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This is my friend Matty. He is a kind and generous soul, and someone that I love very much. Matty is one of those rare people with whom I would trust my life. He likes to drink Coca-Cola before bed, eat deli meat by the handful, cuddle with his dogs, educate himself about American history, loves the Arsenal football (soccer) team and is an amazing artist with a brush or pencil in his hand. He has two wonderful parents, a brother, a sister-in-law and a niece and nephew that love their Uncle Matt. He is also a reluctant rock star. It just so happens that he’s amazing at writing and performing music.

With that has come success to some degree, but also has turned him into fodder for gossip. This afternoon, an acquaintance stopped by his place to have tea and tell him something she found out. Out of their conversation sprung a post on Matt’s blog. He contacted me as soon as finding out all of this, and all I can say is that I am completely disheartened. It is easy to forget that he’s not just Matty, and that sometimes he’s Matthew Good. It’s easy to forget that his career brings about endless opportunities for gossip. It’s like he said, a few bad interviews and a satirical t-shirt have painted him as an “asshole.”

As someone who is involved in his life in a capacity other than “fan,” I want to remind everyone that when you take the time to talk smack or use hurtful words against someone because they’re a celebrity, rest assured that your words hurt. They hurt the person and they hurt that person’s loved ones.

I’m not sure who does or doesn’t read this blog, but let me take this opportunity to confirm that he is not an asshole; in fact, quite the opposite. He’s the kind of man with the kind of integrity that every man should strive to possess.

Pun intended. A few weeks ago, I dropped a bit of cash at Victoria’s Secret. True, it was all for my own self for the most part. However, I did also buy an “aphrodesiac” candle. A few days after that, a box of assorted condoms arrived in the mail courtesy of Angela Campbell. I suppose it was all somewhat based on Miranda’s idea that “if you build it, he will come.” On Sex and the City, in an effort to revive her lovin’ life, Miranda indulged in new sheets for her bed.

I believe that theory is bunk. My lovin’ life has been like the Sahara Desert this past month and a bit. It’s ridiculous. However, after speaking about this with Vanessa, we both came to the conclusion that I have not (yet) reached a point of utter despair. “Ex Sex” is absolutely off the table.

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Yesterday after work, Susan and I went to North Vancouver and West Vancouver without any real purpose. She did, however, take me to her favourite store at Park Royal, Kiss & Makeup. My first impression was that it was another version of Beautymark. It turns out that I was very wrong. Kiss & Makeup specializes in products that are designed to be excellent for your hair and skin based on all natural ingredients. A few months ago I switched all my haircare to Bumble & bumble because I wanted to use product that cared for my hair and added goodness to it, instead of stripping my hair of what it really needed.

While I was in the shop, Susan introduced me to skincare line known as Ren. Ren was developed in the UK by a husband and wife team who, after the wife became pregnant, decided to develop a line that was free of chemicals and safe for use by everyone. Considering the huge rise of lymphnode-related cancers, particularly in women, using chemical-free products is undoubtedly a smart idea. It’s no wonder cancer rates have spiked, consider what we spread all over our skin on a daily basis - sometimes twice daily. Though not proven, I’m sure it’s safe to say that a correlation can be found. I’ve been using samples of Ren over the last 24 hours and I believe it’s an investment I want to make. A pricy investment, but an investment in overall wellness.

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This past Thursday saw the final episode of the OC. When it first premiered on Fox four years ago, I was adamant that I would not fall prey to another show, let alone a teen-based soap opera. Despite my resolution, I did fall prey to it one day and I became hooked. And as the credits rolled for the last time Thursday evening, tears rolled down my cheeks. I’ve always prescribed to sentimentalism, but don’t think of my reaction as cheesy. The past few years of my life have been filled with a lot of struggle, heartache and let downs. The truth of the matter is that sometimes your friends aren’t always there for you when you need them. It’s life. I believe that my attachment to the OC was, and is, psychologically-based. Consider that here is a set group of people, albeit fictitious characters, whom I have gotten to know over the past few years. I have seen them grow, fail, succeed, struggle and face some of the same heartaches that I have felt. The only difference is that these characters are predictable in that they are always there for me like clockwork. Watching the OC became routine.

That being said, Thursday touched me like a funeral or a high school graduation. The series left no knots untied. We see the Cohens move to Berkeley and inhabit their past home, Kirsten gave birth, Julie gave birth, graduated college and married Frank, Seth and Summer eventually married after her tangent into saving the world, Taylor and Ryan made amends (though we never really know if they end up together), Caitlin cleaned up her act and focused herself on her education and everything seemed to come full circle. In the last scene we see Ryan, five years later, in the same position Sandy was in when he took Ryan into the Cohen home nearly a decade earlier. The following is a video of the last five or six minutes of the finale episode. Forgive me for the completely gay text at the beginning and ending of the video - I swear it isn’t my doing. It was the only clip of the finale that I could find online.

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I know that, inspired by her own blog, I promised Vanessa I’d post some of the hottest men in Hollywood (in my own opinion, of course). Unfortunately, that moment has now passed. I just don’t feel like doing it. What I do feel like doing is pouring myself a glass of pinot and either continuing work on my painting or settling in with Flags Of Our Fathers. Matt bought it the other day, raved about it and lent it to me. That’s it for tonight, folks. So, um, bye.

I have gone nearly two weeks without blogging. Some called me lazy. Some thought I’d given up on blogging altogether. The truth of the matter is that I’ve just been too ridiculously busy! Work, in a nutshell, has been a gong show. However, it’s slowly starting to dwindle down and return to normal. Matt has finished up laying tracks at the Warehouse, so he’s got a few days of time on his hands until he goes back on Tuesday to mix.

Hanging out doesn’t happen so much while he’s working, so last night we went to Six Acres for dinner and Czech beer and French wine. Afterwards he had some people (including “Gilberto” - that would be Rod) over at his flat for more wine and talking. By that time, I’d had so much wine I could hardly walk to bed and just passed out. Matt, on the other hand, stayed up until 2am watching Lord of the Rings, munching on almonds and sucking back Coca-Cola. And we both woke up with pounding headaches. The best cure for a headache is…

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…new shoes!


I figure that since I haven’t blogged in so long, I owe you all a fun nugget. There are very few people in this world who have never seen an episode of Jackass or at least one of the two movies. That franchise has spun off a few TV shows and inspired many idiots around the world to pull similar stunts. However, back in the day and long before Jackass ever premiered on MTV in the late 90s, a few boys in West Chester, Pennsylvania filled their days making home movies. Sometimes they were mock music videos, sometimes they were skateboard videos, sometimes they were prank videos and most times they featured Dico (Brandon “Bran” DiCamillo) sharing with us his plethora of acting and vocal skills. These home movies were collectively known as “CKY.” In case you’re curious, that stands for Camp Kill Yourself. I never worked there.

When Jackass began, the show sometimes featured snippets of these old CKY movies and claimed them as their own. However, nothing beats the original. Below is a video I snagged off You Tube, and it features the best of the CKY franchise. What’s most enjoyable is seeing Bam Margera, Dico, Ryan Dunn, Raab Himself, Rake Yohn and the crew back when they were young’uns in their late teens and early 20s. Check it out for yourself…

*Disclaimer - I cannot be held responsible for the bad language and retarded behavior you’ll see in this video. So just watch it and shut up.

As much as I had a fantastic time at home this past weekend, there was actually one reason that I didn’t want to go. After seeing Madonna’s Confessions Tour DVD on the big screen last week, many people in the city were buzzing about Mina Mercury’s Confessions Tribute at Celebrities on February 1st. Vancouver’s free weekly gay, lesbian and transgendered publication, XTRA! West, did a cover feature on Mina (aka Jaysen - excellent friend of mine) to promote the show, and author Robin Perelle wrote an excellent little article on Ms. Mercury. Click here to read the article; however, I cannot be responsible for your literary experience outside of my blog. Some content of the website may not be suitable for all readers.

Might I just add, however, that reading the article was really a delight. Jaysen is very passionate about his craft, in honing in on his skills and paying tribute to Madonna and various other icons that he loves to emulate. (Jay, I actually had to swallow a lump in my throat when reading some of the stuff you had to say).

I don’t have much else to say. When Brock stayed at my place, he left something fierce behind. No, it wasn’t something that I had to flush. But nothing grosses you out more than coming in through the door, opening your fridge with an empty stomach and finding this on the middle shelf. A sour smell, condensation, squishy sounds. Thanks, Brock. I’m just giving you a hard time - you left my place pretty darned clean, organized and…a little OCD actually.

Okay, it’s late and I’m having too much webcam fun with Vanessa. I’ll leave that to you to draw your own conclusions. Muahaha…outtie.

That was me yesterday at about 12:30 p.m. Aren’t I adorable? I had just got to the top of Mt. Washington’s Hawk Six Pack Express and I didn’t even fall when getting off the lift. And that’s without a stomp pad. Amazed? I am! By the time this picture was taken, I had probably fallen on my knees about six or seven times. Keep in mind that, in the morning, the snow hasn’t had time to soften and landing on your knees is like landing on concrete, full impact. Let me show you Exhibit “A.”

Exhibit “A” was photographed around 5:00 p.m., soon after returning from the mountain. The swelling hadn’t yet begun, and I made sure to ice them before heading to bed. Funny how the same thing that caused the bruising was the one thing that brought relief as well. And now for Exhibit “B.”

This photo was taken at approximately 7:00 p.m. this evening. The reddish colouring has turned to purple, the burst blood vessels in my left knee are more noticeable, but the swelling has been reduced by quite a bit. You know what though? I am so proud of these bruises, as I am proud of every muscle in my body that is sore right now. It’s as if they’re all saying to me: “Hey, remember me? We had a lot of fun yesterday!” I may still be a grasshopper on the mountain, but I am most certainly a trooper. I keep trying and trying and trying. I’m pretty much looking forward to coming back here in a few weeks and giving it another shot. I really need to learn how to ride on my toe edge…I can’t bring myself to do it yet. My brother and I had a fantastic time, in case you were wondering.

P.S.

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Isn’t she beautiful?