WhirledWeb

http://www.markmiddleton.com/whatswrong.html My grandmother (who is a professional clown, and loves pulling pranks on everybody around) went to this page, printed it off and looked for "what's wrong with this picture" for a week... then came to me to ask for a hint. I told her the resolution on her printer wasn't good enough to see the issue with the picture... and she had to see it on screen. When the demon came up... I think she wet herself a little bit... I nearly lost my grandmother to a heart attack at that moment. It would have been sad, but would have had the best story to tell EVER. I guess I'm just kinda sick... but it was her fault for becoming a clown when I was just starting puberty - I blame her for my messedupness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

I've been to the North Pole. I've also ridden, standing, on the back of a horse in the opening act of the barnum and bailey circus. I ordered a lock-pick kit off the internet and after hours of trying, finally snapped open a master lock... but only once. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

How old are ya? How long have you known her...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

rectory (and I wasn't Catholic.... or even a altar boy) and then there are the "words that don't exist... but people use them anyway": supposably partay (as in... "let's kick-it at Jimmys... he knows hot to parTAY!") pronounciation ecscape heighth there's NO "TH" on the end people! imput nucular Thanks for this one, Dubya. Dubya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

What do Michael Jackson and Mervyns have in common? Each have "Boys Pants Half Off" icky, but a classic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Single and looking for a pen-pal with future potential? Check out this site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

((hoists single •••••• flag)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

that web site is hilarious... holy crap... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

((staying out of the "top" sub-thread)) My company builds internet applications and web sites. We also kick-off web marketing campaigns. Although it's a small company (I've got three employees altogether) it's a fun business, and something that I love and can really sink my teeth into. I've been the owner for almost four years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

I so need the queer eye for the queer guy... I'm the one that gets the rolling-eyes-with-disgusted-sigh, "ya sure you're gay... your socks don't even match" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

There's a joke about "three gay men walk into a bar" here somewhere... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

I bet Mr. Paper's wife was pissed when she found out too... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Was reading: http://www.thingsmygirlfriendandihavearguedabout.com/ which reminded me of my ex and our argument about whether using a dremel tool to file down the toe-nails of his dog was abuse or not. Anybody have any dumbest argument stories? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

lunar kitties... Neil and Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Damn I love these forums, i'm cracking up over here.... it appears that anything can lead to an anal entry conversation in these parts. ... Anyway, isn't this disease similar to (but arguably not as extreme as) leprosy? I believe that leprosy simply suppresses sensory information (including pain) from getting to your brain. A stubbed toe doesn't get noticed... it infects, gangrene sets in... causing it to "die" and become deformed or fall off. It's gross, but makes you realize that even pain has it's place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

My dog, Jake - he's cuter than I am... "chicks dig him" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

I saw another thread recently about describing your religious beliefs, and it reminded me of the belief-o-matic. Answer 20 questions about what you believe, and it tells you which religious practices you are most in line with. Apparantly, at this time of my life I'm a neo-pagan... who knew!? (Now I've got to go look up what being a neo-pagan means...) My personal results: 1. Neo-Pagan (100%) 2. Unitarian Universalism (93%) 3. New Age (90%) If you've got a couple of minutes click here to take the test and post your results here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

hehehe... the pointy ends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

this is stolen (and slightly edited) from speedracer... Q: Why are there so few gay male skydivers? A: It's too hard to separate them from their tandem masters! ... (oldy, but goody) Q: Why do so few blind people skydive? A: It scares the hell out of their dog! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Good idea, I'll ask around there too. (We've also got a person that just edits video, I'll inquire within') thanks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Hi there, I'm brand new to skydiving (just graduated AFF). I've read the recommendations about how much experience, etc before I look at being a camera flyer - that's fine. In the meantime, I'm taking a class in video editing, and want some raw footage to work with. Does anybody have some raw skydiving, freeflying, canopy, etc. video that they would give to me to play with? I'll pay for shipping and the cost of tapes, etc. And I don't promise any completed results... I'm just starting to learn. Thanks! -Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

So you're ok with incest. Got it. Amazing. It seems to me (and I'm possibly wrong) that this short post is the encapsulation of this entire thread. There seem to be two camps here: One says, "Let people do what they want" The other, "To protect myself and my family, I want to make sure that *they* (whoever *they* are... homos, kissing cousins, dog ass lickers... whatever) aren't doing something that may erode what I've got" I would say that an extreme view in either of these ideals can have detramental effects... and the real challenge is to find that ground where we're able to both have our freedom and still have our safe lives (like it or not, neither camp is going away in the very near future). Tunaplanet (and a couple of others) seems to be pretty passionate about their view of the morally right society that they envisions... and believes that a compromise of that (by sanctifying gay marriage) would degrade centuries of ethical fortitude. Many others on this forum (including myself) seem to be in the frame of mind of... "who am I to legislate what doesn't harm anybody". The key discussion point always comes back to the "harm" part of this sentence. I believe that my life in a committed (gay) relationship bonded by a marriage would only strengthen the fabric of our society... I know full well how much that makes your skin crawl, tuna. (I'm not sarcastic about this at all) The thought of something so dear to you as your faith beliefs being tossed aside and treated with such disrespect (as you might think from your perspective) probably brings out references to you about God's Wrath, Holy Anger, Sodom and Gomorrah and a host of other seeming consequences for what you would think are moral degradations of their respective societies. I get very frustrated when incest and bestiality get brought into this discussion, but I can see why your mind makes the leap. "If we bend on this issue, where is it going to stop?". Instead of throwing it all out, why don't we be rational, and be able to analyze the the "does it harm other people" condition stated above for each major situation (because I think both camps have that part in common) - incest can be debated just as homosexuality as to it's propensity to harm others. I can only speak for myself - I know that my motivation has nothing to do with anything other than feeling respected, feeling like I'm not a second class citizen and being able to live with the same rights that other tax-payers have. How many gay people do you know? How many married gay couples do you know? I think there might be an opportunity to discover a something about somebody else, and maybe even a little about yourself. Sometimes the fear of the unknown is quelled by just discovering a little about that which you didn't know. (everybody hold hands and sing with me) Kum Bay Ah, My Lord... Kum Bay Ah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

Can you give some examples of how it has damaged society? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

When I was about 25 I had been living closeted and terrified of my soul being damned to hell since I was 12 or so and started into puberty. Seeking to be fixed, I spent the next 7 years in exodus and similar ex-gay ministries (desert stream, etc). It would be difficult to summarize all of the processes and "let go, let God" kind of activities I took part in during that period. How many hundreds of hours in prayer, 40 day (water and fruit juice) fasts, accountability groups, mentoring with hetero couples, counselling, intercessory prayer, and just general brokenly surrendering before the Almighty to 'fix me'. During that time, I was highly engaged at my church in evangelism, worship, prayer team, giving food to the poor... all of "the stuff" that a good Christian should do. (insert quip about "faith without works is dead" here). I dated two amazing ladies from my church (they were fully aware of my "struggle" from the get-go... I was one of their "extreme make-over projects"). Each was sadly disappointed when I had to break up (after 10 months and a year respectively) because I simply had no sexual attraction to them whatsoever.... emotionally and spiritually, all was well - but it's difficult to have a serious relationship with no "spark". So I went back to God. "I'll just focus on my business and leave my relationship crap up to God". Focus on my accountability and my work and not try to force anything relationally. 2 Years later, my business was kicking ass, I was still lonely, and I still wasn't straight. I wanted to be converted with every breath... and I had sought it out for years. 2 Years ago, I spent some time in Italy, and was on the little balcony on the Dome of St. Peters Basilica in Rome... such an amazing view of history and religious significance. As I stood there looking out over St. Marks square, I was pretty confused by God at that point and simply asked when he was going to fix me, make me whole, make me straight. Almost as if he were just rolling his eyes, that still small voice came back to me and said. "you've never been broken, I made you who you are - why don't you be it?" I argued with God for the next 2 weeks traveling through Tuscany. He was giving me permission to be who I am, and I had the five references in the bible to dispute him. (I also had references in the same book of the bible that says not to touch the skin of a dead pig... therefore, football must "of the devil"... I digress). At that point in my life, I had been "out" to all of my friends and family as somebody who "struggled with homosexuality". Now I felt I wasn't struggling anymore and for the first time in my life, felt comfortable in my own (God-made) skin. To this day, I continue to have some very challenging discussions with my evangelical friends who think I'm going to be going to hell for being who God made me... but it's something that is seriously between me and God. I keep an open mind, and still have some questions to be answered when I arrive at the pearly gates. I definately don't have all of the answers or even all of the questions figured out yet. After the Italy experience, I was in a relationship for a year and a half until a few months ago - we weren't the right match for each other, but I was finally in a relationship that I could be passionate about, cling to and try to be in a place where we could grow together. I have a high respect for Exodus related ministries, and personally know several people who are "ex-gay" and are living wonderful lives (a very good friend of mine is now married to a woman and they are expecting their first baby any day). I don't think he's disillusioned or kidding himself or whatever... I just think he's got a different life than I have - but his life is between him and his creator, and what he chooses for himself. I also have a belief of the "kinsey scale" and that there are some that are "more gay" or "less gay" than others (not in terms of how they act, but what drives their mind). There's plenty of resources on the web to support either side of the arguments, I know... I've argued both sides. Bringing this to the original topic of Gay Marraige, I wish that it were possible for the government to deal with the laws, and for the church to deal with the salvation issues. As for this whole "gay agenda" thing... it kinda freaks me out when people say that. The only Gay Agenda I've seen is hollywood's straight agenda for the gay community. There's a lot of type-casting (don't get me wrong, it's hilarious and will and grace gets great ratings... but it puts us in a little box when they think we can all do interior design and bake a quiche.) As if we all meet in the back room of Abercrombie and Fitch and are planning a coup. -Mark ................. p.s. Keith, thanks for the "I decided" comments above... nicely put. I know this thread started about Gay Marraige, but it took a turn into ex-gay ministries... so I had to pipe in my pocket change... my apologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.

I'm a brand new AFF Graduate, getting ready to start coaching. I've read quite a few topics about advice and stuff, and really appreciate all of the contributions on this forum. Last week, I did my first "all by myself" jump (jump number 11 for me). It was a fairly quiet day at the DZ, and I was taken very good care of by the other experienced people going that load. This was the first time I've been in the air with clouds in the sky lower than our exit altitude. I made sure to have a good visual of the DZ before exiting and the skydive went perfectly. I was, however, amazingly - surreally - incredibly surprised when my mind was finally able to wrap itself around how fast I was falling - as I approached the altitude of the clouds near the DZ (about 6k or so) - I was finally able to get a sense of depth perception (and therefore speed). In the past, with no clouds, there was no way for my mind to grasp my speed. It seems so trivial, but I loved it! I imagine (hope) that there might be more epiphanies in my skydiving future... perhaps the beauty of a sunset dive or something else? Can anybody share any "magic moments" or surreal experiences they've had that I might be able to look forward to... not that I need any further motivation, I'm hooked like a crack whore. -Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of the unlived life.