Surely this ranks right up there – but until they crown a new one, I remain the reigning Best-Dressed Man of the Capital Region.
Monthly Archives:
November 2012
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November
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November
2012
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November
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November
2012
Disco Ball Jock ~ The 2005 Holiday Card
Being that 2005 marked the tenth year of my holiday photo cards, I wanted to do something to commemorate the occasion and honor that very first one in 1995. The original had been a latex S&M-themed photo that found me in a leather mask and chained up like we do on an average Tuesday night in the dungeon. For 2005, I referenced that one, and edged a little further with this disco-ball inspired jock cup and metallic accoutrements. The Santa boot was a nod to the season. I expected a few ruffled feathers from this one (it’s not exactly kid or fridge-friendly), but as would turn out to be a running theme in unmet expectations, every time I feared a bit of controversy, there was no reaction, while cards that I found dull and lackluster made the bigger splash.
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November
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November
2012
In the Mood
The past two days have been spent in a whirlwind of Christmas decorating (and preparatory cleaning), and by now the time off from work hasn’t so much refueled my energy as drained it equally. Thankfully, this has been a labor of love, and the house is filled with twinkling lights and holiday cheer to ward off any fatigue. There is still more to be done – I didn’t quite get very far with the outside lights as it was too brutally cold and windy to stay out for more than a few minutes, and the basement has yet to be done, and we still need to figure out the new television console in the family room, but there is a week or two before we need to panic. For now, it’s enough to enjoy the lights, and the season. That was my promise for this year, and I’m keeping it.
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2012
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November
2012
The Parade of Holiday Cards Begins ~ 2004
The first holiday card I ever sent out to friends and family was way back in 1995, which makes this the seventeenth year of holiday photo card shenanigans (and trust me, this upcoming one is a doozy!) Unfortunately, I was late to the digital band wagon, and since I’m too lazy to dig through old boxes right now, we begin our Holiday Card Recap with 2004, when I first got a digital camera. This was one of the “softer” years, with a Snow Queen Winter Wonderland theme. With all the white and blue hair color and make-up, I really wanted this to be color (as it is here), yet for some reason the supplier turned it into a black and white photo, which worked better than expected. Here it is as it was originally meant to be.
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November
2012
Holiday, Decoration, Come Together in Every Nation
On Black Friday, I spent the day inside my home, dragging up the Christmas decorations from the basement (while Andy found our stockings in the attic). Last year, for our Naughty or Nice party, I eschewed all holiday decorations, and it was a welcome break. This year, we’re back in the Christmas spirit, and I made decent headway on the seasonal preparations, completing two of the rooms we traditionally decorate, and cleaning quite a bit more. Today the work continues, right on track and according to schedule. It makes the Virgo in me calm, and the little boy that loved Christmas giddy.
Coming up on the website later today is the start of the countdown to this year’s Holiday Card, so stay tuned…
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November
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November
2012
Through the Woods
Suzie wasn’t able to join us for Thanksgiving this year, so the day definitely  had a different feel. For other reasons as well, this was a quieter and smaller holiday dinner. I drove over to Fort Johnson and stopped by this stream before joining the family for dinner. A moment of solitude and quiet before the glorious cacophony of family and food.
Sometimes I can only be thankful when I’m alone.
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November
2012
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November
2012
Battle of the Sexiest Footballers
In honor of tonight’s Patriots vs. Jets match-up (I feel bad for anyone that has to work on Thanksgiving, even if they are getting paid bazillions) we have the sexy hunk showdown for each team. First up are the Jets quarterbacks, in the form of Mark Sanchez and apparent bench-warmer Tim Tebow (was he really praying for this?) Up after them are the Patriots, in the form of Sebastian Vollmer and Tom Brady. (Mr. Wes Welker was just featured as a Hunk of the Day, so it seems redundant to include anymore than a glimpse of his assets here.)
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November
2012
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November
2012
Thanksgiving Nakedness
In a blatant bit of pandering to those who loyally return here day after day (and have asked for it), here are some bonus skin shots from my recent trip to NY and The Out. It seems slightly less tasteless to post these now than, say, Christmas or Easter. Not that I’d have a problem with either (and I believe the latter did provide the backdrop for some latex and lace fiasco one year…)
“Do you know how sometimes you see a man, and you’re not sure if you want to get in his pants or if you want to cry? Not because you can’t have him; maybe you can. But you see right away something in him beyond having. You can’t screw your way into it, any more than you can get at the golden egg by slitting the goose. So you want to cry, not like a child, but like an exile who is reminded of his homeland.†~ Mark Merlis
Hope you have enjoyed our Thanksgiving Parade of nudity. Now stuff it. (The turkey, of course.)
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2012
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November
2012
Happy Thanksgiving to You
Here’s the truth: I have too much to be thankful for to put it all down here. Besides, it always seemed slightly self-congratulatory (no matter how selfless the choices) to tick off everything you have in your life, even if it is health and family and blah, blah, blah. I give enough genuine thanks every night in my prayers, so I don’t feel guilty about not doing it here (suck on that, haters!) For today, given the year that some of us have had, I’ve decided to keep things light and frivolous. We’ll be going over to Suzie’s Mom’s house as we have done for all of my life (even if Suzie has to work this year and won’t be there – unacceptable), and then I’m keeping options open and playing it by ear. My brother recommended watching the Patriots vs. Jets game with him, but I’m not sure we’re ready for that much brotherly bonding. At this point I still like the idea of liking football better than the actual glacial pace of the game. (If there’s really a minute left in the quarter, why are we still doing this same huddle thing fifteen minutes later?)
The plans for Black Friday are equally loose as a goose (those geese must be some fun waterfowl). I don’t do the shopping thing as a rule (amateur hour). I used to work that day because it was so deliciously quiet, but the last year brought a new tradition of seeing my nice and nephew, so I’m hoping to stop by Amsterdam to see them tomorrow. They are embarking upon the age of quick growth, so every time I see them brings about new changes, and I don’t want to miss that much.
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November
2012
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November
2012
The Kick-Off to the Holiday Season
This evening Andy and I will be attending our friend Bob’s Pre-Thanksgiving Holiday Party. It is absolutely one of my favorite parties of the year, mostly because Bob is one of my favorite people in the world. As a whole, gay men are not always the easiest group of people to get along with, at least not in my limited experience. Some of us are catty, some of us are insecure, some of us are overbearing, some of us are judgmental – in others words, we’re like everyone else, but with impossibly higher standards. I am both perpetrator and victim of this cultural climate, throwing shade and dodging shade equally, but in the end I’ve learned to embrace all of the people at the parties I attend, and some of the best, and kindest, are at Bob’s place.
This is, for us, the official kick-off to the holiday season, sneaking in on the night before Thanksgiving and setting the stage for the warmth and coziness of the anticipatory trek to Christmas. Being that I love the anticipation, this is the moment I’m in my element. The rest of the season unwinds before us, a snowy path where the winter is welcome, and enchantment is at hand.
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2012
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November
2012
Get A Load of These Gams, Err, Yams
The first time I made a dish of candied yams was for a lark. Was there a more gaily-monikered Thanksgiving staple than “Candied Yams”? Green Beans Exotic has its own charms, but candied yams… well, they’re gay in the best possible sense. That was over ten years ago, when Andy and I were attending our first holidays together. I stuck close to the first recipe I found, deviating not in the slightest from the instructions. Since that time, I’ve become much more confident, at least regarding this dish, which can take some serious deviations and still be edible. (Not so much the case when substituting parsley with cilantro, accident or not.)
Here is the original recipe, a very good place to start. I amended it only slightly the first few times I made it, afraid to mix things up too much, so this is the standard to which you can add and amend to your taste buds’ desire.
Alan’s Candied Yams
– 5 or 6 large yams/sweet potatoes (and we will not argue the difference here)
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 1/2 cup orange liqueor (Cointreau or triple sec)
– 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
– 1/4 cup maple syrup
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 2 to 3 Tbsp. hot water
– Nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper – to taste (about 1 tsp each, less of salt and pepper)
– 1 stick butter
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish (11″ x 11″ x 2″) with margarine or butter.
Fill a large pot with enough water to cover yams and boil on high until fork just begins to slide easily into them (not completely done). Remove peels and cut in half, then into two inch chunks. Add to casserole dish.
Combine brown sugar, orange liquor, dark corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla extract, water, and spices in a bowl and mix well. Pour about 3/4 of mix over yams in casserole dish. Cut butter into ten or twelve pats and dot yams with it.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, then stir and pour remaining mixture over yams. Bake another 15 minutes or so until done.
Some of the variations I’ve done over the years have involved the addition of a crumble on top (a simple butter/brown sugar/flour/oat mix) and, that gay fun ingredient that makes almost nothing better, marshmallows! (Use the mini ones, as they’ll grow much, much bigger in the oven. What’s not to love?)
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November
2012
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November
2012
Tom Daley Does Everything In A Speedo
While not technically a Hunk of the Day post, this will take the place of that feature for tonight, as Tom Daley has already been named as such here, and it’s a still a little too soon for a repeat. In this post he is stripping into a Speedo for the umpteenth time, as is his wont, for some charity or do-good event or blah, blah, blah. Even when not swimming, a Speedo appears to be his outfit of choice (like when he’s hawking books). Not that anyone is complaining, mind you, and if this is how he bulges into our lives post-Olympic-glory, more power to him.
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November
2012
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November
2012
Walk A Mile in My Shoes
In the doorway between what might as well be two worlds is a pair of shoes. No one, at least no one to the discernible eye, inhabits these shoes. Motionless, they stand uneven sentry on the threshold of rooms. It is a ghostly place, this space that is neither here nor there, a sort of limbo where the path lies before and after. The end of the year approaches, as does the beginning.
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November
2012
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November
2012
The Shimmering Dusk of Boston
It was around this time of the year when we closed on the condo in Boston, many years ago (1995), and something about the late afternoon light of November still brings me back to the first few nights I spent there. Furnished with nothing but a cot and a radio alarm clock to keep me company, it was a stark start. There weren’t any chairs, so I had to eat standing up at the kitchen counter (if I ate at home at all). The overhead lighting only covered the living room, kitchen and bathroom – the bedroom was dark at night. It sounds too minimalist to have ever been much of a comfort, yet it remains one of my favorite memories.
I’ve said this before, and it holds true: it is the silence and quiet I miss most. There is a different quiet now. All of the furniture and window treatments and accessories add their own noise – and comfort – to the place. Back in the beginning, there was nothing to distract. Not even a bed on which to sleep. And for all the ado made of my supposed affinity for luxury, it was perfectly fine. In fact, it was exactly what I needed. When I think back on the most calm and settled moments of my life, that period easily ranks among them. Even with school and the insanity of an almost-full-time retail job (in the busiest shopping time of the year), I would walk into the emptiness of that condo and feel perfectly content – and hopeful.
It remains a haven, a retreat, a safe place – and after years of furnishing, it now holds treasures of reassurance, corners and hidden shelves of special memories, of people and parties so faded that only a brief snippet of laughter can be recalled, or the way a bouquet of flowers shone in the morning light. When the dusk falls, I’ll make my way into the bedroom, leaving the lights off for a moment, as they were so long ago, and watch as the sun goes down. It is my favorite place of contemplation.
