Well, I've been dying to get a new tattoo for a while now and finally nailed down a design. Yesterday I took it to All American Tattoo and had Tom Morris ink it on my skin. Here it is!
As you can see, it's a string of 1s and 0s running round my calf with a bear paw where it meets around back. The binary is ASCII for "Bear" (surprised?).
I can't for the life of me remember where I found this, so may the author pardon me for not giving credit:
To all those people out their who keep on telling me that being gay goes against God's will....
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
e) I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?
g) Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
i) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
Homosexuality is God's way of ensuring that the truly gifted aren't burdened with children. -Sam Austin.
Jesus was never married, ran around with twelve guys, and was betrayed by a kiss from another guy. -Revd Troy Perry.
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision. -Lynn Lavner.
Jesus preached and talked against a whole gamut of sins. He never mentioned homosexuality at all. -Jimmy Carter.
Homophobia : fear of poofters breaking into your flat and redecorating.
Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand gay guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a faggot?" -John Stewart.
God made homosexuals, so he must love them. I love them, too.
Fun!
I got over to Seattle this weekend for Vic's Birthday. It also happened to be Spring Thaw, put on by the Northwest Bears. Lots of beards, bellies and bears. Friday Vic and I met up for lunch with Chad and Tony, also over from Spokane, and his buddies Ian, J.D. and Paul. It was burgers at Red Mill Burgers in Magnolia. For a strictly burger place I was surprised to see 3 veggie burgers on the menu. Great food! Friday night we decided to skip the 'Underbear' party at the Eagle and head to The Cuff instead. Good thing, the Eagle is tiny and with everyone in town for Spring Thaw it was extra packed. We saw some old friends and made a couple new ones.
Saturday evening Tony, Chad and I met up with Jeff, Maia and their downstairs neighbor Juniper for dinner at a great Indian restaurant up on top of Queen Anne hill. The food was great and I was happy to get to see Jeff, Maia and Juniper on this trip. Saturday night it was The Cuff again. It was 'Furnace' and the temp was turned up! Lots of dancing bears. I was lucky enough to run into two more new friends, Frank and Jimmy. We spent quite a while chatting and getting to know each other better. Later I tracked down Kent. He'd been on the dance floor getting crazy. After a few beers and a couple bottles of water, I headed to an after hours party being thrown by friends of J.D. and Ian. We crawled home at 4:00 a.m. Haven't done that in a long time!
Spent a relaxing Easter Sunday at J.D. and Ian's house. Tony and Chad cooked dinner and we watched a couple movies. Steve and Greg showed up and we became instant friends, as Steve was expecting to give one of the house's residents a hug when he stepped inside but was greeted by a stranger (me). He gave me a big bear hug anyway, introducing himself, and Greg followed suit. What a nice couple of guys! They don't come any friendlier or happier. Always smiling, their smiles are infectious. We watched 'Jackass, the movie'. I hadn't seen it in the theaters. I figured it would just be a long version of the TV show. Holy Shit it was funny! We all laughed our asses off, and cringed, and covered our eyes, at the gross or painful parts. hehehe.
Monday Morning Vic and I had breakfast at Minnie's Cafe. Dam the low carbs and croissant french toast ahead! Yum. Vic headed to work and I packed up the car for the trip home.
On the way home I stopped at Vic's store to buy some fish and got totally cruised! I've been cruised in gay bars, of course. But this was the first time I'd really been cruised like this in everyday life. As soon as I walked in the store I caught his glance from across the room. He didn't look away and down right stared at me. I wrote it off and did my shopping. As I passed him in the aisle I stopped to pet the yellow lab he had on a leash. There was another man with him, a tall handsome guy with a goatee. After paying at the cash register I turned to go. He was behind me in line and I stopped to pet his dog again. As I turned to go I heard the tiniest whisper, almost inaudible, woof. I almost had to wonder if I imagined it. But it was pretty obvious at this point. (Vic had followed me out of the store to take a pallet outside and said he recognized the guy and had been introduced once in the Cuff, by a friend). I got to the car, and as I started to load the CD changer up with some discs for the trip home they came out of the store and got in his truck. I went over to his window and he rolled it down. I said hi and told him that we probably had some friends in common and had probably been introduced once at the Cuff. He said 'yeah, we go there a lot', and introduced himself and his partner. At first, when I walked up to his truck, he looked kinda surprised, like he couldn't imagine why I would be approaching him. Shoot, he was the one staring at me! All in all it was very flattering. And it made me smile and laugh.
A fitting end to the weekend. ;-p
if we're talking about love
then I have to tell you dear readers
I'm not sure where I'm headed I've gotten lost before
I've woke up stone drunk face down in the floor
late afternoon the house is hot
I started I jumped up
everyone hates a boor
everybody hates a drunk
REM, 'Sad Professor'
REM's album, 'Up', is certainly not my favorite album of theirs, and probably not their best. But for some reason this one song always gets to me. Beyond the obvious name, it has a very melancholy air to it. Those two lines:
late afternoon the house is hot
I started I jumped up
for some reason these lines paint the most vivid image in my head, almost a memory. Late summer, the sun streaming in through the windows, the air made even hotter by it's incredible stillness. Buzz of insects, a hum that rises to a drone joined by cicadas. The humidity hanging in the deep green of the lush, deciduous trees. God I miss the east coast.
My last job in Connecticut was at a photo studio, a very laid back place where the motto was 'Why torture yourself?'. I have a strong desire to finally 'come out' completely at my job, at the fire department. Partially because I want to simplify things, and be honest, but also partly because I want to affect some change in the world. Pay some thing back to the world for all the gay men and women who paved the way for me to be able to be out at all.
So, do I stay here and swim upstream? Carve out my place and maybe change some minds in the process? Or do I go where I am sure to find more easy acceptance, more people like myself? Needless to say the dating scene here is few and far between.
I always saw myself returning to New England some day. The question is when.