With Or WIthout You

I'm back from San Diego. There were hot boys a-plenty, though my thoughts on were solidly on someone in Phoenix who I wished could have made it out. To my surprise, I ended up running into him at the parade Saturday morning. As much as I wish I could say that we spent the rest of the weekend having fun together and everything turned out to be everything I had hoped it could be, I ended up keeping my distance... I did have a good time, and at the same time, its one of those bittersweet moments when you realize that you're not quite ready for what you want.

Jocks are So Gay!

Ok everybody! I'm off to San Diego for Pride this weekend. Hopefully I'll have so much fun I won't even remember it all. Here's a little eye candy for you all while I'm gone. See you when I get back!

Cock Tease

Need I say anything more?

Marc's Midweek SD Pride Beef Haiku

From around the world
beeves invade San Diego.
I love SD Pride!

There's hope!

I've mentioned it before but if you hadn't figured it out, I'm hardly the gym type. That's not to say that I sit around on my ass all day, but I doubt I'll ever be mistaken for a fitness model. Anyway, a recent study announced that stem cells taken from human fat cells can be "transformed into smooth muscle cells." Well shit, I have plenty of those! While the article was quick to state that this discovery is unlikely to help solve obesity, how long before some enterprising homo discovers how to transform this medical knowledge into a Circuit Party necessity?

Back in the Day

You know, back in the day I would have thought this was the coolest thing since sliced bread: A Hello Kitty MP3 player. I have since come out of my Hello Kitty phase, but I still think this is pretty damn cool. If I didn't already have my iPod, I'd buy one!

Behind the Scenes

Porn has become so ubiquitous these days -- everywhere you look there's another porn website vying for your attention. Anyway, for some reason I got an e-mail from MansImage.com explaining that they'd give me a chance to explore their site if I was interested in doing a review. Free porn!

In case you haven't noticed, internet porn has evolved to the point where every site needs an angle -- from straight, college jocks to men in suits to midgets. And so it is with MansImage. Their angle is that they are focused on behind the scenes action. Along with their photo sets, they include videos from the photo sets, along with interviews and webcam stuff.

One of the things I like about the site is that they have different guys than I'm used to seeing -- who the hell tells the supposedly straight college jocks that they're supposed to shave every bit of hair on their body so they look like a pre-pubescent boy? Ick. So, thumbs up to MansImage to having some hot guys with hair. That brings me to my favorite part of things -- model Matt York (pictured above). Reminds me of a gay Dan Futterman. HOT! Strikes me as a nice Jewish boy you'd want to marry, in addition to being hot.

A few downsides -- on just a technical level, their navigation system freaks out when you use Firefox. Content-wise, there isn't going to be as much as a more established site. Because these videos are taken from photo shoots, there's also not much beyond solo stuff and some playful groping. Not sure if they're looking to do more hard-core stuff.

On a conceptual level, there's one basic issue: In my opinion, porn is all about fantasy and appearance. Obviously real life doesn't happen the way it does in porn. What's more, the reality of what happens on a photo shoot is removed from the finished product. At least with the video content, all you're getting is the behind the scenes looks, which consists of the photographer taking photos and glimpses of the video guys -- even if they're off camera, there is no fantasy element, just the reality that this is a job for all these people. In an interview with Matt York on the site, he hits the nail on the head saying that when he watches porn, he's objectifying the guys and doesn't really want to know their personalities or look behind the scenes. I tend to agree. I think the behind the scenes stuff is great, but that's more icing than cake.

The Gay Monster Strikes Again!

Fresh off its assault on traditional marriage and war on the American family, the horrible Gay Monster has extended his reach into foreign policy. In fact, the Gay Monster has engineered the current crisis between Israel and Hezbollah! Forget generations of antagonism and mistrust between the Israelis and Palestinians, the current conflict is ACTUALLY a result of the upcoming WorldPride to be held in Jerusalem in a few weeks. That's right, you can blame the rocket attacks on Dykes on Bikes.

According to Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch of the Eda Heredit rabinic court, "We have not protested enough against this parade of abomination and therefore we have received this warning. Who knows where things will get to if we do not act further and more stringently against it."

A US Rabbi agrees -- New York Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Orthodox Rabbinical Alliance of America and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the US and Canada explained that there is a "spiritual cause and effect," between the planned parade and the current violence.

Nothing quite like a couple of whacko Rabbis reminding you the wonders that scapegoating can do for a community. Its sad that for all the struggles the Jews have gone through in their existance that there are Rabbis out there who don't get it and would rather blame another vulnerable group. I guess gays really are the new Jews.

The Price of Intolerance

I know its been a while since I've written on anything too terribly serious -- I figure there is plenty of that going around. I've been doing my best to focus on the positive things in the world. Even though there's a lot of chaos out there, I still get the sense that things are moving in the right direction, even if its ever so slowly. Still, every once in a while I can't ignore some of what's gone on recently.

Flash back to the Andrea Yates story -- the mother who drowned her 5 children in a bathtub back in 2001. Apparently, she's recently testified that she drowned one of her children because she feared he might become a "mute gay prostitute." Similarly, last year a man killed his 3-year old son by "forc[ing] him into a box and repeatedly slapp[ing] him on the head in an effort to prevent him from being gay." A friend of the father testified, "he didn't want him to be a sissy."

Admittedly, it appears that both these people might have had some significant psychological disturbances. That said, the underlying message they're receiving from society is chilling -- not only is it bad to be gay, its actually better to be dead if there's even the possibility that you're gay, even if you're just a little kid. I'm not even getting into the hanging of gay men in Iran... This is just another reminder that ultimately, the price of hatred and intolerance is paid in blood. This is true whether its the matter of homosexuality/gender-identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, lack-of religion, fat-ness, thin-ness, baldness, left-handedness, whatever. Its time for the madness to stop. For all of us, its time to wake up.

Marc's Midweek Gay Games Beef Haiku

Diving is like sex:
Before you dive in, always
put on latex hat!

Stem Cell Debate!

If you keep up with such things, you'll know that the big topic in Congress right now is stem cell research. President Bush has even threatened his very first veto on the issue. In fact, the White House has issued one of their video press releases explaining the President's opposition:

TGS11!

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better... it did! Teen Girl Squad #11 is here! SO GOOD!

GalacticAWESOME!

I was expecting a pretty low key day after a weekend filled with craziness of my own making. I went to my mailbox and what did I find? The August issue of Out, featuring the ultra-hot Jamie Bamber (Apollo from Battlestar Galactica) on the cover. Well shoot my load and call me squishy, that sure brightened my day! I have been undergoing SEVERE Galactica withdrawal these past few months. I've mentioned this before but the combination of Apollo and the ruggedly handsome and hunky Helo are the threesome of my wildest masturbatory fantasies. Its great to see a gay magazine acknowledge the sci fi phenomenon -- I've always been a sci fi geek and its nice to know that I'm not the only gay man out there who loves sci fi. Its even better to see Bamber's scruffy mug and a get a peek at that hairy chest. Season 3 starts October 6th. I'm not sure how I can hold out until then... but what choice do I have?

Attack of the Queers!

Lewis Black talks about the gays. A great way to celebrate the end of the week. Thanks, AJ!

Marc's Midweek Car Wash Video Beef Haiku

I feel so dirty
when I strip down and get wet
and play with my hose...

Krak(en) is Whack!

After eating WAY too much incredible Indian food at Royal Taj, Adam and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest. Now frequent readers will note that since last year's Tiki Oasis experience, I've had somewhat a penchant for pirates... well, hot ones, at least. (An aside, if you get a chance to catch Pirates of the Great Salt Lake at a film festival near you, its quite a funny, charming lil movie. I can't wait until it finally comes out on DVD...) Anyway, the first one was campy and fun so why not give the second one a go, right? Well, I had read mixed reviews but I'm never one to really pay too much head.

Unfortunately, they were right -- this movie is a big mess. Now, not King Kong bad, but a big mess. Let's get one thing out of the way: I LOVE KEIRA KNIGHTLY. Not in a sexual way, of course, but she's beautiful, always elegant and charming, and I loved her in Love, Actually. Of course, everyone knows about Johnny Depp gaying it up and shocking the Disney executives in the first movie. *yawn* I'm over it already. Orlando Bloom? Makes a good elf. Aside from that, I've never much cared for him.

So, in addition to the standards, throw in the obligatory cannibal tribe (I mean, all native tribes back then are backward cannibals, right?) and Miss Cleo, along with Jack Davenport from the BBC's Coupling making a reprise from the first movie, you basically have the main pieces for a tedious 2 and a half hour saga about trying to steal Davy Jones's heart. (Monkees flashback! I wanted to steal Davy Jones's heart too!)

The most distressing thing is that they were absolutely SHAMELESS in setting up the next movie. I didn't like it when they did it in Back to the Future: 2 and I liked it even less this time. What's worse is that I'll most likely end up going to see the next movie just to see what happens. Curse them.

I still like pirates. Well, maybe not the ones with icky bad teeth - those seemed to dominate this movie - but I love me some really hot pirates. They should make more movies about hot pirates. I'd gladly pay $9 to watch that.

Nostalgia

I went back through a box of pictures I had stashed away from a few years ago. It was like an LSD flashback, only without the LSD. These were the formative years of my coming out, getting into the scene, meeting people and making my friends. Looking back at those memories it reminded me of several things: 1) We used to take a lot of stupid shots to use up a roll of film. 2) I used to know a lot of hot guys! 3) I have never been, nor am I likely to ever be a big, hunky guy. I have, however, been skinny enough to where it looks NASTY, at least to me.

Beyond those obvious lessons, I can't help but notice just how different my life is these days. People who were such a big part of my life back then are now off in countless different directions. Of course, the one constant of life is change, of course. On one hand, there were plenty of difficulties mixed in with those good memories and I wouldn't go back. At the same time, there are so many people I wish I could see again and spend some time with, if only for a short while. You never know how much time you have with the people in your life.

Clash of the Blogging Titans

Last night was a bit of a treat for me. We had another DJ (DJ Tsunami, aka Jeff) come in a do a guest spot for a couple of hours. After having worked almost every weekend for the past year, I'm looking forward to bringing in some people on a regular basis soon. Anyway, I got the chance to hear Tsunami play and also was able to socialize and have fun (and drink heavily). To my surprise, I ran into Darin from All Prep and No H and his friends. I've run into Darin out on the town on occasion and he's one sassy lil spitfire. Since I had been drinking heavily, I also ended up being rather "friendly" toward Darin #2. What can I say? He's cute, I was drunk and its been ages since I've... uh, nevermind. Needless to say, I had to head back up to the DJ booth to earn my rent money and those boys ended up heading to Dick's Cabaret. Apparently, I had the last laugh because after 1am the boys at Dick's can't show any. Have I mentioned that I went to high school with one of the dancers there? Its true. Anyway, the bar cleared out after last call and I managed to make it home at a reasonable hour. All in all, an enjoyable evening.

Geekdom Ascendant!

From my earliest childhood days I've been your standard geek -- pretty much avoided anything athletic, read a lot, loved sci-fi and the lot. My transition into gayness felt like a move in a much different direction -- my interests and attention shifted toward dance music and shirtless circuit boys. Deep down, though, the heart of the geek I've always been remained. Fortunately, when friends asked me to go with them to see LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring at midnight when it opened, I realized that I was not alone. Since that time, I've noticed quite a bit of my childhood favorites coming back into the public eye: first was Sprite's string of Voltron commercials...



We've also had the three X-Men movies. Now comes the triumphant return of the Transformers in a new live-action movie.



Right now my inner child is dancing on top of the couch with reckless abandon.

The First EchePoll

Hey there everybody. I just wanted to add a bit of interactivity to echeblog. From my standpoint its always interesting to find out just what keeps you all coming back here, so be sure to vote!

Mr. Putin, Michael Jackson on line one...

Here's something just icky weird. Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently recieved a lot of press for an encounter with a small boy. Apparently, Putin came across the five year-old Nikita, lifted his shirt and kissed him on the stomach. Putin explained, "He seemed very independent and serious... I wanted to cuddle him like a kitten and it came out in this gesture. He seemed so nice." The boy is reported to have responded, "I just liked him [Mr Putin] and he liked me very much. I want to be president myself."

NAMBLA has not issued an official statement.

Marc's Midweek Bling Bling Beef Haiku

It is often said:
"All that glitters is not gold."
I like beef, not bling.

In the Chips... er, Crisps

I know that we here in the US like to believe that we're on the cutting edge of things. Its part of our national identity. So yesterday, while I was celebrating Independence Day with friends at a pool party, I was in for quite a shock.

There are few things as American as our affinity for junk food. One would presume that our junk food would be the best in the world. Take potato chip flavors, for example. I've seen BBQ, salt and vinegar, jalapeno, and various cheeses. What I hadn't seen (or tasted) until yesterday was roasted lamb with Moroccan spices.

One of the party goers had brought a bag back from a recent trip to the UK. I was floored. Here are these innocuous looking chips exploding with sublime meat flavoring. I come to find out this morning that they also have flavors such as roasted chicken with lemon and tyme, lime and thai spices, and vintage chedder and red onion chutney.

I'm not a big chip eater these days -- I've tried to reduce the number of nutritional disasters in my diet but if they had chips like that here I'd weigh 500 lbs. What a day to find out that we've been bested by the British.