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For the couples out there, I hope you have a day of love, passion, and bliss. For the singles out there, here’s a sexy series I enjoyed, titled “Call Me Anytime”:
[ Click here to see the full, uncensored series of “Call Me Anytime” ]
Look very closely at this graphic, taken from Mariah’s new promotional website, and let me know if you notice anything unusual about it. Uh-huh. How do you spell Mariah again? I say this with friendly humor, of course, because I know that anyone can make a typo. I’ve made my share of them over the years. But I’m a guy working out of a spare bedroom in my house. I guess I just thought that major artists like Mariah Carey had a few more people working on their projects… maybe at least one of them would proof a design before showing it to millions of visitors? Mariah… I’m available. I can design your website, and I’ll even proof-read it too. Call me.
That’s a hard question to ask. But even harder is anticipating the sting that might come with the answers. A wise business man once said in one of his lectures that you should ask everyone you work with, “What can I do better?”. If you want to take it a step further, you can even ask your significant other, your family, your friends. I’ve never actually done it, because I would be way too sensitive to take the heat if someone actually said something that struck a nerve with me. But today, I decided to step outside of my safe and secure box. There was a potential client that I’d been communicating with, and things were going well. It seemed promising, and I did believe he would be hiring me to design his website. I’d provided good customer service, which he acknowledged. I’d presented a strong portfolio, which he acknowledged. And the budget he’d set for this project was reasonable and workable for what he wanted to accomplish. All signs point to “yes”, don’t they? That’s what I found out they decided to hire a different designer. My first instinct was to write them a friendly e-mail, thanking them for their time and consideration and wishing them well. I try to always do that, because I want to leave people with a positive impression, even if they didn’t decide to do business with me. So I wrote them a friendly e-mail, but I added an additional paragraph that said: “I’m always open to feedback so that I may improve my business. If you don’t mind, please let me know if there is anything about my process that I could do differently or better. If there is anything specific that influenced your decision, please let me know so that I can provide better service in the future.” As soon as I sent that off, I dreaded the response. Did I really need to know these answers? Couldn’t I just leave things as they were, with a friendly goodbye and then be on my way? The response arrived, and I held my breath as I opened it. There was nothing wrong with my process, or my service. They chose to go with a designer that was an acquaintance, and they felt obligated to hire this person instead of an outside source. I felt relieved, and also proud that I’d went out on a limb to ask something I didn’t really want to know. Maybe that millionaire business guru was right… ask people “What can I do better?” I’ll try… I promise I will.
I guess that’s the Catholic in me. When I was growing up, it was ingrained in my sub-conscious that we have no right to end the life of someone else. For all the things I disagree with in Catholicism, I do agree with that. I don’t like the death penalty, regardless of whether someone might “deserve” to die. So today it was announced that the U.S. is going to pursue the death penalty against the 6 detainees who helped carry out the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Hearing this news just changes something in me. It causes an immediate shift in my heart. I go from thinking “The death penalty is wrong” to “Kill them! Kill them now!” It’s amazing what passion and hatred September 11th brings out in us. You can have a very peaceful view of the rest of the world, but when it comes to getting vengeance for that one day, even the softest hearts turn to ice when thinking about the terrorists. Tough topics. I guess if there were ever a group of people I did feel deserve the death penalty, it would be these guys. Saying that causes pain inside me, because I never want to feel that way about anyone. But when it comes to these guys, I just do.
Ah, the fond memories we have of that show. It was a Saturday night tradition in our household. Rodney and I would pile on the couch each week to see what new designs they came up with for homes, and how the homeowners would react. Often times we’d even have friends over to watch. It was just a good time. The show changed the way the public looked at interior design and got millions of people interested, who otherwise wouldn’t have been. But eventually things did fall apart for the show. They got too gimmicky and were doing all these crazy things. The final nail in the coffin was when TLC fired Paige Davis. That’s when they lost us, as well as most of their other viewers. Now it’s back… in its original form. Paige Davis is the host, many of the old designers are back, and the show is very simple. No crazy gimmicks, just the regular show that we know and love. Rodney and I watched it tonight. It was a very nice return to old traditions. Good choice, TLC. I’m glad you came to your senses.
Here are some photos from our trip to New York. They probably aren’t the kind you expected of tall buildings and architecture. The funny thing about New York is that when you’re there, it’s actually really hard to capture photos like that because the buildings are so tall, you can’t fit them in the picture. And if you go down the street to take them, there are too many people, cars, and buses in the way to do it. So this is more of a personal view of New York rather than a full city view.
Rodney and me on a viewing deck of the Statue of Liberty. Manhattan is behind us. Do you think Rodney’s cold???
Riding the ferry back to New York.
Obligatory Times Square shot at night. All tourists must take at least one.
This is called “The Sphere” and it was in a fountain of the World Trade Center. It is battered and broken, but it remains a symbol of strength. There is a flame on the ground that has been lit since 2002.
Rodney poses with a wax replica of our next President.
Backstage with singer Mika in the middle and Rey on the right.
I don’t know what it is, but I want it! (Museum of Modern Art)
I’d always wanted to see this in person! It’s “The House by the Railroad”, circa 1925 by Edward Hopper. This piece was the inspiration for the design of Norman Bates’ house in my favorite movie, Psycho.
Front row at a taping of The View. I have no idea what Elizabeth is doing.
Dinner with Daryl and Rey. Daryl cut his head open on the door of his new car and had to get stitches. Poor guy.
This pic is funny because the horse is attacking me and none of us has realized it yet. I thought the horse was being playful, but it turns out the horse was trying to take a bite out of my arm!
I’m smiling, even though I’m very freaked out that a horse just attacked me. There is horse slobber on my coat and I am not happy about that. Rodney doesn’t know what to think about it.
Statues of same-sex couples in Christopher Park to honor the Stonewall riots.
The Stonewall Inn, where the first gay rights movement took place. When I walked in, I could feel all the energy of the past. It’s amazing what you can sense when you walk into a place.
Random silliness.
Sometimes I get worked up about the most insignificant things. And it doesn’t happen all at once… it happens over a period of days, like a volcano that is slowly building up until it erupts. Yes, I know it’s ridiculous. But it seems like little things drive me crazy while big things roll off my back. But I must bitch and moan a little, so just look the other way… Recently a friend was over, and the news was on, so we began having a casual conversation about Super Tuesday. Rodney chimed in that we were big Hillary fans, and then he asked our friend who she voted for. “Oh, I haven’t really had time to think about it. So I just voted for a Republican,” she said. She then went on to explain that her husband did too. (Picture me… biting my tongue very hard.) “Did you not like Obama or Hillary?” Rodney asked her. “Obama’s a radical Muslim and I don’t agree with his religious background,” she said boldly. (Bite tongue, bite tongue, bite tongue….) “And I don’t know anything about Hillary,” she continued. (Oh shit… bite tongue, bite tongue, bite tongue HARD! Hillary was the First Lady for 8 years. How could you not know anything about her?) Damn, I couldn’t hold it any longer… “That’s a huge rumor about Obama, and it’s false. It was part of a smear campaign started by the media and I’ve taken the time to research it to get to the bottom of it. Obama is not a radical Muslim,” I said with a friendly smile. She rolled her eyes at me and said “Yes, he is. I saw it on TV.” (Oh, fuck! My tongue is going to be bitten right off!) “That was a false news report. I’ve checked up on this rumor, and it’s simply not true. Obama is not a Muslim,” I said, trying to keep my cool. To that, she gave yet another sarcastic face, as if to say “Whatever” and just shook her head like I was an idiot. The conversation came to an abrupt end. She didn’t argue with me, but her gestures and facial expressions are what really make me angry. She clearly stated that she hadn’t taken the time to research the candidates, and yet she treated me like a total moron in my own home just because “the TV” told her Obama was a Muslim. Maybe I should put on a suit and stand in front of the TV like I’m a reporter, and then she’ll believe what I tell her too. Fuck. I get so angry at people like that. I can’t believe one of my own friends makes such bad decisions. But unfortunately, I think I’m going to have to continue to bite my tongue on this issue. I do believe that communication is important, but I don’t think anything positive would come from this debate with her. If Barack does happen to come up again, I do think I’ll kindly and calmly explain the origins of the rumor and point her to some informative sites online that explain how it all started. But as for her haphazard voting style; that’s something I’ll just have to suffer through. Is this how the minds of all Republicans work?
Valentine’s Day is next week, and I realized that I never really do anything cool on my blog to celebrate it. So I had an idea… A lot of my readers are couples, so I wondered if you’d like to share your love story? Tell readers about how you met, and all that good stuff. If you’re interested, send it my way and I can publish it. I don’t know how much response I’ll get, but I thought I’d put it out on the table. Any takers? E-mail secrets [at] nathanexposed [dot] com
It’s been awhile since I indulged you in a good story about our dog Petey’s bowels, so here goes… When we first got him in 2005, he was just a little puppy and we were staying out of town in a hotel that didn’t allow dogs. We didn’t want him to have an accident on the carpet of the room, so we kept him in between us in the bed like a baby. Petey went to sleep immediately, happy as can be since this was his first time in a soft bed instead of a cage. Petey wasn’t quite sure how to situate himself, so he decided to sleep on his back with all fours up in the air. It was adorable. As he was sleeping, Rodney and I both just watched him. Suddenly we heard a faint whistle as he blew gas out of his little butthole. We both started laughing hysterically, but Petey just kept on sleeping. It was the beginning of a very gassy relationship. As Petey grew up, we came to learn he can clear a room in seconds. He has a fondness for eating his food too quickly, which in turn causes stinky farts from all the air he swallows while chowing down. For the first few years, he didn’t really know to deal with his gas. He’d be walking along and a fart would slip out, then he’d stop dramatically and swing his head around like he didn’t know what happened. I guess he thought there was a fart bandit back there, but he could never quite catch the bandit in the act. Just recently, Petey has come to terms with the fart bandit, and now enjoys farting. He likes it so much, I’d almost call it a sport. Petey positions himself with his head turned as close to his ass as possible, nose sticking straight forward. Then he farts, and sniffs, then farts, and sniffs. He just loves to fart and sniff. It’s all he wants to do anymore. I swear he hears voices. He’ll get really intense and just wait for the next one to come out. I’ll look at him in disgust and ask “Petey, is your butt talking to you again?” He just ignores me and continues basking in the smell of his own homemade scents. That’s the story of the fart bandit.
The weather was cold and rainy, but once you get past the shock of walking around with wet pants and squishy shoes all day, it’s not too bad. We saw most of the famous landmarks, and just had a great time each day. I have about 500 photos to sort through, so I’ll try to get some posted. I’m notoriously bad about procrastinating, so don’t be too surprised if it’s spring before I do it. That’s the news here. Oh, I was happy to hear Hillary won Tennessee! Yay! But I was also very sad to hear of the devastating storms that ripped through the south while we were gone. We came home to find a large tree limb in our front yard. Why is that disturbing? Well… we don’t have any large trees on our street. But our home is fine, our friends and neighbors are fine. The tornadoes never made it to the Nashville area.
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1 Comment
Being a website designer is hard work. I’ll acknowledge that. But I think every designer’s worst nightmare is launching a major website for one of the best selling singers of our time… and not realizing you misspelled her name.
I’ve always had a bit of a struggle dealing with the death penalty. I’m not a big fan of killing people, no matter if it’s murder, war, or sentenced by law. They have different names and different circumstances, but what it all comes down to is the same - you’re taking away someone’s life. Regardless of right or wrong, a human is being stolen from this earth.
Thanks to a gigantic billboard in Times Square, I found out last week that Paige Davis is back on Trading Spaces.
