That was sweet. Just what I needed to wipe away the last of the foul Dobson taint from my mind. It makes me want to pull out my old rollerblades too.

This just reminds me of the slightly funny joke:

What is the hardest thing about rollerblading?

Telling your parents that you are gay.

they already hit their bandwidth limit : (

Huh? Gay Bladders?

Oh.

Works for me, amber, both links. What's not working for you?

The younger gay friends I have (let's say younger than 35 now and I've known them since the early '90s) have always been seriously into building their bodies and fitness activities and the more social the exercise regimen the better. Yes indeed they are into "gams" and "pecs" and looking their best in body and dress. So are many of the women I know. But with my gay male friends it sometimes seems to me like a form of compensation: a more manly (highly defined gams and pecs) body is less gay. For many of the rest getting fit is a way to hook up (baths and jogging in a sympathetic park was there long before blading and skateboards). I still remember the first time I was hit on by a man. I was in the wrong place at the right time. And he was very open.

What this means I have no real idea (I am not a sociologist, nor am I gay, except fort those two times) but it makes me think. My friend Mark is big into fitness and he is in a committed relationship and does it because he loves being fit. My friend Tom is into fitness and exercises so he can meet other men and be a total slut. I have to say I know more gay sluts than female sluts and the gay sluts use physical fitness as a way to hook up whereas the women I know (who care about such things) use physical fitness to prepare to hook up. Big difference.

On another note, I don't know why you would consider being a blader or a skater rebellious right now. The actions and the fashion have been totally co-opted by the mainstream. I am more interested in the gay scene in the punk world, but I can't seem to find the punk world. That and the bleakness of the gay-meth scene has me truly down. Have you ever read the GeekSlut [nsfw] blog? I am glad that guy is an American.

Anyway, I am sure lots of gay guys are into yoga and tai chi, too. I'm not sure what I'm after but thanks for the link.

this is the message i get when i hit WATCH: We have busted our bandwidth limit....oooops.....we will be back soon.

Have you ever read the GeekSlut (nsfw), amber? He's a very intense fag and he includes videos as a regular part of his blog. Interesting guy and a great blog - check out the previous posts. My earlier posted kink should have been NSFW.

Eh, everyone might be wearing skater shoes and t-shirts and pants, but not everyone skates.

Conversely, I skateboard vert and the only skate clothes I have are my Vans half-cabs and my stinky old man pads and helmet. I usually don't even skate in my Vans anyway, I skate in my old thin-soled beat up Vasque light hiking boots, which really seems to entertain the grommets when I hit up a park.

Anyway. I'm not going to argue that skateboarding is rebellious. I don't really care if it is or if it isn't. That's not why I skate vert. I skate 'cause it's like flying, it's fun, and I get to float in my own little pocket of microgravity every time I go back and forth on a ramp or bowl.

But just try riding around on a skateboard as an adult in most cities. People look at you like you're carrying a loaded shotgun or running chainsaw. It's really weird the reactions I get. It wasn't much better as a kid, even growing up in surf city, USA.

Skate culture and fashion might be mainstream, but skateboarding isn't. It's like it's only OK if it's on TV. Try getting permits to build a ramp in your backyard. Then try getting permits for a pool, basketball court or tennis court.

He's HIV positive, BTW.

added nsfw tag to CE's link

Thanks dg.

Amber, try here and see if that works for ya.

As to my 'rebellious' comment, I forgot to mention that most of the guys with whom I'm friends were also people I helped come out of the closet between the ages of 17-23. Most of them skated and/or bladed in high school as a way to thumb their noses at 'organized' sports, yet still be athletic. While many of them ALSO were drawn to the "look" none of them specifically were drawn to the activities to hook up. Although many of them now, 5-10 years down the road, have found their (now) common-knowledge queer status to be generally accepted within their respective groups of boarders/bladers. Boarding tends to be more social/competitive than blading, unless you play blade hockey. Either way, the 'rebel' comment was made based on stuff I observed in the late 80s-early 90s.

Doesn't make the boarders/bladers of today any less hawt, though. Though they might want to ease up on the body art, there. They're not going to be that flat-tummied forever y'know.

So WTF? Skating and boarding has been popular these last few years. Are gay men more active in that community than they ever were? No, I don't think so. Like I said: a certain part of the gay (male) community love to be buff and whore it! They love beeing seen (Pride Parade, anyone?). Some gay men are into getting fit and feeling fit and getting laid, like most people. Some of them tend towards being sluts but so what? You know that already, right?

What makes you so different, Wolfdaddy? Other than that you have had a kenko up yer poop-chute. ;-)

Anal Sex, Homosexuality and America? I'm off to dream about a man.

Whoa, CE, slow down; I'm pretty sure I'm not making the analogy that you seem to think I'm making.

Sorry, we made "kenko" into a bad word the other night.

I just don't get the connection you seem to be making bewtween a couple of pass-times and gay sex.

Is the SoCal gay community more invested in Blades and Boards than they are into bath houses and public parks? Maybe it is just a generation gap.

Listen, Wolfdaddy, I've only had one cock up my ass so give me a break, OK?

No, er, don't. Sorry.

unfortunately, it seems CE has been hitting the bottle again. Yer cruisin' for a bunny thump, Cryptical. Please back off the whole angry, insulting posting while drunk thing.

Yeah, CE. What she said.

Sweet movie. I watched it twice. The first time to see the skating. Um, where was the skating? Did anyone else notice that the one with the dark hair couldn't balance himself, and that neither of them seemed able to do anything other than skate in a straight line? Hee.

The second time I watched for the clothes. I wasn't sure if they were wearing tiny green gym shorts and straight-legged acid wash jeans ironically or not, and I decided on not.

I just don't get the connection you seem to be making bewtween a couple of pass-times and gay sex.

That's because I'm not. I think everyone gets that but you. Each of my friends eschewed athletic activites in high school and college for a number of reasons, iconoclasm being high among them, yet still managed to find ways to be competitive, social, and athletic. What's the difference, you ask? Each of these guys had a BIG secret they were keeping, and for a lot of them, finding a community in which to stick their toes into the water regarding acceptance of that secret--communities that contained a lot of iconoclasts, for whatever reason--was a saving grace.

Perhaps you'll see this through your hangover this morning? Want some hot coffee?

Iconomy, I'm wondering if that's the "look" over in the UK ;-)

Zorro, the Gay Blade:

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a peso
All for Zorro, stand up and say so!