Don't Drop the Soap Stud

Even though I haven't watched a soap since Jensen Ackles left Salem, I took a quiz at Shrine to the Soap Hunks that matched me with Thad Luckinbill. I've never seen him on television -- except for one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer years ago -- but I may have to check him out.

The Full Monty Python

Yeah, I brought you no Fun for Friday this week, but perhaps this will partly make up for it. Call it Sci-Fi Saturday.

Darth Python

Star Trek

Death of Spock

Blakes 7

Hits as of now: 7383

Self Portrait Studio

Every so often, it happens. Someone manages to find
an old picture of me and stick it up on their 'site.
Most recently I found one of my old photos at
Stunning Sexy Men. Ah, those were the days.

Hits as of now: 6855

Kick Me Sign of the Times

This guy Tyler Davin seems to be the latest ubiquitous guy
to hit everyone's 'blog at once, such as here and here.
I really like this picture, but there's something about it
that screams "What did you guys put on my back this time?"

I know what I'd put on his back...

Hits as of now: 6656

He's right, by George!

I'll explain this somewhat tomorrow, but I'm more than a little heart-broken over the death of George Carlin. And as he is responsible for so many great lines, I thought I'd bring you some of them today. Enjoy.

I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out
where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.

There's no present. There's only
the immediate future and the recent past.

Think of how stupid the average person is,
and realize half of them are stupider than that.

If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.

When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts,
and you put your two cents in,
what happens to the other penny?

One can never know for sure what a deserted area looks like.

If God had intended us not to masturbate
he would've made our arms shorter.

You know the good part about all those executions in Texas?
Fewer Texans.

Inside every cynical person,
there is a disappointed idealist.

The very existence of flamethrowers proves that
some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves,
"You know, I want to set those people over there on fire,
but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

Some people see things that are and ask, Why?
Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not?
Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that shit.

If it's true that our species is alone in the universe,
then I'd have to say that the universe
aimed rather low and settled for very little.

I'm completely in favor of the separation
of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions
screw us up enough on their own,
so both of them together is certain death.

I credit that eight years of grammar school with nourishing me
in a direction where I could trust myself and trust my instincts.
They gave me the tools to reject my faith.
They taught me to question and think for myself
and to believe in my instincts
to such an extent that I just said,
"This is a wonderful fairy tale they have going here,
but it's not for me."

Religion is sort of like a lift in your shoes.
If it makes you feel better, fine.
Just don't ask me to wear your shoes.
And let's not nail the lift to the natives' feet.

I have as much authority as the Pope;
I just don't have as many people who believe it.

Hits as of now: 6598

Dog Ear Worm

OMC
How Bizarre
I'd completely forgotten this song until I heard it on the radio the other day. Not a great song, but it's got a cool earworm quality.

If you read the linked article on the 10 most persistent earworms, you'll see the line the really spoke to me: slightly neurotic people seem to suffer more. Well, duh already.

Hits as of now: 6421

Let George Do It

Starting today,
the world will make even less sense.

Hits as of now: 6336

Pillow Talk to the Hand

Juan Jose Ballesto.
Oooo, doesn't he look . . . inviting?
Honestly, I have no idea who this boy is, but I don't care just now.
You don't suppose he has some friends under all those pillows, do you?

LATER UPDATE: I did a tiny bit of research and learned that this ponyboy is a young Spanish actor (Spanish for actor = actor) who appeared in a film called The Seven Virgins. If I'd cast him as a virgin, I think I'd have spent too much time thinking about robbing him of that condition. Provided he's old enough, of course.

This morning I realized that the reason I find him so appealing, apart from the obvious, is that he reminds me of this sixteen-year-old that I was in love with years ago, enough years to make it less creepy. He played catcher (resist the urge to pun) on the high school baseball team, and all that squatting and standing up again had given the most perfect ass I've ever seen on a guy. He was a good friend but nothing ever happened between us, though he was among the first guys that I could talk to about liking guys.

A few years later I heard that he'd joined some rock band and began doing heavy drugs, then he seemed to disappear from everyone's lives. Sometimes I still wonder whatever happened to him.

Hits as of now: 6172

Complete Facial Expression

Paying more attention to my own face
for a change

After all, I'm not getting any younger, you know.

Green Stocking the Shelves

Farewell to the lovely Cyd Charisse.
This is how I'll always remember her.

Hits as of now: 5871

Fisher of Men on Men

If I have seemed a bit more inactive than usual lately, there are a couple of good reasons. I have more to do at the new job, AND I've been spending some of my spare time working on another script. I don't even really care that it's not something anyone would ever produce; I think it's just important to finish something for a change.

There's another, less good reason too. Last week I got a membership at Corbin Fisher, and I've been taking advantage of it. Normally I'm not a big fan of porn, but I really enjoy watching these guys enjoying themselves and each other.

Hits as of now: 5325

Fascist Pig Roast

I finally made time to drive past the Governor's Mansion to see the fire damage myself. I didn't stop to take any photos -- the one above is lifted from the NYT -- and the people and cars made it hard to see, but I could take in how extensive the damage was. According to news reports, the first floor is extensively damaged, but the second was practically gutted. That much damage to a building that large is easy to see.

Easy to see, but hard to look at. At least hard for me.

Of course, I'm pretty quick to criticize Texas, but I do love the place, if not most of the people, and I love history enough to be fond of this grand building. Built in the 1850s by former coffin maker Abner Cook, our Governor's Mansion is the oldest continually occupied executive mansion west of the Mississippi. Right now it feels like the arsonists who torched it on June 8 destroyed a lot of history, but in the long run they'll just have added to its history. The mansion will be restored, and this fire will become another episode, just like Gov. Hogg driving nails into the balustrade to keep his son from sliding down it.

The arson job was just last week, but the house has actually been unoccupied since last fall sometime. Governor Goodhair and the wife are living in West Austin while the mansion was being extensively restored. The man's luck continues to protect him, like when his wife moved out and the gay rumours flew around town, then just as quickly stopped.

When I talked about this to Tommy, he gave one of his usual smartass comments: he wished they'd burned the Governor and left the mansion alone. And around here, there are lots of people who'd agree with him. But I didn't tell Tommy that: he likes to think all his ideas are exclusively his.

Hits as of now: 5021

Petty Thief of Hearts

I'm not sure who this Alex Pettyfer is --
besides that he's some British pretty boy actor --
but his face seems to be all over various Websites lately.

Not that I mind: It's a great face.
A bit young, of course, but a great face.

Review Bored

"An author is a fool who,
not content with boring those he lives with,
insists on boring future generations."
- Charles de Montesquieu

Hits as of now: 4824

Buy Your Side Arms

Sade
By Your Side

Hits as of now: 4651

Blonds have more? Fun!

A hot guy is always a hot guy, and I'm gonna notice him. But years ago, I realized that I was more attracted to blonds in the summer time and brunets in the winter.

Does anyone else have a seasonal change in their preferences?

If not, have you ever explored the reasons behind why you are most attracted to whomever you are?

Photo Shop of Horrors

Michael Churchill. I realize that most of you
have probably seen these photos somewhere else,
but they're worth looking at again, n'est ce-pas?

I couldn't resist playing with one of these photos --
okay, I really didn't try that hard to resist --
so here's a couple of photos with some of my
superhero-inspired Photoshoppery applied to it.


Looking at them again, I realize they must have been made
about a year ago: I can do much better now.

Hits as of now: 4522

Couch Potato Chip

Wishing I had a less ugly couch.

Padre Island Hopping

Happy Father's Day,
to all the dads (and daddies) out there.

This photo represents me and my three sons. I don't use actual photographs of my sons because they are imaginary.

As for my own father, that's not an easy topic to explain. When I was very young, he terrified me with his violent and unpredictable temper and his verbal and physical abuse. Some of you must be able to relate. C'mon, you know the words: "Quit crying, or I'll ..."

Then he died just before I turned seven, so I never got to learn to see any other side of him. In my memory, he's always been just the dangerous tyrant, and for many years that affected how I perceived all men.

I think that's why I like to imagine having sons of my own: so I can do a little mental exploration of how I would do things differently and what kind of men they'd become because of me.

But underneath that is the fear that I'd be more like him than I imagine. We do have remarkably similar personalities sometimes (again, comparing myself to my 6-year-old's memory of him), and I know that one of the hardest things to do in life is to not grow up to be like your parents. Just think of all those things that you, as a kid, promised you'd never say. Then one day you're a bit stressed and you find yourself opening your mouth and your mom or dad's words come out. "Just do it because I said so." It's usually just surprising and a little amusing, but if your father was violent and abusive, it's potentially scary.

So that's why I only have imaginary kids. They're great kids, by the way: smart and funny and a lot more athletic than I ever was. And with imaginary kids there's no downside. Never once have I had to change a diaper or replace a broken anything or fork over allowance cash. No pain, all gain.

Of course, the other big reason is that I much prefer frat boys to lingerie models.

Usually, anyway.

Hits as of now: 4369

Drill Bit o' Honey

Party Hat Rack of Lamb

Happy Birthday, Kevin Gould!
(Don't drink too much and then do something stupid.
Enough of us already spend our birthdays that way.)

And now I have a question:
if an unmarried guy has a party, isn't it always a bachelor party, no matter what the occasion?

Our Daily Bread and Circuses

ACROBATS. SORT OF.
Kevin Gibbs and Bernard Gaddis of Zumanity perform at the GLAAD Media Awards show.
2 mins. 30 - Probaby SFW

ELEPHANTS. DEFINITELY.
Normally tourists getting a few souvenirs would be boring. But...
30 secs. - SFW

And now
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR

LION TAMER. POSSIBLY.
Python presents this story of a man changing his life.
5 mins. 30 - SFW

CLOWN. MOSTLY.
If you thought asparagus did things to your urine, watch this guy drink gasoline.
30 secs. - Prosthetically SFW

I'm thinking seriously about giving up on Fun-for-Friday .
Hunting for these clips is time-consuming,
and - based on the comments - I have no actual proof
that anyone's even watching them, let alone enjoying them.

And this is not a whiny plea for more comments.
Just please let me know if I'm not wasting my time here.

Hits as of now: 3976

Jock Strapping Young Man

A Cause des Garcons has lately been giving us
The Best of Athletic Boys, including
the lovely German footballer Lukas Podolski up above there.
There've been four installments so far, and
you can check them out here, here, here and here.

But if you you go there to read about these guys, brush up on your French first.

I wish that I didn't have such a jealous obsession with jocks, lusting after their strong, graceful, athletic bodies mostly because I wish I were one of them. That's one of the childish emotions I wish I could get over.

Hits as of now: 3903

High Blood Pressure Cooker

A few things have happened since my last little autobiographical update, so I thought I'd toss another one out.

First, I was given a hefty raise at work. I seem to have convinced them that I have a wide and potentially useful collection of skills, and the owners decided to pay me more so I wouldn't look for another job.

So now I can afford to support myself again.

Once July gets here, I plan to get my own place, much closer to the job because this 50-mile round trip commute is aggravating and wasteful of both time and gasoline.

I used most of my first larger paycheck to get a physical (first in a couple of years). It was becoming a bit of an issue, because I'd been without medication for high blood pressure for about six months -- The prescription ran out, and I couldn't renew it without a new examination. -- and my pressure had been about 160/110 for the week before the exam. But now I have my medication again, and that's back to normal. I keep hoping that life will calm down enough that I won't need it, but I'm not holding my breath.

There's no other news of importance just now, but that seems like good progress for a couple of weeks.

Hits as of now: 3723

Digging the Dirty Boy

I bet he would clean up nicely.
And I know it would be fun trying to make that happen.

Kenneth has been creating a lot of fun with the stories he creates around the photos he's been posting, sort of little fantasies about how these guys fit into his life. I

Looking at this picture, I'm tempted to do the same sort of thing, but I don't want to be such a blatant idea thief.

But, then, I'm sure he wouldn't mind.... I'll have to see what my imagination can come up with.

Church Hill of Beans

"Personally I'm always ready to learn,
although I do not always like being taught."
- Winston Churchill

Hits as of now: 3582

Don't It Feel Good Morning

Katrina and the Waves
Walking on Sunshine
To get you up and moving this morning, here's an infectiously happy little song. Ignore the 80s hair and clothes, and please don't give me any shit about High School Musical.

Hits as of now: 3419