Now that I have some copies of my books in my personal possession, I’m out and about more often with my I Heart Yaoi messenger bag trying to sell them. I sold 3 on Wednesday (2 Later Skaters, 1 Later Skater On Tour) and 2 last night (1 Later Skater, 1 Freakshow).

The person who bought Freakshow was Mik. You may remember him. I know I certainly do. I dated him a period of time back in whatever year it was a long time ago. (I could look it up. I’m sure I have entries about him on pixiesticks. But maybe re-reading them would be a bad idea.) The most recent time I’ve seen this Thai beauty is over a year ago at the Asian Express pool party Kaze DJed. Unlike that time though, I didn’t exchange awkward friendly small talk with him. No, I was feeling a lot more ballsy and figured that I should do what I really want and that was to talk more in depth.

And we did.

We ended up spending the entire time we were there together, talking about growing up, and how time and circumstance changes people even if the core of the person doesn’t change that much. Really good philosophical and cultural and, yes, even sexual topics. It was really remarkable in that I felt like we communicated better in those short hours more than we ever did when we were going out.

Part of that is my fault. While I was overall a complete fucking moron for breaking things off with him in the first place, I also was in a area of life where I was very much into the roles people played in a relationship. It wasn’t very healthy.
Part of that was his fault. Though it also kind of wasn’t. He hadn’t been in America for very long when he crossed my path, so communication and the whole gay concept was kind of fresh to him. One of the things he said last night, is he’s been spending some time finding himself. I think he’s done a pretty good job of that as he really seemed a bigger person than before.

Do I have any hope for what I asked for as the night ended? I don’t know. I naturally asked if maybe we could get together and see what could turn out happening now that we’ve both grown up some more. It was very interesting that he said that I shouldn’t look at it like a possible second chance. That the past is not important when too many things have changed to make for a future.

He did get my number and he did spend the entire evening hanging out with me. (And he bought a book.) We have a buzzing chemistry I think. But I will have to wait for him to decide. Which is as it should be.

Two New Jersey libraries have banned a gay-themed book from circulation, the Courier Post reports.

The book entitled “Revolutionary Voices” is an anthology of written testimonies by gay youths. It has been pulled from the shelves at Rancocas Valley Regional High School and the Burlington County library system for, what Burlington library director Gail Sweet described as, “child pornography.”

A series of emails between library staff planning to remove the book were released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

“How can we grab the books so that they never, ever get back into circulation,” Sweet wrote to an employee. “Copies need to totally disappear.”

Deputy legal director of the ACLU-NJ Jeanne LoCicero expressed concern that the book was pulled unfairly since library commissioners had yet to vote on its removal.

“We’re still assessing the situation,” LoCicero told the Courier Post Wednesday.

In May, “Revolutionay Voices” was pulled from Rancocas Valley Regional High School library following opposition Beverly Marinelli, a member of the local conservative group the 9/12 Project. Marinelli has described the book as “pervasively vulgar and obscene.”

According to the Courier Post, she could not be reached for further comment.

The bans have sparked one New Jersey native to host a series of readings from the gay-themed anthology.

“I did it so people could actually hear the words in the book,” said Brandon Monokian, an actor who graduated from Rancocas Valley in 2005. “I just think they (the writers) are speaking from the heart.”

New Jersey Library Association President, Patricia Tumulty declined to comment on the most recent removal, but did mention a statement she released after the Rancocas Valley removal.

“Libraries do not discriminate against unpopular or controversial ideas,” the statement said. “To the contrary, they select resources so that the library collection meets the needs of everyone in the community it serves.”

Justin Bieber is compiling all the living he’s done in his 16 years for a new “photographic memoir,” which will be released in October by HarperCollins. The colon-heavy title: ‘Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story.’

“Every day I wake up and count my blessings,” Bieber said in a statement released Monday by the publisher. “My fans have played such a large part in all of this and they help me live my dreams every day. I’m excited to share just a little bit more of my world with them through this book.”

Bieber’s book will include a healthy dose of rare and previously unseen photos sure to excite the pop star’s rabid fans.

“I think this is going to be something they can all enjoy,” Bieber said of his fans. “This is just another way for me to say thank you to my fans.”

In its statement, HarperCollins called the addition of Bieber to its stable of authors a “real coup” and said they were “incredibly excited to be publishing this photographic memoir of his amazing journey.”

It sure has been a sweltering summer thus far. It seems like every day in July the high temperature has been well into the 90s with heat indexes past the century mark. Maybe it’s the hot sun just baking all that oil bubbling under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Maybe it’s all the hot air blowing down from Washington D.C. Or anger from those who think we can deport every illegal in Arizona. Or maybe Al Gore finally found a way to make global warming real by doing dirty things with massage therapists. Fuck if I know.

I do know that yesterday I began plotting what I ate in a food diary. If it sounds a little gay, it probably is. But essentially you figure out all what you ate and how good or bad you ended up on main items like calories, fat, sodium, and stuff like that. Considering I’m nearing 32 years old and don’t have any health care, I probably need to be doing some watching of what I’m eating. I’m adding a bit of exercise to the whole thing too. But don’t call it a diet program. (And don’t call it a mid-life crisis either.)

In other news: Courtney (Elf) still looks fucking hot, DJ Rick Walsh is retiring from his duties behind the turntables at Heretic on Friday, and I’m really getting back into this Magic: The Gathering hobby again. I also still RP with Stephanie, play a few video games, and am looking forward to a jam packed fall season that includes DragonCon, Alchemy, my birthday, Atlanta Gay Pride Weekend, Halloween, and writing a new novel.

I still could find time for a boyfriend though. Any takers?

It’s July! JULY! You know, that month that brings America independence, fireworks, BBQ, and afternoon and evening thunderstorms. It also means we’re about 6 weeks away from BP possibly finally maybe probably not cutting off their massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurrah! Wait, whut?

The summertime song is allegedly destined to be “California Gurls” by Katy Perry featuring Ludacris. But you know, I’m more particular to Kat DeLuna’s “Push, Push” (featuring Akon, cause you know everything features someone.) And then there is that patently silly “Pretty Boy Swag” by Soulja Boy. Wait, he’s a pretty boy? Oh… wait.. no… he says “no homo” in the song. Psha! Like us respectful fags would accept you, assclown.

On to more important news: The economy seems to still blow for most, but thankfully my local economy is really picking up some steam. I’m trying very hard to adjust and make sure I’m putting some away now that I’m not spending so much on things like car payments and full coverage insurance. I could use some health care, god knows. And I don’t mean the kind that comes in a cocktail glass.

Pride Weekend is once again moving in Atlanta. We didn’t have it in June -again- which blows donkey balls. Last year, it was on Halloween which apparently worked out really well. I just went to the parade which was cold but nice as always. The Latinos looked like they were celebrating the hardest. The rest of us should look to that and be reminded what it’s like to have some real fire in our pride. This year Atlanta Gay Pride is on my birthday weekend, October 9th.

But before that happens, I gotta do the Alchemy thing with Kaze up in the North Georgia Mountain. It’s kind of like Burning Man, but on a smaller scale.

Also coming up is another fine edition of DragonCon. It’s Labor Day Weeekend, always, always, always. Maybe you should come and join me. It’s a lot of fun, the most accessible geek celebrities, and will make you rethink that whole “nerds don’t get laid” stuff.

Finally, I’ve been thinking a lot about Magic: The Gathering again suddenly. I bought a terrible terrible version of it on Steam the other day called Duels of the Planeswalkers. It’s also on XBOX. It’s horrid. Don’t buy it. It was a waste of money to be sure. You can’t even build your own deck? WHAT? Magic: Online is cheaper and certainly is making me think about it a bit. There’s also a new Core set coming out in two weeks. Is this something I could get into again? If it’s still played, maybe I could even make some new friends. I’d chalk this nostalgia up to the fact that I’m 31 (almost 32), but that would imply that I’ve grown up in the meantime, which we all fucking know is not true.

Anyway, that’s the update for now. Don’t forget to buy some books.

You might have gone down the rabbit hole before. But never with a guide quite as attuned to the fantastic as Tim Burton.

Those who have grown curiouser and curiouser about what the offbeat reinventor of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory might conjure up in his version of Alice in Wonderland can feast their eyes on this array of concept art and publicity images, due to hang in movie theaters this week to promote the March 5, 2010, release.

“It has been Burton-ized” is how producer Richard Zanuck describes the director’s vision of the Lewis Carroll classic. Many elements are familiar, from the enigmatic Caterpillar (Alan Rickman) to the fierce Jabberwock (Christopher Lee). But none has been presented in this sort of visually surreal fashion.

“We finished shooting in December after only 40 days,” Zanuck says. Now the live action is being merged with CG animation and motion-capture creatures, and then transferred into 3-D.

(more including stellar art from the film)

TOKYO (Reuters) – The fifth “Harry Potter” film, based on the best-selling books about the young boy wizard, will premiere in Japan on June 28, just months after “Spider-Man 3″ marked a rare international movie debut in Tokyo.

A Warner Bros. spokeswoman in Tokyo said British actor
Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the broomstick-flying Harry, would come to Tokyo for the event, which is scheduled ahead of the movie’s London showing on July 3.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is the latest installment in a series that began in 2001 with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

The four previous “Harry Potter” movies, based on
J.K. Rowling’s books, have grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide.

There is “no special reason” why the film is making its premiere in Japan, the spokeswoman said.

But the Tokyo premiere last month of another highly anticipated sequel, “Spider-Man 3,” was seen as a shrewd push into the faster-growing international market that could help boost box-office revenues.

The seventh and final book in the “Harry Potter” series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” will go on sale on July 21, but it is not clear when the film version will be made.