Nudity is Only Skin-Deep

It's been far too long since I did any substantial blogging. I do a lot of posting on FB, but it's not at all the same thing. FB does not encourage active conversation. The threading on posts is borked, and on more than one occasion, misunderstandings have arisen from replies made in these threads that were so severe that they resulted in people dropping me as a friend. In one instance, I was busy formulating a carefully-worded response to an earlier comment in a thread. While in this process, they were responding to other things and making other points. By the time I'd finished my write-up, there'd been several messages in the interim and because of simple timing and non-threaded discourse, it made it look like I'd completely blown off the points they were making. I tried to send a private message to explain what had happened, but they'd already blocked me.

This sort of platform does not make for good communication. It does not make for lasting friendship. Now, I'm not completely dismissing FB. It is excellent for sharing photos and links, and for networking and sharing events. I have missed the nuanced conversations and friendships I made in my years of blogging on my own defunct site and, later on, on LJ.

My intention is to resuscitate my old website. This is a daunting task. I hand-coded every single one of those many hundreds of webpages. It was years of work. Can I port things over without destroying my old formatting? How does FTP even work anymore? I haven't done it in so long that I've forgotten almost everything.

In other news, I've been working hard to promote my artwork and get more regular practice in. I started an Instagram account where I share artwork regularly. I've been updating it daily since I started paying attention to it. I haven't sold anything via that venue (yet). I have, however, sold several pieces through FB. Go figure.

I hope to go back to university at some point to pursue my fine arts training. In the meantime, I'll practice independently.

Here is my current major work in progress. If you click on the picture, you'll go to a gallery of my progress shots:



In other news, this afternoon I'll be going to Brass Butterflies (an aerial studio in Waterloo) to study handstands and acro-yoga. The training will never end until ten minutes after I'm dead.

I got the rest of my octopus ink today.

It is darker than I envisioned. It's still swollen, but it doesn't hurt. I go back in a couple of weeks to see if anything needs to be touched up.

I had a scary moment last night. I was biking home from my dance class when I saw someone was throwing out a bunch of stuff, including a toy shopping cart. I thought my nephew might like such a thing, so I spun back and got it. It was not heavy or particularly large, but it was awkward. I found a way to hold it in one hand and started biking home.

At one point, the breeze caught the toy and shifted it in my grip, and my knee got caught in the basket part, which caused me to suddenly veer out into the street without warning.

There were no cars, but my heart was pumping pretty hard and fast up in my throat for a moment, there.

So now, at great potential cost, Ralph has a free toy shopping cart, next time he comes to visit. He'd better like it! Ha!

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I'm searching for music to use for an upcoming Hallowe'en dance performance. I'm looking for something I could use for a piece about necromancy. So far, the most interesting pieces have been from the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack, the opening sequence of Ghost in the Shell, and Nox Arcana's Night of the Wolf. I wish I were better at sound editing on my computer. I'd find a way to mix them together.

Today I sent in a submission for an interesting-looking dance opportunity in November.

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Link time.

The Candy With the Hole: This advertising campaign can't possibly be accidental.

Female Infants Growing Breasts: Another Disaster From Hormones in Milk Production: Horrid, yet the morbid part of me laments there are no pictures.

'The Walking Dead': Zombie awesomeness in series trailer: This looks so good! I need to see it.

Visual Impact Muscle Building: I don't agree with all of the author's opinions, but he did give me some interesting food for thought, and helped me understand why the exercises I've been doing have been making my muscles grow suddenly. I'm intrigued.

Chinchilla Poop Reveals How Much It Rained: "Chinchilla poop is serving an unlikely purpose in one of the world's driest places, Chile's Atacama Desert. The animals' tiny waste pellets are helping scientists reconstruct the rainfall in the region over the last 14,000 years." Lucky scientists, playing with poop all day.

The 200 yard gong shot: About the only time golf has ever been interesting to me. Impressive! But I think gongs make everything better.

Using the Lat Pull Down Machine to Get Strong for Your First Pull-up: Makes perfect sense, but I hadn't thought of it this way. Looks like I have a new way to think about pull-ups.

Eye Wired Open: "When Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence decided to have his badly damaged eye removed from its socket, he chose to replace it not with a prosthetic, but with a wireless camera. The decision, he says, was easy." Cue Terminator II theme music....

Persephone: A lovely painting by Colette Calascione (nudity). I'd love to have this on my wall. In the meantime, it is my desktop image. The other paintings are interesting, too.

Crazy dildo time! Cthulhu | Xenomorph | Zombie. The last one reminds me of that creepy disease porn I wrote a while back.

Miniature Motor Home: I ... I think I want one.

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And just 'cause, here's a picture of me in action, doing jumping Hindu squats. Shaun thought this was the funniest shit, ever. The picture is probably blurry because of his laughter.

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, because this is an issue I've been encountering over and over again for decades. But, I am intrigued by how it's more culturally acceptable for a man to show progress photos of physique development than it is for a woman. Why is this the case? Discuss!

My kung fu figurines went through a violent experience. One died. See?

I finished knightky's shirt this afternoon. Here it is. I suspect it'll look very different on him.

I must have really needed sleep. I got to bed around midnight last night, then slept until 8 this morning. Then I was still tired, and went back to bed until about 1:15. Holy crapulence! I've had a flu/cold for almost a week now. Hopefully, that sleep binge will kill the last of it.

I put a pork tenderloin on to marinade in fermented garlic wine for over 24 hours. I just roasted it with onions and baby potatoes in olive oil today, and it was divine. So tender and delicious. I had second helpings.....

The weight training continues despite me being sick, and much to my surprise, hasn't even slowed down. I thought it would take me two or three times as long to complete my workout, but I'm making good time. I've gained about four or five pounds of muscle, too, so I'm pleased. I'm back to the gym today for another workout, once my lunch has had a chance to settle down. I hate exercising on a full stomach.

Link time? Yes.

Mother has dead son's ashes tattooed into her skin 'so he will be with me for the rest of my life': "A heartbroken mother whose 20-year-old son collapsed and died after taking party drug GHB has had his ashes tattooed into her skin in tribute to him." Actually, she looks pretty pleased in the photo.

The Poetry of Life: Spinality: Some beautiful design ideas here, inspired by the spinal column.

I'm particularly fond of this one:



Man fathers child with intention of murdering him: I think this guy out-vengeanced Medea.

Meat-flavored vodkas hit the market: You've probably already heard of the bacon vodka. Well, now there's smoked salmon vodka.

‘Weapons’ seized in G20 arrests not what they seem: A LARPers boffer weapons were seized and described in a most creative/alarmist fashion.

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning: Hollywood's depiction of drowning isn't accurate. I was once rescued from drowning, and this article describes what I was going through very well.

A Soldier Serving in Afghanistan's Letter to the #G20 Police: A different perspective on the actions taken in Toronto last month.

Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters: Best sports headline I've seen in a long time.

Edit:

Me right now, just before I go to the gym:

I seem to have become lactose intolerant again. I had a lot of dairy yesterday, and spent last night in an agony of cramps. I'm still a little crampy this morning, but not unbearably so. So I guess I'll be off to buy some almond or rice milk to have with my cereal. It's not very nice in tea, though. Boo.

If I'm lucky, maybe goat milk won't bother me. I've had variable success with it in the past when my guts have decided to revolt against cow milk.

I've also noticed a correlation between my lactose intolerance and time of year. It tends to hit more often in the summer. I've no idea why that is.

I bought a five-dollar bikini yesterday. Here I am before the bloating got too bad. It's just enough to hide my abs, here. Heh....



Link time.

Utah firing squad death announced on Twitter: Interesting.

German student attacks Hell's Angels with puppy: Sent to me by a gazillion people... A guy wearing only shorts went off his meds, threw a puppy at Hell's Angels, mooned them, stole a bulldozer, and escaped in a slow-moving chase that caused a major traffic jam, got out of the bulldozer, and hitch-hiked his way away. Amazing.

Hitler memorabilia 'attracts young Indians': Apparently, Hitler is da bomb in India right now.

Jury rules 'Diaper Boy' guilty of sex crime, lewdness: "Barton Jason Lewis Bagnes said he flashed his diaper-clad pelvis at children in a campaign to show it's OK for adults to wear diapers."

'Scar My Tattered Body No More With Your Punishing Dildo Mallet': Accused Militia Plotter Bared Almost All In Film: This fundamentalist Christian militant has a goofy side.

I'm off to the gym. Time to see what my calves max out at, because I still haven't found their limit, and I'm starting to think that maybe I have superhuman strength.



Yesterday, I went for a run around the park, did an advanced pole dance class, and walked up 14 flights of stairs. And then had a bowl of ginger ice cream and some popcorn. Heh.

Pole dance class was permeated with brutality. My skin screamed in agony at some of the grips I did. One is called Superman. Here's how it works. Put yourself in a plank position, with the pole jammed tight against your crotch. Raise your legs and cross your ankles so your legs are level with your torso, squeezing tight with your thighs on the pole. When you have a grip, the arms come off the floor. OMG-PAINFUL-OW-OW-OW!!!! I have the strength, but not the pain tolerance to do that hold. Jiminy cricket....

I am still quite perturbed at my birthday. How the hell did I get that old? 39 on Friday? Ridiculous! I don't feel like Jack Benny. I still feel like a twenty-something. Obviously, there is something seriously askew with my timeline. I still want to enter a bodybuilding competition before I turn 40.

Ok. Time to get to the gym. I have a workout buddy, for once. Hello, Syndi!