UFC (Ultimate Fantastic Core)

27 05 2007

Last night was our UFC Core party at Vicky’s house where we drank, ate, and watched the homoerotic spectacle known as UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) on pay-per-view. We also got a chance to see Jason and meet some of the members of Vicky’s secret social group.

Honestly? It seems gay just to watch this UFC stuff. I have no idea what the straight people get out of watching nearly naked guys rolling around in near simulated sex scenes. I asked Jerry about this later in the night, and he tried to explain that it’s not gay if punches are also being thrown. I think all the other guys in the room would have made similar statements if asked. If, like me, your BS meter is getting a suspicious reading from that statement, well…


This is Alessio Sakara from the weigh-in before UFC 70. Weigh-ins are indistinguishable from underwear photo shoots.


Bruce Weber directed this weigh-in of Rich Clementi


This move is actually called The Anaconda


I think this is called frottage


Another example of The Anaconda. That look of pain on his face tells you this isn’t gay.


This is what’s known as a power bottom


Honestly, these captions just write themselves at this point

I’m not going to harp on this too long, because a lot of straight guys don’t like being backed into a corner where they have to admit to themselves that they enjoy a little homoerotic display now and then. Personally I enjoyed the fight. And even though it’s an odd culture I can certainly appreciate it for what it is…soft core porn.

Note how girls are used in the background of the weigh-ins so that all those guys don’t feel completely gay for assembling to watch two UFC fighters strip down to their underwear…

So you see what I’m saying about this thinly veiled homoeroticism. I mean, I almost lost it last night when Joe Rogan started talking about how one fighter was “giving him the Anaconda from behind.” Ok.

Later in the night, some sort of tension developed about what to do after the fight was over. I’m not really sure how that started or what it was really about, but I ended up feeling a little uncomfortable about it.

Deanna and I headed back to the Governor’s Mansion where we decided to get a cab and meet Jerry out at a new bar for us called Bar Smith. It’s an interesting space next door to Burn, and we remarked how the crowd was a similar version of Scottsdale. After Jerry left just a little early due to an early work day he had planned, Deanna and I went next door to Burn where we were really surprised that they wanted us to pay $20 cover for the remaining hour that they would be open. So after nixing that idea, we walked to Seamus McCaffrey’s to have a few drinks with Daren.

So, there you have it. I’m going now to do some more UFC research…


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Hooks and nachos

14 04 2007

Thursday I intended to get back to my workout program with Daren and Jerry, after taking a few days off after White Party to make sure my body properly recovers from the excitement of the weekend. But I decided at the last minute to take an extra day off, and instead headed out with Jerry and Daren for some drinks and adventure.

Jerry and Daren wanted to go to “The Armadillo” but I protested on account of a) that it’s a restaurant, and b) the last time I dove by the place they were advertising their “World Famous Fried Pickles.” Ha, I’m sure they’ll leave comments trying to convince me that it’s not a restaurant…but it is. ;-) The last few times they tried taking me to restaurant dive bars I have been less than pleased (yes I’m a little picky and stuck in my ways when it comes to night time drink venues), so I tried to spice things up by offering a night at Burn for the new Club Mistress event. After hearing the words “lesbian S&M” Jerry quickly agreed and we were on our way.

Upon passing Burn, we noted that there wasn’t much of a crowd yet, so we decided to go to “The Irish Bar” for a couple beers first.


Daren at Seamus McCaffrey’s pretending the stains in the ceiling aren’t there

After a couple beers and Jerry and Daren’s game of video bowling, we walked down to Burn. Burn was moderately attended for a Thursday, and after sharing some weekend stories with Angela some of the entertainment began.


See Daren, you shouldn’t have left early!

—

On Friday night, Philip and Rob got in town for pride weekend. Rob is the super nice guy that I met last weekend at the White Party, known to the rest of the gang since their trip to Montreal last year, who lives in London right now. So I went out with Rob, Philip, Rich and Justin to Burn again for drinks. We met up with Bruce and Tracy, and Mike and Nate for some casual talk, dancing and drinks.


Rob and Tracy


Mike and Nate


Rich


Justin, Travis and Philip

For the After-Burn, we went to Charlie’s for some dancing and pigging out on super nachos grande delux and carne asada burritos from the taco cart. As is typical with Charlie’s, the evening was a little awkward between confrontations with drunk queens and when I was slammed in the eye by the hat bill of a drunk mess plowing into the bathroom. Odd energy lives at Charlie’s, and I have no idea why I keep going back. Eh, live and learn.

So now it’s offiicially Pride weekend in Phoenix, and we’ll be headed out to the Adonis Party tonight at the Icehouse venue in downtown Phoenix. Interesting to note that my attendance at this party last year immediately precluded a breakup with my last boyfriend. I actually went last year by myself. So I’m glad that this year things are under different curcumstances, and I know I’ll have a good time with friends.


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R A V E N O U S

30 03 2007

Likely a testament to how hard I’ve been working out lately, tonight I simply craved the thickest and rarest steak I could get my hands on. I interpreted this as a sign that my body needed protein for some serious muscle building, so I gave in and headed to Safeway where I bought a couple choice top sirloins. I threw one on the grill, but only for long enough to get it warm and juicy.

Exquisite…lemon flakes performed admirably (as they always do) as I sliced and stabbed my way to heaven. Rare, soft and juicy, and just perfect. A perfect finish to my evening of running a mile and working out in the gym.

I’ve been working out fairly regularly for about 6 weeks now. I’m starting to see some real results, and it has me excited since I think I may be in the best shape I’ve been in for a few years. That’s both physically and mentally. Funny how both efforts have been actually very closely tied together.

Working out with Jerry and Daren has been really fun…and there’s actually a lot more involved to our evenings than just the workouts. We’ll also often go out to a bar or two afterward (or hang out at Jerry’s loft), drink some beer, and hang out and bs with one another. Steve also started hanging out with us, and we always have a good time. Talk about dates, significant others, work, etc. Jerry describes this as his new fraternity, and that’s a fairly accurate description of how it feels.

Hanging out with Rich, Justin, Philip and Bernard is a very similar fraternal part of my life lately. I am impressed, and humbled, by what strong bonds exist within this circle. And deciding to do some of the party curcuit with them this year is what’s motivating me to stick with those workouts, stick to my diet, and what had motivated me last year to finally give up smoking.

I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I know my goals are achievable and right around the corner. So, cheers to all of you that help. My shoulders are looking better, but what’s on top of them is feeling pretty good, too.


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Core VIP

25 03 2007

Well last night was the Core event with Jerry, Vicky, and Deanna. We went to La Cage Aux Folles at the Arizona Broadway Theater, to Burn where we met Daren, Rich and Justin for dancing and drinks in our VIP cabana, and then finished the night at the governors mansion. I didn’t acually end up with as many pictures as I thought, but we all had a great time and it was fantastic as usual to see everyone!




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Redbull is amazing, isn’t it?

24 03 2007

Yesterday was one of those days where I did so much, with so many people, that I feel like I’ve just returned from vacation. That was only one day? Well, I had a really great time and I’m just taking it easy right now in preparation for the core event tonight!

So, where to begin? I went to Chelsea’s Kitchen at around 5pm to meet Bernie, Justin, Rich, and Mark and Andrea. Bernie is a coworker and friend who was in town from Denver because he wanted to meet Mark, who is interested in working with us. I drove up with Rich (who, remember, works with me now) and we took a diversion along the way so that he could show me a house he and Justin like in the Willo neighborhood. The house is gorgeous, and it’s on the cutest cul-de-sac ever with medium sized historic homes and lush landscaping. But, I digress.

So, we get to Chelseas Kitchen on Camelback Rd. in Phoenix (sorry, SEO moment) and Mark, Andrea and Bernie are already there. Everyone is kind of low-key when we get there, and I remark how interesting it is that most of us hung out last weekend, and now are hanging out again in more of a work-employment-professional context.


This is Mark and Andrea yesterday at Chelsea’s Kitchen


This is Mark and Andrea last weekend at Burn

So, you can see how I’m sitting there and thinking wow, everyone acts much differently depending on the reason for the social gathering. I mean we were basically the same group of people, just with the addition of Bernie and a pretext of hiring Mark as a consultant. Now I’ve gotten pretty crazy with Bernie, so when I’m with him at a bar I don’t really think of it as “work.” Anyway, maybe you get what I’m saying and maybe you don’t. I tried to explain it to everyone at the table and I just got some blank stares, so I’ll just leave it at that.

We all had some drinks, talked shop, and played Bernie’s “hot tub game” which is a game where everyone has to pick famous people to be in their make-believe hot tub party. I picked Eddie Cibrian, but nobody knows who he is.

At about 9pm we decided to split up a little…Bernie and his sister Laura decided to eat dinner at Chelsea’s, Mark and Andrea decide to go home, and Rich and Justin and I decided to go to Ticoz for some dinner. Ticoz was good, and I nearly fell over in my chair after seeing our waiter who looked exactly like Eddie Cibrian.


Eddie Cibrian

Eddie Cibrian is best known for his role as a pensive firefighter in Third Watch, as well as a park ranger in the sci-fi TV series Invasion last year, and of course But I’m a Cheerleader, a 1999 movie where a naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian. But, I digress!

Yes, I probably looked like a stuttering idiot when the waiter asked for my drink and food orders.

So after dinner and some martinis, Bernie and Laura meet us at Ticoz, and follow us to Amsterdam. Laura, being new to the Jerry Timms blog, requires a proper introduction here. She is Bernie and Anthony’s sister, and is great fun whenever she’s out with us. She also looks a lot like Alyson Hannigan, best known for her role as Willow the cute and charming lesbian witch on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Which is slightly interesting that we were just talking about Willo (the Phoenix neighborhood) earlier in the evening…also cute and charming, but in neighborhood format.


Alyson Hannigan

Laura’s personality kind of reminds me of Willow, too…not the lesbian part, but the cute and charming part. So, we get to Amsterdam and take a tour of the place before getting our drinks and doing some dancing in Club Miami.


Justin and Laura dancing


Bernie and Me


Bernie, showing off his new purse


Rich and Laura – we’re totally taking her out again

So, now that brings us to a little past 1am, and Bernie and Laura decide they’re bushed and want to go home. So I’m hanging out with Rich and Justin on the patio, and Daren calls and decides to meet up with us. So I show him around the bar, and we get fresh rounds of drinks.


Rich, Justin and Daren

We stay at Amsterdam until about 2:30 (Redbull is amazing, isn’t it?) and then decide to call it a night. Thanks everyone for a great time!


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Up at the crack of dawn

24 02 2007

Tonight I’m trying to wind down a little early since I have to be up at the crack of dawn to drive up to Flagstaff with Jerry, Vicky and Deanna for a day of snowboarding, drinking and general mischief. That’s right, it’s time for another Core! I’m really glad we’ve been able to keep up with these special plans, and I’m also impressed that we’ve been able to get more and more creative with what we do together.

February has been a really fantastic month, as I just got back from a trip to San Francisco last weekend with Rich, Justin, Philip and Bernard. Although I thought I might be pushing the limits with 3 parties in one weekend, I never really felt tired at all this week.

In fact I was so excited for the upcoming White Party in Palm Springs that I returned to my workout almost right away, never skipping a beat. Which is good, because I’m getting constant reminders that the White Party is in 6 weeks, and time is running out to prepare. I even got a White Party DVD in the mail yesterday from Jeffrey Sanker. Luckily, my new treadmill was delivered on Tuesday, and I am really enjoying using it. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so I couldn’t put it out in the gym…I had to set it up in the living room for now, either until I can clear out another ajoining room, or someone comes over the house to help me move it. It’s pretty cool because it has a built-in TV and iPod dock. So while I’m running, I can either play that White Party DVD or listen to some music to keep me motivated.

That’s about all for tonight. I will just close by telling ALL of my friends how much I’ve enjoyed spending more time with them lately – whether it’s chatting, dining, working out, bar hopping, clubbing, snowboarding, or any of the other things that we love to do…the months and years keep getting better and better.

Here are some pictures from San Francisco last weekend…


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Strangely caught in the 80’s

16 02 2007

Wednesday Jerry and I decided to check out Burn, which is apparently straight now for one night a week. Overall, what started out a little strange turned out to be a great night.

It was odd to see Burn filled (well, filled would be a bit of an overstatement for a wednesday night) with straight people. Besides being strangely caught in the 80’s, this crowd did not really eminate friendliness.

A little blurry, but I didn’t want to upset them with my flash

After we were finally (finally!) able to get some beers, we relaxed a little and watched an unexpected fire dancing show in the lounge. The lounge was closed off (presumably for fire code reasons), so we had to watch from the window between the lounge and the main bar. The night started to grow on us.

This guy was really entertaining, but he freaked Jerry out when he lit his pants on fire

We chatted with Angela and Jacob for a bit when they got in, and listened to some classic 80’s and 90’s music, before calling it a night and heading back to Jerry’s. Daren was on the couch, and he woke up and decided to finish up his drink.


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Pretty sore right about now

30 01 2007

This will be a short post…just making note of my new workout routine in preparation for the White Party in Palm Springs in April. I’ve been working out with Daren and Jerry for the last week at Jerry’s complex gym. The plan is to lift and run 5 days a week. Let me tell you, yeaterday was shoulders and I’m getting pretty sore right about now. I’m also on a diet that borders on being an eating disorder. Ha. No but seriously, I’m having fun working out again and I think I’ll be in much better shape in a few weeks.

I worked at Starbucks today, and enjoyed getting out of the house for a morning/afternoon. I’m learning some new software that I purchased this morning, and I think it will really help with my current project. I got a “business” call from Rich Brown this morning, and that was pretty wild since we’re working with the same client now! But I’m so glad that he’s there now, because I can rest a little easier knowing that part of my project is in his hands.


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A bit of convergence

28 01 2007

I don’t know what it is about AZ88 in Scottsdale – but every time I go there, there is a bit of convergence involved. By that I mean that there are people in the party who haven’t met each other before that night. In fact, I don’t think I can remember ever having been there where I had previously known everyone in my party.

At about 9pm I met Rich, Justin, Mark, Andrea, Jerry and Daren for an evening of strong drinks, sub-par food, and fun conversation. It’s no secret that I don’t particularly like AZ88 for various reasons, but I still had fun nonetheless because of the company.

After dinner and a few drinks, we headed to Burn Nighclub in downtown Phoenix for a few more drinks and some dancing. I realized how much I had missed Mark and Andrea, as they are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. DJ Jeremy was good, but we all agreed that he wasn’t as good as last week.


Justin, Andrea, Rich and Mark at Burn Nightclub

Today I’m getting a bit of a late start, because I did the afternoon nap thing, and now I feel like I’ve been asleep for 16 hours even though it’s only been a total of about 8. I have a lot of work to do today for one of my clients, so I’m not sure if I’ll get to writing about something that has been on my mind for the last few days. I also need to work out with Jerry and Daren at about 7. I think I might work from Starbucks tomorrow, I’m feeling a little couped up in this house…


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Always a good sport

27 01 2007

Well today I am so sore from my Thursday workout, that I pretty much feel like I narrowly survived a horrible train wreck. I did some shopping at Target, and almost felt like I needed one of those chairs. Last week I started one of Jerry’s vigorous workout routines – and the plan is to meet Sun-Thurs for a daily jog and lift. With my treadmill phobia sufficiently conquered, I feel pretty good about this plan.

I went out for a night of drinking and craziness with Jerry and Daren, and it was an interesting diversion from the typical Burn routine that I’ve been on. Since Jerry and Daren are both straight, and Daren isn’t quite as cosmopolitan as Jerry is, we decided to stick with straight bars. So we started out by taking a cab to Bikini Lounge, local authentic tiki bar with an interesting beatnik hipster crowd.


Me, Daren and Jerry sharing a pitcher of Pabst Blue Ribbon at Bikini Lounge

We had a couple pitchers, joked around and made fun of the DJ a bit, then called our next cab to take us to Sky Lounge downtown.

Sky Lounge is right next door to Burn, and as far as I knew this was suppose to be straight. Well, when we paid our cover and went inside, Daren instantly knew something was up when he pointed out a couple guys grinding on the dance floor. I thought hmm, this must be a very accepting crowd. Well no sooner than 30 seconds after we got upstairs (it was only 18+ no drinking downstairs) we quickly realized that tonight was primarily a gay and lesbian latin crowd. I had to laugh when Daren turned to me and said “you realize I am SO far out of my element right now.” Always a good sport, Daren politely enjoyed his first gay club experience (and possibly his first latin club experience). To really appreciate the irony of this, I should point out that Daren was watching Fox News before we left to go out tonight.


This is pretty much how Daren looked for the duration of our stay at Sky Lounge

As we were all getting pretty lit up, I found a guy to dance with, Jerry danced with the guy’s girl friend, and a great time was had by all. After several more rounds of beer to calm Daren’s nerves, we left the club and got in a bike taxi for an odd ride back to Jerry’s apartment complex.


In our bike taxi…at this moment you can see Daren’s reaction to my comment about posting these pictures on my blog

After getting back to Jerry’s, Jerry and I decided to wrap up the night with a few more poorly mixed drinks and some reflective discussion starting with Wednesday’s allegorical post about what’s going with me these days. Jerry related a few things as well, and the rest of the night was spent being sick over those very, very poorly mixed drinks.


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