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Traditional Publishing Industry Pins Hopes on Barnes & Noble Success
Shane McGlaun
January 30, 2012 12:05 PM
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Barnes & Noble is the last large retail bookstore
The traditional print publication business in both magazine and book form is hurting today after decades of dominance. As more and more consumers go to the web for digital publications rather than buying print versions of the same publications, it is becoming a challenge for book publishers to continue to remain profitable.
Many traditional publishers point to Amazon and the company's line of Kindle eReaders as one of the main reasons for the decline of the traditional book publishing industry. That same publishing industry is circling around Barnes & Noble even though it is also in the digital book publishing business and
offers the Nook e-reader line
As a large bookseller, much of the fate of the traditional publishing industry goes along with the fate of Barnes & Noble and its retail stores. According to the
New York Times
, when Barnes & Noble originally started working on the Nook e-reader program it had to bring the reader to market in six months from start to finish.
The Nook line has started to take some the business away from Amazon's Kindle eReaders, which is good news for traditional print industry. Part of the reason this is good news is that Barnes & Noble has found how to lure readers that would normally buy digital publications online into the store. Much of the reason these consumers will come to the retail location to buy a digital book is because Barnes & Noble offers free connectivity in the stores.
That is a good thing for the traditional book publisher because many of the people that go into the retail locations with their digital devices will browse through print books and often end up buying a book. Yet another reason why traditional publishers want book shoppers to come into retail stores even if they intend by a digital book is that a huge amount sales for publishers are backlist titles, which are older books that may not be available in digital form. By coming into the retail store the shoppers are exposed to more of these older books making up anywhere from 30% to 50% of the average large traditional publisher's book sales.
"For all publishers, it's really important that brick-and-mortar retailers survive," said David Shanks, the chief executive of the Penguin Group USA. "Not only are they key to keeping our physical book business thriving, there is also the carry-on effect of the display of a book that contributes to selling e-books and audio books. The more visibility a book has, the more inclined a reader is to make a purchase."
In short, as goes the fate of Barnes & Noble, so goes the fate of the traditional publishing industry according to some in the industry. Amazon has gone even further recently. Not only is it taking away sales of traditional print books with the sale of digital titles, but Amazon is also now directly competing with traditional publishers by offering authors direct digital publication of their books. Amazon has already signed some notable authors for its digital direct book-publishing arm including Timothy Ferriss and James Franco.
Barnes & Noble is set to try expanding into Europe as well. The company is expected to launch its line of eReaders in Europe and the first store to sell them is expected to be Waterstones in Britain.
New York Times
reports that Barnes & Noble is set to release its fifth e-reader device the spring. There are no hard details about the device and we don't know if it's going to be a larger screen e-reader, or perhaps a smaller screen device to target low-end market.
"We shipped it on Saturday. Then on Sunday, we rested." -- Steve Jobs on the iPad launch
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2.34 acres in Manistee County, Michigan
Super Opportunity. Great price with easy land contract terms. Popular new neighborhood in Onekama (land of two lakes). Small Town atmosphere with deep water channel from Portage Lake to Lake Michigan. Natural clearings for your building site with clusters of trees for an interesting, sun filled yard. Corner lot allows for driveway entrance off Wildflower Lane or Smith Road. Close to Lake Michigan beaches. Underground telephone, cable, natural gas and electric.
US-31 to 8 Mile Road. West on 8 Mile to end. Right through Onekama to Portage Point Road. West on Portage Point Road to Herkelrath to Smith Rd to Wildflower Lane.
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Marjorie Zaccanelli
113 Maple St
Manistee, MI 49660
Other Land for Sale in Manistee County
NOTE: The information contained herein is provided as general information only and has been obtained from sources deemed reliable. It is provided without any guaranty, warranty or representation, expressed or implied, made by Lands of America, or any related entity, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information. The information is presented subject to errors, omissions, change of price or conditions, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Prospective purchasers should make their own investigations, projections and conclusions concerning the information.

subset: commoncrawl


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Column information
Information for the Merton News must be submitted by 9 a.m. Monday. Contact Jill Michals at 262-538-0858 or email@example.com.
Giving trees
Community giving trees are at Merton Primary School and Merton Intermediate School. Those who want to participate should select a tag, purchase and wrap the indicated gift item, attach the tag and return it to the school office by Thursday, Dec. 15. Food item donations may be placed under the tree.
Parents' Day Out
A Parents' Day Out will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, in the Merton Intermediate School commons to allow for "kid free" time for holiday shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping, etc. Children in 4-year-old kindergarten through fourth grades may be dropped off, and student senate members will provide games, movies, crafts and snacks. Cost is $5 per child in advance or $7 at the door, with a maximum of $15 per family. A registration form is found on the Friday Flyer page of the school website. Proceeds will benefit the Merton Intermediate School Student Senate.
Literacy Night
A Literacy Night for families will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at Merton Primary School. The theme is Polar Express, and will include holiday reading time, a greeting card activity (to be donated to children at Children's Hospital), a guest reading of "The Polar Express," holiday snacks and a parent question-and-answer session with literacy specialists. Pajamas are encouraged.
Those attending are asked to consider donating a book to children that will be staying in the hospital during the holiday season. To RSVP, complete the form at goo.gl/forms/xDKDtS7b5B3L5Lkk2. For information, contact Brenda Jones, firstname.lastname@example.com or Jessica Crozier, email@example.com.
Cookie walk
St. John's Women of Worship will hold the annual cookie walk at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at St. John's United Church of Christ, N67 W28321 Sussex Road, 262-538-1912.
St. John's UCC
The children's Christmas program will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at St. John's United Church of Christ, N67 W28321 Sussex Road, 262-538-1912.
St. John's is collecting waterproof gloves and mittens of all sizes and colors to donate to Waukesha Christmas Clearing Council. Donations may be dropped off at the church through Dec. 14.
Village of Merton tree lighting and carol sing, 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the Village Hall/Firehouse, N67W26343 Sussex Road.
Christmas cookie walk, 9 a.m. until sold out Saturday, Dec. 3, at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 495 St. Augustine Road, Erin, 262-628-2319. Festive homemade cookies will be sold for $7.50 per pound. www.stpaulserin.org.
Merton PTO meeting, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Merton Primary School.
Merton Athletic Association registration, is open for girls' fastpitch pitching clinic for girls ages 16 and under on Sundays from Dec. 4 to Jan. 15. Registration ends Dec. 4 for 4-year-old kindergarten through sixth-grade indoor co-ed soccer, third- and fourth-grade rec boys' basketball and fifth- and sixth-grade girls' rec basketball. MAA adult co-ed volleyball league is in season from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays. To register or for information, go to www.mertonathletics.org.


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Parking Jerks have their own sense of priorities.
Parking Jerks have their own sense of priorities.
Thinking Randomly isn't as fun as drinking randomly. But it often ends up with the same thought process.
Let's kick the month of August off by having a nice snack of low-hanging fruit. Yep, Parking Jerk time!
We're back and it's time to take a look at some of the stories that have caught my eye over the past week. And after this past week, I'm catching up at the same time you will be. Sunday is QuickHits day!
I'm copying this from our other SouthsideCentral social media feeds so you'll know what's been going on for the last few days.
Life can be truly amazing at times.
So you're a small business owner that now has three ice cream shops in the area (up from one this time last year). What's the best thing that you can do when a new specialty ice cream shop opens in Danville?
The wrong answer is "Bash them on your own business Facebook page".
In the business world, it's hard to predict the demand for your product… even if it's a product that people must have to run their daily lives. We're going to take a comprehensive look at how the demand for electricity sold by Danville Utilities was greatly affected by the weather in the last six months.
We call this a BreakDown.
Danville's Community Market building can get unbearably hot during the summer months and that makes it bad for all the activities that go on there. It's time to get this problem fixed.
We appreciate it when our SouthsideCentral readers go the extra mile and make it easy for the judges.
We tried beating the heat. The heat won. But we're back up to full power again and it's Sunday! That means it's QuickHits! day and time to take a look at the stories around the region that have caught my eye over the past week.
Let's recap this week's miscellaneous photos that we published on our other social media channels and put them all in one convenient place for you to look at them. It's a SouthsideRoundup!
Remember to follow us on our SouthsideCentral Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Flickr. You can also find my personal page on Facebook & send a friend request or follow my public posts.
Let's start the SouthsideRoundup!
What goes UP! and DOWN! often? Yeah, an elevator. But I was looking for you to say "Thumbs!", you know.
Let's see what's on the Big Board today.
Join SouthsideCentral on Friday night (July 22nd) for the 2016 River District Festival's Fish 'n Friday fundraiser. Delicious food & drinks and a live band… a perfect Friday night at Danville's Community Market!
Yep, you read that right. It's LIVE with a question mark, because tonight's meeting is quite void of "hot" or interesting content. These types of meeting happen around this time of the year. So, I'm seriously considering passing on going to the meeting.
But don't worry, I'm going to tell you everything that will happen. If I go, you'll get photos. If not, you'll still know what went on. Let's get that started now.
People are evenly divided about the merits of our Parking Jerk of the Day feature category. And by evenly divided, I mean the current count is eleventy billion in favor to six opposed. So of course, we're going to infuriate those six people even more with a double dose of PJotD today!
If you think our Parking Jerk of the Day feature is stupid and a invasion of privacy, we understand. So, we're going to upset you twice as much today just because we can. Heh.
If you follow SouthsideCentral's other social media channels, you may have already seen these photos from the weekend. If not, they're new to you! We occasionally recap the miscellaneous photos we publish and put them all in one convenient place for you to look at them. It's a SouthsideRoundup!
Remember to follow us on our SouthsideCentral Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Flickr. You can also find my personal page on Facebook & send a friend request or follow my public posts.
Let's take our (almost weekly) look at some of the stories that have caught my eye over the past week. Sunday is QuickHits! day.
It takes skill to be so close to a situation and still get everything totally wrong. Well, maybe not skill. How about incompetence and the fact that you're pretty much hated by most people?
Yeah, we'll go with that instead.
It's a slow news week. So let's think randomly!
We can't screw up a Parking Jerk of the Day. Or can we? What if it's already screwed up? You can't blame us for that.
Let's get back in the saddle again (after being shot off of my horse) with a semi-detailed recap of what's happened at three local government meetings this week.
Hands on your buzzers, contestants. It's time for the LightningRound!
We make mistakes. Everybody does. It happens. But SouthsideCentral is going to come out first and admit it, then I'm going to apologize for it in public. It's the right thing to do.
Hey, we were wrong. But this announcement will happen soon. I'm flagging this into "Errors & Omissions" because I was totally wrong. But I'll stand behind my words and admit my mistake.
I'm not deleting this article because the analysis of what will happen is still valid. I also want people to see how badly I was wrong. I don't run from my mistakes.
Here's the link to my full apology letter.
SouthsideCentral rarely reprints (reposts? republishes?) articles except for special situations, but this is one of those special situations. On Tuesday morning, Governor Terry McAuliffe will be making a Southside region job announcement from England. Back on June 14th, the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility made the announcement of a land leasing deal for part of the Berry Hill Industrial Park. We published this BreakDown to let you know what would eventually happen.
Well, it's happening on Tuesday morning. SouthsideCentral has had 100% confidence in this for over six months and we have been the only media source to go on record with our predictions.
SouthsideCentral is 100% confident that the governor will announce the future location of a parts supplier to the Rolls-Royce jet engine plant located in Prince George County.
Here's the BreakDown article that we published last month. And remember, SouthsideCentral was right. Heh.
(Editor's Note: Damn. We really, really, really, REALLY blew that, huh?)
On Monday, the Regional Industrial Facility Authority announced that a company was going to buy 300 acres of land in the Berry Hill Industrial Park and this would lead to a $250+ million investment in the region. Let's take a comprehensive look at what has happened and what it means.
We call this a BreakDown.
Even if you're over 140 miles from the Southside region, you can't escape our Parking Jerk watchers.


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The 29-room city hotel has been designed with Oriental and Western themes. It gives provides alternative accommodation with stylish simplicity. In addition to a lobby area with 24-hour reception and check-out services, a hotel safe, currency exchange desk and lift access to the upper floors, facilities available to guests at this air-conditioned establishment include a caf�, restaurant, wired and wireless Internet access and room and laundry services. A bike hire service is also provided.
Set 70 m from Hanoi Old Quarter, the hotel is uniquely located for convenient access to the allure of Hanoi's metropolis while offering guests a welcome escape from the city. It is situated near many attractions, historic places and shopping centres, such as the Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, Hanoi Opera House and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex. Various restaurants are close at hand and shopping venues can be found some 400 m from the hotel. Noibai International Airport is approximately 33 km away from the accommodation.
Guest rooms feature a king-size bed, air conditioning and heating units and a bathroom with a shower, bathtub, washbasin and toilet, as well as automatic air ventilation units and a hairdryer. Further features of accommodation units include an international direct dial telephone, minibar, Internet access and an LCD television with remote control and a balcony with a view of the street. Non-smoking and twin bedrooms are available on request. Tea and coffee making facilities and a safety deposit box also come as standard.
Guests can walk around and taste the airy atmosphere of Hoan Kiem Lake in the morning. Later on, they can enjoy the night life in the Old Quarter and attractions, monuments and shopping centres.
A continental buffet breakfast is served each morning at the hotel. Lunch can be selected from various menu options.
This hotel accepts American Express, Diners Club, JCB, MasterCard and VISA payments.
It takes only 40 minutes by car from Noibai International Airport or an easy walk through Hanoi's impressive streets to get to the hotel.
Room Facilities:
Direct dial telephone
Satellite cable TV
Internet access
Tea Coffee
Double bed
King size bed
Individual airconditioned
Individual heating


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Avengers Assemble Ultimate Sticker Book
Heroes stick together
Stick it to villains everywhere with hours of sticky fun featuring some of the mightiest Super Heroes ever assembled. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, the Hulk and many more Marvel heroes are ready for action! See more
It's added to your bag!
Not eligible for in-store reservation.
Magic in the details...
- 1000 full-color reusable stickers
- 96 pages
- Illustrated by Simon Beecroft
- Paperback
- Ages 1-7
The bare necessities
- Phidal Publishing
- Paper
- 11'' H x 8 1/2'' W x 1/4'' D
- Printed in U.S.A.
Express shipping not available for this item. This item cannot be shipped internationally or outside the contiguous United States. It can only be shipped to a physical address, not to a P.O. Box, APO or FPO address. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.


text:
New to the City
Bill thought of Julius, the guy from last night, and he remembered those green eyes that seemed to shine from within. Eyes so sincere, with their appearance of contentment, so comforting and Bill felt relief from knowing the guy, even if only for a night. He had been so busy with his new job, trying to get settled into a new city and not knowing anyone he had found himself sitting alone on Friday night staring out of the living room window watching how the lights of different buildings lit the skyline. Bill sat for a long time, at once enjoying the quiet solitude of the moment, but a restlessness, a desire to begin to explore the city developed within him and he got up, went by the kitchen to set his wine glass down, and proceeded into his bedroom to throw on different clothes.
His search online when he first moved in found bars, clubs, restaurants and other points of interest that he noted for later exploration and tonight he headed to a small bar only a few blocks away, a neighborhood bar catering to the locals. It was in an old storefront, a small table in the front window, the bar immediately behind and beyond another room for casual sitting. The place was busy, but not packed and Bill took a stool at the bar and soon found himself immersed in one conversation or another. The guys were friendly and of all age groups, and they came to this bar for its simple unassuming atmosphere, a place they could socialize, meet new people and just have a nice evening out. Bill conversed with everyone around him, discovered a couple of guys who lived in his building, those who worked at places he wanted to visit and he met guys who flirted with him, and he found them interesting but for some reason, on this first night out, he didn't respond right away to them. Instead he excused himself, telling them he needed to hit the men's room and wanted to check out the rest of the bar, and made his way to the rear. The toilets separated the bar area from the back room and after making a quick stop in the men's room, Bill ambled on back into the dimly lit back room. The walls were painted dark, where the light reflected off of them he saw the color was a dark blue, almost violet, and the furniture was casual, overstuffed armchairs and sofas sitting in small groups where several people sat in quiet conversation, huddled together, immersed in their own little worlds away from the craziness that existed outside. Bill scanned the room and his eyes fell on him, immediately his attention was captured by his presence. He sat alone, at a small bistro table along the back wall, and when Bill stared at him, unable to turn away, he nodded back and smiled.
Bill gave him a nod and stood frozen in place a moment, not sure if he should go to him, although he wanted nothing more in the world at that moment. The guy looked his age, with a neat short hair cut and in the dim light Bill didn't know if his hair was dirty blonde or brown. Maybe it had a red tint. He wore a simple shirt, tucked into his jeans, nothing overly fashionable, but his body fit in his clothes well, the way his shirt hung from his shoulders, the way his jeans fit tightly to his thighs and then loose down his lower legs. Bill thought he should turn and go back to the bar but when his eyes roamed back up the figure before him, sitting just across the room, Bill saw him lift his beer and angle it toward the empty seat across from him. Bill couldn't help but let a small quiet laugh escape as he nodded okay and headed across the room.
Bill woke the next morning and saw it was after ten o'clock, the sun filtering through the blinds and he suddenly remembered Julius and how he had come home with him, and he turned over quickly to find he was alone. He lay staring at the empty pillow, still indented from Julius' head as he relived the night before, how they had talked a long time, the adventure of a new place, for Bill where he was now living and for Julius a place he was merely passing through, but they shared their observations and first impressions. Julius had been a good listener, and when he spoke it was obvious he had been engaged into what Bill had been talking about and contributed his own insights. It had been after one o'clock when Bill leaned over and asked Julius if he wanted to come back to his place, for a drink or something, and he remembered how Julius smiled, knowingly, a little mischievously, and soon after they were sitting in Bill's living room.
The image of Julius coming into his living room, the way he moved confidently, his tall lean body so graceful, and Bill remembered noticing his delicate hands, their long fingers, as he held his drink. And there were those green eyes that looked back at him, confident, unafraid to look directly at him and he remembered how it was Julius who made the first move, who had moved next to him on the sofa, asking if it was alright as he settled down next to him, a hand on his thigh. The memory of it all flowed through his mind, how they undressed each other, kissing, lips and tongues moving over flesh, hands touching, groping; their grips firm and warm. How Julius moved down on the floor between his legs, hands on his thighs rubbing back and forth and he remembered how he looked down his own body, over his chest, his stomach, his hard cock as it bobbed up and down, arched up over his stomach and down to the lean muscular form between his legs. Julius's body was lean but muscular, his skin fair, unblemished and in the light of his apartment Julius' hair looked lighter, more blonde. The memory of that first touch, those long delicate fingers, taking his cock and holding it up vertical and then the second sensation, the warm wet tongue that moved along the shaft and twirled over the head, and finally those full lips parting, sinking down over the head of his cock, moving downward, enveloping his cock in the warmth, the slick wetness of Julius' mouth.
It made his cock harden as he lay on the bed reliving those next moments. Julius taking his cock, working his mouth along its full length, sucking the head, till he had been so close, so very close to cumming and Julius pulling up and smiling at him.
"You want to go to your bedroom" he had asked and Bill stood up and led him to his bedroom. Julius grew a little aggressive, frisky, and they tumbled on the bed, rolled over each other as they kissed and hands roamed over naked skin. Bill remembered how he had rolled onto his back, pulling Julius on top, hands on his ass cheeks, squeezing them, pulling them apart, running his fingers along the crevice between till he found Julius' opening, rubbed his fingers over it till Julius moaned and pushed downward, pressing his hole against Bill's finger until he pressed it into Julius, probed his hole, felt the soft velvety insides and the tight ring of his hole grip his finger. Then it all seemed to happen so fast, the way Julius moved on top of him, their bodies rubbing against each other, and then his cock enveloped inside of Julius, buried all the way as Julius sat on him, his hands on Bill's chest. The image of Julius moving up and down, slowly at first, the tight ring of Julius' hole milking his cock, and he remembered placing his hands on Julius' thighs, pushing down, getting that hole to take his entire cock, all of it and Julius moaning, grunting with each downward move, and when he had ran his hand over Julius' chest he felt the heat of him, the way his exertions had him wet, the sweat beginning to form. Bill remembered how his skin felt slick to the touch and how his fingers glided downward so easily, over the flat stomach and around the hard cock bobbing up and down. It had so wet already, the leaking head drooling pre-cum till it puddle on his stomach and he had stroked his hand along the hard shaft, bringing each stroke upward all the way over the head, rubbing it, making Julius buck and rock harder.
It seemed to happen so quickly, and then to be over too soon. Julius had began to rock his hips harder, slamming down on Bill's cock and the noise of his bed squeaking and hitting the wall suddenly embarrassed him, wondering if his neighbors were home to hear. At the time it hadn't mattered, for all he wanted was to feel that body move on top of him, to work its tight hole over his cock and milk it till he came. Bill remembered how it felt, the way Julius' hole would spasm with each ejaculation, as each wad spattered on his body, the first hitting him in the face, the next leaving a long line of cum over his chest and finally over his stomach, smaller pools of the thick white cum and with each ejaculation he felt Julius' hole grip his cock, squeeze it, bring him to the point of cumming. He remembered how he had thrown his head back, his eyes closed, as he came, pumping his hips upward as hard as he could, feeling the weight of Julius holding him down, as each ejaculation pumped more and more of his load into him filling his hole.
Bill found his hand stroking his cock as he remembered how good it felt, that lean muscular body on his cock, moving on it, and the way it had brought him off and soon he was cumming again, pumping out his cum across his stomach. He lay there satisfied, his slick messy hand still on his cock, feeling the cum cool and turn runny and he lay there for a few more minutes thinking how this was going to be good, living in this city, in this neighborhood and how he had the adventure of life before him.
Passing of Time
George had lived in the city all his life, saw all the changes, the way neighborhoods changed, the city get larger, and sprawl out into areas he rarely, if ever, went. He saw his friends come and go, so many over the years left the city to pursue new careers, a new life, or to live a life with someone special to them. George didn't regret not leaving to try life elsewhere, but he found himself more melancholy, a sense of missed opportunities, of life passing him by. He turned fifty last month and the realization of his age hit him in a way none of his previous birthdays had done. He had a good life, with his own business, a nice house in one of the old neighborhoods where he had been one of its pioneers, one of the first to move back into it, to renovate an old house, to make it his home, and the neighborhood flourished now, with its restaurants, bars, galleries and shops, and he loved to spend a Saturday or Sunday with his few close friends, laughing and talking about all the good times they had had over the years. But he'd found himself feeling lonely, more so than usual. He'd not been in a serious relationship in a couple of years and had vowed not to get into one, but yet, he was craving that intimacy with another man. He found it harder for some reason to meet others, even if it was for casual sex. It seemed so many his age had settled down, or developed their own scene, some getting heavily into their fetishes, and George understood, this need to live the way you wanted, but some of it wasn't for him.
Memorial Day weekend arrived and George found many of his friends out of town, going to one vacation destination or another, some to a gay themed weekend, others simply going to the mountains or the beach, and he had begged off this year, wanting to stay home and just relax. Work had been stressful with tax time last month and then some problems he had to iron out made the idea of traveling seem too much. He just wanted to relax at home. He had spent Friday night and all day Saturday with several of his friends but Sunday he had kept his calendar open, kept it to himself.
Sunday was a rainy day, a slow steady drizzle, that kept everyone indoors, and George had grabbed his umbrella and decided to walk to the business district in his neighborhood. He strolled down the sidewalk, the umbrella protecting him from the rain as he made his way to a small independent coffee shop, one that was not as neat, not as organized as the chain places that seemed to be popping up everywhere, but one that George found enticingly comfortable, with its diverse clientele and casual sitting areas that welcomed one to relax and enjoy a leisurely afternoon or evening.
The coffee shop was busy, more so than he had expected and George had to take a small table in the back, a little bistro table with two padded chairs, where he relaxed with his coffee and small desert he had treated himself. He glanced around the room, at the different people who were there, how many seemed so young to him now, looked to be children and he suddenly felt foolish for the thought, remembering how his parents talked liked this about the young people coming up. He let his eyes scan the faces around him and some he found attractive, but none seemed to notice him. His eyes roamed over to the line of people being served, the two women each with a stroller, juggling purses, talking non-stop to each other as they waited for their order and he wondered what it was like, a life like that, married, raising children. He saw the young man in line behind them, tall and lean, his light brown hair neat, his dress casual in a t-shirt and jeans and he watched how he moved, gracefully, with confidence. George hadn't realized how he was staring but when the young man turned to look around the room for a place to sit he had nodded at George and smiled.
George felt embarrassed to have been caught staring so at the young man, but when he moved through the random seating of the room and came to his table George felt his heart beat faster, that need to take a deep breath, as he looked up at the guy standing by him.
"Excuse me, but the place seems rather full; would you mind sharing your table?"
George had taken a moment to respond, almost too long, his mind jammed on the idea of this young man approaching him, but he quickly pushed the chair out and told him to be his guest, to please have a seat. George watched him ease down into the chair, gracefully slide it back giving him room for his long legs, and George noticed his eyes, vivid green in color, so intense he had to make himself stop staring.
"Thanks for letting me share your table. I'm Julian, by the way."
"George" and for a moment he wasn't sure what else to say, but Julian turned to him and began to talk, to ask about him, casually, nothing too prying and George found himself deep into conservation with Julian, talking about the city, this neighborhood and his life here and he inquired about Julian, if he was new to the area.
"No, I'm just visiting for a few days" Julian replied and he began to ask George about his favorite books, his favorite music, and they talked a long time, getting a couple of refills and then at Julian's suggestion, moving down the block to a small restaurant to grab dinner. George realized during dinner Julian kept the conversation about him, avoiding discussing his own life, where he was from or why he was visiting, or where he was heading when he left. But something told him not to pry, to just go with the moment and continue to enjoy this most pleasant of evenings.
With dinner finished and George adamant about paying, telling Julian how pleasant he had found the whole afternoon, he asked Julian if he'd like to visit one more of his favorite places in the neighborhood, a small neighborhood bar. They arrived to find several guys standing around the entrance. Inside it was crowded, people packed around the bar, all the tables and booths occupied, but yet it still had that welcoming feel the place always seemed to have whenever George came for a drink. George led Julian to the bar and allowed him to order for the two of them. Drinks in hand they pulled to the side and soon several guys George knew came over to say hello, ask about Julian, some even flirting with him as George knew they would. Julian had been friendly, showing interest in what everyone had to say and laughing off the advances. But after a few minutes Julian leaned over to George, moved so close to his head he felt the young man's breath on his ear.
"Can we leave? Maybe go back to your place, or something?"
George sat in the screen porch on the back of his house, allowing himself the indulgence of one cigarette, smoking it slowly, savoring the warm smoke as it filled his lungs, knowing he shouldn't, having given up his heavy smoking years ago, but on occasion he craved a cigarette; just one. The sun was slowly rising, the darkness of night fading away, and the song of birds filled the early morning air. He smiled at each memory of the last day, the way he had met Julian, their spending the day together, two perfect strangers only hours before and George had to shake his head and laugh at how Julian was still a mystery to him for he never learned anything about him. But he had came back to George's house, seemed to sense George's need, his desire and Julian had taken George by the hand and led him upstairs to his bedroom, asking along the way which door was his room.
George hadn't been with another man in months and suddenly he felt like a teenager when years ago, he let John Michael, the boy who moved in next door, lead him to his bedroom and showed him the things he desired. Julian had stood in front of him and slowly removed his clothes, his long delicate fingers working easily over each button, the zipper and laces of his shoes. George had let Julian remove all his clothes without helping. He had just stood there and let Julian do all the work and then he felt Julian touch him, caress his skin, lips on his neck, over his ear, tongue darting out, warm and wet, moving around his jaw until he had felt those lips touch his own. Julian's hand had moved over his chest, down his stomach and around his cock, it hardening with his touch.
George remembered how he woke as if from a trance and began to undress Julian, with trembling hands, suddenly nervous in such a silly way. He had pulled the t-shirt over Julian's head revealing the toned body, so fair the skin appeared to glow in the dim light. He remembered how smooth Julian felt, so firm to the touch, and he remembered how Julian took his hand and moved it down his chest, over that stomach that was so flat and over the bulge in his jeans.
"Feel what you do to me, George" Julian had whispered, so low George had barely heard him but he remembered how it felt, confined in those jeans, angled over to the side, so hard and he had sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed it with his hand, took Julian by the waist and pulled him closer as he put his mouth to the bulge, let Julian feel his mouth move along the shaft. George remembered how Julian's narrow waist made his jeans hang loose on his hips, how they fell away when he had undone the button and pulled down the zipper, how the tight white briefs were tented so, his cock pushing hard against them. He had put his mouth on the thin white fabric, his desire to feel Julian's cock in his mouth so overwhelming the fabric was soon wet, translucent with his saliva, and he could see Julian's cock, the long shaft with its flared head. Julian smiled at him when he had looked up, running his hand through George's hair, pushing his head back a little more as he leaned down and kissed him again. George remembered how soft his kiss was, the way his lips gently pressed against his own, and Julian had stood back up, not saying a word, pushed his briefs down his thighs till they fell to his ankles. Julian moved up to George and pushed him back and George thought of how it felt, to be on his back, someone taking his legs, holding them up, pushing them back till he knew he was exposed, open, ready.
Julian had eased into him so easily, his cock penetrated him so slowly he felt little of the pain of entry and when he felt that tall lean torso press against the back of his thighs, push against him, he had thrown his arms out and laid back taking it, every inch, as Julian bore down on him, rocked his hips, slowly at first, but soon going faster and faster. George had taking his own cock in hand, stroked it in rhythm to Julian, to the pace he had been exerted himself, and George felt the way Julian slid through him, penetrated deeply into his very desire.
George took a long last drag of his cigarette as he remembered feeling his own cock leak so much his hand and shaft were slick with it, noisily he had stroked his cock, grunting and moaning like a young boy, while taking Julian's fuck, all of it, and he remembered how Julian pushed his legs apart, moved down between them, and George remembered the sensation of his nipple being nipped, lightly at first and he had grabbed Julian by the head and held him down on it and Julian bit down harder, painfully, pleasurably, and he had bucked up, pushed his hips upward, taking Julian a little harder. George couldn't remember all the details as they had gotten into the final throes of their fucking, it was only images, feelings, sensations of touch, desire, pleasure and pain, but he remembered how he had felt his cum race through his cock, felt his cock swell with it, blasting out his load between them, it having spattered on Julian's chest and dripped down on his own. And through it all, his cock exploding with his load, his body so tensed up tight, the feel of his hole as it milked Julian, he had felt Julian stab his cock into his hole in short thrusts, hard penetrating thrusts and he had heard Julian cry out, blissfully, as he pumped his load into George.
George pushed the dirty ashtray away and stared out across his back yard, seeing what his mind was portraying instead of the birds fluttering from tree to tree. He thought of how pleasurably satisfied he had been, this sexual exhaustion that he felt, sated, and he remembered how it felt, Julian's hot sweaty body lying on him, his breathing at first hard and ragged, but after a few minutes it settled to a slow steady rhythm. They had laid there for a long time, but when Julian had gotten up and went into his bathroom George knew it was over, come to its natural conclusion, for the visitor had to leave, and it was okay. Now he sat waiting for the rhythm of a work day to begin and George relished the thought of getting back into the swing of another week, and he might see if that guy who worked at the gallery wanted to go out.
Painful Confusion
TJ skated down the sidewalk, letting the sloping grade maintain his momentum, as he wove around the pedestrians, curved around newspaper stands, light poles, and the occasional planter. He allowed his speed to slow as he moved along a particular section of storefront and when he came to Odin's, an alternative clothing store, he stepped off the board, stepped down on the back edge and flipped it up into his hand. He stood on the sidewalk looking at the mannequins attired in the latest fashions and he wondered what it would be like to have the money to shop there. He looked at one male mannequin dressed in leather pants and a mesh shirt and wondered if he could wear something like that, something so revealing. He stepped over for a closer look and the light changed and suddenly he saw his reflection. Tall and skinny, his thin arms appearing too long for his body even though he was over six feet tall, his long black hair unruly, sticking out in all manner of ways, and there was the tattoos, along both arms and visible around the neck of his stretched t-shirt he could see the edge of the tattoo on his chest. He looked at himself, the way he was dressed, old khaki's from a charity store, the knees busted out, the pant hems just ragged edges, and his t-shirt, a punk rock band on the front, was so old the image was faded, the sleeves ripped off and the overall body stretched completely out of shape. He saw the long loose chains hanging from his waist, a wallet which only had a five and two ones, his ATM card, and his driver's license. 'No' he thought, he couldn't wear that shirt.
He turned and started walking, to where he didn't know. It was his first day off from his two part time jobs in over two weeks and he was exhausted, bored, and frustrated. He had grown to like the neighborhood, although it had been tough, his parents moving here just before his senior year in high school. He had known no one in his school and had been a loner most of the time. He made a few friends and kept himself busy with a part time job that now seemed permanent to him it having been over two years ago when he started. A dead end, low paying job that would never allow him to do anything he really wanted to do. He knew he had to get his shit together, enroll at the community college in town, and begin a new direction with some sort of goal. But as bad as it was on the job front, it was his social life that really made him hurt inside.
He sat down on a bench in front of a barber shop, one with the traditional red and white striped pole, and began to watch the pedestrians moving along the sidewalk. He saw an attractive woman coming toward him, wearing a sun dress, it bellowing in the breeze as she walked and it made him think of some commercial on TV and he found her attractive but he didn't feel sexually attracted to her. He had dated a few girls in junior high and his senior year here in this city but it was just going through the motion of it, trying to be like his friends, double dating at times, but it was never satisfying. He knew he was trying to be what his friends and family expected, but it wasn't what he felt.
He looked the other way and saw two guys coming down the sidewalk, casually dressed in jeans, simple shirts, normal looking, one had short blonde hair, the top gel up, slightly spiky in appearance and the other one had a ball cap on revealing just the neatly trimmed edge of his dark hair. TJ found them attractive, sexually attractive, and he watched them intently as they approached. He looked down their bodies, both average builds that looked good, and his eyes roamed down their frames till he was looking at their crotches, the way their jeans bulged and he wondered about their cocks. Suddenly the blonde took the hand of the other as they talked casually to each other and TJ felt something inside stir. Envy. Jealously. As they passed the blonde gave TJ a sneered look but the other guy just smiled at him and TJ wished he was the one with him instead of the blonde. He watched them as they moved away, seeing how their asses moved within their jeans, and the way they were so comfortable with each other, holding hands as they walked.
"Excuse me, but could you tell me which bus goes back to The Heights?"
TJ was startled, not having seen the guy come up from the other direction and he took a moment to gather his thoughts, to think about which bus he needed, and when he had looked up he had to fight the urge to stare at the guy. He was tall, with a lean solid build and his hair was light brown, close to dirty blonde and when he removed his sunglasses it was his green eyes that captured TJ's attention the most.
"You want the number 7 and you need to be on the other side of the street" he finally said.
"Thanks" the guy replied and he looked over to the other side of the street for the bus stop.
"It's on the next block, in front of that coffee shop."
The guy nodded and looked back down at TJ, his smile friendly, unassuming. "Would you care to join me for a coffee? It'll be an expression of my gratitude for your assistance."
TJ was stunned the guy was offering to buy him anything, even a coffee. He was so neatly dressed, so normal looking, attractive, and his eyes were so fucking friendly he felt his heart rate go up, and he didn't know whether to say yes or to tell him to fuck off. He looked away from those eyes and out toward the street not really noticing what cars were passing. "The bus runs ever ten minutes or so" he stated, giving the guy a way out.
"Oh, I've no set time to get back so I can catch one whenever. Come on; let me buy you a coffee."
TJ didn't know why he did it, but he got up and walked with the guy down the sidewalk to the corner so they could cross. The guy told him he was just visiting the city, passing through really, and he was out killing time. He told TJ how fascinating he found this neighborhood and asked if TJ lived nearby. TJ hesitated to reply, but as they stood waiting for the signal to change allowing them to cross he began to talk, to tell this guy, a perfect stranger, how he lived in a small apartment he shared with another guy he didn't know, nor trusted. He talked about his part time jobs at two of the local shops, and as they went into the coffee shop and he told the guy what to order for him, he confessed how his parents had moved here during the summer before his senior year and how it sucked but it was okay now, he had made some friends and was thinking of going to college next fall, to get his shit together, and the guy listened, let TJ talk.
TJ suddenly felt embarrassed at how he had went on and on and stopped talking as he looked out of the window, wondering what he was thinking, at how much an idiot he was being.
"What? Is something wrong?" the guy asked; his voice sincere.
"Uh, no, I mean, I've just been rambling on and probably boring the hell out of you."
"Not at all" the guy responded and he leaned forward and asked TJ if he was dating anyone, and TJ noticed how he seemed to know.
"No; not at the moment."
The guy smiled mischievously and whispered, "So you just like to play the field for now?"
TJ laughed, a derisive laugh, and shook his head. He looked back at the guy, into those eyes and he fell silent, not sure what to say, thinking he should get up and leave. He looked down at his hands lying on the table intertwined together to keep him from being fidgety and he saw the guy's hand move into view, gracefully it moved up and over his own, gently covering them. TJ held his breath, the warm touch frightening, and he looked up into the guy's smiling face.
"You shouldn't feel so anxious, ya know?"
TJ nodded but said nothing.
"Would you like to come back to my hotel room, we could just hang out and talk?"
TJ couldn't believe he heard the guy, the suggestion that he, someone so different from this guy, go back to his hotel. But he knew he wanted to go there, more than anything, and the guy was just passing through, a stranger, someone he would never see again, and he wondered 'why the fuck not, nothing is going to happen'. He looked at the guy and nodded yes.
TJ woke to the sunlight coming through window, the curtains still open and he saw the skyline of the city, it in silhouette as the sun rose beyond. He looked around the room and knew immediately the guy was gone. Rolling over he looked over at the other side of the bed, it empty, the sheets cool to the touch and he saw the note lying on the pillow, neatly folded in half.
'Thanks for just being here, it made my stay pleasurable. Have a good life.'
That was it and TJ realized he didn't know the guy's name or anything about him of substance, like where he was from, where he was going, or why he was visiting. TJ sat up and saw his reflection in the mirror, his nakedness, this lean body, the tattoo on his chest, along his thin arms and he saw himself as a gay man who needed to move on with his life. He smiled at his own reflection and seeing it in the mirror reinforced the way he felt.
The memory of the previous afternoon and evening came back to him, flashes of images, and he made himself organize his thoughts, to remember how it all played out, the bus ride back to the hotel, standing in the aisle holding the overhead bar for balance just glancing at one another from time to time, the guy smiling back at him each time. TJ realized the guy was about his own height and when they bumped each other, the feel of his arm touching him was electric, made him loosen his stance and allow them to bump often during their ride.
TJ had followed him into the lobby, up the elevator where he told TJ they could order some food, have some drinks from the mini frig in his room and TJ listened, all of it seeming like a dream and when the guy opened the door to his room and TJ had walked in he was stunned at the view, the city's skyline was right there in the window, filling it from side to side, top to bottom, and the late afternoon sun made it glow bright, reflect the surroundings in the glass towers and making the warm stone finishes of some buildings appear warm , their colors comforting, soft.
It was awkward at first, TJ not knowing what to say, thinking his interest would be boring but when room serviced arrived with their dinner and they sat at the small table by the window TJ had opened up about his love of music, literature and art, and how he had secretly been keeping a sketch book for years, and spending some of his free time in the library, the guy listened, commenting and giving his own opinions, making TJ feel like it was important, these interests of his and how he should pursue them. It grew late, the skyline lost its glow when the sun set, then the buildings lit up, their windows ablaze with light and the whole mood of the room changed with it. TJ couldn't remember how they ended up on the floor, sitting with their backs to the bed, a few of the small bottles of bourbon empty, only melting ice left in their glasses. He also didn't know where he got the courage, the impulse to act on his desires, but he had leaned over and kissed the guy, quickly, on the lips and when he pulled away, fearful of the reaction he was going to get, afraid he had blown the mood of the whole evening, the guy had merely smiled and reached out, put his hand on the back of TJ's neck and pulled him back, brought their lips together, gently, and TJ had relaxed into him.
TJ let his mind remember, brought each detail he could recall back to life in his mind, how the guy had moved up on his knees, shifted in front of him, straddled his legs, kissing him passionately. TJ remembered the feel of the guy's hands on his body, moving around his neck, over his shoulders, up and down his arms, and over his chest. He had let the guy pull his t-shirt over his head and he had carelessly tossed it on the floor. TJ remembered how it felt when the guy's lips moved down his jaw, around his ear, down his neck, and when the guy had him shift around, lie on his back, the guy had ran his tongue down his chest, tongued his nipples, bit them lightly and he remembered how it felt, that pain, mixed with the pleasure of this touch and he remembered how it felt to rub his hands over the guy's head, feel the soft hair slide through his fingers. He remembered how he froze for a moment when he felt the guy run his hand over his crotch, the way he was already so hard and the feel of another man touching him so good. The guy had stroked his hand over his cock, and squeezed it as he ran his tongue along his exposed skin at the edge of his waist band. The touch of his warm tongue, soft and wet had made him squeeze the guy's shoulders as he pushed his hips up against the hand manipulating his cock.
TJ moved to the window, looking out at the city as it came to life in the early morning as he remembered how things seemed to happen quickly after that, the guy undoing his khakis, sucking his cock and TJ remembered how it felt, that warm mouth sliding down his shaft, engulfing it, and he remembered how he had cried out. The guy had removed TJ's shoes, socks, pulled his pants and boxers down, stripping him naked, and TJ remembered how it felt for the guy, still fully clothed, lying on top of him, kissing him, hands roaming up and down his sides, holding his hands down over his head and TJ had liked the weight of him, the slight constriction of body on top of body and he had ground his hips into the guy's crotch, and he felt him push back.
TJ remembered how he had still been a little intimidated by the guy, and when the guy got up, held his hand down to help TJ stand, he found himself standing naked in front of him, and his hands began to work open the shirt, fumbling with the buttons and the guy's hands had come up and took TJ's, holding them still.
"Let me do it, okay" he had stated, quietly, barely audible in the quiet room, and TJ only nodded, and sat down on the bed and watched. The guy revealed his lean smooth upper torso, and when he got his pants and briefs off, he revealed his long muscular legs, his narrow hips and his hard cock, it sticking out, the head already wet, a long drool of pre-cum beginning to fall toward the floor, and TJ remembered how he had dropped down on his knees and moved up to the guy, leaned down and let the drool of pre-cum pool on his tongue as he lifted up, capturing all of it He then licked the head of the guy's cock clean. He thought of that sweet taste, how it had excited him, to be taking this from the guy and he remembered how it felt, for the first time, to be taking a guy's cock, letting it slide into his mouth.
He had no idea how long they made out, how long he had been on his knees, sucking the guy's cock, letting him hold his head and pump it back and forth through his lips, but he remembered how the guy got him on the bed, moved down by him, told him he wanted TJ to fuck him. TJ had been anxious the guy would want to fuck his ass and he worried how it would feel, if it would hurt if he let him and he didn't know if he could do it. Instead he found himself moving up behind the guy, rubbing his cock over the opening, feeling its tightness and he found himself penetrating the guy, slowly sinking his cock into him, inch by inch and the memory of how it felt, that tightness as his cock penetrated and the soft warm feel of the guy's insides when he was all the way in.
TJ had taken his time, watched how the guy's body shivered and moved beneath him as he worked his cock back and forth, slowly at first, savoring every sensation, the way he could feel the guy tight on his shaft, the way his movement through the tight ring of his opening milked his cock. He remembered the sensation of this fuck, the intimacy with this man and he worked up his pace, pumped his hips faster and all too soon he felt his cock swell, felt his whole body tense up tight and when he had felt his cock shoot he had cried out, loudly, obscenely, shoving hard into the guys as he pumped his load into him.
The exertion of the fuck exhausted him and he had laid over the guy's back, felt the heat of their bodies trapped between them and he had ran his hands slowly around the guy's chest, felt his smooth skin and he remembered how he let his hands roam down to the guy's cock, took its hardness in hand, felt it throb at his touch. TJ had wanted it, more than anything else, and he had kissed the back of the guy's neck, nipped him lightly and building up his courage, his desire till he finally asked for what he really wanted.
"Will you do me?" in such a nervous low voice he wasn't sure the guy had heard him but when the guy told him to let him roll over on his back TJ knew the time had come and he watched him turn, his body, so long and lean stretch out, take his own cock in hand, stroke it a few times, slowly, smearing the pre-cum along the shaft and when he had looked up at TJ, his green eyes showing a longing, TJ knew it was time and he moved over the guy, straddled his waist and felt the hard cock touch him, rub over him and when it pressed against his hole he felt his desire build, his hips rocked involuntarily, rubbing his opening over the slick wet head.
"Take me, let me in" the guy had said, his voice calm, reassuring, and TJ had eased down, let his body's weight bring him downward and he remembered the initial penetration, the way his body opened up, took this guy's cock, let it slide into him and the pain wasn't bad, and he soon worked up a rhythm, moving up and down and he remembered how good it felt, that cock sliding through his hole, pushing up into him, filling him up. He hadn't taken long to build up a fast pace, of slamming his hips down, fucking his hole on this hard cock buried in it. He had leaned back resting on his arms and pumped his hips as fast as he could. He wanted this guy to cum, he wanted him to pump it in his hole, all of it and he had gotten hard again, his own cock bouncing up and down and when the guy had taken it in his hand, stroked it to his rhythm, he'd never felt anything like it before, the pleasurable sensations.
He didn't remember how long he rode that guy's cock, but he remembered how the sweat ran down his body, rivulets trailing down his torso, running out of his hair and he remembered how the guy began to push up, working in rhythm with him and when he had felt his second load ready to come, he had begged the guy to stroke him harder as he slammed his hips up and down on the guy's cock. It felt like he came harder the second time as his cock shot wad after wad, till it was smeared over the guy's hand and down his shaft. The guy had moved quickly then, so fast TJ couldn't remember if he had said anything or had just done it but he had flipped TJ on his back, pushed his legs up till they touched his shoulders, folding him in half, his ass turned up, open for the guy's cock and the guy had plunged into him hard, slammed his hips down on TJ's upturned ass and pounded him into the bed, fucked him so hard and he had held on to the guy, wrapped his arms around the guy's neck. He remembered how he found himself begging the guy the fuck him harder, to fuck him, whispering it at first but later crying out how he wanted it, needed it, and the guy had built up a furious pace, rocking the bed underneath them.
TJ looked back at the bed, the bed he had taken it, that guy's cock and he remembered how the guy had shoved in hard, short jabbing thrusts and came in his ass, filled it with his cum.
They had showered together afterwards, washing each other's bodies, and afterward they had gone to bed, and TJ remembered how he had snuggled up to the guy and felt his arms take him as he held him tight.
TJ picked up his clothes and got dressed. He carefully folded the note back in half and put it in his pocket. As he made his way through the hotel he thought how it was time to make a change, to do those things he wanted to do. He would stop by the community college on the way home and check out the curriculum and see what they offered in art. As he waited for the bus he thought of the guy, his body, the way he moved, gracefully, so assuredly, and he remembered their sex, the intimacy, the physically nature of it, but most of all he remember his eyes, those green eyes. As the bus pulled up and door opened he also remembered how he didn't know the guy's name, that in the end, anyone he told would call it just a hook up, a one night stand. But TJ knew better and he smiled, greeted the bus driver with a friendly 'good morning' as he paid the fare and moved onto the bus.
Two months later, in a different city.
Gary got off his plane, exhausted and frustrated, the trip having been a disaster. He moved through the airport to baggage claim and waited for the conveyor to start up and bring their luggage out for retrieval. He let his eyes roam over the crowd waiting, especially the other men. He tried his office on his cell only to find his battery was dead. 'Fuck' he thought, putting the dead phone in his pocket. The conveyor finally started and the bags came out. When he saw a piece of luggage that was dark blue he thought it his and he pulled it up setting it at his feet where he noticed the tag wasn't right.
"Excuse me, but I think we've mixed up our luggage."
Gary looked up and saw this nice looking guy, taller than he, nice lean body and his dirty blonde hair was slightly disheveled, fashionably so, and he saw the guy's eyes, emerald green, shining with depth and he found he was staring at the guy.
"Yeah, I think we've got each other's bag" Gary responded.
"No harm. I'm Jude. Would you care to share a cab into the city?" the guy asked and Gary just nodded his head yes.


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The Whitacre Pullover
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A master thief waited his whole life to acquire the most beautiful diamond in the world. When he heard it had been purchased, he spent three days trying to steal the rare jewel. He failed. Finally, the thief walked right up to the owner and asked, "How did you hide this precious jewel from me?" To which the owner replied, "I placed it where I knew you would never look-in your own pocket!" This insightful tale opens the first major book release from Gangaji-an American-born teacher who has influenced the lives of thousands of people through her public events. In her new book, The Diamond in Your Pocket , she describes our never-ending search as human beings to find fulfillment-which, paradoxically, already exists if only we will stop long enough to experience it. Readers join Gangaji to learn more about:
- How to let go of your need to control, and activate instead the choice of where you put your mind's attention
- Cultivating the courage to be vulnerable, so you can meet-and deeply merge with-the unknown
- How to unearth the roots of suffering: learn to stop replaying your life's dramatic stories over and over, and much more
"As long as you are searching for it, it cannot be found, " teaches Gangaji. Written as a series of short contemplations, The Diamond in Your Pocket shows you thought-by-thought how to stop the endless activity of your mind, and experience the brilliance and radiance of who you really are.
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Trying to do a reload on this system: Windows 7 Pro on a Gigabyte GA-M68M-SP2. I've loaded the SATA drivers from the website during installation but still can't load to the partition. I can create, delete and format partitions on the disk, just can't start installing. What am I doing wrong?
6 Replies
Apr 22, 2011 at 8:19 UTC
Ive run into this now and then, what i did was use a win98 disk for fdisk and delete the drive, then do the re-image, it seems to work 80% of the time, other 20% i have to do Fdisk a 2nd time.
Apr 23, 2011 at 10:26 UTC
I worked on this until 8pm Friday evening. I loaded optimized defaults on the motherboard and rebooted. Windows was taking a very long time to load setup and I was frustrated. (Not the best state of mind to continue.) I left the disk in to finish loading, when the tech came in on Saturday morning setup was ready and the install completed. Must have been some setting in the BIOS. I'll look to see if I can determine which one, but it is working now. Was hoping to not have to do an Fdisk since there was a data partition that I wanted to not have to restore.
Apr 24, 2011 at 12:52 UTC
Might have been, i'd be interested to know what you found out.
Apr 25, 2011 at 8:00 UTC
In my experience this is usually caused when the drive you want to install to is not selected as the first hard disk in the BIOS disk order list.
Apr 25, 2011 at 10:12 UTC
1st Post
I've had this problem before with IDE drives. I finally solved the problem by unplugging all drives except for the one I wanted to install on.
Apr 26, 2011 at 1:35 UTC
The SATA drive is the only one in the machine. It just has an existing partition for a LOB application. There is a RAID card on this MOBO and I think it had something to do with the AHCI setting on the board. After I loaded the optimized settings, Windows Setup was slow to come up (> 25min), but did load.
Thanks for all the help.
This discussion has been inactive for over a year.
You may get a better answer to your question by starting a new discussion.


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An accident at one of Encana Corp.'s natural gas wells in Colorado has killed one worker and injured three others.
The "high-pressure gas release" took place as the four men were bringing the well onto production Wednesday afternoon, said Doug Hock, a spokesman for Encana's U.S. division.
The incident, near the town of Platteville, north of Denver, did not involve an explosion or fire, he said.
Internal and external investigations have been launched to find out what caused the accident.
"Our concern right now is with the family and those involved, both the contractor who lost his life as well as those who were injured," said Mr. Hock.
The man who died and two of those injured were contractors with BGH Gas Test Operating Inc. of Castle Rock, Colo. The third man who was hurt is a lease operator with Encana.
The accident marked the first fatality at Encana's operations, said Mr. Hock.
"We had a very good record and again that's why we want to investigate thoroughly and really understand what happened."
The well is located in the Niobrara shale formation, which stretches through parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
"This is an area where we're operating, I believe, four rigs right now," said Mr. Hock.
"It's an area where there's a lot of activity, not just Encana, but other companies as well."
Based in Calgary, Encana produces natural gas from several shale formations in North America — from the Horn River in northeastern British Columbia to the Haynesville in the southeastern United States.
In the face of low natural gas prices, the company has been looking to produce more lucrative natural gas liquids, which are plentiful in the Niobrara shale.
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Don't you watch sports? How many multi-million dollar black athletes out there that pay way more in taxes than you; not to mention all the doctors, lawyers and business people.<quoted text>
Dream on. Who do you think pays for welfare? Blacks, Mexicans, and Asians? Bottom line: no white man taxes, no freebies for the lazy! Whites have always paid the bills for the entire USA, not to mention all of the foreign aid, mostly to the AIDS ridden Africa! You have all the freedom in the world to look up the facts, but you call them racist too, don't you! I bet you call God racist for making you black! There is no racism like black racism, no hatred like black hatred. Black is racist, and racist is black. OJ Simpson loves white vaginas! Do you love white people?
Dollarwise, there maybe more white in the 1%; not really sure.
The real issue is the lack of Good Jobs w/Benefits! Corporate America says they cannot pay Americans because they don't have the right training nor good education, but the foreigners they hire are trained by American teachers overseas! This is going on when the cost of education here in America is at an all time high and Govenors, like Jindal, are cutting education.
Cannot get people off of welfare until there are enough good paying jobs w/benefits (like Ronald Reagan promised in the 80's). We need to go back to valuing EARNED income higher than UNEARNED income.
Will not address the rest of your post because you seem to have gone off the edge. Take a breathe and maybe say a prayer.
Peace be with you.


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Question: Could a managerial accountant have a motivation to misrepresent data
Could a managerial accountant have a motivation to misrepresent data such as direct or indirect material, labor, or other overhead costs? Explain your answer with an example. Compare the motivation to misrepresent data between managerial and financial accounting.
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View Solution:
Answer to relevant QuestionsWhy might the buttons used to make a shirt not be classified as a direct material? Give an instance in which buttons would be classified as a direct material. The following information is available about the cost of leased copier equipment. The company pays the lessor a fixed amount per month plus a usage fee based on number of pages. The total fee may be adjusted for bad copies ...Urdue Clinic had the following costs for October 2009. Nurses' salaries............................................. $ 24,900 Doctors' salaries........................................... 108,000 Electricity (75% ...You are Manager of Special Events at a large hotel in Great Neck. The meeting rooms and ballroom take up one floor of the 12-story building. The other managers at the hotel have responsibilities for Accommodations, ...What is contribution margin, and why does it fluctuate in direct proportion with sales volume? To what does a contribution margin ''contribute''?
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Courtesy of BlackEnterprise.com
For many women of color, teenage memories include curling up with the latest issue of Honey, Suede, Essence or Vibe Vixen, among other print favorites. But with the current tech boom, is there really a place for today's girls of color to get that same experience?
It's a question that came up when Marissa Jennings, founder of SOCIALgrlz LLC, a social community designed for African-American girls between the ages of 13 and 17, was a student at Bennett College. Dedicated to creating a platform for African-American girls by African-American girls, it inspired Jennings to develop a teen magazine for this niche audience. Years later the Los Angeles native stuck with her vision, adding a new-age twist, launching her mobile, web and publishing company SOCIALgrlz in 2010, and an online educational platform in 2012. The company launched its first crowdfunding campaign, the Add Your 2 Cents initiative, which will help develop the first mobile application for African-American girls on the Apple and Android platforms.


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Three people are in the story but will use other names:
Mary fools around on a drunken night with Tina's (her best friend) boyfriend Thomas, all except sex and has been trying to move on from that one regretful night. Months later, Thomas confesses on his own will and they break up.
Tina goes towards Mary's house and surprises her with a hard backhand enough to nearly trip her and a bit a blood as a result. Tina wants nothing to do with her either.
Then Mary is upset that Thomas rat on her (when he promised he wasn't going to tell) and she slaps him and calls him out on snitching. Did Mary deserve such a hard backhand like that (only reason she didn't hit back is because of the situation though)?
Who was in the wrong here?
Three people are in the story but will use other names:
Have an opinion?
What Guys Said 0
Be the first guy to share an opinion
and earn 1 more Xper point!
What Girls Said 1
I know if a bitch every puts her hands on me, she's dead!
whoever sniteched snitched, can't do nothing about that. She shouldn't of snitched. should of minded her own buisness. but maybe whoever snitched had a crush on thomas.. things won't go back to normal after that.00|00|0
The snither was Thomas, her then boyfriend that cheated on that night.
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Russia: FSB deems Jehovahs Witness material to be extremist
Specialists from the Sverdlovsk Region Department of FSB (Federal Security Service) have carried out five assessments of Jehovahs Witness material and found them to be "extremist". The information was originally reported by Interfax, citing as its source the Prosecutor for the city of Asbest Alexei Almaev.
Previously a criminal investigation on charges of "inciting hatred or enmity, as well as denigrating human dignity" was launched in connection with the circulation of Jehovahs Witness literature. Searches were carried out in the offices of the organization in Yekaterinburg and Asbest with religious literature being removed.
Almaev stated that the Prosecutor is considering whether to ask to court to officially declare the religious literature to be extremist, without awaiting the conclusion of the criminal investigation. He said that there are no individuals at present directly named in the investigation since it is extremely difficult to prove that those who circulated the publication knew of its "unlawful content".
From information at www.lenta.ru


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CyberPad C100 Unveiled At Intel Developer Forum, Beijing
The CyberPad C100 (not pictured) was unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing. The 10.1-inch device comes in three flavors; 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB Solid State Drives. The tablet has a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, two USB 2.0 ports, one mini HDMI, one micro SD card and a SIM card slot. The device will also give users the option of running whichever mobile operating system they choose, so long as it's Android Gingerbread, Windows 7, or MeeGo.
We are unaware of what the pricing will look like but based on the specifications and customizations alone I would guess it'll be on the more expensive side. As you can see in the video below, the tablet is simply stunning. Although I admit it is great to have such a wide variety to choose from, how the heck is a person to decide the victor?
If I had to offer any advice on which tablet to get, the geek in me would recommend to wait another year. Why a year? Because I am certain they will offer much better graphics options with those future tablets, ones that will actually be able to game (even if comparable to a 2008 desktop, it will still be worth the wait!)
Photo Courtesy of TechShowNetwork
Photo Courtesy of Clive Darr


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St. JohnGold Toned St. John Textured Clip On Earrings
Earrings have dotted texturing panels throughout.
Made in: Unknown Color: Gold Fabric Content: Unknown Metal Condition: Good. Slight scratching.
Measurements & Sizing
- Total Length: 1.625"
- Total Width: .75"
Returns & Shipping
Luxury Garage Sale guarantees that all items sold on our site are 100% authentic. All products we accept are inspected for brand-specific guidelines and are put through a rigorous authenticity test process.
LGS is not affiliated with St. John. We guarantee this St. John item to be authentic. St. John® is a registered trademark of St. John.
Item #: 49262


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Most Helpful Girl
sure it is =]10|10|1
oh, thanks
sure it is =]
oh, thanks
Have an opinion?
No, it's not.
I am a non-religious person.
I believe in basic morals/values as a human-being.
Even if a person has their religion to hold on to they can commit just as big of sin as someone without a religion.
I feel that if a person as values as a human-being they can live their life the right way (meaning one without crime or physically hurting others).
I believe in God, and i think it's important to people who have a "spiritual need" and feel accountable to God
Not at all, 0 importance to me.
Not to me, no.
Not at all important to me.
Yes, of course. I will and do center my life around it.(no sex before marriage, forgiving and more)
I'm an atheist so no, not at all - but I respect all religions
i'm neutral on it
Nope doesn't really matter
nope, but I'm indirectly affected obv
At this point in my life it's not very important.
Yeah I guess. I was raised upon it.
yeah somewhat
Nope means nothing to me, and its not important to anyone I'm close to so doesn't affect my life
Yh because I need God. I just need him... If I didn't have him, I'd probably be dead...
it was growing up but not so much anymore :(
I suppose it is, as part of my family is christian but it doesn't play a tremendous part in my life haha :)
i dont really follow a set religion, although i was raised catholic. i think religion is man made and currpoted, but i choose to believe in God. I accept that he's there, but i dont dedicate my existence to him
Yes, it is. No I won't debate with angry aethiests who are barely out of diapers.
Yes, it is.
I wasn't raised in any particular religion, at 7 years old my dad died and he is the only reason i went to church
I think all religions are based on some sort of truth, but the truth has been perverted and twisted through the eyes of men
But there is plenty of knowledge to be gained from all religions
It's actually the most important thing in my life.
Same here :D
No I am non religious
Nope, I almost wish it would just go away. I have to pretend to be religious during family occasions
It is in it's role of providing me with romanticism and comic relief.
I am religious and it has completely ceased to become important to me. I want to live it up and then die.
Of course.
Its the only thing that guides me to keep me away from big sins and to show me the little chances to gain good deeds. Unfortunately, the good always feel outweighed by the bad.
Yeah it is
NOT having a religion is important in my life, indeed.
fuck it, should be banned.
Not anymore. It was when I was 10 years old. The fairy tale about Jehovah is over now.
Were you a Jehovah's Witness? A lot of my family are!
what do you mean?
Jesus' name was Yehoh·shuʹaʽ in the original Hebrew text and I·e·sousʹ in Greek, but translated into Jesus in English . Gods name was YHWH in Hebrew, but translated into Jehovah in English . They weren't the same name
I'm ranting again! haha ignore me! haha
yes it is very important for me
It is to me too!
It's everything in my life :)
In my opinion religion is the reason for many problems in the world, like lack of education (evolutian theorie for instance) and medieval uptakes on certain subjects (gender-equality, gay rights, abortian etc.) .
Not in the slightest.
Yes it is but I am irreligious.
"It's complicated" would be more appropriate.
I hate religion.
My family does but i give zero craps about religion. Because im an atheist.
Not at all. I just try to be a good human being towards all.
Yes my religion and faith is an extremely important part of my life.
Religion is my life!
Yes. I have to avoid religious people so I don't get murdered.
You cannot undo this action. The opinion owner is going to be notified and earn 7 XPER points.


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There's nothing to worry about. Our friendly Student Services team are dedicated to helping you find local accommodation that's close to the College.
You will have the chance to immerse yourself in our culture by staying with a British family.
Rent costs start from £150 per week.
For more information call (+44) 1256 306484
You don't have to opt for our suggestions for accommodation - you can choose a private rental, either as a lodger or sharing a house or flat with some friends.


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Tommy Defendi's new bushy beard is quite polarizing. Guys either think he looks like hell or they're quite attracted to his new hipster or Amish look, whatever you want to call it. I fall into the latter group. I've been distressed for months with all the bare pubes and sculpted eyebrows that have been taking over not only the gay porn scene, but gay men in general -- I hate that a lot of men have stopped looking like men. So I'm quite happy to see Tommy bucking the trend and bushing out his beard.
In this scene called "Pardon My Garden" from Extra Big Dicks, Jake Jennings heads downstairs for him morning coffee. He's unaware that the gardener is working in the backyard. He's even more unaware that the landscaper has pulled out his large cock for a quick wank. Jake is embarrassed that he's walked in on Tommy, and the gardener is afraid he's going to be fired.
Tommy stammers an apology, but his big dick is still hanging out of his pants. "I'm sorry, I don't want to lose my job," he says. "But once it gets hard I can't stuff it back in my jeans." Jake can't take his eyes of the gardener's beautiful penis and only replies, "You're not going to get fired." Tommy moves closer and Jake drops to his knees and begins helping Tommy solve his erection problem.


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It's almost become a tradition. As in the last three events, Alexander Adolf will also be giving a talk at the Fraunhofer FOKUS Media Web Symposium 2014. As this year's event is all about second screen, he will be talking about challenges and technologies of ad insertion in the multimedia age.
Don't miss the social event on Thursday evening. The Fraunhofer folks are doing their best to trump their own event from the previous year time after. Be there, or be square!


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SAO PAULO – Three Croatia teammates joined Luka Modric in his hotel room to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.
Croatia is using the Tivoli Eco Resort, a secluded 5-star luxury hotel popular with Brazil's rich and famous near the central Atlantic coast fishing village of Praia do Forte. The resort is 5,000 miles from the Croatian hotel that served as a refuge camp for a young Modric, the slight, elegant Real Madrid midfielder, his family and hundreds of others during the Balkans conflict of the early 1990s. For Modric, Tivoli must seem like another planet.
One of Modric's favorite quotes comes from Nelson Mandela – "It always seems impossible until you do it."
It is a quote that both captures the task at hand for Modric and Croatia as they face Brazil in the World Cup opener Thursday night at the Arena de Sao Paulo and served as inspiration on a journey that carried him from a bombed-out Balkans parking lot to center stage at the biggest sporting event on the planet.
"I try not to look back," Modric, one of the heroes of Real Madrid's recent UEFA Champions League victory, told reporters. "I try to only look to the future."
But Modric acknowledges he is shaped and defined by a tragic childhood as Yugoslavia unraveled into a decade of bloodshed and genocide.
"It is what has made me the person I am today," Modric told reporters.
Modric is named for his grandfather Luka. The younger Modric was just 6 when the Balkans conflict forced the family out of its home. Not everyone made it out alive. Serbian paramilitary forces murdered the elder Luka Modric and six other civilians, all of them senior citizens. The rest of the family escaped to a hotel in Zadar, Croatia, that had been turned into a refugee camp. The hotel was without electricity and running water for nearly two years.
For hours on end a young Modric dribbled through a hotel parking lot scarred by war, developing the skills that eventually led to him earning the nickname "The Croatian Cruyff," a reference to Johan Cruyff, the Dutch master of the 1970s.
One day Josip Bajlo, coach of NK Zadar, received a telephone call from a hotel employee. Bajlo had to come see this scrawny blond-haired kid, the employee insisted. Bajlo relented and signed Modric on sight.
Modric's joining NK Zadar allowed the family to move to a nicer hotel where the boy decorated his walls with posters of AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban.
During a May 13, 1990, match with Red Star Belgrade, Boban, then playing for Dinamo Zagreb, kicked a policeman who was beating a Dinamo fan after a riot erupted in the stadium. The incident made Boban an icon with Croatian nationalists and the riot is considered and celebrated by many Croatians as the start of the country's war of independence from Yugoslavia.
The war remained ever-present in young Modric's life. Training sessions and matches were frequently interrupted by sirens, sending the boys and spectators racing to the nearest bomb shelter.
"I am a lot stronger now," Modric told a British paper in 2011. "But I don't want to be constantly dwelling on it. I just want to move on and start afresh. Nothing can surprise me now. I am prepared for anything that is thrown at me."
He would follow his hero Boban to Dinamo Zagreb at 16 before moving on to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League as part of a club record $25.8million deal.
Plagued by injuries early on, Modric eventually blossomed with the London club. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him the best player in the Premier League in 2011.
A year later, Manchester United was outbid by Real Madrid for Modric, the Spanish giant acquiring him for $51.6million.
Again Modric struggled early. A Spanish newspaper poll ranked him as the most disappointing signing of the 2012-13 season. And again Modric rebounded.
In the third minute of injury time in the second half of the Champions League final with Atletico Madrid, Real's crosstown rival leading, 1-0, and soccer's ultimate club prize mere moments from their grasp, Modric delivered a cross from the corner that found Sergio Ramos, who headed in a tying goal that sent the match into extra time. Real eventually won, 4-1. Modric was selected for the Champions League all-star team.
Now Modric faces another daunting task in a life that has been full of them.
"It's been awhile since we played a match as big as this one," Modric said in a news conference this week in Praia do Forte. "We know the Brazilians respect us and we are also aware how fired up they will be to make a winning start on home soil."
Yet he was undaunted. As a boy he had dribbled his way out of war. He was no stranger to the impossible.
Contact the writer: email@example.com


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Mercy Fun Day
P3 had a fantastic time on their school trip to Oxford Island. We have learned all about mini-beasts and their habitats.
We worked together as part of a team to solve our izak 9 math challenges.
Science Starz
St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day Concert
To celebrate World Book Day, we found unusual places to read our books! Can you guess where we are?
A world full of shapes
We have hunted far and wide for 2D and 3D objects in Primary 3. We discovered that we use 2D shapes to create pictures and that some shapes have lines of symmetry. We hunted for objects in our classroom and with the use of mirrors we noticed that some were symmetrical. We then created symmetrical paintings.
As a class we discovered a number of our everyday items and containers were 3D. We sorted the 3D shapes by investigating and testing which shapes can roll and which shapes can stack. If you are stuck with identifying which shape is which, head to Primary 3 and we can help you solve your problem. We now know 2D and 3D shape properties
Fun in the snow!
P3 Completed the Mannequin Challenge. We now challenge all the classes. Good Luck!
Primary 3 enjoyed the spooky Halloween disco. All the girls looked fabulous, so much effort has went into these costumes. WOW
Something New! Today Primary 3 went to see our lovely new 'Parent's Room'. The girls enjoyed chatting to friends on the sofas and suggested great activities to do with their parents and grandparents. Come and join us each morning for a coffee.
Our Autumn Walk
Together Again! We are off to a great start in P3, everyone is happy to see each other as we share our Summer stories. The girls have created 'Our Golden Rules' and are looking forward to Golden Time each Friday.
Class News
Class Documents
Mercy Primary School, 612 Crumlin Road Belfast County Antrim BT14 7GL | Telephone: 028 9039 1670
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