Well, together we have made it over the top. As of this hour I have had 100,134 visitors to Nichevo, 521 in the last 24 hours. I am gratified that so many of you have chosen to come back time and again to my little corner of the world. I wrote yesterday that I should do something special to mark the occasion and so I have. Ryan and I chatted about just this subject (among others) and he suggested I do something different to mark the day as special. He suggested that I feature photos of men with their clothes on rather than off as is my usual bent. I told him I did not know if I had that many pictures of men with their clothes on as we were discussing posting 100 pictures (one for every thousand readers). I told him it would be a "chore" to search the archives for this collection of photos. After all I would have to spend hours looking through myriad pictures of handsome men. He laughed at this and told me I was "up" to the task to which I readily agreed. Of course your diligent host applied himself vigorously to the task which I must tell you was not as difficult as I had feared. Although my collective archives are approaching 40,000 images in total, I found more than enough photos to bring you an eye candy section worthy of the event in question. Their is some skin showing in some photos, after all I cannot resist a good photo just because there is a little skin showing. However for the most part the men featured today have most of their clothes on. They are still a pretty sight to behold and I hope you enjoy them but first I want to direct your attention to a story I received in my email today via AlterNet and New York's Gay City News.
Michael T. Luongo is a freelance author, journalist and photographer who recently made his way to Baghdad and Kurdistan to interview Gay Iraqis and report his findings. In a a rather lengthy article, Our Man In Baghdad, Michael tells a sobering tale of the dangers of being Gay in Iraq. We here in America face discrimination and in many instances hate crimes just for being Gay. In Iraq, it can mean torture and death. Yet there are many who risk everything to connect with others rather than staying isolated and alone. Even with the time he has spent in Iraq, Michael says "As happy as I was to finally be leaving, I felt an emptiness, a sense I had so much more to do, that I did not have the whole story. I had interviewed gay Iraqis, US Embassy employees gay and straight, members of the military, contractors, a slew of journalists based in Baghdad, and countless others, the majority off the record or with the promise of anonymity, and yet even so I was not sure I could parse the myriad details and make out a full, coherent picture." The relating of his experiences there is riveting yet appalling in its detail of the life or death day to day existence of Gays in Iraq. Probably the most amazing paragraph in the whole article is the last:
OK, rant over. By the way TXU never showed up on Tuesday to shut off the electricity so now it will be off on Wednesday from 8 AM to 6 PM so I guess I will rest today as I did not get any on Tuesday. In Closing, Thank You All for reading Nichevo and for all the encouragement I have received via comment and email over the last year plus. Keep on coming back and I will keep on posting my own unique blend of what is running through my mind at any given time. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
Michael T. Luongo is a freelance author, journalist and photographer who recently made his way to Baghdad and Kurdistan to interview Gay Iraqis and report his findings. In a a rather lengthy article, Our Man In Baghdad, Michael tells a sobering tale of the dangers of being Gay in Iraq. We here in America face discrimination and in many instances hate crimes just for being Gay. In Iraq, it can mean torture and death. Yet there are many who risk everything to connect with others rather than staying isolated and alone. Even with the time he has spent in Iraq, Michael says "As happy as I was to finally be leaving, I felt an emptiness, a sense I had so much more to do, that I did not have the whole story. I had interviewed gay Iraqis, US Embassy employees gay and straight, members of the military, contractors, a slew of journalists based in Baghdad, and countless others, the majority off the record or with the promise of anonymity, and yet even so I was not sure I could parse the myriad details and make out a full, coherent picture." The relating of his experiences there is riveting yet appalling in its detail of the life or death day to day existence of Gays in Iraq. Probably the most amazing paragraph in the whole article is the last:
- "I was reminded of a comment Rahim made as we walked in the Al Rashid gardens the day we first met. I pressed him to describe the differences between now and the time before the US invasion. At first, perhaps afraid he might offend me as an American, he hesitated to answer. Then, he said simply, clearly, and firmly, that for gays in Iraq, "It was better under Saddam." "
OK, rant over. By the way TXU never showed up on Tuesday to shut off the electricity so now it will be off on Wednesday from 8 AM to 6 PM so I guess I will rest today as I did not get any on Tuesday. In Closing, Thank You All for reading Nichevo and for all the encouragement I have received via comment and email over the last year plus. Keep on coming back and I will keep on posting my own unique blend of what is running through my mind at any given time. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment