Before I get going, I really did enjoy having a few days away over the Christmas period with Mum and Bessie (her yellow labrador).

However, on arriving back, I discovered the disadvantages of:
a) being a BCTS addict,
b) Going offline for a few days,
c) Reading so many concurrent stories on BTCS...

Okay... I have to admit to a certain fascination with a few things in terms of my stories, both the comments and the ratings. The way they move and develop over time is intriguing and at times angst worthy.

For instance, you have a story like La Faccia De Maestro, which I consider the best story I have ever written. It doesn't have a lot of comments nor a very high rating. This is bothersome as I think people are passing it by and I have no idea why. Those things hint at reasons but nothing just comes out and says it.

Betwixt Christmas and New Year

Firstly, if you liked So This Is Christmas, or Roni's Party please vote for them, simply PM Sephrena to lodge your votes!

We are nearly into 2010, and I hope that the new year will bring you all joy and happiness.

In the midst of our celebration of the new year, I think it behooves us to take a moment or two to remember those who are no longer with us. Whether taken from us by illness, ageing, suicide, or violence, they have gone to a much better place, and are: In "The Arms Of The Angels."

Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction

On December 15, 2009, Fictionmania author Tommy Davis died as a result of a heart attack. His name has been added to the Memoriam board here at BigCloset. Let us all spare a moment to think of his friends and family in this holiday season.

Hugs,
Erin

Hey! My the first chapter of my story, The New Job, which I posted just two years ago, has surpassed 4000 hits. The last chapter has been opened by more than 40% of those who looked at the first.

These may not be huge numbers, but they're sure pleasing to me.

I decided to try out something new - adding pictures to my story: I modified my last posted story, "Teacup Roses, Guitars, a Bus Pass and a Mistaken Identity: A Danny Fairchild Story."

So if you wanna check it out...

Spacing etc. are still not perfect, but this is my first story with pictures. So I hope you guys'll give me a little slack.

As always - comments welcome.

Hey Big Closet. Those of you reading my story, thank you. I've done this a couple of times but, sometimes after posting, someone I know comes to the site and checks out my work, and some of your guys. and more often than not I have to pull the story off the site, make some drastic tweaks to certain chapters that I pull, and re-add it. But thank you again for reading my story. it gives me joy to see you guys enjoying it. ^^

Kitten

As a male, I must plead ignorance about a woman. I am writing a story where a boy becomes a genetic girl. As a part of her rite of passage into womanhood, she has her first menses and must experience the use of tampons and pads. I pray that I get it right, because I do not wish to in any way insult my friends here.

Stanman May Your Light Forever Shine

Its eleven fifty eight PST and I would like to wish all of my friends on this site a wonderful holiday and if I forget a happy new year, Arecee

I am NOT talking about Sephrena reposting stories from yesteryear,

The sky is falling! Dropping white stuff all over the place. My neighbor said it is snow, but it don't snow in Texas in December. We are going to have a White Christmas if it doesn't melt.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Paula

Tomorrow is Christmas, the day in which a large portion of Christianity has chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth more than 2000 years ago, despite the fact that from the best evidence, He was likely born in early March. :) But it is a celebration, not an anniversary, and the date was chosen to coincide with other celebrations of renewal and new hope.

For all too many, and even one would be too many, this time of year reminds people of the power the Church holds in their community, a power too often used for evil and hate when it comes to people of alternate gender identity and sexuality. The number of TG folk who have been abused in the name of religion is staggering.

As an alternative, and to show the loving and accepting side of some Christian denominations, I'd like to share this page with you: http://www.nyym.org/nurture/gender/

===

Some of those having an impact on me. And I won’t ‘define’ them that much, but I do download those writers.
(Some of the best I suspect I forget to mention, they’re so much of a ‘standing feature’ that you, and me, already reads them, like Angharad f ex, so, I will mention her now. )

I'd just like to wish everyone here - especially Erin and the staff - a merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous new decade. For those who are offended by me calling it Christmas, well, that's what we call it over here and I'm offended that it should be called anything else. After all, that's what it is.

Any-who, I'd also like to bring you all up to speed with Google Chrome.

I assume that there is a huge diversity of population here. It seems logical to me that there are or have been every kind of male here from corporate presidents, to Doctors, to Electricians (GAH, that just ruins the neighborhood ! :)) , to men in prison and I know at least two shrinks.

So far as I know, information about any statistical comonalities regarding T folk has not been published, though I have casual knowlege of some traits that we seem to have in common, perhaps.

From My family to all of the Authors and Editors on BCTS, my family extends warm wishes during this holiday season. The season is blessed season to celebrats family and the joy we all have with family and remembering our LOrd Jesus Chirst whom graced us with love and acceptance as his children.

Seasonal Felicitations

In case you are a hermit in Siberia - it's Christmas!

As it's that time of year i'm giving everyone a bit of a prezzie, so if you go here you can now read chapter 7.1 of Gaby, Milchreis! I'll be giving out some further gifts over the holiday season so make sure you pop back regularly.

Best wishes to everyone

Froh Weihnacht und Gru០Gut!

I'm trying to find a story about a man who is dressed up as a woman for a business party. at the party he is put in a strange pod and transformed into a woman. he is then married off. She steals the secrets of the pods and runs away with her children and give the technology to the public allowing people to be transformed and to live very long lives. It is similar to JullieOs Fruit of the Vine in some aspects.

Let me stress this, it is not jullieO's Fruit of the vine, The one I'm looking for is much longer and darker.

Thanks
Jessica Marie

Marry Ho Ho Dammit.

I posted a story/song earlier in the day which I erroneously attributed to another author. It was not my intention to publish this in any manner other than that which would reflect my source. In my haste, I published it believing I had permission to use the author's name, which I did not. It was a misunderstanding entirely due to my own error in judgment. I apologize to her and to those readers who had already commented on the piece. I have removed it of my own accord rather than leave it to stand as written. Once again, I am sorry for my haste and inaccuracy. Andrea

sitting here, grieving for friends who have passed on, either from health problems, or because they were taken from us by violence. The "In Memoriam" box, on the home page, has grown by too many names in just the last year or so. Some of them I knew, others I didn't, but all are sisters who were loved, appreciated, and are missed.

Just got this off the News Wire:

Mexico City assembly legalizes same-sex marriage
Mexico City lawmakers on Monday made the city the first in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, a change that will give homosexual couples more rights, including allowing them to adopt children.

Richard

We've had some truly excellent writing posted here lately. Great, adventurous stories packed with powerful emotions and levels of deeper meaning. Humorous stories with reader misdirection and Aesop-like morals. Simple stories, yet with a powerful grip on the heart-strings that profoundly affect the readers. I love all of these!

This year for Christmas, my kids are going with the ex to her parents' place in Vail. They left this morning. My parents and my sister can't afford to fly here this year, and I can't afford to even take the time off, let alone travel. I don't have any close relatives within a thousand miles. I don't even have any pets at the moment, a highly unusual circumstance for me. So, for the first time in my entire life, I will be spending Christmas completely alone, at least in the sense of not having any family around.

I'm not sure, but I'm thinking of writing a dark story. I don't mean a story where 'evil reins supreme'. That's just the opposite side of the mirror as I see it, and not satisfactory to me. Its all to easy to ignore your characters dignity and abuse them, they can't protest can they?

I was digging around in the archives this afternoon and stumbled upon a discussion of Andy Warhol by SLM. That caused me to think about another artist I have been searching for. I don't know if anyone will admit to it but I was reading "Playboy" in the late 60's and early 70's and distinctly remember an artist from that publication that I really loved, so much so that I think that the character represented there most closely reveals my own personality, or what I would like to present to the public. I know, fantasy, fantasy.

Google Chrome Beta has a bug in it, apparently, that considers the javascript that syndicates the Skin Horse comic from WebComicsNation to be malware. This produces a warning when you visit the blogs here.

Unfortunately, the warning also goes out to Google's automated reporting system which has put WebComicsNation on several blacklists. Depending on how you have your settings set in other browsersi, you may not be seeing Skin Horse when you visit the blogs here.

This a story running to two book equivalents posted in 2003/4 on Crystal's storysite, which is one I feel deserves more attention and because Sarah Bayen doesn't post any more - she seems to have left the scene altogether - you might not come across it unless you know it's there. It could do with a proper edit but it's still a very readable tale of adolescence and self discovery. I attach a link.

Part 1 The Contest Beginings

Part 2 Contest and Consequence.

Sarah Bayen at Crystal's.

Would anyone be interested in a follow up to Roni's Party? If there is sufficient demand i'll try to put together a follow on tale for you to read over the festive season.

Mads

Dear All,

My heart is fine - it's just the rest of me that got complications!!!! In sinus rhythm now but suffered an aneurysm that kept me in hospital for two weeks and laid low at home for four.... Gradually getting stronger. Only just allowed back to the laptop! Love Ginger xx

This is heart breaking. I feel so sorry for them.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/17/gaza.gender.id/ind...

Khadijah

Anyone seen it?

Ah, thought I had it but the darned thing just slipped through my fingers.

If you find it, please return it.
It was a gleaming glittering thing, looking quite nice.

Anyway, I hope you all will have a nice Christmas.

Cheers.
Yor.

....
Ps:

If you find chapter thirteen a little weak I'm afraid that I have to agree.
It's like Churchill once said. "Sometimes blood sweat and tears just ain't enough."
Or something to that matter?

Ds: I've tried to 'edit' it a little to make it readable now, well, as i see it :)

Not sure if I should label this as NSFW ("Not Safe For Work"). Maybe someone else can offer their opinion on that. I'd call it tame, except for the fetishy aspect of it, at least by lingerie standards.

It's a picture of a group of 9 scantily-clad lingerie models, outside of a London department store, with a passing bus in the foreground and the driver clearly gawking. The women, in formation, are viewed from the rear and wearing indentical outfits, something which could best be described as storm-trooper-inspired lingerie with hats and boots to match.

I am feeling really left out lately. You see most of my friends are from the transgendered community or the geek community , and lately I feel left out in most situations.

With my friends from the geek community I feel OK , they seem to accept me and while I can't speak with them on everything ( the all transition thing for example ) it seems like they are there for me .

With my friends from the trans community I feel left out ( and sometime judged ) because of sexual orientation.

Study: Looking young may mean living longer
Buzz up!34 votes Send

LONDON — Those baby-faced people now have another reason to be smug: a new Danish study says looking young apparently means a longer life.

Research published online Monday in the British medical journal BMJ suggests that people who look younger than their years also live longer.

A huge part of marketing food is obtaining shelf space. Big corporations have been known to actually pay to have their products displayed by grocers at the right height and in a large enough amount to suggest huge consumer demand. Coke and Pepsi have gone to the mattresses several times over shelf space wars.

What I'm going to suggest is only logical since we are talking about a limited resource. (I have an economic degree and will use it to justify my premise if needed. You are warned.)

We have posted over twenty stories in the last twenty four hours.

You need a large pot, preferably one with a metal rack for the inside or one that will fit a metal rack you have inside it. I've done this without the metal rack but it's more controllable with one.

Ingredients: one can of sweetened condensed milk, unopened. Eagle is a common US brand name. Don't open the can, just remove the label.

Put the unopened, labelless can on the rack inside the large pot. Fill with water to a level two inches or more above the level of the top of the can. Add a pinch of salt to the water.

Perhaps it's not surprising that we employ euphemisms for things that embarrass us.

How many different terms can you think of for ‘vagina’?

The following article has nearly 50, including a few that would surprise Peter Mark Roget.

The final taboo

Pussy Synonyms

This is rather confused, but that's because I'm thoroughly confused and trying to understand what's going on.

So i haven't wrote a iota about anything those last days. At least not on my stories here, and very little on those other story's I, stupidly enough, promised to finish elsewhere. A promise made?

But those story are becoming sooo big (It's definitely the stories fault, not mine. They just don't want to finish. Yep, I think they are 'fighting back'?). And as I only use two fingers writing I'm expecting them to soon enough just be stubs of their former existence, the fingers that is, well maybe the stories too? If I don't continue writing them that is.

Edwardian ITC

Georgia

For those of you who don't know, Sephrena went home for the Christmas holidays.

I'm fairly technically minded myself, but I can't work out what's causing this niggling font problem - does anyone have any ideas?

First, (after the break if you're looking at the preview!) an image to illustrate:

The furnace in my mobile home has failed. I'm using electric space heaters to keep warm and they work well enough but they keep tripping the breakers since this is a very old mobile with only 50 amps service. Three space heaters adds up to 36-45 amps. Add computers, lights and refrigerator and I can't run the washing machine without turning something off.

I'm checking into getting the furnace repaired but my handyman is of the opinion that it may cost enough to be worth just replacing it, which would be $1000 to $2000 dollars, a pretty big hit on my budget. More word soon.

Hugs,
Erin

For a while, I was not here, reading, nor commenting, here is why. Tuesday, I lost the internet, cable and phone, Service was restored to the cable Wednesday afternoon, but it tok until recently to restore the internet and phone, but I have to wait until later today to get my old number.

Stanman May Your Light Forever Shine