Originally aired at 9am today, for UK audiences only it's also available on iPlayer for the next week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007vrr0

The Choice is a series of 1/2 hour programmes on Radio 4, featuring people who have made life-altering decisions and exploring the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences. Previous episodes have featured a chap who killed his abusive father; a woman who's adopted 9 children with special needs (most with Down's Syndrome) and a whistleblower. Today's featured Miranda Ponsonby.

since a young boy transformed at a party into a little girl , i have never lost the love or need to dress as the sissy that i was mant to be i only wish that i ahd realized earlier in life thayt i could and should dress and allow my fem side to live , as the years go by i am now starting to live my dream more all the time does any one ealse have a like felling and understanding i hope so love penny

Addenda - Please forgive me for failing to include this; I was crying, as we often do, while I was writing it. My mother was abused as a child, and spent much of her life an angry, almost bitter woman. Her own father walked up to her and two of her four siblings when she was about eleven or twelve and said to them, "You are not my children." She married my dad after a period of rebellion, I suppose.

I am within a week of the completion of this part of the story. This will end book one. I will post it after it is edited.

I need a rest with this story. I think there will be more but the story is dragging long, if you know what I mean.

Paula

There is a new Coke Zero commercial that spoofs an old Cke commercial.

In the original, a boy hands a coke to Meam Joe Greene who after drinking it, gives the boy his jersey.

In the spoof, the hair crazy player from the Head & Shoulders commercial gets a Coke Zero, but Coke officials try to intervene.

It's a fun commercial

Okay, it's been too long.

I know.

I'm about two thirds through the latest and perhaps last chapter of Witch's Tarot, which I hope to have finished fairly soon, but I am at one of those points that needs to be right or the whole thing will fall apart. So it's a case of taking it step by step to ensure all the 'i's' are dotted and the 't's' are crossed.

My intention is to provide a feature-length bumper episode here that will possibly round everything off, so those interested, please be patient, I'll get there.

I just thought I would let all of you know that my stories: "A Prayer Answered" and "The House Fire" have been edited and are now available here.

A special thanks go out to Michelle B. and Stanman for there efforts in editing these for me. I thank them will all my heart.

I am currently working on "The House Fire CH 2."

My hero Super Dave is back. He will have a Spike-tacular stunt show November 17. Here is a link to the show.

http://www.spike.com/show/34318

Paula

But, then, I guess it's not supposed to be, is it?

I've been thinking about all the hard work and time that Erin and Sephrena put in on this site, as well as just what the purpose is of our little BigCloset. I say "our" with deliberation. The people who read and write here may not own this site, but it is a home of sorts for us. It is a place that we may come to express a side of ourselves that many in the greater community do not want to hear about. It is a refuge and a bastion, a source of respite and strength.

Or at least it should be.

Exactly 404 years ago, a soldier and explosives expert attempted one of the most audacious terrorist plots ever.

His plan was to destroy the UK's House of Lords during State Opening, during which the building would contain the entire parliament and the King. As we all know, various events conspired to disrupt the plan and arrest Guy before he lit the fuse.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8 / CNS) - The man who founded Comic-Con has died. Shel Dorf died Tuesday at Sharp Hospital after a long illness.
Dorf started the San Diego Comic-Con in 1970 at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego, after moving to San Diego from Detroit.

He spent the next 15 years as a leader of the annual convention, which promotes comics and related popular art forms, including sci-fi movies and animated TV shows.

Dorf was 76 and is survived by his brother. Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Home of Peace cemetery located at 3668 Imperial Avenue.

This clip from Australia shows a very exceptional child and her equally amazing family. Thanks to Gabi for spotting it.
I hope the link works.

http://www.sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/858237/my-sec...

When I write a story, I generally have a definite idea of what my characters look like in my head. I know what color their hair is, what their skin tone is, any little scars they might have that identify them, the way they quirk their lips when they smile, and so on and so forth. However, I also know that what I see as my character's appearance isn't always what others imagine.

To ALL Persons that enter BCTS:
Think before your fingers do the typing.

Do unto others as you would want others do unto you.

If that would be a rule then the waters here would be smooth sailing.

Joanne

ps
"What is hateful to oneself should not be done to one's neighbor...." .
rami

...please remember that I do indeed have a real life and do not sit here 24/7. I'm missing my morning class at college today because of another blow-up which I could not deal with because I was asleep. I'm going to be gone the rest of the morning and probably most of the afternoon because my friend is opening his new bookstore today.

Oh, and I will be working at that bookstore Thur and Fri afternoons at least through Christmas. Besides my piano classes and sleeping and going out for dinner now and then.

I have been slow with finishing this up, I know. But I've been fighting pneumonia over the past few weeks, to the point of spending a week in the hospital then spending the next week going nuts because I couldn't go anywhere or do anything in spite of being home then. I'm still recovering, getting stronger as the days go by, and not sleeping quite as much, plus I can breathe without oxygen now (a big plus, trust me.) So I will get to the finale of Maiden, just as soon as I feel up to actually writing again.

Hi everyone,

I've not been around for a while, apart from dropping in from time to time and seeing what's up.

I've been catching up on my reading as I just haven't felt like writing much.

As some of you may know, I've not been well. Actually, that's not quite accurate, as I felt fine, but I discovered a lump which turned out to be an infected lymph node.

it's sweeeeeeeet

Times Online

Out of curiosity, I've done a quick count of the stuff I have posted on various sites. It's quite an indictment of how much time I must have given to playing with words, characters and situations.

Counting episodes as individual items, which are quite variable in length - bonkers, snafu and Gabysodes are longer than bike episodes - but they take me longer to write.

The grand total is 988 of which 848 appear on this site. Of those 11 are complete works or short stories and one is a poem, another is a drabble.

I obviously spend far too much time on the internet.

Angharad

Last night marked the traditional Celt New Year's Eve. So that they might entice new adherants to the 'new faith', early Christina disciples would incorporate Pagan holidays into the religious calendar and give them 'new names'.

Last evening also marked the first anniversary of the departure of the two of the three closest and most beloved souls in my meager life.

Could anyone in their right mind have imagined this lasting so long? Does anyone in their right mind actually read it? We all know the author is barmy - talks to cats and gets sensible replies! Goes into raptures over dormice and bicycles -need I say more?

No, I have not stopped reading the stories being posted, here.

I have been busy with Kelly's Journey, and penning a story for the November contest.

Yes, it is a lot like Kelly's Journey. I write best in that style, even though I do pen a mean horror story.

After I have caught up on my many stories, I will return to being the avid reader, and commenter that I am.

And the lameness continues. Sorry folks, but I'm not going to be able to get Venus Cursed! up today, either. I haven't been sleeping well lately and it's really screwing up my ability to write anything. I took my laptop to bed with me on the off chance I could finish the chapter (it's half done, but that's two days works!), but it's not happening. So once I get this posted I'm off to sleep. Hopefully I'll sleep better than I have been and will be able to get lots of writing done tomorrow. Cross your fingers!

Do you know how hard it is to write a story that is tied to, and mirrors at the time, your emotional state, only to have your own life quickly and unbelievably changed around?

I literally don't have the same feelings now, that I did when I started Accidental Magic. Trying to maintain my existence in the real world has done a number on my creative juices and sent them in off in other directions. I spend a great deal of my time just re-reading my own story to remember why my characters were feeling the way they did.

I have once again been accused of negativity by Sephrena.

Worse, I have been accused of disrespecting those who served in the war.

Wow!

There is still a bit of time to save off your fav sites on geocities if you hurry and are lucky. I just checked some I had bookmarked. 8 out of 10 are gone, including some of the best, but many are still visible. I guess yahoo is zapping them one at a time instead of just pulling a plug. Good luck.

Last year I was very proud when the city of Gainesville approved an ordinance that allows transgender persons to use the public restroom of the gender they identify with. Of course this measure was immediately and quite vehemently attacked, and a petition drive was launched to amend it, ostensibly to prevent men from entering a ladies room and then claim they were transgender if they got caught, despite the fact that the law already has a provision to deal with this.

Andrea's recent blog post has prompted me to describe some of my own early life. It's become apparent to me that many here suffer from, or have suffered from, terrible past experiences, and this has shaped who they have become. I am no different; however, my problem is that I can't remember.

My intent is to show that we all share common ground even though we may be as different as - a rail of dresses in a charity shop.

It is on Starz. It fits, too as a T.G. movie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerophilia

It is near 11PM already, and I am still online here on Topshelf. And this is despite the fact that my internet connection at home is kaput at the moment (chalk it up to a drunk driver, a very old Ford and old phone poles. Looong story), that I have an early meeting tomorrow and I need to get some shuteye, and I haven't written my monthly report yet...

And here I am at a coffee place around the corner, having a verrry large caramel frappe and connecting to Topshelf via their wifi connection. (To be fair, though, it's a pretty good caramel frappe, and the biscotti ain't bad.)

He and I used to talk a couple times a month, but I have not seen him lately. Anyone seen him?

Khadijah Gwen

Just to let you know that I have just sent the latest chapter of Changes to Gabi to have a look at and dissect.

It is a double chapter - that is why it's a wee bit late - and concerns itself with Sarah's story.

I hope that you will like it.

Hugs
Sue

When I posted Maggie the Kitten's Kitten Tail', I did an experiment.

I deliberately posted my story about her, right behind it. I even used her name in the title, as I had done when I originally wrote it for her.

Result?

At this moment, her story has 514 reads, mine has just 383.
And I'm not upset, because she has written a lot more quality stories than I have, and probably always will be able to do so. Her work is deserving of catching the eye of her fans just because she wrote it.

Holly

The level of quality of the text is quite plain; stories drop like rain from a throng of gifted writers upon BC. The process is twice blessed: to those who read these gifted words and also to the keyboard pounding wretches who enrich their own lives through their hair-pulling efforts.

BC has enjoyed talented writers for as long as it has been in existence. Some who post today have been here for the duration, many others have come and gone, but never in the time that I have been part of this site have there been such a huge number of outstanding writers producing so much good literature.

Subj: In the US, Hope for Victims of Genital Mutilation

As my friend Michelle pointed out when she referred this article to me "Stanley Biber would be proud of her"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/218692

Sorry for my lameness, but I'm not going to get VC up today. I've got a good start on it, but I just can't keep my eyes open to finish it tonight. Sorry!

Saless

Just came back from counseling and found out by my counselor that OHIP (Ontario health insurance plan) only covers transition if you go through a specific trans-clinic. They make you go through RLT for 2 years before you can even have hormone therapy. Yet they have a 90% decline rate. They make you go through 4 years of HRT before the Srs and still can decline you.

If you dont go through the clinic, you can have it all sooner however its more expensive. Either or however Hormones come out of own wallet/purse.

I was really bored and tripped across this site.

http://plot.kitt.net/

Random Movie Plot Generator (See some of the things it pulls up, below.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Sapphire

He was a flame-haired father of 3, who had a a love of Autumn and shoulders of concrete. She was a lovely female soccer star wannabe who was looking for the holy grail and hated it. Together they traveled to another world. Fighting the devil and loving each other.

*I wonder if Sapphire knew this about herself?*

He was She

An Elf in Her Bra has been in Hatbox for about a year and is now eligible for release to the general public.

During the last twelve months I have been inundated with many requests regarding my future intentions for it. Many are those who many have implored, begged, indeed offered financial incentives, in a vain attempt to influence me.

In spite of all such, and ignoring all threats, I have decided to indeed release it in the Public Domain here at Hallowe'en. So there!

I was wondering if anyone heard about the dress code Moorehouse is instituting. There's the typical no baggy pants, doo rags and so on but as part of this list wearing Women's Clothing is banned.
Gah can you be so closeminded?! You educated MLK and you're being so intolerant here! X-( It's a piece of clothing you phobic people!

Has anyone ever heard of this story? It was about a kid that crashed his bike in the woods and found an old Celtic ring that was slowly turning him into a girl. It has vanished from my collection.

Here I go agine, somewhat emboldened by Angela Rasch. I posted a story five days ago. The first two days 500+ hits, 50 votes and half a dozen comments. OK, not a stellar success. I can live with that, but for the last three days, 300+ hits and virtually NO votes and not a single comment.

I wish that someone would tell me if I'm wasting my time posting here, that I don't gibe with the BC vibe, that there's little interest in what I post, that I'm a lousy writer, anything but this deafening silence. Indifference; disapproval??

I will be away next Saturday afternoon and evening to stay with my daughter for the night. Then on Sunday morning, I am going looking for dormice on a nature reserve in Darkest Wales. I'm hoping I might get a couple of usable photos. It will also give me a chance to test my new car - well new to me, a Renault Megane 1.9 dci (turbo diesel for the uninitiated). Consequently, I won't promise to post an episode of Bike on Saturday.

Angharad.

How is it in Boston for T folk?

Astonishingly, I have been asked to accompany a young college couple to Boston while they finish work on their respective Masters Degrees. My friend jokes about needing her English Nanny to help her care for her child to be born in June or July. If this seems a little sublime to you, then imagine what I am thinking. I worry about really having gone round the bend. I have asked them thrice over to think about this matter very seriously as it would hurt me greatly should they decide other wise at the last minute; even had a bit of tears over it. GAH!