Some links, and # 1

A couple of interesting articles I stumbled upon today.

This first one is about Rick Santorum. I don't think I mentioned the other aspect of his appearance in the recent debate: the audience's reaction to the gay soldier that asked the question about DADT. They booed him. Straight up booed a member of our military because he is gay and dared to ask whether Santorum planned to erase his newly given right to honesty and openness (answer: yes, he does).

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/dont-ask/?scp=2&sq=santorum&st=Search

The next one is an interesting article by an "experimental philosopher" from Yale about one's true self.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/in-search-of-the-true-self/

Anyone who reads that, share with me: what do you think determines your true self? Is it your basest, most automatic instincts? Or does it lie in your values? If I remember, maybe I'll say what I think next time.

And last but not least, lets finish up our little countdown of Hot Guys of Reality TV that influenced my sexuality discovery process (which is ongoing).

The winner is . . .

J.P. Calderon from Survivor Cook Islands!

J.P.'s from the same season that Ozzy Lusth is from, which I guess brings this countdown full circle. He didn't really play a huge role that season and got voted off before he could make it to the jury. But I really liked him. He has that mixture of handsome face, buff body, and soft-spoken demeanor that can be extremely attractive. I continued to keep track of his career after he left the show and ventured into modeling. He wound up on another show called "Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency." Even though I didn't watch it, I watched his pivotal scene: his coming out.

Basically, Instinct Magazine wanted to feature him on the cover. Janice approached him with the opportunity, but also with the catch: the magazine only puts out gay men on the cover. J.P. decided at that point to come out. Suffice it to say my fascination with him grew more after that.

What did you think of my countdown, did anyone else watch any of those shows?

I Don't Practice Santoria

The title of this post is extremely cheesy . . . you'll know why in a moment.

I was checking Google news today and came upon some stories about the debate between the Republicans running for the presidency. One of the top stories focused on Rick Santorum (haha, get it? yeah, I told you), who until today I knew little about. Apparently, he's quite the social conservative. In answering a question addressed to him from a newly out gay soldier, he pledged to reinstate Don't Ask, Don't Tell if he becomes president. He called the repeal of the policy "tragic," and an example of "social experimentation" in the military. He said that gay soldiers were actually better off under the policy. Most nonsensical of all? His justification for wanting the policy back: because "sex and sexual preference should not be an issue in the military, period." Um, yeah Rick, it shouldn't be an issue. That's an argument for why DADT SHOULD be appealed!

Mitt Romney's rep sounds like he did a good job of parroting the usual right wing talking points. "It was a mistake to make a social change like that in our military at a time when we are engaged in foreign conflicts." I guess that's the political equivalent of saying, "We think it's best to wait until hell freezes over. That will be the optimal time." Still, as of right now Mitt Romney seems like the candidate I would hate the least.

I hate to feel such disdain for the Republican candidates when so much of my family is hardcore Republican. If I do decide to vote for Obama to be reelected, I'd better not tell my dad. In his eyes, Obama is evil incarnate (literally, he has used the word "evil" multiple times to describe the president . . .)

Anyways, enough politics. My little silly countdown is at number 2. This choice will be a familiar one for this blog, as I've talked about him a couple of times in the past. He's my very favorite bisexual guy, Mike Manning from The Real World DC.

I'll throw in a bonus too, since I'm talking about The Real World. I totally forgot about this next guy when I was thinking of who to include on this countdown. I forget what season he's from, but he seems to have made quite a name for himself in the world of online fitness. His name is Scott Herman, and . . . damn. So hard to choose what picture to use. Here's a couple.

Big Brother

This next one, # 3 on the list, is from the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Big Brother. Now, I've only seen two seasons of that show, and for the most part it drives me crazy. But I admit, a couple summers ago I got sucked into it, and Nick Starcevic was a large part of why. It was not just his good looks and buff bod, it was also his goofy personality. Some of his cheesy pick up lines for his showmance partner Danielle might make you gag, though.

All of the guys on this list played a big role in making me realize that I had an attraction to guys. I mean come on, I watched a season of Big Brother for crying out loud! Not sure if I would do that for a girl . . . although I did have a TV crush on Elizabeth Filarski on Survivor (that was long before she got married and became Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the token Republican on The View).

Here's a pic o' Nick . . .

Do Ask Do Tell

Great to hear that Don't Ask Don't Tell is officially repealed. We expect our soldiers to uphold strong moral values, and one of those is honesty. Forcing our troops to lie about themselves should not be the American way (and isn't any more)! By the way, if you haven't seen this yet, check it out http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/09/20/7859855-gay-soldier-comes-out-to-dad-live-on-youtube

Number 4 on our countdown of Hot Guys from Reality TV comes from a show from a couple years ago called "Make Me a Supermodel." He's the first gay man on this list (but won't be the last). He was most notable for his onscreen bromance with a straight guy named Ben. His unrequited feelings for Ben led into a really interesting close friendship. I give you, Ronnie Kroell (looking a lot buffer than he used to, damn)!

New job and an old show

I had my first day at my new job today. Same organization, different building. I think I'm going to be a lot busier at this job, which should make me feel more productive and useful. I'll also get to learn some new things, which is always good.

I almost want to tune into Survivor this season. I haven't watched it for years, but one of my favorite players ever, Ozzy Lusth, is back on (apparently they have two returning players mixed in with a bunch of newbies . . . kinda weird). Ozzy always dominates at challenges, especially ones that involve swimming. It's like he's part fish.

On that note, how about a little mini countdown? I've never been big on reality TV, but occasionally I will watch an episode (and on occasion a whole season) if there's a particular person that catches my interest . . . or my eye.

So let's start it off with Number 5 of the Hot Guys of Reality TV: Ozzy!

Coming up with titles is hard when I jump topics so much

I saw that fellow blogger Aek had a nifty Meyers-Briggs gadget on his page, so I thought I would get me one too. I've been a little obsessed with the Meyers-Briggs this past year as I've been all into self-analysis. As you can see, I usually test as an INFJ, at least on the short free tests on the internet. And from the multiple intelligences test you can tell I'm obsessed with music, haha.

When it comes to music, I'm still old-school. I like to buy CDs. I don't know, I just like having something physical in my hands. I like going to the store, browsing the albums, buying it, unwrapping it, and putting it in the player for the first time. I do have an iTunes account, but I mostly use it to get songs that are harder to get. My iPod is mostly used for surfing the internet and using apps :-) I don't buy music very frequently though, because I'm very cheap . . . I mean frugal. Just picked up Greatest Hits CDs of Electric Light Orchestra and The Moody Blues. Talk about old school. I dunno, not much new music does it for me anymore . . .

I'm still trying to get in contact with my Facebook acquaintance. He was busy for a while, then he went on vacation. I sent him a new message a few days ago. He seemed willing to meet up before, so hopefully he'll respond. Even though work and career planning have taken up most of my attention lately, I'm still keen to move forward on my sexuality. Having talked about it online with bloggers and in person with my three cousins, my friend, my mom, and the counselor has made it a lot easier to discuss it. Maybe my acquaintance will be able to point me in the right direction as far as next steps. So lets see . . . first comes feelings, then thoughts, then words . . . I guess all that's left is . . .

Action.

I'll get there. Eventually.

Before I go, some eye candy, just because. This is Josh Ohl.

ABCs and Job Craziness

First of all, if you live in Southern California, check out 100.3 The Sound. I've liked the station for quite a while, but they really won me over this past week with their A to Z playlist. They've been going through a catalog of more than 2000 songs, all in alphabetical order. It's like heaven for the slightly obsessive compulsive music lover in all of us. Or just me. Right now they're playing "Your Wildest Dreams" by The Moody Blues, and right before was "Your Time is Gonna Come" by Led Zeppelin. Alas . . . we're nearing the end of the Y's and I can't imagine there will be very many Z songs . . .

Anyways . . . last week was nuts. Over the weekend I moved into a new place. Monday, I was informed by my boss that I was getting laid off in two weeks. I was understandably quite flustered by this (oo, now it's "You're All I've Got Tonight" by the Cars . . . sorry, distraction).

Wednesday, I was informed of another open position at the place I work. Thursday I went to talk to talk to the person who would be my supervisor, which went well. So now I'm being offered that position. Same pay, but more responsibilities and it sounds like it will be more interesting. So what started out as an extremely bad situation actually seems like it might work out for the best.

This past weekend started out uneventful. But on Saturday my cousin from Nor Cal gave me a call and told me he would be coming down to LA . . . the next day. So I ended up hanging out with my two cousins (the other lives down here) for the holiday. We went to Magic Mountain, which was a nice break.

Now I'm in my last week at my current position, so I need to wrap things up and get ready to start my new job. All this while I still try to form the plan of my next steps. Hopefully the new job will be a smooth transition.

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon. I knew that one was coming.