foeofthelance

Sorry Summer, the first three chapters are already written and posted. The threads are over in the game section, but feel free to join in!

Ok, so the Forum Orgy now exists once more in the game section. Go, let the writing begin! Its also a great way to bust through writers block, so have fun!

Do you speak Portugese? Feel free to use it. Do you not speak Portugese? Then don't use it. That simple. The words, "X spoke in rapid Portugese", or a variation of such, does more for the reader than sprinkling a few words you picked up from somewhere will. you don't want to throw them out of the state of disbelief they've put themself in. WTF the moments are the worst, and the misuse of language is one of the best ways to do it. Compare it to: "George Washington fought valiantly, but in the end the Ghurka's proved too much. Their razor tipped boomerang's were slaughtering his Confederate troops like chickens in a hamburger factory." Unless you are writing a very disturbed alternate history, that line is bound to make anyone with half an ounce of history knowledge cringe in their seats, or worse, bust a gut laughing. Unless intended, not a good thing. For a final thought: Foreign languages are like hand guns: not meant to be handled by the irresponsible, the unaware, or the clueless. They will anyway, and 99% of the time the result is tragedy.

Huh. does it make me a sick freak if I could figure out a way to save the story? Synopsis: Most of the world is dead after a virulent plague breaks out. The virus causes sterility in females and mutates when it encounters the Y chromosome, causing cellular decay in males. There is no cure for the virus. If that weren't enough, the virus mutated into a second stage, persistant in juvenile females. The onset of puberty, culminating in the first menstrual cycle, retriggers the virus, endangering the few small clans of survivors left. The only known prevention is the series of hormones released during pregnancy. Unfortunately, with the death of modern society there are no more pharmacuetical companies left to produces artificial hormones, leaving actual pregnancy as the only cure. Insert tale of Heroine here, detailing her existance in this troubled times. Further notes---> Change Male perspective to female.Society is now obsessed with women, as their bodies will literally either save or damn mankind. In fact the clans are run by Matrons, who patrol the families to keep an eye on all the underage females if they suspect the onset of puberty they automatically claim the girl. Change "raping his female relatives" to some sort of ceremony. Granted, the best way to ensure pregnancy, as well as ensure best offspring, is multiple donors. Some sort of town wide gang bang then? Though a little more refined... Hmmm. Starting on her tenth birthday, if she has yet to be selected by the matrons, every girl is sent to the Ovarium, where she is regularly bedded under the watchful eyes of the Matrons. She's not allowed to leave until it is confirmed she's with child... Dump the four year old. Seriously, that's messed up in more ways than I can think of. The best way to 'save' that is to forget that it ever happened in the first place. What were we talking about again? So am I sick freak? Or do I just have the ability to be inspired from trash?

Well, if it gets off the ground I'm still going to write you in Knorg, so !

Actually, if I recall correctly, the easiest way to bypass Norton and McAfee was to simply go to google, go to Image search, turn off the Safe Search, and then type in what ever you wanted. Google comes up as a safe site to the main blocker, so the search gets let through...

Thanks for the warning DVW. On another note, where is the scene in your portrait from?

The key word in the original quote was "giver". Girls can give a handjob at the same time, play with the testicles etc. Guys can finger, stroke the small of the back, tease nipples, etc. admittedly the hardest part is ignoring whatever it is your partner might be up to, but with good practice comes great ability.

US, Southern NY (Yay snow!) 18:26 EST

I tend to suscribe to Heinleinistic ideas when it comes to sex, so as far as I'm concerned, labels don't matter. Either you and your partner(s) enjoy it, or you don't. And if you don't that just means practice is required.

So I was flipping through the forums, and I noticed that we had a large number of Virgin members running around. Now, of course we can't allow virgins on an adult site. It just wouldn't do! So I am curious. Should we revive the Forum Orgy? The only way to deflower a Virgin is to get them to post, and a round robin story between dozens of writers its good way to do it. Granted, we'd have to disconnect it from the previous coninuity, unless Those Who Remain have something they wish to keep. (For instance, I plan on ressurecting Cal and Foe if we go through with this.) What's everyone think? Yay, or Nay?

Hmmm, what have I bought recently? With In Temptation- (Cant remember album title) Nightwish- Dark Passion Play Iced Earth- Framing Armageddeon Pt. 1 Witchblade OST Bob Seger Apocalyptica Cruxshadows- Dreamcypher Lacuna Coil- Karmacode, Comalies, The EPs I listen to pretty much everything, except for rap with a few more exceptions. (Mostly Gangsta's Paradise, Thugs Mansion, and the Godzilla theme from the american version. Probably the only decent thing to come out of the entie movie). I'm currently waiting for the Battlestar Galactica Season 3 OST, mostly for Bear McCreary's take on All Along the Watchtower.

Sorry Ninja. I got the chance to catch a sneak peek. Visuals were good, acting was good. Plot, unfortunately, was non-existant, badly paced, and ham handed.

1/4 already? You've got a small ipod then my friend. I have over 1400 songs on my ipod, many of which run well over six minutes in length. I'm only about a 1/6th of the way through my memory. I'm not sure if it still holds true, but the rule used to be that about every six months Silicon Valley would come up with a way to double the current memory capacity, if not necessarily in an affordable way. Granted, I may be confusing that with processing capability, but never the less, technology tends to grow by leaps and bounds rather than timid steps.

Keep it, if for no other reason than to encourage people to spend points in the IBStore.

Knorg, what have I told you about starting new religions without my say so? You are not getting out of paying me the cut of the Church of Scientology you still owe me!

Who has been letting Keith play in the Bible section? I now have the strange urge to email that, anonymously of course, to several people in high standing...

Just looking for a few comments over the next few days. Content, structure, accuracy, etc. all is appreciated. -------------------- Foeofthelance Professor Rodriguez Comp and Lit Honors 20 November 2007 Sex in Literature: Revealing the Hidden Fantasies Throughout much of history sex has been considered a taboo topic. Religions have dismissed it as evil, decrying it as a sin. Society picked up on the attitude, and sex was soon relegated to private family discussions, technical courses in schools covering the barest information on the biological aspects, and ‘back of the barn’ educations between youths making up as much as they actually knew. Yet sex is an inherent part of human nature, as it is the driving forces behind the perpetuation of the species. We can not help but be fascinated by it, and its taboo nature only helps add allure to it. As society grew, sex began to become more and more intertwined with entertainment. Hollywood began to produce starlets, women whose careers were based as much on physical appeal as an ability to act, and singers became known as much for their status as sex symbols as their voices. Yet sex appeal was not limited to the mere visual entertainments. The written word became just as erotic and arousing as anything designed to address the physical senses. I Modi, Marcantonio Raimondi, 1527 Sex in literature can be traced back at least to the sixteenth century, as the above woodcut shows. Based on a series of works done by Giulio Romano, it was included in a collection of vulgar sonnets written by Pietro Aretino. However, more modern writings, such as Lady Chatterly’s Lover, have become more commonly known, both as people read them and for the controversies they spark. Lady Chatterly’s Lover, written in 1928 by D.H. Lawrence, tells the tale of Lady Ottoline Morell and her fling with a young stonemason named Tiger. The scandal of a noble bedding a commoner aside, it also featured explicit sexual scenes. The book itself “underwent various printings due to its sexual content: it was published privately in Florence in 1928, in a bowdlerized version in London in 1932 and finally unexpurgated by Grove Press in America in 1959” (bibliomania.com). Afterwards the book would be put on trial in both Great Britain and the United States to see if it should be declared obscene, and was banned outright in Australia. In both cases it managed to win standing as being of literary worth, and was thus not obscene. This could be seen as the move that opened the door for today’s authors, some of whom enjoy much racier content in their books. For today’s society sex has been granted a certain set of standards in order to be accepted, outside of which anything else is labeled “deviant”. Yet today’s authors seem to enjoy teasing their readers with forbidden fruits. For them, simply placing a man and woman in bed together isn‘t enough. Modern characters are thrilled at the thought of domination fantasies or habitually enjoy multiple partners, sometimes ones who are not entirely human. This seems to be an extension of sexual fantasies, both on the part of the author and the part of the reader. Harold Leitenberg, of University of Vermont’s Psychology Department, defines sexual fantasies as “referring to almost any mental imagery that is sexually arousing or erotic to the individual. The essential element of a deliberate sexual fantasy is the ability to control in imagination exactly what takes place. Even reminiscences of past events can be altered so that only particularly exciting aspects are recalled or enhanced”. In a novel format, this can be especially easy to replicate. The reader only has to accept the details offered by the author in order to imagine the scene, and it is not too difficult for the reader to replace themselves in the scene should they choose. The ability to recall or enhance details is also made easier, as a reader can simply book mark the passages they wish. Yet what do our choices say about us as readers? Obviously these books sell, or the authors would stop writing them. This in turn, if logic follows, means that people are enjoying them. I think this means that the readers are experiencing the same fantasy as these authors, and for the sake of convenience allow another to form their fantasies for them. People are instructed at an early age to be ashamed of their natural impulses, and finding those impulses put on display for them by another’s hand is most likely a small comfort of sorts. The basest examinations of these fantasies can be seen in the so called “bodice ripper.” These are novels, generally of the romance genre, featuring what best amounts to gratuitous sex. The general theme is that the heroine, for what ever reason, ends up meeting the tender hearted but rough natured rogue, and through a tangled web of seduction, romance, and yes, sex, manages to cure him of his errant ways. A good example of one such novel, Wicked Loving Lies by Rosemary Roger, has a plot best summarized as by one reader as, “Rape, kidnapping, pirates, Napoleon's France, marriage, England, flagrant adultery, harems, anal sex, divorce, pregnancies, murders, a stolen baby, enslavement of the hero then the heroine, spying, counterspying, Comanche raids, slave rebellions, priests, nuns, convents, politicians, and prisons” and the characters are summed up with “The heroine, Marisa, is an idiot, the "hero," Dominic, is a vicious bastard (literally), and you end up liking them, anyway” (rampaging.blogspot.com). This serves as the base for these style of novels. It is not a simple case of boy meets girl falls in love, gets married and has children. Instead, sex becomes associated with danger, hardship, and general excitement. Heroes do not need to be dashing princes on white stallions, but can be, as Dominic is described, vicious bastards. Nor does the sexual aspect need be predictable. Rape? Harems? Adultery? Anal sex? All of these are frowned upon by society, yet here they show up in a typical romance novel. Now that we have a general idea of what to look for in a novel, it is time to examine several specific cases in depth. In order to get a better idea of the bigger picture, we shall examine three different cases: John Ringo, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Robert A. Heinlein. Each of these three authors writes in a unique style, but at the same time sex has played a key part in some of their major works. In 2005, the novel Ghost by John Ringo won best romance of the year. The title, sadly, is slightly misleading. The book is not about love beyond the grave, as one might assume based on the title, but is in fact it is quite the opposite. Ringo is better known for his military science fiction novels, such as A Hymn Before Battle or There Will Be Dragons. Ghost follows the basic pattern laid out by these novels, as it follows the adventures of a retired Navy SEAL named Mike Harmon. Mike spends his time in the book shooting bad guys, stopping weapons of mass destruction, and generally causing mayhem and destruction wherever he goes. Hardly what one might consider award winning romance material. Yet Ghost feature one other feature: the main character is also a dedicated sadomasochist dominant. A good third of the book is dedicated to him teaching two young girls about the intricacies of bondage and rape fantasies, while the last third sees him jetting about Europe with a prostitute. (The first third is rather tame by comparison. He simply has to rescue fifty naked co-eds.) Now, at this point the novel has already gone well into the wish fulfillment zone. Ringo, however, was not finished. The next two books in the series, Kildar and Choosers of the Slain, saw Harmon not only acquiring a harem, but being informed that it was now his sacred duty to sleep with the daughters of the farmer retainers he had eventually acquires. The sexual fantasies present in the books became so prevalent in the material that the Barflies, regular posters to the website forums hosted by Ringo’s publisher, began to joke that the fourth book in the series, Unto the Breech, should have properly been re-titled Untie the Breeches. Looking at the material presented in the books, it is easy to see where fantasy takes over for reality. The main character, as noted above, is a self proclaimed fan of domination scenarios. When he encounters two girls in the Florida keys, not only do they discover they enjoy being submissive to him, willingly giving into being tied up, restrained, and simulated rape, they discover that their parents are also into the “scene”. The fact that the two girls would give in so willingly, especially to a man twice their age whom they had just met, does not seem realistic. By the end of the third book Harmon has already bedded perhaps two dozen different women, all of whom are almost slavishly devoted to him. Admittedly Ringo was “exorcising some personal demons” as he put it to several fans, so perhaps the excessive nature of the books can be chalked up to that. Yet are these “demons”, as he put it, his alone? Or are they ones commonly held by his reader as well? Leitenberg cites several studies, showing a range of thirteen to fifty-four percent of men having domination themed fantasies, in which they are the dominant partner, with the difference being made up for in the variable nature of the studies cited. This is coupled with female submission fantasy, which had a range between twenty and fifty-one percent of those tested, again with variables ranging between studies. In both sexes submission/dominance fantasies tended to be in the top three of preferred fantasies, falling continuously only behind fantasies involving romantic overtones. These numbers are presented more conclusively by William Ardnt of the University of Missouri. In the study he conducted, titled Specific Sexual Fantasy Themes, he finds thirty-nine percent of males had dominance fantasies, with thirty percent of his female responders admitting to submission fantasies. If these numbers are representative of the population, that would mean nearly a third of the world’s population, close to two billion people, share the same “demons” as Ringo. If that’s the case are they still demons, or merely an aspect of human nature yet to be accepted? Or is it merely a case of boys will be boys? It is generally accepted that males are more sexually active, and thus a male author would be more likely to have sexual material in his books. Yet, this is not a safe assumption to make. Laurell K Hamilton is best known for her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels. The Anita Blake books read like a more adult version of Joss Whedon’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The title character, Anita Blake, is a necromancer by trade, as well as a monster executioner. Her skills are often in demand, as her world is populated by vampires, lycanthropes, zombies, demons, and the occasional minor god. In the course of her adventures, Anita finds herself risking life and limb rather often. So when she’s not nearly getting killed, she likes to relax with the various men in her life. First there is Jean Claude, the three hundred year old French vampire, who happens to be the Master of the City. Then there is Micah, the Nimir Raj of the local wereleopard pard. Essentially the king of the pack, Anita serves him as his Nimir Ra, or queen. She serves a similar function for Richard, the Ulfric of the werewolves. Finally there is Nathaniel, her pomme de sang or blood apple. Normally a term used to describe the human servant from which a vampire feeds on blood, Nathaniel serves Anita in a slightly different focus. As a result of her marriage to Richard and Jean Claude she has been infected with the ardeur. Essentially, she needs sex, and lots of it. Should she fail to “feed” at the proper interval she will eventually lose control and simply have sex with the first person she comes across. While Hamilton’s novels also tend to feature extensive amounts of rough sex, Hamilton prefers to focus on a fantasy only briefly touched upon by Ringo: that of multiple partners at once. Leitenberg finds this particular fantasy to occur between seven to twenty-seven percent of women, and nineteen to fifty-two percent of men. Ardnt once more finds there to be a common area between the ranges, with close to thirty three percent of women fantasizing about parties where they might summon as many men as they wish, with men having a much greater percentage. Eileen Zurbriggen, writing for the Journal of Sex Research, makes the following claim: Submission in women was correlated with explicit sexual imagery and marginally correlated with interaction with multiple partners. Women's fantasies of submission (as well as dominance) tended to occur in the context of threesomes or group sex. Thus, Hamilton’s novels are aptly written. Much like Ringo, she explores fantasies most likely to be enjoyed by her readers. More so, the difference between genres is important. Neither of the two authors looked at so far writes what is considered contemporary romance. One writes for a hard military audience, while the other writes dark fantasy. Yet both write explicitly detailed sex scenes in their novels. Is it to help them sell books, or is it more? Personally, I think it is as much self release of their own fantasies, and so that those fantasies might be enjoyed by others. The reason these authors remain popular is that they tap into the portions of the reader’s subconscious that has been suppressed by societal norms. On some level, these authors awaken the basic primal urges, and readers come back to it time and again as a sort of self discovery. The authors explored above are hardly alone when it comes to putting erotic materials in their novels. Authors in all genres do it. For horror fans, the likes of Phillip Laymon sprinkle sex scenes about liberally, such as in his books The Island or Beast House. Piers Anthony, a popular fantasy author, bases much of his works in the land of Xanth, were nudity is common and not as unnerving as some find it in the real world. The femme fatale has been a staple in the mystery/spy novel genre since the time of Mata Hari. The readers do not want what they consider to be mundane options they would normally partake of in real life; instead they wish for the characters of these novels to be placed into situations similar to their own fantasies, so that they might replace the characters with themselves without having to fill in any of the details, whether it be a noir detective seducing the dame in distress or the woman caught in the middle of a pentangle of passionate lovers all desperate to show her their favors. So what does this say about people? Is everyone secretly a pervert at heart? (And if that’s the case, would it be fair to call it perversion?) To answer that, we must attempt to understand where do these fantasies come from. In some cases, such as the desire to bed multiple partners, it can be easily linked to the nature of sex itself. As noted before, the prime purpose of sex is reproduction of the species. Having sex with multiple partners is, or at least in a time before HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, was, a valid method of ensuring that a female was pregnant, and hopefully with the best possible donor as the father. Domination and submission fantasies could be to an extension of this, with males feeling a natural urge to prove their worth as a mate and women being genetically programmed to accept and enjoy such demonstrations. What about love then? Love was the one aspect of each study that always provided the strongest results, often providing the most erotic of fantasies. It should be noted however, that love is an emotion generally attached to the person who we think will be our mate for life, and thus having strong sexual urges for that person would also be of benefit to the species in general. Not only do we see them as a source of pleasure and comfort, but we feel the need to protect and care for them, as well as any offspring that might occur as a result of the relationship. Are these novels simply the first signs of a sexual awakening of the human race? We have seen fashion go from considering a bare ankle as risqué to an age ruled by plunging necklines and the g-string. Homosexuality has gone from being a totally unheard of phenomenon to a hot button social issue. So what might this future world look like? For an answer to this we turn to one man who is considered a legend in the science fiction community: Robert Anson Heinlein. Heinlein often wrote of the future, and what society might hold for the human race, and he never shied away from the topic of sex and sexuality. For example, in his novel I Shall Fear No Evil, Heinlein tells a tale of a rich old man who has his brain transplanted into the body of his much younger secretary. From their the character, alongside the spirit of the deceased secretary, begins to explore both aspects of his/her newfound existence. On one hand, he has the mind of a ninety year old man, and the sexual habits and fascination of such. On the other, she has the body and sex drive of a normal, sexually active twenty eight year old woman, and the result is a curious mix of the two. In fact, it becomes an interesting examination of just where one might draw the line on what sexual acts might be committed. In the Future History novels, such as Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Heinlein’s characters are polygamous, sharing relationships with multiple male and female partners. This ties in nicely with the common multiple partners fantasy. In fact very little becomes taboo in Heinlein’s future society, with incest becoming acceptable once the technology to correct birth defects becomes available. As science continues to progress at a rapid pace all of these fictional ideas suddenly seem plausible. As homosexual couples challenge old laws polygamists see their way made open. We’ve so far managed to transplant everything from eyes to hair. Why should a brain be so difficult? The Human Genome Project has revealed the causes of hundreds of genetic defects. Now that we know what they are, how long before we learn how to fix them? So are these authors simply purveyors of perversity? It would seem that they are not. Instead they simply give us the ability to explore our own sexual fantasies in a manner which can be accepted by a still growing society. As mankind continues to grow and evolve we constantly find what might once have been sinful to be entirely tolerable, if not openly enjoyed. The presence of sex in common writing is just one sign of this, and who knows? Heinlein just might be right in his predictions after all. Works Cited Ardnt, William B., John C. Foehl, and Elaine F. Good. “Specific Sexual Fantasy Themes: a multidimensional study.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Volume 48, Issue 2. 1985, 472-480. PsycArticles. State Universtiy of New York, WCC Lib., Valhalla, NY. 8 November, 2007. http://libproxy.sunywcc.edu:2458/ehost/det...6&sid=a8f0c0e0- c022-4199-91f7-f3d1b20cc6b4%40sessionmgr103#psp-48-2-472-EBCIA “Bodice Rippers-the Lost Art (Relatively Speaking).” Aquaria. http://rampaging.blogspot.com/2005/06/Bodi...relatively.html Hamilton, Laurell K. Micah. New York: Jove Fiction, 2002 ---. Narcissus in Chains. New York: Jove Fiction, 2006 Heinlen, Robert A. I Shall Fear No Evil New York: Ace Books, 1971 --- Number of the Beast. Canada: Del Rey, 1980 --- Time Enough For Love. New York: Ace Books, 1973 “Lady Chatterly’s Lover.” Bibliomania. <http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/32/68/frameset.html> Leitenberg, Harold. “Sexual Fantasy.” Psychological Bulletin Volume 117. Issue 3 1995: 469-496 PsycArticles. State University of New York, WCC Lib., Valhalla, NY. 1 November 2007 http://libproxy.sunywcc.edu:2458/ehost/det...sid=887a29c6e4d 7-4f92-85e0-df06c67ff777%40sessionmgr102#bul-117-3-469-ECFA Ringo, John. Ghost. Riverdale: Baen Books, 2005 --- Kildar. Riverdale: Baen Books, 2006 --- Choosers of the Slain. Riverdale: Baen Books, 2006 Rolph, C.H. The Trial of Lady Chatterly: Regina vs. Penguin Books Ltd: The Transcript of the Trial New York: Penguin Books, 1961 Zurbriggen, Eileen L. and Megan R. Yost “Power, Desire, and Pleasure in Sexual Fantasies.” Journal of Sex Research Volume 41, Issue 3. 2004, 288-300. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. State University of New York, WCC Lib., Valhalla, NY. November 20, 2007 http://libproxy.sunywcc.edu:2458/ehost/det...0&sid=0b05f54a- 7af8-4e9f-9e59-fe1e6231df12%40sessionmgr107#AN0014514724-25

Really? Tends to come up quite a bit in the States, with plenty of articles and photos running around. Not the actual problems themselves, yet, but stories coming out Europe.

- The economy only works because it is circular. Money out comes back in. A lot of illegal immigrants send the money they make here back to their families at home, as the american dollar is still stronger than most other denominations. Money that goes out that way doesn't come back in. - How are they suppose to function if they can't communicate with others? How can they give directions to say, a 911 operator who only speaks English? How am I supposed to give directions to someone who only speaks Spanish? And finally, why is it that only the illegal immigrants shouldn't have to learn the language everyone else does? The Spaniards did, the Italians did it, the Koreans did it, the Chinese did it, the Japanese did it, the Germans did it, the Czechs did it, the Russians did it, and so on and so on. Why should Latin Americans be different? - Most jobs taken by illegal immigrants are either entry level or blue collar work. Thast's not exactly the easiest thing to find, unless the person who has been replaced decides to move, perhaps their entire family, to a new location, where they most likely have to displace someone. Want some more proof why illegal immigration needs to be handled carefully? Take a look at Great Britain, where muslim immigrants regularly disrupt things with mass protests. Did you know learning about the holocaust is no longer acceptable there, because it offends Islamic students? How about the recent vioence in the North East comitted by illegal immigrants? You may have heard of a movie that came out recently called Waitress. The writer director was killed about a year ago by an illegal immigrant who got into an argument with her, and was afraid he was going to be deported.

A Quick Rant on Human Rights. I have been taking a World Politics class, mostly for the sake of having somewhere to argue, a past time I am fond of. Sadly, my class tends to be somewhat full of liberals, and not generally very intelligent ones. To begin, let me introduce the players*: Teacher- The wise old man who runs the class. He serves sort of as a moderator, and until now has been forced to play devils advocate for a few topics. Mr. Kenya- So named for his country of origin, he’s become sort of a class expert on human abuses of humans. I don’t know how much of his knowledge is first hand, but he seems to have enough information for Teacher to use him as a sounding board. Miss Brazil- Also known for her country of origin. In her case, she’s pretty much a born Tranzi. I quote straight from the lion’s mouth! “America is responsible for fixing the world,” and “White people are genetically evil,” are so far, my two favorites. The Queen of Sheba (Hereby abbreviated to Q.o.S.)- She sits in the back of the class next to Mr. Kenya, where she rules her liberal minions with an Iron Fist. Whereas Brazil has a tendency to shoot of her mouth, Q.o.S can disguise mistruth rather prettily, though the past few days have seen no sign of this. The Brothers Foe- Our heroes of the story. (Duh, I’m telling it!) I being the older, and more talkative, he being the younger, and more likely to make me bust a gut laughing at some parody of the liberal position. Still, he makes a fair wingman. * All names have been changed to protect the innocent (Teacher and Mr. Kenya), the guilty, (Brothers Foe) and the bloody stupid (Everyone else.) The Topic: Human Rights, and where they come from. The teacher poses it, first asking who believes them to be a natural state of humanity (the majority of the class) or as effects of the State/Nation/Society (The Brothers Foe and two others). Teacher begins to tackle the issue, posing essentially moral questions (Genocide, bigotry, etc.) to the class. After a few hedged bets that lost, it soon becomes apparent to the Brother’s O’Connor that their best idea is not to look for the moral answer, but the effective one. In each case the problem involved a state denying rights to a citizen, for what ever reason. (Jews in Germany, Catholics in Britain, Ireland) After a few moments worrying over personal morality, it occurs to the Brothers Foe that if the rights are not being allowed to be exercised, then they do not, properly, exist. This begins the long road to Hell. So genocide is now ok? Yes. (Just as it was back during the Laws of War debate. Personal thanks to Tom Kratman on that one.) Bigotry is ok? Sure! How about religion? Well, we’re actually agnostic so… yeah, we can deal with or without! End Day One on…WOMEN’S RIGHTS. Uh-oh… So to summarize: By the end of day one The Brother’s have just about decided that all rights belong to the state. That is not say that the state should be allowed to freely remove rights, but that if a state is allowed to, either by cultural or social forces, then the rights do not exist. Rights are thus the responsibility of the state/society. Each time this is pointed out, the Liberals go, “No, those are Universal rights belonging to everyone!” When pressed on why that is, all the answer ever is “Its because we’re humans.” When pressed on what about when those rights are denied the answer is “They still exist because we’re human.” Day Two: Women’s Rights. A sticky topic to begin with, it really bites the Liberals to hear that women don’t actually have any innate rights, at least not until they are given them by society. (Admittedly, in a matriarchal society, the same would most likely be made true of men’s rights.) Well, Teacher suggests, how about we break down what women’s rights are? Do women have innate political rights? Q.o.S.- “Of course we have innate political rights! We’re human too!” Brothers O’Connor- “So wait, were you all just off doing better things until 1919?” Miss Brazil- “No, all men are evil!” Younger O’Connor- “Shame that all male congress decided you ladies could vote then after all…” Teacher- “Mr. Kenya, what about sexual rights?” Mr. Kenya- “Well, in Africa we have cliterectomies, where young girls have their genitalia mutilated for various social reasons.” Teacher- Reason such as…? Mr. Kenya- Well, mostly to control when they have sex. Teacher- So would you say they have any rights? Mr. Kenya- No, not really… Q.o.S- No, they still have the rights, because they’re human! Just because they don’t have the rights doesn’t mean they don’t have them! Miss Brazil- It’s all because the men there are evil! Older Brother Foe (Me)- No, its because that’s the way their society works. Look- Miss Brazil- Shut up! You’re just saying that because you’ve never experienced any of these hardships! We should give you a sex change operation, cut off your clit, and then make you a slave so you know what it’s like! (Not kidding folks. That’s a direct quote. Admittedly, Teacher prompted it, but that’s what she said. Keep this in mind, it gets better later!) The topic is raised of Middle Eastern societies, ranging from the Taliban and the Saudis, and once again it is determined that men are being evil and denying women their inborn natural rights. After going on for about five minutes, one of the guys on our side asks, “Well, what do the women there think? Do they have any problems living like this?” To which the response is but of course they do! After all, they’re living under such horrible conditions! (On this, I admit, I am not entirely sure. Partly because of the variety in which Sharia law is applied, and partly because for all I know, some of them are quite happy. Admittedly, stoning should not be the common consequence of an accusation of adultery, but then most Islamic women also aren’t committing adultery, or at least they’re not getting caught. Being happy in a society is more likely to be based on the current comforts of your personal life than on the “freedoms” you supposedly have. However, on this I do not have much in the way of evidence.) As the class was wrapping up, Teacher posed on last question: “Who among you would vote for a bill that would deny African nations financial aid unless they stopped the practice of sexual mutilation?” The class, with three exceptions, voted that they would not pass such a bill. That trying to change another society, in order to grant the rights these women were supposed to be allowed to enjoy but can’t, is wrong. Those who voted to try to spread freedom around the world? The Brother’s Foe and one other guy. Ah well. But these leads to question for the Forum. Are rights inherently a property of man? Or are they a result of our forming societies? Before you decide, consider the parting shot I left my class to consider: "The one thing that seperates man from the rest of the animals, the thing that makes us human, is our ability to come togehter and form a society based around the concepts and behaviors that we find acceptable. If a society chooses to ignore these so called rights then those rights do not exist. It is only where people attempt to exercise and protect those rights that they hold dear, can human rights be said to exist."

I use word/processor. Autorecovery for the win! and as for the two times Ive lost a computer, the majority of the work was either already up on AFF, or was backed up on seperate HDs. Probably should put some on disc, protect them from EMPs...

Herzer Herrick? And yeah, The Paladin of Shadows books (Ghost, Kildar, Choosers of the Slain, Unto the Breech, and A Deeper Blue) is about a guy with some serious issues. The author already has admitted to never intending to publish them (the first was given to a few fans who asked, and then the publisher himself insisted. It was also a way to give Ringo a chance to deal with some personal demons. (It backfired, by the way. In his report on Ravencon, he reports, "I've now got to beat of female subs with a stick, which is a difficult proposition considering they like being beaten with sticks.) The first book involves him teaching two girls about bondage, before seriously abusing a hooker. Then he ends up with a harem, before being told he has to screw every farmer's daughter in the valley. It sort of tapers off in the last two books though. Unto the Breech contains maybe two scenes, and A Deeper Blue doesn't cover anything except when one of the girls is planting spy devices or breaking out of capture.

For starters? Put the cat girl on top. Its easier for a big guy to get laid if he lets the woman take as much as she wants rather than simply trying to shove it all the way in there. Lube and such helps of course, but remember: its simply impossible to slip a ten inch rod in a eight inch deep hole. No matter how hard you push, one of two things happens: You've got two inches sticking out one end (and if its the wrong end it means you broke something) or you end up busting the rod. If you really want to try to figure it out, take a cucumber or pickle and a thin necked glass with a shallow draft and play around with them.

Chapters 4 and 5 are up, and my muse has take hold, so chapter six shall soon follow!