Saturday, March 31, 2012

Really??? That's your profile?

Really??? Maybe if he had a face pic, somebody will make the first move and say hi to him. Seriously, why would someone say hi to a torso? Only other torso pics will consider initiating a chat. But then again, that would be unlikely cause faceless pics have unfair mentality. They always want to have the upper hand so they want to see the face pic before they say hi.


Really??? This guy wish he will find a guy to get serious with so he can delete his Grindr App. Well maybe if he stops playing games and post a face pic, he will find his prince charming. Really, who would want to take him seriously if he would not even show his face.


Really??? So this profile is about 2 hot males. Where are the hot males? If you dare call yourself hot, then at least prove it. A picture with your faces obscured does not make a picture of hot males.


Really??? This guy makes all this demands about who he wants. It has to be under 35 yo, white/latin /mediterranean guys, submissive in bed, smooth/sexy body and smoke/drug free. That is a tall order coming from a 54 yo, HIV positive, faceless pic profile. He should take a look at himself before he make demands of others. A 4/10 can't demands for a 7/10.

Friday, March 30, 2012

The hunger games - the review

With all the hype I have been hearing about The Hunger Games, it was inevitable that I watch this movie. Even my cousins liked the books so I went ahead and got a copy (via Dole) of The Hunger Games on my kindle.

So this past weekend I went to see The Hunger Games with Sam and Richard. None of us 3 have read the books but we were all optimistically eager to see this movie. I must say the hype is somewhat overrated. I am not saying the movie was bad, it was just not excellent. While sitting there for the first 3/4 of the movie, most of what I was feeling was anger. I knew it is fiction but the whole notion of a supposedly evolved and advanced society having this games where kids kill each other is very very upsetting. It hearkens to the days of ancient Rome where the Roman would gather in the Colosseum to watch and cheer the gladiators slay each other. So primitive and unrefined to say the least. But beyond the barbaric behaviors of the people/society who are the alpha in this story, there were many scenes that showcased bravery, compassion, loyalty and love. It made me choked up a bit in several scenes. The movie did end on a good note which was satisfying. And the ending was a perfect set up for the second movie. And I will admit that I would want to see the next movie to find out what happened next. But I bet I would have read the 3 books already before this happens.

I will give this move 4 stars out of 5. I was entertained.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Giselle, the review

Giselle was only the second ballet that I have seen. I have watched Nutcraker twice but that only counted as one. Saw Giselle at the Auditorium this past Saturday. This was a production by the American Ballet Theatre. The show itself was interesting enough. The dancing was pleasant but I am not really a good judge of what makes a superb ballet dancing and what makes one mediocre. Judging from the applause the dancers got in the middle of their number indicates that they were good. But frankly it was annoying that some audience had to clap in the middle of the dancing. It was overkill considering that the dancers usually paused after a dance number for applause. The performer that played Giselle was Natalia Osipova. I thought she was divine looking and very graceful. I liked her performance. On the other hand, the dancer that played Count Albrecht was very distracting. Although his dancing was good and even perhaps excellent, he just looked and felt gay to me. I did not see him as manly enough to be the love interest of Giselle. Of course it did not help that ballet by itself does not conjure an image of masculinity. It was not until it was pointed out to me that he looked like Austin Scarlet of Project Runway that my perception made sense. That was why I did not see him as manly enough. Subconsciously I was thinking he was Austin Scarlet.

Another aspect of the show that I really liked was the stage set up. The village scenery of act 1 and the forest scenery of act 2 waere quite realistic looking. There was depth and color in the village scenery that really looked like middle age Germany. Even the forest scenery almost looked scary as it was meant to be. I also liked the outfits of the courtesans and villagers. They looked very middle age Germany. And lastly, the orchestra played nicely with force as called for.

The positive experience guaranteed that I am very open to see another ballet in the future.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bath, not so luxurious.

It was a nice cold evening when I had nothing much to do so I decided to have a warm bath. I can't remember the last time I had a bath alone. I do remember having a bath with my ex Todd when we were dating but that was over 10 years ago. So I went ahead and set up the bath and poured half of the remaining bottle of the bubble bath soap. The bubble bath soap did create bubbles but the bubbles were covering only half of the water. So when I was in the tub, half of my body parts were exposed under clear water. I felt naughty without my body covered by bubbles. I know it was silly. Initially the warm water felt good but soaking there only made my fingers pruny fast. Also I was too long at 5 feet 10 inches for a standard bath size. So it was either my upper body was above water or my legs. I also tried folding my legs so my whole body can be soaking in the warm water. The experience got old fast so I drained the tub and started rinsing my both with the shower. And on top of that, I still have to shampoo my hair and wash my face under the shower. After drying myself, I felt so tired owing to the warm water immersion I had. Then I had to apply lotion all over my body cause that warm water bath is so drying to the skin. I know I would start having winter itch if I did not moisturize.

So all in all, the bath experience was not so luxurious was it is often described. More work than the leisure it gave me. I would give the experience a 2 star out of 5. Something I would not be in a hurry to repeat. I will take my shower anytime over the bath.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Evolution of Gay social networking sites.

Let's face it. At 43, I have been around. And what I am referring to is internet social networking in the gay world. My very first experience on gay chatroom was on AOL ChicagoM4M room in the early 90s. Back then people only had profile and they trade pictures during the chat when they like each other's profile. The major problem with that was people always insist the other send their picture first. And in many instances if they did not like what they saw, they don't even bother sending their pics even though they said "send to receive". So what usually happen is that nobody want to send first because they got burnt before. Then the demise of AOL come to pass. Other gay website popped up outside of AOL. What became popular here in the States is Gay.com. They have chat rooms in major urban cities and for specific fetish and racial groups. In gay.com, people can post picture in their profile. In a way, it was easier to to find somebody you like cause now you can see their pictures. But of course there were always the one that post their decapitated picture cause they are either closeted or unfair. Gay.com had a good run. In fact people still go on gay.com but I could tell it is slowly dying cause nobody hardly chats there nowadays. Sometime in the early 2000 Manhunt.net showed up. Manhunt was popular but primarily for hook-up rather than meet somebody you can actually date and have LTR with. And in MH there are more people who post their decapitated pictures which is very annoying really. Many people had the same attitude they had in AOL chatroom where they will only send or unlock their face pics after they see your face pic. And of course there will always be people like me who already post their face pics in their profile cause they are not all about playing this "send to receive" game. MH had its drawback cause only people with premium (paying) membership can see the full size pictures of profiles. I understand that they need to make money somehow but I sensed people got tired with this restriction. Now what is popular is Adam4Adam.com. In Adam4Adam, people can see the full pictures of profiles which is better than MH. What A4A does to recoup revenue is that they have more advertisers in their website. So I have noticed that people go more now on A4A. Gay.com and MH are still operating but not as popular now as they were. In Europe, Gaydar.co.uk was popular and is probably still popular. I do not really know cause gays here in the States hardly go to gaydar. The east coast has more followers but in the Chicago room, there are hardly anybody there. So there it is guys. That is my take of gay social networking websites.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The wicked Pope Alexander VI

As I watched the Showtime show The Borgias, I was appalled by the wickedness of Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI). The power of the Pope during the early to middle history of the Catholic church was so vast that I was not surprise it created some very wicked Popes. After all, power corrupts most men. The Pope then even controls the monarchs. Fear of excommunication from the church has kept most of the European monarch under the control of the Pope. And any laymen who questioned that doctrine and practices of the church were hanged as heretics or burnt as witches. I can not stand this hypocrisy. I am so glad that present day society does not fear the church as it did. We are now smart enough not to fall prey to idol threats of excommunication or going to hell. The church can still be influential but at least nobody is being sent to death because they do not obey the church.

But I digress. The Borgias is primarily about Rodrigo Borgias who became Pope through bribery and un-Christian ways. When he was Pope, he used his position to advance his family. Yes he had children that he acknowledged. He even elevated one of his young son as Cardinal. And not only did he have a "wife" that bore him 4 children when he was already a cleric, he also had a mistress while he was the Pope. And the worst, he committed murder to protect his position and power as Pope. What a hypocrite! Not only was he suppose to be chase but to engage in nepotism and murder, that is another level of wickedness. I love this show not only for the historically correct storyline but also for the fantastic costumes and set. I almost felt like I was really observing these events as it happened in the past. Jeremy Irons played Rodrigo and boy he did evoke disgust in me for his portrayal of the wicked Pope Alexander VI. That is the mark of good acting. I am looking forward to watch Season 2 of this show. I definitely recommend it as an entertaining and educational show. I will give it a 4 stars out of 5.


Here is the trailer for the second season:

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I lived longest in Chicago

As I embark on the next chapter of my life which is moving to the LA area, I felt a little apprehensive about leaving Chicago behind. Sure there is really nothing that is holding me back here in Chicago but still Chicago has been home to me for the longest time in my whole 43 years of existence. Yes I have lived here in Chicagoland (2 years suburbs) for 19 years. That is almost half of my life time. The second longest place I have lived in is Bacolod for about 13 years. I spent my childhood in Bacolod until I went to college and then another year before I came here to the USA. Third longest is Iloilo City. I lived there till I was about 4 years old then another 3 years in college. And the 4th and last place that I have lived the longest is Manila. 5 years was spent in Manila for college and work.

I have no time schedule as to when I want to move to LA but I am currently working on what I needed to live and work in LA. I do not know if I will end up retiring in the LA area. I do not know how long I will stay in LA but knowing me, I will probably settle down and not leave LA. It is interesting to wonder how LA will rank in the length of time I have lived in an area.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

Happy St. Patty's Day.



Ok, this is just plain gratuitous nudity. Well at least he is not completely nude. Besides, it is my blog and I can post whatever I want for St. Patrick's Day.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

An icing to the cake that is leaving St. Mary

I left St. Mary because of a irreconcilable situation. Management was lousy that working there was not worth it anymore. Although I am not regretting that decision but since I left that job, I have been hoping for something better to come my way. Then I accepted a part time employment with Accelerated Rehab at Skokie with the hope that that would open the door for a full time employment on an Accelerated clinic near my home. That would really be a better situation. But somehow that full time employment near my home never came to fruition. So recently, I started sending out applications again to facilities near my home. This past Monday Alden Rehab at Lawrence Avenue, not even half a mile from my home, called. An interview was set up this morning. By this evening, I was offered $42/hour with benefits. My employment at St. Mary paid me $41/hour. My current employment with Accelerated pays me $43/hour but that did not include benefits. So this $42/hour is a very good deal. And on top of that, my new manager is flexible with my work hours as long as I get the patient seen. So the flexibility, pay rate and proximity to my home, all adds up to a very good situation for me. The very "better" that I have been hoping for. This made my decision to leave St. Mary even extra worth it. The icing to the cake.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Audi commercial with Vampires

Since vampires are en vogue lately, Audi came up with this humorous commercial on the daylight headlights involving vampires. I think it is a very brilliant and catchy way to showcase their product.

Friday, March 09, 2012

Trim those armpit hair.





I was at Charlies night club some years ago and I noticed a handsome muscular shirtless guy dancing. He was clearly animated from alcohol or some party drugs so he was raising his hands up in the air often. Once, he was pointing up to his buddy on the ledge and the lights were in such a perfect angle that the back light showed his very bushy armpits on its full glory. It was not a becoming sight specially against his smooth chiseled chest. Two guys standing next to me also saw the bushy pits and they snickered at it. Obviously they thought it was not nice to look at as I did.

So here is the question I post. Why won't most guys trim their armpit hair? If it is good grooming practice to trim the back hair, uni brow, nose hair and ear hair, why not the armpits as well? I am not saying shaving the armpit hair like what women do but just trim them to a manageable length and thickness. If a guy stands with his arms on his side and his armpit hair still spills out, then it is too bushy and needs to be trimmed. It is not gay or girlie to trim armpit hair, it is good manscaping / grooming. And on top of that, it is also hygienic since body hair harbors bacteria causing body odor. The bushier the armpit hair, the higher the chance for body odor. So there it goes. Less BO and looks better.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

More dog feces in the winter?

Why is it that I see more dog feces along the sidewalk during the winter months? I do not have a scientific data to prove this but there just seems to be more dog feces that the dog owners did not pick up. Is it because there are shorter day light during winter so people walking their dogs do not bother to pick up the feces in the dark? Since nobody can see them clearly in the dark? Is it that it is just too cold to be out long that picking up the dog feces is time consuming and they fore go the task? Is it that the snow can easily hide the dog feces that picking it up is unnecessary? Is it because the cold weather keep those feces frozen so the ones not picked up remains intact longer giving the illusion that there are many? I do not know. What ever the reason, those dog feces are just gross and annoying. To top it off, the cold weather preserved the feces for weeks. Decomposition can not take its course. Such is the thing I see whether true or not.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Men on Fitness & Cooking

Men on Fitness


Men on Cooking

Friday, March 02, 2012

Unpopular post in Facebook.

I posted on Facebook not too long ago about how the death of privileged and wealthy celebrities due to over dose of drugs or substance abuse did not make me feel sad and sorry for them. I was being truthful in how I felt. Those dead celebs (MJ, Whitney, Amy, Heath) had the power and resource to do something and they are in the end responsible for their death. There are millions of people around the world who end up dying cause they are helpless that makes me sad instead. I have no sympathy for a dead celebrity who abused drugs or alcohol cause they have the means. Anyways, nobody commented to that post in Facebook which told me that my opinion was unpopular. In the end, I did not care that my opinion was unpopular. I was not about to join the band wagon of people who all of a sudden have nothing but nice thing to say about these dead celebrities. I have always taken pride in the fact that I am not easily influenced to join the band wagon of a popular opinion. I have refused to join the band wagon on the Superbowl or the World series or the World Cup. And I am not about to join the band wagon on sympathy for dead drug addict celebs. Any celebrity who dies of drug/alcohol overdose will always loose my respect. Be that a popular opinion or not, I will stand by what I feel.