Mean Uncle Jake's Place

slow news day

2007-10-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

tribute to miners ~ shame to bob murray

2007-08-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

The recent tragedy that has likely resulted in the deaths of 6 hard-working miners in Utah is a direct result of the strenuous efforts of the principal owner of Murray Energy Corp, Mr. Bob Murray, who spent more energy side-stepping compliance with basic safety regulations and cheating workers out of equitable wages.
     This is not Murray's first time in the spotlight.
     In 1996, Murray asked mine workers at his Powhatan No. 6 mine in Alledonia, Ohio to agree to a wage freeze through 2001." Att he time United Mine Workers of America Secretary-Treasurer Carlo Tarley recalled "[Murray] said it was so he could establish coal orders and show his customers that there would be long-term labor stability." But in 2001 and 2004 Murray refused to honor other contractural agreements with the workers, has engaged in efforts to disband unionized workers and forced them in to earning lower wages than organized coal miners elsewhere in the nation.
     In 2001, Murray testified before a House Ways and Means subcommittee, on behalf of the National Mining Association, in support of several proposed tax cuts that would benefit mine owners, not workers.
     The Murray Energy Corp. Political Action Committee has given more than $155,000 to Republican candidates, including $30,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, since 2005, according to Federal Election Commission records. Murray's money aided Republican Senate candidates such as George Allen in Virginia, presidential candidate Sam Brownback of Kansas and Katherine Harris of Florida. Murray also personally donated $50,000 to defeated Ohio congressman Mike DeWine who lost after a controversial, deceptive ad campaign against his democratic opponent in 2006.
     But about his mining operations, Robert Murray's Cleveland-based Murray Energy Corp. has 19 mines in five states and his companies have incurred millions of dollars in fines over the last 18 months.
     And although some say that Utah's Crandall Canyon mine, where the fate of the miners still remains unknown, safety record was remarkably good, Government mine inspectors have issued 325 citations against the Utah mine since January 2004, according to federal Mine Safety and Health Administration online records. Of those, 116 were what the government considered "significant and substantial," meaning they are likely to cause injury. Safety violations in other Murray Energy mines, since 1999, have totaled over $3 million in fines; $1.46 million of that paid in 2007 alone, from a mine operation in southern Illinois.
     Even though credible evidence indicates that the tremors from the mine collapse registerd 3.7 in the Richter scale, and geologists have clearly sourced the origins of the tremors to the collapse, Robert Murray disingeneously blames a non-existent earthquake on the mine collapse.
SOURCE INFO: Forbes Magazine, United Mine Workers of America, CBS News, Salt Lake Tribune, CNN, Wikipedia, Salt Lake Desert Morning News, The Militant. BOTTOM IMAGE: Labor Beat published this memorial of the infamous 1898 Virdin Massacre when Chicago-Virden Coal Company’s armed guards fired on striking miners to break the newly formed union. Seven miners and five guards were killed.

wrestling

2007-02-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

Just a few little somethings to look at...
A wrestling postcard from the 1880s.
You can see more of this sort of things by going to The Web's best amateur wrestling site. Postcards, programs, collectabile stamps and posters.

There's also a great Flickr website put up by sud273. His approach to taking pictures is thus:
"...you'll find only wrestlers photos, all home made: this is some kind of job I invented for myself. A testimony of what amateur sport can be before money turns it pro"

whoisit?

2007-02-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for memes;
though I don't always answer as straightforward as some might like.

*Who are you?*
Name & Nicknames	Jake Compton
DOB/Age	10/23/1958 47
Ethnicity & Nationality	Scottish/Irish/Hungarian
Religion	Buddhist / Native American / Pagan
Employment Status	employed
*What are you like?*
3 Adjectives to Describe Yourself	stalwart, unconventional, iconoclast
3 Vices/Character Flaws	no time sense / stubborn / indifferent to wealth
What do you want to have accomplished by the time you retire?	that the works I've created last on their own
How far into the future have you planned/contemplated?	not that far, but far enough
Pet-peeves?	finicky people
Favorite Food?	spaghetti, rabbit, venison
Favorite Alcoholic Beverage?	jagermeister + Steel Reserve
Something you would change about yourself	would have socked away money ealier
*Life Issues*
Pro-Choice/Pro-Life?	pro choice tho I believe life begins at conception
Death Pentaly: For or Against?	not completely opposed but if it's been sentenced then do it and get it over with
What do you think about divorce?	sould be handled by courts interested in fairness to both parties
Do you think Racism is still a big deal in the U.S.?	very much so. but so is social class prejudice
Marijuana: Should it be legalized?	yes
What's more important: Higher Education or Quick Employment?	higher education
Opinion on MCAS?	? WTF ?
Are you Religious?	Spiritual
Should Gays be allowed wed?	sure, why not
*People Around You*
Your Best Friend	have a couple
Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend	tied the knot
Person you love the most in the world	know a select few
Person you respect the most in the world	Nelson Mandela
Someone you want to date	Brad Pitt [especially after seeing Fight Club]
Someone you wish you hadn't dated	There was that gangster fella, and my ex-wife
Longest friendship	my buddy from home
Longest relationship	current partner
Person you call for advice	very select few, depends on the subject
Person you hangout with for laughs	my cousin
Person you like to party with the most	one of my hunting buddies
*Dating/Relationships*
Favorite part of the opposite gender's body
Your worst date ever	rather not remember
Your best date ever	a four day extravaganza, my nips hurt after
Biggest turn-off (1 physical & 1 characteristic)	huge tits. listening to someone chew food
Biggest turn-on (1 physical & 1 characteristic)	sucker for a pretty face, genuineness
Worst line you've ever heard or used	not sure I want to remember
How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?	enough
*Would you rather--*
Kiss an unattractive person of the same gender as you or kiss an attractive person of the opposite gender?	Swap spit when kissin an ugly trucker
Party 2 nights in a row without showering or party for a night then go home and take a shower?	forget the shower
Be your current ethnicity or be a different ethnicity?	hey? Who's asking? it's the mental chemistry that counts.
Speak another language of your choice or be a really good singer?	Speak another language
Have a different boyfriend/girlfriend each month of the year (and the breakups are easy/fine) or have one year-long relationship (easy breakup not guarunteed)?	Have a long relationship
Be the hottest person in the world but be as smart/stupid as you are now, or be the smartest person in the world and be as attractive/unattractive as you are now?	satisfied with who I am, thanks
Be a billionaire or have the best sex of your life every time forever?	if I was a billionaire I could probably buy good sex
Be famous and have a lot of friends or be unpopular but have a really good friend?	that's a hard one. I belive none of us have "lots" of friends
Have to live alone in the Arctic or in a communist state?	Living alone in the Arctic has its appeal
Always smell like soap/clean laundry except have bad B.O. when you sweat, or never smell like anything (colognes/perfumes won't work on you)?	I like my body smells
Eat only meat, vegetables or grains?	Had ta pick one it'd be meat
Never experience racism and not know what it's like, or experience racism to learn how it feels?	No one should have to experience racism
Travel & have fun forever or work & contribute to society with your life?	Travel AND contribute to society
Have not taken this survey and spared yourself some good time?	Surveys are a pleasant distraction
CREATE YOUR OWN SURVEY!

winter sports

2007-02-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Ice fishing and logging camps. Both rigorous activities; both my idea of a good time. Well, at least the ice fishing part anyway.
As for the logging camp, I know there are plenty out there who maintain active fantasy lives that once done at the end of the day, that loggers would return to make hay all night. And while I certainly believe that there were times that the men had to be men and relieve themselves of their tensions, I doubt that these guys would be having non-stop orgies well into the night then getting up the next day and going out and cutting down 100 foot trees, prune off their upper branches, hook the logs up to a team of horses and drag them back into camp without being a tad over-tired.
Life in a logging camp was far from idylic. Cramped quarters, no insulation [there's likely a good reason why so many of these guys are close to the wood stove] nor indoor flush toilet plumbing; a total lack of privacy [even characters who think that's "hot" have to acknowledge that some moments alone are oft time desired] and close, cramped living quarters. Entertainments ~ when they had them ~ were certainly all male, but as I noted before, I don't doubt that some sexual extra-curriculars took place, but not all the time, and not every night. Still...

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT LOGGERS + LIFE IN LOGGING CAMPS?:
Check out Cowichan Forestry Life's From Camp to Community

well placed wrestlers

2007-01-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

Except for the names, which I've hidden, this picture and the caption was in a local paper. The caption writer comments on what a good job the team members have done this year in topping thier competition.

working class hombres

2007-01-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

I'm proud of the fact that I work with my hands as much as with my mind. I'm a blue-collar guy, much like the bloke you see pictured on the left. I'll caution you it isn't me you are looking at, just some feller I found pleasing to the eye. That's me in the photo to the lower right]
     I'm pro-labor, support workers' unions and tradesmens' [okay, lemme be politically correct - tradespeople's] guilds and organizations
     I take offense that the pencil necks who run the world scam others with fancy-assed mental footwork designed to con the rest of us out of what is rightfully our due. Corporate giants stealing health benefits from laboring workers while fattening their own pension plans are no different than common thieves. Maybe they are worse, given how many more are harmed by their actions.
     Point being is that you can expect to find some out-front populist rants here about the rampant social injustices heaped upon working people by the powerful.
     But one other component behind the views expressed on this site, and likely the one that brought a number of my readers here, is that it's written by a working-class guy who has a greater fondness for the company of his buddies than for the ladies, and that's both at the bar as well as in the sack. In case you are still dense to that, this means I'm gay. Always have and always will be I expect.
     My aesthetic taste in men runs along the group what I was raised with. No penny-loafered suit is likely to make it to my bed any time soon [not that it would be outside my to entertain such a scumbag in by tool shed or in a manure trough or a pig sty - where the ungrateful scum more properly belongs -- with proper apologies to the pigs, of course].
     What I'm getting at here, is, well, a whole lot of stuff to be certain. Blue collar men ain't stupid, we see though the scams that the dogs at the top of the heap dish out. As for the sex stuff, well, this blue collar guy likes a heap of good clean fun dirty time. Those who can figure out that maze of contradictions can write me. That me, BTW, is the character on the right side of this page.
     What you see is what you get. No so simple, unvarnished, unpolished and sometimes raw. Egalitarian, fair-minded, probably too macho for the metrosexual straight guy to be comfortable with. But that's alright.
     One final note; for those tassel loafered boys eager to sniff at my dirty laundry hamper - go fantasize among your own kind. If you are sex-slumming, then don't come 'round. Buy the Carhartt's and Sears work boots if you like, but if your headed my way 'cause you hear us working stiffs are, well, stiffer, you'll have to prove you want to know me and my buddies after you've shot your wad. I'm going to want to know that you really care about ordinary people, and not just about the "scene" in the sex bar back room.

Bill Ward's Artwork

2006-10-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

I've long been an admirer of the work of artist Bill Ward. So I'm really glad to see that there's finally a nicely done website, the Bill Ward Archives, devoted to putting his fine penwork online.
     I was first exposed to his illustrations in the original Drummer, I also got to see them in the unique a quirky 'zine known as BROS [the "mascot" as it were, shown on the left, drawn by Mr. Ward himself] a chapbook by and for long-haired men and those who fancied them.
     The simple single person sketches shown here don't really do his work justice. Ward's work was often complex, almost hallucinogenic when he depicted orgy scenes. But the pen lines were always crisp, high-contrast, easily discernible and [for the most part] his characters were visually believable.
     I don't believe the same can be said for more famous illustrators of male erotica such as Tom of Finland [with his cinched waists and impossibly skin-tight trousers] or Etienne/Stephen [his real name was Dom Orejudos]. While Etienne's characters appeared more realistic than Tom of Finland's, it wasn't until I'd seen Bill Ward's work that the images rang true... for me at least.
     Another thing I found I liked about Mr. Ward was his willingness, even generosity, at sharing his creative talents with less well known, even obscure, publications. One such publication was BROS [which, unfortunately no longer has it's own website but whose spirit remains at places like the BROS Yahoo Group, Tribe's Bros-online and Robin Walden's Gay Longhair bulletin board].
     Bill Ward's artwork also graced the pages of another 'zine [and sitll is] TRASH Magazine, which was [and still is] diligently compiled by J.D. [aka Mr. T]. Ward's generosity, and willingness to work with lesser known publishers with much more limited budgets, is all too rare in the swift competitive world that is/or was slick gay porn.
     Who was Bill Ward? He born in London, England and lived there almost all his life in the city except for a three year tour in the Army. He was the art editor of a children's weekly magazine, then left to go freelance. Always and admirer of comic art, his heroes in the field have been Burne Hogarth's Tarzan, Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, and Milton Caniff. He found time to paint landscapes in between children's picture books -- and heavier stuff for adult magazines. Ward was a motorcycle enthusiast and belonged to the M.S.C. London Leather and Denim Club. Bill Ward passed away on July 24, 1996.
     After Ward's work, the most interesting artists I've found include Michael Kirwan and Palanca. But neither of these two produce works in the style of Mr. Ward. I thank my lucky stars his stuff is still around. Pay a visit to the Bill Ward Archives. Tell then Jake sent you.

2006-10-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

a visual clip from a photogapher I know, Ian Grey. That's Raoul Escobar on the left.

Speak English!

2006-10-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I could care less what language this character would be talking in, as long as it's dirty! Maybe he could bunk down with Mark Foley

Soothing to the eyes

2006-10-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

Some days it's clearly worth it to take a gander out the window before hitting the shower. Nothin happened that I'm going to tell you about.

Mark Foley: bugger the bugger

2006-10-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

I cannot, for the life of me, figure this Mark Foley guy out. Why in hell would someone go out of his way by speaking out against kiddie porn and such, be mucking about instant messaging teen-aged boys to ask them what their wanking habits might be.
     Yeah, I am not the least bit surprised that he was intimately involved in protecting Georgie Bush's butt in the year 2000, when he worked along with that other Flordia scumbag Kathrine Harris to help Dubya get [what history will most likely discover later on] illegally elected as the Prez.
     And I'm not the least bit surprised that his Rethuglican cohorts not only knew about his antics but looked the other way and protected his sorry ass while he lurked outside the Congressional Page's dorm building at night.
     But I'm not entirely certain that this character Foley is a hard-core get-'em-afore-they's- full-growed lusting after pre-pubescent babies kind of pedophile. A sleazy slimey slug of a human being, perhaps, but from what I've seen of the evidence thus far, this guy was looking for the guys [admittedly only barely legal age in DeeCee] who were already bonafide horn dogs looking for some older Chicken Queen whom they, themselves could exploit and ...maybe even... blackmail.
     And what a plum he would be to go after. After all, Foley authored legislation [the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006] to change federal sex offender laws that was supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, and a number of victims’ rights groups.
     But let's not fool ourselves into thinking that some kids are never less than honorable themselves. A street-wise smart kid could set himself up for quite a few years by agreeing to keep secret the sexual hi-jinks of a public figure like Foley. I recall myself, at such a tender age, determinedly stalking older guys, most of whom wanted nothing to do with me 'cuz I looked too young. Nevertheless, like the sultry seductor in artist Paul Cadmas's painting "Playground" or "Horseplay," I managed to score a few of those chicken queens well before I was legal age in my home town.
     Part of the hysteria around the kiddie porn thing [especially when talking about kids [16 year olds, for instance] who, in other states [Kentucky, Maine] are already considered to be of the age of consent] is truly hysteria. Part of it is about matings that folks find, well, unseemly [You know, when school teachers, or probation officers, or priests ~people in power, essentially, are the adults bedding the over 16 year old kids]. Most folks just find the whols subject ~ well, icky, and they just don't want to talk about it.
     I can't say I'll feel bad or sad or despondent about the possibility of Foley's going to prison for trying to diddle those lads. he did, remember, write and promoted into law what he thought should happen to miscreants such as his-self. I only wish we were also putting the likes of Tom Delay and his buddy Abramoff into the clink as long and with such severity. But... sometimes the punishment might fit the crime. Once Mark Foley's in the clink, and has that big, strapping room-mate named Rufus whispering sweet nothings in his ears, he'll have plenty of time to role play being the boy in the relationship. In the larger scheme of things, it won't be full-scale, clean the halls of Congress social justice, but on a small scale, some justice might be served.

Here's another definition of Chicken Queen a bit more clear in it's implications. And for what it's worth, the following states consider 16 to be the "age of consent": Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana [though that state does have something called the "felony child seduction" law if the adult is in a "supervisory position" with the yute], Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire [but in these last two you have to be 18 if it's homosexual sex], New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia] FROM: A Table of Age of Consent Laws around the world]

rodent's revenge

2006-09-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Next time you don't think about how you make an impact, and whether or not nobody else cares... think again.

Ask me and I'll tell

2006-09-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

     The September/October 2006 issue of Gay + Lesbian Review reports that three young recruits in Minneapolis attempted to join the National Guard, fully intending to indicate that they are gay.
     This is only part of a "Right to Serve" campaign being conducted in 30 cities across the U.S. from August through October by Soulforce, a gay rights' organization in Minneapolis. The action will include more than 1,000 young people, including organizers and several potential recruits who would enlist if allowed to do so as openly gay people.
    Said Haven Herrin, one of the prospective recruits, "The policy makes it clear that I will eventually be rejected because of my sexual orientation. There have already been arrests of patriotic kids who want to be active participants in defending their homeland.
    Anyway, these days, with the Army taking high school dropouts and some kids with criminal records, what harm would come from actually signing up a kid with good academic and athletic creds. There is also the possiblity that some enterprising recruiter, recognizing the foolhardiness of the policy, might just bite the bullet [so to speak] and sign some of these gay kids up anyway.
    Besides, what are they afraid of? Somebody getting distracted when they see some nekkid butt in camo while cleaning up their rifle with Hoppes # 9?     Consider for the moment. Is there anything the least bit off-putting by what you see here? I don't think so. If I saw this while rubbing the barrel of my rifle, there is nothing that would make me then think of someone else's short arm.
    The military's ridiculous restrictions now, is not all that different from my own experiences decades ago when there was still a draft. I went for a pre-induction physical, was questioned extensively by an old coot who called himself a psychiatrist. Although I had clearly "checked the box" [the parlance of the day] I was still repeatedly asked about what I would do if I were drafted anyway.
    Finally, I was asked, point blank "If you are recruited anyway, would you refrain from having sex for three years?" I snorted that that would be impossible. The wording was interesting. I was not being asked if I'd refrain from sex with men, but refrain from having sex altogether. Right. That was not a question anyone would normally ask a testoterone filled adolescent, gay oor straight.
    I didn't get accepted at the time.
    But the planners promoting the Right to Serve campaign see their current effort as one that may force the military [and the Pentagon, and Duyba and others] to relent and eventually drop the "don't Ask, dont Tell" policy that has been in force since the early days of the Clinton Administration.
    Discrimination is, after all, a set of actions born out of the overt practice of prejudices.
    And if the objection is not about sharing the showers and latrines, shouldn't the USA, like its counterparts in Europe, be enlisting gay boys and girls into the military anyway?
    What's next, enlist rich kids?

chain saw savvy

2006-09-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: As with anyone else these days, the suggestions offered here are not meant ot be a substitute for actual training. No promise of getting the saw working again is implied or intended. I've also got no idea how much you know about chainsaws so I'm trying to be as basic as possible. Having said that...

Someone sent me a question about chain saws. Don't know why they couldn't have gone to any number of commercial sites. Maybe because the writer is a woman and didn't want to deal with attitude from sales clerks at the chain saw retailer. Dunno. Anyway, I wrote her back with the following, plus the pictures included here:
     Without seeing what has occurred, and without knowing what make of chain saw you own, it may be something as simple as the bolts that hold the guide bar [some folks refer to this as the blade arm] to the saw coming loose. The saw chain should fit into the groove in the middle of the guide bar and shall have notches that fit into the groove. You have to be careful to put the blades to they face in the proper direction of how the saw cuts [generally clockwise] otherwise you'll have even greater problems that arise.
     I have included two pictures, the first shows the saw chain the second the guide bar. The saw side of the chain is at the top of the picture and faces the direction most likely to be on the top of the guide bar when properly attached.

     The second picture is the guide bar. There are two holes to the left side of the picture which is where it gets fitted on to two screwbolts. They have to be tightened and the guidebar has to be held taut while tightening them. Wear a pair of thick leather gloves to accomplish this since when pulling the guide arm taut, there is likely to be some contact with the blade.
     You ought to be able to find at least some maintenance manuals online through a google search; although many have them available only as pdf format files.
     Personally, I own two Stihls [they tend to burn oil but otherwise work just fine], one Poulan [works nice and clean and a small one can be handy for turning out ice sculptures] and a Sears Cratfsman [My first chainsaw. I'll never do that again. Hard to get parts for if you don't live near 'em and since the only people you can get to maintain them are Sears folks ...breaks the warranty anyway] But my true logger buddies generally swear by the Swedish Husqvarnas as the best that you can get.
     Here's a link to one non-pdf site with maintenace tips [no pictures, unfortunately] Well Grounded Grounds page about On Chainsaw Maintenance.
     Oregon Chain also has a good guidebook that, while certainly promoting their own products, provides general information that applies to many makes and models, especially for the information you seek.
     I don't doubt you may already know this but you may want to locate your closest dealer and get in touch with them for some pointers. Don't worry about asking what you think might be "stupid" questions. I realize that there will be some guys actually stupid enough to give you attitude since a woman may be asking the question, but not all maintenance guys are like that. And the serious chain saw dealers and [more importantly] chain saw USERS take the tool seriously and most of us are not shy about giving pointers to a novice user.
     Safety, after all, is more important than attitude.

Here's some other useful sites that offer tips on chain saws
• About's How to fell a tree. This has links to a beginner's book course and other links that can help educate a character about chainsaws and using them.
• The Timber Buyer's Network offers a well written online Chain Saw Basics Course put together by veteran logger Carl Smith.
• Finally, a connect to sculptor Mike Burns chainsaw collection.

another edible wild thing

2006-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

After grooming the horse, this untamed beast may need some grooming of its own.
     Is this treating the man as a sex object? Well ~ yeah. But he is another porno personality, so it's not like he'd complain all that awful much. He goes by the name of Sam Shadon and has been recorded as being a rather willing sex object indeed, in a video that also includes Gus Mattox putting him through his paces.
     Like Gus, Sam does his share of public-spirited support and was written up in the San Francisco Bay Times for his contribution to collecting donations for tsnumai survivors.
     But he still does yeoman's work in films such as Buckshot / Leatherbound and well earns a reputation as a happy pig. [DON'T click on this last link if descriptions of male/male rutting rituals make you uncomfortable... but, if that's the case, what are you doing reading this?]

edible wild foods

2006-08-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Jerusalem artichoke
     They can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted or fried, but these delicious little tubers are not artichokes and don't hail from Jerusalem.
     Growing wild in my yard, they are a hardy perennial and, once a bed is established they can grow up to seven feet [two metres] tall. Stalks with yellow daisies top this delicious tuber vegetable plant.
     The plant originated in the Americas, and it's reported they were named artichokes because they have a taste similar to a globe artichoke, which belongs to the thistle family. Jerusalem artichokes belong to the sunflower family - which accounts for the first part of the name, a corruption of the Italian girasole (turning to the sun). They are healthful and easy to store come wintertime.
     They vary in size and can be cream, beige or yellow; some have a pink tinge. Easy to spot in the shops, jerusalem artichokes look similar to fresh ginger, but buy them now as they are at their crunchy best when the weather is cold.
     Keep the tubers in a plastic bag or airtight container in the fridge as they will dehydrate when exposed to warm, dry conditions. Remove brown, stringy roots and scrub or peel before using. These tiny vegies discolour when cut, so they need to be placed in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice, or boil them with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to the cooking water.
     Make a quick artichoke soup by sauteeing chopped onion and garlic, then adding peeled jerusalem artichokes and vegetable stock. When vegetables are tender, puree and serve with a splash of cream and chopped chives. You can fancy it up and make Jerusalem Artichoke soup with curried prawns

Here's another recipe ~ Serves 4:
• Spray a 6-cup ovenproof dish with light olive oil. Peel 400g jerusalem artichokes and slice very thinly. Peel 400g desiree potatoes and slice very thinly. Finely slice half a peeled brown onion. Combine 200g light sour cream, 100ml skim milk, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, salt and cracked black pepper in a bowl.
• Spread 2 tbsp of sour cream mixture over the base of the ovenproof dish and layer about a fifth of the artichokes and potatoes over the sour cream and top with about 2 tbsp of the sour cream mixture. Continue to layer vegetables, salt and pepper and sour cream mixture, adding onion slices in between, to form five layers.
• Finish with a layer of sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with 150g grated gruyere cheese and bake at 390F [200C] for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until vegetables are tender and top is golden. Cover with foil if cheese begins to brown too quickly.

Get your own free weights and measures converter

more than eye candy ~ gus mattox

2006-08-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

I gotta say it sure is nice to run across a porn performer who seems to have more on the brain that sex. I'm note entirely certain how I landed upon the website for Gus Mattox but I'm sure glad I did.
I've been intrigued not only with his opinions but how well he describes himself. He's a really good writer and he seems to write about everything from "straight-acting gays;" the difficulties of getting a high-and-tight haircut from an ex-Marine bodybuilder; or the Polish guys at the hardware store; insights into Chi Chi LaRue; the challenge of being a sex worker with the rich ["be silent!"]; and his perspectives on American politics [left of right and holding scant tolerance for the Log Cabin money boys]. He maintains an absolutely intriguing set of weblinks.
But stopping by for extensive galleries of his body nekkid nude, well, that's hit-or-miss; depending on how much bandwidth he's used up with his internet service provider any given month. Guess I'll have to keep going back.
Thanks Gus, for a really refreshing peek at a clever, thinking, human being who evidently is a GAY ACTING as they come.
Pix purloined from Mr. Mattox' site.

universal dilemma

2006-08-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

In traditional prostitution I give HER the money and she gives ME the blowjob.
Why is it in gay prostitution HE gets the money AND the blowjob ???????

culture warriors speak together

2006-08-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

Bill O'Reilly, the man noted for lurid sex fantasies in the shower, met one on one with dark fantasy rocker Mariyn Manson on his show recently. Must be a slow week for trumping up scandals that O'Reilly only now discovers that Mr. Manson has made use of sexually provocative lyrics and dons flamboyant make-up on stage during his performances. While O'Reilly is quick to accuse Manson of being a "priest of Satan" I would hazard a different guess than O'Reilly wants us to think as to which of the two actually has made pacts with the devil.
Manson handles the interview well. Click on the screen in the AlterNet link to see the interview.
If all this scares y ou too much, or if the line of discussion is too intellectual, maybe a Jack Chick bible tract is more your speed.

lighter notes

2006-08-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Where's the digital camrea when I need it most? In a zipped shut case back behind the seat of my pick-up truck. So I'll describe three recent things I've seen:

• Two cops traveling in their cruiser beside me, the driver talking away on a cell phone [which is illegal where I'm traveling]
• A big, surly, burly, muscled, goateed gruff looking man in workingman's clothes, traveling along the side of the road in a motorized wheelchair with a little white yappy dog on a leash walking alongside him. The guy's wearing big fluffy bedroom slippers on his feet
• A middle-aged woman in a wide-brimmed straw hat wearing a down to the calves scallop hemmed floral-print dress bicycling down the road puffing a big fat old cigar, stuck midcenter between her teeth.

it's hard work to make a scene

2006-08-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

[click on pic to see full sized image]

     The photo shoot had to have been difficult. Selecting the right "models" to evoke the atmosphere; arranging equipment rental and proper releases ~ in this case borrowing police equipment while carefully cropping out the key details [namely, what city allowed their stuff to be used this way]. Then there's selecting the site so as to get the proper natural lighting; and time, to ensure that no unwanted intruders might accidentally stumble across the shoot and distract everyone. And then paying for everything, plus getting the idea marketed and properly, well, exposed to the target audience.
     But who is the target audience. And are we so certain that any of these actor/models required getting paid or did they pay to participate in this little imbroglio? Personally, I know people who would.
     After all, this tantalizing bit of soft-core porn remarkably resembles a bust of two guys caught in the act of, well, having their pants down for one thing. In the bushes [or so it would suggest] and busted by a couple of well-packed officers of the law. [Is the plainclothesman wearing C-in2 briefs as well? We'll never know.]
     There are, in fact, two "scenes" transpiring here in one tidy little picture. There's the photo shoot, presumably paid for by C-in2 and there's the sex scene with so many complicated layers of not so crypto homoeroticism. Sex oustide in the bushes; getting caught buy authority figures in the act [good looking ones I might add]; bondage and humliation as well as the anticipated prison holding cell rape scene. No wonder the bad boy about to be cuffed is begining to sprout a woody.
     Or am I reading too much into this? Maybe, as Freud said, "A cigar is just a cigar" and these guys are just trying to sell us underwear. perhaps the real message is, if you expect to be busted, wear clean shorts and cut down on the embarassment.
    You tell me.
[Advert found in GQ magazine but do yourself the favor and watch the videos at the C-in2 website to find out more.]

free speech

2006-08-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

83 words Verizon doesn't wany you using:
Verizon has warned its customers that they will not accept the use of the floowing words [or their derivatives] from text messaging. A memo distributed said that the list will be updated from time to time and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Don't know exactly what they will do if someone actually uses any of these words, [maybe turn you over to Homeland Security].

Here's the dirty words:

anal, ass, bastard, beatoff, bitch, BJ, cameljockey, chink, circlejerk, clit, cock, coolie, coon, cornhole, cum, cunt, dago, deepthroating, dickhead, dickwad, dildo, dyke, eatme, fag, faggot, fellatio, fisting, fleshflute, fleshpopsicle, fornicate, fuck, fudgepacking, gangbang, genital, getlaid, gobtheknob, goldenshower, gook, hairpie, hardon, homo, honkey, jerkoff, jewboy, jizz, 5, kike, lesbo, limey, manloaf, masturbate, muffdiver, nigger, nutsack, paki, panface, poontang, pubic, pussy, queef, queer, raghead, rimjob, rubyredbag, scrotum, shit, sitonmyface, sixtynine, slag, slant, sodomize, spankthemonkey, spearchucker, spic, spooge, teabagging, testicles, twat, vagina, wetback, whackoff, whipitout, whiteswallow, wop

Missing: skin flute, penis, breast

august eye candy

2006-08-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Robbie Naish Champion Wind Surfer

homeland insecurity

2006-08-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

Jim MacDonald posted at Making Light a link to how to "bump" a lock. That's right! While Michael Chertoff is still trying out how to make New Orleans safe, somebody's come up with a way to break into your digs more easily. And he wrote about it.
"If your present security depends on one or more mechanical locks presently thought to be very resistant to manipulation, you should at least investigate whether these locks can be bumped. Manufacturer claims as to how manipulation-resistant a certain lock is should be considered worthless unless the claim specifically mentions resistance to bumping."
So do what you need to fellers and gals. For my bid, don't value your "stuff" overmuch, but get your locks checked anyway.

a drover's life

2006-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

From the Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald: The Drover's Life
Absolutely beautiful, even it if doesn't capture the grueling, back-breaking hard work that this life would subject one to. Encouraging to see people willing and eager to take on this kind of lifestyle. Here's another clip:

Thanks to Ozzi Dangler for cluing me into this. // Photos by Andrew Meares

grunt

2006-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Steve Hurley, also known as "Tit Pig", sweating it out in the Palm Springs desert outreaches.

the war drags on

2006-07-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

It's disturbing that the Israeli government has lodged an attack against its neighbor Lebanon, though hardly surprising. Frankly, I've never believed that the concept of "an eye for an eye" was a sound method of seeking justice, but I suspect that justice is the last thing the Israeli government has in mind.
What we have here is yet another chapter in an unwinnable scenario. Nobody wins if nothing is left when the shooting is all over.
I know My rant here won't change things, but as the surviors of the Holocaust repeatedly say, silence equals death. Sometimes noise does too, but failure to speak out against wrongs begs the question as to whether or not one agrees with the injustice.

eye candy watch

2006-06-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Not "butt ugly" but pretty pleasant were these two hunters, taking Sunday respite for an ice cream cone at a "hillbilly Golf Course" in the eastern Adirondacks.
Had to watch while asking just about any question I could about the local area. Then it was off to continue on a camping trip up in the upper reaches of the east coast mountain chain that still bears some sembalance to wilderness. Had to deal with black flies and "noseeums".
Would much rather have been bitten by these two.
All in all it was a pretty pleasant camping trip. Few people to run into and no talk radio able to creep down into those upper reaching valleys. That cool pond on the left is part of the view not far from where I pitched tent for a few days.

pirates and public figures

2006-06-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't mind doing unspeakable things with Mr. Johnny Depp. I look foward to his next summer blockbuster, Pirates II, especially since his performance makes his producers nervous. Playing a fey swashbuckler, exuding ambigious sexual messages, but what else can one reasonably expect from a character who likely spent months at sea away from women? Are we to really believe that sex never happened on those long stormy excursions? I sure don't.
     While I will get bored really quick with the publicity hype, I'm comfortable expecting Mr. Depp to perform with high standards, no matter how low his character is seem on the social totem pole.
     Pirates actually held a curious role in early colonial American history, being both heroes [as "privateers"] and villans [scurrilous pirates, yo, ho ho]. While reviled for sometimes brutal ~ even probably sadistic ~ practices, pirates are also to be lauded for establishing collective shared risk pools amongs crews. The quirky [and possibly by now irrelevant] injury charts ["loss of left eye and right leg"] that come with accident insurance policies had their origins in pirate concerns for their fellow crewmen who may have been injured in sea battles.
     Can't say the same is true of todays captains of the corporate world's pirate "ships". They feigned innocent while taking the treasure chest contents entirely for themselves.
     I say put my lot with the pirates of yore, rather than those of present day. That said, I'm equally willing to bask in the fantasy piratedom of Mr. Depp when he comes to a theatre near me this summer.

road work

2006-06-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

This across from my front door last summer. I covet the truck. The driver wasn't bad either. Played around with the pix in Photoshop to give it a grainy watercolor effect.
Roadwork at the corner can be a real pain. Means taking alternate routes a couple of miles out of the way just to go to the post office down the road. I suppose I could walk, but then I wouldn't be showing proper fealty to the oil company execs. And if I'm not shelling out 50 bucks every time I fill the tank in the truck, how are those guys gonna get the money to send their kids to private school and shelter them from the likes of you and me?
Alright, enough ranting. Enjoy the picture. By the way, I've added some new stuff to my Flickr entries [check on the box in the right side cloumn]

summertime ~ eye candy watch

2006-06-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, its that time of year when even if I try to drive defensively, I keep getting distracted. Here's an example.

Nero's fiddlers diddle poorly

2006-06-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

The millionaires fighting to save their grand- children from ever working and honest day in their life [unless they's homos, and then... well, fuck 'em! They can support themselves selling their bodies to strangers] thoughtfully sandwiched eliminating the rich man's estate tax refund between a crassly obvious anti-gay marriage vote and a wrap theysves with the anti-flag-burning amendment proposal.
Pam Spaulding helpfully identifed this group:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., right, with, from left, Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., Pastor Rev. William Owens Founder and President of the Coalition of African American, and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, speaks in a news conference on Capitol Hill to support the Marriage Protection Amendment, Tuesday, June 6, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta).

Pam's always good for up-to-date news items. She rightfully hellps me get my dander up on important issues.
Oh, and you can always go to True Majority, register and find out how to express your disgust at this kind of garbage.

2006-06-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you can't make this stuff up. Fellow blogger Tom Bacchus saw this on the tv set and wrote "...Arkansas Razorback players Clarke Moore, Brett Goode and Casey Dick love hanging out on the sidelines. This was actually on TV. The commentators paused ... and didn't say a word."
So... what else ought they have said?

web censorship in the USA?

2006-05-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

The following article is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO READ. Call your members of the House and Senate and complain. If this goes through, people will no longer be able to have their small Web sites fully available to the masses. This means that a small organization or individual or small business, that is unable to pay the Mafia like Web tax to the telecoms, will not be given equal access to the surfing public. Worse, if a telcom decides that they don't like a Web site for polictical or religious reasons, they can in effect censor that site by funneling it through a slower version of the Internet.

Story from the Baltimore Sun

Proposed rule changes would tangle the Web

By Michael Socolow
Originally published May 9, 2006
Congress wants to change the Internet.

This is news to most people because the major news media have not actively pursued the story. Yet both the House and Senate commerce committees are promoting new rules governing the manner by which most Americans receive the Web. Congressional passage of new rules is widely anticipated, as is President Bush's signature. Once this happens, the Internet will change before your eyes.

The proposed House legislation, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (COPE), offers no protections for "network neutrality."

Currently, your Internet provider does not voluntarily censor the Web as it enters your home. This levels the playing field between the tiniest blog and the most popular Web site.

Yet the big telecom companies want to alter this dynamic. AT&T and Verizon have publicly discussed their plans to divide the information superhighway into separate fast and slow lanes. Web sites and services willing to pay a toll will be channeled through the fast lane, while all others will be bottled up in the slower lanes. COPE, and similar telecom legislation offered in the Senate, does nothing to protect the consumer from this transformation of the Internet.

The telecoms are frustrated that commercial Web sites reap unlimited profits while those providing entry to your home for these companies are prevented from fully cashing in. If the new telecom regulations pass without safeguarding net neutrality, the big telecom companies will be able to prioritize the Web for you. They will be free to decide which Web sites get to your computer faster and which ones may take longer - or may not even show up at all.

By giving the telecoms the ability to harness your Web surfing, the government will empower them to shake down the most profitable Web companies. These companies will sell access to you, to Amazon.com, Travelocity.com and even BaltimoreSun.com, etc. What if these companies elect not to pay? Then, when you type in "amazon.com," you might be redirected to barnesandnoble.com, or your lightning-quick DSL Internet service might suddenly move at horse-and-buggy speed.

It might appear that the direct ramifications of this bill are somewhat obscure. Why should you care, if your Internet fee isn't altered? Or if your Web surfing will (possibly) be only minimally disrupted? (The telecoms understand that completely barring access to certain sites - especially the most popular ones - would be counterproductive.)
You should care because any corporate restriction on information gathering directly counters the original purpose of the World Wide Web.

"Universality is essential to the Web," says its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee. "It loses its power if there are certain types of things to which you can't link."

If calling up the Web site of your favorite political commentator takes far longer than surfing to a commercial site, the new laws will have a direct impact on the Web's democratic utility. The proposed laws also facilitate future steps toward corporate censorship. Do you think that the telecoms, under the proposed regulations, would make it easy to visit the Web sites of their disgruntled - or possibly striking - employees?

The proposed new rules have received surprisingly sparse media coverage. The new laws have economic, political and social ramifications. There are several explanations for the silence.
The most probable is simply that because the laws have strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, they do not appear particularly newsworthy. COPE has been promoted vigorously in the House by both Texas Republican Joe L. Barton and Illinois Democrat Bobby L. Rush. While a few legislators are attempting to preserve net neutrality - most notably Democratic Rep. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine - they are clearly outnumbered.

The history of American telecommunications regulation does not offer a promising model for the future of net neutrality. In the late 1800s, Congress approved of Western Union, America's telegraph monopoly, censoring the Associated Press. The 1934 Communications Act resulted in political discussion over the national airwaves being tightly moderated by CBS and NBC.

Most telecom laws are sold to the public as the "natural evolution" of communications technology. Yet there is no truly natural evolution to our telecommunications laws. Only very rarely is regulation completely ordained by physics or technological limits. More commonly, it emerges from the political process. This is news to many Americans unaware of their own media history.

Many people believe the Internet's decentralized structure guarantees that no company or oligopoly could control it. Internet censorship - whether by corporate or state interests - simply sounds impossible. Yet not only is it theoretically possible, but the history of telecommunications regulation tells us it is probable. By the time the telecoms start changing what you see on your screen, it will be too late to complain.

Michael Socolow is an assistant professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine. His e-mail is michael.socolow@umit.maine.edu.

"doo be doo be doo"

2006-04-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know if Old Blue Eyes did a doobie before going on stage, though it's generally accepted that his crooner buddy Bing enjoyed a toke or two.
     Honestly, except for the perpetual indulgences of fear and bigotry marijuana law reform is long overdue. And we don't ahve to wait to enjoy the reform movement. This summer, in northern Ontario province, HempFest will take place from 24 through 27 August, 2006. Since pot smokers can be notorious procrastinaters, now's the time to plan to take part in this high-spirited gathering.
     As you may guess from the map, the gathering is in a cetral a location as anywhere else in the world. It's at least in the north western hemisphere [lucky for blokes like me, who live in that quadrant of the planet, and have the wherewithal to go, I guess].
     Better bring along plenty to eat, since you aren;t close to any SuperStop'n'Shop, Safeway or Loblaws.
     Anyway, happy 4-20.

coal miners ~ calling it as I see it

2006-04-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

For me, these pictures are pleasing to the eye. Pictures of miners by social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin. Mining is not considered a glamorous occupation.
     My grandpappy was a coal miner, worked down in the shaft mines of West Virginia. When he was older, he "graduated" to work up top running the convever belts from the tipple to the rail cars that carried the coal to distance cities. Folks in New York and Chicago, you can be certain, they didn't want to know how they got their buildings heated.
     He never spoke badly of the work he did, but whenever anybody amongst his kids and his kids children asked about the mines and what it was liek to work there, you could quickly tell he didn't want us having anything to do with the mines. Eventually, he died of black lung disease.      Although largely forgotten and ignored [except when some horrible disaster happens that the mine operators can't keep from the press] these men [and the occasional woman] are true heroes indeed. They risk their lives ~ in the short run by going into the mines, in the long run by slow death caused from incomprehensibly hard working conditions ~ so the rest of us can heat our houses, enjoy plastic, steel, and other products made from these things.
     Few, if any out there even think about the miners. And why should they? They are invisible.
     Officially, slave labor may have legally ended, but until the mine operators are cut down a few pegs ~ not rewarded so finely, for gross indifference to others' lives [and this is so be the operators come from USA, China, Somalia or anywhere else] then slavery, in my mind, will still be practiced and tacitly endorsed.

firearms and fags

2006-04-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

Towle Road writes with some skepticism about the gay gun rights group Pink Pistols, but seems to share a perspective that firearms are, some, well, queasy stuff to talk about anyway. I would disagree.
     This is not to ignore many straight guys' misconceptions about homos. First-off there's the mistaken idea that those of us who are "that way" are somwhow either to "sensitive" to even put our dainty fingers on a loaded gun [ignoring, for the time being, the play on what a "gun" might be, especially if loaded] or that the only reason we'd own a firearm would be to defend ourselves.
     On this topic, the sometimes erroneous Wikipedia gets it right, firearms ownership is not a "liberal versus conservative" issue.
     And, at least among urban gay folks, there seems to be the presumption that none of us like hunting, fishing, trapping or other outdoor sports [save, perhaps, the ever popular cruising, a type of hunting in its own right] just by virtue of being same-sex affectional kind of people.
     So the errant myth continues.
     Mind you, a person won't be very successful doing a google search to find hunters who happen to be gay. You'll get everything from links to porn sites, gay bashers, homo bars named "Hunters", but a serious search to find people who want to talk about hunting and firearmes of like mind, well, forget about it. Maybe, you stumble across the page about England's King Edward II, who was gay, and who hunted [but who gets a write-up that castigates him as being a screamer, so the stereotype doesn't go too far from what some folks still believe nowadays]
     But we're out there. But you're likely to find us in local hunting clubs, target ranges or second amendment rights groups. We, too, might even be members of the NRA [though I quit long ago out of anger to the garbage that national leaders toss at us, and because I got sick of listening to homophobic crap from some of the same.
     Truth be told, when I go to my local hunt club or target range, it isn't usually te sexual orientation of the participants that seems relevant at all.
     And in some respects that's too bad. Not only would men and women who aren't homo-oriented see that there's yet another commonality for some, but the mythic macho world of hunters might become more aware of the realities of gay life, not that it affects what you're going for in the woods.

not gay enough

2006-03-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Some years back, I was in a new city I went to a popular homo bar I'd read about in the Damron Guidebook on a slow Sunday afternoon looking to meet some "family". Without being asked I got told pointedly that "I hope you know what kind of bar this is. You can leave now if you want to. If this kind of place doesn't bother you then buy a drink and shut up." All this said without me getting a chance to speak one way or another by a flaming little gym queen who brought me my beer (bottled -didn't even offer me a glass) then made a point of walking away to talk with the only other three or four folks at the bar, occasionally scowling over in my direction but otherwise ignoring me. Screw 'em if they can't take a joke, I thought and so I left after drinking my beer.

Another time, there was this bar in a VERY secluded location, called the "Barking Spider" You had to search for a tiny sign several miles from the bar just after a turnoff near a highway exit. Then you drive a few miles till you found the place. The bar was in an old VFW Post hall, set back from the road aways and otherwise unmarked. You HAD to know what kind of bar it was to even stop at the place. I went in, and got carded, questioned at the door and told there was a cover charge before I was allowed to go into the place. Several other obvious effeminate types, and some little preppy boys were admitted without paying the cover. The bouncer obviously knew the boys entering, greeting each of them by name. I did stay, actually had a pretty good time once I got in (they also had a spread of food and good music) but I never went back.

Yet another time, I drove all over creation trying to find another in-the-middle-of-nowhere place someone at a pickle park told me about. This place was sort in the middle of a wildreness area not far from hunting and camping trails.

At the front door a BIG heavy set queen (he had a lisp and lilt in his voice down pat) stopped me, his ample frame blocking any entry into the place. [actually, had he just stood there silent I would have though he was kind of hot looking].

Our conversation went something like this:

"Are you aware this is a GAY BAR honey?"

"No. I just drove all over hell and back and decided to stop here since I saw cars parked." Hesitate then "Of COURSE I know its' a gay bar. You guys don't even advertise and there's no sign out front. Somebody has to tell you about the place don't they?"

A roll of the eyes and a pout before, "Well, don't get angry dear. We're just protecting the customers." Then, "Since you have no problem with that are you aware we have a cover charge of $5 tonight?"

"No I wasn't. You got a buffet then?"

"Oh no honey..." (the guy is now giving me a SERIOUS once twice over check out with his eyes) "...but there's beer nuts and pretzels at the bar"

"Then you must have a band coming in, eh?"

A coy grin again before "...no, but we will be playing disco when the dj arrives ..."

Then that coy look again, a smile, a blatent stare at my crotch and "...won't you come in for the cover fee?"

"Fuck no! For what?" The queenly bouncer shrugged, turned around and walked back in. I went home and beat off to porno mag pictures.

I did go back to this last place another time. The bouncer wasn't there and there was no cover charge. I found out it was run by a couple of real nice dykes who were a bit overprotective for their clientele. The place made me uncomfortable, not cuz it was a gay bar, but cuz I'm not one that does well in bars in general. Over time I met a few real hot charcters there. Eventually that bar closed as well. I'm certain that the lack of publicity and the overprotectiveness contributed to their demise.

As for "not looking the part" -I often have people get all whacked when they find out I like tube steak over beaver. Don't understand this at all. Once I told a woman at work (who was coming on to me politely) that I was not only gay but that I had regular steady chum and she blew her coffee out in shock. "you should have warned me" she said apologetically. After that we hit it off just fine.

And, recently, a man and woman who live down the road from me and the guy I've been living with for almost eight years, asked their neighbors why I was living with him since he was "quite evidently gay" but they couldn't figure me to be "that way" at all.

Baffling ain't it?

Curiously, in my lifetime, some of the most outrageously feminine men I've known have been heterosexual, and at least one was mortified to find out that many guys he worked with assumed he was gay (I had to be the one to tell him. I was new to town and asked my co-workers how I could meet some gay guys in the region and they thought he would know. He didn't.)

But all of this I mention cuz' to me it provides yet another reason for those of us who "don't look the part" to be out and open about it so non-bent folks get accustomed to the fact that we are here as well.

Until then, I suppose I'll have to still hear folks look at me with surprise sometimes and tell me "...but you don't LOOK gay.." However, I'll STILL wonder 'what the hell is THAT supposed to mean?'

What's the gayest thing in my apartment?

2006-03-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

Okay. This isn's about me. It's a question raised by some character by the name of Paul Ryan, who for some reason wants to know if people would drop by his place and, based on what they say there, think that he might be well, GAY [not that he has a problem with that].

A lot of this is based on his discomfort with Tony Bennett on vinyl and having a cheesy lookin' lamp [check out the pictures below] on his bedstand. Hell. It isn't even kitch far as I can tell.

Anyway, he sought input, so this is what I told him:

This is difficult, man, but I'd say given what you've offered as options you don't seem gay enough. No hot babe is going to be fooled into believing that it would take much for you to swing her way. She might not see you as enough of a challenge to, ah, convert.

If you are trying to pick up chicks with the "Gay" thing, you have to be really convincing which means you have to be more fey or [conversely] hyper-butch.

Point being, you seem to be hopelessly heterosexual.

Having said that, the Tony Bennett album cover does appear well worn, maybe if it were playing when she entered the apartment, followed up with the slip on clogs, though that would be pushing it.

The lamp? Nah! That's just schlock, which doesn't rise to the level of kitsch. Unless you are being ironic, and then you ought to have a set of two, and bigger ones.

I'd suggest going out and getting a modest sized statue of David [placed in the bathroom] or a 20x30 poster of David Beckham with his shirt off and pulling up his socks. THAT would be gay.

Anyway, Paul seems a nice enough feller. Go visit his site and rack up his hits counter.

What you get is what you get!

2006-03-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a grandfather; partnered; a homeowner. I live in a small village in a rural area. I'm a gay male country dweller

Most of my friends are not gay least as far as I know, though I do find I socialize with an awful lot of "straight queers" (y'know, what they call metrosexuals nowadays).

I just don't fit in with most of the other gay folks I've met in my life. Maybe it's just that I don't have the right genes. Gawd knows, I've tried! But truth of the matter is that, contrary to popular cultural stereotypes, I lack some important "gay culture" criteria. To wit:

• I'm basically a slob
• Don't know a show tune from an aria
• Never been a member of a Royal Imperial Drag Queen Court
• I'm no gym bunny; I've got a beer gut [oops, that gets into the area of "bears" ...but that's a different topic altogether]
• I've got the fashion sense of a flea

True, I’m more fond of men, more comfortable with another man (and feel inherently right in saying so) than I am with a woman. And I’m comfortable saying –for I believe this- that I was born "that way." I have consciously known this since I was about 5 years old. For the most part, I am completely at ease with this reality. Not always, mind you. After all, I was wed to a woman for over 6 years and sired a boy-child from that union. Mighty glad I was able to do this too! But this didn’t last. I got divorced for reasons quite unrelated to my sexual misadventures (and no, I won’t tell you about it. It’s none of yer damn business. Don’t even think about asking me about it)

But that you ask if "I’m homo" has some curious connotations as well. Particularly considering what I do and where I work. Being "homosexual" was once decreed to be a form of "mental illness."

And the very term "homosexual" was one born out of clinical terminology. Part of the real slimy part of the mental treatment industry/system is that folks in the field increasingly refers to it as "behavioral health."

Now, the evolution of same sex couplings from something that no one gave second thought about, to the medicalization of these same actions/affections/inclinations, grew out of a late 19^th century unnatural coupling all its own. Namely, it was the union of preachers (those self-appointed standard bearers of moral correctness) together with a cadre of scientific types [not scientists they, mind you] (these latter with intentions of creating for themselves a cloak of professionalism to disguise the fact that all they really wanted was to maintain social control over other human beings).

And in the process, they made same sex unions "aberrant" by announcing them to be so. In and of itself, the assertion of something doesn’t make the premise valid. But I digress.

Once I eventually became comfortable with this facet of myself, (that I am a real queer) I never tried to pretend to be anything other than what I am. Sure, I didn’t fit the social construct of what a homo should "look like" [choose one- (a) limp wristed mincing fairy who knows every Bette Davis movie script by heart (b) hyper masculine Neanderthal with big muscles, a big penis (or the fantasy of having one) and an ego large enough to think that any and every other guy on earth is fair game for having his fudge packed lemme know how to get in touch with this one]. This made things somewhat more complicated. But I never hid.

I don’t go around wearing a sign, for gawd’s sake, but if anyone asks, I ain't gonna lie about who I really am or what makes me tick.

Getting Started

2006-03-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks. This is the opening of Jake going cyber and independent. This is also the cleaned up version of Jake's world. So no nasty stuff, eh? Immature people could be watching.