Somebody To Love?

I was chatting with my favorite out-of-town e-hunk, and we got started talking about the single life. I've been single for a good while - I've dated a few people over the past 4 or 5 years ago, but never anything too serious. Part of that is by choice, part of it not -- I'd rather be single than in a bad relationship, and with the couple of guys I really connected with and felt like I would be willing to give it a whirl, things never really aligned in that direction.

That being said, while I'm content with my life right now, I know I'd like to have someone special in my life... at least, I like the idea of it... I guess my ideal relationship is someone who can really touch my heart, and those don't come around every day. This weekend, however, events caused me to take a closer look. Am I really ready to have someone in my life that can affect me in that deep way? Am I prepared to avoid the major screwups I've grown accustomed to making? Can I handle not being in control (which is inevitable when love is involved)?

Ugh, it seems like such a simple question on the surface -- like Jefferson Airplane singing, "Don't you want somebody to love... don't you need somebody to love... wouldn't you love somebody to love... you better find somebody to love..." Maybe the answer is easy, too, but there's so much more to it.

Mr. Sulu Comes Out!

The announcements keep coming! George Takei, the actor who played Mr. Sulu on Star Trek, comes out in the current issue of Frontiers Magazine. Takei and his partner have been together for the past 18 years, but haven't spoken to the press until now. Now, I can't say its a complete surprise that we find out that someone from the original Star Trek was gay, although my money would have been on the late DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard McCoy aka "Bones", after seeing him saunter around in his scarf in the last couple of ST movies. For the record, however, Kelley was straight and married.

Of course, this doesn't even consider the character of Wesley Crusher in ST:TNG, which I have to say was one of the gayest characters in TV history. Once again, for the record, as far as I know, Wil Wheaton is not gay (married with kids, actually), just a self-described geek.

I digress. My point was not to rip on Wil Wheaton or Star Trek. To the contrary, I grew up loving Star Trek and the reality is that it has had an enormous cultural impact. I think that every person that comes out helps us in the road to acceptance in this country and around the world. So, thanks for being willing to step forward, George. Glad you're part of the family.

Major League Action

Looks like the Cheryl Swoopes coming out is having a much bigger effect than I had anticipated. Nothing quite like a little Major League Man-Love.

Congrats, Cheryl!

ESPN The Magazine has just come out with an article where WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes, who plays for the Houston Comets, comes out of the closet. From my experience, life in the closet is painful, but the crazy thing is that for quite a while, the prospect of coming out is more frightening than the pain of being in the closet. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and I can't imagine the added pressure of being in the public eye.

Through it all, Sheryl comments, "My biggest concern is that people are going to look at my homosexuality and say to little girls -- whether they're white, black, Hispanic -- that I can't be their role model anymore." To that I say, you are a role model, now more than ever. Thank you for your strength, courage and willingness to speak your truth. We need more people like you to step forward.

Yoga update...

Its my 4th week at Bikram Yoga in Tempe. Today we had this cute new guy have his first class... Aside from him being cute and being right next to me, watching him struggle through his first class reminded me that I've definitely gotten better over the past few weeks... asides from not getting sick or wanting to bolt out of class because its nasty hot, mainly its little things -- being able to hold a pose a little longer, being able to move my hands in on another... stuff like that. Of course, the other part is that I'm actually enjoying it now... Hopefully that cute guy will be back...

Making Porn Report

As I had mentioned in a previous entry, I went to go see Making Porn last night. "The Space," which is a small alternative theatre, seats only around 50 people. The show was sold out and I ended up running into several people that I knew. That made for a fun and relaxed environment. As I was wating for the theatre to open, I overheard a couple of people say they had seen the show in other cities and that the show wasn't very good. I tried not to get caught up in that but it definitely helped me come into things with very minimal expectations.

Expection #1: See Matthew Rush naked. Check. He's naked a decent bit in the show. I was in the front row, so that made it even better. Even when he's not naked, I couldn't help but stare at his arms. And I didn't realize until now that his eyes are kinda pretty -- hazel-ish, I guess.

Given that my only expectation was met, I can rightfully say that it was worth the price of admission. The scary thing is that the show was actually VERY funny. The acting was about what you'd expect from a show at this level and they played off the crowd very well. There was some updated humor and a few anachronisms... Was Joey Stefano doing porn as early as 81? I don't think so. Anyway, if you're in Phoenix, you have a little over a week to catch this show. Its worth seeing.

God Bless Beef!

In celebration of going to see Making Porn tomorrow night, I decided to post this photographic tribute to hot guys. (This one is a little young to be described as beef, I know... Veal, perhaps?) As I was mentioning to Adam, could the existence of beef be a compelling argument for Intelligent Design?

Yes, there is beauty all around us... Hot guys are merely one of a countless number wonderful things in this fine world of ours. Sometimes you need to just stop and smell the... beef.

Progress

I'll bet that I'm like most people -- I like instant gratification. Unfortunately, when it comes to making meaningful changes in your life, things don't happen overnight. It seems like I've working for the past 5 years or so to bring new things into my life - new job that I love, new place to live, new relationship, etc. Sometimes its quite frustrating because it seems like I've done a lot of work and it doesn't necessarily seem like it has much effect on the surface. Of course, I've come to believe that change often works that way -- a lot of effort goes in before the change finally occurs. In a couple of areas, though, even though I'm not where I'd like to end up, at least I feel like I'm moving in the right direction.

You guys have read my craziness about DJing -- its the type of thing where if I'm going to do it, I want to be great at it. I've had plenty of moments where I've felt I was anything but great. In the past couple of weeks, though I've come to feel like I've really grown into the position and I get better every time I play. I know I'm not going to make everyone happy all the time, but I'm having a better time striking a balance between what I want to play and what the crowd wants to hear. To boot, the owner is very happy and says he's been getting very good feedback. Its nice to have people notice how much you're putting into making things better.

I've also told you about my adventures in yoga. I appreciate the words of advice and encouragement I've received on the subject. I'm only a couple of weeks into it and I realize that I could choose a form of yoga that is less intense, but I decide to stick with where I'm at. That being the case, after only a couple of weeks, I can still recognize that I'm getting better... sure, I'm a long way from being where I want to be, but at least I'm aware that the effort is paying off, little by little.

For those of you who are wondering why I have a picture of Falcon porn star Matthew Rush on the blog, he was at the club on Friday. Its official - his arms are bigger than my head. He's in the play Making Porn that's performing here in Phoenix for the next couple of weeks. I bought my ticket to see the show on Thursday.

ROBBED!

Notre Dame - 31
USC - 28
Pac-10 Refs - 6

GO IRISH! BEAT USC!

Its almost time! Notre Dame vs. USC.

Just for Homer!

Well, I've finally done it... My radio.blog is now updated with my brand spanking new CD that I just finished. Somewhere, Homer is smiling.

Oh no, Dolly!

Dolly Parton just came out with a new album this past week - Those Were The Days. Now, I'm not a big fan of country music, but ever since I was a wee lil homo and saw her in 9 to 5 on the big screen, I've always thought she was one of the coolest women out there. It seems that Dolly's made a jump back into the public eye... or maybe its just that I've noticed that she's more visible these days. Personally, I think that's a good thing - with our age-obssessed culture, especially with the way women get pushed out of the public eye once they hit 40, it seems, I'm glad to see people like Dolly and say, Susan Sarandon, thrive.

That being said, a few months back, I saw a short piece on how Dolly was doing a cameo on the WB's Reba. It freaked me out because it looked like they had brought a bad drag queen on -- Dolly's had so much work done that her mouth now stretches from ear to ear. That kind of grin works for a Cheshire cat, but it looks downright creepy on a human being.

I can only imagine the pressure to look young in show business, so I'm doing my best not to judge, but OH MY GOD! That just looks unnatural. Maybe on her next round of surgery she can get things fixed... or at least get her money back. She's a beautiful woman, in many ways beyond looks and its just hard for me to see her looking so... distorted.

On a more positive note, the new album is great - a collection of classic songs from the 60s and 70s. At the moment I'm listening to her jam to "Me and Bobby McGee." Right on.

A Rare Gift!

Ok, I am one of those odd homosexuals that actually enjoys sports. I may not be able to play them, but I enjoy watching them... and some of the athletes are f'in HOT. Anyway, I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but since the Diamondbacks started playing, I have a moderate level of interest. In the short time the D'Backs have been in existence, I have learned to hate the Yankees, much the same way I hate the Cowboys and Red Wings. Its not just that their teams are successful and my teams are less so, but its also that their fans are insufferable.

I took particular pleasure in my D'Backs winning their first World Series against the Yankees in 2001, and in dramatic fashion, at that. When the Red Sox finally won the World Series last season, coming from behind to beat the Yankees in the ALCS, I figured, what better poke in the eye to the Yankees than for the Red Sox to win the Series... Especially Randy Johnson forced a trade to New York. Ugh. What a fool I was.

Flash forward to today -- with that annoying Jimmy Fallon movie to boot, I've learned that the Red Sox fans are as insufferable as the Yankees fans... So, a pox on both their houses... and Randy Johnson's too. And this postseason has delivered -- both the Yankees and Red Sox lose in the first round. A rare gift for the sporting world to enjoy.

Relax!

I know I haven't been blogging much this past week - basically, the project I was working on finished up a week from last Friday and I was enjoying having time off. Aside from round two of yoga, on Friday (I'm sticking with it, despite the fact that its F'in hot in that studio), I haven't done a whole lot besides sleep, eat, and play Fable - The Lost Chapters. Of course, there's always DJing on Fri & Sat nights... for those of you who are curious, things are going much, much better. I think I've settled in and I'm getting much better... and there are some hot guys to watch on the dance floor.

Anyway, a week off was nice, but it looks like my relaxation time is over. AmEx has called back and wants me back for another 6-8 weeks. That's a good thing.

Yoga Kicked My Ass

I had been mulling it over for a while... While my gym membership is still active, my motivation level has been... non-existent. I know, the lure of sweaty beeves should be enough, but for some reason, it hasn't been. So, I considered yoga as something different that would be a good change for me. After kicking the idea around, I finally decided that today was the day that I finally started.

So, I made the short drive to the Tempe Bikram's Yoga. I checked in and found out that they had a deal for first timers - $30 for 30 days. Good deal, I said. Sign me up.

So, I take my mat, towel and water bottle into the studio. Now, I knew going into it that they heated the studio. Of course, the difference between the intellectual knowledge and the experience is about the same as telling someone that summers in Phoenix are hot and then having to live through one. Having grown up in Phoenix, I developed my heat-fleeing instincts and nurtured them. When its hot, I get to someplace cool as soon as possible. In this case, no such luck. It was hot and miserable from moment one.

Then we get to the actual poses themselves... now, I've never been under the impression that yoga was in any way easy. Not at all. That being said, there were a great many things that my body simply refused to do. I was also quite amazed at how much cardio happens while you're standing there. 90 minutes of disgusting heat and having my body do a great number of things it had never been asked to do before left me all wrung out like a wet rag.

On the bright side, our yoga instructor was very nice and quite supportive. The other positive was that I was right behind a very attractive (and quite flexible) guy whom I spent the majority of the class watching in the mirror. Unfortunately, he appears married, but eye candy is about all that allowed me to make it through the entire class.

At the end of the day, I survived. Since I bought the 30 day package, it makes it tough for me to blow it off... after all, I don't want that money to go to waste, right? Challenging yourself can be such a bitch.