Well it’s Monday afternoon and the third time I’m giving this post a try. Another weekend has come and gone, but that’s okay, though, cause summer’s right around the corner and I’ll have plenty of time to sleep and relax then, lol. It was a pretty good weekend, albeit a tiring one…



Macy’s Private Men’s Sale

This weekend was Macy’s semi-annual private men’s sale, which is usually the time I buy most of the clothes I have. This sale is the best Macy’s has, as it’s the one sale that I know of where there are (almost) no exclusions. Since I normally like to buy designer clothes, this one’s always a win-win for me, and so every time they have one I take the opportunity to get to Macys. The problem is, at first they used to have them two, maybe three times a year and now they’re running them way too often, luring me in almost bi-monthly with the promise of 25% off.

I wouldn’t normally bring up a shopping excursion such as this, but I experienced once again something I’ve written about before. In the article Invasion of the Men’s Department: Who’s to Blame?, I discuss an issue that has plagued me for years. Every time I go shopping for clothes, I always seem to have to fight with women everywhere, at the clothes racks, the underwear department and yes, even in the fitting room. It’s a pet peeve that never ceases, and I experienced it once again on Saturday.



After gathering some new frocks to try on in the Inc., Ecko and Calvin Klein areas, I headed off to the fitting room to try everything on. I hopped into a stall near the entrance and started to change. Within moments I heard a couple right outside my door.

“Is it okay if I come in?’ a woman’s voice whispered.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” her apparent boyfriend answered.

My blood began to boil as the woman stood right outside my stall, making the usual commentary on the clueless male shopper. I had wanted to scream “no” in answer to her question, but that’s not my style. The two of them continued on in his little fashion show as if there were nothing extraordinary about it.

“Ooh, that makes your butt look hot!”

“Nope….I don’t like the color.”

“Those are too long.”

As this went on I was screaming inside my head. I so wanted to tell the woman to get the heck outta there. If I were to walk into the ladies fitting room while she was trying things on, I’m sure she would have freaked out and the authorities would’ve been called in.

When I was done, though, the young, pretty woman gave me a smile and all I could do was smile back and think “bitch” under my breath. Nah, this wasn’t worth fighting for, but still: grrrrrrr!!!!!

Splash/Ritz Saturdays

After resting up at home on Friday night, I headed out to the city one last time before Fire Island summer weekends start next week. (Not that I won’t be going into the city anymore, just not as much, which I’m thankful for, especially with the price of gas these days.) I got off to a late start, but that was okay because I beat the midnight deadline when the Splash cover doubles from $10 to $20.

Splash was great fun from the get go. It was more crowded than usual and the music was smoking. I’m not sure if it was just because I was in a good mood or what last night, but I was just having such a good time dancing and talking with people I really could’ve stayed at Splash all night. I did have one uncomfortable moment when this dude kept grabbing me on the dance floor around the waist every time I put my hands in the air, but I handled him okay and escaped downstairs to my favorite bartender.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned him before, but there’s this guy who works downstairs behind the bar. I have no idea how he came to be my bartender, but he is. Now all (or most) of the bartenders at Splash are good looking and their uniform is a pair of skivvies, and this dude is no exception. He’s tall, sculpted, beautiful, and a heck of a nice guy. I’ve been going to him for months, but I have no idea what his name is, lol.



Anyway, as I sat at the bar for a drink, this really big, shirtless dude came and sat next to me. We exchanged a glance or two and just as I thought to myself that he really should put his shirt back on, he turned to me and asked me if he looked gross. Being the good liar that I am, I told him that he wasn’t and turned back towards my drink. The dude then leaned over the bar and whispered something to my bartender. All he did was shake his head and the guy walked away.

“But your face is…” the bartender said aloud once the dude had moved away. He turned to me and smiled. Ah, we had a moment, lol!

Wild Night at Ritz

As I said earlier, I was having such a good time at Splash I really could’ve stayed there all night, but at around 1:30 I had a sudden urge to go to the Ritz. I have yet to have a bad time there and I guess I was just curious enough to check out the scene. All I can say here was that I’m glad I went, because I had one of the best times in recent memory. For the first time in like forever, I was up and dancing with these two guys when suddenly the lights went on and the music stopped.

At first, I thought it might be a raid or something, but then I realized it was 4AM. The bar was closing and it was time to go home, but not before spilling out on to the street and chatting with the guys I had been dancing with earlier. By the time I got home, it was almost 6AM. I can’t wait to move into the city!

Out Magazine

This month’s Out Magazine features two of my favorite female singers. Cover girl and piping hot songstress Adele sat down for an interview with the gay periodical’s Aaron Hicklin on the eve of her current US tour. The interview is a great read and the photos, by photographer Perry Ogden, are slamming, especially the cover shot. Click the pic below to check it out:



The other singer featured in the June issue is none other than Robyn, who played such a big part of my life just a few short months ago. The talented Swedish pop star talks to Out’s Noah Michelson about her very un-pop-like approach to being successful, as well as her popularity within the gay culture. It’s another great read!



It’s too bad that lately I no longer listen to either of these lovely and talented young ladies. I’m afraid their music, although absolutely wonderful, brings up too many painful memories for me and I can’t help but hit the ‘next’ button whenever one of their songs comes into play on my iPod. Maybe one day I’ll listen again!

Well, I think I’ve said more than a mouthful today and I’m going to finish up with a new semi-regular feature. I recently published a piece on Y!CN called Retweeting Great Quotes on Twitter for Both Inspiration and Followers. It features some of my favorite things about Twitter: great quotes. Since there are so many great quotes tweeted each and every day, I figured I may just have to share a good one or two at the end of my posts. Today I share two quotes that I believe in wholeheartedly. Hopefully they will give you inspiration:

“Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it and let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you and because of you.”

@InflictTheTruth

“Life is too short so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly.”

@OMGloveislouder

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post and once again, thanks for reading! Enjoy Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep':





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We all love to shopping but...if shopping is not your main intention at Mall of America, visit the many attractions inside the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the United States. The newly opened Nickelodeon Universe theme park brings Nick characters to life with 24 rides geared for the young and young at heart.

Admission to the park is free. Rides and attractions require varying numbers of points. Points are available for purchase individually or in multi-point packages. Pay-one-price unlimited ride wristbands are also available.

Because it's indoors, the park is open year-round whenever the mall is open, which is pretty much all the time.

Mall of America(Mall of America,60 East Broadway,Bloomington, MN 55425 ) is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The mall is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In the United States, it is the second largest enclosed mall in terms of retail space but is largest in terms of total enclosed floor area.

Design :

Mall of America has a gross area of 4.2 million sq ft. (390,000 m²), with 2.5 million sq ft. (230,000 m²) available as retail space.The mall is a nearly symmetrical building, with a roughly rectangular floor plan. Over 520 stores are arranged along three levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a fourth level on one side. An addition planned north of the mall will allow for up to 900 stores. Four "anchor" department stores are located at the corners. The Mall is organized into four different zones, each with its own decorative style.

Notable attractions:

• Nickelodeon Universe
• Underwater Adventures Aquarium
• Bodies... The Exhibition

Nickelodeon Universe :

Nickelodeon Universe is an indoor theme park in the center of the mall, formerly known as Knotts Camp Snoopy, Camp Snoopy, and The Park at MOA. The park features roller coasters, among numerous other rides and attractions, and is the largest indoor theme park in the United States. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, Nickelodeon Universe has a great deal of natural foliage in and about the park, and its floor has a wide variance in height - the highest ground level in the park is 15 feet above the lowest. This allows for a far more naturalistic experience than would normally occur in an indoor amusement park.

The park features two new roller coasters; SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge and Avatar AirbenderIt also has a golfing section called Moose Mountain. With 18 holes, designed to create a challenge for players hoping to seek a hole in one.

Underwater Adventures Aquarium :

Guests travel through a 300 foot long curved tunnel through 14 feet of water to view over 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles, stingrays, and many more. Underwater Adventures offers special events such as sleepovers, scuba diving, snorkeling, and birthday parties.Children ages 2 and younger receive free admission, while admission for ages 3-12 are $11.95, and Adult admission for ages 13 & older are $18.95.

FUN FACTS :

• Minnesota's Mall of America is the largest, fully enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the U.S.
• Seven Yankee Stadiums would fit inside Mall of America.
• Mall of America’s 13,300 short tons of steel is nearly twice the amount in the Eiffel Tower.
• Walking distance around one level of Mall of America is .57 of a mile.
• Spending 10 minutes in every store would take a shopper more than 86 hours to complete there visit to Mall of America.
• More than 5,000 couples have been married at Mall of America since opening in August of 1992.
• The Mall of America is located on the former Metropolitan Sports Stadium which was home to the Minnesota Vikings and Twins. Home plate can be found in Nickelodeon Universe®.
• There are 30,000 live plants and 400 live trees planted in Nickelodeon Universe.

Phase II Expansion :

Phase II is the planned expansion for MOA, developing a large, empty parcel of land north of the mall which was the former home of the Met Center indoor arena and integrating an IKEA store built on a portion of the property in 2004. Phase II, in current form, includes a dinner theatre, ice rink, three hotels, and a waterpark; similar in design to the West Edmonton Mall. The expansion will not make MOA exceed the size of the WEM (itself going under expansion). The plan has been impeded by a lack of public financing.

MOA currently estimates costs of $1.9 billion for the expansion, doubling the mall's size with a 5.2 million-square-feet extension. The mall's developers have asked for $234 million in state and local subsidies, but the request was vetoed as part of a larger bill by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on its first appearance in the 2006-07 session. Questions have arisen among Bloomington city officials as to the fiscal ability of the Ghermezians to finish Phase II.

So decorates your holidays in Mall Of America and have a great experience of unlimited joy and happiness..

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Throughout the history of the world, starting with the church, censors have been put on many different things. The church was able to create a list of banned works, and many of the books were burned. The first list of banned books came from Pope Paul IV who established The Index of Prohibited Books to protect Catholics from controversial ideas. However, authors found ways to get around these censors. Many just published in a nearby country.

Whether it is for political reasons, religious reasons, or some other reason, books, to this day, continue to be banned, extremely looked down upon, or challenged harshly. As for me, I believe it’s completely ludicrous. Who says anyone has to right to ban someone else’s hard work and ideas? In any case, here are the top ten banned and rejected books ... check it out and tell me if I had missed out something from the list..

1. The Color Purple : “I see Sofia and I don’t know why she still alive. They crack her skull, they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm, it stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She can’t talk. And she just about the color of eggplant.”

A novel written by Alice Walker, The Color Purple depicts the life of a young black girl, Celie, who speaks about her life in letters to God. Celie has been raped by her stepfather, beat by her much older husband, and is basically alone. The book expresses what life is like in the deep south through the eyes of a black female. It has been banned because of its extreme and graphic violence, troubling ideas about relations between races, African history, human sexuality, and man’s relationship with God.

2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings : “If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult.”

This novel is an autobiography of the early life of Maya Angelou. It is able to show how trauma and racism can be overcome by strength and a love of literature. Angelou is able to depict her life from age three to age 17, in Stamps Arkansas. She at first lives with her older brother, and in the end becomes a parent. Throughout the novel, there is a lot of racism and violence, including rape. The book has been banned because of its explicit scenes of rape and other sexual abuse, as well as violence, homosexuality, and vulgar language.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird : “So it took an eight-year-old child to bring ‘em to their senses…. That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children.”

Published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird became popular quick, and eventually won a Pulitzer Prize. It was immediately successful and has been said to be a classic of modern American fiction. The book is known for its humor and warmth while still dealing with critical and serious issues such as racism, rape, and loss of innocence. Many see the book’s famous character, Atticus Finch, as being a hero both morally and racially. However, the book has been challenged many times because of how it deals with race issues. It is extremely prejudice and stereotypical. The novel also portrays an assault that is somewhat sexual, resulting in a rape. Vulgar language, including the “n” word, is also used.

4. Brave New World : " We can make a new one with the greatest ease-as many as we like. Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”

Written in 1932 by Aldous Huxley, this book revolves around a setting of a drugged, dull and mass society. The book takes place in the future, but it doesn’t provide much hope for generations to come. The book is a parody of a utopian society. The novel explained much disdain for youth, as well as a culture that is driven by the market. The book has been banned for its strong themes of drugs, sexuality, and suicide. In the novel, something as minute as chewing gum is seen as a way to deliver sex hormones, and pornographic films are spread around like free candy. Simply, Brave New World has been banned and challenged for its negativity, the latest being in 1993.

5. 1984 : “Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

Written by George Orwell in 1949, 1984 is a novel that depicts an extremely grim future of society. The society has no free will, truth, or privacy. The book was first banned in 1984 by the American Library Association because of its “bleak warning of totalitarian government and censorship.” Many see the novel as one that is expressing immoral themes, as well as being pro-Communist. The book tosses around the idea of “Big Brother,” which is still highly influential and popular in culture today. The book has also been challenged for sexual themes.

6. Lolita : " A normal man given a group photograph of school girl or Girl Scouts and asked to point out the comeliest one will not necessarily choose the nymphet among them. You have to be an artist and a madman, a creature of infinite melancholy, with a bubble of hot poison in your loins and a super-voluptuous flame permanently aglow in your subtle spine…”

This 1955 novel written by Vladimir Nabokov, analyzes the mind of a highly intelligent, self-loathing man named Humber Humbert, who is a pedophile and has an extreme obsession for “nymphets,” which are young girls, generally around the age of 12. Lolita was first published by a French pornographic press after being rejected by four publishing firms, but soon after, it was banned in France for being obscene. It was also banned in South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Argentina. However, the book was never really banned in the U.S. because when it was published, sexuality and teenage sex weren’t out of the norm. In any case, most countries have challenged the book because of its portrayal of a sexual relationship between a child.

7. Catcher in the Rye : “Sex is something I really don’t understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact.”

Written by J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye became a best-seller weeks within its release in 1951. The novel explains three days in the life of a 16 year old boy, who is seen as extremely troubled. It is a true expression of teenage angst and rebellion against adults, and many have challenged the book because they fear younger people will look up to Holden, the main character. The book first caused controversy in 1960 when a school principal fired a teacher for using the novel as part of an 11th grade class. Many states around the country have issues with the book, some saying it is “anti-white,” while others express that it puts too much emphasis on slang, sex, violence, and issues with morals.

8. Harry Potter Series : "As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.”

The most recent books on the list, the Harry Potter series tell the tale and adventures of a young boy named Harry Potter, who is a wizard, and his friends Ron and Hermione. The central theme of the book is a struggle against evil, Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents. Since the first book’s publishing in 1997, the series has been under much scrutiny. In 2001, parents from all over the U.S. and other parts of the world challenged the book because of its witchcraft, violence, the occult, and its overall scariness. Years later, the series is still banned and challenged for the same reasons, including lying, cheating, stealing, ghosts, and promoting Wicca ideology.

9. Candide : “’What! Have you no monks to teach, to dispute, to govern, to intrigue and to burn people who do not agree with them?”

A great book of great satire! Candide is a classic French novel that satirizes all things that many saw sacred in its day. Churches, philosophers, armies, and rulers were all poked fun at. Voltaire, through the use of satire and funny phrases, was doing nothing more than trying to express a man finding the best of all possible worlds while going through some of the worst things that could ever happen in life. The Great Council of Geneva banned the book after its release, but more than 30,000 copies sold in a year. In 1930, U.S. Customs seized Harvard-bound copies of Candide, and then in 1944 the U.S. Post Office wanted the book dropped from Concord Books.


10. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : “I knowed he was white inside, and I reckoned he’d say what he did say - so it was all right, now, and I told Tom I was agoing for a doctor.”

This book, written by Mark Twain, has been banned in many different places since it was published. Huckleberry Finn is a story of a young boy, Huck, and a runaway slave, Jim, who travel down the Mississippi in order to escape “sivilization.” Here in the U.S., the book was banned in 1885, a year after it was published. At first, the book was banned for its use of slang, which was seen as demeaning. Over time, the focus shifted towards the fact that the novel uses the “n” word so many times, in fact over 200 times. Many cannot get around the fact that such a derogatory word is used so much. Readers often substitute the word with “slave” or “servant.” Despite much controversy, many of the most famous writers, such as Ernest Hemingway, see the book as a great piece of literature, as do many readers.

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