drakkar noir

to all the clueless boys in the world (by way of one specific hunky jock wandering the aisles of target today):

it's 2007 - put away the drakkar noir.

nobody likes that aroma really. and truth be told, none of us liked it in 1987 when it was popular (we just wore it to be cool).

if your going to wear a synthetic cologne (eww), then at least go for something upscale like:

issey miyake or givenchy to name just two.

personally, i'm not a fan of synthetic aroma - go with essential oils like aveda if you ask me. the fact of the matter is, synthetic aroma's really smell nothing like the plants and flowers they come from -

as an example.... lets say i'm calvin klien and i'm making a new cologne with rose oil as it's primary base.... i'm gonna take the cheapest form of rose oil known to man (the oil from a rose petal can be extracted (a process called steam distillation) 15 times. the most expensive/potent/pure form of rose oil comes from the 1st extraction. all the following extractions are a little more diluted, or less "pure"), or the 15th extraction. i'm then gonna take 1-3 drops of this diluted form of the oil and have a computer "replicate" the diluted aroma by synthesizing it using petrochemical bases. then i'm going to add another synthetic "binder" which makes the aroma "stick" to the body for a long time (in some cases, the binders are so strong - umm drakkar anyone - that they can actually stay potent on clothing after it's been washed). that's the real reason people are sensitive to perfumes & colognes - it's not the aroma itself, it's the synthetic "binder" that overwhelms the entire fragrance in the first place.

so concludes your "aroma 101" class. there will be a test.

i just don't see the point. if your trying to smell better, why wouldn't you want to smell as much like a natural aroma as possible?

oh and to all the "natural-boys" in the audience. i love the smell of a man as much as the next guy, but there's a very fine line between smelling natural and masculine and smelling rank and raunchy. there is nothing wrong with wearing an aroma that compliments your natural body chemistry.

just. not. drakkar. ever.

hazardous waste (aka the chevy mailbu)

i'm a little less hazardous to the earth right now.

as you may remember, i dispise general moters. and it stressed me out to no end to drive a chevy malibu (what a fuckin' ugly car - long story why i got it, but suffice to say, i never liked it). i really wanted to get a car that was less taxing on the environment. got better gas mileage & lets face it, looked a helluva lot smarter.

dear readers may i introduce to you to my mazda 3 - now forever known as 3:

now, i realize it's not a hybrid, but hybrids aren't really right for me in my situation (amount of highway miles vs. city miles being the big reason) - but there are a couple of things my new 2005 mazda 3 has that certainly make it better than the 'bu:

• better fuel mileage - i should be able to hit 35 mpg on the freeway (a damn sight better than the malibu ever made).
• it's a manual
• it's used. for me it's not just about putting another car on the road, i'd rather find a car that needs a good home, than breed a new one onto the freeway - hey, it's just like getting yer next dog or cat at the shelter rather than pet store.

i've also signed up with terra pass (go ahead and get yours, you know you wanna. all the cool kids are doing it).

terra pass neutralizes (or more accurately offsets) your car's environmental impact by supporting projects that reduce greenhouse gasses. here's how (using 3 as an example):

• 3 emits approx. 9,312 lbs of carbon dioxide (co2) in one year (more than 3x it's own physical weight)
• i pay terra pass a yearly fee ($49.95/depends on make/model & how much you drive)
• terra pass subsidizes projects that reduce greenhouse gas such as:
  -an entrepreneurial wind farmer receives funds to expand his plant.
  - small dairy farmer gets capital to install digesters on his farm to control methane emissions.
• my terra pass is certified to eliminate the equivalent of 3's carbon dioxide emissions

(fyi, the malibu emitted approx. 11,973 lbs of co2 - malibu huh...? sounds aptly named considering the amount of smog out there in malibu)

for giggles, i put some friends car into the co2 calculator (check yours here) to see what they look like (names have been changed, but models remain - no disses intended, i love all my friends and their driving choices):

rae / subaru outback: 10,428 lbs of CO2 per year

bc / mini convertible: 8,236 lbs of CO2 per year

camelback / dodge magnum: 11,445 lbs of CO2 per year

dorothy parker / nothing: 0, she's a public transportation diva

barnes / land rover: 14,223 lbs of CO2 per year

so there you have it. i have a kick ass new car that i love love love and i'm doing something good for the planet (for only $49.95). sure the blue is a little oftputting (it's growing on me - i've never had such a bright car), but it's fun as fuck to drive and the dash looks like something out of star trek.

i be a happy boy.

prince divorce #2, a conversation

well, not much has been said here regarding my love of the music of prince - prince's music is something you either love, or don't, something you get, or something you don't. i try not to foist it on anyone (except for cb) - but had to share this conversation from the other night with my friend greg (feel free to email him and tell him to update his damn blog!)

greg: so i have a question for you -
me: ok
greg: let say you were a life long prince fan...
me: ok
greg: and you became the president of his fan club...
me: ok
greg: and then became employed at paisley park enterprises as his assistant...
me: ok
greg: and then you start to fuck/date him and eventually marry him...
me: ok
greg: and then you get divorced. are you still a prince fan?
me: actually, i think the day after i announce the divorce i take my entire prince collection down to used record store and sell it to make some cash.

ahhh, prince, another divorce (number 2 for those keeping track).

nobody could fault you for the first one failing (loosing a child as to be devastating to a relationship)... but what did you do to piss off this one? did you fuck tamar? (seriously man, your protogee's get less and less interesting every year).

i'm actually ok with prince being single again - i think prince writes better music when he's single and tortured. not to mention when he's dating lots of women all at the same time.

musicology & 3121 were the first little baby steps towards redemption after you forced that piece of shit the rainbow children on all of us.

lets see where you end up next.

the mundanity of my life

so little is actually happening in my life right now it's pathetic on a certain level and reassuringly "the same" on another. a lot has changed for me in the past few years, i've gotten the job of my dreams which never ceases to amaze/confound/challenge/inspire me. i moved onto a more rewarding and fulfilling role on the red ribbon ride. i've actively begun pursuing my buddhist path. i've closed the door on a number of unhealthy relationships (resulting in a lack of close friends in minneapolis - do you have any idea how hard it is make new friends at 36?).

but on the other hand, i'm still a terrible home-body (shy isn't the right word, but it's close). have the sex life of a monk. still single. etc. etc. etc.

i really shouldn't complain - my life is pretty good on a number of levels and i moreorless have my health (finally).

of course the fear with the perfect job is that it allows me to hide behind it a bit. i have two busy seasons - spring (january - may) and fall (august - november). this proves to be a tempting excuse to just disappear for a bit.

for example - starting next week this is my work schedule for the next few months:

aug 4 - 6 / denver for a hair show
aug 21 - 24 / los angeles for a regional sales meeting i'm producing
aug 24 - 28 / home, but producing the 2nd largest hair show our company does (insanity abounds)
sept 8 - 10 / dallas, for a hair show
sept 10 - 12 / atlanta, another regional sales meeting
sept 13 - 15 / back to dallas for another regional sales meeting
sept 18 - 19 / home, but managing a regional sales meeting remotely
sept 21 - 22 / home, but managing another regional sales meeting remotely
sept 23 - 25 / cleveland, for a hair show
sept 25 - 27 / cincinnatti, for another regional sales meeting
oct 3 - 5 / chicago for the last regional sales meeting
oct 6 - 7 / chicago for a bit of a rest with ray & jeremy <--- happy kyle!

oct 20 - 23 / home, producing our global sales meeting

nov 3 - 6 / home, producing a "summit" with the owners of our schools in north america

nov 11 - 12 / san fran, possibly participating in the largest consumer green festival in the world

damn, i'm tired just typing it out like that. no wonder i'm single. but can't i still just get laid occasionally? lol

----other random thoughts jumping around my head:

- big props to landry for sending me a link to camera obscura's brilliant song 'lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken' writtten about one my idols lloyd cole. a brilliant song, thanks for sending it (you too can check it out by going to itunes and searching for it)

- along the music tip (and to further my obsession with robbie), mr williams has a new song and a new album coming out late fall - you can hear the tune here: rudebox74 i quite like it - it's poppy and technoy and rappy all at once.

- i'm really excited about a new clothing line at target - it's designed by a brit named keanan duffty. keanan is a punk ruck designer that my company has worked with for a few years designing t-shirts for our shows. i've met him a bunch of times and he's a really nice/cool guy. i'm thrilled he's in target. check him out if you like the punk rock aesthetic.

- i was bored earlier and was fuckin' around with my digital camera and popped a few pics of yours truly. i wasn't gonna post 'em (namely cause i hate pictures of myself), but then i thought what the fuck. so here you go:

this is parker. you haven't met her yet. she pretty much rocks my world. and besides, what's a gay man without a pet?

if i were god via pissy rabbits

new favorite line ever: "if i were god i would have killed everyone already" - landry

check out the context over at pissy rabbits. it's a brilliant dissertation on religious pampletry (yes, that's a word in the sl...sr dictionary).

while on the subject of religious pampletry i must share a story.

back in 1988 (yes, that makes me old in gay years) while i was a freshmen at bsu, the school allowed the religious organizations to set up booths in the common area on the way into dining hall in an effort to recruit new members.

the dining hall was actually on the 2nd floor of walnut hall, and as such, there is one central stairway to access the dining floor. the groups would set up tables with their literature and try to get new members as we were forced to walk the plank between all of the lutherans, catholics, babtists, etc (curious, there where never any buddhist or muslim groups - not that i remember anyway. i would have been very keen to check out the buddhists.).

beginning with breakfast on monday and continuing all the way thru dinner on friday, one particularity aggressive catholic organization was quite adamant that i take a mini-bible (the concept of which still cracks me up... mini-bible? the normal sized one is huge, what did they edit out to make it pocket sized?) to save my soul. as if a mini-bible could save anyone's soul.

being a fairly respectable guy (cb, stop laughing), i politely said no and continued on to the grub (wally's had fuckin' kick-ass grub for a caf).

this continued at every meal for the whole week.

by lunch on friday, i was completely over it - i mean seriously - there were not that many people on campus that this group (and the very adamant closeted young future fag who tended to corner me to get me to take his mini-bible [hehe, i bet he wanted me to take his mini-bible]), couldn't remember that i said thank's no thanks the previous 13 times they/he asked.

so, when the future fag approached me again imploring me to take his literature, i responded very calmly with something to the effect of: "no thank you, i'm not a christian - i worship at the church of our father satan, would you care for some of my literature?"

suffice to say, the expression on his face was akin to my taking a dump on the dining room table infront of grand-mum during thanksgiving dinner. he was horrified.

my friends of course were falling over themselves laughing while trying to maintain their composure.

sure, it was probably a bit extreme, but really - how many times can you say "thanks, no thanks" without getting annoyed as fuck that they just don't get it.

needless to say, for the duration of my stay at that school (another year and a half), that particular group gave me a wide berth - however, covert (or so they thought) glances and whispering always happened as i walked by (especially during the recruitment week).

of course, i'm not a satanist - not even slightly, i just can't abide being preached to in an effort to save my soul. thank you very much, i'll take care of my soul just fine without any help from the pope and his church.

so yes landry, if i were god, at this point in the game - i'd wipe the slate clean and leave the earth to the mother nature and the cockroaches. chances are the earth would be a whole lot happier without humans fucking it all up.

music heard:

no more love songs / lloyd cole
get that love / thompson twins
inside of me / madonna
i did it just the same / eurythmics
i want your love / transvision vamp
juke joint jezabel / k.m.f.d.m.
love...thy will be done / martika

play that funky music white boy / wild cherry

look at me / geri halliwell

what can brown do for me?

well it's happened - another fantasy ruined.

so, i'm sure it's the uniform thing, but i gotta say, a ups driver - usually stops me in my tracks. even those that are a lil' average can be hot as fuck. especially when they're wearing shorts. what is it about those brown uniforms - woof.

i'm lucky enough to have a ups facility smack dab between my house and my office and if i time it just right, i end up on 35-w right as all the trucks are leaving for their routes, so i get to see a lot of the ups drivers. nothin' like checkin' out them shorts/legs in their open door van's as i drive by. woof woof.

well today, that fantasy was ruined (just a lil'). today as i was driving home from an appointment, i stopped at a light right next to a ups truck. imagine my excitement (hey, we take what we get when we get it, right?). so i looked to my left into the cab of the ups truck (i'm such a voyeur) and what do you think greeted me? a (easily) 350 lb's, poorly groomed driver with some sort of skin disease on his legs. eating corn chips out of the big bag (not just a lil' bag like you'd get with lunch).

:(

ok, seriously, the new question is "what can brown not do for you" ugg. it was bad.

i need a new fantasy in my head, cause the ups driver one is ruined.

thursday morning semi nudity

as promised... robbie williams:

ummm, robbie - whatcha doin' with yer hand in yer pants? my hand would look/feel much better, trust me. :-)

the boy does love to play with himself doesn't he?

some great photoshop from the sing while your winning disk - yum, naked wet robbie.

ooh thug robbie... he looks so bad ass doesn't he? it's a shame he's not.... we all know he's really a pussy cat in tattooed wolves clothing. don't you think the hint of nudity is more interesting than seeing the full johnson sometimes?

you can however, see the full johnson if you do a search of it (and it looks quite nice).... i thought about posting a pic here just for six shooter but i'm sure he's already seen all there is to see .

so there you go, just a bit of thursday morning diversion for you... woof. i know not all of you share my interest with robbie (scott..), but what can i say, i love his music and i think he's dead sexy. and witty. and rich.... all qualities i love in a man :-)

oh, one last pic - this time of guy. guy is flippen hot as hell in this pic, madonna is one lucky bitch.

madonna / guy ritchie / robbie williams

oh my... kill me now. not only do i love madonna, guy ritchie is one of my favorite directors, and lets be frank - i'd kill to get robbie in bed. woof.

and now a post focusing on all three! life is good.

stealing this little news blurb from joe.my.god.:

Robbie Williams is dueting with Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant on a single called She's Madonna, the title taken from what Guy Ritchie told his then-girlfriend Tania Strecker as he dumped her, "Look, you know I really love you, but she's Madonna."According to The Mirror, Madonna green-lighted the single when Williams played it for her and he hopes to get her to appear in the video. The album comes out September 4th. I can already see the ball queens having a field day doing runway to She's Madonna.

hmmm where to begin? ummmm - robbie singing about madonna, fuckin' brilliant. i've not got a semi in anticipation for the new robbie album 1974 (didn't even know this was coming - he's on a world tour for intensive care). and the subject matter? damn that sounds cheeky as hell and fun. robbie is the best pop singer in the world today - bar none. he brings a sense of fun to music today + he's dead sexy. that body, those tat's, that fur - those killer eyes. woof. and now he's singing about madonna. how perfect.

while we are on the subject....

ok, i love madonna - i really do. i can honestly say she never bores me and i'm always interested in what she's doing musically, socially etc.. she's a brilliant performer (drowned world tour in 2001; madison sq garden; 15th row - best stadium show i've ever seen) - but i have to be honest about something....

madonna has not been good for guy ritchies career. :-(

i mean lets be honest - b.m. (before madonna), guy wrote, produced and directed two of the greatest movies of the 90's; lock, stock & two smoking barrels & snatch. but a.m (after madonna), he did swept away (which stared said wife and nobody saw) and revolver (which was never released in the u.s.).

i love guy. i love madonna. i just don't know if i love them together.

if they ever got a divorce, i'd so be there to offer guy some comfort. that man is dead sexy.

maybe robbie should write a song about guy. now that'd go platinum for sure.

(p.s., for some fucking insane reason i can't post pics tonight - i have the hottest pic of robbie to share - i guess that'll have to wait until i can give him his own post)

mountains

ok, so this is a blast from the past (at least for ray, wendy & i it is, cb, on the other hand, is cringing right now, possibly vomiting as well)....

i realized tonight that i have not been listening to a lot of music lately. that's usually a sure sign that something's a miss in my head... (exhibit one is below, titled "ugg"). music is one of the fundamental aspects of who i am. indeed my earliest memory is of me sitting in my bedroom in the house i lived in before my parents got divorced - sitting in front of a little record player spinning vinyl. whenever i am not spending a lot of time with music, somethings wrong.

music has been my constant companion from childhood (first records: disco duck & black magic woman - i swear!), through adolescence (discovery of prince, siouxsie, depeche and madonna), to college (kate bush, peter gabriel, lloyd cole and miles davis) - on to music school; the the and afghan whigs and an unfortunate bout of queensryche) and all the way up to present day.

the muscians i tended to listen to pushed me to discovering different styles and artists. prince lead me to miles davis and jazz. siouxsie, to punk. peter and kate to world beat. what could be better?

they were (and still are) my constant companions. at work i've become known as the music guy - which suits me just fine, and allows me to foist my current goldfrapp obsession on my audiences in the form of walk-in/out music.

music lead me from the closet (babble, indigo girls & madonna of course) and kept me sane when i was spending obscene amounts of time in the hospital (another story for another day).

which brings me back to "ugg" - i should be more in-tune with my mind. when i don't listen to music, more often than not, it means i'm depressed or in a rut. couple that with an intense addiction to npr and you have one very unhappy 9thwave.

so, while rambling about you tube tonight, i stumbled on this amazing piece of music video perfection - prince & the revolutions 1986 gem: "mountains".

now, prince is, was, always will be the shit. even when he's producing lackluster jams, he has his back catalog to rest on. that allows him to continue to be the shit.

mountains is one of my all time fave prince tunes, and fuck if i don't love this video to pieces. this was right before prince broke up the revolution and remind's me forever of my 16th summer. what a perfect fuckin' summer that was. a summer where the world and your future is full of possibilities - where you can be as self-absorbed as you want to be and nobody bats an eye. a summer where you still have hope and dreams.

the band on this tune, the revolution - shit, i can't say anything bad about the revolution. of course, the band that came after (the sign of the times/lovesexy band) was technically better on a musical level, but the revolution - man, that's the band that built funk if you ask me.

now, this incarnation of the band was actually known in the prince world as the counter-revolution. when prince disbanded the side project 'the family' (the original singers of nothing compares 2 u), the family was more or less folded into the revolution. it became big, bold and a damn near perfect band. backing singers/dancers, extra muscle in the form of miko's guitar and of cousre the horns - every funk band needs it's own real hornsection.

so why do i love this song and video? well for starters, i always dig when prince is playful as he is here. the interplay between him and the girls (wendy and lisa for the uninitiated) always charms me. eric leeds and atlanta bliss on horns never fail to flip my switch, and for better or worse, it's one of the last times we saw the revolution together - so it holds a tender spot for me. bobby on drums (underrated), dr fink on keys (oh that amazing synth sound), the girls, brownmark on bass. not to mention the larger band featuring jerome, miko the boys and susanna (and sometimes sheila). when the revolution broke up in the fall of 86, it was (as far as i was concerned) like the beatles breaking up.

oh and it features one of the women i'd switch for - kristin scott thomas - in the video. she's fuckin' beautiful.

so kick back, bask in the glory of wendy and lisa and prince at their playful best and dig the mountains.

guitars and drums on the 1!

p.s., i can feel my mood shifting already

music heard while writing this post:

duh... mountains over and over and over again.

gayborhood

ok, i totally stole this from the moby files, but it's brilliant. and i give moby credit for posting it first.

ugg..

....nothing to say... i'm in a rut. not sure what's going on with me. it's hot. it's very hot.

no good music.

marginally interesting movies.

very busy at work.

ugg... i need to get laid. hell, a good cuddle would work well too... is that too sappy?

it's very very hot.

women i'd switch for / movies i love

rosario dawson / clerks 2

this woman is amazing... talented... beautiful... strong... she could flip my switch any day of the week.

this wasn't a huge surprise for me, but i was reminded of this fact today as i was watching clerks 2. rosario wasn't in the original - and i was a little concerned over adding such a strong new character into the mix, but i was really surprised at how well rosario's character mixed with dante & randall along with jay & silent bob of course. she was a brilliant addition.

this movie could have totally stunk. kevin smith, while a writer/director i truly admire, could have simply just jumped back into the clerks pool as an effort to get the stink of jersery girl off of him. i'm really happy to tell you that i loved this movie. as much as i love clerks 1, but in a very different way. clerks 2 did the necessary, it updated us on where these guys were all these years later, but it did it in such a way to give credence to their life choices and to validate them as people. they were not just caricatures (a strong argument could be made that the first movie didn't actually feature real characters) of slakers. these were real guys (and a girl) with desires and goals...

of course, all of this was wrapped up in a tidy package including donkey sex, pregnancy, 12-steps, transformers/lord of the rings vs. star wars and wanda sykes. i laughed out loud & i had a grin on my face throughout the movie. i was pleased.

which brings me back to rosario. let me start by saying i am not now, nor have i ever been a fan of rent. rosario was in the original cast on broadway (and then the movie). i do not hold this against her. yes, i realize i'm the only homo in the world who doesn't like rent. horribly overrated fucking musical if you ask me.

rosario first came to my attention with kids. brilliant introduction. then i saw her in josie and the pussycats. lets just say she and parker posey (along with alan cumming) were the only brightspots in that piece of shite). fast forward to 1999 when prince re-recorded his megahit & featured rosario doing spoken word - outstanding! fast forward again to sin city and now clerks 2. i want to marry this chick. she's bad-ass and sexy. if only she had a penis!

spoiler alert - don't read if you want to be surprised - the scene on the roof of mooby's where she teaches dante to dance (to the jackson 5 no less), sexy and completely innocent all at the same time. i'm in love.

cheers to rosario dawson.

king george aggression

christopher from the office sent me this link - it's awesome on every level.

go ahead, take your aggression out directly on king george (fyi, use yer mouse to fuck with george, click and drag baby!): http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/georgie.htm

50 most influential album's of all time

remember albums? those round, black things with grooves? well the observer / guardian, a uk newspaper has taken on the daunting task of documenting the 50 most influential albums of all time - it's quite an interesting list to a music geek like yours truly.

i was pleased that my favorite album of all time is on the list (no. 22 - kate bush's hounds of love: "... Listen again to the delirious cacophany of 'Running Up That Hill', and it sounds like God struck that deal...") and that some of my other fav's were there as well (no's. 12, 7, 24, 47 and of course 28).

what strikes me as interesting is their justifications and their "without this..." feature. i gotta admit, they've actually caused me to go back and revisit some things. case in point no. 2's sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band by the beatles. my personal view initially is that revolver is a much better album. but then they said this:

There are those who rate Revolver (1966) or 'the White Album' (1968) higher. But Sgt Pepper's made the watertight case for pop music as an art form in itself; until then, it was thought the silly, transient stuff of teenagers. At a time when all pop music was stringently manufactured, these Paul McCartney-driven melodies and George Martin-produced whorls of sound proved that untried ground was not only the most fertile stuff, but also the most viable commercially. It defined the Sixties and - for good and ill - gave white rock all its airs and graces.

Without this ... pop would be a very different beast.

my god they got this right. of course revolver may be the better album technically speaking, but if we are talking influence - pepper's is the way to go. i love when a publication forces me to re-evaluate things.

i absolutly must pop this in and listen to it again.

random notes

- this is the radar for the country as of 11:15am - not the armegeddon directly over my fair city.

- it now appears that lance bass from *nsync may be a big flaming homo. is anyone surprised? i must admit tho', i always found him cute in that annoying boy-band sort of way. i'd do him. new york post

- macauley culkin and mila kunis are dating. eww. that's just wierd. also wierd, the fact they were in Israel for vacation - and that their leaving due to the violence in the middle east actually caused news. seriously. why?

- pirates of the caribbean is officially the highest grossing flick of the summer. i don't get it. sure, i liked it - it was fun in a popcorn sort of way, but superman was way better (and better filmed)... i love me some johnny depp, but still don't get it. (258.4 million in 2 weeks).

- rockstar: supernova. i'm completely addicted to this show. dilana needs to win. all i'm sayin'.

our declaration of independance

i stole this from planet voenix -

who stole it from love america, hate bush.

It's like we're going backward.

Once America was seen as a beacon of hope and freedom. Today it's the world's bully.

We know how it happened. The smirking simpleton in the Oval Office, guided by Karl Rove, trumpeted by the venomous hatemongers of right-wing radio, and with the complicity of all but a few Republicans, discovered the ticket to political power: appeals to people's worst instincts.

And oh, how the people responded.

They demand religion in schools -- as long as it's their religion. They demand Constitutional amendments prohibiting gay marriage, abortion and flag-burning. Why? Those things offend them. They're wrong, the way they see things. And if you don't see things that way, if you're not offended, you're wrong, too.

But here's what's right: That we can invade a sovereign nation that posed no threat to us and kill tens of thousands of their citizens. And jail their elected president. And force a government we approve of on them. And unleash civil war.

Back at home, anyone who wants a timetable for troop withdrawal is "cutting and running" -- in other words, a base, dishonorable coward.

read more...

rockin' hair - update

back on june 16th i posted a bit about my friend baker's editorial hairdressing collection for the 2006 north american hairdressing awards.

alas, he didn't win - however another stylist that is in our network of salons won hairstylist of the year. this is huge in our industry (tho' not as big as british hairdresser of the year - that shit blows up overseas).

congrats to maureen anlauf from juut salons in the twin cities who won. the award ceremony (think oscars but with wierder hair) was held this past sunday evening in vegas (i would have been there too had i not been on the ride darn-it).

some of her winning collection:

back among the living

hi all - just a quick post - just home from the red ribbon ride and the business trip to cleveland. the ride was amazing in everyway - the riders and crew raised an astonishing $618,000+ (final count won't be ready for a bit). for pictures from the ride - go here: red ribbon ride pictures

(fyi, photo 52 is of me - for the life of me, i can't tell when this picture was taken - but i'm working the sound board. i think it might have been on friday night during the evening entertainment).

i volunteered to produce opening and closing ceremonies along with the entertainment in camp each night as well as producing a special evening presentation on hiv/aids. the ceremonies were exactly what i wanted - to take a very grass-routes event, and raise the bar a bit - to make the participants feel validated for what they were doing - biking 300 miles in 4 days and crewing (working their asses off) for 4 days taking care of the riders.

at opening and closing ceremonies we had an amazing slam-poet create and perform two original works that brought the participants to tears in some cases. as an event producer - the best response is an emotional response. needless to say, i was exceedingly happy at how the poet was received. i hope to post some video of the ceremonies soon.

the special presentation we did in camp on saturday night was intense to say the least. our campsite was a middle school that had an incredible auditorium with state of the art lighting and sound - i took full advantage of that fact. we created a space where the audience (riders, crew, friends & family visitors) watched a presentation by 7 of the other participants sharing their amazing, inspiring and humbling experiences with hiv/aids. the participants included:

• derek - an hiv/aids educator for the red door clinic in mn (and a rider) - who talked about the facts around hiv/aids (brilliantly done, i might ad)
• dr. kris - our volunteer dr on the ride - she had just returned from tanzania where she was treating hiv/aids patients - her brother-in-law had also just passed away from aids related illness the previous saturday making her story all the more impactful.
• penny - a crew member and native american who shared her story of her own fight against breast cancer and loosing her son to aids.
• michael - a rider who shared his story about having full blown aids and living in one of the facilities the ride sponsors
• david - a rider who is living with hiv in northern minnesota and shared how isolating living with this disease away from a major city.
• and mark - a rider who was diagnosed more than 10 years ago with hiv when it was a death sentence (it's still not a walk in the park by any stretch) and shared his story
• closing out the night was lorraine teal - the ex dir of the mn aids project who talked about the importance of being political about the cause and fighting to ensure our representatives in congress give the disease the money it deserves.

at the end of the evening, my close friend stacey walked up to me, gave me a hug and a kiss and simply said "thank you for giving me my moment" - what an incredible moment that was. if just one person walked out of that room with a new found energy in the fight against hiv/aids - then my job was done.

i struggle year after year with my involvement in the ride - why do i do this? do i still have it in me? am i the right person to do it? this ride (as does every ride) gave me the answers to those questions - i will continue to fight the fight until a cure is found. i've already confirmed to the director that should she want me back next year, i'd come back in a heartbeat.

needless to say i already have ideas for next year. :)

leavin' on a airplane....

6:53am. i’ve been in the airport for about 40 minutes and i’ve personally eyeballed at least 4,569 really hot men. there is just something about guys in airports – i’m not sure why… is it the suits? is it the college guys? is it the guys in flip-flops (not that i have a foot fetish, but i do enjoy guys in flip flops – especially if they are wearing jeans)….

take this guy sitting next to me in the waiting area… about 5’11-6’, short kinda scruffy black hair and scruffy facial hair in the way that you only get when you first starting to really grow facial hair (no, not the initial just out of puberty kind – there is a difference) – black t-shirt. size 32 jeans (flip-flops too, wait he just changed into tennis shoes – damnit all to hell). a great, natural tan (the kind you get when you are 19-21 and spend every waking minute outside). amazing baby-blue’s with killer eye lashes (shit, I think he just caught me checking him out)…though he is rockin’ a pink mini ipod (he must be very comfortable with his sexuality). he’s is going to grow up to be one very hot man.

then there is the generic business man sitting 3 chairs in front of me. also rocking an ipod (though of indiscriminate type) – he’s wearing the standard business uniform; black polo shirt with khaki’s – cute guy tho’, and I’m pretty sure that he has checked me out.

oh, and then there are the pilots. anything hotter than a man in uniform? ugg – when you fly the tinnee-tiny commuter planes like i am today (happens a lot when you live in the middle of the country, and your flying to, oh say, cleveland – also in the middle of the country), you get some of the younger pilots – major woof. oh my.

it’s now 7:04am and i’ve seen about a hundred more guys….i need a moment.

update on hottie boy next to me – I think he might have some mixed asian-caucasian in him, tho’ definitely not first generation – just the slightest hint. those eyes are gonna stay with me for a bit. now if only he had a hairy chest – pretty sure by looking at him he’s fairly smooth, tho’ he might have a furry belly – those are always nice.

second update on hottie - got a better look at him. not so cute from the front, but still has a nice body. much better in profile.

update #45 - it's now 10:45am. i'm sitting in the cleveland airport waiting for my boss to arrive from toronto. this airport smells like piss. seriously. and not cat piss. human piss. and there are no hot guys. seriously. none. nada. zip. tho there are a lot of women with highly unfortunate hair styles.

why...oh why did i agree to this pt 2

well the interview happened and apparently it went pretty good - our global communications team was happy with the end result and if everything checks out, i'll be quoted a time or two in the august issue of meetings & conventions magazine (i know your all jealous and a lil' turned on by my impending fame. you want me. it's ok to admit it, us famous people are used to the devotion).

onto other stuff - tomorrow morning i fly to cleveland ohio to do a site-visit at a theater for an upcoming show - i may have limited access to update sr..sl but i'll try. and then on thursday, the red ribbon ride kicks off (and yes, i've noticed none of you cheapskates have donated to the ride not that i'm bitter or anything) so i'll be even more out of communication with the rest of the world until the following sunday. i'll try to do an update here or there - i'm really thrilled with how opening ceremeonies is shaping up....

high class social event

so shelley-lynn threw a wang-dang doodle of a white trash partay yesterday afternoon. dem-dare high-class folks even stopped by too. the micky's big-mouth malt liquer's were flowing freely while there was even one of them new-fangled porta-johns rented just for the event.

as sick and wrong as this picture is (and yea, it's pretty sick and wrong), my favorite part is the halo around the olde english bottle - kinda makes it classy. and no, this isn't britney spears - it's the hostess, shelley-lynn. what's interestin' when i got to the party, she wasn't preggers, but about an hour later, she's about to drop. i still don't understand where dem-dare babies come from.

sheri-lynn got the afternoon off from hooters but had to leave half-way through the party cause she got called into work bobbie-jo's shift since bobbie-jo threw her back out with her new impants.

heather-lynn swears her baby-daddy isn't hitting her anymore - she says she just ran into the doorknob (4 times). of course, he was at home gettin' the wreck ready for the pine city derby...

sara-lynn eatin' some tasty kfc and drinkin' a miller. people think sara-lynn is responsible for that hole in the sky. i just think she looks purty.

stephanie-lynn's audition picture for hustler, what do you think? fyi - her knees are always dirty like that from givin' all the guys in the trailer park a bj.

bobby-keith got confused about where them drawers are supposed to be.

stephanie-lynn's high class hubby (you know them city folk - they always coordinate) usin' the porta-john. he thinks he's better than us tho - not pissin' behind the tree and all.

shelley-lynn's old man charlie-joe couldn't come to the party, but her cousin/nephew christopher-bob was around to do what's necessary. apparently, he's quite proud of knockin' her up.

i want your sex

this was too great to pass up sharing - dominic monaghan (hot hobbit from lord of the rings and hot user from lost) naked with a kick butt soundtrack - it's only 27 seconds long and it's not that dirty. go ahead and click it, you know you want to.

found this by way of dlisted who found it on another blog - gotta love bloggers who like movie star nudity.

in other superman news

ok, apparently i've been so consumed by work (please god, let us hire a show coordinator soon) and the red ribbon ride that i completely missed the news that hollywood filmed a george reeves biopic. i tend to stay up on these things - where the hell have i been? george was tv's original superman - while not a groundbreaking show in anyway, i have fond memories of this black & white gem.

according to the police, george killed himself - but there have always been rumors swirling around as to if it was suicide or murder. well our friends in tinseltown have finally got round to doing a movie about it (can anyone say superman synergy?).

being the complete and total movie geek i am, i was gobsmacked this morning to discover the movie a) existed and b) a trailer was ready. the trailer looks very interesting - starring adrien brody, diane lane, bob hoskins (who has become one of the greatest character actors of all time if you ask me) and ben affleck as reeves'.

the movie is called 'hollywoodland' (the original sign had the added l-a-n-d - for information on why they were removed go here: hollywoodland sign) and is based on a book that's been sitting on my nightstand for ages waiting for me to read it.

i haven't posted my review of superman returns yet - i figured there were enough bloggers who posted their reviews, but suffice to say, i really liked it. loved it in fact - but just the same, i'm really excited to see this movie. i love behind the scenes biopics like this when they are done well... crossing fingers in anticipation.

go here for the trailer: hollywoodland movie trailer

music heard during the writing of this post:

superman / sterephonics
hall of mirrors / siouxsie & the banshees
sweet sweet intuition / bjork

the perfect man pt 2

back one june 18, i debuted a feature called the perfect man – as you may recall, I had a number of disclaimers before i presented the impeccable j. maarten troost as the founding member of tpm club…

the disclaimers were as follows:

... is completely subjective
... is subject to change at without notice
... negatives or drawbacks are easily forgotten and/or ignored - any mention of a possible negative, will be summarily dismissed
... should serve as notice that the man in question is on "the list" - the list of course, indicates that should i ever actually get a partner, the presence of any of these men give me an automatic "out" (for at least the night in question).

for issue number 2 of "the perfect man", may i present eric bana:

eric is one tasty morsel of masculinity mixed with sensitivity and pure-unadulterated sex drive. sure his movies haven’t always been great – but he has usually been pretty great in them (never mind the hulk, thank god ang lee bounced back with brokeback).

for me, i dig eric for a couple reasons:
1. those eyes – fuckin’ sexy. i am without fail an eye-guy. they will (and have) make or break an attraction for me.
2. that hair – I’ve come to discover i’m kinda attracted more and more to guys with shaggy hair. eric’s is perfect. Wanna run my fingers through that….
3. talent. i have always enjoyed watching him on screen – there’s just something about him that commands attention. yet, he’s terribly subtle, even when doing something over the top like the aussie prison flick “chopper”. and it should be stated, he was the only decent thing about “troy”

so eric, when you tire of all the women, give me a call – i’ve got a new shampoo I wanna try out on you.

team america fuck ya!!

for bolt...

happy 4th of july

the flag atop a fort snelling battlement

i tend to get pretty reflective during holidays, and the 4th of july is no different. i could easily (and have been known to) get on my soap box on this holiday - but i'm not going to. rather than point out what's wrong with our system, i'm going to choose to celebrate our amazing country, while hoping that one day soon we are able to realize the power in our unique position in the world and do what's right - for the people in our country, and the people in the world.

to my friends all over the country, take a moment today to think of all that makes us lucky to live in our country. happy 4th of july.

america / prince & the revolution

the american way / the crystal method

lyric of the day

"in the war over land where the world began / prophecies say it's where the world will end / but there's a tremor growing in our backyard / fear in our heads, fear in our hearts"

indigo girls' "jonas & ezekial"

when i started sr...sl i thought i would discuss a political thing every now and then - i thought it'd be more about fun stuff like hot naked guys and music, but as i've looked back i've been pretty challenging - the war, the environment, social issues - it's gotten sorta heavy here. i can tell from the comments you all (whoever you all are) prefer the lighter fare, but what can i say, i am who i am - the political stuff is a big part of me.

so deal with it. lol :-)

seriously, i'll do my best to post more stuff about naked guys and what not, but i can't resist the shit about king george and the state of the country (especially this weekend).

the above lyric is pretty interesting given that it was written 14 years ago. i wonder if the prophets are really in the graveyard.

why...oh why did i agree to this.

my company's global communications department contact me on thursday and asked if i would like to be interviewed by the magazine meetings & conventions regarding planning environmentally-friendly meetings - i forwarded the request to my boss, hoping she would want that honor; instead, she thought it was perfect for me and i said yes. i have no idea what crack i was smokin' when i said yes - i've never been interviewed for a national publication before (granted, it's an industry rag, but it's national just the same).

i haven't discussed work to much here, but as the 'show & production' manager for my company (fancy name for event planner) i'm part of a small team (just 3 of us when fully staffed - which we're not right now) that plans our company's runway hair shows, larger meetings and trade shows. a big part of our company is an environmental mission. now, most company's have a mission, but those mission statements are usually only talked about on your first day, or is on a plaque in the lobby (from my previous experience) - where i work, the mission literally drives every single decision made in the company. every employee is expected to know the mission and our annual reviews and bonusable objectives are driven against the mission. as such, you can't throw a bottle of shampoo around the company without hitting 5-6 tree huggers at at time.

now if you've ever planned a meeting or a show, or hell even a party - it should come as no surprise that most of the things you use for a one-time event are not environmental on any level. thus, this aspect of my job can be a bit difficult.

which brings me back to the magazine. luckily it sounds like they just want some bullet points or comments, but just the same - i've known enough writers in my day to know that they can draw "a couple of bullet points" out to a lot of questions deep probing.

they are looking to talk to me about our philosophical approach to planning green meetings, our commitment to planning earth-minded events, finding green venue's (that's easy, they don't exist), air travel (again, not environmental) and booking/working with hotels (don't get me started on how much water hotels waste washing your sheets and towels daily).

arggg - i need to figure out what i want to talk about. this is such a busy time for me at work (nevermind i'm still organizing the red ribbon ride [see below]) - and i'm not at all convinced i will say anything coherent or interesting. i could easily end up looking/sounding like a complete idiot.

what did i get myself into?