johniam

I joined the 50 club earlier this year. So I'll jump in. As far as desire goes, when I was in my 20s and 30s I desired sex all all all the time. Every so often I wouldn't think about it, but mostly my thoughts seemed to gravitate toward it. Today, it's different but not totally different. Desire/arousal feels the same as it ever did; it just doesn't happen as often. I don't think of sex as taking longer; either the desire is there or it isn't. I can still go for days at a time where I desire it, but this is followed by days at a time where I don't. It's not like menstrual cycles where it's THIS many days of one thing and then THIS many days of something else; I don't count days, but my sex drive today does seem cyclical. By the way, my wife says her periods are like clock work and always have been except for pregnancies just in case some of you women take issue with "THIS many days". My wife and I still sleep in the same bed. There are 3 general moods I can be in regarding sex at any time: 1) Really really desire it, 2) really really don't desire it, or 3) could go either way. Same for my wife. If either one of us really doesn't want it, it shouldn't happen. If one of us wants it, and the other one could go either way, then yes, the one who could go either way is obligated to please the other, make some effort to get into it. This could reveal that 'could go either way' is now become 'don't want it', but more often than not if I'm the one who could go either way, I end up glad we did it. If one or both people don't EVER want it, then it's either a medical problem or a relationship problem. Knowing which one might not make it any easier to correct, though. quote: Beyond that, however, it is more enjoyable for me for the sex act to be a natural extension of the closeness every day...sort of the exclamation point at the end of the sentence...not always the subject of the sentence. That's all well and good, but if sex is going to happen, then someone has to DELIBERATELY touch someone else. A man has 3 God given tools with which to stimulate his wife: 1) penis (lots of mass, but little sensitivity), 2) tongue (lots of sensitivity, but little mass), and 3) fingers (best combination of both mass and sensitivity). If some of you want to include blenders or power tools, then you're on you're own. I don't mess with that crap. My point is, just because you can't get an erection doesn't mean you can't bring your wife to climax. Your fingers and/or tongue plus the love in your heart should feel better to your wife than any vibrator ever made if that's all you can contribute. quote: Sometimes woman who say they don't like it have other issues going on Are you saying that no DOES mean yes??????? well, sometimes?

Should anybody go to hell? Let's see...eternal torment for one 3 digit max years lifetime of evil? A bit disproportionate by my reckoning. People get emotional and want others to be eternally tormented, but God won't have any of that. Roseanne Barr says only the male mind could conceive of one inch equalling 100 miles. I say only the human mind could conceive of one lifetime equalling eternity in hell.

That's hilarious.

OK Krys, I'm sure by now you've heard that 5 Piston fans and 5 Pacer players are going to be charged with misdemeanors. Actually, the guy who threw the chair will be charged with a felony. They probably won't get any jail time, but as far as punishment to fit the crime goes, I think they should all (all 10) do community service by working side by side serving beer and popcorn at a Lion's club banquet. You know...helping out the community! That's the ticket.

I basically gave him the benefit of any doubt. Before 1982 Martindale came off to me as being credible. The teaching on 'Steven: both guns blazing' (1978) and 'Believing images of victory' (1981) seemed to cement him as the first in line to replace VPW. Other than LCM, it would either be Walter Cummins or Vince Finnegan. After LCM became president, he seemed to get rougher and rougher. Took himself way too seriously. VP had a better support system; he didn't have to scream from the lecturn; he had others do that for him (including Martindale). The worst example of VP screaming (I never went to a corps night) that comes to my mind is 'The way of life and death' (1976). Although that teaching did cause people to leave the ministry, it revealed that VP wasn't a screamer. He usually paced himself and varied his tone of voice well. LCM failed to make the transformation from screamer to soother. He was abbrasive, he spoke (screamed) in a monotone, and was actually easy to screen out, for me, anyway. But he was the recognized MOG. His sense of humor could be refreshing at times. His logic made it easy to not take the world's agendas seriously. Who else would dare accuse Santa's helpers of trying to make you feel guilty just because you're healthy and prosperous? He does, in fact, have charisma. In retrospect, I went through the motions more with LCM than with VP, but I gave him the benefit of every doubt. If I had it to do over, I'd have left in '89 instead of '94.

Peter Sunderland peter@gartmorehouse.com Financial Controller Miller Bogie miller@gartmorehouse.com Bookings Margaret Hill margaret@gartmorehouse.com and Sharon Telfer sharon@gartmorehouse.com Manager of Life Long Learning Elsie Bouffler -elsie@gartmorehouse.com Food and Beverage Manager Elaine Faulds - mail@gartmorehouse.com These are the names when you click on about us. I don't recognize any of them from the way, but it's still a Christian place. Anybody recognize any of these names?

Krys: Seems like they should be, but I'm just not sure I heard they WERE.

Krys: They DID find that guy who threw the chair. Turns out he has a rap sheet even nastier than the guy who threw the cup. He's banned from the Palace, too. I'm not sure if either of them are going to be arrested for anything, though.

I read about someone whose actual name is Michael Hunt. I can see why he doesn't go by Mike.

Serve beer to the players during time outs. BRILLIANT!!!

OK, I'll weigh in on this one. I know xxxxxx x. She and her husband came to MI in '85 as WOWS. I like them. They've always been cool to me. I last saw them in the late 90s; they're still up there as far as I know. But I didn't know anything about the events described on this thread. I remember a woman whom I saw at branch meetings a few times and the last time I saw her she was great with child and then I didn't see her anymore. Could've been xxx x. quote: am sort of surprised that xxxxxx was not taught that the baby was not alive until its first breath and encouraged to simply have an abortion. This would follow with what I understand is TWI's normal method of operating. If xxx x. got pregnant in 1987 and she didn't leave xxxx until May of '88 then she had to be close or in the third trimester by that time. This makes a difference both medically and price wise. Plus this woman could easily have been more sensitive to the idea of abortion so that in her mind it never was an option and nobody tried to challenge her on that very much. Mark, do you know if that lawyer in NC got in trouble for his role in it? Sounds like he could have. After my family left in '94 we went to a church service with the xxxxxxxxxxs who left in 89-90 or so. They seemed to be doing OK but that whole experience very well may have shown them it was time to leave TWI.

Garth: quote: And the help that the 'heretical group' should get from the government is of a legal nature to protect them from the bigger, more 'orthodox' one. That is different than the government stepping in to propagate/support religion/religious views themselves. I agree with that. quote: So-o-o, ... why do they need the backing/support/'bully pulpit' of the state? Ie., what amounts to religious socialism Yeh, but the help that liberals get from the state amounts to liberal socialism (that creation is not taught in schools but evolution is and things like that).

Garth: quote: When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not care to support it, so that its professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. Oh, so if those "heretics" during the middle ages wanted a different religion than the Catholic church, and if "God" didn't protect them from the inquisition, they should expect no help from government? They are a bad religion if they want to be protected from attacks by a larger more corrupt religion? I really don't think that's what Franklin meant. If they wanted favor from the government that they should be expecting from their God, that's something different, but even today there are situations where the government favors religions who are big and powerful enough to afford endless legal services. Bill Clinton wasn't afraid to go after microsoft, but he wouldn't dare go after the catholic church. The ACLU wouldn't dare go after them either. Don't tell me about separation of church and state while the catholic church is allowed to get away with what they do just because they have money.

Garth: Our govt is of the people, remember. If PEOPLE want to make religion important they're going to do it no matter how many laws are passed. One of the main purposes of the Constitution was to protect religious freedom, not attack it. All your arguing says is "yes you can be the people but if you have religion then you're not a person anymore, you're an alien". I'm not an alien or a second class citizen no matter how much you want me to feel like one.

I'm still thinking about the bit about trusting your wallet to a nun or atheist. In my life there is no one I ever have to trust my wallet to. Granted my wife prunes it occasionally and if she doesn't tell me I run the risk of having to tell the drive thru person at McDonalds to cancel my order, but I NEVER have to literally trust my wallet to anyone, so that analogy is antiquated. But, I can think of a more appropriate analogy. Last time I was in California was 1987. I spent 4 days in LA. Nice. Went to a place called Gladstones by the Beach or something. It's a restaurant on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Blvd where seagulls will eat peanuts from your fingers if you sit at the right tables. If I ever get back there I hope it's still there. ANYWAY!!! In California at a lot of public places, you have to trust a valet to park your car. A car is not a wallet, but it's something most people value. Based on my own experience, I would trust more atheists to park my car than nuns. 95% of the time it wouldn't be an issue, but I've seen some incoherent nuns; one who worked part time in a library and one who picked me up hitchhiking and mildly terrified me. I told her I was into biblical research and she looked scared, clutched her crucifix necklace, and temporarily drove in the wrong lane. To her credit, she took me several miles helping me out and we parted amicably, but I probably get more nervous giving out my credit card number to make an internet purchase than I would trusting my car to a valet.

They identified the guy who threw the cup. He has a couple of felony convictions and if he was drinking alcohol it was a violation of his probation. He's banned from the Palace for good. Also, Artest ran right past him when he got in the stands. I for one don't think Ben Wallace over reacted. Replays show that Artest pushed him hard from behind while he (Wallace) was still in the air thus compromising his safety. Many NBA injuries occur when a player lands on the foot of another player. Artest's foul was a cheap shot considering there were 45 seconds left and the Pacers led by 15 points. Ben Wallace has been in the league long enough that if he, like Artest, had a temper control problem it would have surfaced by now. Artest brought his ghetto game to Detroit and wanted to send a message, but when Wallace sent the same message back to him immediately, Artest cowardly walked away. Wallace is not appealing his 6 game suspension. Yes, I agree with whoever said Artest was ridiculous for saying he was "defending himself" from a cup of liquid by going into the stands. Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press had a good article Monday about Artest and others being motivated by a "bastardized" definition of the word "respect".

SOS to you, too.

Hmm. Ron Artest out for the season. Yessss! I see a lot of 10 day contracts and people coming out of retirement in the Pacers' future.

Garth: Lame question, but I'll humor you. My premise is that if Feinstein was the President and not just a working stiff, he most certainly would too try to impose his belief system on America. What's the difference between that and George Bush praying except that Bush isn't a bigot about Feinstein not praying and Feinstein is a bigot about Bush praying. He's not even the president and he's already trying to impose his belief system on America and suckers like you are lapping it up. History? How about Hitler? He was a follower of the Nietzsche belief system. Nietzsche's "religion" was existentialism. You don't think it's possible for some atheistic ruler of a powerful country to decide that the rest of the world must embrace his stupidity or die? Remember, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Wasn't Sadaam Hussein's mistreatment of his own people largely due to the fact that he wasn't a devout Muslim? Freud was a godless bigot as well. Because of him, every college student in the country has to sit through many Christian bashing lectures if they want to call themselves educated. You have a mental block; you can't see that anybody can be a bigot, not just religious people.

Bob: What kind of deep $hit?

Seriously, he and others who claim not to believe in "God, gods, or godesses" may not be called religious, but they still have a belief system, and IMO their belief system is just as capable of causing wars, etc. as is any religion.

I must be really prejudiced; I wouldn't trust my wallet to the nun OR the atheist.

Wow! The Pistons "bad boys" teams never had anything like this. With 45 seconds left in the game and the Pacers leading by 15 points, Piston Ben Wallace is fouled by Pacers Ron Artest. Didn't look like a particularly hard foul (wasn't called flagrant) but Wallace walks up to Artest and gives him a fore arm to the adams apple. There's a rule in the NBA that any player who comes off the bench to participate in a fight gets an automatic 1 game suspension, so for now it was the players on the floor and a few others, nothing really bad. However, after a few minutes when it looked like cooler heads were going to prevail, a fan (Detroit) threw a cup of liquid and hit Ron Artest who was reclining on the scorer's table at court side. Artest jumps up, charges into the stands, and starts wailing on the wrong fan. At least 2 other Pacers went into the stands and at least 100 other fans started throwing punches, chairs, drinks, etc. One person had to go to the hospital, several people had minor injuries, and it's going to take both the police and the NBA awhile to sort everything out. The league cancelled the remaining 45 seconds of the game giving the Pacers the win. I put it all on Ron Artest. He doesn't go into the stands, there's no riot. He seems to have a real talent for attracting negative attention to himself. I hope he gets at least a 10 game suspension. I also hope he gets sued along with other Pacer players who hit people.

Go blue!

Correction. You don't click on year in review, you click on current news.