I received another early Christmas present yesterday. Or more like, I was randomly picked for it. I went to the barber shop for a haircut and the girl that I'm all ga-ga over cut my hair. Some background: The barbershop I go to is a very traditional place - barber pole, mostly male customers, sports memorabilia on the walls, antique barbering equipment on display, sports always on the televisions. They have a little pony chair for small kids, and give kids a certificate for their first haircuts. The place was started by the grandfather of the current owner, so it has a very homey feel to it. You can make an appointment, but most people just wait for the next available barber. I think there are 4 men and 5-6 women barbers there. One of the women is just the bomb! Since I always just put my name on the waiting list, she rarely cuts my hair. Last night I was lucky enough to sit in her chair. Not only is she very easy on the eyes, she does a great job. I'm one of those guys who gets a bit tongue-tied around pretty women, so I didn't have much to say. Needless to say, it was a great way to end a pretty boring day.

A question for the readers: How much do you tip you barber/beautician/hairstylist? My haircut was $16, and I usually let them keep the change. Is a 25% tip too much, too little, or about right? Its just the standard haircut - they don't wash your hair beforehand, or do any fancy styling other than some gel.

Okay, I think I know why I've been going out of my mind lately - lack of running. Its been about 2 months since my last run of any kind, and three weeks in this brace on my leg. I'm not sleeping as well as I used to. I've gained a few pounds. I'm not thinking as clearly. Arrrrgh!!

Anywho, on to ...

TMI Tuesday #114:

1. Are you done with your shopping yet? 90%. I've one last gift to buy - flannel pj's for her. I may just getting a pair of Nick & Nora's at Target. I was going to go today during my lunch break, but I left my wallet at home. If I don't like those, then I'll take a look at Victoria's Secret's pj's. Anyone have any better suggestions for flannel pj's?

2. What is your favorite sexual position? On top. (Didn't we have this question a while ago?) More control.

3. On a scale of 1-10, how open are you to trying new sexual things? 10!! But she's more of a 1, so we're at a 2.

4. What present are you hoping to get this year? Kind of a boring list this year. I only put one together because my brother and sisters and I have an exchange.

• A gift certificate to the local homebrew store as I want to brew up a new batch of beer after Christmas for the homebrew competition in February.
• A pair of cords from Land's End.
• The Preston & Steve Totally Office Calendar.
• The 72% Dark Chocolate Pound Plus chocolate bar from Trader Joe's.
• "Programmed to Run" by Thomas S. Miller, Ph.D.

5. With your current partner (or your last partner) how often was the sex better than just good? About 1/3 of the time. As the sex becomes better and better, the bar is raised.

Bonus (as in optional): Can a relationship that you are part of survive on sex alone? Could it survive a prolonged period of abstinence? No, and no. There has to be something more to the relationship. I mean, the sex at first may be so good that a lot of other problems are overlooked, but sooner or later they will surface. On the flip side, there has to be some sex. I can't do it all by myself all the time! lol (Otherwise, add one of these to my list above.)

Courtesy of Nuda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARZxKkBr02Y

Saturday's Stuff To Do

REM's Fan Club Christmas gift:

One Christmas gift came early! New Doc's!

I was sorting my collection of Leg Show magazines:

One of my pairs of heels:

Okay, I didn't intend to freak everyone out with the last post. Now on to some normal stuff.

In this past week's TMI post I mentioned that Speed Racer was my favorite childhood cartoon. It is being made into a movie and I saw the trailer a few days ago on the web. Here's a link to it. Interesting take on a cartoon. But. To me it looks more "cartoon-ish" than the cartoon. Kind of like the movie version of "The Cat in the Hat." It worked in that film. However, I will hold my final opinion until I see it in the theater.

This isn't a post to make a point or preach. I just had some thoughts in my head today and I just wanted to write them down.

So I was tuned in to WMMR today in my car on the way to work. They were in the middle of a discussion about trany (transsexual) porn. And that this type of porn isn't about true transsexuals (i.e., complete sexual transformation) - they get the boob-job and maybe some other cosmetic plastic surgery, but they leave the boys down below. They were saying that some according to some source (mentioned right before I turned the radio on), this type of porn is becoming increasingly popular, and usually tops the search engine lists. Preston was saying that he seems to get a lot of e-mail from folks with a series of pictures of what appears to be a woman, and then as he scrolls down to the bottom, he finds that its really a transsexual. They were wondering why it is attractive and who finds it attractive.

A few people called into the show and said that the viewers/buyers are overwhelmingly heterosexual men. The DJ's found this interesting as they thought that it would appeal to homosexual males. A psychologist called in a confirmed that hetero men are the main viewers. A clerk at an adult store agreed. They talked about couple reasons for this, and I'll add my comments.

1. Porn addiction. One caller mentioned that some hetero men that are addicted to porn view this type of porn because it is "on the edge". Regular M/F or F/F porn in whatever combination or situation is too "normal" for the porn addict to get his fix. (M/M porn appeals, as expected, they said, mostly to homosexual males.) I'd say this is true. I've had my own confrontations with porn addiction and I know what they meant when they said that addicts are looking for "the edge" - something new and very different, something that may give them that "shock" of never have experienced/viewed something that gets the adrenaline going.

2. The "car wreck" effect. You know when you see a car wreck along the road and you look over as you pass by the ambulance to see what corpse looks like? That's another attraction to trany porn. I mean, with the clothes on, she looks (in the best cases) like a very beautiful woman - beautiful face, long hair, perfect breasts, long legs, all wrapped in nice clothes. Then as the clothes come off, she has the cock that would make anyone happy. How does she act? How does she use her equipment? Is she screwing a guy or a girl, or both? How do they react? But, more than not, she's not all that good looking and it is like looking at a car wreck. This was more the case for me. The times I've viewed it I didn't find it arousing at all, more so just to "see the wreck" and how convincing of a job did she have done.

Anyway, I just wrote this to get it out of my head for today.

TMI Tuesday #113:

1. Are you and early shopper or a late shopper? A bit of both. This year I'd say 90% has been completed early. I'm saving the last 10% for later (see #4).

2. What is your favorite cartoon (current or past)? Past: Speed Racer! If I could only find a model Mach 5 for my desk, and then paint my next car like it. Present: Jimmy Neutron, naturally.

3. On a scale of 1-10, how competent are you on home repair projects? 6. I know what I can do and what I cannot. Small electrical and carpentry projects I can do. I call the experts for the big jobs.

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I haven't had a chance to do this in years - a couple of life-long friends and I used to go out the afternoon of Christmas Eve with the excuse of "last minute shopping," but really head out to the bar for a few rounds of beer. We're all in different states now. Maybe this year I'll tell them to go to a nearby bar and we'll call each other from there.

5. Describe your favorite kiss? Do you give it or receive it? Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses. I give and receive them. Oh, you mean the other kind of kiss. I say we combine the two and pass a dark chocolate kiss between our lips while we kiss. And of course I'll lick up the mess it makes on your face!

Bonus (as in optional): What is the best holiday gift you have ever gotten? Best you've given? I'm sure the toys I received when I was a boy were the best received. Back then we didn't make lists for Santa - the presents just showed up on Christmas morning and we'd run around in surprise like crazy kids. Best given? Not sure - I forget to send out the "Gift Feedback" form to the recipients.

Christmas shopping, or just shopping in general: love it, hate it, or just get along with it?

For me its some of all three. I was at two different malls last Saturday getting my Christmas shopping done. I found a lot of great clothes for me, and resisted the temptation to buy any of them. Who knows if any of them were already in Santa's bag? And they'll all be marked down during the after-Christmas sales.

Shopping for others is a mixed bag. Gift certificate for my picky brother - easy. Gifts for Mom & Dad - I've just about given up. What they really need is better health, and that can't be bought. For my SO, I already had a few things, so I set out to get her a new purse & wallet and pajamas. After going to Macy's, Nordstroms, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, and a few other places, I've decided that I should have gone into fashion design. I know what I want and no one sells it. Pajamas - a thick flannel with a retro design, maybe Capri length pants. Not something pink with a little lace around the sleeves and legs that looks like something for Grandmother (forgive me, Grandma, for having to invoke you in this comparison). Not something thin, or made in China. I have the idea in my head, I just can't find it yet.

And purses! Ugh! Most of the junk out there have the over-stuffed, over-embellished, or over-the-hill look. Her style isn't to have the handbag jump out at you like a lot of them are. Conservative, but not frumpy. I finally found one at Wilson Leather that almost fit the bill. If I designed a handbag, I'd start with black leather, no contrasting stitching or big buckles. A good leather that won't scratch easy and keep its shape. It would have several interior pockets for the cell phone and compact, a key hook, and a couple zippered pockets. The lining wouldn't be black. I'd make it a lighter color to make it easier to find things. It would have a zipper across the top to keep things from falling out, and a flap to go over the top to hide the zipper and give it some more style. More square than round. I need to sketch this out for it to make any sense.

Okay, enough ranting. I need a cookie.

TMI Tuesday #112:

1. If your partner buys you a sexy little "something" is it a present for you or for your partner? Its a present for me. She's not the type to like to lounge around in silky clothes or wear stockings for herself.


2. What are 3 characteristics of "your type"? 1) Long, dark hair. The longer and the darker, the better! 2) Long legs. And best not covered by pants. Hosiery, yes; pants, no! (see the link in Q3 below) 3) A wry sense of humor.


3. On a scale of 1-10, how good a cook are you? I'm a 5 only because I love to make desserts, not cook "dinner" type stuff. I love to bake cookies, bread, cheesecake, brownies, pies, make ice cream, anything from scratch.


4. Tattoos: Love them or hate them. On you? On a partner? Hate them on me - I'm a needle scardy-cat. Maybe if it were on my back so I couldn't see it being done and I had a few beers in me. I think the right tattoo would look great on her, but she doesn't want one. I love tattoos at the base of a woman's back or on/around the hips in the front. This reminds me of my experience with a dom. She has "Goddess" tattooed across the base of her back, and I was given a very up-close and personal look at it (although there's not a good picture of it at the link). Also, when I was at Macy's on Saturday I saw this girl at the cosmetics counter with tattoos up both arms and across her chest as she had on a short-sleeve shirt that was unbuttoned enough to display her bra. At first I thought "Is that really appropriate for work?", then I thought "Of course it is! She's bringing in a different clientele than the stodgy old ladies that also work there." And she was a hottie in a goth-ie kind of way!

5. Stubble: Good or bad? How often do you shave? On me - bad. I shave my face 6 out of 7 days even though I *hate* shaving. I detest, deplore, despise it. But I look like a bum with stubble. And now some of it is turning grey. Although, if I did let the beard grow out (and my hair, gain about 50 lbs, and age about 15 years) I might look like Pierre Robert. I do keep the underarms and the boys down below cleanly shaven.

Bonus (as in optional):What are a few of your favorite things (both sexual non-sexual)?

1. Trader Joe's 72% Dark Chocolate Pound Plus bar. Insanely good and instantly gratifying.
2. Preston & Steve at WMMR. You guys rock!! Help with the Camp Out for Hunger if you can!
3. Running. I miss running as I do have a stress fracture in my tibia. No running for at least another 6 weeks while wearing one of those plastic and Velcro braces.
4. Beer. And not the BMC variety (Bud, Miller, Coors. I can't believe I even wrote the names!). I prefer microbrews and my own homebrew.
5. Stockings & panties. Not just for her, for me as well! But mainly for me.
6. All of my fellow Bloggers in Blogland. If you're reading this, that means you!

We were at the Philadelphia '76ers game last night. We had great seats, but it wasn't until we were just about there that I remembered that I left my camera at home. So, here are some photos and a video that I shot with my cell phone's camera. It was a close game for a while, and, as you might be able to see from the scoreboard picture, they lost.

And here's one of the dance squad. They wore these black outfits during the first half. Not nearly as nice as the blue & white they wore in the second half.