The Ugly Truth About Sex

I came across this article today about how teenagers who take a pledge not to have sex before marriage engage in sex at the same rate as those that don't take such a pledge. This is not a new study, but rather a re-interpretation of a study done within the past couple of years that I can still remember reading about. If I remember correctly, the original study did say that pledged teenagers engaged in sex only slightly less. For context, understand that my fundamentalist upbringing makes be believe that many such pledges occur within a religious context.



But there is a hidden story here. What this tells me is that teenagers desire to abstain from sex will have little impact on their actual ability to have sex. It means that evolutionary-developed drive to copulate is stronger than the will of most.

Alternate Realities

I have no idea what's going on. Either Obama has become completely unglued or Pat Robertson has come completely off the rails because something in the universe just ain't right.

Recall that I come from a fundamentalist background. I went to Jerry Falwell's school so I you'll understand that I am completely perplexed that Robertson states:

• Wants the TARP money used to help consumers/homeowners.
• Calls Bush's handling of several matters including Iraq, Katrina and the economy "terrible" and "unprofessional".
• Says Obama "has the makings of a great president" (qualified by if he continues down his current, middle of the road course).

Now I'll admit that I have been doing some mind-blowing, geeky reading on Quantum Physics and String Theory recently so it is completely possible that I've just been sucked into an alternate universe.

Salem

Recall the witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. To me this represents a natural inclination within us to eschew that which is different. For group-think to take over. When people are not like us, they become less human. With the loss of their perceived humanity then follows our loss of empathy for them. And yet civilization continues its march. Civilization has required of us extraordinary concessions. Each concession comes as an attempt to allow one to live with the implicit compact that we will be allowed to do the same. The very nature of this compact is that civilization forces us to get to know each other more and more until ultimately the witch is accepted as our next door neighbor.

This is the lens with which I look back to the legacy of slavery and the Jim Crow era. It is by no chance that the developed world has ended slavery just as we have made huge reforms in other areas such as gender-biases, freedom of religion and place of origin.

Which brings me to my point...

The Republicans built their modern-day alignment based on a reaction to the 1960s civil rights movement. It seeked to gain from the fears of "otherness" for electoral gain. Unfortunately, whether by commission or omission, this sentiment remains deeply entrenched in party today. It is no accident that most minorities in this country are Democrats.

And yet I hate this. I hate that my only choice is to either vote Democrat or to vote against my own self-dignity. I wish there was true choice and healthy competition out there in this regard.

But there is hope. It lies in the Republican's shrinking base. As the electorate becomes more composed of the young, which are more knowledged and accepting of differences and minorities, the Republicans will be forced to change. I welcome and look forward to this day. Even now, every few days I peruse Republican Internet sites in search of signs of change. Fortunately there is some chatter on this topic, not yet enough to trigger the change that is needed and ultimately unavoidable. Eventually, we realize that they're not witches. And even if they are... so what.

Postscript: Although I've phrased this as primarily about race, it really about "otherness", which include sexual orientation and other religions. Someday, when the party is less-based upon whom they hate and/or disregard, the Republican party will serve this country better.

Money Isn't Everything

Preferred method of remittance is Paypal. Oh yeah... and say some hail Marys or something.

Asshole

There's nothing I hate more than an asshole. Not the literal kind of course. I can handle people's oddities. I can deal with weirdos. I can sit down with the down-and-out, but I just can't take assholes. For my purposes, an asshole is defined as someone that needlessly, purposely or recklessly causes harm to another. I hate people that mistreat others or talks bad about others.

I say all this because I came across this article today that gives the latest on a former, local judge that definitely deserves to be in the running of the asshole of the year award. This judge sued a local dry cleaners for $54 million because he claims that they lost his pants. The dry cleaner had his pants, but even if they weren't his as he claimed, the cleaner's offer to replace them was declined so that the judge could start a dumbest of all law suites.

Here we are 3 years later and the judge (who subsequently last his job as a judge) is appealing yet again and threatening to go to the Supreme Court. The owners cleaners have had to close 2 stores and lost most of their savings just defending themselves.

Now I'm always one to understand that there are always 2 sides to every story. So event 'til today I continue to read the story, searching for some unseen insight that motivates the asshole. I haven't found anything other than... that he's an asshole. Somewhat in his defense, I'm wouldn't be surprised if the dry cleaners mistreated him when he made his initial complaint, but do you decide that this has gone too far? When do you stop wasting my hard-earned taxes to continue this charade?

Post Script: The man pictured in the picture is poor schmo that just happened to be standing when the photo was snapped and not the referenced asshole.

Ah the Smell of Adams Morgan

I wondered what that rancid odor was that I would smell walking though Adams Morgan this fall season. Mystery now solved. It turns out the be the fruit of female Ginkgo trees. They kind of look like large chestnut/grape -shaped things that fall from the trees. They don't seem to start smelling until someone steps on them and opens them up. The smell is astounding in its power. I wish it smelled like crushed rose petals, but no such luck. It actually smells more like used baby diapers.

Despair

Last night the BF and I went out to Woof, dinner, then Omega. At Omega I met a guy who immigrated from an Islamic country. When he entered the bar he walked directly up to me and told me how "sexy" my shirt was to start conversation. Of course I told him pretty early on that I had the BF.

He's a very good-looking guy, likely to be somewhere around 30 years old. He told me how he only likes black men. He said his first gay experience was with black men and that he's only ever dated black men since. He told me how he had recently just came out ending his prior period of furtive encounters. Remember that the stigma in his part of the world is far greater than it is here. Since coming out he has lost (a) his wife to divorce, (b) his kids to his wife, (c) his house to his kids, (c) parents, (d) grandparents, (e) 58 cousins, (f) job although I didn't quite understand this one and more.

He says that he's given up everything for "one, good, black man". Of course this isn't true. He gave up everything to stop living a lie, nonetheless the desperation and longing of the conversation deeply touched me. There are people that search for their soulmate for their entire life and he's only been out for 2 months. He told me that he's not looking for a big dick, a good fuck, or a one-night stand. Rather, he repeated over and over that he just wants one, good, black man. He even talked about abandoning his religion and being cremated upon his death. I wonder how long it'll be before he gives in to his familial loss and declare himself straight once more.

The saddest thing of all is that it is really difficult to find just one, good, black guy. No... not because he's black, but rather because he's gay. I know that the impacts of culture upon us are grossly understated. It is what makes some blacks internalize inferiority as much as the most ardent racist. It's because they're both watching the same TV shows, movies and reading the same magazines. Well, the same holds true for us gays. We've all grown up in a society that tells us that we are less, inferior and possibly even worthless. Some of us have confronted this and have largely overcome this self-hatred, but many more are still mired neck-deep in it. This is what makes us generally not husband material. That most of us have been more or less damaged by the very society that should have nurtured us.

Fortunately, there are good men out there though. I only hope that my friend finds one. I hope that he is mentally and emotionally ready when he does.

Sexual Racism

I came across a link to a website speaking about sexual racism today and found it to be pretty well-done. I tend not to judge others sexual proclivities since I believe that they can be so complicated that often even we don't even understand why we like what we like. But this site moved my thinking on the issue a little. Perhaps there is something a little perverse about cutting off others even before we've even said "hi". Granted, the online sites that the article speaks tend not to be for casual chit-chat, but still.

Sex and racism aside, I've always greatly believed in the basic principle that positivity is more powerful than negativity. Unfortunately the power in negativity is immediate, so we often think of it as stronger, but positivity tends to alter our mood, our mindset, our happiness and the happiness of those around us. It makes us more likable and attractive. These are more subtle, but stronger. Being positive doesn't mean that we must be pushovers either. I firmly believe that we can ask for what we want and be firm, yet in the nicest way.

Nudism Update

It has been now approximately one year since I first stumbled upon my first nude event and nearly 10 months since my first became active in DC. Having just gotten home from Key West, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on how my views, understanding and general feelings have evolved over this past year.

As the BF and I sat on the couch and reflected on our vacation we also thought of our other getaways that we've had this year. Now I should say that we've always enjoyed our vacations even in prior years, but this year's vacations seemed to be especially enjoyable to us both.

The answer is really nothing new. It's the warmth of the people. You can stand in a regular bar and maybe the average person might talk to 2 or 3 or so people that they didn't already know. But if that same person was naked in the same bar surrounded with other naked men, he'd likely meet 20 to 30. Perhaps nudism just doesn't attract people that want to hide. Perhaps we just can't take ourselves quite too seriously as we stand there in our nakedness looking positively silly. If you can, try to recall having fun and playing when your an 8 year old kid. Remember the silliness and yet the absolute, true and simple fun that could come from almost anywhere at anytime. Somehow I believe that being naked kind of causes to regress into this state, but totally in a good way. It's just plain fun... well... and sexy, but I guess that's where the the 8 y/o analogy falls apart.

I find that most of us long for a sense of connectedness and a feeling of belonging. We want to be able to simply "be" while still being accepted and not judged. The irony of course is that the very things that we do to achieve these ends are those things that isolate us most. For example, to be accepted we try to be cool. Of course, this immediately alienates anyone that isn't as cool as we are. And even in the circles that have bought into our engineered coolness, there is the stress of maintaining appearances such that we hide behind our cool clothing/hair/lingo/etc. Nudism is not magic, but makes it easier to dispense with such things.

On occasion people have asked me if I am a nudist. I have trouble answering this not because I care what they think about it, but because the word seems to mean so much to so many. I mean, I don't have a political agenda. I don't necessarily think its practical for our society to completely dispense with clothing. And yet I do love being naked. I love being with others that are naked. Although I accept that we will forever live in a clothed society, I believe that our culture could benefit from a little more of the body-acceptance that nudism promotes. Oh yeah... and it's just simply fun.

Does that make me a nudist?

Key West

We spent the first half of the week in Ft. Lauderdale and Friday continued on to Key West. FTL was fun as always. The Social Whore didn't come since he already had another trip planned and was hosting a naked party in his apartment. I'm dying to see how it went because he has a modest-sized apartment and 113 people confirmed. I'm wondering how that worked out. I guess the more the merrier.

While in FTL we stayed at the Worthington again. What can I say? I like the place. We went to Club FTL for the first time which was pretty cool. It's funny how we'll go to a place like that while away and yet have never visited the local place in DC. We went to George's and collected yet more chips that we'll never cash in. There was the funniest guy from France named Phillipe at the guesthouse who locked himself out of his room. Being as nice as I am, I made sure that he knew that there was lots of room in my room... on top of me.

At Key West we met up with David, a guy we met at Folsom and met up with a couple of times since. He heard we were going and asked if he could crash in our room for a couple of nights. We all shared a full-sized bed, which actually worked out pretty well. We spent most of our time in the backyard of the Bourbon Street Pub, the Island house and Oasis. Of course I was naked everywhere we went. I have no idea where my clothes keep going to.

Best memories:

• Definitely the best memory was a 3-way with the BF and a latino named Fernando. I can't tell you how hot that was. So much so that the BF is still talking about it.
• Seeing the really gorgeous guys at the Island house. There was a gorgeous 6 ft 3 guy from our guesthouse that I probably spent way too much time with. I remember the latino boy with blond-dyed hair.
• There was a nude/underwear/foam party at the Bourbon St. Pub. Every time I looked over it looked so much fun that I just had to go in. So I alternated between getting all soapy followed by dips in the pool, drying off with a random towel then snuggling with the BF to keep warm. After a while, there was a lot of interesting thing happening in the back of the foam party which just made it all so much more inviting.

My Head is Exploding

This is very, very cool. That is, if you love math and hyper-theoretical concepts. Conceptually I've understood what dimensions are and how there could be more than 3 and even more than 4. But I've always considered thoughts of higher dimensions to be too unfamiliar to us bound by time and space and therefore unimaginable. I now see that I was wrong. Warning, you too may explode.

Just a Little Play

Evidently someone rents out a portion of a local bar on holiday weekends for play parties. We had never gone before, but decided to go this time. We ran into a small framed latino boy that we met just earlier this week. It turned out that he too was going to the party and this would be his first time going too.

Of course as we entered, I immediately wanted to take my clothes off. I mean, I'm not an exhibitionist, but clothes just felt so constraining and... inconvenient. You're not buying that huh? Anyway, the BF is not overly fond of my penchant for almost-anywhere nudity, but typically humors me. It's not like I streak downtown or anything. Well... at least not yet. So many of the parties that we attend are either (a) entirely social, or (b) a mix of social with some play, so this party is not exactly typical for us. We both did have fun though.

Favorite moments included:

• Getting a blow job from 2 guys at the same time while a 3rd worked the other side (see now you can see how clothes could be a problem),
• Getting fucked by a really good-looking and huge-dicked black guy, and
• Watching our latino friend get fucked senseless.

We got home at 5a and of course, saved the best for last. So how was the party? Well... hmm... I guess not bad.

Gabriel

We saw Gabriel today. Gabriel has a very slim build and always wears extremely sexy outfits. They'd never work on me, but he can pull them off. As background, he's definitely a sexy guy, but we've never engaged in anything even remotely sexual nor even hinted at nor discussed anything of the sort during the nearly three years that we've known Gabriel.

Anyway, today he said something funny/interesting/strange. In the course of a natural conversation he says that someone in a relationship should never allow a single guy to stay in their house presumably I guess because it always ends badly or something like that. The funny thing is though that his very next statement was about how much he respects the both of us and how that would make it different for us if we ever did anything together. Hmm.

All Is Not As It Appears

This week we met up with the Social Whore at JR's for some pre-holiday cocktails. He would be leaving town the next day so we decided to meet up. First we ran into Ken, whom we first met at the Eagle one night when I was in my jockstrap and have seen him several times since. It's funny because he's always trying to shock us a little. I think he wants to be a pig. The truth is that he both looks and IS very sweet that he's very endearing. I've invited to take him to a nude party one day and he seems like he really wants to go.

Later we ran into Andrew. I've written about him before calling him Timmy, but hey... unbeknownst to me, he had already picked his own pseudonym. We talked politics a little. I love talking politics to him because he's a little non-conventional in his thinking. It's unconventional in an intelligent way so it's always a little refreshing. He extended a future invitation for cocktails which we immediately accepted. What I hadn't realized at the time is that he was really inviting us over for cocks and tails. Oops, my bad. Not that that made me rescind my acceptance of course. Anyway before he left he came back to me to say bye. The BF was out smoking at this time. He got real close so that I could feel his hardon through his jeans and began talking dirty. Hmmm, not quite as vanilla as he looks huh? Yeah, it was definitely working for me as he described how he wanted to what the BF and I and what he would do to us. As he left he gave me small, gentile and not-so-innocent kiss goodbye.

The Long Dark Night

It's a shame that as the weather changes, the number of nude events decrease. Of course this is my first time going through this time of the year as a nudist, but I do recall that there were less events back in February when I first started. I also witnessed how the events took off as temperature heated up so I can only assume that the current regression is natural as well as predictable. Nonetheless, it's a little sad.

The BF and I have a couple of winter getaway planned to warmer climes to breakup the doldrums of winter. Both will be in warm, sunny, clothing-optional places by beautiful beaches. One will be taken along with 6 friends so that should be a lot of fun. On the other trip is to Ft. Lauderdale and Key West, where we are supposed to meet up with a guy we met at Folsom, whom we have already seen one time since first meeting him. I've been looking at the upcoming events in Key West and decided that we picked the perfect time to visit.

Change in Appalachia

I was talking to a friend of mine from Lynchburg this past week. Interestingly enough, we didn't meet when I lived there and attended Liberty U, but in DC many years later. Rick recently found a long-lost family member in near Chapel Hill and has since moved there part time to take care of him. His uncle is approaching 70 years old and in failing health. When Rick first met him, the doctors warned him that his uncle could go at any moment. His health has since improved somewhat, but he remains week and with very poor eye-sight. Rick's own description of his uncle is that he is stereotypically hillbilly, often voices racial slurs.

During the presidential election, his uncle would commonly talk about the "nigger" and how the country would never allow a "nigger" into the white house. About a month before the election, his uncle said, "Rick, there are things I would like to do before I die and one thing I've never done before is vote. How do you register for this?" My friend offered to find out the rules for him to register. The filled it out together, submitted out and his voter registration card came in the mail a short time later.

The uncle then said, "well I'd really like to do this, can you help me go vote?" It was obvious that this was really important to his uncle so he agreed. This was a little harder since Rick had to vote in Lynchburg, which is over 4 hours away. Rick agreed. He figured he could vote early morning and then drive to NC afterwards to help his uncle. Rick later discovered that NC has early voting so they went and waited in line to do so. This was very difficult because the uncle has trouble walking, standing (remember the long lines) and seeing.

The election workers allowed Rick into the voting booth to assist his uncle. He carefully explained the process and pointed to each circle while telling him, "this circle is for John McCain, this one for Barak..." Squinting, his uncle said "point to the circle for Obama." Rick did and his uncle darkened the circle. My friend then confirmed to make sure that he actually meant to do what he just did. They haven't even discussed it since.

I've heard several of these types of stories over the course of this election cycle. What strikes me about such recountings is that it is evidence that times and people are changing. No, not everyone. In fact if you look at the election results across Appalachia, there is no denying that this is the singular part of the country in which race played a disproportionate role in determining the next president. But even there... in the heart of where racial tensions run deepest... change has already come to thousands of people just like Rick's uncle. And this makes me happy and brings hope.

Dirty Underwear

Recently I was in a large, group, nude setting where I met Pablo of whom I have written before. He is an absolutely gorgeous, Latino boy. He has a beautiful face and a perfect body. Most of I like him because I've watched how he treats others. The times I've seen him he has enjoyed the company of the young and old, beautiful and not so beautiful, the fit and the out of shape. As if he weren't already sexy enough, his good heart just makes him more so.

Although we always talk, I've never really did anything with him. Well... that's if you don't count that one time at that party when... oh... nevermind. Where was I?

Anyway, our relationship tends to be sensual without being sexual. I've never really thought that he was even interested in me in that way. Not that it matters mind you, remember the BF. But an interesting and intimate moment happened just as I was leaving the event.

We had all donned our clothes. I had worn a jock-strap to the event, but decided not to put it on when I got dressed. It was too big to put in my pockets so I asked the BF to put it in his. Of course he and several friends thought that was the perfect moment to play and started passing it around. It only lasted about a minute though before it was (in)discreetly stowed away. As I said my goodbyes and stole one more hug from Pablo, he leaned into my ear and asked me for a favor. He asked me to give him my jockstrap which actually kinda surprised me. I couldn't however, because honestly it wasn't mine. I explained I would, but the BF bought it even if he hadn't worn it in over a year. He asked me to bring one next time for him and to make sure that they weren't clean.

Now dirty underwear is not really my thing. Although perhaps I shouldn't say that since there was the high school friend long ago that had forgotten his backpack over my house. I guess my point is that I love imperfect men. There's something really hot about a beautiful guy with a slight imperfection or vulnerability... or a great body with a little paunch... or even a Latino angel with the perfect body that wants to sniff my dirty underwear.

Palinisms

"Sitting here in these chairs that I’m going to be proposing but in working with these governors who again on the front lines are forced to and it’s our privileged obligation to find solutions to the challenges facing our own states every day being held accountable, not being just one of many just casting votes or voting present every once in a while, we don’t get away with that. We have to balance budgets and we’re dealing with multibillion dollar budgets and tens of thousands of employees in our organizations." - Palin

I'm always amazed at how poorly she speaks. I mean... is this even English? And if so, what
exactly is she saying? Sure, there are many politicians that have made a career out of saying nothing, but the difference is that at least these politicians manage to say nothing while at least sounding intelligent. Palin just sounds like someone that either is dumb as a door nail or has such a poor command of the language that they get lost in their own sentences.

Postscript: I've said in an earlier post about how much I hate to proof-read and the funny kind of mistakes I find when I do. Since this post is specifically about language, perhaps I better read this over at least once...

Center-Right

Oh so many things in our political discourse is insanity. The most recent idiotic statement that seems to be repeated in the wake of Obama's victory is that America is still a "center-right" nation. Of course this is being espoused by Republicans as a way to attempt to put limits on what Obama can do as well as try to lessen the demoralization that feel given the results.

But intellectually, this makes no sense. For one, center-right of what? There must be a reference point. There is no absolute center from which to judge who's left and who's right. For example, compared to China, even the most liberal Democrat is incredibly conservative. My point is that the very term itself is relative and not an absolute and the statement is made with respect to a vague and ambiguous marker that is likely different in everyone's head and likely moves over time. I know. This statement is made based on polls of people self-identified party affiliation. But to use these numbers to make such a statement is to confuse core beliefs with party affiliation. Certainly the two are related, but are not the same.

Another reason why it makes no sense is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans do a very good job at staying ideologically consistent. For example, the Republicans are expanding government and at least partially nationalizing our banking system while the Democrats are proclaiming the need to expand our military in ways that would put any neo-con to shame. So even if more people self-identified as Republicans, which BTW is no longer true, this doesn't mean that those people into all of the specific policies that the person making the argument is trying to make.

This is yet another 1984-type statement that politicians are so good at which allow them to sell their snake oil while distracting us from the real topics. The Republicans are using it because today they are loosing the argument of the issues. But just wait a few years and I'm sure the tables will turn once again. Hopefully somehow, someway, we'll come together and actually do something for the country anyway.

Cherub

Last night the BF, Social Whore and I went out for our usual Friday evening Woof event and after, to dinner. Surprisingly, SW wanted to continue the night as opposed to turning into a pumpkin as he usually does at 9pm so we went to Omega.

As we were in the cab (5 blocks was too long for SW to walk, so he insisted on it), we drove past the Jury's hotel. It reminded me of a good friend from the past that used to live in Lynchburg. He drove up just about every other week for about a year and a half to see his boyfriend. We met them at Fuego over 3 years ago when Fuego was still on U street. Not realizing that it was 11 PM already, I called him. His phone went straight to voicemail so I left a message.

When we got to Omega, I was actually not really in a good mood. After standing around for about a half hour, I decided to walk around and ran into the Cherub. I call him that because that best describes his face. He is Latino and has a beautiful, slim-build body. I hadn't seen or heard from the Cherub in about 2 years. He seemed a little down and longed for his old boyfriend, but said that his boyfriend won't even return his phone calls. From talking to his boyfriend every once in a while I can tell you that he still loves Cherub to death. There relationship was very cute, but more drama than Broadway could ever produce. The honest truth is that although I love them both, they're probably not good for each other, at least not given where they were in their lives 2 years ago. Of course I would never tell them that though.

Anyway, seeing the Cherub brightened my night. When he asked what we have been up to, I related the long story of our decent (or is ascent) into nudism. He seemed to like that and wanted to join too, but I don't know. I can just see them getting back together in the future and my Lynchburg friend being upset that I had corrupted the Cherub. I guess it really doesn't matter though because he doesn't even have a phone. It's part of the tragic life that he leads, which had a lot to do with their breakup. He said he'd call me and seemed like he meant it, but honestly, he doesn't have a good track record with such things.

Still, I was really happy to see him and to spend time reminiscing and catching up on all that had happened since. It'll likely be another 2 years before we meet again, but at least we all shared one true moment.

OMG!!! It Was Worse Than We Feared!

The crazy thing is that Bill O'Reilly accepts the underlying premise and arques that having no understanding of anything isn't a disqualifier because she can be "tutored"! WTF!!!

Obama Makes History

Cool video by CNN. (sorry, dumb 15 second intro commercial)

Manassas Rally Pics

More pictures from the 100,000 person Obama rally in Manassas.

Yes We Did!

After following this for 2 years, instead of saying "yes we can", we now can say "yes we did"! I attended an election night-nite party tonight with 30 or so gay, naked men to watch the results. Honestly, I didn't expect this kind of result. I have always been proud to be an american, but tonight, I am even more proud. I am not just proud that he won, but much more so on how accurate the polls were. What did this mean? It means that for even people for whom racism is a part of there lives, it means that it is either further down in their list or priorities or that they have no problem stating it outright. For me that is amazing.

As I walked home from the party, I was greeted by cars driving up and down Adams Morgan honking their horns; by (straight) people wanting a hug; by people wanting to high-five and of course, by people screaming. Er.... perhaps I screamed a bit too.

I kept the BF up late to stay and hear Obama's speech. I confess that I didn't hear the whole speech, because I just had to call my parents. Yes... I awoke them, and yet, they didn't mind. Rather, they were elated.

Now, I'm not an emotional person and rarely cry. But today I did. I cried like a little baby. Not just because Barak won, but because of the integrity of the American people. Someone I had met today held me for a long time and just repeated over and over, "I understand." I think they did.

Woohoo!

100,000 In Virginia

Last week, Obama visited Leesburg, Virginia. I was tempted to go but my tennis addiction overcame me. In the end I was disappointeded that I didn't go. I thought that he'd likely be back in the commonwealth and decided to attend any future events prior to election night. As the week wore on, it looked like it was not to be as I had plans for an extended weekend stay in Ft. Lauderdale.

I was very pleased on Sunday to get the announcement that he'd be in Manassas on Monday. How incredible, he'd be there the only day I would be there prior to election day. It was a sign from god, if I believed in that sort of thing.

I wanted to see history in the making. Although I had donated and attended other events, I had not heard him speak in person. I had not participated in the excitement that only a live crowd can deliver. Not to trivialize it, but I figured it is similar to the difference between watching a baseball game on TV and going to a live game. I left my racquets and tennis clothes at home so there'd be no temptation this time.

An white older guy, about 65 y/o or so, befriended me and we stayed together for the whole time. In all, I left the office around 4:30p and didn't get home until about 1:00a. I had no idea that there would be so many people there. I took a full hour just get out of the fair grounds after the speech ended at around 11:30p and another 1 hour to get home.

The excitement was palpable. Other than Obama, speakers included Tim Caine (governor), Mark Warner (ex-governor and running for Senate) and several current and new candidates to the house of representatives. One of the most memorable lines was "change is a-comming" as repeatedly intoned by Gerry Connolly.

Obama was electric and delivered an impassioned speech that reminds us why we were all there. He spoke of the need for personal responsibility and how we are the change that we were waiting for. When was the last time that a democrat said such a thing?

Yes we can and yes we did!

FTL

The BF, SW and I are back in Ft. Lauderdale this weekend for another round of naked weekend of fun. We met up with quite a few people again, including the boy we met at Folsom last month, the couple that we met up last time in FTL and also saw in GNI, the other couple with which I totally and happily disgraced myself by the hot tub and others. We also ran into quite a number of people that we met for the first time last time we were here. It's amazing how many of them don't even live here, but just happen to have visited the same times we did.

On Saturday night after meeting up several people a George's, we all came back to the Worthington. I think I've met white, thin, cock-twin. We held them together and I was amazed that they seemed exactly the same size in both length and width. So I decided this was my opportunity to do things that I'm way too inflexible to do to myself. You figure it out.

Election Probability

Ok, I know I'm a geek. After all, my first degree was in Mathematics. Which both makes me trust and distrust statistics. I guess I trust them way more than intuition, but am well-aware of their limitations. I think this election cycle is far less predictable than usual making polling even more problematic. The primary causes for the polls increased level of unpredictability: (1) the increased voter turnout runs ramrod over previous models of who are "likely" voters causing the polling institutions to grasp at straws to define this, (2) the Bradley effect and (3) perhaps related to the Bradley effect, there is a reasonable theory that many undecided voters just don't want to admit that they're not voting for the black guy and will disproportionately break for McCain. The completely detached, logical side of me will be watching election night results for purely academic reasons while the other part of me is having a complete emotional breakdown.

Anyway, I came across the 538 website, which I've never read before. It definitely feeds that academic side of me. If interested, go to their site and look at the very interesting graphs and maps. I've pulled a couple of them out so that I can make comments.

1. This first one is obviously the result of simulations of election results. Compare how many read bars versus blue and how small those read bars are. Those red bars represent the likelihood of an Obama loss appear really small. Now for the bad news, simulations like this necessarily must make models imitating how voters think and behave. If you think polling in this election cycle is very difficult, making good simulations is impossible.

2. This second graph is presumably based on the same set of simulations as above and of course should not be trusted for the same reasons. But for fun, the findings are astounding.

• Chances the McCain will win popular vote: just 5.48%!
• In 2000 and 2004, Bush's path to the White House was to win Ohio and Florida. The chance that even if McCain can win both of these (he's currently trailing in both) that Obama will still win: 73.7%! Damn!

Timmy

Normally I have a very strict policy of not mentioning real people I meet on this blog by name, but... Well in actuality his name isn't Timmy, but anyway. Tonight was the high-heels race in nation's capitol. The Tuesday before each Halloween marks a race in high heels down DC's gay 17th street. It's always packed with people, gay and straight alike. It's more than just a drag race, it's a full out Halloween and drag fair.

Today we arrived about 1.5 hours before the race was scheduled to begin. Since this was the earliest we had ever arrived, I was actually pretty surprised by the number of people that were already lined up 1 and 1/2 hours before the race was set to begin. Oh yeah, did I mention that the high temperature for the day was an unseasonable 52 degrees? We side "hi" to the SW who volunteered as an event marshal and headed to JR's for pre-race drinks.

At JR's, we saw Timmy (not his real name). Timmy is a very cute 36 y/o that always talked to the BF during underwear night on Saturday at the GL. The last time the BF and I went to naked cocktails, I was surprised to see him there also. Honestly, he is quite the hottie. At the underwear parties he always talked to the BF and never to me. This night he said "hi" to the BF and the BF eventually introduced him to me... again. Conversation was interesting. We talked about many topics including the presidential elections. He's a conservative, but I won't hold it against too much him since I too have many conservatives leanings.

At some point during the evening he asked me if I kept a blog. Uh... ok. He then told me about things he remembered from the blog that of course I had forgotten that I had written about. Yes, my memory really is that bad. I remember the events of which I write, but not that I had written about them. Sometimes I actually forget the event itself. It's part of the reason I started the blog in the first place. Anyway... shock and surprise it really was this blog. Funny thing is that I've met quite a number of local people that have said that they've read my blog and this didn't bother me. I guess forgetting what I wrote does have it's privileges.

Anyway, after quite a good time with both a good conversationalist and a very cute guy, he said that I should write about him. I have a policy against writing anything that would definitively identify people except to themselves, but in this case... actually, I think I still managed to make him anonymous to all but himself and the BF pretty well.

Anyway, here's to you Timmy if you ever happen to read this. I enjoyed our time together together with you and the BF. Finally I've had the opportunity talk to you. I realize that I'm not your type and that's ok, but I think you're really attractive nonetheless. Here's to hoping it doesn't take 3 more months before you find someone to tickle.

Down

Recently I've had quite a few talks with both friends and acquaintances in which they stated that the were feeling depressed. This always hurts me to the core because I want everyone to be happy, most especially my friends. It awakens a natural instinct within me to treat it as a project to be delivered or a problem to be solved which I then quickly suppress. In the end, I rarely even offer advice because such advice is often counter-productive no matter how well intentioned it may be. In the end, it is they that must learn to overcome. All I can do is to be there for them.

Election YouTubes

The Vet Who Did Not Vet


Wassap 2008!

Ft. Lauderdale / Haulover Beach

Ft. Lauderdale / Haulover Beach
Originally uploaded by nudeindc2008

GNI

Naked Gathering
Originally uploaded by nudeindc2008

This picture at the GNI. I attended the sensual photoshoot where I then volunteered to be one of the models.

We're votin' for the n***er!

From a canvasser in Pennsylvania. Somehow I actually find this oddly reassuring...

So a canvasser goes to a woman's door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she's planning to vote for. She isn't sure, has to ask her husband who she's voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, "We're votin' for the n***er!"

Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."

I guess what I find reassuring is that for many people in this country, the importance of race-bias now falls below other interests such as the economy and the welfare of this country. This was not always the case and represents a momentous step forward.

The Coming Storm

"Let me just say categorically I'm proud of the people that come to our rallies." - John McCain during the final debate on October 16th (transcript).

Supports at a Palin campaign rally.

Chris Matthews Unhinged

I just watched Chris Matthews interview with Congressional representative Michelle Bachmann a few minutes ago (tivo'd). Actually, I'm less bothered with her craziness since I just kind of accept the fact that there are some crazy people out there in the world. What I found most interesting though is Chris's complete inability to conduct the interview with any modicum of competence. I know a lot of people dislike Chris, but I actually like him. He was just completely unprepared for what this lady had to say and frankly became unhinged.

Interestingly enough, Bachmann's crazy tirade was followed by Stephanie Cutter, a senior advisor of Obama's campaign. And what was her answer to Michelle's accusation that Obama was un-American? First, "Well what do you want me to say Chris?" Huh? Are you kidding me!? This was then followed by "I'm moving to Canada!"

Unbelievable!

In all fairness though I need to finish watching it. I was so taken with the first 16 minutes of the show that I had to write this before finishing it. Maybe everyone will redeem themselves as the show moves on.

Update: Ok, step back and take a deep breath. After the commercial, I've just watched Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation. She provided a superb and impassioned retort to the rantings of Rep Bachmann and was obviously speaking from the heart. She was then followed by Pat Buchanan. Pat said he agreed with everything she said except investigating the congress. And just for a little more political theater (because the show was so uneventful up til this point), Katrina's phone goes of loudly several times at which point she says, "Forgive me, I don't mean to do a Guiliani!"

So let's talk about Pat. He's about as radical as they come, but has moderated himself in recent years such that he's now only just a right-wing nut. Trust me, this is a huge improvement. But not this day. This day we saw the old Pat Buchanan. That endearing separatist, neo-fascist that we had become so accustomed to in years past. For the record, I have to credit Pat to introducing me to a new term today... afro-racism. Who knew such a term existed although I find it somewhat ironic that he's using the term.

At the end of the segment, Chris said "Pat you gotta be careful. Your instincts are coming back." Obviously he felt the same way about Pat's performance as I did.

Electoral Map

This CNN article now puts a full 277 electoral votes in the Obama column based on the latest polling. Basically that means if every single one of the close races went for McCain, according to recent polls, Obama would still win. Virginia was the most recent state that pushed Obama past the critical 270 mark according to CNN analysts.

As I write this, the debates are exactly 1 hour and 13 minutes away. This is McCain's last chance to have a major impact on the election outcome. Could he still win? Of course, but it would almost certainly have to be done by some outside, yet unforeseen event unless he can land a hail-Mary pass tonight. Things are not looking good for him, but fortunately, very good for the country.

As for race relations in an Obama presidency.... I'm an optimist. I realize that this will bring out the craziest kooks and the most bold-faced racists. I realize that people will parse every action and declare how bad he is. But fortunately, Obama is nothing if not competent. And because of this I am confident that this will be limited to just a fringe and the country at large will greatly benefit both from his thoughtful and insightful leadership as well as the racial progress that he represents.

And the best part of all.... I'd happily vote for him if he was white... or Asian-American... or Latino-American or any other nationality. I'd vote for him anyway because his insight, judgement, tone, hope and vision are exactly what this country needs. And that makes him the best choice to be the President of these United States.

Sarah the Loon

just because you can see the moon
doesn't mean me an astronaut you loon

Pictures

Fear

Politically I tend to be centrist. I fundamentally do not believe that Government is good at solving problems. Now I have nothing against governments per se, but I have a lifetime of history watching the ineffectiveness and bureaucracy of large organizations. The US Government just happens to be the largest bureaucracy in the history of the planet.

The problem is, as an organization grows it becomes less obvious how an individual worker/participant's actions contributes to the organization's objectives. It also becomes less obvious how achieving the organization's objectives benefit the individual participant. For example, if you are the only sales person for a company, you understand exactly how your poor performance will kill the company. However, if you are part of a 1000-person sales team, the effects of slacking off a little appear diluted, even if the collective slacking off of the whole team would harm the company just the same.

I say all of this because as much as I want the Democrats to CRUSH the Republicans this election cycle, there is a little, soft voice in the back of my head that reminds me that I should fear whenever any party gains full control of Government. So... is it possible to both crush the Republicans but keep just enough around the keep the Dems honest?

Strictly Porn

What follows is an experience that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. I didn't publish because it conveys nothing of substance. Nonetheless, it actually did carry meaning for me as it was a special moment that I will always remember even though I'm not nearly good enough with words for that to come through. (Damn! just read it again and it sounds like cheap chic lit. Oh well) Anyway...

After the naked cocktail party this past Saturday, Tommy and his partner invited us and a few others over his house. When we arrived, there were already 5 others there including Tommy and his boyfriend JB. We had only just met Tommy and JB earlier this year. Both are around thirty years old, in good shape and extremely sexy. Sometimes when I see beautiful people I'll actually avoid them out of nervousness or fear. Most people wouldn't think that of me, but it's true. I would see them several times more before actually meeting.

When we arrived this day, everyone was already naked, so the BF and I shed our clothes as well. As you might expect, things turned sexual rather quickly. Tommy sat on a high chair facing us as some of us sat on the couch and began light play. After while I went over to the high chair where Tommy was and started to lick his perfectly, pink hole. I stood up and entered him slowly, watching the expression on his face the whole time. I went very slowly and was hard as a rock. As I increased my pace, I leaned over and kissed him ever so softly, savoring the sweet taste of his lips as I continued to slide in and out. It wasn't long before he uttered that he was ready to cum. I was surprised since neither of us had touched his dick in a while. I watched as he spurt wave after wave over his stomach with my dick still buried inside him.

Later, still feeling horny, I laid back on the couch jerking off. He was back on the chair again. He stared at me as I continued my work and didn't look away. With one leg up, he alternated playing with his cock and fingering his hole. It drove me wild to see him sliding his fingers in and out like that. I came like a fountain watching him.

Later as he lay on the couch, I went to say goodbye. He wrapped his legs around me and pulled me on top of him. It was clear that he wanted to go another round, but sadly we had an appointment to pick up others in just a half hour and had to leave.

Candidates as Trains

The South

I came across this very cool map tool that shows how each state voted in the presidential elections for every election since George Washington. What stood out to me more than anything was how immediate and complete was the change in the voting patterns of the bible belt from Democrat to Republican in 1964. Obviously this was a direct result of the civil rights era.

Tribute to Robin

Ok, there is no rational reason on earth why Robin (from Batman and...) should have popped into my head while at work today, but he did. Since this is the first time I thought of him in many, many years, I took a little time to do some 2008 research on my childhood facination. This post is just remembering my crush of yesteryear.

Main Street vs Wall Street

There's been a lot of talk lately by both the media and politicians regarding how the proposed bailout only helps wall street and not main street. There is a lot of worthwhile debate to be had on the bailout, but this just isn't one of them!

Let me try to paint a picture. I own my home and have positioned myself to be able to withstand the current crisis. But how much do I really own my home? After all, about 60 to 70% of it is still mortgaged, so doesn't the bank own more of my home than I do? Well... no. You see they are just investing the money given to them by their depositors, that is, ordinary folks with checking and savings accounts at their bank. So then all of the bank holders in the country (or at least those having an account at my bank) own a piece of my home (kind of).

Now banks typically sell their mortgages on the secondary markets to Fannie/Freddie who when bundle them into mutual fund -like packages and sell on wall street. Shares of these bundles are then purchased by various money funds including money markets, mutual funds, 401k funds, pension funds, etc.

The wheels that turn America operate on credit. I know credit gets a bad name such as running up credit card debt beyond what you can pay, but credit is also used constructively to fuel the economy.

For example, let's say I have a small business and just got a new order or contract to perform some work. I'll get paid at the end of the contract or some period after the end of each month, but I must hire people to do the work today. These employees want their check on Friday and do not want to hear about how invoices are paid two months in arrears. Where do businesses find the money to cover this short-term cash flow issue, through bank loans. The same principle applies to small and large businesses alike.

So what happens when the markets are scared shitless and won't lend money? Business can't hire even though they have guaranteed work and income. Prosperous businesses can't expand to meet increasing demand. As a result, unemployment increases and average Americans can't find a job. This starts a vicious cycle because this further leads to a lower demand for products and services because (1) people aren't buying because more and more of them are unemployed and (2) businesses aren't buying because they can't get the funds for the initial investment. Of course this leads to further slowdown and even higher unemployment.

Is the Paulson plan the right plan? I don't know. I've certainly have been hearing other alternatives that sound reasonable to me, but I'm not an economist. All I have to say is just don't tell me that this is just a Wall Street problem as our country goes over the precipice toward a 1930s style depression.

Folsom Pictures

Cute boy that we met there. Trust me, he's not nearly as shy as he looks. The following pics were taken down on Baker's Beach.

I love the fog-covered bridge in the background.

Needless to say, the guy to my left was gorgeous. Too bad I can't show the undoctered photo. They too were staying in my hotel. Two very cute and high boys.

Folsom Street Fair - The Return

I just have to say that this was NOT supposed to be a day worth writing about.

The BF, SW and I are on the plane, when SW tells me that he's doesn't feel well. I won't go into details, but I'll tell you that we spent the majority of the flight lying on the floor. Also of note, the flight had 5 medical doctors, a priest and and an eastern religion spiritual healer on board. Who knew?

Folsom Street Fair - Sunday Oct 28th

Today was the day that brought me here. The challenge to walk nakedly and shamelessly through the streets with clothed men and women of all ages. We left the hotel around noon, sadly, we were not yet naked. I wore just a leather jockstrap, collar, wrist bands and a harness, the BF in his hard-to-quantify-but-sexy leather briefs with matching, slutty shirt and the Social Whore in a tight leather shorts with side zippers and harness.

.

I tried to convince the SW to get naked with me, but he wasn't having it. He kept saying "later." After a while, we met up with JM (the boy that we found hanging outside our door last night) and met his very cute friend David. JM, who is about as shy as I am, dropped his pants for a few minutes as we had some playful pictures taken of us together. The BF and I then returned to the hotel, which was only a block away because our camera battery was going dead. After recharging for 20 minutes, I decided I would just leave naked. We met back up with JM, SW and David and then ran into the very attractive runner from DC that went with us to Magnitude. JM joined me and got nude too. Needless to say, we got tons of attention, which I of course hated (smile). It was definitely a lot fun, walking along the street completely uninhibited and having fun.

About 5pm, we headed back to the hotel. The group included myself, the BF, JM, David, the Social Whore and a last minute beauty named Mic. It wasn't really planned, but our hotel room turned into a beautiful orgy of naked and leather-clad men. One of the hottest scenes was watching David pound the BF on the bed. Wouldn't you know it, but as I was once again laying on top of someone, who would open the hotel door and walk in... again! The Germans of course! I have no idea what they think when every time they walk into the room I'm on top of someone. We all laughed like crazy, then we all got back to business with our increased numbers.

Later that night, we went to a bar around the corner from the hotel. In keeping with the day's theme, I wore underwear with a large pouch and the leather harness, wristbands and collar. The BF and I ran into a guy we met at GNI. It was a really nice surprise to see him again. We talked and reminisced before we all returned back to the hotel together and did what we never quite accomplished together at GNI.

BTW: We stayed at the Best Western Civic Center Motor Inn. I read that it was a good place to stay and experience Folsom, but had no idea what it was like until our arrival. We were very disappointed since it was WAY over priced and didn't even have A/C! Well, now looking back at the fair in retrospect, I'm so glad we stayed there and believe it was worth every penny.

Folsom Street Fair - Saturday Oct 27th

Today, after grabbing breakfast at a nearby dive, we met up with the Germans again at North Baker's Beach. This is a nude beach located on the side of the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course I had to get nude, but it took a while since I was having a lot of erectile dysfunction issues. After a really nice guy helped me contemplate cabbage (trust me it works), and further advanced my erectile management techniques by telling me all about cabbage rot (who knew!), I was able to shed my clothes. There were a lot of clothed people around, in fact the majority were clothed. We, the BF, Social Whore and the Germans took lots of very photos. All of us got naked except for the BF and the younger of the Germans.

After some site-seeing, dinner and cocktails, we headed back to the hotel to change before going to Magnitude. We left the Germans in the bar since they didn't have tickets and weren't going. We gave them a key to the room since they were to spend the night with us when we returned from the party. There was a very cute looking guy just hanging out in front of our room which was strange since it was at the end of the (outside) walkway and there were no more rooms down there. He struck up a conversation, invited himself in and proceeded to remove his shoes and socks. We were really in a hurry, but hey... did I mention that he was cute?

So as I lay there on top of JM with member still inserted, just gently relaxing and counting down the final moments of our little detour, in walked the Germans. The younger opened the door and his eyes went wide then quickly shut the door. Five seconds later, they re-entered after obviously re-considering the situation. We all laughed. I can't tell you what they must have been thinking since we had really only just met them.

The Magnitude party was incredible! The top was covered by literally thousands of half-naked, dancing men. Downstairs in the huge dungeon, everything was taking place that you could imagine. I watched as people played in slings. Of course it took only 5 minutes before my last remaining article of clothing was shed. A great looking guy did some intense playing as a large group of onlookers observed. I also vividly remember TJ, an absolutely sexy and beautiful Taiwanese guy that also removed his floral briefs. I can't tell you how good he looked strutting around stark naked so confidently.

Folsom Street Fair - Friday Oct 26th

We spent most of the day Friday checking in, touring the Castro, meeting up with a couple of German visitors that the Social Whore had made an internet contact with and finally going bar hopping before ending up a Blow Buddies.

Actually, one of the Germans is an American. He emigrated after college, so he's lived there longer than he lived in the US. It's hilarious to hear a guy with a thick German accent use such completely american phrases. The funny thing is that to us he has a distinctly German accent, but I'm sure the Germans think he sounds American. Go figure.

After going to a couple of bars, we ended up a Blow Buddies. Wednesday is nude night, but today was dress as you like... or not. When we walked in, everyone except one had at least pair of pants or a shorts on. I gather there was less nudity than usual due to all of the visitors in town. The place was packed with beautiful men of all ages. When I was getting undressed, the Social Whore asked me if I was going nude and told me that he would. So I completely disrobed. After I checked all of my clothes, he decided that he felt a little uncomfortable and would keep his pants on! The bitch owes me one big!

Anyway, it was actually fun walking around in the buff. It's actually kind of titillating to be the only nude one. As the night wore on, a lot of gorgeous guys started going around in just there the bikinis or jock straps. Definitely a fun night.

OMG!

I know your sick of the political posts, but I'm totally besides myself. What the fuck is she talking about? If you figure it out, please tell me! Lord help us...

Folsom

Tomorrow the BF, Social Whore and I all head out to San Fran for the Folsom Street Fair. If we have any balls, we'll live up to our goal of attending the fair naked. I'm thinking perhaps I'll wear some of my leather accessories since it is a leather festival after all, but obviously not enough to take away from the stark naked effect. It's a challenge only because it is not really a nude event. I expect the overwhelming majority of people there to be fully clothed including a lot of tourists just looking for something out of the ordinary. We'll see...

I just checked the whether and they're calling for low to mid 70s throughout the weekend. I'd rather it be a bit warmer, but I guess this is about as good as we could hope for in San Fran since it's almost October.

In addition to the fair, we're going to the Magnitude Dance Party as perhaps a few other events of ill-repute. If Saturday is nice enough, we'll probably be heading over to Baker's Beach for a while to work on our full-body tans because of course I need a better tan.

Anyway, wish me luck. I hope to take plenty of pictures to help document my experience and perhaps blog the experiences as they occur.

I know I've already posted this photo before, I wanted to show the leather accessories that I'll likely be wearing on Sunday.

Unbelievable

If it wasn't scary, I'd be laughing...

Obama and Palin

As many Obama supporters look upon McCain's choice of Palin as VP incredulously, the typical feedback is that they have roughly the same amount of political experience in terms of years.

I still recall when the first rumors of Obama's possible run were circulating. I remember thinking what a mistake it would be for him to jump in largely because of his inexperience. Once the race was underway, I still was not a supporter. I didn't withhold my support because of black or gay allegiance to the Clintons nor because Obama wasn't black enough as was so often repeated in the news media. I withheld my support because the office of POTUS is a serious matter and in addition to policy stances, any person I vote for must pass my internal gut test. It goes something like this... do I believe him enough to put my very life in his hands, to decide my fate, under the worst type of strain. He was still way to knew and an unknown factor for me.

Sometime around January of this year I realized that he was (a) smart, (b) astute, which is probably even more important than smartness, (c) measured, God we need some of that, and most importantly (d) I determined that I would trust him with my life and country.

So now, onto Palin. I have to admit, I don't like what I see so far. What bothers me is the obvious continued Chritianization of our government that she would represent. That notwithstanding, the biggest difference between Palin and Obama is that we've had 18 months to get to know Obama and absolutely no time to know Palin. Even under the best of circumstances, it is hard for me to see how she can climb the mountain to the level of trust that is required of a presidential nominee. I know she's only the VP pick, but you get the idea.

In short, I trust Obama completely because I've had time to get to know him and observe how he handles situations over an extended period of time. Sarah Palin cannot possible achieve this is 2 months, especially when she only gives prepared remarks and refuses to give press conferences.

Finally Some Sanity (Politics)

How quickly things change. Just this Monday I was speaking with a fellow and ardent Obama supporter. Normally my role is to calm him down and assure him that all is OK, but on this day I needed as much consoling as he did. It really appeared that the election was getting away from him/us. He and his partner were already seriously talking about moving to another country should McCain win. Great... so in addition to country going down the tubes I'll lose a friend at the same time.

So what the hell happened. In the course of just 3 days everything changed. Obama's back on top and the momentum is clearly in his favor. McCain, in contrast, seems completely out of sorts. It was pretty depressing to see continue McCain surge in the face of the lies, mis-representations, issue waffling and Rove-ian politics. Now, in retrospect, perhaps I didn't give the American people enough credit.

Added 9/20 at 5:58pm...

I just found this on the Internet that shows how quickly and far Palin's favorable/unfavorable ratings have fallen. It's interesting to generally look at Obama's and Biden's numbers as compared with McCain's and Palin's. Very interesting, if something does change, they're toast. Unfortunately in politics, something always changes.

Weekend in the Woods

This weekend we went to a friend's house outside of Richmond Virginia for a weekend of naked relaxation with 11 others. It was a private gathering of invited guests so we already knew almost all of the people in attendance. The weekend was perfect because frankly I like all of them and a few of them are a downright riot.

The pool was heated to near perfect 94 degrees. We spent the entire weekend listening tunes, swimming and enjoying the perfect late summer weather in the buff.

I most enjoyed getting closer to some people that I already knew. Also, another nudist from central Virginia spent the better part of Saturday with us. He was cutie of about 32 years of age and we kind of immediately hit it off. No, we didn't have sex except perhaps engaging in a little frottage. He did send me a very sweet email after the weekend was over.

Go Fuck Yourself

If the title offends then, just go f... just joking.

I presume that I am like many people in that I have always had an internal, mental picture of myself that was not represented by my outward appearance. As I result, I spent a lot of time trying to present myself in a manner that my physical attributes could never attain. OK, confession time... race aside, I've always wanted to be a twinkie, but alas, that is not my destiny.

I say this because a few years ago I realized that I would never have to fuck myself. Believe it or not, this was a major revelation. It meant that I could simultaneously embrace myself just as I am without giving up my idea of beauty. BTW: I think many types are beautiful and not just twinks. see my previous post on the subject.

Sometimes people express that they are attracted to me physically, but I never ask why. Attraction is often mysterious and trying to modify one's behavior solely to become more attractive to another, specific person can sometimes be disingenuous and counter productive. Therefore, I've learned to instead embrace who I am (physically) and seek to further myself to be the best that I can be (physically). This is far better than trying to become someone else (physically).

Would I fuck myself if we met in a bar... probably not. But the great thing is that I can now accept that while still being able to feel somewhat sexy and not doubt that there are others out there for whom I will be exactly what they were looking for. I believe that this is (physical) self-acceptance and am grateful for having learned it.

Note: If you've noticed the word "physical" inserted repeatedly it is because I have never had such issues about my character, intelligence or who I was as a person. It was only the physical aspects that once gave me pause.