Author: duane

blog on blog

by a round of applause, how do you feel???

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I often wonder what people see when they come here; do they just read the current entry and move on, or do they actually explore the site? I guess I am wondering how many people look at the other things that I have on here, that is, other than the blog stuff (not saying that the blog stuff isn’t enough to look at, but one does wonder). I have put many, many hours into building my own little home in cyberspace, and while I don’t feel the need to pressure people to check it out, a little piece of me tingles when someone mentions that they read some poem I wrote, or liked some movie that they watched because of one of my reviews. Feedback makes you feel good; hence why we are all blogging, right? But I digress. I don’t need constant feedback, but I am curious if any of my readers check out the other stuff, such as that stuff that is linked under “want more than the blog?”? I occasionally get an email or a comment under “just want to say hi”, and I know that some people are, but I guess I was just curious if the other stuff was too inconspicuous, and that may be why more people aren’t “jumping on board”. By a round of applause, how many of you check out the other stuff? And do you have suggestions on how I can make it so future people will want to do so? Let me know what you think. And then check the shit out. Damn.

PumpUpTheJam(s):
Cascada – Every Time We Touch (club mix)
Eurythmics – I’ve Got A Life

music musings

don’t go changin’; I love you just the way you are.

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Extraordinary Machine has “officially” been out two full weeks now, and I feel that if I don’t say something now, then I am going to lose the opportunity. Now, I bought the CD, and was happy to do so; even though I have had the whole thing (minus “Parting Gift”) since some time in March of this year. When the CD was leaked onto the net, I was aching for new Fiona, so, like many others, I downloaded it. And I loved it. Still do. So much so, that when I heard it was going to be released, I decided I was going to buy it, legitimately, you know, to help out the artist (especially considering that the rumor was that the album was shelved due to the fact that it was practically unmarketable, i.e. no viable singles, etc). And I did.
don't go changing'
[image from fiona-apple.com]

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mixed media

nothing, really; nothing but the music, baby.

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I don’t really have anything special to post about today, but I have been doing some thinking, and I think that I want to try and start doing a little “song of the day”-type feature on the blog. At the bottom of every entry (at least when I remember), I am going to put a little song of the day, or the moment or something. I may post more than one song title, cause I am very indecisive… no I am not; wait, yep, I am.

It will probably be a good way to decipher what my mood is that day, and will be another way for me to express one of my very favorite things: music. I love me some music! If anyone ever has any suggestions for me, feel free to let me know! I have a cd review page and a music hits page where I post the stuff that I am listening to, so check them out as well. And, I am going to go on the record here and say that you will never see a Gwen Stefani or Black Eyed Peas song on here, basically because I not only hate them cause the suck, I hate them on principle now. That’s right. I hate them on fucking principle. Eat that.

Listen2this: Madonna – Hung Up
(you can actually head over to PopMuse’s site and check it out…)
Late Entry: Smashing Pumpkins – Hummer (take me away, from here…)

the catch-all-egory

whitewater rafting weekend

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Just got back from our white water rafting excursion in Tennessee, and all in all, I have to say that even though I went in with some skepticism, I had a lot of fun. We went with a group of friends, and rafted down the Ocoee River, in Tennessee. I was actually nervous about it, before going, but after rafting, I must say that I was expecting a little bit more; only because I thought it was going to be violently pulsing rapids the entire way, and we were going to be at constant risk of being thrown out of the raft. No such deal. So, it was fun, but it wasn’t everything I thought. Oh well! With that being said, I would love to go again! The only thing is that my allergies went haywire while we were there; not enough smog, and this girl’s sinuses go nuts! Too much fresh air can be a bad thing.

Good thing we are back inside the good old perimeter; welcome home!

blog on blog

we can build it stronger, better

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So, tonight, I decided that it was necessary to upgrade to MT 3.2. I was installing it for a friend, and decided that he shouldn’t be the only one to enjoy the increase in features. So here it is. I don’t think that it changes RSS feeds or whatever that shit is, so hopefully, you won’t have to do anything if you subscribe to those. HOPEFULLY, you won’t even be able to notice that I did a thing; at least, if I did it right! Let me know ASAP if you notice anything is off…

(upon looking around, I haven’t found anything that I haven’t been able to fix, except one thing; I think that I fucked up the XML RSS 2.0 thingie… can anyone advise as to how to fix that??)

venting

saw Hotel Rwanda last night, and…

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I watched Hotel Rwanda last night, and whoa, I had no idea. I remember when all of that crap was going on over there, but I really didn’t understand what was happening. There is one point in the movie where Paul, the manager of the hotel that acts as a refuge for over a thousand people, is talking with a reporter, and tells him that if people can just see what is happening, then they will do something. Then, the reporter responds with the chilling fact, that people will simply watch the horror, and then go back to their dinners. This really describes not only what actually happened, but the understanding even I had about what happened in Rwanda.

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blog on blog

no blogger ID, access DENIED!

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Now, maybe I am bitching to the wrong group (and that is HIGHLY possible, because we all know that more people than not use Blogger; which for the record, I am totally fine with, so don’t even go there), but it irks me to no avail that there are so many fun blogs out there that I want to show the love, and comment, and I can’t; because I am not a “Blogger” blogger. Now, I went through all of the tedious work to build all this grandness that you see before you, and I love what I have, but I don’t use Blogger; cause I don’t need to. Not saying that anyone else does need it, I am just saying that I don’t need it. I like Movable Type much better, and so, it suits me. Lots of people hate MT, but I don’t take any offense to that.

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hotness

Tom Ford: Fashion. Sex. Icon.

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Tom Ford is featured in the new W magazine. Here is a link to his spread. Anything with Tom Ford is just too hot to resist (including his book Tom Ford, get it. I have it. Jealous?). Thanks for the link Byron.

Click on read more for a couple of my favorite photos. I am not saying that they are NSFW, but I didn’t want to take any chances, and have them be right at the top of the page; and get anyone in trouble. Also, it is kind of like a candy wrapper, you have to open it to enjoy the treat inside.

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near and dear

my first “talk” about sex

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After yesterday’s post and “celebration”, reading those homophobic comments, and then reading other people’s coming out day posts and stories, I started to remember how I got to where I am today. This, inevitably made me think back to my childhood, and the talks and experiences I had with my family regarding that ever feared topic of conversation: Sex.

Many people have some point where their parents asked them if they were gay, because, let’s face it, most of our parents know. If mine didn’t know, they should be checked into a facility for the deaf, dumb, and blind (if you have ever met me, you would agree… I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but seriously). But nope, not mine, never asked me a thing. And unlike many kids that happened to get “the talk” from their parents, or some nudge in any direction about sex, there too, I got nothing. Nothing like, “DON’T HAVE SEX, or your penis will fall off, and you will die“, or “just make sure you don’t get her pregnant”. Nope, none of that stuff was ever mentioned.

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that is so gay

national coming out day!!!

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Marriage is love.

Happy National Coming out day… This day was started after a successful run of protests on Washington (one of which occurred on October 11, 1987), where it was identified that all gays and lesbians needed a day to be nationally recognized. So, if you are in the closet, step out into the light; today is your day!!! I can definitely say, that as someone who is out to family, friends, co-workers, etc, I feel so lucky that I can proudly be who I am.
Keith Haring's National Coming Out Day Logo, which was donated to the HRC.
[image from wikipedia]

I would write out my coming out story, but it is kind of long, and luckily, I have already done so; back when Queer as Folk ended!! Here is the link, if you want to check it out! Hopefully, my story may inspire someone else to come out as well; because we ALL deserve to be happy and proud of who we are.

**Oh yeah, and if you have something hateful to say, keep it to your fucking self; I have heard enough hate in my life, and I don’t want it submitted to my website. I am proud of who I am, and if you don’t like it, then that is your problem.

UPDATE: (please read)
I put in that last part, because of a hateful comment that I got earlier today. Someone that posted a comment called “YO” yesterday in Spanish had this to say:

“No me jodas que esto es un site de maricones.” or
Do not fuck with (Your fucking me) me that this is a site for faggots.
“Y yo que pensaba que era un blog serio.” or
And I thought it was a serious blog.

All I have to say is, you are an ignorant, hateful, selfish human being. I don’t hate you, I feel sorry for you. I am proud of who I am, and nothing you can ever say will change that. You are the one that is small. And you will ALWAYS be that way. And who can say that a site that brings you tidbits and photos of Jake Gyllenhaal, commentary on pretty much everything pop, and a category dedicated solely to Britney and Kevin, is NOT SERIOUS? HA!

And, oh yeah, and FUCK OFF!!!
(sorry to have to taint such a good thing with something bad, but I talked with my friend Josh, and he suggested that I put it out there, and after thinking about it, I thought so too, cause this way, you can see what an idiot “YO” is, as well.)