Larstrup

YAY FOR TWITTER EMBEDDING! And image posting directly with an URL is heavenly!

[MEDIA=twitter]1070165183564255232[/MEDIA]

If this is the last post I ever make on this forum..let it be this.

I’d like to associate myself with all of the previous members here wishing one another a happy and healthy holiday season. Life is hard and sometimes it’s unrelenting in our day-to-day lives. People get wrapped up in all sorts of things that are important to them. I’m going through one of them right now. But aside from all that, this brings me great joy.

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!

PS: I will not pay to play here with my politics as has been suggested above. It’s exactly what my politics are trying to get rid of. So cancel me out of that program all together. As some know here, a simple donation turned into a nightmare for me.

I remember a time when too many young gay men were afraid to speak. Let alone speak-out. I remember those times very well because I lived and survived during those times often because of the people who spoke-out on my behalf for queer people like me, when I was perhaps too young and didn't have my personal footings yet or felt uncomfortable or unequipped to do so. Perhaps in many ways it was in fear of the repercussions which might affect my own personal life that I then chose to let others fight for me.

Age and personal growth heals those fears and inabilities if we're lucky. I know it did for me. Yet it wasn’t without scars from those of past and those who still, to this day, attempt to silence us.

I’d like to start a thread about silencing.

How it might have impacted your life when you were young and how you might have overcome it or are perhaps still challenged by it. And why.

OK...lol I "liked" your post, but I disagree with your assessment of the use of the "like" button.

I think the "like" button is a valuable tool. All of us use it for different reasons. For myself, I will like a post for the obvious reasons. Yes, sometimes it is to validate and be on record for agreeing with a posters point of view, but more often than not, the like is for different reasons. There are conservative members who I might disagree with, but I will like their post as an acknowledgement that they have presented a good point of view. I will also like a post to express appreciation for a well thought out argument or research. I will do that with @stevenkesslar sometimes or with @Lookin, or @quoththeraven because very often the research or information that goes into their post is worth noting. And lastly, sometimes I will like multiple posts in the middle of a debate in the political forum. If a poster or posters are making a case in the middle of a heated debate in the political forum, better than I am able to do, then I will like a post instead of jumping into the fray. And sometimes I just enjoy watching the debate. It's not necessary to participate in every thread. I don't see the point of repeating the thoughts of someone that I already completely agree with and who is presenting the point better than I could. So my vote would be to keep the like button. AND... for the love of God, how do you not have a like button in the gallery?

 

 

I have made friends here, good friends, some will be life-long. Some, because of logistics, will be good friends in this cyber community on the forum. So I hope the political forum returns, and I hope that this was a good learning experience for everyone, and I hope that the members who chose to leave, will re-think that decision and come back. I have learned more on this forum than I could have almost anywhere else.

I agree with your disagreement of my overarching suggestion. I guess we're all just grasping for solutions here to fix a problem which was suppressed ignored for too long and then was presented to us as if we were the last cigarette smoked before the Surgeon General finally put warnings on the side of the packs of Marlboro's.

I think the whole concept of validating posts, and more importantly the people behind those posts thru clicking button likes, button dislikes, button disruptive, etc., discourage further dialogue between us. If you can just like a post, but don’t have to respond as to why you like that post, you might be stroking someone’s ego but you’re certainly not furthering discussion. If we reduce everyone to a push of a button as to how we feel, however that might be, we’re cheating ourselves of further understanding ourselves and others positions simply because we have buttons to push instead of taking the time to explain to the poster why.

At the end of the day, living in a digital world as opposed to the physical world will always lessen our relations and more likely prevent some from actually being who they really are simply due to the limited ability to communicate outside of face to face dialogue.

I’m rambling. But I’ll say it again. Politics are not our problem here. No matter what our personal party or political association. It’s our inability to talk to to one another minus the anger and angst which we live with day to day because of what’s happening in our national politics and the disgrace of which they have become.

Let’s forget the like buttons which creates unintended division and try just talking more to each other. I think that’s a good start.

Please like my post however.

It will validate me that I might have made some sense here.

Scallop potatoes

 

I prefer mine scalloped. But hey, they’re just potatoes! Carrot cake frightens me.

 

Management has a policy of diversity and being a safe haven from abuse.

I associate myself with these very important goals and even more importantly being a safe haven from abuse. I have always supported these values and you have my unwavering support in doing so with these announced actions.

No Thanksgiving thread is complete until you have felt the fear of the turkey. Whether it’s in preparing it or trying to run from it. So without further ado, I present my annual “oh my God it’s a turkey” Thanksgiving video.

She was later pecked to death after her battery wouldn’t start and tried making a run for it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You'll need to be patient through the first few episodes. There's much history and character development going on plus background US/Mexico government involvement which sets the table. Pablo Escobar's absence is noticeably felt as well. But stick with it.

ADMIN NOTE: Wrong forum and you know it. Seriously, do you want ALL the forums to shut down?

Sincere apologies.

ADMIN NOTE: Wrong forum. Knock it off, guys!

Yes I did!

There's a reason I love Dillard's. Reminds me a lot of Marshall Field's.

And a much better value than Brooks Bros too.

ADMIN NOTE: Wrong forum and you know it. Seriously, do you want ALL the forums to shut down?

@oldNbusted

https://www.dillards.com/p/roundtree--yorke-long-sleeve-seamless-turtleneck/508386685?googleShop=Y&cm_mmc=GooglePLAs-_-Exclusive+-+Roundtree+and+Yorke+-+Shopping-_-g-_-null&gclid=CjwKCAiAlb_fBRBHEiwAzMeEduo89BMxmOzwHw8IyP5Fk6X6ILvQ0rgj_9W2at6hy-qbzn-wBcoGNhoCzXQQAvD_BwE

@FreshFluff you need to have a word with this cat.

https://twitter.com/franglophonic/status/1062166072542027777?s=21

There are 10 timer boxes around the property that light the landscaping, the pool, and the building, and every year I screw it up trying to reset them to Daylight Savings Time. As of tonight, I still can't get two of them right. OK...that might not be as interesting as an Avalon thread, but it's a pain in my side.

It could always be worse.

It’s fascinating how a simple PSA can turn into something so much more interesting.

Shouldn’t the price of viagra be rising?

I’ll show myself out now.

I did see it, and for me was the best one I've ever seen that's over 2 hours long. I'm glad I didn't know the length beforehand, or I wouldn't have bothered.

 

It was nice to see the lead singer could succeed in converting a lustful personal relationship into a platonic one. That's too impossible of a challenge for nearly everybody.

His personal story was horribly destorted and depicted in this film. That’s all you need to know.

Just saw this at VIFF, followed by Q&A with director/actor/writer Joel Edgerton. I loved the film and was very moved by it. Lead actor Lucas Hedges carries the film with a brilliant and nuanced performance. I hope he wins an Oscar for this.

 

I have feared this film ever since I heard of it’s story. Only because I’m currently caretaking for a parent who is depicted in this film. Its not that I’m not a healthy gay man now, who I have become on my own terms, but the tolls of caretaking for the one depicted, often rips the band–aid of life off everything which you once fixed for yourself which you need to overlook because you’re now the adult and responsible.

I look forward to seeing this.

It was blasphemy from the beginning. Props to Malek though for even trying.