Kodo drums

I've wanted to buy a CD or two presenting Kodo drums but haven't done that yet. The above photo is from nymag.com and shows a couple of Kodo drummers doing their thing in plain, simple attire (fudoshi) much as the percussion is basic and primal. My view is that anyone cane get some rhythm going. "Kodo" has a double meaning in "hearbeat" on the one hand and "children of the drum" on the other or to "play simply with the heart of a child", this according to the article at nymag.com. I think we can all do that if given the chance. On a similar note, the Tao masters of martial arts and percussion will be in Vancouver on March 12th and 13th, 2010 to play the drums and appear at The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts. I'm planning to see this performance. Something to look forward to! - V.

venture

As you might have come to understand, photography is a major interest of mine for years and has been most of my life. I love nature and the life in it as well. Getting people in candid moments is great too. Photography is a natural way for me to bring this interest to life plus share it with others.

I began some blogging on MySpace in 2006 but this expanded in a great way when I set up my own blog on Blogger back in February 2007. That was Haliaeetus where I began to present some of my photography along with commentary to help people know what they were looking at. Then in early 2008 I began another blog (Saltwater Blood Meets Spirit Mountain) featuring my life and that of my partner Brad. Brad has posted a few times but I am looking forward to his posts blossoming. He has his own contributions to make in his own time and in his own way. We'll just have to be patient but he did indicate to me that he plans to post soon. They're coming!!!

There's a long, steady movement forward. Each step is important and followed by more action equally as important. The next step is purchasing a domain name, setting up a new website and presenting more of my photographic efforts there. This will include my interest in land and seascapes along with the flora and fauna encountered but the plan is to venture out into taking photos of models, male models in particular. Some of the latter will presented on this blog but most of the best will be seen on the new, yet to be established website.

In all this, Brad is my partner in many ways, including my business partner. We both love traveling, and I certainly know he does, so this gives us both an opportunity for fun and excitement plus we can enjoy making money at something that really is much like work to either one of us. I'm sure he's excited as I am to get this started.

Meantime, there's studio lighting to purchase as well as other equipment. I plan to buy some basic lighting equipment in January and then add more equipment as the funds become available.

The business name has been chosen plus the emails have been established and activated. Both of us have our own email addresses where guys interested in getting into modeling can contact us but we don't plan to limit ourselves to modeling alone. We look forward to building their portfolios and helping to advance their careers as we advance our own. The start date may be as early as January 2010 but that depends on circumstances. Meantime, when the name of the company, along with the contact information, appears in the right sidebar, you'll know that it's all up and running.

As far as social networks are concerned, I continue to post on both MySpace and Facebook. I do have a Twitter account but have yet to use it. Circumstances may bring about a change here. More news on all this to come! - V.

Camera Giveaway

Scott sent along a link to a video about a camera giveaway, a DMC-G1 camera.  Check it out, and if you’re interested, you’ve got a limited time left.  The contest ends December 4th!  - V.

Davey’s Talky Blog: Not Suitable For Minors!

Talky Blog: Not Suitable For Minors! : break the illusion

I’ve been rather busy lately and haven’t viewed any of Davey Wavey’s Talky Blogs for some time though I do receive emails to notify me of new posts.  Well, I just viewed this one and I found it part serious and part humorous but you be the judge of that.  Anyway, the main point Davey makes is that sexual content is flagged but all sorts of violent acts are readily available to children.  What’s wrong with this picture?  Defies logic does it?  View the video for more and then read the comments on his website.

Just to digress before closing, Davey’s physique is hot!  He’s looking better all the time (love those pecs!).  And as someone commented, we get to see his feet.  Great stuff Davey!!!  - V.

abdominals and other muscle groups

What muscle group grabs your attention first? Is it the abdominals (abs) or the pectorals (pecs)? Or perhaps it's the maximus glutimus (butt) or some other muscle group? Well, to perk your interest and get you inspired, here are some fine examples of the first two groups: the abs and pecs.

Whether a guy's wearing open jeans, briefs or speedos turns you on, there's something for everyone's taste.

Ah, but this last one also grabbed my attention when I checked out Mac's blog a few days ago. I love the abs and pecs on this guy. I'm not much for tattoos but those tattoos along with the hair style and muscles appear to be working wonders together. I was immediately thinking of Bodhi, our Aussie blogger who just loves tattoos. Thanks, MAC, for posting this hottie! So which of the above is your favourite and inspires you to develop your muscles to the point of being equal or better than the musculature of the models in these photos??? - V.

more Felipe Anibal

Here are some more photos of model Felipe Anibal. Note the well-developed abs and pecs! I love the lean muscle of the hotties coming out of Brazil lately. My eyes are authomatically drawn to his pecs.

What better way to appreciate the beauty but with more of the same. The top pic is as Felipe is today while the latter three are of him in other venues. So, what about these Brazilians, including Felipe, excites you??? - V.

three

It's always nice to have more than one to compare, in this case three butts, as we start yet another weekend. Take the time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and also compliment others. Say something nice about someone. It'll come back to you in spades! - V.

Captain America at the rescue

This is Scott Herman, our favourite model and fitness instructor, dressed in his recent Halloween costume ready to rescue America and the world. Scott looks real hot in that suit of his, doesn't he? - V.

Scott does squats

In this video Scott Herman, our favourite fitness instructor, does squats.  Look at those muscles at work!  Have a look for yourself!!! – V.

Tomorrow May Be Too Late · by Thomas Marino

Tomorrow May Be Too Late · by Thomas Marino

This is a short video clip about a book called “Tomorrow May Be Too Late” by author Thomas Marino about his coming to terms with his sexuality.  Check out the video and read further about the book by accessing his website.  Now that I’ve said that, I should order the book myself, read the book and follow along as his life unfolds.  - V.

duo

Male bonding can take many forms, from just being and interacting with friends to something more intimate as the image above suggests. It's something to think about and I certainly will as I head off to bed dreaming about what we'll do once my man arrives from the east. That'll involve anything from business to pleasure. Let your imagination wonder. Ours certainly will!!! Let these images inspire and prod your imagination into action. Night all! - V.

hot dudes

To end a Saturday here are a few more hot dudes to inspire you and to think about while you drift off to sleep. Well, on the otherhand, if you're just starting your day, then you can have them on your mind all day long. Life is full of beauty all around. Take the time to enjoy and savour it! Take the time to help those that are improving their physiques and compliment those that have perfected their's. Two working together can help to inspire greatness in each other. Can more working together do even more? You be the judge of that. What goes around, comes around as it's often said. - V.

guess who?

Guess who? Well, here we have two hotties for the price of one! Inspired? Go enjoy your weekend and have some fun while you're at it!!! - V.

pineapple plant

Back in May I saved the pineapple top from one of the pineapples I was about to eat, trimmed the dead parts of the leaves off, pulled off some of the lower leaves and made a fresh cut at the base. Then I let that dry over night before putting the cutting into a glass with water. I topped up the water as it was used up by the cutting and then potted the thing when I determined there were enough roots. Putting it in water allows one to view the changes as time progresses. The photo above shows the bottom of the cutting before it was put into the glass of water. If you look carefully, you can see the buds from where the roots would grow. The photo below gives a view of the entire cutting.
The last image shows the cutting, well rooted at this point, potted up. It's currently in a well lit window in the dining area and gets enough sun, when the sun is shining, of course. The trick now is to get it to flower and to produce some fruit, which will likely be small in our climate and latitude. More photos later. - V.

weekend

The weekend is finally here but it started with a bang in a manner of speaking. Yesterday evening, when it was time to leave work, it was pouring rain mixed with ice pellets. I kept saying it could snow and the guard that had relieved me kept saying, "don't say that!" All of this was on my mind as I was humming the Andrew Sisters rendition of "Jingle Bells" as the mix of rain and hail came down. Everytime I mentioned the "snow" word I would hear, "Don't say that!"

Well, I was off without unpacking my umbrella. That would wait until I reach the station I was to catch the bus at. I joined someone on the homeward trip on the SkyTrain. We were chatting as the storm continued unabaited outside. There was a flash of lightning as we stopped at another station and then thunder. While chatting we both relayed our stories about lightning, including my comment about the thought back east where the chance of getting struck by lightning was better than winning the lottery. Then on our way again there was another bolt of lightning and loud thunder. That's when I learned that she was afraid of lightning and switched to another seat across from me, so that she wouldn't have to see the lightning!

She mentioned that people get killed by lightining and then I'm thinking to myself, "how does moving away so as not to see the lightning change anything?" Lightning is still going to do what it's going to do! I'm not much for irrational fears but on the otherhand, if it's our time to go and our number is up, then so be it. There's no sense in fearing the end (death) since we're all going to experience it at one point or another. It's as much a fact of life as birth is!

Then another flash and clap of thunder followed with more rain and hail. I got my bus and was home soon enough. The rain continued into the night and was still pouring as I went to bed around 11 pm.

It's now early afternoon Saturday. The sky is dull and overcast with light rain falling which doesn't seem surprising at all since most of November has been like this: dull, grey overcast with rain, and lots of it!

This afternoon I plan to take the SkyTrain over to Metrotown in south Burnaby to get some grocery shopping done before returning home to get some laundry done. Mundane stuff, yes, but it all needs to be done and out of the way. After that, it's more time at the computer. I may even take some time to scan some photos and see how they turn out. A few of the good ones will be posted if all turns out okay. That's the plan anyway. More later! - V.

Felipe Anibal

This is Felipe Anibal, yet another hot model from Brazil, the source of other hotties like Renato Ferreira, Edilson Nascimento and many others from that land that seems to be a great source of really hot guys. Savour this and enjoy the pleasures you have in life, however small or great they may be! - V.

more Renato Ferreira

To keep you going through until the weekend here is another photo of model Renato Ferreira. This is something lighter and takes us away from the rain outside to put our mind on a season past (summer), or for those in the southern hemisphere, a season yet to come! - V.

ditto

While at work today, I took the time to check on the long range weather forecast. If there's something that is common through the rest of the month, that's rain. So like the last post, it's rain, rain and more rain. As depressing as all this sounds, all is not lost. As the temperature drops toward the end of the month, it's likely the rain will stop and we may see some more sunshine but also some snow. The latter is good for the skiers who are starting to get some in the mountains.

This morning we had a bit of a tease. There was a large area of clear, more or less cloudless sky overhead in Vancouver but that didn't last by late morning all that was replaced by a dark cloud cover and ice pellets for a time soon replaced by rain. The clear spot in the sky had moved east toward Metrotown while all around this opening, dark clouds could be seen and white pellets dropping down from them.

As I write, it's raining rather steadily with no sign of letting up. The long range forecast has rain everyday with the possibility of some sun next Tuesday but we all know that can change long before then. But when the sun does appear, people will be out in droves as is normal in these parts, especially after long periods of dark, gloomy weather.

While on the subject of the weather, I was checking out the status of the current climate change we are going through on a global scale. The Greenland icecap is melting at an alarming rate adding the equivalent of 0.75 mm (0.03 inch) to the world sea level each year for the period from 2006-2008, which is up from the period 2000-2008 when it was at a rate of 0.46 mm. This information was in a report authored by Michiel van den Broeke, of Utrecht University. The report was contained in a study published in the journal Science.

Not only is the Greenland icecap melting but there are great changes in other areas of the Arctic, such as the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. The same goes for the Antarctic in the southern part of the globe. I'll present more on this subject on my companion blog, Haliaeetus, but this will have to wait until atleast the weekend when more time is available.

Meantime, remember, changes are not all bad news but also present new possibilities, new challenges, new scenarios for learning about the globe, how weather works and our effects on the entire weather system. We don't life in isolation, so our industrialisation has had to have changed the weather patterns to a great extent over the last few hundred years. How much this has contributed to a natural cycle we will soon find out as the world temperatures go up and ocean levels rise! - V.

rain, rain and more rain

That pretty well describes the month of November so far, rain and lots of it. Once autumn arrives it's a given here on the west coast that the rain will come as well. When it's nice, it's really nice but the reverse is true about the colder, wetter months of the year. Some days we have been teased by the sun as it tried to poke its way through the cloud cover and other days we've not fared as well. There have been the odd day where the sun has made a more prominent display but for the main it's been overcast and rainy.

With all this rain there upper elevations are getting a dusting of snow and a fair bit in places. I noticed back in October where the mountains, particularly in the interior away from the coast, has a good dusting of the white stuff. This should make the skiers happy for sure!

So, as I get ready to head out to work on yet another day of overcast, dull, rainy weather, have a great day where ever you are and keep that sunny disposition inside even if the weather outside is otherwise! - V.

Lee Kholafai

As we start another new day (here on the west coast anyway), what better way to start it but with a photo of hot model, Lee Kholafai. More about him later. Have a good one!!! - V.

Scott on how to shave your groin, sort of!!!

Scott gives us guys some tips on shaving your groin but don’t expect an actual demonstration but I love his sense of humour, don’t you?  So have a look!  - V.

Scott Herman gives some tips on showering and shaving

In this short video, our favourite fitness trainer and model, Scott Herman, gives us some tips on showering and shaving to get that smooth look without that nasty razor burn.  Scott does an awesome job!  See for yourself.  - V.

Scott Herman talks about abs

For those aspiring models and guys that just want to look good here is Scott giving some tips on how to achieve that.  What better way to be motivated than to see someone that is actually walking the talk than Scott himself! – V.

Scott Herman in Undergear

Scott, my favourite fitness trainer and model, gives us a short discussion on what it’s like to be the object of a photo shoot, in this case for Undergear.  He’s looking good, real good!!! – V.

more muscle

Before I head off to bed for the night, here is a Mark Stout photo of some hot muscles to dream about during the night. Have a great night guys! - V.

more Michael Churchill

I found more photos of model Michael Churchill, these by photographer Thomas Synnamon. I'm posting one but check out Bodhi's blog for more of them plus photos of other hot models and others. - V.

designer guys

Here is a group, a walking collection of art and design, designer guys of a sort. It's different than just tattoos! I thought I'd post the pic, so you could appreciate it as well. - V.

the Karshner Triplets

For those Karshner fans out there I thought I'd post another photo of the Karshner Triplets. I hope to devote an entire post to them and their photos soon. Meantime, hopefully this one will provide yet further inspiration! - V.

Tiago Botega

Our hot Brazilian model, Tiago Botega, can be a further inspiration to work on our physique! There are a lot of hot models coming out of Brazil in recent years and Tiago is just one of the many. Enjoy!!! - V.

Blito by Dylan Rosser

Since we're also on a theme of hot muscles, abs and pecs in particular, here are a few photos of model Blito by photographer Dylan Rosser to give us some inspiration and put us in the mood to appreciate the beauty of a well muscled physique, if not get us in motion to create one ourselves.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as its said. So, perhaps these pics will set things in motion for you with Blito as our source of inspiration and Dylan giving us a view through the eye of his camera! - V.