There are some people that the press like to pick on and not just the gay press, but the press in general. And some people, the press just doesn't care about at all.
I don't listen to music when I write, but I do turn on appropriate music when I read portions of my manuscripts back to myself - kind of like adding a soundtrack to help shape mood.
Land and sea, weakness and decline are great separators, but death is the great divorcer for ever.