June Top 10

May is just about over, and that means its Homer's favorite time of month... Time for new music on my Radio.Blog! That's right, my June Top 10, featured in Red Magazine, is here for your listening pleasure. A couple of notes: First, I changed the Top 10 a bit since the list went to Red, moving a couple of tracks around and changing a mix of another. Its my list and I can do what I want. ;) Another thing is that I'm having problems getting track 6 converted to the Radio.Blog format. Keep checking back to see if I've figured it out.

Just a quick favor to ask you guys: I know I can count on Homer to listen to the new stuff, but I'm curious as to who else, if anyone, takes advantage of the Radio.Blog. If you do and don't mind adding a comment, I'd appreciate hearing from you! Thanks!

Hexed

Since my Shannon Doherty post went over so well, I figured I would do a Charmed related followup. One of the episodes involved either a demon or a darklighter that is trying to cause a future whitelighter to commit suicide by giving her extreme bad luck, thereby preventing her from becoming a whitelighter.

So, how does this relate to my life, as opposed to just digging Charmed? I'm glad you asked. Well, Sunday evening, we had DJ Kimberly S from LA spinning at Sky Lounge. I have to say that Kimberly is one of my favorite DJs - her music has a good vibe and she can really get the boys moving. So, what's the connection? Kimberly did a cameo as one of the musical guests that make an appearance at the end of many of the episodes.

But wait, there's more! My main lesbian, Michelle, had a couple of days off, so she decided to come out and hear Kimberly. Michelle is a DJ too, very talented, and knows Kimberly to boot. Everyone was having a good time, Michelle was a good mood and very social... that is, until a speaker fell from the ceiling and hit her square on the back. Fortunately, it didn't hit her in the head or neck, or we might be writing a eulogy. She took a trip to the hospital and while there isn't any life-threatening damage or broken bones, there's got to be some damage to her back and hip, which she's already struggled with. Anyway, these sorts of bizarre, bad luck things always seem to happen to Michelle. It always seems like things can't stay good for too long before the other shoe drops and something mucks it up. Makes you wonder if somewhere there's a darklighter with her in his crosshairs.

D'oh!erty

I don't know if I've mentioned this before on my blog, but let me say it now that I love me some Charmed. The show, about three sisters who are also witches, used to include Shannon Doherty. Shannon was fired from the show after three seasons. Jump back a few years - you might remember Shannon on the 90s favorite, 90210 as Brenda, one of the show's main stars... until she was fired from the show. Well, apparently Shannon has just accomplished the "Power of Three" of a different sort. She was starring in a new UPN comedy called Love, Inc. Well, emphasis on WAS, since news is that, once again, she was fired from the show.

I don't keep to current on things, but from what I've heard, Shannon has always had a reputation as an
überbitch. I guess getting fired from three shows will tend to confirm that. Well, here's to you, Shannon! I loved you in Heathers. The role fit you so well!

On Broken Hearts...

I wanted to address a couple of Jim's comments before I move forward -- first, when I say that I got my ass kicked, I mean that things were emotionally turbulent for me. I didn't mean to imply that anyone I've dated has ever been abusive toward me -- either physically or emotionally.

Second, I'll readily agree that there was some defensiveness there... as one of my friends reminded me, you never really get to know someone until you've been around them for a while. Especially in the dating context, I think the natural instinct is to show your best face and its also difficult to seperate your expectations of someone from who they actually are. As I had mentioned before, I've developed the belief that things happened for a reason. So, after having my heart stomped on a few times, I decided to take a relationship break and take a look at why I was getting involved with guys that weren't particularly good for me.

Ultimately, I came to the realization that I wasn't going into these relationships with a really solid foundation. As my friend also wisely reminded, you have to know what you bring to the table. I can honestly say that its taken me a while to really figure that out... two and a half years in a Masters of Counseling program and more hours than I can count of looking in the dark nooks & crannies of my heart and soul. That's not to say that I'm done with all the areas that need some growth, but I'm in a heck of a lot better place than I was.

Gay Ads

I felt that Adam needed to be a little more gay, so when my subscription to Instinct Magazine came up for renewal and they offered a free gift subscription, I knew that Adam was the perfect recipient. We were talking last night and he mentioned the plethora of ads with muscled guys in them trying to sell him stuff. Some of the worst offenders were the beer ads. Of course, beer ads generally appeal to the lowest common denominator and basically imply that somehow drinking beer will make you sexy and fun. So we figured, why don't they just come out and just make explicit what they've been implying for years? So, I figured I'd give a shot at what that ad might look like...

Interlude

Hot guy with nice abs.
Originally uploaded by andymatic.

I haven't had any beefcake on the blog for a bit, so here's a little just to add a little variety to things.

On Love...

Ok, I guess that since I brought it up, I better say something.

Before I came out, I figured love would be pretty straightforward -- you meet someone nice, you like him, he likes you, you get together, fall in love and there you go. Of course, life is rarely that simple.

I had met a couple of guys that I had liked and gone through the whole infatuation thing. You meet someone new, you like each other, you figure that maybe this is the one you've been waiting for and eventually you find out that they're actually another person as opposed to the model of perfection you had drawn up in your head. I've known people who have had lasting (if not necessarily satisfying) relationships develop from that. In my case, it just ended up with me getting my ass kicked.

Now I could sit here and bitch and moan about the guys and say that they were horrible and I was really unlucky and woe is me for having people that didn't treat me the way I deserved to be treated. I'm sure I did some of that, but most of the time I like to think that things happen for a reason.

And so, after getting knocked around a good bit at the front end of my dating career, I decided to put the kaibosh on dating and wait to find someone that really tripped my trigger. Well, you know what they say -- be careful what you ask for...

Can't Understand

for once everything is quiet
the stillness should bring relief
but I can't understand
why my thoughts drift back to you
or why time hasn't quieted
the aching in my heart
that comes everytime I close my eyes
and see you standing there

The Other Half

In one of the comments on a my last post, someone implied that maybe my "straight" side could use a little nurturing after an ultra gay weekend in Palm Springs. (Trust me, in my book, it didn't come anywhere near being my gayest weekend ever...)

Anyway, in that spirit, I decided to forgo heading to Las Vegas to visit a friend and hear one of my FAVORITE DJs play at Krave in favor of attending a BBQ for my niece's first birthday. Yes, we were in prime breeder mode - we ate grilled meat; we drank beer. While I was the only single person of marrying age, I still felt comfortable enough to comment on what would be an inappropriate gift to give a girlfriend/wife. They moved the big screen TV into the back yard so people could watch boxing. I listened to my brother and his friend throw around the idea of hiring strippers for their 20th year high school reunion. I stayed by the TV as the women watched my sister-in-law opened my niece's gifts. (I gave her the Bilingual Elmo doll and a matching Elmo card... yeah, that's really gay.)

All in all, I stayed for a couple of hours... actually a tad more. At that point, it required visits to three gay bars (Roscoe's, Amsterdam, and Padlock) and making out with a really hot guy visiting from Chicago for me to restore my gay equilibrium. The nice part, aside from making out with a hot guy from Chicago, is that I ended up running into several friends that I hadn't seen in quite a while. Its great to have people around who are glad to see you. Its nice to be missed.

The more I think about it, the more I think that my visit to Breederville was exactly what I needed to get my slumping social life back on track -- kinda like pulling back the catapult before it launches you forward. Hopefully, I'll have enough momentum so I don't have to watch boxing again for a while.

Mount Everest

I'm not really into swiping too many ideas from other bloggers - I figure that if you really want to read their stuff, you're better off reading them rather than me trying to imitate them. That being said, I have a story that I just couldn't resist.

I'm not the type that has any particular aversion to bugs of any sort. I'm not particularly fond of them, but they don't freak me out. Nonetheless I think Adam would be able to appreciate this experience.

I have one of those rechargable electric toothbrushes - it sits on a charger on the bathroom counter. I went into the bathroom yesterday evening, flipped on the lights, only to notice that a giant, fat roach had apparently scaled my toothbrush and was perched atop it as if it were Mount Everest. I distinctly remember seeing that it had planted a little roach flag on top and was yodeling, "RICOLA!". Needless to say, I was rather pertubed, seeing as I usually use that toothbrush to clean my teeth, rather than to infest them with disgusting roach germs. At the same time, now that I think about it, I'm glad I came across the thing so at least I know. Anyway, once I discovered our intrepid explorer, I was able to grab some toilet paper, capture it and made it walk the plank. As it swirled around and around, slowly awaiting its final journey to visit Davey Jones's locker, I think I heard it exclaim that it had no regrets, since it finally was able to scale Everest.


An aside -- I was able to disinfect the base and replace the brush, FYI.

Monkeying Around

News flash out of Romania...

"A Romanian traffic cop has been demoted after he fined a driver for 'having a face like a moron and being a big monkey'".

I suppose I could make some suggestions as to who might want to avoid Romania, but I'll let you all fill in the blanks.

Thanks to Raw Story and Ananova for the news!

A Very Tiki Evening...

Like Adam, I was going to wait to blog until I got back, but since he's already described his view of last night's events, I figured I needed to offer my side of things. Let me preface this by saying that this has been a very good trip so far - Adam and I get along very well and its been great to see Jonny again.

After sushi and drinks for dinner, we headed to the Tiki Oasis party. Upon entry, it was obvious that it wasn't my usual fare of super gay events. The crowd was... eclectic, to be sure. Friday night was "pirate night" so there were a lot of people around going "Arrrrrrrrrrrg!" and several who actually dressed up. Most notably, there was a hot guy in pleather pants that knew how to shake his ass. Unfortunately, he was the only hot guy and I'm pretty sure he was straight, much to my dismay.

Anyway, back to the party. I can honestly say, it was like nothing else I have ever experienced. With the tiki theme and unique music, it was like being trapped in an episode of SpongeBob. Needless to say, I required large amounts of alcohol in order to deal with such an environment. I was ready to leave pretty early in the evening, but Adam and Jon were having a good time, so I decided to suck it up and try to make the best of it. Yes, another beer was in order.

Unfortunately, the large quantities of alcohol caught up with me. Not on the order of vomiting in the bathtub ala Adam at his housewarming party, but it did put me in a VERY sour mood. After spending a good period of time on a lounge chair being drunk, I finally decided that I needed to get out immediately. After bidding Adam a farewell, I figured I would catch a cab back to the hotel.

I wasn't able to get a cab so I ended up hoofing it back. As I neared the hotel, I passed a large, buffed out guy... using the universal cruising code, I kept walking, counted to three and looked back... He looked back at me... one thing lead to another and I invited him back to the hotel. Long story short, he was visiting from Italy, having been in San Diego and making his way back to Las Vegas. After the bizarro evening I had been having, it was a gift from the Universe I could not pass up.

On the way up to the room, I passed Adam -- I didn't think he was going to be home so soon. Fortunately, he got the picture and gave us some time to... uh... enjoy each others' company. Apparently, Adam then had an interesting encounter of his own.

Needless to say, this was not really on my agenda when I came out of here and not usually my style, but sometimes the fish just jumps into the boat. What are you gonna do, throw it back?

One for the road...

Adam and I head off for Palm Springs this afternoon. I doubt I'll have a chance to blog before I leave, so in my infinite generosity, I decided to give you guys one for the road. Strange, this guy is much more ripped up than the last guy I put up, but he doesn't have that intangible quality the other one does that just puts my hormones on overdrive. Don't get me wrong, I'd sleep with this guy without giving it a second thought, but he doesn't make all a-twitter quite like the other one does. Maybe if he was facing the camera and giving a killer smile... who knows? Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the weekend! I'll update you all when I get back.

Thanks go out to Adam for the pic.

Marc's Midweek Beef Haiku

Greetings to new beef
Where in Phoenix do you hide?
Your sneer turns me on

Eye Candy

Its been suggested that I've bought into the smooth, shaven, stereotypical image of gay beauty. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am more than happy to celebrate hot, hairy studs when I'm able to find them. This fine specimen happened to be on Gay.com this evening. He's got a little bit of a sneer going, ala Jonny. I'm not necessarily a huge fan of piercings, but it looks VERY hot on him. All in all, someone I would undoubtedly sleep with, given the opportunity. Some guys have a cute, lovable look to them while, for me, this guy gives me the "let's get dirty and have fun" kinda vibe. A rare few can manage to combine the incredibly sexy and lovable "I want to wrap my arms around him and love him" kind of vibe. The best example I can give you? Scott of Wicked Man fame. That being the case, there's definitely something to be said about a guy who just exudes sex. He's definitely got my stamp of approval!

Countdown...

I have to say that its been quite a while since I've had a vacation. To be exact, my last chance to get out of town was the end of July for San Diego Pride. Much too long of a time, in my opinion. Fortunately, help is right around the corner! I'm heading to Palm Springs on Thursday with the illustrious Adam to visit Jonny just in time for Tiki Oasis V. This should be an interesting trip for several reasons - 1) My first chance to spend extended time with Adam. A very good thing! 2) I'm looking forward to seeing Jon in his native habitat. 3) A chance to actually take a look around Palm Springs. I've only been a couple times, both for the White Party. I know, the mention of it makes Jonny cringe, but I've enjoyed it when I've gone. Still, it will be nice to visit on a normal weekend. 4) My first big HET-rosexual party. Well, I don't know how big it is, but that's beside the point. I'm curious to see how the music is. Most of the straight DJs I've heard are abysmally bad, so I'm hoping they prove me wrong.

In any event, I am looking forward to a mighty fun weekend. The added bonus will be a mercifully short work week. Sounds like a win/win situation to me!

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FYI for Homer and anyone who actually listens to my RadioBlog... My May Top-10 is now available!