Some Thoughts on IBLD…

….	Date: December 20, 2018 01) International BOYLOVE DAY Andrew13 is right… Girl-Lovers did the smart thing for Alice Day, in picking one specific date and sticking with that… …But, we are BoyLovers…so, we had to dump on layer after layer of complexity…to the point of ludicrousy… Speaking as one of the few people to have and maintain an IBLD website…it’s enough of a chore, just having to track down the yearly solstice dates…without having to figure out what Saturday is supposed to go along with it…or whether or not the BoyLove community has figured out how to mash in yet another layer of variation on the rules… I primarily went back to recognizing IBLD on the solstices, because I got fed up with the fact that they wouldn’t just leave it alone, instead of forcing it to bounce all over the place… Some thoughts I’ve had in recent times: 1) I don’t like this idea quite so much…but I’ve thought it might be interesting to call it the International BoyLove Festival…starting on the solstice, and ending on the following Saturday…I mean, it’s a great idea [and actually, I love the concept]…but, lets be real…are we really going to fill several days a year with…what?…Just keeping up with one day can be too much work. 2) It’s the 20 year anniversary of IBLD…which means this is a big one…I’d like to say I have a video to commemorate it done…but I’ve only got the barest of notions, on what to do for it…I’ve barely broken ground…and this holiday season is thrashing the hell out of me…It’s not likely to be done by the 21st…Maybe I’ll aim for summer this time…But it feels wrong, not to have it out on the true 20 year anniversary. Been thinking about it and trying to develop something for at least a year. My health has really been going south the last couple of years…and it’s hard for me to do these kinds of projects anymore…and it frustrates the hell out of me. 3) Again…20 years it’s been…can we finally come up with distinguishing titles, to differentiate the two [summer and winter] observations? Maybe each can have it’s own theme?…A lot of us do observe both…It would be nice if each one had it’s own focus…We can have as many holidays as we want…We could have one a month, if we wanted…but they should have their own meaning…We shouldn’t be calling four different days a year IBLD…It’s ridiculous… …This day of observance has gone through so many changes in two decades, it’s almost a parody…and it needs better structure…provided anybody is taking it seriously, that is. I don’t like the idea of doing anything unilaterally with IBLD…but if the broader community doesn’t do it…then I am going to slap some sort of name onto the summer and winter solstice…even if it only applies to my own website…Because it’s a great idea, and it distinguishes them. …Think I’ll call one Bob…and the other Sue… …Just kidding about that…I have a vague idea or two…not sure they’re good enough…or we could call one Zeus…and the other one Ganymede…I suppose…That’s kind of goofy, too…or maybe it’s good… …I’m not usually up this late anymore [It was past 6 AM when I wrote this]…and I’m really feeling light headed…and hoping this post isn’t coming off too ornery…It wasn’t meant to be… I’m about ready to observe the classic and original IBLD…and it feels like everything is just bottlenecking on me. Reading this thread…it’s like a thing or two was taken straight out of my own thoughts, especially over the last few weeks. It seems like everybody just does whatever they want…and there is no real “day”, anymore…which kind of kills the whole idea behind it. Maybe it’s time for a reboot of IBLD, so we can all get back on the same page?…reintroduce simplicity into IBLD? At this point…I would not even care if it was a radical reboot, abandoning the solstices, and picking a neutral time of year…in the spring or fall…[away from major holidays]… …I love the fall…so long as there’s a soft landing… 😉 Good night!	….

Christmas Through the Ages…

….	Date: December 20, 2018 01) Christmas Through the Ages	….

Sex abuse scandal-plagued Boy Scouts may declare bankruptcy…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Sex abuse scandal-plagued Boy Scouts may declare bankruptcy

Thanks to feinmann0!

“Sex abuse scandal-plagued Boy Scouts may declare bankruptcy

The Boy Scouts of America are planning to file for bankruptcy, cutting their losses after years of declining membership numbers and a raft of sex abuse lawsuits, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Boy Scouts management has reportedly hired law firm Sidley Austin to plan a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which would pause pending litigation and give the cash-strapped organization some breathing room.

Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh said in a statement that they were ‘working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that local and national programming of the Boy Scouts of America continues uninterrupted.’

The Boy Scouts have been experiencing an identity crisis recently, rebranding themselves as simply ‘Scouts BSA’ and flinging open their doors to girls – perhaps not the best idea when they are also fielding dozens of sex abuse lawsuits. Critics have slammed the move for bowing to the dictates of Political Correctness, particularly because it follows the Scouts’ decision to accept transgender scouts last year and openly homosexual members not long before.

Several sex abuse lawsuits are pending against the Boy Scouts, including one by four former scouts who accuse the group of failing to run background checks on scoutmasters despite knowing it is a “pedophile magnet” and allege they were repeatedly molested by a Stamford scoutmaster during the two years they participated in the 1970s. Another suit, filed last week, alleges two Catholic priests who were also scout troop leaders sexually abused an Albuquerque man for years in the 1980s.

The Boy Scouts also face a trademark infringement suit from Girl Scouts USA, which has accused them of deliberately attempting to confuse parents and exert a monopoly over the idea of ‘Scouting’. The suit, filed last month, condemns the former Boy Scouts for trying to horn in on the Girl Scouts’ market to shore up their declining enrollment numbers.

And those numbers are definitely declining. The Boy Scouts have lost two-thirds of their numbers since the 1970s, with a full 30 percent drop since 2000. Even the Mormon Church, for whom scouting is a beloved rite of passage, have pulled some 610,000 kids out of the program since last year, starting their own version.”

What to say?…

Yes…religious organizations have their own version of “scouts”…

I officially joined Awana when I was about ten years old…and briefly discuss the experience in this post.

It did not last long…as the church abandoned that program, only a matter of weeks later…I never officially got anything…no uniform…anything…no camping trips…just, nothing…other than the experience of a small handful of glorified classroom meetings…goofing off in the gym…

…It functioned as a more fun replacement for the Wednesday night church service…for about a month…six weeks, at most…then it was over…

What is Awana?

Awana Website

I don’t want to be too brutal with it…but, Awana is a sort of Scouts, with heavy fundamentalist Christian indoctrination…which fit right in, with the church we were connected too…so, for us kids, it was just a continuation of the world this church had cocooned us in…It didn’t seem strange at all, at the time.

I recall being disappointed at the time…because this was my chance to do scouting…My older brothers got a chance to do the original scouting…but this was my first taste of it.

It would not be till several years later, that I got a chance to go to real Boy Scouts meetings…

…I was living with extended family, including my cousins…two of whom were boys…and they really talked up the Scouts, getting me interested in it…so, I agreed to start attending the meetings…No more than three meetings in, the eldest decided he was quitting the Scouts…and the younger followed right along with his lead…Which left me in a mighty awkward spot…Because they were there, kind of easing me into the group…and now my options were to stop going, or go alone…

…I hadn’t really become attached to the troop, yet…was still feeling really foreign, there…I hadn’t actually decided I wanted to join…so…the issue just kind of dropped, and never came up again…

…Maybe I should have kept going…I don’t know.

Just some “Scouting” related memories from my life…Sorry I don’t have a whole lot to say about the actual news story…I mean…it is a shame, and everything…I’m glad they accepted homosexuals…I think, broadening to girls [or trans boys] was a lot more of a shaky move…and I think the Girl Scouts law suit is ridiculous…

…The sex scandals?…Maybe there were some predatory people, sometimes in charge of a troop…But I always thought that’s where a lot of the actual boys fooled around with each other…on the camping trips.

Trump’s ‘Fixer’ Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Trump’s ‘Fixer’ Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison

---

Betsy DeVos Caught In Massive Corruption Scandal…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Betsy DeVos Caught In Massive Corruption Scandal

---

“Betsy DeVos just proved she is absolute scum.

A Trump administration school safety panel hardly touched on the role of guns in deadly school shootings in its wrap-up Tuesday.

Instead, the panel took a far less confrontational approach by sidestepping President Donald Trump’s call for trained teachers to carry guns and avoiding recommendations on age restrictions for the purchase of guns.

Trump created the school safety commission and asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to chair it following the February shooting that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Trump, after the shooting, said teachers “adept at firearms” could end school attacks and thwart them altogether, because “cowards” wouldn’t go into well-guarded schools to commit shootings.

Citation:
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/18/trump-school-safety-panel-1037968“

Trump Gets BUSTED…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Trump Gets BUSTED

---

“President Donald Trump’s personal charitable foundation has agreed to dissolve under judicial supervision amid an ongoing lawsuit concerning its finances, according to a document filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court by the New York state Attorney General’s office.

The dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation resolves one element of the attorney general’s civil lawsuit against the foundation, which includes claims that the President and his three eldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric — violated campaign-finance laws and abused its tax-exempt status. Rather than operating it as a genuine charity, the lawsuit alleges, they instead allowed it to be used “as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.

Citation:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/18/politics/trump-foundation-dissolve/index.html“

Is It Time For A ‘Gamers Union’?…

….	Date: December 19, 2018 01) AAA Games Company Crash Isn’t Coming….It’s Already Here! “I have been thinking about the next big games crash and how it seems like it’s right around the corner but then I realized it’s already happening” This is probably going to sound crazy, but… …I wonder about the possibility…of a “gamers union”…”nonprofit” type of company…One which is “owned” by masses of gamers, as opposed to financial profiteers looking to exploit gamers. It probably would be very difficult to make work…It might fall apart fast… …But just imagine…hundreds of thousands of gamers…maybe a million of them…tossing a few bucks a month into these companies…and instead of “dividends to stock holders”…the “dividends” would be actual games produced, by the company which was built by and for the gaming community. If nothing more…this is a revolutionary concept. I suppose…it’s like a spin on “kickstarter games”…but you start out with a goal oriented, organized body of gamers…with a combined capital that allows them to employ and direct professionals in the game industry…They get paid…They produce…They release…They refine…They are solely accountable to the gamming community…And the gamers get all games produced by the company. Incidentally…I also have a ton of games I’ve never played…mostly RPGs…I once collected them. I have an original cartridge of Earthbound, which I’ve barely even played…There’s a whole slew of games, which I need to play…it would take me years to get through them all. I barely buy video games, anymore…and with Steam constantly having lots of deep sale options…I just don’t see any incentive, in buying games upon release…especially given the tendency of companies to release unfinished games. …Why not just wait, giving the company chance to work out the problems?…and chancing to score a deep discount in price? Note: I had forgotten about thequartering’s campaign against “pedos”…Honestly, I only discovered him in the aftermath of that, where I think he did make one or two brief references to it…but it’s not something I’ve come to primarily know him for… …I knew in the back of my mind, that there was some sort of reason why I was choosing not to share his videos…I just genuinely could not recall what it was. I already put the above post together, and wrote something unique for it…so, it’s getting posted…”icky people with stinky ideas, who cant get along with others”, be damned. …I’ve never considered completely cutting off all dialogue with, and acknowledgement of, “anti pedos” to be a good practice, anyway.	….
…..

Patreon Double Down…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Patreon Double Down

---

“Patreon set the rules and they don’t have to follow them.

Previous videos on the Patreon Purge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ThPdCicEsg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkON93drONQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXRx98gpuRY “

---

Patreon Takes MAJOR Hit After Banning Of Sargon of Akkad:

“Patreon’s Takes MAJOR Hit After Banning Of Sargon of Akkad. Sam Harris, the 13th largest Patreon account, shut down his account abruptly following a statement by Dave Rubin and jordan Peterson over the banning of Carl Benjamin, aka Sargon of Akkad.

Either Patreon are liars or they are grossly incompetent as their platform is rife with racial slurs and hate speech. Yet for some reason they were able to find an obscure reference to shut Sargon Down.

Many people say this was not social justice or feminist activists targeting Sargon, in fact it was the far right. But after Sargon moved to SubStar far left activists got the entire platform effectively shut down harming dozens of unrelated and innocent creators.”

So…Patreon decides to target and deal a massive blow to one of it’s customers…one who is a big personality on the internet, with a considerable following…

…based on a “rule” which factually did not even exist…applied without proper context…abruptly, without warning [and out of the blue]…and they refuse to discuss it with the customer they just royally screwed over…

This is taken straight out of the playbook of online services, where it comes to how they maltreat MAPs…Aside from the fact that it happens to MAPs much sooner, than they would reasonably be able to build a following or an income…this is the status of the MAP, online.

I take no joy in seeing this disgusting, predatory behavior befall anyone […with possible exception, to those sorts who spend their lives forcing this fate on others…poetic justice is beautiful, when they are forced to fall on their own sword…they earned and deserve it…]…but I’m glad this sort of noxious behavior is finally starting to come to a head, in a meaningful way.

These types of predatory business practices, like that being done by Patreon [and countless other online businesses], must be broken…It must be obliterated.

This is a fight which must happen…and all which falls on the “Patreon” side of this war must lose.

If they refuse to be ethical and decent businesses, treating everyone by equal standards…then all businesses like Patreon, need to go down for “the dirt nap”.

It’s time these foul businesses which treat the rest of us like we are not human, run into the cold, hard reality…that this is not okay…this is not acceptable…and there will be serious consequence to them, for behaving in such a destructive, manipulative and inhumane way.

Patreon does not deserve to exist…Businesses which ostracize people who are objectively causing no trouble, do not deserve to exist…Powerful businesses which subjectively manipulate the net total of dialogue and expression on the internet, do not deserve to exist…Indeed…they must not exist…They are a threat to all of us, who exist a slight step or two removed from the politically approved message and behavior, sanctioned by these nameless, faceless, unaccountable “trust and safety” commissions, which seem to be so prevalent these days.

Now they are going after people who are more mainstream, than MAPs…

…I think they’re finally getting to a point, where they have bitten off far more than they can chew…This behavior has begun creating a sort of space…where a lot of us “othered” people share common ground, on a common cause…

Congresswoman: Why Does Trump Show Up When I Google ‘Idiot’?…

Date: December 19, 2018

01) Congresswoman: Why Does Trump Show Up When I Google ‘Idiot’?

---

“Google’s CEO was asked A LOT of ridiculous questions during his hearing.

Search for the term ‘idiot’ on Google and several photographs of President Donald Trump will appear high in the image results.

On Tuesday, the search engine giant’s CEO Sundar Pichai had the task of explaining to members of Congress why that happens during a hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee.

Pichai refuted Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-Calif.) tongue-in-cheek suggestion that it was down to ‘a little man sitting behind the curtain’ who was skewing the results against conservatives — saying the company doesn’t ‘manually intervene’ in searches.

‘We provide search today for any time you type in a keyword. We, as Google, have gone out and crawled and stored copies of billions of their pages in our index, and we take the keyword and match it against the pages and rank them based on over 200 signals,’ Pichai explained.

Citation:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/idiot-donald-trump-google-ceo-sundar-pichai_us_5c10d56de4b0ac53717a0d26“

Penny Marshall…

….	Date: December 19, 2018 01) Actress and director Penny Marshall dies at the age of 75 “She starred in TV’s ‘Laverne and Shirley’ for eight seasons before moving behind the camera to direct seven films.” The tabloids have had Penny “at deaths door”, since at least the late nineties…I’ve done web searches on her every few years, just to see how she was doing…like I’ve done with a few other famous people I’ve watched and loved… …This is a really, really sad death.	….
……..Sub-Blog Archive | OLF Memorial Page