MyTunes Monday (even though it's Tuesday): Stalemate (Live)

Great song by Classic Case (beautiful with a sharp edge...and an unfortunate anthem of mine for a while), but to get the full effect, you should here the studio version.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS

A MI!!!

Memorial Day

Remember what today is about.

Who's the Hottest of Them All: Part 3 (Honourable Mentions)

It looks like I'm going on a shallow streak ;). Here are some of my personal favourites from AfterElton's Hot 100 (these are in no particular order):

Matt Bomer

Mischa Collins

Nick Addams

Prince Harry

Taye Diggs

Thomas Roberts

Who's the Hottest of Them All: Part 2 (Honourable Mentions)

It looks like I'm going on a shallow streak ;). Here are some of my personal favourites from AfterElton's Hot 100 (these are in no particular order):

Alex O'Loughlin

Daniel Craig

Ian Somerhalder

James Marsden

Jared Padalecki

Joe Manganiello

The Perfect Reason to Watch the News: Thomas Roberts

He also pretty good at his job too.

I won't tell his complete story here, but he's overcome a lot of major stuff, so he's pretty inspirational.

Childhood "Obsession"

An image of the poster I have.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a huge fascination with the X-Men. There is just something about being born with special powers that has always held my interest. "X-Men: The Animated Series" was pretty much my reason for waking up on Saturday mornings (at 10:00 am on Fox...yeah, I remember). I actually have a poster somewhere that has pretty much all of the main characters from the comic books of the X-Men universe on it (it was a pretty awesome find.

Dark Phoenix

My favourite character has to be Jean Grey. First, she has the power that I would want the most: telekinesis, the ability to move and manipulate matter with your mind. Second, the whole Phoenix thing (to which Jean is very closely linked) is really interesting to me. I remember The Animated Series doing a version of the Phoenix Saga and I couldn't wait to see it. It. Was. Awesome...(and kinda sad a couple of times).

Honestly though, I did not actually buy the comic book on a regular basis. I only have a few issues which are currently still at my parents place in another city. I wish I had been more of a comic reader when I was younger. The only real "playing catch-up" that I have done is by reading Wikipedia articles on characters and storylines (actually, just last night I found out how Professor Xavier lost the use of his legs).

I stumbled upon this video a few years ago. It's pretty awesome (the music is from X-Men: Last Stand).

Summer Time...

For me, Winter sucks. It's cold and miserable. After the second snowstorm of the season, I'm over it (there were at least 5 here this year, so that was annoying).

Summer is pretty much where it's at. The world comes alive. People are out and about; running, playing, smiling. Let's all face it. The best part of Summer is the fact that people are wearing less. Yeah, I'm shallow from time to time, but who isn't. Whether you're at the beach, in the city, or wherever, you can spot some hottie (whoever you deem that to be) scantily clad in the sun. Summer is pretty much the reason I am thinking I ultimately want to live in a place with longer Summers.

Who's the Hottest of Them All: Part 1 (Top Dog)

AfterElton.com did a Hot 100 list of the hottest guys in film, T.V., sports, and pretty much anywhere. It was an interactive vote where, if memory serves, everyone got to make a list of 10 and the people with the most votes made the list. Simple. I have to say that I was pretty surprised by who made the top spot.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Darren Criss from Glee (a bunch of the guys from Glee made the list...almost all actually). I say I was shocked he made the top spot, but he has a really endearing face (and again, the eyes got me). Not to mention he has a great voice (anyone who can make Katy Perry bearable to me is automatically amazing).

Speaking of Glee, the season two finale is about to start, so away I go.

Maybe One Day...

I think I have said here before that I want to get a dog. For some reason, I really want a Husky to be more specific. They are so adorable. I don't actually know if that would work, since I want to live in the South, where it is really hot/humid (at least in Summer) and Huskies are built for cooler climates. Well, maybe one of these days I'll get one anyway.

Who could say no to that face?

MyTunes Monday: The Cave

Still on the Ground

I'm reading an article on the reactions of the people who thought that the rapture would happen today. Hi-larious. There have been numerous times over the years that some zealot said that the rapture would happen on a given day. Guess what, we are all still here. This dude, Harold Camping, who started peddling this schlock said that he was "bewildered" that it didn't happen. I'm sure that's the rated "G" version of what he was thinking. He apparently spent $100,000,000 advertising the event. That stat boggles my mind. Think of all the good that could have come from that money. Feeding poor people, getting kids school books, buying me a car. It's really sad how this stuff goes down, not to mention the people who profited from the idiots that actually subscribed to Camping. Someone, or a group of people, made tens of thousands of dollars on a scam where they offered to take care of people's pets if they got raptured, making them sign a contract and paying up front. Gotta love capitalism. Like the saying goes, a fool and his money are easily parted.

So, what is the lesson people should have learned today? Be a skeptic. Don't listen to zealots. No one really knws when the world will end, so when someone says they DO know, see them as the deluded person (or liar, whichever applies) that they are. Beware of false prophets.

Peace and God bless.

Work Tales: Hetero Antics

During this past marathon weekend of work, some of the guys that I work with spent a good deal of time being pretty gay. I don't mean gay as in lame, I don't mean gay as in stereotypically gay, I mean they were being pretty gay. Friday morning, there were two guys playing grab-ass with each other...literally. On Friday and Saturday night, there were two other guys who were constantly pinching each others' nipples (oh the professional environment I work in...). Honestly I'm quite used to being outgayed by the straight guys that I work with (by the way, these guys that I'm talking about are all straight...well...maybe one of them isn't), but this was a whole new level of being outgayed. At least these people acting like idiots running around grabbing at each other kept me entertained and sane.

Wardrobe Week

My closet is a mess. There are clothes that are a bit tattered, clothes that I have not worn in months (maybe even a year or more), clothes that should be put away because Winter is over, and clothes that need to be taken to Goodwill. As such I'm taking a good chunk of my free time this week to the unholy mess in check. This is part of a much needed turnover in my wardrobe, since my taste in clothes (i.e. my knowledge of fashion-sense) is hugely changed - for the better - since the time that I bought/acquired most of this stuff. That and, since I am seriously considering a career/lifestyle change, this would require me to have much better clothes (particularly my dress clothes).

Essentially the only organization in my closet is that everything (mostly everything) is arranged by colour...in rainbow order of course. It's not really for the reason you would think, more so because I don't know how else to know where to find what I'm looking for.

It's Raining Gays

Seriously, it's like everyone seems to be coming out of the closet lately. I'm away from the news for a few days and suddenly everyone is gay. CNN's Don Lemon, Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts (both of whom I wrote a little about on my other blog), and former Villanova player Will Sheridan (2003-2007) have all come out in the last day or two.

I don't mean to make light of all this. These are guys in important positions when it comes to being role models, both in terms of young people who have to deal with being gay, as well as when it comes to young people who may have preconceived notions about what being gay "means." Being gay has many different faces, and not  every gay guy is like (for lack of a better example) Jack McFarland. Some of us ARE black and other racial minorities, some of us DO like sports and not just for the eye-candy factor (though there is that too). We aren't all the same and thinking so is kind of gaycist, to steal a word from "Happy Endings." Hopefully these events make a positive difference in someone's life out there and they won't think they are alone.

I'll try to make my next post a bit lighter than this one.

MyTunes Monday: Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Pretty much summed up my weekend (he title at least).

It's Finally Over

31 hours and 12 minutes (and more sports drinks and bad food than I care to remember) later, it's finally over. I can't remember thinking about being happy a weekend is over before, but I'm so glad this one is. Even better, no work tomorrow. It will be nice to be able to sleep without worrying about how much work I have to do the next day for a change.

The Power of Music: An Extra Push

I did not set myself up well for a second jogging session today. I went 1.5 miles this morning before work. No big deal, this part was planned. Where it all went wrong was at work where I started eating a lot of rubbish while at work. Luckily not to the point that I was about to pop (been there before though), but I was feeling a bit on the heavy side. That combined with somewhat sore glutes from this morning (and a 2 mile walk the night before) made me think twice before going another 1.5 miles. I decided to go for it. I didn't get far before it started to not feel so good, but I hit a stride and it was okay for the most part. The iPod I got a few weeks back helped. I have a playlist that I use for running 1) to get the fact that I'm running out of my head as much as possible and 2) the music gets my blood flowing. This second part was crucial today because just when I was about to give up from exhaustion and just walk the rest of the way, these two songs came up that kept me going (actually I accelerated, and it was mostly uphill at this point). The first was from the third X-Men film (the scene in the house where Jean kills Xavier...sorry if I ruined that for anyone) and the second was from "The Two Towers" (the scene where the Rohirrim charge down the hill towards the end of the film). These are two pieces of music that always get me excited. Sometimes, the huge effect that music has on me is a negative. Today, however, it definitely worked for me.

Worst Marathon Ever

This was supposed to be posted this morning but, well, you know...

Over the next 3 days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), I'm going to spend no less than 30 hours at work.

As I may have stated elsewhere on this blog, my favourite film is "Kingdom of Heaven." One of the best lines of the film (in my humble opinion) is said by the Hospitalor:

"I go to pray...for the strength to endure what is to come."

Not So Sorry

We have all heard them before: half-assed public apologies. Politicians, actors, athletes, and so on. They may have said something racist, sexist, homophobic, or whatever else. Then they come out with some publicist-written dribble, deliver it in an incredibly disingenuous manner, and expect the public to swallow it.

What really gets me is the way these “apologies” are all-too-often worded. They are usually worded in some version of, “I’m sorry IF I offended anyone. Newsflash: the fact that you have to make a public apology means that you DID offend a lot of people, so leave the “if” crap out of it. The use of that one, simple word leads me to believe that first, they are not really sorry for was said, nor has their opinion on the matter really changed. Second, what they are actually sorry about is that they were caught in the act and are now trying to save face. The apology is a facade, a very thin veil that anyone paying attention can see through easily.

I know that sometimes situations get heated and things may be said absent-mindedly. In my opinion however, it is in these moments where you can see someone’s true colours. Unfortunately, some people’s true colours are rather dark.

MyTunes Monday: Dark on Fire

Houston...

...we have lift off.

Commonwealth Commentary!!!

Kryptonite

When it comes to physical attraction, I think most people have their own personal weakness. For some, it’s hair colour. For some, it’s a certain ethnicity. For some it’s frame (petite girls, muscular guys, and so on). For myself, what makes me weak in the knees is a guy with a great smile and beautiful eyes. That alone goes a long way for me. Looking back on the guys that I have fallen for in the past this trait was the common thread. One of the reasons I fell so bad for “N” (one of these days, I’ll get to “The N Saga") was because he had eyes like this...

...and a really genuine smile (it didn’t hurt that he was really sweet too).

I remember once being in the checkout line at a grocery store. I looked up into the cashier’s eyes and, literally, got lost in them. I proceeded to respond to what he said (probably sounding stupid). Then, I realized what he said and that my response made zero sense so I tried to recover. I walked out of that grocery store laughing at what a schmuck I had just made of myself.

Cinco Shenanigans

I went straight from work (just after four) to place number one. I guess my main problem with alcohol is that I don’t drink to get drunk, I drink drinks that taste good, which leads to me drinking fairly quickly if I’m not paying attention. The first Margarita was gone within minutes. The three other people I was with were pretty surprised. We were playing darts 2-on-2. My team lost L. The two of the people I was with left (one feeling terrible from the night before, the other having to go to work), so my other friend and I played 1-on-1. I got schooled in the beginning (he closed out 20, 19, and 18 in 3 turns), but I made a good comeback. I got to within about 6 shots of losing (he only had bullseyes left to get) when I came up with a strategy: every turn, aim for the bull’s-eye on the first shot. I lucked out and this strategy led me to win by two shots.

We headed over to bar #2 after that. The service there was terrible. Luckily, we had good company. Unfortunately, when I broke out my camera to take some pictures, I got 1, then the battery died without warning. Fail. Good thing I had my phone…except I didn’t know how to take pictures on it (despite having had it since November or December). I had to figure out how to work the damn thing in a matter of minute…which I did. What sucks is that the phone doesn’t take good pictures (bad resolution and I still don’t know how to turn the flash on).

There was an interesting point in the conversation when it came to phones. I had mentioned how I has no idea how to work the camera on my phone. One of the girls asked to have a look at my phone, I guess she was going to try to figure out the camera functions. So when she gets it going, she sees the picture that is my background:

My phone then got passed around the table and there was pretty much unanimous approval. The funny thing is that the guy next to me (straight) seemed like he really wanted to see it. I have to wonder what he thought when he saw it (I’m sure disappointment was in there somewhere). Needless to say, no one was thinking about my phones camera after seeing that man.

The worst thing about the night was that I ate waaaaaaay too much (stupid Mexican places and their endless flow of free chips and salsa…along with some food somebody left when they checked out early). I’ll have to try to work that off tomorrow. Good thing the drinks at place #2 weren’t that strong. I may not have a hangover in the A.M. (although it’s supposed to be ridiculously cold for May).

P.S. Somehow I only spent $18. Thank God drinks in this town are cheap.

Coming Attractions: Commonwealth Commentary

I had thought I would launch it this morning (after a had actually come up with a title), but I decided to delay it until Monday. Until then, I had to show this:

Happy Cinco!!!

What does this holiday celebrate again???

p.s. I'm just kidding (I looked it up).

MyTunes: Michael

The song is from 2004, but it never gets old to me.

Branching Out

You may not have noticed but there is a lack of political discussion on the blog. That is totally on purpose. I started this blog to talk about random life events and musings on various events. Pretty much, this is an online journal. The thing is though, I'm a political junkie. I think about it on a regular basis. Hell, it was what I studied in university.

As such, some time in the not-too-distant future (the next week if not the next few days), I plan on launching a blog about politics/current events (primarily gay rights, but other things as well). There's just too much going on in my head on the subject to say nothing.

This blog (i.e. Son of the Commonwealth) will go on, so no need to worry.

Top Gun

We all know the film, even those of us who haven’t seen it. I think I was in university the first time I saw it all the way through. Me and most of my pledge class were watching it and playing the “Top Gun Challenge” (you take a swig of beer every time a codename is used). Some of the guys in my fraternity took that film fairly seriously. A couple even had nicknames from the film (I remember a Goose and an Iceman.

Looking back at it, I am amazed at how into this film they (and lots of other guys) were/are, most of these guys being straight, because this is one of the gayest “mainstream” films ever made. Honestly, were it anymore homoerotic, it would be gay porn. Obviously, I have no problem with that, I just find it very interesting and quite confounding. I wish I had realized it way back when because I definitely would have pointed this out to my brothers.

Some watching material:

A Little Bit Safer

I usually don't get into such serious things here but I couldn't wait. Osama Bin Laden is dead. The world is, at least, a little bit safer. It's great to end the weekend on such a high note.

I kind of feel like watching "Team America" now.

Wine Weekend

A few friends and myself went to this festival in town called Fork & Cork on Saturday. There was food. There was art. There was music. Most importantly, there was wine. To be honest, I have never been a huge wine fan (in fact, I used to loathe the stuff). In the last few months however, I have had a large change of heart. I actually liked a lot of the wines that I tasted. There was a particular winery that didn't use grapes at all, they used fermented fruits. That was one of the best wineries overall. Yeah, I got a little tipsy. Drinking, especially on a warm day, will have that affect.

The unfortunate thing is that I had to go to work afterward (closing, which was even worse) and my head was pounding most of the time. Still, totally worth it.

Best moment was when I saw this:

I should have bought one of those shirts ;)