Eric Arvin's Blog, page 116

Hot Shot: I'm in Love

Everything about this man "drives me mad with desire." The hair, the beard, the eyes, the cute bum....sigh...

30 Day Blogger, Day 14: A Nonfiction Book

How about Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight. It recounts the morning she - a scientist who worked on the brain - had a stroke, and her eventual recovery. It's a very spiritual book told from the POV of a woman who was never very spiritual before she had the stroke. I found it extremely powerful, particularly because of similar experiences.

Hot Shot: Slabs

Those pecs is stunning!

Ray LaMontagne - Old Before Your Time (On Later Live with Jools Holland)

Hits me right in the gut:

Do The Shuffle

Basically, this is just a way for me to waste time and show off my musical taste, but I find it fun. I think in a past life I was involved in music. Maybe I was a pianist... or a piano. I think this is how radio/XM stations should do their hiring. Have the applicants send a shuffled mix of the music they listen to. Hell, that's one of the first things I ask about guys I'm into. You can tell so much about someone from what they listen to. The first 12 songs:

"A Place in the World" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

"Little Black Sandals" by Sia

"My Weakness" by Moby

"Penelope's Song" by Loreena McKennitt

"I Will" by Brandi Carlile

"How To Disappear Completely" by Radiohead

"What He Wrote" by Laura Marling

"Blue Mind" by Alexi Murdoch

"In the Ground" by Midlake

"Lillian, Egypt" by Josh Ritter

"I Won't" by Peter Bradley Adams (he must be arguing with Brandi Carlile)

"Crazy" by Tori Amos

El computer is very subdued this morning, huh?

30 Day Blogger, Day 13: A Fiction Book

Any fictional book? Well, that slims it down. Might as well self-promote:


Jasper Lane is a well-off neighborhood, not much different in appearance than most others, with a tree-lined drive, manicured lawns, and crystal clear ponds. But underneath the pleasantry there is a completely different world, oftentimes more menacing. Cassie Bloom, the grand dame of Jasper Lane who lives in a giant house on the cul-de-sac, has a missing son and husband, and throws gay porn parties that are the social event of the year. Her best friend, a transsexual named Vera, owns a nightclub. Melinda Gold is the resident religious fanatic whose views clash with that of her son Patrick - but she too has a secret. Sandy and Steve Jones are the all-American couple - well, except for the fact that Steve acts in gay-for-pay porn unbeknownst to his pregnant wife. Rick Cooper just moved to Jasper Lane and, despite his qualms about ever getting into another relationship (having literally lost an eye in the previous one) falls for ex-army man, James. And David and Cliff are the most "normal" couple on the block - but for the fact that David helped Cassie with some past nefarious deed and Cliff is the biggest gay porn star in the biz. All these stories interlock and play out in a brightly comic way with gay porn parties, a dog named Gayhound, and a dead body all being thrown in the mix. It may not be perfect, but it sure is fun!

Hot Shot: Hot Seaman

You know the play on words was coming. He's adorable...

One Good Thing

My best pal Miranda and I went to a poetry reading tonight in Madison at the Village Lights Bookstore. The poets were all students of Dr. Barbour's Fiction & Poetry Workshop at Hanover College. I took this same course ten years ago and it was one of the most influential I ever signed up for in my college career. From it came a lot of the material in my anthology SLIGHT DETAILS & RANDOM EVENTS. Dr. Barbour's encouragement was so important to my development as a writer.

The students tonight were very impressive and some were fearless. It's strange, especially in a small town, to be in a mostly heterosexual audience where the mention of gay sex isn't met with snickering and derision. Strange and refreshing. The feeling of nostalgia crept in fast over me and Miranda. There's something about college students, that hope in their eyes, that is so intoxicating. Most of us lose that look sometime in our mid to late twenties when that last bit of innocence is yanked away, either by circumstance or asshole.

We left without talking to Dr. Barbour. She didn't seem to recognize us. I tell myself it's the shaggy hair, because...well, I'm pretty damn memorable and the hair is the only thing it could be. Right? Right.

30 Day Blogger, Day 12: Whatever Tickles My Fancy

Oh! FANCY!! My bad. I thought it said, FANNY... giggle giggle...

Hot Shot: Euphemisms About Boats

And while you're thinking of one, let's appreciate his back and the rather large spread of his ass...