Aussielicious

This will probably be the last post on Aussielicious for the next few weeks because in the morning, early, I head to the airport to begin a marathon journey to deliver me into the clutches of Burning Man, or home as people call it.

It’s quite strange to feel like I’m finally going to tick off a few things on my bucket list all in the one trip, that have been on it for some time. Burning Man, who knows what it holds in store for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Vegas is a city that a lot of people go to party, but most of it for me will be relaxing and recovering after Burning Man. I’ll also be ticking off a couple of Cirque Du Soleil shows that I’ve wanted to see for years.

Then on to NYC. I’ve been so focused on Burning Man and the logistics of getting there that NYC wasn’t really a priority, now I’m VERY excited to see it all, wander it’s streets, see the sights and everything it has to offer.

It’s quite sad that my boyfriend can’t come with me. I’m going to miss him a lot, but it is only 3 weeks and we can see each other again. It would be fantastic to share it with him though.

Take care readers and I’ll update you as soon as I can!

Last week I stumbled across this post on Tumblr. It has also been featured on a few very high profile magazine blogs and the lady that wrote it has been inundated with messages from teens coming out. She and her husband are an inspiration and something more parents should aspire to. Here is her post.

“Mommy, they are just like me.”

My oldest son is six years old and in love for the first time.  He is in love with Blaine from Glee.

For those who don’t know Blaine is a boy…a gay boy, the boyfriend of one of the main characters, Kurt.

This isn’t a ‘he thinks Blaine is really cool’ kind of love.  It is a mooning at a picture of Blaine’s face for a half hour followed by a wistful “He’s so pretty” kind of love.

He loves the episode where two boys kiss.  My son will call people in from other parts of the house to make sure they don’t miss his ‘favorite part.’  He’s been known to rewind it and watch it over again…and force other to, as well, if he doesn’t think people have been paying enough attention.

This infatuation doesn’t bother me or his father.  We live in a very hip-liberal neighborhood, many of our friends are gay, and idea of having a gay son isn’t something that bothers either of us.  Our son is going to be who he is, and it is our job to love him.  End of story.

He is also six.  Six year olds get obsessed with all kinds of things.  This might not mean anything at all.  We always joke that he’s either gay, or we have the best blackmail material in the history of mankind when he’s a 16 year old straight boy. (Take that naked bath time pictures!)

Then the other day we were traveling across the state listening to the Warblers album (of course), and in the middle of Candles, my son pipes up from the back seat.

“Mommy, Kurt and Blaine are boyfriends.”

“Yes, they are,” I affirm.

“They don’t like kissing girls.  They just kiss boys.”

“That’s true.”

“Mommy, they are just like me.”

“That’s great, baby.  You know I love you no matter what?”

“I know…” I could hear him rolling his eyes at me.

When we got home I recapped this conversation to his Dad, and we stood simply looking into each other’s eyes for a moment.  Then we smiled.

“So if at 16 he wants to make a big announcement at the dinner table, we can say ‘You told us when you were six.  Pass the carrots’ and he’ll be disappointed we stole his big dramatic moment,” my husband says with a laugh and hugs me.

Only time will tell if my son is gay, but if he is I am glad he’s mine.  I am glad he has been born into our family.  A family full of people who will love and accept him.  People who will never want him to change.  With parents who will look forward to dancing at his wedding.

And I have to admit, Blaine would be a really cute son-in-law.

Once more I bring you the readers who have submitted some self portrait shots. Some of you have sent me more than one image but I’m selecting the best and posting those for the competition.

Today, from left to right we have Andreas, David, Lex and Kent and once again we have quite a diverse range of self portraits. Keep them coming in guys. I’m working on a prize for the winner.

This was filmed backstage during Kylie’s Aphrodite Les Folies world tour and it’s a beautiful simple acoustic version of her hit “Breathe”. The song was off her “Impossible Princess” album from 1997 which didn’t do well commercially at the time even though critics loved it. It’s since become a bit of a cult Kylie album.

A few people on the Kylie Facebook page are hollering for Kylie to do an acoustic greatest hits album. God knows I’d buy it. Kylie herself has floated the idea of doing a tour of smaller venues doing acoustic and different versions of her hits. I say YES PLEASE!

Last night a reader posted a comment about one of the self portrait entries that was mean spirited and nasty. Whether it was meant that way or not, there was not a shred of tact involved. Clearly this reader has something against foreskins and thinks it’s “sad” to have a foreskin. That reader is entitled to his opinion and to post it. However, I would expect my readers to have some common courtesy and post comments constructively and tactfully and not as a personal attack.

I debated deleting the comment but knowing my loyal readers I knew that there would be several comments pulling the commenter into line by the time I woke up this morning. The original commenter has commented again that I am entitled to delete the comment. My argument is that I shouldn’t have to. The internet has become a hotbed of insulting and rude behaviour veiled by anonymity. I don’t want to censor my readers thoughts but I do ask people to bear in mind how they would feel if they had bravely put themselves out there on the internet and someone said the same comment about them.

And still the entries come! Tonight I’m sharing two more self portrait challenge entries with you all. On the left is Erik, AKA The Nude Canadian Boy who also submitted an entry to a Winter Nudity Challenge I had some years ago.

On the right is a beautiful photo by Curtis. I don’t know much about Curtis other than he reads the blog and is an enthusiastic photographer.

A few years ago a reader pulled me up on using photos of guys taken at the beach without their consent, the kind taken with a zoom lens and a sneaky attitude. Since then I haven’t used any photos where I don’t think the subject knew they were being shot.

Having been a regular on nude beaches for some years now it would be probably a bit foolish of me to assume that someone hadn’t taken sneaky photos of me or my friends and that they may well turn up on the internet at some point. While I don’t think it’s right I think I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it may happen.

How would you react if it happened to you?

Now I don’t know how old these photos are but they almost make planking cool again. I know I posted about nude planking recently but these photos just keep turning up. It appears that planking isn’t just a solo sport, it can be played in teams or trios, even face to face. There are usually onlookers present so it is a sport for the exhibitionist or not shy.

My favourite is definitely the guy planking nude INSIDE a full fish tank (below). Absolute gold.

Update: Link to the second image is now fixed.

So who did you want to win Ski Camp? You’ve had your time to vote and here it is, the final episode!

The creative team behind Sydney’s fantastic Bondi Beach and Opera House flash mobs are joining forces with the amazing team behind Australian Marriage Equality to create a video to send a message to the Australian government that the vast majority of Australians are supportive of marriage equality.

They are looking for people to register for the event that will take place on 25th September in Sydney’s Town Hall. The more people we can get the stronger the message will be. Please show your support and share the facebook event with everyone you know. The movement is gaining momentum here in Australia in a very positive way but we still have some very conservative, eccentric and vocal politicians speaking up against us so the fight is heating up too.

I am a romantic and have always thought I’d love to get married, but it’s only been recently especially since I’ve found myself in a relationship with a man I love that I’ve realised how important this is to me. Please show your support.

Here we are with more entrants in the Self Portrait challenge. First up on the left is the lovely Damien from 2 Cents Worth. Damien is a total sweetheart and a dirty bear when he wants to be, judging from the stories he tells me.

On the right is Mickey from China who also contributed to the previous incarnation of the self portrait challenge. Wherever that shot is it looks deliciously warm and sunny there.

I’ve already got four entries in the self portrait challenge. Two are from long time friends of the blog and contributors to other challenges but we also have two new contributors.

From left to right, in order of submission we have blog buddy, nudie and all round nice guy Matthew from NYCdancer. Then we have our hottie straight boy Hiram who has featured on these pages several times including in the aussieBum fitness challenge last year. Next up is Azza from the other side of Australia over in Perth. He took this shot of himself in Bali on holiday. From what I know of Azza it certainly captures him. He’s happiest when he’s nude in the sunshine. Lastly on the right we have Darin who tells me he is going to be at Burning Man too.

Thanks to the guys for entering the competition. Keep the entries coming guys and remember, they don’t have to be nudes. These guys are just comfortable getting their junk out.

For those of you feeling like you need a bit more coverage at the beach aussieBum has just released some new longer boardies for you all! They look pretty cool, especially on Matt, running along the beach.

Several years ago I met a guy out and we spent a few weeks catching up. He’d just moved back to Sydney after working as a Jackeroo (farm hand) out in the Australian bush at some of the enormous farming properties out there. Not long after he decided that the city wasn’t for him and moved back out to the bush. My impression was that he was struggling with his sexuality and trying to reconcile being a bit of a cowboy and rugged Aussie bloke with his attraction to men. He’s certainly not alone in that experience. Not too long ago I became friends with him on facebook and talking to him again I thought he might be an interesting interview subject. Like most country guys, he’s a man of few words, so the questions are longer than some of the responses.

The boys from Ski Camp are back, this time uncut! This is the behind the scenes, bloopers, gratuitous fleshy bits that weren’t in the official episodes! The guys behind Ski Camp and SameSame are going to Burning Man too so it will be interesting to see what they make of that!