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I AM...

I am whatever YOU think I am until YOU get to KNOW me. This is true for everyone else too, of course.. so don't make assumptions about anyone or pass judgment; ask questions. You might just make a new friend.

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

GAY MEN ARE LIKE APPLES...

Gay men are like apples on trees.
The best ones are @ the top of the tree.
The boys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling & getting hurt.
Instead, they get the rotten apples from the ground that isn’t good, but easy.
So the apples up top think something is wrong with them when in reality they’re AMAZING!
They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree…

¿CAN FACEBOOK BOOST SELF-ESTEEM?

If you’re feeling a little blue, don’t look into a mirror. Take a gander instead at your Facebook page, which may boost your self-esteem. That’s the conclusion of a new study by Cornell University researchers involving the wildly popular online social networking site. The reasons for this positive effect seem clear, the researchers say.

  • Facebook lets you put your best face forward, allowing you to filter out anything that will make you feel bad. 

  • Facebook can depict you in a very positive light, without blemishes a mirror might reflect, real or imagined.


“Unlike a mirror, which reminds us of who we really are and may have a negative effect on self-esteem if that image does match with our ideal, Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves,” Jeffrey Hancock, PhD, one of the authors of the study, says in a prepared statement. “We’re not saying that it’s a deceptive version of self, but it’s a positive one.”
Facebook and Self-esteem
Hancock and fellow researcher Amy L. Gonzales, MA, now a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, signed up 63 Cornell students to take part in experiments in the university’s Social Media Lab.
The students were either seated at computers showing their Facebook profiles or at computers that were turned off. Some of those at turned-off computers had mirrors to look at, and others didn’t. Students in the third group were encouraged to fiddle with their Facebook profiles.
The students on Facebook were allowed to spend three minutes perusing the page, exploring only their own profiles and associated tabs.
All 63 students were given a questionnaire designed to measure self-esteem.
Students who looked at their Facebook profiles during the experiment had higher self-esteem than students in the groups where the computer was turned off.
Students who viewed their Facebook profile but left their profile site during the study reported lower self-esteem than students who exclusively viewed their own profile site.
Also, study participants who edited their Facebook profile during the study reported higher self-esteem than those who did not change their profile. The researchers viewed editing as a primary means of optimizing self-presentation. Because Facebook users can be selective about what they say or present about themselves, including photographs and autobiographical information, they can present  themselves as conforming to an ideal, the authors write.
Polishing Your Image
With Facebook, users are able to enhance “awareness of the optimal self,” the study says. And the self-image can be polished unabashedly with clever comments and by providing personal details and photos that users deem flattering.
“For many people, there’s an automatic assumption that the Internet is bad,” Hancock says. “This is one of the first studies to show that there’s a psychological benefit of Facebook.”


SOURCE: WEBMD

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

¡RICKY MARTIN WILL DRAG US TO HELL!


Antigay Puerto Rican pastor Wanda Rolón urged people to avoid Ricky Martin concerts, warning that the singer would “drag us all to hell.”
Huffington Post reports on the protests last week, which judging by the attendance at Martin's concerts, appear to have been ineffective. Rolón promoted her opposition on Facebook and in a press conference.
“On Friday the 25th of March, a group of anti-homosexuality activists held a protest in front of the Choliseo, while avid Ricky Martin's fanatics arrived for the anticipated concert,” reports HuffPo. “Wanda Rolon's followers promised to be there for the remaining three days, condemning Ricky Martin's confessed sexual orientation and the nature of his concert. According to Wanda Rolón and this group, the whole island will join Satan in the afterlife, since four shows were completely sold out.”
Martin did not respond directly to Rolón, but during his concerts, he said, "Don't be afraid to live, Puerto Rico."

¿WHAT MAKES A HOT GUY?

We all know that when it comes to taste there is nothing written in stone. Everyone has their tastes in men and of course this is what makes the world go round. If everyone found the same type of guy hot, well then it would be pretty boring! Variety is the spice of life.

We have talked about the hottest part of a man but we have never really explored exactly what makes a man hot. Is it really his personality, his eyes, the way he speaks, how he smells, how his breath smells, how hairy his chest is? What could it be? Seriously the list could go on and on. After having our competition every Friday to find our hunk of spunk we can honestly say that there is a guy out there for EVERY ONE!
So what you think makes a guy hot?

SOURCE: MAN CENTRAL 

¿WHY ARE STRAIGHT WOMEN LESS LIKELY TO FORGIVE HUBANDS WHO CHEAT WITH OTHER MEN ?

If you found out your partner is cheating on you, are you going to call the whole thing off? The chances of you doing so depend if a man or a woman. And if your partner screwed around in a straight or gay way. Straight guys are more likely to stick things out if their girlfriends get it on with a lady; but if it's a heterosexual affair, that's when they're ending things. But straight chicks are more likely to end things if they find out their man snuck away with another dude. That's all according to psychologists Jaime Confer of the University of Texas and Mark Cloud of Lock Haven University, in new research published in Personality and Individual Differences. Overall, men are more likely to find cheating inexcusable.

Alas, it doesn't appear the psychologists quizzed their respondents -- some 718 undergraduates at two Pennsylvania public universities, featuring 324 men and 394 women -- on whether they are gay. Or how they would react if they were. Miller McCune says respondents "were asked to imagine themselves in a romantic, heterosexual relationship. They then completed a questionnaire in reaction to a specific infidelity scenario." It's unclear whether the respondents were actually heterosexual, or just instructed to imagine they were in such a relationship.

But couple these results with a study that concludes men who earn less than their female partners are more likely to cheat, and we've basically found the most doomed relationships: straight couples where the woman earns more and cheats on her boyfriend with another man.

The question, of course, is Why? Why does the gender of the homewecker matter? Because of jealousy and insecurity, researchers conclude. For straight men, a woman who cheats with another woman apparently doesn't put his masculinity in jeopardy. Meanwhile, a straight man (insert airquotes) who cheats with another man sends the signal to his female partner that she can't give him everything he needs.

SOURCE: QUEERTY

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

REVIEW OF LINCOLN LAWYER

   
                                              http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1627364121/

The Lincoln Lawyer is one of the best movies I've seen this year. It has all the right ingredients; a good story though not really original, a talented cast and a lot of plot twists- which is how movie making and story telling should be.

Matthew McConaughey delivers one of the best performances of his career as Mickey Haler- a slick Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of his black Lincoln Sedan. Mickey has spent most of his career defending some very unsavory characters and colorful characters. This all changes, when he lands the case of his career representing Louis Roulet portrayed by Ryan Phillipe. Roulet, a hollywood playboy is accused of rape and attempted murder. The case Mickey will soon learn is not as it seems and the audience is taken on quite the roller coaster of plot twists and turns and a deadly game of survival for Mickey.

What's Good About the Movie:

Excellent story

The story was well written,well developed and had the right mixture of intrigue,drama,suspense and plot twists. It's very rare that you get a story this well written and crafted.

The Cast

This talented group of actors all deliver superb performances. Matthew McConaughey delivers the performance of his career and I would be surprised if he doesn't secure a few noms for the next aware. Others worth mentioning include Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe and William H. Macy were all amazing and delivered very strong performances.

What's Bad about the Movie:

There isn't really much that one can criticize negatively about this movie. Despite the plot twists it was to some extent predictable and maybe would have had a greater impact if the end was a total surprise or something the audience would not have seen coming.

Overall Grade: A The performances of the talented cast really made this into a very engaging and entertaining ride and one I would definitely recommend.

RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, SEASON 3: EPISODE 10 - RUPAUL'S HAIR BALL

Last night’s theme? Hair. “It just takes one bad blowout,” Ru warned the five remaining queens — Shangela, Raja, Manila Luzon, Alexis Mateo, and Yara Sofia. “You could be hair today, gone tomorrow.” The mini challenge required the gals to create a headpiece out of materials, as Ru put it, “swiped from the gay beach,” in just 20 minutes. The whole exercise didn’t yield anything too delicious, except for a hilarious one-liner from Ru responding to Raja’s crab-inspired headdress. “Now have you had crabs before?” she asked him. “Yah, I actually pulled these right out of my panties,” shot back Raja, who also took home the win during the challenge.
The main challenge was an “opportunity to really wig out!” Ru told the gals: Create three distinct hairstyles, one classic look from another era; a modern look worthy of a red carpet; and one far-out fantasy hair extravaganza. Yara spent a little time seemingly stealing ideas from other girls in the workroom; ‘fros proved their popularity, as always; and Ru told Alexis, who was creating what she thought was a look from the 1940s for her classic look, “Now, during the ’40s there was a rationing on latex titties.” I challenge you to try not to laugh during this show.
Then came the surprise: Ru forgot to tell the queens that they also had to create a look that was built entirely of hair. Genius! “Listen, the competition is getting really hairy in here,” Ru said, in a twist on her usual bon mot, “so don’t f— it up!” The gals went to work. So much to do, they’re spiraling out of control! During this timeframe, though, the most hilarious question was posed by Manila: “If you guys had a chance to kill one of the other queens in this competition, who would it be?” Only Alexis replied: Yara was her answer. Why? Who knows. Maybe because she got a reprieve two weeks ago?
During makeup time, Shanglea provided the comedy, during a conversation about whether everyone should be able to do drag. “I think everybody should have the right to do drag if they want to,” she said. “Even if they look busted!” It’s that self-deprecation that really sucks me into Shangela, I think? Maybe? Yes.
I don’t usually comment on the judges too much, but Wayne Brady? Really? Why? Love the guy, but like, he’s so random for Drag Race. I will say, however, that he was pretty good, especially when all that stuff came up about Yara looking like a Who from a Dr. Seuss book. “A Who ho!” said Ru. Santino returned, in a big ol’ hat, and added a great line about Alexis Mateo’s extravaganza look: “The hair was kind of budget RuPaul.” That’s already a classic in my mind.
The other guest judge was American Idol winner Fantasia. (In case you wondering why she was there, her VH1 reality show Fantasia For Real is produced by World of Wonder, the same production company that produces Drag Race. The nice word for it is: synergy!) She didn’t provide much beyond the lip-sync-for-your-life song of “Even Angels,” but Michelle Visage, after last week’s boobie-viewing, offered up a few good moments. My fave is when she dinged Alexis at that 1940s look I mentioned above. “That ’40s look? There was nothing ’40s about it. Maybe 40 dollars!” Ouch. I actually sort of feel like a $40 would be a rather big budget for a look on this runway? Or am I crazy?
Yara inexplicably won the night, it seems maybe because of her Who-inspired look and probably because she hadn’t won a challenge yet this season. (Or maybe because Raja can’t win them all?) And then up for elimination were Shangela and Alexis Mateo. “Wow, I’m back here again,” said Shangela. The lip-sync — again, it was to Fantasia’s “Even Angels” — was kinda boring. Shangela tore off her wig, bringing that old Drag Race trope back to the forefront, but ultimately she went home: “Shangela, no one can say you didn’t try your hardest, and it’s that drive that will take you far,” Ru told her in a farewell moment. “Live your dreams, mama. Now, sashay away.”
To her credit, Shangela kept her head held up: “It’s a sad feeling because I definitely came back into this competition wanting to win. And it’s not been easy, but I’m leaving a winner,” Shangela said. “And it’s just a lesson for everyone who’s ever wanted to pursue a dream they’ve had. Live your passion, and live it to the fullest. Halle-lou!” Shangela: You will certainly be missed, by me, at least.
I mentioned her self-deprecation earlier, but I think what I loved about Shangela was what she got to here in her final quote: Like, Shangela was totally, for real trying. She wanted to do drag, despite not being the best at it, despite having the judges discuss her “5 o’clock shadow,” despite most of the other queens being nasty to her. She was real and true and just a hell of a lot of fun. And she had a fun catch prhase: “Halle-lou!” Indeed. I pulled photos (see: above) of the never-palsy Shangela and Raja right after the elimination news was announced. Look at Shangela looking happy, and Raja, wearing a totally evil grin. I’m sad to see this played-up-for-the-camera drama to go, but more sad to see Shangela sashay away.
Finally, in the bombshell of the night, RuPaul announced that next week, one queen will return. (And raising the question: Will this season ever end?!) So, now we’re all wondering: Who will it be? Honestly, there are so many directions Ru and the producers could go with adding someone back in. But likely, methinks it’ll be one of the three big girls — or even Shangela herself. (What a twist that would be!) 
SOURCE: EW

¿THE PERFECT WORK-OUT PARTNER?

Monday, March 28, 2011

HIT IT ONCE, TWICE...

I met a guy a few weeks ago. I took him home and we had great sex. A few nights later we had even better, hotter sex.
After we did it the second time he told me he didn't want a boyfriend. That's great, because I don’t want one either. I just want a hot friend with benefits. But ever since that second night he hasn’t responded to my calls, texts or e-mails.
I don't get it. He said he had fun and he said we could do it again, but now he won't get in touch with me.
Why doesn't he call back?

UNDERSTANDING BIGOREXIA: WHEN FITNESS GOES TOO FAR

There are two kinds of bodybuilding contests out there. One is a sanctioned competition held in on stages with men in teeny tiny posing trunks. The other is wherever gay men who are into fitness gather. In both, the syndrome known as “bigorexia” (muscle dysmorphia) will sometimes surface. The condition is an inability to be satisfied with one’s own muscle size and is characterized by a no-holds-barred approach to getting as big as possible. 
So who wins? “Bodybuilding is a very strange sport,” says Maik Wiedenbach, a New York-based trainer and author of “105 Training Myths and Tips” (set to be published in 2011). “There is no finish line as in other sports. Bodybuilding is based on very subjective goals.” In a true bodybuilding competition, athletes are judged on mass, definition, proportion, symmetry and stage presence. You could say the same thing happens when you show up shirtless at a pride parade, dance party or beach—except in the gay context, almost everyone is a competitor and everyone is a judge. 

“The gay world in New York City is very competitive,” says Wiedenbach, who trains both gay and straight clients. “And it gets really rough when you’re over 40. When you walk by an Abercrombie & Fitch advertisement, you see these beautiful young people with perfect bodies. There’s a very strong emphasis on looking pretty.” Wiedenbach says he sees the phenomenon of bigorexia a fair amount and thinks it needs to be discussed more. 

Driven by an ever-elusive ideal
Just as is the case with female anorexia and stick-thin runway models, the A+F root of muscle dysmorphia is part of a broader phenomenon. The GI Joe action figure—don’t call them dolls for boys—was found to have the equivalent of an 12-inch bicep in the 1960s, but today by scale would measure 26 inches. 

There is at least one live human with arms that size. Actually, an inch bigger. It’s Greg Valentino, “the man whose arms exploded.” He is 5’5” tall, has a 27-inch waist and once had 27-inch arms. He freely acknowledges past use of synthetic testosterone, Enanthate and Equipoise, involving about 15 hypodermic injections per week. He was eventually arrested, convicted and incarcerated on charges related to drug dealing. What motivated him? “I've got small man complex, Napoleon complex,” he told a bodybuilding supplement website. “If I can't grow taller, then I'm going to be the biggest freak I can be.” 

That's an honest admission from someone whose bigorexia led to a spectacular downfall. Another trainer, Brian Quirk, a certified fitness trainer and owner of BQ Fitness in Wappingers Falls, NY, observes that, “The life of a true bigorexic can be tormented by intense feelings of inadequacy and failure,” he says. “The health of a bigorexic suffers in every regard.” 

Another trainer I spoke with, Josef Brandenburg, owner of The Body You Want training in Washington, DC, concurs. “The unhealthy guy believes that he is his muscles,” he says. “He isn't worthy until he is perfect. And since humans can't be perfect, he never feels worthy.” 

So is everyone who strives to maximize his potential bigorexic? No. “I don't think you can distinguish between the two based on behavior, size or even drug usage,” says Brandenburg. “I think it comes down to attitude.” 

Quirk expands on that, placing “fitness” into a broader context. “Fitness is a component of health, not the essence of health,” he says. “If one’s overall health is suffering in order to benefit fitness, there could be a problem. A healthy fitness enthusiast, on the other hand, sees fitness as part of the bigger picture. It enhances and contributes to other aspects of life.” 

What are the warning signs? Like the alcoholic or drug or sex addict, much of it boils down to what is sacrificed. For example, when the individual will forgo social events and relationships for exercise. The serious bodybuilder oftentimes needs to skip developing a career—which presents a dilemma if he is using anabolic steroids to achieve his goal. The costs for growth hormones can be as high as $10,000 per month, says Wiedenbach, imposing a financial burden that he says is supported by means that “you don’t want to know”—alluding to various forms of sex work. Perhaps most serious is when the abuse of chemicals or injury from weight training are causing serious physical or psychological damage to the individual. 

Distinguishing between healthy bodybuilding, bigorexia and male anorexia
Researchers have been looking into muscle dysmorphia for at least ten years. A paper published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in August 2000 (Olivardia, Pope, Hudson) reported on a study involving men with the condition and weightlifters who were not bigorexic, with a companion study of men of the same age who did and did not have eating disorders (bulimia or anorexia). They found:
  1. Men with muscle dysmorphia scored noticeably higher in terms of anxiety, moodiness, and unusual eating behaviors.

  2. Those individuals had those characteristics before they found bodybuilding as an outlet (Wiedenbach confirms this, noting that guys he’s seen with bigorexia begin bodybuilding with insecurities).

  3. Bigorexia may fall into a broad spectrum of conditions that are part of obsessive compulsive behaviors, and it may warrant its own distinct diagnosis (i.e., it might one day be officially classified as a disease).

Another study published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry in March 2006 (Goldfield, Blouin, Woodside, Blake) identified additional features of bigorexia:
  1. Thirty percent of competitive male bodybuilders at one time were bulimics, a rate much higher than the general male population. The study authors believe that food deprivation related to achieving bodybuilding ideals leads to obsessions with forbidden foods, the consumption of which then contributes to negative self-images and purging.

  2. Non-bodybuilder bulimics and bodybuilders both say their body shape is equally important as friendships and work.

  3. About 25 percent of recreational (i.e., non-competitive) bodybuilders report steroid use, indicating such use is about self-image, not competitiveness.

  4. Both bulimics and bodybuilders are driven by perfectionism, however the bulimics “are more likely to have more emotional problems than bodybuilders.”

Perhaps this research confirms the obvious to many whose lives are tangential to or wholly immersed in gym culture, gay or straight. Weidenbach—who, like the other trainers interviewed for this article, is straight but works with many gay clients—says that he thinks bigorexia is fed “when you surround yourself with similar people.” 

That’s not to say just hanging out with other guys who are into bodybuilding lead you to this condition. It’s more about how you define yourself: a guy who is all about being muscular, or a guy whose many characteristics include being muscular. It’s an important distinction.

SOURCE: REAL JOCK

THE TOILET TREATMENT...

I love cruising public restrooms. I know some guys think it's old-fashioned or dangerous, that there’s the Internet for hookups so I don't need to do that. But I can’t help myself. I love the rebellious act of using a public space to get off in. I love the nervous energy of the other guys who are there cruising too. I love showing off at a urinal (I’m big), and I love the quick, dirty, action that follows.
I know that there's the downside of being arrested. I've been arrested twice for lewd conduct, myself, but I don’t really care about that. It’s not like I’m running for government office. My problem is that my friends think it’s gross, and they’re all judging me for what I do. 
How do I tell them to shut up? It’s my life, isn't it?

Sunday, March 27, 2011

¿WHY DO NATURAL DISASTERS HAPPEN?

SO THE OTHER DAY ON FACEBOOK, I POSTED THIS THE QUESTION AS A RESULT OF THE EARTHQUAKE THAT TOOK PLACE IN JAPAN AND THIS IS THE RESPONSE I GOT:

Here we go: The confusion of the natural and the supernatural, promoted by religion, damages the ability to think logically. Religious people are good at ignoring the evidence for scientific explanations of the things they think are supernatural. 

For example, ten people can have ten different explanations for an event such as avolcanic eruption:



1. It is a result of natural forces, pushing hot magma to the surface through cracks and weaknesses in the earth’s crust. 



2. It is an expression of God’s anger. 



3. It is a result of Mercury’s opposition to Venus, causing a period of unfortunate natural events to occur, of which this was one. 



4. The volcano is itself a God, and it overflows at random times to show us that we must respect nature. 



5. It is sheer bad luck, and it’s happening just to keep me from getting that flight home, that I can’t afford to miss. 



6. It is a result of all the negative emotion in the world filling the earth with fear and hatred until it overflows. 



7. It is erupting because we failed to sacrifice a thousand virgins to the volcano. 



8. It is happening because the old hag at the end of the village has cursed us all. 



9. It is happening because it was destined to happen. 



10. I thought about this happening, and therefore I made it happen. 



11. Gaia is trying to rid itself of this pestilence of humanity, which is eating into its surface, and taking out the oil, gold, coal, copper, tin, and water. 



As with every event that occurs, the natural explanation – No:1 on the list above, is supported by the evidence, and no matter how convinced you are that any of the other explanations are the reason for the volcanic eruption, they are unnecessary, given that we can prove the physics of the natural explanation, which we can. 




Of course, you can argue that the natural explanation is the way God works – throughphysical laws. However, a similar argument can be made for luck, or Gaia, or astronomy, or the old hag at the end of the village, or any of the others. This being the case, it invalidates the argument that God works through physical laws. That is really just a way of saying, that nature rules. 


Religion, by eliminating the need to think, and by preventing critical thinking, encourages intellectual blind spots, and that’s just one of the bad thing abouts religion.

IF ALL MEN DANCED THIS WAY...


DOES THIS TICKLE YOUR PINK INSIDES?

Saturday, March 26, 2011

EARTH HOUR 2011

Whether you are an individual, a business, a school or a city, Earth Hour 2011 is your Earth Hour. And you can show your support for the planet in the following ways:
  1. Turning off your lights at 8.30PM on March 26 2011 wherever you are in the world and sign up to let us know you will be taking part.

  2. Run your own Earth Hour event, street or house party with friends and family. Add your event to ourGlobal Meetup Map.

  3. Take Earth Hour beyond the Hour by taking action for the planet and telling us all about it.

  4. Tell the world through social media, or add our tools and downloads to your blogs and websites.

  5. Encourage your local government or community groups to run earth Hour in your region.

  6. Rally your office or business to get involved.

  7. Make a Lantern and send it your friends

THAT DON'T IMPRESS ME MUCH

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFLXayD6e8]

"That Don't Impress Me Much" is a song by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was the sixth country single released from her 1997 album Come on Over. It was third to pop and fourth to international markets. The song was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Shania Twain, and was originally released to North American country radio stations in late 1998. It became her third biggest single on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of Twain's biggest hits worldwide. "That Don't Impress Me Much" was included in both the Come on Over and Up! Tours. The country version was performed on the Come on Over Tour and the dance version on the Up! Tour. "That Don't Impress Me Much" was named Foreign Hit of the Year at the 2000 Danish Grammy Awards.

After the single's 1998 country release, Billboard magazine wrote that "it doesn't sound remotely country" and criticized the simplistic lyrics, but praised the melody's "quirky appeal," Twain's delivery, and Robert "Mutt" Lange's "skillful production."[2] After the single's 1999 pop release, in a separate review, the magazine said that the single "could possibly solidify Twain's status as the decade's crossover queen," though they criticized Lange's use of "dated-sounding instrumental elements to 'pop' it up."

The music video for "That Don't Impress Me Much" was shot in the Mojave Desert at El Mirage Dry Lake andBarstowCalifornia. It was directed by Paul Boyd and shot on November 3rd and 4th, 1998; it was released on December 2, 1998. It depicts Twain hitchhiking in the middle of the desert, in a hooded leopard skin outfit (though in some scenes the hooded outfit is open, showing a matching sports bra), and being approached by several men offering her a ride out of the desert. These include a man in a 1957 Chevy Bel Air, on a motorcycle, in an army jeep, a tanker truck, and on a Friesian horse. One of the men was played by male model John Devoe, previously appeared in her "You're Still the One" video. The video won the Video of the Year award at theCanadian Country Music Awards and the MuchMoreMusic Award at the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards. Two versions of the video were made, one with the 'Original Album Version', released to country channels, and the 'Dance Mix Edit' released to pop and international stations. The 'Original Album Version' of the video is available on Twain's DVD The Platinum Collection. It ranked number 77 on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos in Rock and Roll in 2001 and number 45 on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos in Country Music in 2004, making it the only video to make both lists. It was also named country music's sexiest video in 2006 by CMT Canada.

"That Don't Impress Me Much" debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the week of December 12, 1998 at number 60, the highest debut of the week. The single spent 20 weeks on the chart and climbed to a peak position of number eight on February 27, 1999, where it remained for one week. The single became Twain's tenth top ten (sixth consecutive), and her 12th top 20 single on the country charts. "That Don't Impress Me Much" also topped the Country Singles Sales chart for five weeks.
At adult contemporary radio, "That Don't Impress Me Much" debuted at number 22 the week of April 17, 1999, the weeks highest debut, as well as Twain's highest debut of all time on the AC chart. The single spent 26 weeks on the chart and quickly climbed to a peak position of number eight on June 5, 1999, where it remained for one week. "That Don't Impress Me Much" became Twain's third consecutive top ten single.
Twain's third most successful single on the Billboard Hot 100 is "That Don't Impress Me Much". It debuted on January 23, 1999 at number 80. It spent 28 weeks on the chart and peaked at number seven for two weeks starting June 12, 1999; it reached number five in airplay and 11 in sales.
Internationally, "That Don't Impress Me Much" became Twain's biggest single in the UK. It debuted, at its peak, on May 22, 1999 at number three, where it remained for three weeks, and remained in the top ten for another seven weeks. It remained on the entire chart for 21 weeks. "That Don't Impress Me Much" became Twain's third (second consecutive) top ten in the UK and the best selling non-number one single of the year in the country.[4] Elsewhere, the song hit number one in Belgium, Ireland, Norway and New Zealand, where it debuted at number one, and was later certified Platinum.
In all, "That Don't Impress Me Much" hit the top ten in 15 countries, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States.

EX-FACTOR

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-bnWqLqxE]

"Ex-Factor" is the second single from American recording artist Lauryn Hill from her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It features a sample of "Can It Be All So Simple", a song by Wu-Tang Clan. The song also raised some controversy, claiming that it was about former bandmate Wyclef Jean of The Fugees.

"Ex-Factor" was written and produced by Lauryn Hill and it features replayed elements of "Can It Be All So Simple" performed by Wu-Tang Clan.

Although not as successful as her previous single "Doo Wop (That Thing)", the song still garnered widespread success, and acclaim. This song spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at 21 on the week of April 10, 1999. It also charted on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, spending 31 weeks and peaking number 7 on March 13, 1999.[3]It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

Friday, March 25, 2011

¡HAPPY BIRTHDAY - GRINDR TURNS 2!


Today, revolutionary social networking app Grindr celebrates its second birthday. Since launching in 2009, Grindr has grown into a social networking giant, with over 1.7 million users in 190 countries around the world. As the world's largest all male location-based mobile social networking tool for the iPhoneiPod touchiPad, Android, and BlackBerry devices, Grindr has brought together a global community of users, many of whom have made meaningful connections with the world around them. 
Currently, an astounding 441,000 Grindr members log in to the app on a daily basis and spend an average of two hours using the app. Each day 5.1 million chat messages and 454,000 pictures are sent within the app. At the same time, 8,000 new users are joining the Grindr network everyday - two to three times Grindr's recent historical growth rate. This growth can be attributed to the launch of a newly redesigned version (1.5) for iOS devices, as well as the launch of Grindr on the Android Market. Since launching Grindr for Android on March 7, 2011, there have been over 83,000 downloads of the Android app. In just the past year, Grindr has increased its user base by 50% and has become the top grossing Social Networking app on the iTunes App Store in the US, also ranking 56 for all paid apps in the US.



"I am amazed at what we've achieved these past two years," says Joel Simkhai, founder and CEO. "The rate at which Grindr has grown is a direct result of our users. Their support and word of mouth has helped our app become what it is today. Our team has worked hard to give users the features, experience, and platforms they want, with releases that evolve and expand the Grindr experience. Our users and the dedicated Grindr Team make all this possible."

"Current Grindr users have tons of new connections to look forward to with so many new faces joining the network on Android devices," adds Scott Lewallen, Grindr's Creative Director.

Other Grindr accomplishments during the past two years include: winning an iDate Award for Best Mobile Dating Site; being featured at the South By Southwest Interactive Conference; and marketing major brands like American Apparel and Lady Gaga. Grindr has also hosted over 300 parties around the world, bringing users together in one place to chat and connect with one another.

The Grindr Team currently has 35 full-time equivalent employees, working hard to develop exciting new features and release innovative updates to each platform. Team Grindr also recently launched the website for a new location-based app in development, codenamed Project Amicus. The new app will allow anyone to discover, interact, and meet with people nearby. To sign up on the invite list and invite your friends to this new location-based app for everyone, visit ProjectAmicus.com.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

¡HAVE A GAY OLE TIME WITH CAZWELL!



It has been a while since we last heard from Cazwell. He set the interent a blaze last year with his video for "Ice Cream Truck." That video was full of sexy semi-nude men! They were all sweaty and yummy! It truly was a delish extravagana for the eyes. Now he is back and better than ever! Cazwell  has just released his brand new video for his song " Get My Money Back."
The song might not be the best thing but the video is yet another sexy mix of men dancing around shirtless and of course eating bananas. It's funny, sexy and as usual a little crazy but that doesn't stop Cazwell from having a gay old time! Check out the video and tell us what ya think of it! Do you like it or do you loathe it?
SOURCE: MAN CENTRAL

¿DOES THE 'HOT' PIC GET YOU TO CLICK?


Does my use of sexy images that illustrate my entries get you to click?  In our hot abs, nice and big dick obsession, am I a bad blogger for perpetuating this stereotype? Selling sex is a fact of life and we all have to deal with it, but when you look at the social norms of the gay community juxtaposed against those of mainstream society, it makes me wonder if the gay community is superficial, fawning over the guy with a six-pack?

Gay men are often accused of being overly sexualized. Fair enough. But here's the thing: I am NOT trying to live by anyone’s expectations of what I should put on this blog. I REFUSE to let people make me feel like something is wrong because I embrace the anatomy of men (gay n’ straight alike)! If an individual click on this blog because of the images, I am happy that they came to a place that can offer them a serious word or two while enjoying some eye candy. As the Toltec teachings go, I try to be impeccable with my words, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions AND always do my best. Can you say the same when you come here?

A DAME'S BRAINY QUOTE...

It is strange that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

REST IN PEACE DAME ELIZABETH ROSEMOND TAYLOR


Elizabeth Taylor, the violet-eyed film goddess whose sultry screen persona, stormy personal life and enduring fame and glamour made her one of the last of the classic movie stars and a template for the modern celebrity, died Wednesday at age 79.
She was surrounded by her four children when she died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized for about six weeks, said publicist Sally Morrison. "My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love," her son, Michael Wilding, said in a statement.
"We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."
"We have just lost a Hollywood giant," said Elton John, a longtime friend of Taylor. "More importantly, we have lost an incredible human being."
Taylor was the most blessed and cursed of actresses, the toughest and the most vulnerable. She had extraordinary grace, wealth and voluptuous beauty, and won three Academy Awards, including a special one for her humanitarian work. She was the most loyal of friends and a defender of gays in Hollywood when AIDS was new to the industry and beyond. But she was afflicted by ill health, failed romances (eight marriages, seven husbands) and personal tragedy.
"I think I'm becoming fatalistic," she said in 1989. "Too much has happened in my life for me not to be fatalistic."
Her more than 50 movies included unforgettable portraits of innocence and of decadence, from the children's classic "National Velvet" and the sentimental family comedy "Father of the Bride" to Oscar-winning transgressions in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Butterfield 8." The historical epic "Cleopatra" is among Hollywood's greatest on-screen fiascos and a landmark of off-screen monkey business, the meeting ground of Taylor and Richard Burton, the "Brangelina" of their day.
She played enough bawdy women on film for critic Pauline Kael to deem her "Chaucerian Beverly Hills."
But her defining role, one that lasted past her moviemaking days, was "Elizabeth Taylor," ever marrying and divorcing, in and out of hospitals, gaining and losing weight, standing by Michael Jackson, Rock Hudson and other troubled friends, acquiring a jewelry collection that seemed to rival Tiffany's.
She was a child star who grew up and aged before an adoring, appalled and fascinated public. She arrived in Hollywood when the studio system tightly controlled an actor's life and image, had more marriages than any publicist could explain away and carried on until she no longer required explanation. She was the industry's great survivor, and among the first to reach that special category of celebrity — famous for being famous, for whom her work was inseparable from the gossip around it.
The London-born actress was a star at age 12, a bride and a divorcee at 18, a superstar at 19 and a widow at 26. She was a screen sweetheart and martyr later reviled for stealing Eddie Fisher from Debbie Reynolds, then for dumping Fisher to bed Burton, a relationship of epic passion and turbulence, lasting through two marriages and countless attempted reconciliations.
She was also forgiven. Reynolds would acknowledge voting for Taylor when she was nominated for "Butterfield 8" and decades later co-starred with her old rival in "These Old Broads," co-written by Carrie Fisher, the daughter of Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.
Taylor's ailments wore down the grudges. She underwent at least 20 major operations and she nearly died from a bout with pneumonia in 1990. In 1994 and 1995, she had both hip joints replaced, and in February 1997, she underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. In 1983, she acknowledged a 35-year addiction to sleeping pills and pain killers. Taylor was treated for alcohol and drug abuse problems at the Betty Ford Clinic in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Her troubles bonded her to her peers and the public, and deepened her compassion. Her advocacy for AIDS research and for other causes earned her a special Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1993.
As she accepted it, to a long ovation, she declared, "I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."
The dark-haired Taylor made an unforgettable impression in Hollywood with "National Velvet," the 1945 film in which the 12-year-old belle rode a steeplechase horse to victory in the Grand National.
Critic James Agee wrote of her: "Ever since I first saw the child ... I have been choked with the peculiar sort of adoration I might have felt if we were in the same grade of primary school."
"National Velvet," her fifth film, also marked the beginning of Taylor's long string of health issues. During production, she fell off a horse. The resulting back injury continued to haunt her.
Taylor matured into a ravishing beauty in "Father of the Bride," in 1950, and into a respected performer and femme fatale the following year in "A Place in the Sun," based on the Theodore Dreiser novel "An American Tragedy." The movie co-starred her close friend Montgomery Clift as the ambitious young man who drowns his working-class girlfriend to be with the socialite Taylor. In real life, too, men all but committed murder in pursuit of her.
Through the rest of the 1950s and into the 1960s, she and Marilyn Monroe were Hollywood's great sex symbols, both striving for appreciation beyond their physical beauty, both caught up in personal dramas filmmakers could only wish they had imagined. That Taylor lasted, and Monroe died young, was a matter of luck and strength; Taylor lived as she pleased and allowed no one to define her but herself.
"I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me," Taylor said around the time she turned 50.
She had a remarkable and exhausting personal and professional life. Her marriage to Michael Todd ended tragically when the producer died in a plane crash in 1958. She took up with Fisher, married him, then left him for Burton. Meanwhile, she received several Academy Award nominations and two Oscars.
She was a box-office star cast in numerous "prestige" films, from "Raintree County" with Clift to "Giant," an epic co-starring her friends Hudson and James Dean. Nominations came from a pair of movies adapted from work by Tennessee Williams: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Suddenly, Last Summer." In "Butterfield 8," released in 1960, she starred with Fisher as a doomed girl-about-town. Taylor never cared much for the film, but her performance at the Oscars wowed the world.
Sympathy for Taylor's widowhood had turned to scorn when she took up with Fisher, who had supposedly been consoling her over the death of Todd. But before the 1961 ceremony, she was hospitalized from a nearly fatal bout with pneumonia and Taylor underwent a tracheotomy. The scar was bandaged when she appeared at the Oscars to accept her best actress trophy for "Butterfield 8."
To a standing ovation, she hobbled to the stage. "I don't really know how to express my great gratitude," she said in an emotional speech. "I guess I will just have to thank you with all my heart." It was one of the most dramatic moments in Academy Awards history.
"Hell, I even voted for her," Reynolds later said.
Greater drama awaited: "Cleopatra." Taylor met Burton while playing the title role in the 1963 epic, in which the brooding, womanizing Welsh actor co-starred as Mark Antony. Their chemistry was not immediate. Taylor found him boorish; Burton mocked her physique. But the love scenes on film continued away from the set and a scandal for the ages was born. Headlines shouted and screamed. Paparazzi, then an emerging breed, snapped and swooned. Their romance created such a sensation that the Vatican denounced the happenings as the "caprices of adult children."
The film so exceeded its budget that the producers lost money even though "Cleopatra" was a box-office hit and won four Academy awards. (With its $44 million budget adjusted for inflation, "Cleopatra" remains the most expensive movie ever made.) Taylor's salary per film topped $1 million. "Liz and Dick" became the ultimate jet set couple, on a first name basis with millions who had never met them.
They were a prolific acting team, even if most of the movies aged no better than their marriages: "The VIPs" (1963), "The Sandpiper" (1965), "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967), "The Comedians" (1967), "Dr. Faustus" (1967), "Boom!" (1968), "Under Milk Wood" (1971) and "Hammersmith Is Out" (1972).
Art most effectively imitated life in the adaptation of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" — in which Taylor and Burton played mates who fought viciously and drank heavily. She took the best actress Oscar for her performance as the venomous Martha in "Virginia Woolf" and again stole the awards show, this time by not showing up at the ceremony. She refused to thank the academy upon learning of her victory and chastised voters for not honoring Burton.
Taylor and Burton divorced in 1974, married again in 1975 and divorced again in 1976.
"We fight a great deal," Burton once said, "and we watch the people around us who don't quite know how to behave during these storms. We don't fight when we are alone."
In 1982, Taylor and Burton appeared in a touring production of the Noel Coward play "Private Lives," in which they starred as a divorced couple who meet on their respective honeymoons. They remained close at the time of Burton's death, in 1984.
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born in London on Feb. 27, 1932, the daughter of Francis Taylor, an art dealer, and the former Sara Sothern, an American stage actress. At age 3, with extensive ballet training already behind her, Taylor danced for British princesses Elizabeth (the future queen) and Margaret Rose at London's Hippodrome. At age 4, she was given a wild field horse that she learned to ride expertly.
At the onset of World War II, the Taylors came to the United States. Francis Taylor opened a gallery in Beverly Hills and, in 1942, his daughter made her screen debut with a bit part in the comedy "There's One Born Every Minute."
Her big break came soon thereafter. While serving as an air-raid warden with MGM producer Sam Marx, Taylor's father learned that the studio was struggling to find an English girl to play opposite Roddy McDowall in "Lassie Come Home." Taylor's screen test for the film won her both the part and a long-term contract. She grew up quickly after that.
Still in school at 16, she would dash from the classroom to the movie set where she played passionate love scenes with Robert Taylor in "Conspirator."
"I have the emotions of a child in the body of a woman," she once said. "I was rushed into womanhood for the movies. It caused me long moments of unhappiness and doubt."
Soon after her screen presence was established, she began a series of very public romances. Early loves included socialite Bill Pawley, home run slugger Ralph Kiner and football star Glenn Davis.
Then, a roll call of husbands:
• She married Conrad Hilton Jr., son of the hotel magnate, in May 1950 at age 18. The marriage ended in divorce that December.
• When she married British actor Michael Wilding in February 1952, he was 39 to her 19. They had two sons, Michael Jr. and Christopher Edward. That marriage lasted 4 years.
• She married cigar-chomping movie producer Michael Todd, also 20 years her senior, in 1957. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Francis. Todd was killed in a plane crash in 1958.
• The best man at the Taylor-Todd wedding was Fisher. He left his wife Debbie Reynolds to marry Taylor in 1959. She converted to Judaism before the wedding.
• Taylor and Fisher moved to London, where she was making "Cleopatra." She met Burton, who also was married. That union produced her fourth child, Maria.
• After her second marriage to Burton ended, she married John Warner, a former secretary of the Navy, in December 1976. Warner was elected a U.S. senator from Virginia in 1978. They divorced in 1982.
• In October 1991, she married Larry Fortensky, a truck driver and construction worker she met while both were undergoing treatment at the Betty Ford Center in 1988. He was 20 years her junior. The wedding, held at the ranch of Michael Jackson, was a media circus that included the din of helicopter blades, a journalist who parachuted to a spot near the couple and a gossip columnist as official scribe.
But in August 1995, she and Fortensky announced a trial separation; she filed for divorce six months later and the split became final in 1997.
"I was taught by my parents that if you fall in love, if you want to have a love affair, you get married," she once remarked. "I guess I'm very old-fashioned."
Her philanthropic interests included assistance for the Israeli War Victims Fund, the Variety Clubs International and the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
She received the Legion of Honor, France's most prestigious award, in 1987, for her efforts to support AIDS research. In May 2000, Queen Elizabeth II made Taylor a dame — the female equivalent of a knight — for her services to the entertainment industry and to charity.
In 1993, she won a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute; in 1999, an institute survey of screen legends ranked her No. 7 among actresses.
During much of her later career, Taylor's waistline, various diets, diet books and tangled romances were the butt of jokes by Joan Rivers and others. John Belushi mocked her on "Saturday Night Live," dressing up in drag and choking on a piece of chicken.
"It's a wonder I didn't explode," Taylor wrote of her 60-pound weight gain — and successful loss — in the 1988 book "Elizabeth Takes Off on Self-Esteem and Self-Image."
She was an iconic star, but her screen roles became increasingly rare in the 1980s and beyond. She appeared in several television movies, including "Poker Alice" and "Sweet Bird of Youth," and entered the Stone Age as Pearl Slaghoople in the movie version of "The Flintstones." She had a brief role on the popular soap opera "General Hospital."
Taylor was the subject of numerous unauthorized biographies and herself worked on a handful of books, including "Elizabeth Taylor: An Informal Memoir" and "Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair With Jewelry." In tune with the media to the end, she kept in touch through her Twitter account.
"I like the connection with fans and people who have been supportive of me," Taylor told Kim Kardashian in a 2011 interview for Harper's Bazaar. "And I love the idea of real feedback and a two-way street, which is very, very modern. But sometimes I think we know too much about our idols and that spoils the dream."
Survivors include her daughters Maria Burton-Carson and Liza Todd-Tivey, sons Christopher and Michael Wilding, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.