wsc

Very cool picture. Probably two nips in the air.

As with opening other packaged meats, I assume this is a Serving Suggestion?

I'm not sure a "No Entry" sign is the best place for that butt to stand next to.

Oh, please! Tread on me!

That is one handsome man and one hot body. But why, why, why? Why all that ink? Granted, a matter of style and taste for both the wearer and the looker, but to me it seems like using the Mona Lisa as a scratchpad. It was already a masterpiece.

To provide a different perspective on Cromwell and the Interregnum - Under the rules and customs in effect at the time, when the head of Charles I fell off his shoulders, his son and heir immediately became king. Such a transition occurs in an instant of time. Hence the shout., "The king is dead; long live the king!" Charles II status in exile obviously denied him the ability to rule in England during the period of the Commonwealth, but he could still claim the king's title, and do so legitimately. Any act made and approved by the Commonwealth parliament that would alter the government of England could not be considered as valid without the Crown's assent, which was neither sought nor received. Had the Commonwealth continued, all the foregoing would be entirely irrelevant, but the Restoration of 1660 gives it credence. After 11 years of Roundhead rule in the Interregnum, Parliament invited Charles II to return to England and take the throne. His absence during those 11 years, then, could be considered a reign in absentia. Contrast that absentia, forced on Charles, with the later one of his brother and heir, James II, who hastily and willingly fled England in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, to be replaced on the throne by his eldest daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, after Parliament declared James II's abandonment of the throne as equivalent to abdication. The significance of these events culminated in the Act of Settlement of 1701, wherein Parliament firmly established that it, not the Crown, shall say who sits on the throne of the kingdom. The trappings of power would be retained by the monarchy, but real power would now be with the people and their parliament. BTW, the motive underlying all this drama of the Glorious Revolution and the later Act of Settlement was to prevent a Catholic from ever again wearing the crown. James II was the last Catholic king of England, and even in this 21st century, he likely always will be.

How ironic is that looking at him makes me feel hot?

In the Colonial days of America, in the time leading up to the War for Independence, "commonwealth" (as in "owned in common") was seen by some as a more pointed rejection of a "divine right" style of government and a stronger rejection of monarchy. It may be a little more than complete coincidence that Massachusetts (which bore the brunt of England's suppression of independence sentiments) and Virginia (with firebrands such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, and which introduced the original motion for independence in the Continental Congress), styled themselves as "commonwealths." Pennsylvania, the home of that Congress and of Doctor Franklin, may have had similar motivations. Kentucky most likely is a commonwealth because it was given birth by Virginia and retained that style as part of its heritage. In actual practice, there is no difference between states and commonwealths in the US. In most states of the US, cities within a county are subordinate to the ordinances enacted by the county governments, unless specifically exempted by that county government, and the Sheriff of the county has full jurisdiction in the cities and towns of the county. Acts of city governments have no effect outside their city limits and city police have no jurisdiction in the county. Virginia is a unique exception in that cities and counties there are completely separate. The City of Richmond, for example, is effectively surrounded by Henrico County, but neither has any jurisdiction of any kind in the other. An accurate map of Virginia will display little "islands" for places such as Richmond, Charlottesville, Winchester, and Fredericksburg, among others, showing that these city jurisdictions, surrounded by their neighboring county, are, in fact, independent of that county. And now you know.

"Yes, Sir!" said I. "Yes what?" asked he, "I didn't say anything." "Yes, anything, Sir" I replied. "Anything you say, Sir." "We'll get along just fine," he said. And we would live happily ever after. DAMN! What a gorgeous hunk!

Well, at least one part of him hasn't changed. Thank God.

I have never seen the movie ET. Don't know why not, just haven't. But now it's become a kinda "thing" for me, almost a weird badge of honor, or at least distinction.

I hope someone can help this charming young man get his Rachmaninoff's. Yes, I know. Completely shameless. But still...

My tongue tires when thinking of the task before it, but is encouraged in the possibility suggested by the size of his "tool"box. Oh! And I see he's also brought a second screwdriver with him. What a thoughtful boy! I would just hope he's thinking what I'm thinking. Too, too perfect.

Had a great time there for several days -and nights!- years ago; even picked up a local working boy. Always wanted to go back but never got around to it. Now, too late. I'll be sad knowing it's no longer there. That sad list keeps getting longer.

In my working years, I acquired a reputation for being somewhat long-winded, which I preferred to mean thorough. Younger associates would panic if I began my answer to their question with, "Let me give you some background." Walking with a co-worker out of the building one evening, I realized I'd forgotten something and turned to go back for it. My walking companion said he'd wait for me. It took an exasperatingly long time to find the item, and when I went back to where I'd left my friend, I expected him to be long gone after the 20-minute delay. Surprisingly, however, he was still there, and greeted me with, "What happened? Somebody ask you what time it was?" My reputation knew no bounds, it seemed. One of my duties was to occasionally write step-by-step procedures for use by engineers or technicians. Rules for that type of writing - such as start a step with an action word, like "Open" or "Close" - tended to keep individual steps shorter and more concise. But some procedures in their whole could be quite lengthy, and I found providing adequate white space between steps and sections made the document more readable and less-prone to performance errors. When technology moved us from 81/2x11 paper to laptop screens, I successfully lobbied for maintaining the same reverence for white space, in recognition of the realities of text-to-eye-to-mind perception and processing by the human performer. Thoughtful placement of notes and page breaks can also add to readability and render a more pleasing-to-the-eye artistic result. The same dynamics prevail with almost any reader of any text in any medium, and should be warmly embraced by one and all.

Now this is a man I'd love to hear say to me, "Stick out your tongue and say "Aaahh."

A reviewer wrote: "I think this is someone using Brodies likeness to scam users." From everything I've read about Mr. Sinclair over the years, such a scam would seem to be an upgrade.

OMG! If you want me see the eyes on that last one, you've got to cover that thing up. It took me 20 seconds to realize the photo included his head. Excuse me, his other head.

Later, as he removed her bra, she asked, "Why were you wearing my bra?"

The eye tattoo is what you noticed?!? You've must have quite the eye yourself to find such detail in an ocean of ink. Well done!

Better that than him in your mouth.

Thank you for the reminder of this sad day in the history of our nation and of our species. We need to remember such days and learn. I would sometimes cry thinking of that sweet boy, tied to a fence on a cold Wyoming night, being kicked, punched, and hit with rocks by two men undeserving of that description because of their cowardice and cruelty, and the victim wondering "Why? Why do they hate and hurt me so? What have I done to merit this hate and this savagery?" And I cry even now thinking how long he lingered there, cold and isolated, as the life drained from him, his pain and tears being his only companions. How I would long to have held him, to comfort and console him, to make him know he was loved by so many in spite of being so hated by a few. The Matthew Shepard Memorial Page at godhatesfags.com - of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist infamy - was both a disgusting as well as typical expression of the hate of some towards Matthew, towards us, and towards our brothers and sisters. And I cry, too, because in the years between then and now this kind of hate has not disappeared from the hearts of men, and I do not how to change that. And because of that, I am sometimes comforted knowing there is less of life ahead of me than behind me, because sometimes the world feels too cold and too cruel to sustain the joy I must feel to thrive or even to survive. But the tears bring release and the release brings resolve and resolve gives birth to hope. VOTE! And change the world. Sorry - I was on a roll.

I didn't know these came three to a pack! That's much more convenient!

How about, just ask? If he's doing this with you, do you think you're the first? However you put it, he's probably heard it before. And if it turns into something more, you can both laugh about it later, over a nice candlelight dinner. And if it doesn't, you can each get on with your lives. Tempus fugit, from one who knows.

And one that gets easier with age. I love no longer caring whether someone approves of my clothes, my looks, my opinions, or me. It is, however, somewhat sad that this most liberating of attitudes comes so relatively late in life, or at least, in mine. Blessed be he who can have it sooner, being careful, of course, to not confuse it with rudeness or a callous disregard for others' honest sensibilities.