blue

Agrees with Gee. Until about 22 or 24, I thought I was going to be very lacking in body hair. After that, my dad's genetics kicked in. The consolation: my hair (scalp) has not gone prematurely grey like my mom's or prematurely bald like my dad's. Looks like I'll keep most of it until old age, like my uncle. I'm blond, so that may help a little. At least I'm not really, really hairy, but it's not like it was before my mid-20's. I tried Nair. Once. Only once. Don't do that! At least, not...yeouch.

The latest arrival in my spam folder was only remarkable for the sender. It was sent from Fapturbo. Well, at least we know what he's very busy doing when he's not sending out spam.... He'll be sore, but he's sending out spam. Not much sympathy here, sorry. Maybe he'll be too preoccupied to send spam. We might even hope he'll find one of those very friendly girls who wants to show him her assets, and they'll both be too busy to put spam in anyone's folders.

Dizzy still owes me a date! I was checking the U of Tubes tonight and ran across this random comment: I want a robotic orangutan that gives hugs. That would be so tight! Robotic? Robotic! Well, OK, if you insist. But really, as long as the orangutan is giving hugs, he's cool with me. I'm cool with him. Something like that. No, I have no idea what the comment had to do with anything. (OK, it was commenting on a weird little USB robotic rabbit called Karotz, so I guess the orangutan is just a hop and a swing away.) But does this mean there's a Mecha-DownUnder, sorta like Mecha-Godzilla, the giant robot Godzilla? I'd offer him a can of oil, but I'm not sure what would happen.... There was that bananas flambé incident, after all. Just sayin'.

I had heard "Waiting Outside the Lines" by Greyson Chance and knew it was something special. I got his CD, Hold On 'Til The Night by download, when it came out, and somehow got it through both iTunes and Amazon MP3. The two have a different bonus track. One has "Purple Sky." I hadn't heard the track until tonight. I wasn't paying full attention until I realized the significance of the names at the end, and then I had to listen again. Folks, he has written songs that are sympathetic, understanding of the plight of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, fellow teenagers like him. He has alluded to girlfriends in his songs too. It isn't really any of our business to speculate, but I think we can say he's friendly rather than unfriendly. Or at least we can say he cares and has put thought into things. He writes his own tracks. Yes, he's really working it in interviews and publicity ads, but to me, that shows he's trying hard, working at it...and probably nervous at the sudden fame and trying to do a good job. I just hope that he is as passionate in ten or twenty years as he is now. Here are the lyrics to "Purple Sky." Edit: And here's a YouTube link:

This case is no less disturbing now than it was then. * It's not nice and not merely a prank to video and distribute a roommate's private sex life or date. Not if it's someone of the same sex and not if it's the opposite sex. You've just invaded his privacy and humiliated him and his date / boyfriend / girlfriend. This will *not* be something he laughs about with you this week or next semester or twenty years from now. It's a bad idea. A water balloon is a prank. Film of him making out or doing the horizontal (or vertical) mambo isn't a prank. This is your roommate, right? Think! * If this is because your roommate is gay/bi or you *think* he might be, are you going to feel better about it if you have proof he is? Is he going to trust you when he finds out you're spying on him and you don't like his sexual orientation or habits? No, your roommate is not going to be happy with you. Why are you so eager to prove it, if you're not going to like it? * If your roommate has emotional or behavioral problems and you know this, and you know he might be at risk, then pulling some mean prank or bullying him, or certainly doing something as underhanded as the video and broadcasting it, is *of course* going to put him at risk of serious increased emotional, behavioral trouble. Whether he withdraws or acts out or tries to harm himself or you, or some other extreme reaction, you've made it unnecessarily worse by pushing him like that. Why do that to someone you know has a rough time? Why be cruel? The guy who did this may not have directly caused the roommate's suicide, but his actions were a major contributing factor. One of my high school classmates did commit suicide after he was caught doing something on campus. He felt so ashamed that apparently he couldn't continue. It was likely not gay, but it did become public knowledge what he'd done. He got in trouble at school and at home. -- And no one will ever know what he would have been like at 18 or beyond. That is the greatest part of the loss. What he did and the shame of getting caught were not worth him dying for it. (And he shouldn't have done that on campus. But surely some nice girl or guy would've liked to be with him...it's just sad, such a needless loss. He was a nice guy, too.)

It isn't just rural folks. Amount of education doesn't matter either. But -- Why waste time with the ultra-negative people? There's enough without looking for it or giving it more views. -- Yes, we need to be aware, and wary. It's just very sad there are people who hate -- and fear -- so much.

Still a great song. White shirt and tie? Kids these days, always dressing wild!

Chalkboard? I haven't seen a chalkboard since my first inglorious run through college. Whiteboards and markers. I've always seen "copy this down" as well as, "take these handouts." Heck, as a student assistant, I sorted and stapled a lot of handouts. But to the point of the thread: This topic really bothered me when it first came up. I'm not naive enough to be shocked that it could or did happen, or that the school authorities tried to blame individual staff rather than take responsibility for decisions made at the top. What bothered me was that it had happened, and kids (whatever age) had had their private lives at home, in their own rooms, spied upon. It didn't matter if the kid was doing his/her homework, hanging out doing ordinary stuff alone or with friends...or changing clothes or perhaps engaging in something intimate alone or with someone. What was going on didn't matter. What mattered was the kids had been granted a privilege (having a laptop) and then spied upon for doing so, without knowledge or consent or thought about it, and their right to privacy and freedom from assumptions of wrongdoing had been violated. Heck, if they knew about it, they could've at least covered the lens and mic. But instead...yikes. I remember how much time as a teen I spent in my room doing homework or other work, versus relaxing, versus anything involving less clothing. (And before you get excited, it's Texas, even conservative boys have to deal with hot weather. OK, yeah, there was also a non-negligible fraction of time on, uh, oh, you figure it out.) And I was one of those conservative boys, but still! -- I would've been embarrassed if a friend had seen me, (one did) let alone someone without permission. And no, I wouldn't have sent pictures of myself. Uh, that friend could've kept looking, though.... (Huh, what were we talking about again? :grin: ) Colin's comments, right on the nose.

BBB careful - phishing scam 2012-05-19 Be careful out there, gang. My spam folder just received a phony phishing spam claiming to be from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) at abuse (at) bbb (dot) org dated...with tomorrow's(!) date...and urging me to download and fill out the attached form, because someone had filed a complaint against my business. Uh-huh. Except -- that email address is not a business email address and it is not yet tomorrow. ;) Unless the BBB now has time-traveling blue police boxes or carriages with spinning wheels attached, well, -- NO. -- Do not click or open the attachment. Don't download it. Email bad! Bad email! Checking Google, it appears this is the third (or more) time a phishing / spamming source has tried to co-opt bbb.org's name to phish for data. Don't do it. Nope. Nuh-unh.

I should know that slang term, but I'll need to look it up. Um, would you believe I have a small dictionary of, ah, less than polite French? ;) -- I have the feeling I get the idea, even without the translation. (Although the journey from "moo" to there might be...agriculturally unlikely? ;D Salut, Paul. Essaies-toi, si tu veux et si tu jouerais, ou si tu essaierais en voix qq rôle. My French is reasonably fluent, but rustly without much practice lately. Since a few ppl around here do play or write music, and since HF is friendly to LGBT and straight folks, I thought it might be worth a shot to mention it. ...Well, that translation for "vache" varies, but yeah, I got the idea...

Hi Folks, Star Trek: Equinox, a fan audio drama at HiddenFrontier.com due this summer, is looking for a composer for original music for the show. The composer they had lined up had to bow out due to a paying gig, regrettably for both. If you have experience doing original music, or want to try, why not open hailing frequencies or give them a Wave or comm-link? The folks to contact would be: Rob Caves, Exec. Producer, Hidden Frontier Productions Camren T. Burton, Writer, Co-Exec. Producer, Star Trek: Equinox http://www.hiddenfrontier.com/ http://forums.hiddenfrontier.com/index.php?showforum=53 Note: I'm putting the word out, but I'm not staff. I've done voice work for upcoming Equinox and other audio dramas at HF and elsewhere.

My "gaydar" has never worked that well. Most of the time, I presume "he's straight," but I have no evidence of that one way or the other. Only rarely do I get the vibe, "he's gay," and unless it's pretty dang obvious, I still don't know for sure. Yes, this makes it hard for a guy like me to decide if, or how, to get to know a guy and see if he is or not. This is as true if I've just met someone or if I've known them a while. Two or three times when I've thought, "maybe he is," well...apparently, not so much, or not that he was admitting. (And dang it, they were nice!) Yes, I'd really like it if I could tell more accurately. IMHO, you really have to get to know someone and find out if you can talk to him (or her) before knowing if he or she is gay. But that is just me. Again, yeah, I'd like it if my "gaydar" worked better. So I'm doubtful about gaydar, at least for some of us.

Ayrault in French would be pronounced the same as héros "hero" or... Éros, the Greek god of love. They're all pronounced, "ay-roh," "é-rô." The Éros connection might possibly be related to the origin of the Arabic slang term, I don't know, since Arabic is not related to Greek at all. It is probably news to Monsieur Ayrault, whose family name would not cause anyone French to think his name sounded like a word for penis. I can sympathize. Since my name's Ben, I heard the "How long have you...Ben Gay?" joke many times. At least it wasn't Dick Long, Short, Shaft, or Dick Hardwin. Richard is a fine name, but the nickname needs to be Rick(y). Willy... also could be problematic in certain, uh, circles.... -- By the way, "Hardwin" just means, "hardy friend, brave friend." Fine name. Akbar Zeb, huh? I'm guessing boys named Zebulon and so forth would have some trouble in that part of the world. Yes, I'm having far more fun with this than I probably should. Ah well.

I never came out to my parents. It's possible my mom may have tried to reach me a couple of times, but I was convinced they wouldn't understand or accept it. After they'd both passed away, I agonized for a long while about that. Would they have understood? Could I have told them? But recently, I've come to realize, I don't think they really would have. Last month, I woke from a dream and, unrelated to anything, remembered a couple of events from around elementary age or earlier, I had all but forgotten. It made me realize just how much my mother, at least, had controlled and stunted my social growth, thinking she was protecting me and doing the right thing. No, nothing sexually related, but it kept me from being with other kids, and contributed to the one time we really had much of a fight, when I was a young teen. My dad did similarly, again thinking he was doing right and protecting me, and again having the effect of keeping me from natural interaction with other kids, socialization. It is no wonder I have trouble keeping friends and have hermit tendencies. It seems I was taught to withdraw or be removed from others often. Add to that a sensitive boy who would retreat into himself in his room, rather than show how unhappy he was to be teased so much at school, eyesight, sports, brainy, or hmm, calling me gay/queer, and...yeah. And yet my parents were not consciously or intentionally doing wrong, they loved me and I loved them, despite unhappiness when they'd impose limits and pull me from things. Oh, how I've come to wish I had moved out during college. But while my grandmother was sick, I came to see I couldn't have come out to her or relied on help there, such as moving in until I could have afforded my own place. All of which means...I did the best I could have after all, short of moving out with not enough money and nowhere to go, to prove my point how fed up I was. But part of me wishes I'd carried through so they would have seen how serious and how desperately fed up I was, during college. I could barely accept myself being gay, at the time, despite that I'd defended friends in high school, and despite that I knew I liked guys, was gay, during college and had plenty of indications before that. I will never understand how my parents, loving and good intentioned, so short circuited me with friends and socializing, normal kiss' and teens' stuff. So...yeah, I can absolutely understand how a young guy could post that in a forum. I rarely ever heard specifically anti-gay things from my parents, but sex in general was barely talked about. Oh sure, my parents kissed, hugged, told each other and me they loved each other and me, but beyond that...it just wasn't there much. It didn't help that I was shy and uptight, more than they were. How much of that was in general or my personality -- or my subconscious already aware I was subtly different without knowing it much yet in actual fact, I don't know. What's the point of my rambling? Not to whine or dig at my dead relatives. But to show how very subtle and insidious some things in our social and sexual development can be. I knew, or believed, it was unfair even as a small boy through my teens, to be prevented like I was. I believed absolutely I couldn't tell my mom what had happened between me and another boy at 11' that my parents would've understood, and after some doubts after they'd died, I now believe I was right about them. However, I had badly needed someone to talk to, it stunted my development for years (social and emotional sexual development) all because I knew my parents would not have understood it, right or wrong. (That friend and I got in over our heads and both he and I badly screwed up. Traumatic for us both, and yes, it still bothers me. If only we'd both known more and not been such fearful idiots, it might never have gone that way.) I wish parents would teach their kids about same-sex activity as well as the opposite sex talk. But my dad and I had not had that talk either. Messages and attitudes, subtle or overt, spoken or not, get carried over in families and every other interaction between any people. It is not surprising a guy would post that. There is one key difference, though. These days, teens can see on the web that there are other ways to be,. That other people do differently, and that yes, there are gay people and what that's like. That is very different from not having any idea that what you are going through is not you only. There is a long way to go. Prejudice, bigotry, false information and attitudes and beliefs run deep. It has got to change.

He's writing something new? Excellent! Awesome!

That's at least four directions, and appears to be six lights or lanes each. I sure hope it's just for decoration. But I'm not sure all those chickens crossing the road will notice anyway. Note the multiple sculptures of girls (and boys?) practicing volleyball spikes (I guess?) to the top left.

Equinox has had another delay. Their music composer had to cancel due to a paying gig, so they are looking for a music composer. They want original music at least for 1.01. So...this summer, I'm guessing. I'll appear in 1.02 and reuse in 1.03. No audition news yet for 1.03, so I don't know yet if I'll have additional lines for that part, or a new part. Meanwhile, this has led to a few possibilities for other audio roles. Not paying gigs, but it is epxerience and it's fun. I'd be even more thrilled with a paying gig. They pay people to do voices and make fools of themselves. And people actually like listening. Incredible, I tell you! Meanwhile, not paid, but people like listening to that too, still fun, and I'm seeing how volunteer projects share voices or get other new voices like mine. We'll see, I mean hear!

Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich? Seriously? LOL. Colin, thanks, I've subscribed to that newsletter. @ Camy -- Amazon.co.uk should have *many* free ebooks also. There are many available here in the US. Most ultimately derive from Project Gutenberg. Don't give up, mate, try searching there for "free ebooks". Not only is there free classic older stuff, but there are some newer things as well. You'll also find low-cost short stories and novellas and novels, either indie or amateur or pro. -- If you'd rather another site than Amazon, check. I don't know if Barnes & Noble exists across the pond but -- check wherever, online stores or sites for brick-and-mortar bookstores. Well worth a look. Try lulu.com and smashwords.com for low cost, platform-agnostic ebooks. Ahem, the dreaded Harry Potter series are all available in ebooks now, but Ms. Rowling's official site, Pottermore, is roundabout for the ordering process. It looks like Amazon is going to offer a more direct method soon.

Wait, what's that, out on the wing? Aaaahhh! Fish tacos? Bookmark, you say? I knew there was something fishy about one old textbook. Perhaps that explains it. I prefer peach tea to raspberry tea. In my experience, the flight attendant passes you a thimbleful of soda or juice and her plastic bags are used for...well, thankfully, I've never seen that. If you must insist on tearing out pages, though, perhaps you'd better keep them to use as kindling when you're stuck on that tropical island trying to send an S.O.S. before that one guy starts chasing people and calling them Piggy. Say, that's right, you can't carry a pocket knife anymore. You'll have some trouble on that tropical island, then. That is rather a plot complication, isn't it?

"Tearing off..." Merkin, you just gave this poor book lover fits. Uh...if you tape a string to the silly book, you could achieve about the same, tape both ends and it has less chance to come undone. Then when you're done, you can remove the tape and string and donate/resell the book so someone else can enjoy it. Eek, tearing off pages... :wails: -- You'd have to understand, I did desktop publishing and graphic design, proofreading and editing, professionally. Not for a book publisher, but as an independent small business, working for printers and service bureaus and walk-ins. So yes, I'm used to publications getting used and abused, but...well, it's the book lover and academic in me, and the designer. :) Whatever works for you, but...eek! :)

Send it back with a letter. Tell 'em keep it. The iPad, Nook, and Sony eReader are the ones I hear the most about, and generally good things. I've also heard about, but haven't looked up "Kobo." I got a Kindle (wifi+3g, eInk) last year, when it looked like I might lose all online contact due to budget. I later got an iPad2 for about the same reason. I personally don't care for the older Kindle, but a Kindle Fire, might be fine. The older Kindle's screen is hard for me to read in all but very bright light, and shining a book light on it doesn't help much because that's not bright. It's a matter of screen contrast and size, and my eyesight. The iPad2 has been generally great. I use the Kindle for iOS app and I use iBooks and I've tried Stanza. I'll hold off another year or more before upgrading to a newer model. -- I'm hoping my budget will have recovered some by then. At least one major publisher has gone non-DRM on their ebooks, and that is great. But both Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (Nook) do use DRM on their ebook sales. Independent authors, however, are often going non-DRM, and this is a very good thing. (Indie can be professionally published, award-winning, big-name authors just as much as it can be amateurs or lesser known folks.) I am not sure what Lulu and Smashwords do about DRM. I've been focused on learning epub format, along with...a boatload of other things, mostly personal, getting back to anything resembling a "normal" life. -- I have had good luck with the indie authors' purchases I've made, and from Lulu and Smashwords. Yes, I buy from Amazon's Kindle books and from iBooks. -- I also have gotten several that are *free*, ultimately from Project Gutenberg, but through those sources. DaBeagle, friends I know have either gone to getting purchases for their less tech-savvy (and older) relatives from the friends' accounts, with another account for that older / less techie relative or friend. Then the savvy friend sets up the ereader so he/she can send from his/her account to the older/less savvy relative's account. (For example, through the Amazon Kindle address for that relative.) This improves the chances that both can enjoy a wider range of ebooks. I have had my iPad take a fall from countertop or headboard height to the floor. (Ouch! Scary.) This has happened twice. Neither time did I detect any damage to the hardware or functionality. I was really surprised. You pay more, but you get a good product. The Kindles are good, though I've heard a few stories, Amazon's return policies are generally excellent. I don't know, but would expect good service from Sony. No matter what you do now, in one year or more, the market will have changed a great deal. What worries me most is not so much the ereaders and apps and ebooks, as that many publishers are going belly up or are dropping paperbacks or hardbacks, in favor of ebooks, as the industry goes through something like the recording industry did. We can expect that in even one to two years, the entire landscape for books and ebooks will have changed. We can expect some companies will go extinct or be bought up, others will emerge as big players, and...the whole thing is likely to become something way different than expected. I fully expect Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and maybe Barnes & Noble's Nook (if B&N survives) to gobble up a lot of the publishing market. I also expect indie publishers to become a major part of the scene, which is what happened with audio. Whatever happenes, *all* of us, from those big publishing houses to the authors to the bookstores to ourselves as readers (or authors breaking into ebook publishing) are in for one bumpy, wild ride before it's done. Hang on tight!

That...was truly inspired! "Transitive properties...wood pulp...then stop biting people!" Hahahaha! Oh, man, that is so classic! Hahahaha! I would love to see that in a story!

Very thought-provoking article, Des. A couple of the comments struck me. One lesbian wanted a vulva instead of a phallus. No argument there. The "gaia / earth mother" folks would be in favor, as would several prehistoric sculptors. Another commenter tried to claim the Bible was not a religion and that there wasn't the word, "homosexual," back then and that people "didn't do it." Uhhhhh.... That commenter really needs someone to explain a great many things. Must've slept through history class and Sunday School.... Gotta think some on the article. Thanks, Des, very nice food for thought.

Apple's ppl are trained for customer service and work at it. Probably put it to Steve Jobs' salesmanship flair. Their ppl also tend to be smart, and I'm told both Apple and Microsoft have very forward-thinking policies towards LGBT employees. But they are often friendly. The difference between an Apple Store and Worst Buy is day and night. My last visit to an Apple Store, a *very* counter-culture young guy (funky hair and beard, very nice looking) helped me. I may still have his card. While there, a more conventional black guy also asked if I needed help. So...It could just be they were eager to help, eager for a sale...but sure, they might be gay and friendly. My gaydar tends to default to "I think he's straight" or "I don't know" more often than "hey, I think he's gay." Yes, my gaydar needs a tuneup. So yeah, uh, I dunno if the nice counter-culture young dude was gay, straight, bi, or diagonal.... Siiiigh. -- But my next computer will likely be a Mac. Hoping that won't be for another couple of years, though. I didn't jump on the newest iPhone and iPad this year. Maybe next year for the iPhone, dunno about the iPad. Really, I'm expecting the iOS and MacOS to merge soon. I'm already seeing what I think are signs of that. Uh, but to the point of the blog post -- Yay for those nice gay guys at the Apple Store! Stonewall, no; I'm 46.

I think (sure hope) that is a demonstration, a protest, and not a statement of fact for each student. The trouble is, for too many students now and too many of us no longer students, we know people those things happened to, we lived through it ourselves. All those signs bother me, especially the one on the easel. But I'm proud they had the courage to do that. My own contributions in high school were sticking up for friends (not a couple) who were accused of being gay. If a friend then had come to me and said he or she really was gay and could we talk, you would've seen one very surprised high school boy. The word "boyfriend" never occurred to me as a real possibility, if it even occurred to me at all. But then, my old high school has had a GSA now since a girl at another school in the district won a court battle and it's legal. Change does happen. Case in point: Those young guys and girls can stand there in public, in the open, on their school campus and show those signs, without getting into a huge fight and without getting detention or suspension. Change does happen. I don't know if a couple of gay boys can hold hands where I went to high school or go to the prom together. I sure hope so. Yeah, I get angry. I get depressed. Neither one helps much unless I use those feelings, my principles and convictions, in a constructive way. -- In my case, that's mostly because I'm not shy of saying what I think online, in writing, and yes, that becomes "a matter of public record." (Ooh, surprise, they'd find out I'm gay, if they don't already know it. Duh.) Good for them, for standing up and showing their classmates and spreading the photo. Even better if some of the students (and teachers and staff) think about it and change their minds.