Thanksgiving 2008

Andy & Marks Thanksgiving Trip
Originally uploaded by Carson D

My friends Andy and Mark came to NYC from up north (Ottawa, Canada) to visit over the holiday. Both have been here frequently enough that it can be difficult at times finding unique things to do when they come. Neither had been across the Brooklyn Bridge though, which is conveniently located near the Beaverhausen, so we took a stroll across and ended up spending much of that day in Brooklyn.
Andy (aka, DJ Bravehound, who has his own blog here) is a friend of mine from Seattle who was in fact my roomie for a short period of time there. He grew up in Missoula, Montana, a small college town where I went to university (U of M), but we didn't meet until our paths crossed in Seattle (he is a few years younger than me...). He and Mark, who was from Vancouver, Canada at the time, met nearly 7 years ago and dated 'long' distance for awhile, but have been living together for some time now.

Paul Reitz Photography

Beaverhausen Party
Originally uploaded by Carson D

One of my best friends here in NYC works as a photographer on the side, although it would be his dream to have this be a full time profession. The majority of his photography focuses on the male form, especially in it's unclothed state(check out his blog here although it should be noted that much of it is NSFW). As a result, he gets to meet a lot of the city's best looking, aspiring models. One of these was Ryan, and good looking young guy, who was our shirtless bartender at the last Beaverhause party we held in October (more photos available here).

Obama's First Big Mistake!

Mom & Vince visit NYC!
Originally uploaded by Carson D

This is the sort of decision I would have expected Sarah Palin to make - not Obama.

I have seen a number of interviews today in which Rick Warren tries to portray himself as not being homophobic - only on Anderson Cooper did I see this very important clip being played in which he compared homosexual relationships to practicioners of incest, pedophilia and polygamy. Click here to see it for yourself, but I have it quoted here:

Rick Warren - “I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.”

Interviewer – “Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?”

Rick Warren – “Oh I do.”

Of all the arguements against gay marriage, the incest and pedophilia (usually partnered with bestiality - at least he didn't add that on) attacks are among the most offensive and if Rick Warren is to continue being the speaker at the inauguration it's important that he first apologizes for this comment.

And Barack - I suggest you do the same. The gay and lesbian community, much like the rest of America, were ardent supporters that underneath your leadership America could begin to make the changes necessary to once again make this country great. Since the election, we have lost the right to marry in California and the newspapers across the country (and the world) carry story upon story of hate crimes being carried out against the gay community. It's high time that the President of the United States addresses one of the last great civil rights issues that humanity as a whole needs to face.

Black Watch

Mom & Vince's Visit!
Originally uploaded by Carson D

During Mum's and Vince's recent visit, we were lucky enough to have a chance to see this outstanding play from Scotland about a military troop there assigned to the "battlefields" of Iraq. The unique warehouse venue in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn allowed for a basketball court style seating arrangement, with the cast running up and down a central strip of a stage while the audience was set up on either side in a bleacher style arrangement. The acting was tremendous and the unique multi-media aspect had everyone transfixed, with heads bobbing back and forth from one end of the stage to another as though they were watching the final tennis match at the US Open. The show is coming to an end this weekend and will officially disband, but keep your eyes peeled for it as I suspect it's one of those shows that will be brought back some time in the near future...for the NY Time review, read here.

The Family Sela

Katie, Kyle, Jenny and I
Originally uploaded by Carson D

Two Christmases ago, the entire family was back in Alaska for the holiday for the first time in ten years - and unfortunately it won't be happening again this year. Since then my brother has married, and the two of them are in Alaska now, actually. Both of my sisters will be there as well. But the cost of plane tickets, combined with my starting a new job only a month and a half ago, have made it impossible for me to travel.
Still, my office is actually closed between Xmas and New Years (for nearly two weeks) and my roomie and I are still hoping that we may somehow find a way to take advantage of that.
Still, I do miss the family and wish I had an opportunity to make it home this year.

Nights at the Park

Night at the Park
Originally uploaded by Carson D

This is another cool shot. Coming home late one night and snapped this. It's a little park right next to the WTC site - actually the park where they have the memorial ceremony each year on 9/11. The lighting at night is pretty cool, especially when deserted...
D

Mom & Vince's Visit!

Mom & Vince's Visit!
Originally uploaded by Carson D

Sometimes you get lucky with pics! We were on a Big Onion Walking tour called The Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour (http://bigonion.com/description/index.html) which for obvious reasons included a walk through Chinatown. Underneath the Manhattan Bridge there is an open air fruit and vegetable market. This shot of mom is pretty cool, with the sunlight streaming down from a grate just above...

"In the Pursuit of Beauty"

In a recent issue of Details magazine, author Augusten Burroughs wrote of his obsession to obtain 6-pack abs and concluded that:

"...in the pursuit of beauty, there is no finish line. Nothing about
us
will ever be perfect. The need will always, alwasy be
there. There will always be just one more thing we could do. Or
get. Or lose.
It is a fool's marathon. But I don't care. I will run anyway. "

At 34 years of age, I have to admit that this same obsession has dogged me for most of my life. Ever since I was a child I looked at pictures like the one posted here and thought to myself - damn, why can't I look like that. Of course at my age achieving something like that is harder now than it ever has been before. Not that it's stopping me - for only the second time in my life I have actually hired a trainer to help whip my ass into shape and what can I say, thus far it's been working. Yet as I watch the world's economy collapse around me and my sessions begin to wear out I have to ask myself, am I really ready to invest that much money in another session again?

The answer? Of course I am.

The Ruins

Wow - what a great movie! I've always been a big fan of horror movies, and The Ruins is one of the best I've seen in quite some time. While once again it does include a bunch of sexy young Americans, this batch isn't quite as "dumb" as your typical American teens. I can't speak on behalf of the book, which I haven't read, but the movie did leave a lasting (if horrorifying) impression.
I was especially impressed by Jonathan Tucker, a very sex young actor who shined as a young med school student who had to use some of his training in some of the most gruesome scenes I have seen as of late.

What Hurts the Most

I stumbled across the song What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts a few years ago unexpectedly. I've never really been a big country fan, but obviously the song had a lot of cross over appeal so next thing I know it randomly appears on my MP3 player. The lyrics immediately struck close to home, as I'm sure they did to many people who have had experienced heartbreak before. But the fact that it was a country song (his favorite genre) and that I could immediately picture him saying/singing these exact lyrics made me miss him all the more. We'd had a tough year-long relationship - both the best of times and the worst. I sometimes wonder what could have been, as I'm sure he does. Sometimes I wonder - did I call it off too soon? I'm in love now, with a great guy. And I know he has been seeing other since. In any case, what hurts the most is being so close.

Rascal Flatts What Hurts The Most

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don’t bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
I’m not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I’m ok
But that’s not what gets me

What hurts the most
Was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was tryin’ to do

It’s hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go
But I’m doin’ It
It’s hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I’m alone
Still Harder
Getting up, getting dressed, livin’ with this regret
But I know if I could do it over

I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken

What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was trying to do

Not seeing that loving you
That’s what I was trying to do