Catching Up and Double-Post

TWO Talk Thursdays

Today was my writing catch-up day, and it didn’t happen as planned because I was unpacking boxes of holiday decorations and putting lights around the rim of the house.  Me, on the roof via ladder, all by myself, because I’m a stubborn bastard and slightly impatient as well.  I could have (should have) waited until Scott was back from the store, but no, I hauled out the ladder and climbed up on the roof with a large bag of lights in tow.

I don’t like heights.  Better said, I have this thing called “fear of falling,” which is funny, given my tempetuous relationship with gravity.  I thought about writing while I was up there – topics, not actually WRITING up there.  I thought about the Talk Thursday topics wherein I’ve been… absent… as I sat a few inches from the edge.  “Sex and Tattoos” was one week’s topic where I’d kicked around several irrelevant drafts and annoyed myself.  I refrained from reading TT participants’ comments as well.  I may have refrained from commenting.  Cele’s recent topic of “Appreciate, Validate, Communicate” came to mind and I was chagrined at how skillfully I’d done none of the above.  With those two topics in mind, I thought I could 1) post two-topics in one entry, 2) catch-up on topics, 3) somewhat cheat and write a lot without saying anything, and 4) include pictures.  While I was thinking these things, I attached scores of holiday lights to the edge of the house.  Up there for a little while, I forgot to be afraid.

A rare few musical artists have that sex appeal factor, that impossible attractiveness, that “look” that makes me want to do them.  Their music (pardon the pun here) strikes a deep chord in me.  There’s a vicarious ownership of these musical talents through stereo or video.  Two artists of the last 20 years do it for me:  Michael Hutchence of INXS, and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 fame.

Michael Hutchence

Adam Levine

INXS was a big part of my growing up and coming out.  When I was dancing at the old Bay with my straight/Mormon friends and any of the INXS songs came on, my feet moved me to the dance floor before my brain knew what I was doing.  The song “Need You Tonight” came out the year after I graduated high school and at the time I was hanging out with my favorite cousin’s ex-boyfriend who got dumped by her while he was on his mission.  The club would often follow “Need You Tonight” with “Mediate” – a song that segmented the sentiments to appreciate, validate, and communicate.  I was thrilled, and more than slightly turned on, when cousin’s ex-boyfriend would gesture and mouth “masturbate” during parts of the song.  I hung out with him because 1) he was familiar, 2) he knew I was gay but accepted me for me, and 3) he had really really nice arms, abs, and package.  Up there on the roof, I remembered how strongly devout he became and how he was less than accepting of me.  I try and remember the hot guy dancing and I can hear his voice and he has faded to me, but when I hear INXS I can see and hear him perfectly.

Adam Levine.  Up on the roof, I remember how stubbornly I held off listening to Maroon 5.  A fellow blogger, LA, gave me their CD (“Songs About Jane”) when she was visiting several years ago and I put it away for several months before I finally gave it a listen.  Understand, I’m not big on television, and I can go months without hearing anything new on the radio.  It’s only been the last few years, from Pandora and streaming music on Second Life, that my musical world has expanded outside the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.  The more I listened to this Maroon 5 group, the more I liked them – particularly “This Love.”  I was enjoying their older hits while the new ones off their newer CD were blazing the airwaves.  I was online, checking lyrics, when I followed links and found an image of the group, particularly of Adam.  I was smitten, I was consumed, I was undone by him, his sex and tattoos.  I was not so undone that I didn’t finish placing those Christmas lights, and I did manage to climb down safely – even with the loss of blood flow to my bigger brain.

(note to self – the WordPress ‘gallery’ function is pretty damn cool)

Neil Patrick Harris

No, I didn’t watch the Emmy’s, but I would have had I known this guy was hosting.

He’s fookin’ adorable.

Tempest

Tempest

Oracles of early 2009

In what seemed like other lifetimes, but were as recent as a few years ago, my practice on January 1st, or as near as possible to the “day” passing into New Year’s Day, was to get out the tarot cards and/or runestones and do reading.  Some years may have involved greater quantities of alcohol than others, such as the years of my young adulthood with a group of close friends at a cabin in southern Utah.  Some years I’d use a regular deck of cards and read, gypsy-style.  Other years I waited for quiet time when I could be alone and I could wrap the present around me like a comfortable afghan and be at peace with the past behind me and the unknown ahead.  This year I drew cards on the 17th and have let the messages settle, because I didn’t “get it” until today, talking on the phone with dear friends.  More on meaning of meaning later…

From three similarly styled decks of the Thoth heritage (as opposed to the Rider-Wait heritage), I drew:

(challenge) 10 of Fire/Wands/Clubs
(strength) 10 of Earth/Pentacles/Disks
(conscious perception) Aeon

My query to the universe was to look beyond last year’s angst of career and work issues and get to what matters to the true and pure parts of me:  writing and connecting.  Ten of Fire is about self-oppression – holding back my own power.  Ten of Earth is about manifesting abundance through communication (I haz writing skillz?) and organizational (I haz a desk here somewherez) skills.  Aeon/Judgement (SELF judgement) is the archeytpe for broad perspectives, historical cycles, and being able to forgive ourselves for what we are doing or NOT doing in our lives.

“It is only when we actually try to see beyond ourselves that we begin to use the oracles as a mirror of the cosmos and all of its wisdom.” – Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth, from “The Faerie’s Oracle.”

Meaning of meanings?  I made a deal today and I have until Sunday to follow through with my word.  Stay tuned to me stepping up, or being in the same holding pattern for decades now.

Aeon, or something like it

Studly in Blue

I know, I know, I get blogging again and then pause for some eye candy, but it was a long-ass day. Very long-ass day. Work was one thing, but then Shinshige and I hit the gym. Sore arms for him. Sore everything for me. I logged on to finish a blog post but it’s getting late and I ran out of steam. Please pardon me, but I spent a little bit of time finding an appropriate hunk of burning love.

Would you throw this man out of bed for eating crackers?

Thoughts? Tangents and off-topic are perfectly acceptable.

Solstice 2008

No Reason

For no other reason, other than the appreciation of a fine form who fills out a jock strap REALLY well.

Dee Li Cious

A Wii Bit More

**The “O” key doesn’t work too well on my keyboard. Shitskies. I go through a keyboard every six months or so.**

Over the weekend we lucked out and did something a little zany: we were at Best Buy and noticed they still had two Wii exercise boards in stock and we picked one up.

I have three words for the Wii board: a-maz-ing.

I spent two hours doing various strength, balance, yoga, and aerobic “games” on the board. Let’s just say it’s been several years since I did any tai chi, since my balance is incredibly craptastic. What is amazing about the board is that it shows you your center of gravity (balance) as you’re dong the various exercises. The more you do the various exercises, the more features get unlocked on the game. Tonight, I broke a sweat doing roughly 45 minutes of mini-exercises. It was warm and I was wearing shorts, but still… I could feel the sweat on my neck and the need for water.

In the three days we’ve had it, my balance has improved slightly.

Now if I could only spend as much time concentrating on chewing gum and walking I’d be completely fine.

The gentleman below is helping me stay motivated.

more inspiration

What do you do to stay focused and inspired?

Let Your Light Shine

Going for some visual inspiration here.  The last week was a complete bust as far as writing is concerned.  It didn’t help being down and out most of the weekend.  Feeling slightly better, thanks.

How do you let YOUR light shine?

let your light shine

I Can Relate

Now and Zen

Except for being fuzzy and not nearly as handsome nor graceful.

**technical note: the damn caption option is now built into the posting process – I can name it, but don’t have a clue how to change the setting or alignment (yet).