On a side note...

I ran across this photograph and it gave me a serious case of the palpitations. Because he is gorgeous. Dark hair and eyes. Clean features. Cool expression that runs the balance between inviting and standoffish. He appeals to me in ways I cannot explain, because it's not just his beauty. It's the whole aura. I would need to know nothing about him to want to meet him.

But then...after a moment...I noticed little things that were off. His tie's knot is weird. And his belt buckle has no belt. And his ears are not evenly placed. All of which points to the image being AI generated. Maybe part of this new "AI Boyfriend" program going around.

To my shock, figuring that out actually hurt. I'd been so superficially drawn to him, getting to believe he's not a real person I could meet is so very disappointing.

It's funny...but I don't really get that way about men whose photos or films I like. I met David Schwimmer, who I had a crush on throughout Friends, and in person he was fine but I didn't get crazed. Same for Tim Curry and Michael York. Keanu Reeves I didn't really get to interact with, but he struck me the same in person as he had in Speed.

The only time I did get tongue-tied by an actor was when Sophia Loren came by Book Soup's Newsstand to collect Italian newspapers for her husband, Carlo Ponti. And it wasn't just me; the busy restaurant, next door, went dead quiet while she paid. But then...she was fucking gorgeous.

I've seen and met more than a few porn stars, in passing. One notorious one stood behind me in CalFed Bank in WeHo, waiting to deposit a huge number of bills. Apparently he'd danced in a club the night before and that was his tip money. In person, he just looked like your typical college jock, not really interesting...but in photos, totally different.

And when Matt Damon had come into Heritage Book Shop, back when he was with Wynona Ryder, he'd given off the same vibe. Lumpy and boring. But I loved him in the Bourne series.

This guy...if he was real and I ran into him, I'd turn into a teenage girl and make a fool of myself. Which I have done before...like with Clint Black, in Houston...Jesus, forty years ago.

I think I'm more hurt at thinking that could never possibly happen with the man in this image...