Another Reason to Hate George W. Bush

You must see An Inconvenient Truth. This powerful documentary just reaffirms how corrupt George W. truly is and what a total puppet he is for the major oil companies and big business in America.

I truly think the world would be such a different place right now had Al Gore won the election that Bush and his brother, Jeb, fixed in Florida.

Also see Who Killed the Electric Car as a companion piece to this incredibly clever and disturbing film. Not since What the Bleep Do We Know!? has a film provoked me like this.

Once any enlightened individual sees An Inconvenient Truth, it is impossible not to be called to action. The United States must be stopped from destroying our world!

Between the covers

So the other day, Dustin and I were walking by Audrey's Books on Jasper Avenue and their window display was a selection of books that dealt with fetishism, bondage and domination, etc. which reminded me that the book that I licensed a photo for the cover artwork to Cleis Press should be out at bookstores by now. We went in and checked on the title, The Love of a Master by John Preston, and couldn't find a copy. However, in the process, I came across another book, Hot Gay Erotica, which had another of my photos as the cover artwork. I had sent them the image but never heard back as to whether it was going to be used. So this was a pleasant surprise -- my second book cover.

Decision made

Well after several nights of unrestful sleep due to my subconscience working overtime regarding the offer to manage Buddy's nightclub, including an actual rehearsal of me speaking to Jim Brown, the owner, where I woke myself up actually talking in my sleep, I've decided I can't accept the job. The time commitment is just too great and managing would preclude me from doing what I love most -- photography and travelling. Jim was very gracious and understanding when I went in this afternoon to speak to him. Of course, I'll be staying on as a bouncer/security and have asked him if I could take over the job of getting the Buddy's website up and running.

And speaking of photography, a local and quite prestigious magazine, called Alberta Venture has approached me to quote on shooting some events and editiorial for them. A door closes, a window opens. Funny how things work that way.

This made me laugh continued -- see also June 28th

Just received this from my homegirls, Shelly and Kate, in NYC. You bitches rock!

Cancer
(June 22 - July 22) -- 69

This is the sign that needs to be cuddled. They may believe that they were born in the wrong period or century. They DWELL in the past... Victorian ... Roman ... Medieval ... you name it. They usually will only fuck at night...come to think of it...they fuck better at night anyway. Maybe its because they are ruled by the Moon. This is a sign that is looking for TRUE love...I mean REAL TRUE DEEP LOVE ... that 'Romancing The Stone' frikkin 'Wuthering Heights' kind of love. They probably cry at the end of any Jane Austen flick. They want to be swept off of their feet. They really do deserve it, too. They are constantly dumped on by previous past fucktard ex-lovers that think they own them. Sometimes Cancers pick the wrong guy/girl and get beat up or emotionally hurt. Why? They think its what they deserve. Which is bullshit. They are wonderful people. They love water sports (jacuzzis/pools/showers/saunas/bathouses...) They want to be comfortable while fucking ... oh sure the foreplay may have had you bent over a barstool ... but when you get home they want comfy couches, beds, fluffy pillows, anything soft and fuzzy that is not a pet. Cancerians also have a horrible tendency to misplace their clothing. Highly exhibitionistic. They live for oral...as long as it tastes good. Karma Sutra honey dust is a good start ... mints ... ice cream ... anything with sugar ... fruit. Don't rush them they smoulder. But when you get started, be ready for a long night. They like to play with ice cubes, too. Also nipples are a BIG thing for Crabs ... they all secretly wish to get their nipples pierced. Can be submissive highly. Masturbation is where they get their bonus points at.
Be warned: They like 'em YOUNG...so you better be ready to dress up like an animation school boy/girl with a whip to keep 'em.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Because I miss so many aspects of my life in NYC, I have been trying to keep myself as busy as humanly possible. While the call for photography is greatly diminished here in Edmonton, I have been working as Security/Bouncer at Buddy's, a local gay club, on the weekends and working at Starbucks (in addtion to getting paid, I get a free pound of coffee every week and a 30% discount on all the lattes I drink - hahaha) during the weekdays.

However I was dealt a completely unexpected turn of events last night. Jim Brown, the owner of Buddy's/Woody's and Steamworks, offered me the position of Club Manager of Buddy's. I am in a complete quandry as to whether I should take the job or not. It's a lot more responsibility and I am certain it will detract from me doing photography and could also greatly affect my time with Dustin. Suffice to say, I am weighing the entire situation out. I am interested though and gawd knows I have spent most of my adult life in nightclubs in one way or another. However, hours, responsibilities, time off, (and money) will decide all this for me. I meet with him again tomorrow on these very issues.

The Real Booty - Disney takes home your dollars

Dustin and I saw a matinee of the highest grossing movie of all time, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which was fun and all but nowhere near as good as the first movie, The Curse Of The Black Pearl. Johnny Depp was his usual flouncy, mincing, comedic pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, but some of the special effects were so bad (especially with "the Cracken" the legendary monster which looked like big calamari to me) that it was reminiscent of an old Godzilla movie. And the ending is such a nasty-ass typical Hollywood cop-out in it's worst form -- a so-called shocker which only leads as the start-off point for the next sequel. Boo, boo, hiss Disney.

What I'm really looking forward to seeing is Amy Sedaris in Strangers with Candy. I saw her on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and she was absolutely hilarious. I thought I was going to lose it when Ferguson asked her if she had pets:

"I have a rabbit, a house rabbit. I'm in a rabbit society and I have a badge, and I go into people's homes and rabbit-proof their houses and teach them about hay, and I'll clip their litttle rabbit nails, and everything. And I do a follow-up call. I live alone.

"I can talk about rabbits until I'm blue in the face. The poop is caper-sized. It'll spruce up any salad. I like having a prey animal around because they're always afraid they're going to be eaten, you know, and I like to relax them. I do give them massage. With full release.

"Rabbit people -- well, rabbit guys are different. They have rescue stories, and you know, the high-waisted pants, always talking about saving rabbits. They're not my type.

Back in School

This has been a long week as I'm back in school or so it seems since I accepted a position with Starbucks and have begun their very extensive and thorough training. I guess there is a reason why it is a Fortune 100 company. There benefits package is absloutely amazing (which becomes a major selling point when you are a freelance artist) and hell, I even get a free pound of coffee every week. I would have never thought of applying at Starbucks, although I am a frequent and habitual customer, if it hadn't been for my friend, Jennifer, who one day when we were sitting at the Starbucks in Sherwood Park announced that if she was ever to give up teaching she would go work for Starbucks. It got me thinking and now that I've settled in my new apartment with a Starbucks literally less than a block away, I figured why not! So if you're in downtown Edmonton, stop by the Jasper Avenue and 109 Street Starbucks and say hello, it doesn't matter if I'm working, chances are I'll be there for coffee anyways (for my NYC friends this will replace Big Cup for me). Ha ha ha.

Superman Super Dull

Went to see Superman Returns this evening and even with all the hi-tech special effects at their disposal all I can say is ... YAWN. The only highlight for me in the entire film was Parker Posey, who I had the wonderful ocassion to seeing in NYC getting out of a cab, drunk as a skunk, and falling on her ass on the curb as she tried to make it to her apartment door.

Now I don't want you to feel bad for me because this story doesn't have a completely unhappy ending, you see the show I took in had a small child (most likely a crack baby) screaming bloody blue murder through the latter half of the film. The screeching made its cresendo right at the closing scene so that you could not, even if you wanted to (yawn again), hear the dialogue. So promptly, as the credits rolled, I found the cinema manager and demanded a refund for myself and the people I endured this two hour waste of time with. Needless to say, my request set off a chain reaction and I do think most of the audience saw Superman Returns for free. Insert evil grin here.

Ride 'em in the Rockies

Thanx to my pal Alan, who drove us down to Calgary, I had a fantastic weekend at the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo (can you say Brokeback Mountain) with Dustin, made only better by getting to hang out with two of my favorite pals, Vic and Luc from Comox, BC. And of course, our first time rodeo experience would not have been complete without personal tourguide, Daryn (host of our ficticious reality show; Extreme Bender). The weather was hot, the crowd was hotter -- who would have ever thought that you could see that many cowboys in pink western shirts or watch grown men put panties on goats! I'm sure you'll find us there again next year.