Let the weekend begin!

Another successful HNT has come and gone! As usual, there were a couple of old-timers that dropped off the Nekkid rolls, and a good number of newbies. The guys are beginning to make their mark, creativity is high, and more and more people are joining in! Andi got a new camera--that should mean even better posts in the future! CindyLou is still basing her pics on whatever Darrel comes up with--and doing a very fine job! Bez continues to raise the bar--time for the step ladder! Lizabeth in Spandex--always a good thing! All in all, a great day. I've updated the blogrolls, but there's technically a little time before Thursday ends, so I'll clean things up in the morning if I need to. I've tried to comment on everybody's, but if I missed you, I apologize. There's just getting to be too many to keep track of! Keep up the good work, boys and girls!

I want to try something for the next "Half-Nekkid Thursday". For those of you in the US, we'll be celebrating the 4th of July this weekend. Beer, sun, fun, beer, road trips, beer....you get the idea. I'd like next week's HNT pics to be patriotic, fireworks, picnics, brass bands, Mom & apple pie celebrations. Take your cameras out with you this weekend and be proud you're an American! Let's have some All-American HNT pictures! However, I draw the line on bottle-rockets-out-the-butt pics. Please. For those of you who don't celebrate the 4th, feel free to take pics this weekend on your picnics/beer drinking/road trips or whatever you do this weekend!

On a personal note--many thanks for the concern for my eye problem! I have to confess though--the picture was taken last summer. It was a bugger then, but it's fine now!

Everyone have a safe and fun holiday--even you Canadians! I've got gigs with the band all three nights out at the lake, so I hope to have some pics up at some point! Buckle up! Don't drink & drive! Set on ground, light fuse, and GET AWAY! God Bless America!!

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iTunes: I Got You Babe, Sonny & Cher

The Nekkidness Continues...

This is what happens when allergies and hay fever collide with tired eyes on a gorgeous summer night in Montana. It probably didn't help that I was rubbing them silly, but I couldn't even keep them open. We were lucky to get this shot! Being the socially responsible person that I am, I'm posting only a small picture. If you want the full sized one, click here!
~~~Be forewarned--it's a scary picture!~~~

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iTunes: Powerhouse, Spike Jones

One, two, nine, eleventy-seven, ...

Anybody heard why Haloscan has decided to quit keeping an accurate count of comments on random blogs? Damned inconvenient!

Nothing exciting

Started this post by using Blogger's photo thing. I need to spend more time with it. I had pictures overlapping and text running over the pictures. I don't think it's supposed to work that way....

Took these pics a couple of days ago. The first is sunrise on the first day of summer. The second is later on during the day--the torrential rain that has been marking most of the afternoons so far.


As I was watching SVU tonight, I heard a great deal of noise coming from my slut bird friend's place on the balcony. Yes, she's been at it again, and at all hours of the day. And now her prospective lovers are lining up to get a piece of the action. The slut bird is a sparrow. I know that for a fact. This bird was next in line. I'm not sure what type of bird it is, but it ain't a sparrow. But it's definitely a noisy SOB! I've heard of "Whistle While You Work," but this guy tends to get way out of control! It's nice to know my slut bird friend will screw anything, regardless of race, creed or color!

New Blogger feature

Did you guys check this out? You can add pictures directly to Blogger, rather than uploading them someplace else first! You get picture size options and text wrapping options too! IT'S ABOUT FLIPPIN' TIME! This is my first attempt using it. Hopefully this will keep fairly stable. It'll certainly be a time saver! Read all about it on your Dashboard!

Explanations

Somebody asked what PeeMan was doing his business on. For me, it's Safari--Apple's browser. It's far superior to IE or Netscape. Faster, less buggy, and an all-around good browser. I guess when you get used to something working so well, you just expect it to be perfect. It died on me with no warning late, late Thursday night. I suppose it was fate, because it had been a good week, and I wasn't pissed at anyone/anything. Until then. So thanks, PeeMan! Firefox is definitely going to be checked out soon....

The alarm clock was a request from Moose, who's been having to get up early this week. She has issues with her alarm clock. She needs to resolve them at some point, but in the meantime, this pee's for you!

Clarification

There seems to be a slight misconception amongst some visitors and participants to "Half-Nekkid Thursday" as to what its purpose is. I've gotten comments and references that insinuate that the reason I've been pushing this whole idea is just a sneaky way to get girls (and guys) to undress. Can you believe that??? I'm hurt, offended and a little bit disappointed.

I have always maintained that HNT was a way for bloggers to meet new friends and venture outside their own little circle of bloggerfriends. The pictures are like advertising. THERE'S NOT ONE OF US WHO HASN'T SEEN AN INCREASE IN VISITS! THERE'S NOT ONE OF US WHO HASN'T ENJOYED THE GLOWING COMMENTARY THAT'S BEEN LEFT BEHIND!! AND I DOUBT THAT THERE'S ANY OF US WHO HASN'T GONE BACK TO VISIT THEIR NEW NEKKID FRIENDS!!! As proof of the increased visits--this is a chart of the visits to my site over the past 31 days. Guess what days show the spikes....


My point being--we are selling ourselves. And our own blogs. And it's working! Some of us don't need to do that, but enjoy it anyway. For alot of the rest of us, HNT offers a fun way to invite the rest of the world to check us out, and to make new friends, and gets us out of our own little circles.

To those who feel that there's some other purpo....... DAMMIT! I almost made it through without laughing out loud! Of course it's a way to get people to show some skin! Keep it up, people! We're getting noticed!!

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iTunes: 25 or 6 to 4, Chicago

Exhausted!

I had no idea that HNT was going to be so time-consuming! I just spent the better part of 3+ hours checking posts, looking at comments, responding to comments, updating my blogroll, and trying to make sure that everyone got included! Then another half hour preparing this post, before Safari crashed on me (no Mac jokes, please!). AAAUUURRRGGGGHHHH!
Damned Safari!!

I think that the easiest way for you to keep up is to check my nekkid list in the sidebar. I'll try to have it updated by Friday morning. If I've missed someone, please let me know! I think that we can keep up the peer pressure. Ian has promised that he's got a bunch of lurkers ready to come out of the dark and join in. He does warn that they are "really butt ugly people". I say, the more the merrier! I think that someone needs to talk to Katarina, Veronica, Stace, Amanda, Laura and Binsk. With encouragement, I think they'd be great additions! Your mission, should you choose to accept it....

If I were really on top of things, I'd actually give prizes each week. But I'm not. I can, however, load on heaps of praise like the sautéed onions on a York Bar swiss cheeseburger! Please remember, there are no losers on "Half-Nekkid Thursday"! My congratulations to the following:

• Most courageous post: There were alot of you in the running here, but I think the winner would have to be Bez (Crazy Cat Lady). She took the bull by the horns and ran with it!
  
• Most enjoyable post: I think that hippigirl claims this one. She's drinkin', gettin' cool, and just became a grandma a few days ago!
  
• Best "cute" factor: Cathy claims this one. Nekkid little kids will almost always get an "Awwww...."
  
• Post that takes your breath away: I'll do two of these--male & female. For male, Jason gets the nod. I'm told that the shoulders did it for him. On the female side, it's going to be newcomer Summer. She's the shizzle!
  
• Best use of props or sets: There's a tie for this one. Robin wins for taking a picture that you actually had to go looking for half-nekkididity, when it was staring you in the face, and S! for a highly original picture that he claims came to him during his lunch hour. Both he and the billboard behind him are half-nekkid! Kudos to the newbies!

I could probably come up with more categories, but I have to get up in a few hours. Good job this week, boys & girls!

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iTunes: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, Kenny Chesney

HNT Guest Hosting

just.a.girl is on the road to Portland for the weekend, so I'm taking care of her HNT submission. I'm not quite sure what she'd write along with this, other than to note the belly jewelry. I guess you can leave comments for her here. She'll get them. Be generous!

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iTunes: Hanky Panky, Madonna

HNT Strikes Again!

Geez--things are starting up already, and I don't hit Thursday for another 90 minutes! Better get this done....

Thought I'd bump things up a level this week for "Half-Nekkid Thursday"! However, it ain't me! Somewhere in the middle of this picture is a friend of mine. But that's not the important part here. It's the photo manipulation. If you have Photoshop or some other type of program, there's all sorts of possibilities! And before the question is asked--no, this isn't a bloggerfriend. It's not Rachel, Moose or just.a.girl. Sorry! Here's some other works of art--


There you go--who can beat that today? Let the games begin~~

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iTunes: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2

Minor site changes

A couple of changes to the place here.

I took down the poll. It was a cute idea that ran its course. Or in other words--you guys just weren't into it. I'll hang on to it in the deep recesses of the bloggerdom in case something good comes up. In its place I've listed just a few of the numerous comments regarding HNT. It's always good to have good press! These are actual quotes--not ones that I've made up myself. From comments to my blog, or from others' blogs. If any of you don't want your quote up there, let me know. I can take you off.

I've added a new link to my favorites. It's a blog, but doesn't really have that sort of feel to it. Factum is a site where you can send in your own humorous pictures. The photos that are up are hilarious! It looks like it's updated on a daily basis. Some very funny stuff. Thanks to Shumpy for the link from his blog!

Lastly--not a change, but an observation. There's some trash talk happening about HNT! There are challenges being thrown down and promises of outstanding submissions! Now I'm not one to stifle creativity and expression, but I would remind the more modest of you out there that "nekkid does not mean naked!" If you haven't checked them out yet, I'd browse through the guidelines. I'd hate to see this thing fall apart because people thought that nudity was the goal here. IT'S NOT! Hence the term "half-nekkid"! By the same token, though, feel free to post as much nekkidness as you'd like! There will be some who have no problems with that. Remember that this isn't a contest--it's a chance to express one's half-nekkidness!

For those of you talkin' smack--I also encourage that! And just so you know, my HNT submission for this week will have you all crying in your beers!

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iTunes: I've Got Better Things To Do, Terri Clark

Well, THAT was interesting...

As mentioned before, PRIDE Weekend has hit Helena. PRIDE is the gay/lesbian/bi/trans/etc. group in Montana. The high point of tonight's festivities was a drag show at one of the more popular bars in town, then dancing until the bar closed. So the Goddess (just.a.girl) and one of her roommates (Melissa) and I went down to check out the show. Well, the place was packed. We had to stand throughout the show, but we were relatively close. All I can say is--what a disappointment! I guess I went in with higher expectations. What I got was a poor sound system, equally poor dancing, and lip synching that, for lack of a better term, sucked. And a couple of un-funny comedians. But an odd thing happened--we sort of had fun! To be fair, there was one very fine queen who was in a totally different league than the rest of them. And the emcee was quite comfortable in his/her role (see picture below). Beyond that it was not very good. But it was fun! And crowded! And if we get half that crowd tonight, it's going to be a good time! This picture was taken shortly after the show:
From the left: Melissa; Her Most Imperial Sovereign Majesty,The Sparkly Tinsel Glinda-Bubble From Graceland, Empress 10 of all Montana, Ophelia Uppe-Bouvier; His Most Imperial Soveriegn Majesty, The X-tracurricular Emperor, Emperor 10 of all Montana, Tim; and the Goddess. Yes, they hold those "titles". And I think Ophelia and Tim are an item, but I'm not sure. The good news--none of was propositioned, though the girls thought alot of the guys were hot. And about half of the girls seemed to be the college-age, experimental type. Of course, there were those on both sides that definitely rode side-saddle, but the whole thing seemed almost more mainstream than kinky. Then again, where else but Montana can you find a drag queen lip-synching and dancing to Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places?"

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iTunes: Pour Me, Trick Pony

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!

Today is the birthday of America's favorite spiritual animal lovin' liberal vegetarian hippie chick. Yes, Juliepatchouli turns 37 today!!


Note the long, athletic legs and her quirky "don't mess with me, boys!" expression. And no, the "L" on her uniform doesn't stand for Lesbian. It stands for LOVE!
Some other things about her:

While she appears to be standing tall here, she checks in these days at around 5' nothin'.

She grew up on the lake. Not sure which one, but she did.

She likes farts. Anyone's farts. They make her giggle.

She likes Law & Order (and really, who doesn't?).

She's one of the few people I know who likes Viktor Krauss (or even knows who he is!).

Tulips are her favorite flower; asparagus is her favorite veggie.

She drives a big truck.

Julie's had a rough stretch over the past 4-6 months (which, coincidentally is about the amount of time that I've been reading her blog--do I sense a problem here?). Do something nice today and go over and wish her a Happy Birthday! I know she'd love it!

Happy 37th, Jules!!

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iTunes: (We're An) American Band, Grand Funk Railroad

Friday thoughts...

Another rousing day of "Half-Nekkid Thursday". Be sure to check the regulars and the new ones listed in the sidebar.

Other thoughts...

• In order to allow everyone to see this week's HNT submissions, I had to move some of my dearest regulars to the "lower" set of links. Even though the only difference in the lists is the nekkidness or lack thereof, I found myself feeling uncomfortable moving some of my favorite bloggers to the "lower" list. Trust me, I don't love you guys any less! I guess the moral of this--if you want the top billing, you need to show us you're nekkid on Thursday!
  
• Is it wrong for me to think that Dierks Bentley is one of the finest looking men to show up on TV? Those eyes, that curly head of hair. Mmmm, if I were female......
  
• I didn't explain why I had PeeMan attacking Ticketmaster. I was able to buy tickets to see the Rolling Stones in Portland, OR in November. I got floor seats, and didn't spring for the really pricey tickets, but I forked out a buttload of money for the privilege. My problem with TM is that they were a pain to order online. Yeah, busy servers, everyone trying to order at the same time, etc. But still, it should have been a little easier!
  
• PeeMan is squirting on the Weather Channel because we're getting more rain for the rest of the week. I long for the days when we were in drought conditions and it was sunny and hot all the time...
  
• No requests for the second PeeMan, so he won't be up this week. Oops! Just had a late request...
  
• We (In Cahoots) will be playing Saturday night for PRIDE! this weekend. This is the gay/lesbian/transgender/etc. group in Montana. This will be the 6th year in a row that we'll play for their dance. They love us! On a positive note, there's alot more acceptance now. When they met in Helena 6 years ago, they marched from downtown to the state capitol. Complete with protesters along the route with truly tacky & hateful signs. It took alot of guts for these people and their supporters to do. THIS year, they're having a drag queen contest/show at one of the most popular bars in town! I'll try to get some pics from the gig. They are a good time!
  
• I've determined that I'm getting too old to drink beer like I did last night. Won't change my habits, but it made for a really long day today.

That's it for now. If you happen to notice that someone needs to be bumped up to the "nekkid" list, let me know!

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iTunes: Faith, George Michael

'Tis the day!

This is the remnants of the Wednesday "Alive @ 5". You have to get a wrist band to drink, even though you've got a full head of really gray hair (like myself). Note that it says "Mt. Helena Music Festival, July 15-17". That would be leftovers from last year. Not everything that Downtown Helena works! There doesn't seem to be any identification involved in getting a wristband--if you've got the balls to go ask for beer, I think they give you a band. Rachel met me down there by the beer and should have a picture up later today too! Anyway, this is my submission!

For those of you who haven't figured out Alive @ 5--it's a chance to get together with a few thousand of your best friends to drink beer in downtown Helena. Oh, yeah--there's live music and food, and it changes locations each week. The picture below shows the crowd to the north--
and to the south--
A fun time is generally had by all.


Finally, because she's old enough to go to these things on her own--my niece (N2) on the left, and one of her many cousins on the right (no relation to me). Damn, didn't I do well with my nieces??? Back off perverts! She's only 16....

Two things

First off--this was the scene from my balcony tonight at around 6:30 (though you can't see it, the slut bird's nest is in the corner of the awning here). You can see 2 distinct rainbows, and what appears to almost be a dark strip between them. The rain we've been getting is getting old, but when you see something like this, you sort of forget about it for a few minutes. "Cue the harps!" "Send in the dog!" "Tornado--be ready..."




The second thing is about this guy--

Yes, this is Dad, and today is his 72nd birthday. Since it's close to Father's Day, I'll take care of business here, too. This man has supported me through thick and thin. He hasn't always understood the paths I've chosen over the years, but he's never tried to interfere. He worked very hard at his dental practice to put 4 kids through college, and still have enough money left over to spend 3 months/year in Hawaii for the past dozen years or so (my inheritance going right down the tubes there....). He's been married to the same woman for almost 49 years. He's bailed me out of jail, not when I was a teenager, but in my mid-30's. He's survived 2 major heart attacks within 2 months of each other. That was 9 summers ago. He used to smoke like a chimney, but quit cold turkey after the first attack. He will give you the shirt off his back. I have never heard a negative word said about him. He's been strong through some adversity, but cried like a baby when his mother-in-law died. He is on a variety of blood thinning meds that make his face purple. And if you look at his arm funny it will bruise. He's got two new knees, will be getting a new hip this winter. He still plays 18 holes of golf about 4 times/week. He has made peace with the fact that I will probably not be carrying on the family name. And he's glad that his daughters were fertile.

He is the greatest man I have ever known. Perhaps that's why it hurt so badly when two of my bloggerfriends lost their fathers unexpectedly this spring. I wish you guys had the chance to see your dads in your later years. I don't take it lightly that Dad saw the "light" when he was on the table for the second heart attack. I cherish the golf we still get to play together and the family dinners with all of us. So Happy Father's Day (early), and Happy Birthday! I love ya, Dad

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iTunes: Panama Red, New Riders of the Purple Sage

Flag Day!

No one seems to have mentioned the fact that today is Flag Day (Canadian friends are excused from knowing that). There are others far better educated/equipped to write about the flag, patriotism, history, and related areas, so I will leave it to them.

In the area that I do know something about (music), I can only say this: the Star Spangled Banner should be banished from the lips of all Americans. They can't sing it. Only opera singers, trained for dozens of years, should be allowed to attempt it. And under NO circumstances should any of the current crop of pop "singers" even try. Jimi Hendrix had the right idea. He knew he couldn't sing it vocally, so he let the guitar do it for him. (As an aside, it's ironic that for all the controversy his version brought, one of the branches of the Armed Forces actually used it in the background of one of their recruitment commercials!)

And why do we sing a song about a flag for our national anthem, rather than about the country itself? Do Canadians sing about maple leafs blowing through the air? The poem (lyrics) are heroic enough, and if you actually read all the verses, it's a fine piece of prose. But as a national anthem, it's terrible! Yes, the flag is a symbol of America, so let's honor them both with a decent piece of music!!

I suppose the final irony about the song is that the tune is actually an old English drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven". Which is appropriate, since the only way for the common folk to sing it well is to be inebriated. So lift your pints high, and sing for Flag Day!

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iTunes: Lucretia MacEvil, Blood, Sweat & Tears

Unintentional HNT

If you're already running out of ideas for "Half-Nekkid Thursday", check out this girl's photoblog to get some tasteful ideas. Her name is justagirl (not to be confused with just.a.girl--aka "The Goddess"). She's from the Netherlands, and I'm pretty sure she's never heard of HNT. But she's got the idea down pretty well. Even gets the boyfriend involved a little!

Other things on my mind--MJ is acquitted on all charges. Doesn't surprise me. Not sure what to think. What's going to be sad is that, to pay his attorneys' fees, he'll embark on a worldwide tour and sell out every concert. Primarily in Europe, Japan and Singapore.

I have an appointment with Midas to get my brakes replaced on Wed. Somewhere along the lines, I didn't hear the "chirping" that's supposed to warn you that your brakes are almost shot. But I can definitely hear the grinding of metal on metal now. Since this is Montana, I'll still drive around tomorrow, and hope that they don't fail completely. As I'm on my way to the bank to make sure I have the $$$ for what I'm sure is going to be a pricey repair....

The sun was out for the entire day. We haven't had that in many weeks. On a day like today, I wish I had a job like Rachel's. Well, truth be known, I sort of do, but I don't make any money at it.

Update on the watermelon drinks. Gatorade makes a decent one, but sort of tastes like Jolly Ranchers. And the Bacardi is better than the Seagram's. Just a tad more authentic.

My neighbors in the apartment below me are smokers. But rather than stink up their apartment, they sit out on their front porch and allow the smoke to come drifting in through my open windows. I don't mind the BBQ smells, but the cigarettes really suck. Would it be inappropriate to dump a bucket of cold water on them while yelling "FIRE!!"?

I'm sure there's more, but that's it for now.

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iTunes: Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me, Willie Nelson/Rob Thomas

New 'Puters! (sorta)

For those who haven't figured it out from prior posts, I'm a Mac geek. And proud of it! I shall never apologize for it. I shall continue to snicker at PCers downloading their weekly updates from MicroPuke. And I shall always quietly shake my head when friends buy new computers from Dell or Gateway, thinking that they're saving $$$ (sorry, Moose--I've kept quiet for so long...).

That having been said, I'll admit that I've had a couple of problems with Macs. In particular, I've had two of them go tits up on me in the past year. Fortunately, I picked up one of these last summer before that happened: That's right, a 17" Powerbook. Oh, my! It's the only thing that's kept me sane. Probably the last computer I'll buy for a couple of years. Shortly after I got it, my 12" iBookdecided it couldn't find the hard drive anymore. I took it apart, replaced the HD, and put it back together. And still had two screws and a tiny little spring left over. Needless to say, it still didn't work, but it had a new HD. It's been sitting on a shelf in its misery.
My desktop computer, a tangerine iMac, still worked fine until February, when I couldn't wake it from a deep, deep coma. But that's OK. I still had my Powerbook.

For whatever reason, and without going into detail, I was able to raise both of these computers from the lowly doorstop status that is usually reserved for the Dells and Gateways of the world! Mind you, I tried the exact same things on them months ago, but the wise and all-knowing Steve Jobs must have been looking down on me this night! Granted, I wasn't about to screw things up, so I was up until 4AM completing the installations of Panther (OSX 10.3). And all the assorted updates they'd missed out on. Forty-eight hours later they're still working fine! They've slept, they've turned on and off, they've woken up. They're networked into the system and all 3 have been talking to each other. I'm so happy! Now if I can just figure out what to do with the two screws and the tiny little spring...

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iTunes: Over the Rainbow, Eva Cassidy

NASCAR

I may be just a hick from Montana, but other than spending the entire weekend in a drunken stupor, can ANYONE explain to me the allure, reason or need for NASCAR races? Or why I would want to spend an entire afternoon in front of a TV watching it? Or why it's gotten so popular with otherwise "normal" people?

Please realize that I'm not trying to offend NASCAR enthusiasts in regions that actually have a track withing 100 miles (which would be the entire southeastern US, isn't it?). If I lived there, I'm sure I'd be in the middle of it myself. But I think the nearest track to MT would be in Vegas, and if I'm going to Vegas, it ain't to see NASCAR. It's to gamble, party, maybe catch a show and drink w/YNH.

While you're at it, can you also explain to me how it's considered a "sport", the same way that competitive cheerleading is? Thank you in advance....

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iTunes: Man, I Feel Like A Woman, Shania Twain

OCD

I ran across this link whilst browsing yesterday. It's pictures that a guy (I think) took of his mother's obsession with collecting and eBay. Now I'm not one who throws anything away. I still have every letter/note/card I ever received from Volcano Girl. I still have my Monkees bubble gum card collection. Somewhere in storage I have a small bag of rocks I collected from a Cub Scout outing. But what this guy documents is beyond reason.

At first, you might find it comical. I did. But as you continue through them, you begin to feel very sad. There's plenty of questions regarding the photographer as well, such as, "If you're living there with her, do something about it!", but I think there's some issues there too.

I hereby put it in writing--if I ever go nutso like this, any one of you, my blogger friends (preferably one of my half-nekkid ones), can beat me senseless. Feel free to use the golf clubs I got when I was in 3rd grade. They're in the front closet, under the boxes of 8-tracks, next to my letterman's jacket....

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iTunes: Home Sweet Home, Mötley Crüe

Update on My Slut Bird Friend

It's been pretty gloomy around here for weeks. The sun doesn't come out until mid-morning at the earliest. Hence I haven't been getting up at the ass crack of dawn like I did a month ago. And neither has my slut bird friend or her wide array of suitors. Well, for whatever reason, both the sun and the birds woke me this morning. But the noise is different...

My slut bird friend is no longer being boned by every avian creature in the sky. No, she's adapted to the rigors of motherhood. Someone scored! My morning wasn't interrupted by the squawks and chirps of passion. It was interrupted by the ungrateful peeps and screams of hunger! Triplets or quadruplets, I'm guessing. Her nest is in the corner of the awning of my balcony, and as soon as I step out there, they all go silent. Like I'm not supposed to know that they're there. Like I haven't had to listen to their incessant bitching all morning.

Apparently the word has gotten out to her other slut friends. I've got more visitors now than I did before when she was giving herself away for free. I open the door to the balcony, and 4-6 birds fly off surprised. Like they were teenage boys caught peeping in the bedroom windows (sort of reminds me of my dad and my sisters' "boyfriends", but that's a different story). The girlie friends come by and they seem to carry on a conversation about how cute the new ones are. And in true slut form, she hasn't a clue as to who the father is, so all the possible candidates also show up and strut around, showing their friends that, yes, I'm not shooting blanks, and no, she's not asking me to be a part of their lives, and does is get any better than this??

I figure that in a few weeks, the young ones will fly the coop, and my slut bird friend is going to be feelin' horny again, and the whole cylce will repeat itself. My mornings will once again be filled with the sounds of horny bird rapture. That'll be OK though. By that time I'll be wanting to get up early for mid-summer fun myself. I'll keep you updated...

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iTunes You Can't Fall Up, Tower of Power

Another great HNT!

Our biggest and best "Half-Nekkid Thursday" to date! New players, daring poses, and a non-human entry! We had it all! I've sprung for the $20/year to get the upgraded version of Blogrolling, so now I've got HNT participants listed in a separate roll over there in the sidebar. If you haven't checked them all out, you need to! Some are great (and I DO mean GREAT!), and others are just putting their toe into the water to check things out, and that's fine too! For future "Half-Nekkid Thursdays" I'll place new links in that roll. If you see/hear of one that I missed, let me know and I'll add them.

PeeMan has two new targets. There's a story for Ticketmaster that I'll get to at a later date. I got the tickets--just had a real hassle with them. I won't name the gentleman getting an earful. Some of you might recognize him. Let's just say it was a request. I had mentioned earlier that I wouldn't take requests, but I've changed my mind. If you really want me to do it, ask me and I'll see what I can do. No more than 2 PeeMans per week--one for me, one for you.

A humbling experience as I was perusing the various sites--I was pretty proud of the fact that I had over 150 hits today. Far more than any other day in Bloggerworld. Even more than St. Patrick's Day! And I notice that my sitemeter counter was sitting at 3600 and counting since Jan. 21st! I was feeling pretty cocky, until I see someone's in the 8000 hit range since mid-April. And someone else's poll question had over 100 responses to it. And another blog consistently had over 30 comments for every post. Suddenly I felt small. Very small. Then I looked over Blogrolling's Top 100 list for the past hour. I didn't recognize a single blog. NOT A SINGLE ONE!! Then I start hearing Carl Sagan's voice talking about "billyuns and billyuns of ....." It was at this point that I realized that, for as diverse as we all are (Canadian, Texan, Montanan, et. al.), with our little private links from here to there, we are an insignificant part of a vastly huge community. But you know what? We have "Half-Nekkid Thursday"! And that's a good thing!

If I don't get a chance to post anything else soon, I hope you all have a great weekend!

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iTunes: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Elton John

"Half-Nekkid Thursday"

Hope this picture doesn't give people nightmares! Early entries for "Half-Nekkid Thursday" have been posted by just.a.girl (also known as "The Goddess"), newbie Jason, and Rachel. Oh, Rachel! The bar has been raised for the rest of us! Do not be afraid of this! Look upon it as a challenge!

If you're new and looking for some guidelines, go here. If you've gotten someone who's new at this, come back here to let us know about them so we can check them out. Remember, I'm in command of "Nekkid Central". Hopefully this site will be the place to check up on others. If I get really good in the future, I might add a separate blogroll of Nekkid People! Spread the word! It's "Half-Nekkid Thursday"!

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iTunes: South City Midnight Lady, Doobie Brothers

Nirvana!

Toilet paper. Serves one basic function. Cleaning up a toxic waste dump. There are two ways to look at toilet paper. Buy the cheapest you can find, because, after all, you're just going to be flushing it down the crapper. And really, how many of us like throwing money down the toilet? Or the other way to look at it--if you're going to have to use the stuff on a daily basis (I would hope), why not pamper yourself a little bit?

I'll admit, I've always been the type to buy the cheapest TP I can find. Leaves that extra little money for a six-pack or frozen burritos or stuff like that. Single-ply, unscented, white TP. A staple of the American bachelor. Well, I was on my last roll over the weekend (NEVER find yourself on your last roll!), so I ran to the store because, with my luck, I'd find myself in the midst of a nasty case of the runs with one square of TP left. As I'm walking down the "paper products" aisle, a unexplained force guides me to the Charmin. You know Charmin (Mr. Whipple says, "Don't squeeze the Charmin!"). I decide that the frozen burritos could wait this time around. I bought the Charmin (24 rolls--no sense in being skimpy here, since I decided to take the plunge).

Nirvana! Ecstasy! Joy and rapture! The squeezable softness! The gentleness of two-ply as it brushes against your skin! If this is how the moderately rich live, I want to be a part of it! For those of you stuck with the cheap single-ply stuff, I highly recommend giving yourself a treat. Your whole demeanor will change. The sun will shine brighter, the birds' songs will sound cheerier. It'll be a damned fine day to be alive! For those of you who have already known the secret of Charmin, shame on you for not letting the rest of us know! And to Mr. Whipple--you're my newest hero!

No Comment...

I'm disappointed and just a tad hurt that no one has made any comments or even a mention of my new addition to Haloscan. I guess I'm just not as popular as I thought.....

Wedding thoughts...

There's too many stories to tell from last night, and most of them would bore you. It was non-traditional day in a number of ways, but only rated about a 5 out of 10 on the weird-o-meter. With a spike up to 11 at one point. I posted some pics on my other site. The highlights/lowlights:

• The ceremony/dinner/dance took place at a lodge tucked into the mountains south of town. The bride & groom chartered a bus to get people up there, which means we had a captive crowd. Most of the guests were from out of state (California, for the most part). This, in itself, explains alot.
  
• This particular lodge doesn't allow you to wear shoes on their floor. The whole thing is a log construction, and the floor isn't anything spectacular, but no shoes. You can spill booze on it, or squish an errant grape on it, but you can't wear shoes. Their wait staff wears flip-flops. The rule goes for the band, too. Putting on my dress shoes at the end of the night never felt so good!
  
• Because the dinner was happening in the same room as the dance, we had to wait over 2 1/2 hours before we could set up. We didn't get to do a sound check, which caused some serious hearing loss in the band by the end of the night. We generally don't have that problem, but it was huge last night.
  
• While we were setting up, the guests were outside on the back lawn for about 45 minutes of square dancing. I kid you not. No, that's not a normal Montana thing....
  
• Most of the guests (female) were very attractive. The Princess informed me that the guys were equally attractive. All this, of course, before the alcohol took control. An added bonus--a majority of the guests appeared to be single. Methinks there was alot of unbridled sex back at the motel that they were staying at.
  
• California girls like to wear clothes that tend to show more chest than Montana girls. While there were no wardrobe malfuntions that I'm aware of, there were plenty of close calls.
  
• The gentleman in the picture above tended to dance alone most of the night. He also had an uncanny knack of clearing the entire floor while he "danced".
  
• A very large, 300+ lb. man actually stripped off his shirt, had his pants and underwear down to his ankles, and was doing weird things with a t-shirt back and forth in his crotchular region. I honestly don't think he was totally loaded. For as horrifying as this was, we later realized that we were all more horrified that no one tried to stop him, or force him to get dressed for 2 more songs!! Eventually he got back to shirt and pants, but his out-of-control "dancing" found him backing/falling into the band on more than one occassion. That's when the humor sort of faded.
  
• During a break, I was out on a porch relaxing and enjoying the crisp mountain air. All of a sudden, I'm drenched by something coming through the floorboards of the balcony above me. My immediate thought was that someone above me had just puked all over me. Fortunately (?), there weren't chunks, and it didn't come in those oh-so-familiar waves, so I assumed it was just an ice bucket being dumped out. Whatever it was, my mood soured for the rest of the evening.
  
• We were contracted to play from 6:30-10:30. We ended up playing until midnight.
  
• On the plus side, everyone danced, and most everyone sang along on the all the choruses in that drunk karaoke sort of way, so at least we weren't playing for just a handful of people.

There are plenty of other stories, but now is not the time to go into them. We played well, they loved us, and we got paid. What more could I ask? Go check out the pics on the other site!

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iTunes: Play That Funky Music, Wild Cherry

Long, long day....

Just got home from a wedding gig. Plenty of horror stories to tell, but it's damned near 2 AM, and I can't keep my eyes open. I've got some pics too, so I'll be posting sometime during the day. It actually was a fun gig, and a great crowd. But there were other things. Not the least of which was the 300+ lb. guy who gave everyone the "Full Monty". No, it wasn't me, and sorry Rachel--it wasn't Seth! Fortunately, there's no pictures of this guy. I'll post after I get a little sleep....

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iTunes: Rag Doll, Aerosmith

HNT Progress Report

We've just passed the 3rd week of "Half-Nekkid Thursday" (which will be shortened to HNT at times), and I figured we needed an update/report/justification for what we're doing. So here it goes:

• This week found some excellent submissions from the regulars. Moose, Rachel, and Julie all submitted some nice, sexy-ish pictures. Moose did a nice cleavage thing, but tried to get everyone to look at her necklace. Yeah, right.
  
• We had some newbies--not previously part of what seems to have developed as our little corner of Bloggerworld. Welcome to hippigirl, Kristin and dcliff. Kudos to dcliff who posted a great tummy picture, and to Kristin, who showed us a great (but painful) foot tattoo.
  
• Legs, feet and toes were popular this week. Thanks to Emily (who had three generations of nekkid in her picture), Jen and Darrel. Hippigirl did a foot one too, and was probably the most humorous HNT post.
  
• Two other regular bloggers entered their first pictures. Ago-go posted some pictures for something else, and since she's had a bad week (month), and no access to a camera or scanner, I allowed them to count. After all, she does show some skin! And a highly anticipated first picture from Lizabeth. A great back! Makes you want to see the front....
  
• Three observations.
  • First, the compliments from everyone towards the other pictures was wonderful. I think some people have been truly surprised at what others have to say!
    
  • Secondly, the interest that seems to be generated is growing. Alot of people are beginning to notice. The seed has been planted; the spark has been lit. People are coming on board from alot of different places.
    
  • Lastly, people are finding out that doing this on a weekly basis isn't as easy as it sounds! This is where the creativity and imagination have to start to take over! As a suggestion, take a couple of nekkid pics to hold in reserve for the weeks you don't have time or can't come up with something exciting.

The movement is gaining momentum! Don't let up! We'll keep going as long as we can! Too many exclamation points!!! Hopefully we can get more of our regular readers to join in. "Half-Nekkid Thursday" can only get bigger and better!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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iTunes: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, Kenny Chesney

PeeMan requests

I don't generally take requests, but just this once.... Don't forget to tip the band!

This week's submission

It's that time of week! It's "Half-Nekkid Thursday"!This was taken in my rear view mirror after a long, windy day of golf. The hair is a little long, and not quite as gray as it is now.

Don't forget to submit something of your own for "Half-Nekkid Thursday". Check the link in the sidebar for some guidelines. Be sure to let us know you've joined in by commenting to this post!

Be happy! Be Half-Nekkid!

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iTunes: Love Shack, B-52s

Have it OUR Way!

I don't usually get worked up about much, but once in awhile, I just get pissed off. And often it's just the little things.

Today, I broke down and went to Burger King. Middle of the afternoon, not many people. Theoretically, that means that the high school drop-outs working in the back could give my order all the attention it deserved. Apparently not. It was a simple order. Whopper Jr.w/no tomato, small fries, and a medium Dr. Pepper. I got home and, you guessed it, two honkin' big slices of tomato. Sure, it was a simple matter of opening the bun and taking them off, BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE NEEDED TO! And that gave me an idea.

My little peeing guy up above is going to be a barometer of who I'm pissed at/with for the week. Don't know how long I'll keep it up there, but it'll make me feel good this week!