usonia

Let me be the first to just say it. When they get past a certain size, they're just freaky looking!!

deftonesfan867, I simply can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. This is a terrible situation for everyone who was touched by this young man's death. His family doesn't truly blame you. They have been struck by the sudden loss of a loved one. They are angry, confused and in pain. They are frantically searching for any explanation to make it make sense and for some place to direct the grief and anger they feel. Sadly, for the moment, you are the convenient target. In time, they will realize the unfair burden they have forced upon you. In your own mind, you know that you are not and cannot be responsible for the actions of another person. Don't forget that and don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.

Without thinking at all, two pop into my head: Landslide - Stevie Nicks Cowboy Take Me Away - Dixie Chicks (This one's a bit weird, but it makes me feel good. It's that cowboy thing I guess.)

No, please don't think that. I'm actually glad you started the topic. Like I said, I don't think most people realize what it's like for some of us growing up and it gave me an opening to shed a little light. I didn't make my post looking for sympathy. It's not like I'm the only one who went through this. Pretty much all of my friends, have a similar story. I do hope it's better for the younger gay people than when I was in high school, but I have my doubts. As for me, I try to get past it, but it's tough.

I used to have an innocuous little rainbow flag in the back of my F150 for the longest time. Then one day, I came out of a restaurant after lunch to find a note tucked under my windshield wiper that said "You faggots and your #@$#%#$ rainbow stickers. You're lucky I didn't key the whole side of this truck." I was glad this person didn't key my truck, but I thought what a pathetic loser that someone would take the time to write a note like that!

OY! This thread caused me a few painful flashbacks. The one thing that I think most straight people take for granted and aren't quite able to understand what it's like for young gay people to deal with, is the whole social-interaction-dating thing. This is an area of social development a lot of us gay guys (me included) miss out on when we're growing up that continues to affect us into adulthood. I never dated in high school and I was so freaked out at the idea that someone might discover my 'secret' that I even kept my friends at a distance. Now, as an adult, even though I'm out and I don't care who knows, my social skills pretty much suck and I have a terrible time talking to people I don't know. Just thinking back to those highschool and early college years, makes me ill.

I've never been there myself but I've heard it isn't that nice of a campground in general plus I've heard some stories too that tell me it isn't for me.

Hey Ocn, Just out of curiosity, where do you go camping, Hillside?

I saw it this weekend too and I enjoyed it. Not fantastic, but it was a better movie than I thought it would be. It was so cool to see the Sixteen in motion. What an amazing looking car!

As is the case with most everything Chrysler makes now, this new Sebring is just not quite right. It's awkward looking. I can't say that I hate it, but there is nothing about it so far, that excites me. It used to be tailfins, but apparently now there is some kind of competition among automakers to put the biggest headlights on a vehicle.

Hey, I just want to thank everybody who replied to my question so far. This has been really interesting. I was surprised at the number of people who said no. I honestly thought I'd be in the minority. Back at the beginning of the thread, trinacriabob asked what prompted the question. I guess the short answer is curiosity. I think about stuff like this a lot and I was looking to get some insight based on what other people had to say. I want to add a bit more to the explanation, but that will have to wait until I have a little more time to sit here at the computer.

If you look at all aspects of your life, on balance, are you happy? (The definition of happy is whatever it means to you.) I used to think I was, but now, not so much.

EXCELLENT!!! Much better than anything I could have thought up.

Someone with a better imagination than me could do a heck of a Davinci-code-like explanation of the symbology in that thing!

It doesn't really offend me and I do think it is amusing. I get the point of the ad and it is clever the way it plays off its 'cute' Neon predecessor. However, I also have to add that when I see it, there's a little something in me does get tweaked in a negative way. The first time I saw it I immediately thought, "Oh boy, this is going to get a reaction." It made me wonder why they didn't do something to avoid the potential controversy like refer to the 'fairy' as a 'pixie' and instead of turning the guy into what could easily be considered a stereotype, they could have made him look like a clown or something. I think the meaning of the ad would have been the same but it would have sidestepped the issue.

I had thining hair for years and it bothered me a lot. I considered a lot of things including surgery and 'replacements' which are all very expensive. Finally I just got up the nerve, said screw it and shaved the whole thing. That was like 8 years ago. I shave it everyday (doesn't really take long) and I haven't regretted it once. Now I wish what hair remains would just go away. Those infomercials you see on TV for all of these hair replacement things make me crazy. They prey on the insecurities of men and I almost bought into it. When your time comes, consider it. I saw your photo in the pictures thread. You'd look good smooth!!

Keep life simple and shave that head!!

I admit I jumped to conclusions when I don't know anything more about the situation other than what was mentioned in the original post. My interpretation was that a yound girl, either in or just out of high school ended up with an unplanned pregnancy. I think the situation is a tragedy. That has nothing to do with the baby itself. He/she is blameless. In a perfect world, every baby would be planned and wanted, but that just isn't reality. That's also not to say that it won't end up a 'positive' for those involved but we also know that isn't always the case. I guess I've seen the negative side of these situations enough to be pessimistic.

I hope this doesn't come of sounding rude because I don't mean it that way. I didn't get the impression that this girl is married and yet here she is, young and pregnant. Why would that be a reason to offer congratulations? That's a tragedy.

I apologize in advance. I wasn't going to post anything more in this thread, but I ran into an incredibly good article today that explains why I think "Brokeback Mountain" deserved best picture in a way far better than I ever could. It is from a website by a woman who describes herself: "My name is Misty Sayoko Irons. I was born in 1968. I am female, straight and an evangelical Christian of the Reformed tradition. My husband Lee is a former pastor who is currently pursuing an academic career in New Testament Studies. We live in Southern California and I homeschool our two children." The article is "Hollywood Finally Gets It Right" and the link to the website is http://www.musingson.com I'm only going to include 2 paragraphs. You can go to the website if you are inclined to read the rest. * * * Funny how whenever a discussion about homosexuality erupts among evangelical Christians, there's always somebody who wants to put forward the bright idea that the best solution is for a man to get married and keep having sex with his wife until he becomes a true hetero convert. Maybe one reason why I don't see a host of female volunteers lining up to administer "the cure" has to do with the slow pain you see inflicted upon the wives of Ennis and Jack during the years of their respective marriages. . . Yet the beauty of this story is that nobody preaches or bullies Ennis into any of it. What is expected of him as an adult male living in 1963 Wyoming, he expects of himself, and he hardly knows otherwise. Anyone who has been raised with religious or traditional values understands immediately what Ennis is all about. You recognize something of yourself in him. Marriage and family, church and community have always been in the air you breathe, their rhythms and traditions imparting the values and expectations you've known since earliest memory. Ennis would gladly take his place in the current and ride easily along, if it did not set him on a collision course with his own human needs. If there's anyone who might be able to endure the barrenness of a life devoid of any meaningful love and emotional connection, you figure it would be Ennis. The problem is, once he does experience that connection with Jack, it is for him like breathing oxygen for the first time. The agony of having to part from Jack, and his subsequent inability to find satisfaction in his marriage to Alma, however devoted a wife she is, only intensifies his suffocation.

Ocnblu is right. This thread should go in to the 'agree to disagree' pile.

You're right in your point. I can't argue with your logic. Even though he did a great job, I could never forget that I was watching someone pretend to be Truman Capote. That's nothing against Hoffman. That's a problem I have with anyone playing the part of a person who actually existed. I had the same issue with 'Ray' and I would have had the same problem with Joaquin Phoenix had I gone to see 'Walk the Line'. I know my opinion is way more emotional than logical, but, of the nominated movies I saw, the only one that I still think about (9 weeks later) is "Brokeback Mountain". The others I pretty much didn't think twice about about after leaving the theater.

In the overall scheme of life, who won and lost is pretty much meaningless. Que sera sera...

I wanted it to win everything it was nominated for! Seriously though, I didn't think "Crash" was that good of a movie. It was so heavy handed and tedious to watch. I think Hoffman did a good job with Capote and not to take anything away from his performance, but he was imitating someone who actually existed. Heath Ledger brought a fictional "Ennis Del Mar" to life and did it so powerfully with so few words, I can't say enough good things about his performance. The bottom line for me is, any movie that could put me through the emotional ringer the way "Brokeback Mountain" did, deserved to win best picture and more.

First of all, "Brokeback Mountain" was robbed. "Crash"? Make me puke!!!!! The only thing I can figure out is that "Brokeback Mountain" was a little movie with a little cast. "Crash" had so many people involved in it who had friends of friends of friends that voted for it, otherwise it would have never won. Oh well, life goes on. For me, it will always be the movie of the year and most likely, the movie of my life.