Ryan Field's Blog, page 458

Should Web Site Owners and Social Media Be Held Accountable?

Earlier this week I posted about an incident of Internet crime where a young man allegedly stalked minors on facebook with fake identities and sockpuppet accounts.

Tonight I read this article:

A substitute teacher at a Georgia high school has been fired after he allegedly took photos of a female student in class and posted them to the Internet, authorities said. He is now being investigated by the local Sheriff's office, Fox Atlanta reports.
 
The teacher, whose identity has not been releas...

"One Bride Three Grooms"

 I just read a bog post where the blogger mentioned he'd recently moved, and had been to two weddings. Nothing unusual about that. I have one wedding next week, and then two more in November.

It was the comment thread that made me smile:

Comment #1: "Congrats on the big move...and the two new brides ;)."

Blogger reply: "One bride and three grooms!"

Gay Rappers Breaking Stereotypes

In "Four Gay Weddings and a Funeral" I parodied a few things I rarely ever see in films or books. One of them was the entire wedding concept and how it can become frustrating for people (men) sometimes, and the other had to do with rap music. I've posted before about how much I love rap music, and how I would rather suffer the worst torture imaginable than listen to either show tunes or polka music.

It's just my own personal taste, and I often get frustrated when all gay m...

Joe Konrath Says Sockpuppets are No Big Deal; Man Arrested in New Jersey for Internet Stalking With Sockpuppets

One of the things I've been predicting about a lot of the Internet corruption happening these days is that the law will eventually step in and take over. Charges will be pressed and these Internet crimes will be prosecuted. How Internet crimes are defined seems arguable these days. Joe Konrath seems to think that no one is completely innocent and no one can point the finger at anyone else. In fact, this is what Konrath says in a recent post:

Fake reviews, like sock puppets and trolling and fla...

What Is Reparative Conversion Therapy for Gay Males?

Yesterday there was a "thing" floating around social media about conversion therapy and I know the basic principles behind reparative therapy for gay males, but not many details. So I decided to post something about it in case anyone else was wondering. Remember I'm not a psychologist, nor do I want to be one. The comments I've made are only based on my personal experiences.

Here's one web site that says:

"In this major and compelling work, Dr. Nicolosi addresses the issue of changing homosexu...

2012 Rainbow Awards; The Scarlet Letter LGBT Webzine; And Not so New New Adult Fiction

I've been meaning to post something about the 2012 Rainbow Awards for a while now. At this point, submissions are closed and it's getting down to the wire, so to speak. The jury is working on the books they were assigned, and there's a cover contest going on right now over at Elisa Rolle's blog. For those who don't know, Elisa is a huge fan of all LGBT books, she's been reviewing and blogging about them for a long time now, and she orchestrated "The Rainbow Awards" to give back to the LG...

The Modern "Rake" in New Adult Romance

ETA: Photo from Morguefile.com. I wouldn't have that kind of moss on my patio or a rake that looked like that. But the photo is free to use.

The modern "rake" in new adult romance is a new concept in many respects. But it's not something that hasn't been done before. It's just a new spin on something that's already been done thousands of times in the past. I don't know if Prince Harry is a classic rake, but he has shown some very exciting rake-ish qualities over the years and I would consider...

My Own Lame Food Photos...

Just to be fair with regard to the post I wrote earlier this week about bad food photos, here's one of mine. As you can see, I'm no food stylist.

Sunday is pasta, ALWAYS. Tony and I are Italian and that's just the rule. Period.

Sometimes it's homemade pasta. In this case, it's gnocchi in a brown butter sauce with sage. As you can see from this awful photo I took myself, I even elevated the uncooked pasta on a Waterford crystal bowl and it still looks terrible.

This is why I don't po...

How Do You Stay Relevant In a Constantly Changing Environment?

I'm linking to an article where staying relevant in business in a constantly changing world is the theme.

The way things are changing in publishing, I know exactly what this article is talking about. I don't think anyone in any profession can avoid these changes. I even know people with Antique shops who've had to learn how to sell online because that's where a lot of the buyers and designers are going now. Those who didn't bother to learn have become obsolete.

To prepare, Mr. Hallock, 2...

Guardian Interview with Author Anne Tyler

I often recommend reading Anne Tyler's work for practical purposes...to see how she writes, to see her technique, and to see how well executed her dialogue is. I've read all her fiction, except for one children's book she wrote with her daughter. I've never been disappointed.

This interview she gave is rare...for her. She doesn't do this often, if ever. And I thought it was both interesting and informative. I learned a few things I didn't know...like the fact that Judith Jones has been her lo...