towel

We could write an entire post and some on what this muscled hottie did before he got back to the locker room after a workout or what he might be viewing on his smartphone but I'll leave all that to your imagination. However, some might be wondering what's under the towel. You'll have to dream about that too!

Have a good night, guys! Its almost bedtime for me. Have an awesome week!!! - V

Bern, Switzerland II

I found another photo of Bern, Switzerland that I had somehow missed, so here it is complete with flags! Remember, this is 1987, not current!

Its been a slow, easy weekend. I received Xavier Dolan's first film (dvd), "J'ai tue ma mere" ("I Killed My Mother") filmed in 2009. The film is in French with no subtitles (I couldn't find one that had subtitles), so I had to make due watching it in French. The dialect was a bit rough for me to understand in places (I learned Parisian French in school, not the same, and actually speak French with a German accent when I do speak it since German is my first language - don't ask, that's just the way it is about the accent bit) so I'll have to see it again to get more out of it. When watching the film, the feeling I got was of unease from the two extremes in mood between mother and son, almost bipolar in a sense. Its the relations with other guys in the same sex scenes that ease that mood and cause me to relax, to enjoy. You'll have to see the film to get your own impression, feeling of what is happening.

Both Xavier's first, as well as his second, "Heartbeats" ("Les amours imaginaires") have some parallels in my own life and why I find them so relevant. Have a look at them and decide for yourself. - V

Berlin

The trip in the spring of 1987 also took me to Berlin where I paid my aunt Liesel, my mother's sister, a visit and was there about a week. The weather, being spring, was as you see it, overcast and dull. I prefer summer myself. Anyway, the photo above is of the Glienicke Bruecke (bridge) one of the furthest points west you could go at the time in West Berlin. The sign indicates that people are proceeding out of the American Sector (West Berlin) toward East German territory (communist). The re-unification of the two Germanies and Berlin in 1990 changed all that. The photo was taken by my aunt and is slightly out of focus but its worth the historical value to post. In the photo is my aunt's boyfriend, Pedro, since passed on, and myself to the right (white shirt and blue denim jeans and jacket). Not too bad for someone in his mid-30s (me) at the time.
The above image is a crop from a slightly larger photo and shows the numerous sailboats on the Wannsee, a lake in southwestern Berlin near what used to be the border with East German territory. The photo was taken from a tower in the forest. Awesome, eh? - V

St. Malo, France - Spring 1987

After my stay in Penzance, Cornwall, I took a series of trains via London's Paddington Station (glass roof leaked like a sieve in the rain!) and Victoria Station to Portsmouth and then on by ferry to the island of Jersey off the French coast. I missed the ferry heading for Jersey and had to wait until the next day to head out. After a couple of days there on Jersey, it was on to St. Malo by hydrofoil. We left later passing the steamer, which left St.Helier before us, about halfway to the French port. The image above is a cropped version of the original photo which is only somewhat larger than this one. Enjoy! - V

Penzance and the Cornish coast - Spring 1987

The trip to Europe in the spring of 1987 started with the island of Britain. The first stop was Edinborough, Scotland but my favourite place was Penzance, a quaint seaside resort and I'd love to go there again but longer of course! The second was Cornwall, Penzance in particular. On the way from London I stopped in Plymouth where I waited for a connecting train to Penzance further west. I shared a waiting room with an English sailor doing studies by flashlight plus another guy having a snooze late at night. We were all waiting for connecting trains. I know I was zonked by the time I got to my destination after traveling by train from Scotland, through London and on to the West Country the previous day.

Above is St.Michael's Mount which has something in common with Mont St. Michael in Normandy in that the same church order once owned both. As you can see, the skies over the English Channel were grey and overcast. Over land it was a different story!
Then you've all got a rare treat of me on the boat near St.Michael's Mount in the photo below. The cute guy didn't escape my attention!
The image below looks down from the castle on the Mount on the centre of the island.
I took a long walk along the coast on one of the days at Penzance which took me through the fishing village of Mousehole and other places. What follows are typical scenes along the Cornish coast.
I walked west along the coast road and then back to Penzance through Mousehole (image below). I took these images on my way back once I'd noted the scenes worth photographing. I hope you've enjoyed them! Perhaps they've even taken your thoughts off the dullness of winter?!?!- V

Bern, Switzerland

Last evening I decided to scan some slides taken during my last visit trip to Europe, my third, which was in 1987. This is especially for my Swiss blogger friends. The Swiss city of Bern was just one of several destinations. In the above photo you can see the clock tower called the Zytgloggeturm (Zeitglocketurm in German) in the local Swiss German dialect. In the foreground is Simsonbrunnen and behind that the Zaehrungerbrunnen. All are located on the Kramgasse. I stayed in a bed and breakfast on the same street just a few city blocks away.
The top image is a crop of the original photo. The second one is the actual photo. Note the renovations going on. Its something to be contended with when traveling to lovely locations, such as scaffolding up one side of a church spire!

The tower was first built in the years 1218-20 as part of the city's defenses, a town at that time. The tower was burnt down at one time and been renovated. Its been used for storage and once even served as an air-raid shelter, though I don't see what good would come of that if a bomb ever hit!

Below are a few more photo which include two of the inner city and one of a rose garden. I just wish the weather had been brighter with sunshine and blue skies to replace the overcast one! There'll be more soon! - V

mothers

We all had mothers that brought us into this world. Well, the photo above, my second scanning attempt, is of my own mother about age 20. I was her fourth child, the first in her third marriage. Mixed marriages have their own complications as those of you who experienced them would know. This photo was taken in Germany and is probably about 70 or so years old to give you a time reference. There are more photos coming! - V

ready?

Are you all set for your weekend? So, what have you got planned? Enjoy whatever you have in mind! - V

scanner software II

I've just completed installing the remaining software for the photo scanner on my computer and hope to begin test scans starting Thursday with the aim of posting the results by weekend. I have a number of images in mind, both my own, those of my father and other family members since passed on. Look for some interesting photos coming up soon! Meantime, have a good night, guys! - V

scanner software

This evening I installed the scanner software and registered my Epson V500 photo scanner. There is one more disk of software to install: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. I'll install that Wednesday and I hope to run some test scans later in the week. There'll be more time to do a whole lot of scanning on the weekend with some surprises coming up.

I hope you're all having a great week! Have a good night, guys!!! - V

warm

Its been warm here today, even with some sunshine in the afternoon, but despite all that, the wind was a cool. The temperature got up to about 10 degrees Celsius today, balmy by Canadian standards since much of the country is in the grips of winter. That means lots of snow and cold temperatures, so I don't mind the warmth. That's one of many reasons why I came out here. The other is that I didn't want to shovel any more snow, at least for a while!

This afternoon I purchased Xavier Dolan's first film, "I Killed My Mother" or "J'ai tue ma mere" in French, online and should receive it later this month or early next. I cost me twice what I paid for "Heartbeats" but I believe its worth the price. I'll give you a bit of a commentary on both of Xavier's films after I've had a chance to see the first.

He's working on his third, "Laurence Anyways." We'll how it compares to the first two of his films. I've started investing in his third effort and plan to invest more. Good luck, Xavier! You seem to have found the secret.

Finally, I managed to clean the hard drive on my laptop of unneeded files and get a defrag completed. Now I'm ready to install the software that came with the photo scanner. Then the real work begins, and I promise some interesting surprises. Come back for more! - V

hot dude - hot muscles

Its closing on bedtime here on Canada's west coast, so here's a little something to let you dream your night away! Have a good night, guys! - V

cameras, faces and other things

The rain we had yesterday, overnight and this morning has given way to occasional sunshine. I'm going to get some laundry out of the way shortly but I thought to get this post done first before doing that.

With my mind on cameras and various related equipment there's such a variety of cameras out there of one sort or another that its very handy to keep in touch with our friends and others, such as a fitness trainer, one our physical development (as you can see in the above image) or anything else that comes to mind. Its so easy to get up to date information from the internet and get feedback from others more or less immediately.

I've got two digital cameras, a camcorder, photo scanner and printers to my name, not to mention the laptop computer which is due to be replaced. The current laptop was bought in the spring of 2004 and has certainly seen better days. The new ones on the market now have larger hard drives and can handle the software available today. Mine originally had a small hard drive by today's standards but as I look, I should be able to find one that meets my needs today and for a few years to come. The plan is to buy a work station later and use the laptop when travelling about. That's the plan anyway!
Moving on to other matters, some faces grab my attention immediately. The eyes are the root to the soul and we must instinctively recognize others of like mind immediately. I know someone that looked similar to the person above when he was younger but when I last saw him, he had hair of the same colour and similar length but no white or grey in it. He's someone from my high school days. We met in high school when I was in grade 12 and he was in grade 11. The first time was like two deer caught in the headlights sort of thing which is the best way I can describe it. We met up a number of times over a period of years. His father was a United Church minister and his mother I'd never seen but briefly talked to on the phone when trying to contact John, my friend. We've long since parted ways and his parents have most likely passed on (but you never know). Wouldn't it be nice to meet up again and get caught up in what has happened in the intervening years? I do have a series of photos I took of John back in the 1970s which I'd certainly would want to share with him but who knows!

Friday evening on my way home from work I saw someone on the SkyTrain that looks a lot like Brad. The hair colour and length was the same, the shape of the ears and the stud in them was the same, and the height and age was similar (tall and handsome). There was one notable difference, he had a short dark beard, which would make sense. Brad said he had been in work camps in the Rockies and on the island (Vancouver). This guy was with an asian fellow of about the same age as him. If he is the one and the same, I would certainly want to meet up. Who knows?!?! Regardless, I hold no ill will and feel we should move forward and make a go of it. Friendship is a good start. The rest is up to Brad. All I can say at the moment is that I still have one of his photos as a wallpaper on the computer and I have the same image in my bedroom. That should say a lot!!!

Now I'm off to get the laundry out of the way. Hope all is well, guys!!! - V

in the rain!

All the snow we had earlier in the week melted as the temperatures warmed up and with the warmer temperatures has come the rain! So, we're back to normal winter weather around here.

Despite the wet stuff, I'm off to Vancouver for a few hours. First stop will be Chapters followed by HMV where Ill try to find a copy of Xavier Dolan's first film in dvd format (I Killed My Mother). Considering that he was only 19 years old when that one hit the screens, I think it'll be interesting to see as far as seeing a progression in his work. I'll let you know more later.

Meantime, have an awesome weekend regardless what you have planned, guys! - V

contribution

Its Friday and nearing the end of the day. After a week of research, I've decided to contribute to Xavier Dolan's next film effort, "Laurence Anyways," and if you're interested, perhaps you might consider this too. I've long been interested in cinematography and have amassed a eclectic collection of films in both the vhs and dvd format, plus I have a few reels of my own efforts on super8 film tucked away somewhere (I know, this takes us quite a way back!). I hope to have the latter transfered to dvd at some point but I digress.

So, here's a short list of Xavier's film efforts so far. He's certainly worth watching!

1. I Killed My Mother (Canada, 2009) or J'ai tue ma mere

2. Heartbeats (Canada, 2010) or Les Amours imaginaires

3. Laurence Anyways (in production)

To my French-speaking readers, sorry about the spelling. I only have an English keyboard, so I can only type characters commonly used in English. The new laptop computer I have an eye on hopefully will have a bilingual keyboard but for the moment this will have to do. You know what I mean anyways, hopefully.

Meantime, check out the touscoprod.com website for inspiration. Congratulations, Xavier, you're doing an awesome job!!! Hopefully those of us interested in your efforts can make your visions a reality!!! - V

snow

We had snow here in British Columbia's lower mainland overnight from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. When this happens, the bad drivers here are worse, and there are enough of them. While waiting at the bus shelter, I was splashed twice, the last time from head to toe by someone speeding along in the curb lane where, of course, most of the snow and slush on the road was located. I didn't have enough time to get out of the shelter and run for cover. It was most inconsiderate and selfish! Its hard enough for a pedestrian to walk along the sidewalk in such a situation as it is without such inconsiderate behaviour along the way.

In the meantime, the rain is coming, so much of it will be gone before too long. Have a good night! I'm up at 3:30 in the morning to get ready for work. - V

more on "Heartbeats"

This appears to be the look and the photo that the drawing on the dvd cover is based on. I have no idea of who took the photo but Xavier is certainly a handsome guy! I plan to make an attempt to find out the name of the photographer. Meantime, check out Xavier Dolan's film ("Heartbeats" or "Les Amours imaginaires" in French). I think its worth it in my opinion!

Xavier Dolan and the film "Heartbeats"

Last evening I sat down to watch the film "Heartbeats" (in French, "Les Amours imaginaires") that I purchased while in Vancouver earlier that day (Saturday) and mentioned in two previous posts. It must have been the only dvd that the store had because that was the only one I saw on display. It was well worth the $26.99 plus tax that I paid. The cover has the face of Xavier Dolan on the front against a red background. The face is in a black line drawing against the red background with the text in black as well. Its very distinctive!

Xavier is both the director of the film and an actor in it who plays the part of "Francis", along with Monia Chokri who play "Marie" and Niels Schneider who plays the part of "Nico." All I can say is that I can relate to what has happened in the film without giving too much of it away.

Xavier says something about growing up gay in this youtube video clip and if you'd like to know more about him, check out this Wikipedia entry for more. I a threesome and the interplay between each person sounds like something to explore, or you just like to know more about the gay experience, buy or rent the dvd! I'm not going to give much of it away. It would spoil the film if I did! - V

word of mouth [or image]!

Nothing sells a product like word of mouth, or in this case, image! The same is true for aussiBum swim- and underwear. There's nothing like some underwear that you're interested in being worn by someone with a similar build and weight as you to help you determine whether you should buy the product. Check out aussiBum's page on Facebook to see what guys are wearing and how it all looks. Doesn't this guy going about his business look hot in his underwear?!?! - V

Zeb cover

Well, guys, this is the cover of the recent French magazine, Mmensuel, featuring model Zeb Ringle by photographer Scott Hoover. The link to Scott's website is in the right-hand sidebar. Just click on the photo in the margin to see some of the rest of his work.

While I was in Vancouver late this afternoon, I managed to find a copy of the film "Heartbeats" on dvd (French: "Les Amours imaginaires" and the film I mentioned in Friday's post), purchased it at HMV on Burrard Street and returned home after buying a few groceries at Marketplace IGA. I'll give you my impression of the film in a day or so.

Model hunting will have to wait for a few days. I left downtown Vancouver for home because I wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to take my chances by staying longer. I'll leave that for a weekday when I'm in Vancouver's downtown working anyway. I ended up seated next to a tall, good-looking dude with shortish, dark hair for a couple of stops until he got off. He was standing at the door opposite me for a stop until we managed to get a seat and you've got to be fast to snag an empty seat before its gone. Its something about the dark hair and fresh, reddish skin from being out in the cold night air that I find appealing. What about you?

Anyways, more later. Have a good night, guys!!! - V

photography

Time is marching on and I'm not getting any younger. A year ago I decided to start up a photography business with my friend Brad as my business partner. There are several reasons why I would want him as a partner, he's has a avid interest in business, he's a hot-looking dude and has a deep, sexy voice to woo and attract models and clients in general to the business. It would be a great artistic and social outlet for him, not to mention myself!

I started taking photos using a Kodak box camera in the mid-1960s. The camera used a 126 film. I still have the camera though the flash unit is gone. I keep it mostly as a momento of years past and doubt you could even get film for it anymore, and besides, who would want to with digital photography having so many advantages that film cameras couldn't give you. With film, you take the shots and have the film developed. In the end you're stuck with the results and have to pay for them too. Now with digital, its so much easier in that you can delete what doesn't look right or that didn't turn out, and the digital process is also easier on the environment. Think of all the chemicals that are used to develop film that aren't used in digital photography! That's just the long and the short of it to keep it simple.

I'm hoping that Brad does join me but in the meantime, I'm going to get things started, get the ball rolling as they say. I'm out this afternoon with business cards in hand looking for potential models, though it would be nice to have a partner to share the load, and the profits, of course! I'll go it alone for now until Brad decides he wants in. Until then, I'll look for models and work on amassing studio equipment on my own. As I mentioned in the previous post, I saw a guy yesterday that would be perfect. A start would be for me to ask him and then go from there.

I'll look at starting up the new website for the business, the one I talked about last year about this time, as things roll along. Meantime, Brad, you're loved and needed, so get back to me! You'll enjoy this business, the people you meet and what you experience!!!

More on all this coming up soon. Have a good weekend, guys!!! - V

un joli film

Today on my way home from work I went into Vancouver's West End to take care of some errands. On involved stopping at a store on Davie Street to pick up a copy of the French magazine, M mensuel (Paris). The cover has a photo of model Zeb Ringle shot my my photographer friend, Scott Hoover. Congratulations, Scott (and Zeb)!!!

The same magazine has an article about 20 of the most beautiful (handsome) men in the world, 2010. Zeb is listed as the 16th. Some of the others that made it to the list are: Channing Tatum, Simon Nessman, Hunter Parrish, Colton Haynes, Kellan Lutz, Dolph Lambert, Marlon Teixeira, Chris Evans, Arthur Sales and others. You'll have to read the magazine yourself to find out who they are and where they stand on the list.

There is also a short piece on a film called "Les Amours imaginaires" (Canada 2010) which also goes by the name of "Heartbeats." It sounds interesting enough to watch. Check out the trailer here and there is more information at the Festival de Cannes website here.

I also had to purchase another calendar this one with photos by photographer Fred Goudon.

The clerk that served me looked hot and somewhat similar to model Hunter Parrish, well, as far as the hair colour, age and skin tones are concerned. He would make a great model for a shoot. I'll have to ask him!

Meantime, enjoy your weekend, guys! - V

hot dude - hot muscles

Here Cody (model) can show us some muscle as we head toward another weekend. The photographer has done an excellent job of capturing his muscled physique. Sounds exciting, doesn't it after the first work week of the new year is nearly behind us? Well, its better than looking out the window at all the rain falling, three days of it so far, quite a change from nearly a week of sunshine. Have a great weekend, guys, when you get to it!!! - V

summer

Since its winter in these parts, we'll just have to wait until summer to do this! Meanwhile, those of you in the southern hemisphere can get right to it without delay. You're in the midst of summer now!!! - V

hot dude - hot look

Here's another random pic to have you deep in thought. Aren't digital cameras great for getting photos any where, not to mention camera phones! Reflect on things and have an awesome week, guys!!! - V

naked truth

There are times when you're caught in the act and no longer care. The truth about how you feel is all that matters, like bonding with your buddies! I hope you're able to come to grips with the truth of what you're all about this year as you continue your journey through life. There are those times when the truth can no longer be hidden, and why should it? Have you got some resolutions set for 2011 and how did those from last year pan out??? Happy 2011, guys!!! - V

water

We're in the grips of winter, well, most of the country is, but some parts of the world are into summer with plenty of sunshine. Some places are getting rain, and too much of it, such as in Queensland, Australia. I've seen some of the video of a flooded town (Rockhampton) with one death so far that I know of. Anyway, regardless of where you are in the world with its strange weather patterns, be safe and enjoy the good things that life has to offer. You just never know when your number is up! Take care!!! - V

Andrei

Do we need more inspiration? I'd say yes! Let's have Andrei give us a little more!!! If he's doing it so can you! - V

"Like a Brother"

Today I was watching a few dvds I hadn't seen in a while. The most recent one was the film, "Like a Brother" or "Comme un Frere" in French. It is in French with English subtitles and available from Water Bearer Films. The two lead characters are Roman, played by Thibault Boucaux, and Sebastien (a.k.a. Zack), played by Benoit Deliere. Check out the film's trailer here! I really don't want to give the story away but all I can say is its worth watching if you like to understand more about relationships, gay or straight! Relationships can be complicated, regardless of the sexual orientation, especially when we don't understand ourselves. Let me know what you think. - V

Happy New Year 2011!!!

Happy 2011, guys! Let's have model Alan Valdez welcome us into the new year. How did you spend the festive season? What special activity did you do on New Years Eve? Did you go somewhere special or stay at home to have a quiet evening? What ever you chose to do, I hope you had a good time!
And now that we're into the new year have you determined what you're new years resolutions are to be? Did you live up to the ones you made last year or are you giving some of them another shot??? Be reasonable about the ones you set and they're sure to be fulfilled.
Since I put on a few pounds over the past year or so, not many but enough to be noticed, I plan to work them off over the next few months to a year. I love to ride bikes as much as I love to hike, so I plan to purchase a mountain bike to melt away those pounds. I've done it before, so I can do it again. I'm very determined and disciplined when it comes to fulfilling goals.
Let our model, Alan Valdez, welcome us into 2011 and our goals to fulfill. Scott Herman Fitness can give us plenty of ideas on how to obtain the result we're looking for, so we can look great naked or clothed, and why shouldn't we? Check out his link in the right-hand sidebar. So, how's your new year shaping up??? - V