(Note to self. Don't make a New Years' resolution promising more entries before checking to make sure you've got enough topics and content you want to talk about first. It's been months since I had something nipping at my heels...) I've written previously about the fact I am a huge fan of bodywork. All sorts of massages and therapies. To me it satisfies two different needs with a single experience: muscle relaxation/pain relief, and the need for human contact. Touch. Skin to skin extended intimacy, not for sexual gratification but for physical stimulation of our largest sensory organ, the skin. In the last couple years I've written about particularly special experiences in Barcelona and San Diego, but have been unable to duplicate those experiences here in my hometown. My favorite of the more popular bodywork modalities is Thai massage, which involves a lot of stretching, combined with an oil and hot stone massage, which involves a lot of long-stroke rubs acro...

Like many people watching tv, at least according to published ratings, I am enjoying the new streaming show The Last of Us on HBO. If you're unfamiliar with it, the premise is that in a post-apocalyptic world one person has been shown to be immune to the condition that has killed the majority of the world's population and turned a bunch of the remainders into zombies. It's a fairly standard science fiction trope, though with the twist that the infection was fungal not viral or bacterial. It's based on a video game. The show is well done and entertaining, and features a few of my favorite actors. Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv So why the fuck and I writing about a tv show that, at least so far, is decidedly nonsexual and features zero nudity? (Again, at least so far..) There was a line delivered by actor Anna Torv's character Tess in the first or second episode which grated on my nerves and has stuck with me. One of the characters, the one who is immune to the disease, is ...

  There is, I think, a healthy trend that I am seeing with celebrities and so-called influencers towards better body acceptance. Nudity acceptance, to be specific. I don't mean social nudity, but comfort in your own skin nudity. Acceptance that nobody - nobody - possesses a perfect body.  Just this morning is a news report on singer songwriter Shania Twain posing nude for her most recent album cover.  "If I look at myself from head to toe in the mirror I see my faults … I’m just tired of that lack of freedom. I wanna be more relaxed and comfortable in my own skin," she said. "When you’re naked, now you’re relying entirely on your own love of yourself and respect for yourself." It's a trend, particularly among singers and female singers in particular, and actors - male actors in particular - who are intent on breaking up the taboos and limitations of being embarrassed by our own bodies. Singer Amy Sheppard,of the Australian pop group Sheppard, launched a camp...

As I write this I have recently been banned from a particular online sexual forum which shall remain nameless. It was unexpected and a bit embarrassing. I ran afoul of their age-related guidelines when I responded to a question regarding your first sexual experience. Since mine was a few years before 18, I commented on my first post -of age sex while noting it wasn't my first actual  time and made reference to that fact with a link to this blog for the details of that first fuck.  Oops. Sorry guys. So, lifetime ban. Yeah, I get it and am not protesting it. Just moving on. Anyone who reads me regularly knows I am dead-set against both underage- and victimizing sexualization. I'm sanguine that the moderator just has a solid red line and I'm okay with that, though it has to be acknowledge that for many of us sex began before 18. But it brings up the subject of our various taboos. What we can talk about, and what can we do, depends greatly upon who is there and what are their o...

I haven't done this before, but I'm gonna post my more private New Year's resolutions here. Give myself a benchmark to measure how I do throughout 2023 versus 2022. First, background: The first half of 2022 was spectacular. I dropped 30 pounds, exercised regularly and felt tremendous. Then I went on vacation and was very self-indulgent. But in those three weeks I only gained 4 pounds, and still felt great physically. "I see thin people." The last three months of 2022 were a physical mess. I ate, drank and dropped my regular workouts. Purely self-indulgent and I own that. So, for 2023: -   Back to Ketogenic eating. Exceptionally low carb, with an emphasis on green veggies and healthy fat  consumption. (Avocados here I come!) - Intermittent fasting. 16 hours a day. The jury is out medically on this, but I found it improved my sense of health and well-being. I didn't walk through the day like a zombie after eating (carbs are also largely responsible for this). - ...

It's New Year's Eve 2022, and yet I'm up at my customary 4:30am. Out of habit rather than necessity, since it's Saturday and I don't need to rush off to work. I'm in my robe sitting in the dark family room listening to the sound of the rain on the roof and the gentle snore of my dogs as they sleep. In an hour I will doff the robe and run through my morning exercises. The holiday season has made a rather serious dent in my physical improvement. I had been down thirty pounds, and exercising up to 45 minutes a day, but since mid-November my habits have slipped. I fell off keto and have gained a handful of pounds back, and gotten lazy with the exercise. That all changes tomorrow. Back on keto, back on intermittent fasting. Love this picture... Much of my thoughts lately have been on physical enjoyment. I'm, as I've described myself, a Bohemian Hedonist at heart, even if my day-to-day lifestyle doesn't seem to reflect it. I have a deep appreciation for th...

(There are far more important and weightier topics, but it's the holiday season, so a little lighthearted Scrooginess for the week.) Here we are on the cusp of a whole new year. 2023. When I was a kid that was the far off future. Now it's a week away. Wow. If you are of the Christian persuasion, Merry Christmas. If you're Jewish, hope you're having a Happy Hanukkah. If you're something else, Happy Holidays. This time of years always brings with it some time for reflection, some time to consider what we're doing, how life is going, and hopefully some time with the family. It also brings tons of advertising for products retailers and other hope we'll buy for our loved ones. One such product caught my eyes, and for a few wrong reasons.  Pajamas. No nudity required. There's a company called Pajamagram , who specialize in, you guessed it, pajamas. Bedtime attire. For men, women, boys, and girls, according to their advertising. And what they produce is pretty ...