13.html. The other stories can be found at Best of Nifty.

There is a $5 (U.S.) program from Stardock called Start8 that essentially recreates the Windows 7 start button and setup. After installing that, I found Windows 8 quite user friendly and fast. The $40 upgrade price to Windows 8 pro is available until the end of the month.

Two new chapters of Electric Blue and Catnip are up and are good. http://www.gayauthors.org/story/lilansui/electricblueandcatnip

Another chapter was just posted: http://www.gayauthors.org/story/lilansui/electricblueandcatnip/11

Based on a recommendation somewhere that I can't currently find, I started Stronger than Lions by Sean Halford http://www.nifty.org...ger-than-lions/ The story is also at gayauthors.org. It is reading well through Chapter 5 of nearly 40 chapters. The setting is Cape Town, a city I was fortunate enough to visit several years ago, so I have a heightened interest. The themes so far are fairly typical for a high-school story, but it is nicely done, with a good sense of place. Remember to encourage the author.

A revamped and reedited version of Love on the Rocks will begin appearing on crvboy.org starting tomorrow, November 10, according to an email from Marcus McNally. Apparently, there will be two chapters released each week.

From a late-evening / early morning meeting of the opponents of Minnesota's anti-gay-marriage amendment: http://www.volokh.com/2012/11/08/the-moment-of-victory-in-minnesota/

I see that a new chapter of Electric Blue and Catnip is up, at http://www.gayauthor...lueandcatnip/10. Keeping my interest.

Val N Tyne http://www.nifty.org...e/val-n-tyne-16 seems to have regained some of its merit with two new chapters, but is it enough? Also, Electric Blue and Catnip http://www.gayauthor...icblueandcatnip is holding up well, at Chapter 9.

Very short chapters.

It has been quiet on the good-story front, alas, but I have found Daron's Guitar Chronicles http://daron.ceciliatan.com/ engaging. The story is about the development and ultimate success and relationships of a rock musician -- a guitarist. The story has that feeling of verisimilitude as if the author had been close to a rock band. The story is up to over 300 very-short chapters, and though unfinished, is still worth the read even if it is never completed. The author maintains a twice-a-week update schedule, almost without fail, so I expect completion. Worth a first alert.

The topic title is misleading. The Tea Party philosphy is significantly different from social conservatism. While some social conservatives are members of the Tea Party, the Tea Party's origins and intent was financial -- the deficit, government spending, smaller government -- as Santelli's rant that started it all attests. To me, the Tea Party roots are largely libertarian, and libertarians generally want the government out of our lives to the greatest extent possible, including our bedrooms, legalization of marijuana, not being against gay relationships. In fact, I think there is a stronger kinship between the nanny-stater left and the social-conservative nanny-stater right than there is between the libertarians and the social conservatives. Paul Broun is clearly of the social-conservative persuasion in his idiotic statements, not a representative of Tea Party positions.

This is probably worth its own thread, but the discussion about Val N Tyne raises the dilemma. I have always intended to move a completed story on First Alert to the Roamin' Reader section, leaving First Alert for ongoing and meritorious stories. Now, and assuming Val N Tyne keeps on its current track (that is, it doesn't get back to quality), I will be in a quandary about its future. Do I move an assumably flawed but completed story to a permanent place at Roamin Reader or do I dump it? If completed, it will no longer meet the criteria I see for this forum, yet it may not be good enough to forward. If not completed, I'll keep it around in case the author finishes it in style. This approach may be a bit presumptuous and authoritarian -- so sue me -- because someone could or could have put the story directly on Roamin Reader. Any advice?

Having just finished Bonner 1 and Bonner 2, the short stories by Rick Beck, I need to take a moment to recommend them highly. The football background is well and accurately done, the mystery in the plot builds well, and the ending, to me, was an unforeseen surprise.

After five chapters, Electric Blue and Catnip on Gay Authors looks like it is going to be a good story. It's here: http://www.gayauthors.org/story/lilansui/electricblueandcatnip The story is being nicely set up -- old and new loves, an accomplished pianist writing a film score, connections to Japan and New York. My guess is that the author is not a native English speaker, but the command of English is still excellent.

Another take with the same boy is at Be sure to go past the first minute or so.

Completed, it has been moved to the Roamin Reader forum

You might emulate Nifty's Welcome page that identifies the (screen) names of donors. The names could be "hidden" on some innocuous place on the site.