PROCRASTINATION ¿IS THERE A CURE?

Nothing short of the surgery of ‘stopping’, and examining the roots of why I am in frequent dissonance with myself. I know that NOTHING positive grows in the dark, and shinning the light on ‘who I am’ and why, cracks open the door of insight. So I can't help but wonder why I have such a procrastinating position on certain things in life. I know that in order for me to get to step "B" I need to start with step "A" but...whatever task I need to take care of, i find myself leaving behind the connection I needed to make in order for me to get what done what I need done. I know that   procrastination is the element that pit me against myself, yet I can't seem to get myself moving in the direction I want/need to go. So how do I remove the blocks to positive growth and nourishment that can only enhance my life? 

¡I RUN FROM CHRISTIANS!

The word ‘god’ to me has a meaning, and experience that is completely counter to anything I see in a ‘Christian’ so find YOUR truth within and you will be ‘saved’ from all ‘boogie man stories’ of the holy books. 

¿CAN CIVILIZATION SURVIVE W/OUT GOD?

Christopher and Peter Hitchens asked that very question and I thought I'd asked you...so can civilization survive w/out god?

I'LL BE MISSING YOU

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0-ZU8njdo]

"I'll Be Missing You" is a Grammy Award-winning song and hit single recorded byPuff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artistNotorious B.I.G. who was murdered on March 9, 1997. Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's No Way Out album, "I'll Be Missing You" sampledthe melody and some of the lyrics of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" from 1983.

The song was listed at #84 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song, a rap ballad, had already been completed before permission was granted to use the sample from the 1983 song. As well as these artists, Sting (vocalist from The Police) joined in at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Sting owns 100% of the publishing royalties.^[2] The single however was not written by Puff Daddy but by Todd "Sauce Money" Gaither, a rapper from the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn who received aGrammy for his efforts in 1996. As well as using the melody and arrangement of "Every Breath You take" the single also borrows the melody from the well-known American spiritual "I'll Fly Away."

There are several different versions of this song. One being an extended version (choir at beginning), another without the choir and an instrumental version. In the extended version of the song the choir is heard singing in the beginning of "Adagio for Strings" bySamuel Barber.

A slightly altered version of the song was performed by Diddy at the Concert for Dianain Wembley, United Kingdom.

"I'll Be Missing You" topped many charts across the world. It reached number one in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and New Zealand. This song is one of the few to debut at #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, and the only rap song to do so until Eminem's "Not Afraid" debuted at the top spot 13 years later in 2010. The song spent a record breaking 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, making it the longest running #1 hip-hop song in history until Eminem's "Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at #1 in 2002.

The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #32 on July 8, 2007, ten years after it had its full physical release and 10 years after it was #1.

Blender magazine ranked the song at #25 on its list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever", calling it "a nauseating brew of gloopy sentimentality and strategic-marketing mawkishness."

MISSING YOU

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVlbbk4SPC4]

"Missing You" is a 1984 song by recording artist Diana Ross. Derived from her albumSwept Away, the song was written and produced by Lionel Richie as a tribute to Marvin Gaye, who died earlier that year. Ross and Gaye had both been artists at Motown from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, and had also recorded a duets album together called Diana & Marvin (1973).

The music video, directed by Dominic Orlando, was filmed on location at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The video includes tribute clips of former Supremes singer Florence Ballard and also of Paul Williams of The Temptations, both Motown artists who had died in the 1970s.

The song was built during conversations about Gaye shared by Ross and Richie, who came up with a song shortly after the conversations. Released in late 1984, the song became one of Ross' last major hits on the US pop singles chart, peaking at number ten in March 1985. It was also her last song to reach number one on the R&B singles chart.

THE WEEKEND IS HERE!

This weekend, I'm ready to _______.

SLEEPING WITH A STRANGER...

I GOT THIS EMAIL & WONDERED WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THIS PERSON: I have this situation that I would like some input on.  There's this brother I've been kicking it wit for the last 2 1/2 years.  To be completely honest our "relationship" started as a sexual thing.  We met online and chatted for many months via the Internet and phone calls.  We had an in person meeting and connected real well. 

He is truly a great guy.  We can talk about anything, we laugh, share our feelings and the sex is amazing.  I never really had any expectations of him as I wasn't really looking for anything more than a good nut...real talk.  I am always honest with him about the way I feel/felt but kept him at a guarded distance in an effort of self preservation. 

He knows and the past obstacles that I have had with a previous relationship and is really understanding of the fact that I am not necessarily looking for a relationship (but open to the idea with the right person).  On many occasions he has expressed his affections for me.  We always joke about him being my man. 

My issue now is that I think that he could be the right one for me.  There are just some things that are kind of rubbing the wrong way.  (Quick disclaimer...the following items never bothered me previously because I saw him as a real cool fuck buddies).  I really feel like I could see myself with him for the long haul, minus a few things that I'm just not sure how to address.

First, he never calls me from his house...it’s always when he just left home or on his way home.  Another thing is even thought the sex is amazing and intimate, we rarely ever kiss.  I don't think I'm tripping but at the same time I do.  I am reluctant to question any of this with him directly as I feel it goes against the nature of what we have developed. 

At times I feel like I'm playing with his emotions and vice versa.  The weirdest part of all this is that I, under usual circumstances, would have a better handle of such a situation.  I said all that to say should I let the sleeping dog lie or try to fix something that isn't broke.  I really regard as a good friend, and don't want to lose that. 

At this point I'm playing everything to the left.... I am sleeping with a stranger or is he the same and I'm the one changing?  I not a soft hearted person and welcome any and all very direct and blunt comments you can give.

MOVE AS ONE!

In human communities, it is not always easy to establish who should be leading and who following. There are many reasons for this, including but not limited to the fact that our ways of determining leadership are less instinctual and therefore less clear. It is very rare that everyone is in complete agreement as to who should lead. 

In the big picture, of course, competition is a positive factor, preventing stagnation and entrenchment. However, in smaller groups, when a leader is truly called to the position and his/her constituency is responsive to their leadership, an enormous amount of work can be accomplished. This tends to work only if the individuals in the group share a powerful, heartfelt common goal. This goal is the unseen force that directs and guides the group so that they can move as one.

THE WEDDING

Her name is Katie Kirkpatrick, 21 yrs old. Next to her is her fiancé, Nick, 23. 

This picture was taken prior to their wedding January 11th, 2005. 

Katie has terminal cancer and spends hours in chemotherapy. 

Here Nick awaits while she finishes one of the sessions... 

Even in pain and dealing with her organs shutting down, with the help of morphine, 
Katie took care of every single part of the wedding planning. 
Her dress had to be adjusted several times due to Katie 's constant weight loss.

An expected guest was her oxygen tank. Katie had to use it during the ceremony and reception.
The other couple in this picture is Nick's parents, very emotional with the wedding and to see their son marrying the girl he fell in love when he was an adolescent. 

Katie , in a wheel chair listening to her husband and friends singing to her.

In the middle of the party, Katie had to rest for a bit and catch her breath.
The pain does not allow her to stand for long period of time. 

Katie died 5 days after her wedding. To see a fragile woman dress as bride with a beautiful smile makes you think... happiness is always there within reach, no matter how long it lasts.....
lets enjoy life and don't live a complicated life. Life is too short.

Work as if it was your first day.
Forgive as soon as possible.
Love without boundaries..
Laugh without control
and never stop smiling. 

U R A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER IN THE UNIVERSE'S GARDEN

Roses, dahlias, begonias, and azaleas are a

few of the flowers that fill our world with beauty, color

and fragrance. There are many flowers on earth and it

may be impossible to name them all. They come in all

colors, sizes, shapes and scents. Just as the earth

produces flowers of all varieties, the universe produces us in

all different varieties. We each have our own beauty

that is not to be compared to another's. We all are a

part of Universe's precious garden.

YOU are a beautiful flower in Universe's garden. YOU are

radiant with beautiful color. YOU have a special

fragrance in which to delight the world. YOU bless others

with your beauty. YOU should be satisfied being the flower

that YOU are. YOU should treasure and

value the unique blossoms that delight the eyes of others. YOU are

in the Universe's garden.

GAY DATING: ¿WHO PAYS?

Last night I went out on a date — and let me tell you, it had been a very long time since my last one — and I have to say I really enjoyed it.  His name was Stephen, and well, he was not only cute, but he was funny and I felt really good around him.  Stephen asked me out to dinner and after a while of figuring out where we would eat we decided we’d have Thai.  He gave me the details for our little date and instead of getting ready, I laid on my sofa and was on the phone.  And as usual, I was late.  Because it was my (as Stephen joked) “first Thai“, he ordered for the both of us.  It was cute, and he actually chose some great dishes.  It was very good.  We talked, laughed, and kept staring at each other… signs of a good time (at least in my book).  But I was a little disappointed at the end of our date.

I don’t exactly know what I was expecting after dinner, but I didn’t expect that the dinner was going to be the entire date.  I thought we’d at least go have coffee or something afterwards, talk more.  But that didn’t happen.  So I was left wanting more.  But the thing that caught me off guard the most was the fact that we split our dinner bill.  Seriously?  Don’t get me wrong, I can pay my way, but he’s the one that asked me out, he picked the restaurant, he has a good job, and he’s older than I am.  I know if a guy and girl were in this situation, the guy would pay.  The guy would probably pay as much times as possible, if not every single time.  Now, I understand it could be different if they’re in relationship for years and share an account, but when you’re dating, doesn’t the guy get the check?  But then again, when gays date who gets the check?  Both of them are men.

[Side Note:  No, there is no "woman" in a gay relationship.  Both are men.  There's no "female" role.  Yes, there's bottoms and tops, but that has nothing to do with being a "woman".  I do enjoy a dick up my ass, and can be a bit feminine sometimes, but that does not make me the "woman" in the relationship.  At the end of the day, I have a fucking dick.  And I will also, kick the living shit out of you and bash your head in.  All men act differently, but it doesn't make them any less of a man.  Get it through your head, or please allow me to use my dick to beat it into you.]

So who pays?  Is it the one that asked the other out?  Do we take turns?  Does the one that is older pay?  Do we split the bill?  Does the one that makes more money pay?  Who pays?  I’ve had this conversation with my BFFE (best fucking friend ever) Annie a few times before and we’ve considered every scenario, and don’t exactly know who pays.  The best that I’ve come up with is taking turns paying; I’ll get it this time, he’ll get it next time.  Or if they’re a bit low on cash, I’ll pay without making it awkward and without letting them know I know they’re strapped on cash at the moment.  But, make sure you do so carefully, because I know money is one of those things that can break up friendships and even families…  However, if you ask someone out on a date, you (since you asked) should pay.  But if it’s one of those scenarios where you both are the type that feels like you should pay, just insist on paying and if he does the same, let him pay and tell him the next time is you’ll get it.  Don’t argue about how you want to pay it, because if you’re both masculine kinds of men, you might break out into a arm wrestle in the middle of the restaurant.  That could be hot, but inappropriate.  No matter what though, always carry some cash and plastic on you, because like what happened with me last night, you never know if the bill will be split.

It’s a little different when you’ve been in a relationship for a while, because eventually you figure out if there’s that one person that prefers paying, or you have a system that works for both of you.  Maybe you’re in a relationship and you’re guy would rather pay all the time.  If that’s so, I’d make sure I get him presents to show I appreciate him, or I’d cook dinner for him.  And if we lived together, I’d be sure to have our home clean and tidy, dinner (or reservations) ready for him when he gets home, and I’d just make sure he’s comfortable.  Also, you will probably figure out each other’s financial standings and might take that into consideration when choosing a restaurant, as not to go somewhere too expensive.  And if it is somewhere you really want to go, then you pay for it.

That’s just my take on the world of gay dating and who pays.  But what do you think?  Who should pay? 

SOURCE: YES, BITCH...REALLY

¿WHY DOES (UN)SAFE SEX HAPPEN?

 If you've ever had unprotected sex, why do you think it happened? What could you have done differently to prevent it happening? Who started it? Why do you think gay men have unprotected sex?

SOURCE: GMFA

BUILDING A HEALTHY GAY RELATIONSHIP

Is there anything special that you need to know about your first gay relationship? Being a man in a gay relationship is a basically natural process for any gay or bisexual man. You meet someone, there is a mutual attraction, there is an explosive sex life, and then there is the process of bringing two lives together into one. In today’s world, gay men balance more issues than most other identifiable groups.

The secret to a good and healthy gay relationship is the same secret that makes all the relationships in your life either healthy or unhealthy. Being in a gay relationship can complicate certain aspects of your life and can enhance other aspects. Men find less acceptance in the world than gay women but the acceptance that they find is often vital, fierce, and beautiful. Of course, finding your own acceptance can help you improve the odds of being in a successful gay relationship.

Being in a gay relationship for the first time usually means that you’re going to earn yourself a new education. There are new things to learn and there are lifestyle issues that will open your eyes.

Friends, parents, lovers, boyfriends, and partners are all going to display an unhealthy behavior from time to time. So are you.  It happens with straight men and with gay men alike.

You will learn that being in a gay relationship takes work just like any other relationship. It still requires the ability to communicate and the ability to meet the needs of your partner. The basics of the relationships don’t really change whether it is a straight relationship, lesbian relationship, or a gay relationship. Relationships require an understanding of each other.

Being able to develop a good balance and still maintaining your personal code of life is not that difficult once you find that comfortable place. Sure, you might choose to drive an hour out of your way to go out for dinner but if you’re making the car ride fun it might not matter.

A solid and powerful gay relationship is one that allows you to be exactly who you are while giving you new room to grow into the man you’re becoming. You might find that eventually the options that you have in front of you are the key element to discovering what is important to you. Blending your professional life and your personal life isn’t necessary, but hiding your gay relationship so deeply under a haze of deception is bound to come back to haunt you.

THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH & NOTHING BUT...

So a few days ago, I was taking my boss from Switzerland to get him a local cell so he can be accessible when not in the office. Now on our drive, he asked how I felt about the company and stuff like that. I told him I was fine and I have the accounting down to a science. He said he was glad to hear that and made mention of performance reviews and it was @ this time that he told me that I would do my manager’s and vice versa. Now neither of these men knows that I saw a letter on my manager’s computer saying to our boss that he feels that my probation needs to be extended because he doesn’t feel I am quite ready for reasons that he cannot substantiate. Now my probation was up on the 31st of December 2010 and though I wasn’t given a letter confirming me as an employee, we did sign a contract confirming me and approving my new salary for the year. Now I know it is against the law to try and go back on that agreement and I don’t think they would try, but nonetheless my question to you is this: should I give my honest opinion on his management skills? My manager takes @ least 3 hour lunches daily, spend the rest of the time on the phone, he never knows where anything is or how to get certain things done. And I can say I learn nothing from working with him, so in my assessment of him do I speak the truth or do I make him look good to keep my job?

¡NEW MEANING TO MULTI-TASKING!

COINCIDENCE IS WHEN GOD CHOOSES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS...

THE SINS OF THE HYPERBOLE ¡BEWARE!

Just as some of us are blessed with the genetics to be a great athlete, some were blessed with the ability to recall printed information as if it’s copied on paper, and readily accessible for dispensation whenever the conversation turns to their ‘expertise of borrowed knowledge’. Many leaders in all facets of life are in this category especially, but none are more interesting that the ones in religion arean. They are frequently ‘sinners of hyperbole’ on anything they have chosen to ‘one up anyone’ on. With this ability, they usually invent a craftiness to claim or support their definition of wisdom that others should not question. 

These pundits of knowledge are extremely overrated except by themselves and the gullible. However, action leading to the experience of ‘knowing’ the best answers more important than information or ‘knowledge on loan’! There are minds out there in human form that purport to know ‘everything’ on a subject but with no proven experience with successful results, and the ability to offer it intelligently as a gift from the heart. Life can be looked at in two ways: Through a ‘negative or through a positive’ lens and it is up to us to know that through positive lens, we can open up doors to becoming aware, and NOT fall for the sin(s) of the hyperbole. 

HARD KNOCK LIFE (GHETTO ANTHEM)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxtn6-XQupM]

"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" is a single from rapper Jay-Z's third album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. It samples the song "It's the Hard Knock Life" from the Broadway musical Annie. The song was produced by The 45 King and at the time of its release, was the most commercially successful Jay-Z single. The RIAA certified it as a gold single in March 1999. In addition, it was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards in 1999.

It was ranked number 11 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.

The song was parodied by Mike Myers's character Dr. Evil in the 2002 movie Austin Powers in Goldmember.

"Hard Knock Life" was Jay-Z's first single to achieve success outside the US, reaching the top 10 in several countries. It's biggest success came in theUnited Kingdom, where it reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart.

KEEP YA HEAD UP

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um7-aXEhMfM]

"Keep Ya Head Up" is a late 1993 hit by Tupac Shakur. #11 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, with "Dear Mama" voted #4.^[1]

It was first released in Shakur's 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., later appearing after his death in 1996 in his Greatest Hits compilation. A "sequel" to the song, Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II) was released in 2Pac's posthumous album Still I Rise in 1999.

The beat is sampled from Zapp & Roger's "Be Alright" and the chorus is sampled from The Five Stairsteps' "O-o-h Child", but originally it was sampled fromBig Daddy Kane's "Prince of Darkness". The song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Rap chart, #7 on the Hip Hop/R&B chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100chart.

It features Dave Hollister.

The video opens up with the words "Dedicated to the memory of Latasha Harlins, it's still on", in reference to the L.A. Riots. The video has a basic format with Shakur rapping in the middle of a circle surrounded by a crowd of people and in some scenes seen holding a young child. At times the video shows scenes of what Shakur is rapping about. The music video also features Jada Pinkett Smith.

¿WHAT DO YOU DO?

DO WHEN YOU FEEL THAT...

¿DO YOU BLOG ANYWAY?

HOW ABOUT SOME GAY MYTHOLOGY?

A myth is a story with a purpose. It tries to explain the way the world is.  Myths also try to explain the relationship between gods and humans. Even though the events in a myth are usually impossible, they try to send a message that has an important social or religious meaning.

People have always tried to figure out common questions like who made the universe or questions like what causes a storm. Religion, gods, and myths were created when people tried to make sense out of these questions. For early people myths were like science because they explain how things work.  They also explained other questions that are now answered through modern science.

SO HERE ARE SOME MYTHS THAT PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT HOMOSEXUALS...ENJOY!

MYTH #1: "I don't know any persons who are gay." FACT: You may not know any

persons who are out to you as being gay. In a classroom of 30

persons, for instance, there are probably 2-3 persons who are gay.

Estimates are that 1 person out of 10 is gay. Using one widely

accepted estimate, there may be over 20 million gay or lesbian

persons in the United States alone.

MYTH #2:"Being gay is a form of illness." FACT: The American Psychological

Association says, "It is no more abnormal or sick to be gay than to

be left-handed. There is, in fact, a growing body of evidence to

indicate that sexual orientation is determined before birth by some

combination of genetic and biological events. Since it is not an

illness, it needs, nor has, no cure.

MYTH #3:"Gay persons are child molesters and recruit children to their

lifestyle." FACT: By far, the majority of child molesters are

heterosexual men. The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in

the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, found that over 90%

of all child abuse is committed by straight men on minor females.

Furthermore, one does not choose to be gay just as one does not

choose to be straight. One only decides whether to act on his/her

orientation.

MYTH #4:"Men who are gay and women who are lesbians want to be the opposite

sex or have simply not found the right person." FACT: Almost all of

the males enjoy being men and almost all of the women enjoy being

women. They simply are attracted to, and fall in love with, persons

of their same sex.

MYTH #5:"Persons who are gay cannot maintain long-term relationships. " FACT:

Just like heterosexual people, persons who are gay form a variety of

relationships that last a short time or many years. Heterosexuals

even have a divorce rate of 50% while nobody knows about the length

of relationships of gay persons since they are not allowed to marry.

MYTH #6:"People who are gay could change if they wanted to do so." FACT:

Almost all studies show that no one, gay or straight, can change

their sexual orientation. Our orientation is almost certainly

determined sometime between conception and the first years of life.

Gay and straight people might be able to change their behavior but

not their underlying orientation. We do not, however, choose our

sexual orientation. Dr. George Weinberg writes in Society and the

Healthy Homosexual, "From what I have seen, the harm to the

homosexual man or woman done by the person's trying to convert is

mutifold...First of all, the venture is almost certain to fail...In

trying to convert, you will deepen your belief that you are one of

nature's misfortunes. "

MYTH #7:"Persons who are gay do not understand how to make a good family."

FACT: One in every four families has a gay or lesbian person within

that family several studies suggest. Studies also show that there is

no difference between gay and straight persons in their quality or

ability to care, love or raise children.

MYTH #8:"Persons who are gay are protected and granted equal rights." FACT:

Only a few states and a few cities and organizations include gay

persons in their policies of nondiscrimination. Gay persons are not

allowed to get married, are not given the same financial rights as

straight couples, do not have to be allowed in to see their partner

who is ill in a hospital and so forth

MYTH #9:"You can identify someone as being gay or lesbian by their mannerisms

or physical characteristics. " FACT: Gay people are as diverse as are

straight persons. Only a small percentage of gay persons fit the

stereotypes.

MYTH #10:"In a gay relationship, one person plays the husband (butch) and the

other plays the wife (femme) role." FACT: Since laws, churches and

society have typically condemned, or at least ignored, the

relationships of gay persons, most gay persons do not feel an

obligation to follow "the rules" of what a relationship is to look

like. Most gays and lesbians, therefore, create very different

relationships based on equality and who each person is, rather than

upon societal roles. In fact, since most gay and lesbian persons run

their relationships without a model, the look of each relationship

varies greatly from that of other relationships.

MYTH #11:"Gay and lesbian persons are promiscuous. " FACT: Some are and some

aren't, just as the same can be said for straight persons.

MYTH #12:"Being gay or lesbian is something new." FACT: Homosexuality appears

across time and place, and even across animal species. In a 1951

study by Ford and Beach, they found even then that many cultures

consider homosexuality a normal variation of sexual behavior.