vwl

Where is he supposed to Styx his pole, again?

I'm sure St. Peter (at the gate) pointed him in the right direction.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/tutenkhamuns-penis-fully-erect-mummified-6358363 ​

This is a nice 9000 word short story. I needed an editor, but not badly. http://www.gayauthors.org/story/dan-umbero/buryingthepast/1

A good and fair review. Once begun, it is hard to stop reading it. I agree that the sex scenes are overdone, but they can be skipped. [sex is sexier, it seems to me, if it sparse, hinted at or alluded to, and less mechanical. That's my advice to authors.]

A nicely done, adult (not XXX adult) story about a Wyoming rancher and an actor who stops by at an exit off of I-80. Recommended. http://www.gayauthors.org/story/gardentuber/codyinwyoming

Off the Start Menu, Search box insert 'Windows Update' and then follow the link. Having run Windows 10 in evaluation mode for several months now, I've found it to be very stable -- more so than any of the Windows 8 flavors -- and as good as Windows 7.

Rutabaga, I had the same problem until (from a tip) I used the Windows Update feature (either in the Control Panel or by search) rather than the icon. Then it went fine.

Amazon has used ones starting at a penny, plus $3.99 for shipping and handling. These are usually sold by Goodwill and other charities. In fact, most used paperbacks can be bought at that price.

The Teaching Company has a course on World War II in which the professor talks about the bomb and Japan. According to Japanese records made public long after the war, Hirohito's war council met after Hiroshima on the question of surrender. The vote was unanimous not to surrender. So much for the demonstration-on-an-uninhabited-island theory. After Nagasaki, the council met again, and the vote on whether to surrender was a tie. The tie was broken for the first time ever by the emporer, who opted for surrender.

nice

Another chapter is up: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/college/joe-college/joe-college-30 An excerpt that captures the story's theme: "I was better at being an undergrad than I'll ever be at anything else. From beer pong to Chaucer to indie rock to Edmund Spenser, I found the person who I was meant to be, in a place where it was all accessible, where my enthusiasm was rewarded. That person had a life expectancy of three years and nine months, but he might still be the person I'm meant to be when I'm 65, and 75, and dead."

Another chapter is up: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/beginnings/mikey-and-the-chickadee/mikey-and-the-chickadee-13

So, the question that has to be asked is this: When, between conception and, say, one year of age, does the state have an interest in protecting this being?

The past few days have given me time to get up to date with this excellent story, Mikey and the Chickadee, now at Chapter 12: http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/beginnings/mikey-and-the-chickadee/mikey-and-the-chickadee-12 Good, interesting characters.

In response to Pertinax, it's not that a non-human magically becomes a human at some point during nine months; rather, it's that the State asserts some responsibility in the protection of that life. When the State does so is a political matter, trying to balance the tensions of the mother and the life of this new being.

I think someone has to speak for the unborn child--through legislation--which means that the people and/or their representatives must make the difficult decisions vis a vis the mother. With issues this difficult, I don't think the laws will bounce around quickly--at least, on a nationwide basis; some states may act differently for either good or bad. I'm not sure we should fear the 'direction-changing wind.' It was clear before Roe v Wade that the wind was moving strongly to approving abortions. I think we can approve the 'direction-changing wind' in another area: gay marriage. The direction of the nation changed rapidly for the better.

I find that the focus of discussion regarding abortion is usually quite superficial, not getting to the heart of the issue. There is no question that life begins at cell division after conception--a biological fact. On the other end, we know that in the animal kingdom, runts and deformed offspring are ejected from the nest or the mother's teats. Indeed, in the past I believe doctors would often make the decisions about keeping severely deformed infants alive, paralleling what happens in nature. The issues involved in abortions are complex, but primarily fall under two overriding questions: 1) When does the State begin its responsibility for protection of life-- somewhere between conception and birth (or even after birth?)? 2) Who decides the answer to the question--mothers, lawmakers, judges, voters in initiatives and referendums? I don't think there is a "correct" answer to these questions. We know that the judges of the United States Supreme Court has made a decision that the State's protection implicitly begins after the first trimester of pregnancy; the court has limited the range of decisions for the future. While I don't agree with them, I can sympathize with those who think the State's responsibility begins at conception. I have no problem with these people continuing to press their case in the courts, the legislatures, with the voters and with the mothers. Life does matter. And while I don't agree with them also, I cannot fault the women who believe that they can decide up to a live birth occurs. However, I think there are a myriad of questions between the fourth month and live birth that are the rightful purview of the voters and the legislators. I balk at letting judges decide the difficult questions; the Supreme Court judges have expressed regrets about making the first-trimester decision and not leaving the decisions up to the states, which were already approving abortions in the first few months of pregnancy. Should an abortion be permitted for gender-selection purposes (after the first trimester)? Should an abortion be permitted after the first trimester if the mother has not done due diligence about finding deformities in the first three months? Should an abortion be permitted at the point of birth (the late-term abortion issue)? Should the first-trimester limit be expanded beyond the first three months? What reasonable conditions can the State put upon abortions during the first trimester? That is, notification to the other parent, restrictions of procedures to places where emergency hospitals are near by, requirement for counseling? Of course, what is 'reasonable' to one person is not to another? The American public shows a great amount of ambivalence to the answers of these questions, as do I. I strongly believe, however, that the people and their legislatures and governors should make the decisions. I don't think there is a best or consensus decision on these issues.

Another chapter arrived at the end of last year. It's at http://www.noelblue.com/stories/groupie/25.html What strikes me about a story so long in finishing is how much I remember of past chapters. Some of it comes from the references the author puts in the chapter, but much of it comes from the fact that the story is memorable. I suspect another (perhaps final) chapter is coming soon.

FYA https://youtu.be/UCyfG9M5hz4

Nice. Of course, you could lean the poem on the right margin -- for variety.

I think you've got the history backwards. The movement against incarceration in mental-health institutions started years before the Reagan Administration with the Frances Farmer brouhaha, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and a general movement to de-institutionalize the mentally ill. With fewer mental institutions, it was only prudent to reduce funding for them. If society decided that the mentally ill were better off on the streets (with the attendant difficulty in getting timely medication to them), then 'failing these people' is a community decision.

After a four-month hiatus, the series came back with three new chapters. I'm still reading it, which I guess is a recommendation. The first of the new chapters -- 28 -- is here: http://www.gayauthors.org/story/jwolf/theenglishyear/28

I've just gotten around to the latest chapter. Still good, still well written with enjoyable characters. http://www.nifty.org//nifty/gay/beginnings/mikey-and-the-chickadee/mikey-and-the-chickadee-8

I have very mixed feelings about the RFRA acts that 28 states and the Federal government have passed. If a farmer takes his pigs to an establishment owned by a Muslim, can the Muslim refuse to butcher them? If a Jewish bakery is asked to decorate a cake with 'Happy Birthday, Hitler', can the bakery refuse? If a state passes as law outlawing the use of peyote, can a Native American be arrested for using it in a tribal ceremony -- of course, that is the actual case that triggered the Federal RFRA act.