Whether it’s before, after, or during sex, or even instead of sex, I love cuddling. One of the ways that I realized that I was gay was the steong desire to be held by another man. There’s just something about being lovingly held in a man’s arms that is pure bliss. I love to cuddle.

The science behind cuddling’s appeal all comes down to one word: hormones. A good cuddle, hug or loving physical interaction with another person (including sex) releases a trio of feel-good substances in your brain: 1) oxytocin, the chemical responsible for happiness; 2) endorphins, the chemicals released after a really tough workout or when you eat chocolate; and 3) dopamine, the hormone that regulates the pleasure centers in your nervous system and helps reduce blood pressure.

So let’s release those hormones, and cuddle more.

I love to see a man smile. It’s such a turn-on. I have a close friend who every day I have the supreme fortune to get to see his smile. It doesn’t matter what kind of mood he’s in or how he’s feeling, I get to see his smile. It’s one of the great joys of my life. I don’t always have many, but this week has been an exception. On Monday, I wrote a post about being in the closet, because it was something on my mind. On Tuesday, I elaborated on my situation for those who might not have understood. It never occurred to me that I would get such a response out of those posts. Not only did I receive quite a number of comments, but email after email has come in offering love, compassion, and support. (I’m still trying to answer all of them.) Each one of those emails has made me smile, not something I find myself doing often enough these days. People have said that they just felt the need to reach out, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

With yesterday’s federal court ruling, with it being an almost foregone conclusion, Alabama is one step closer.

I’d have coffee with any one of these guys any day.

Each of these pictures were pictures I thought about using on my post about “Touch” from Thursday.

When you get a glimpse, the rest is left to the imagination, and I like where my imagination goes with this one.

While school is in session, I usually don’t have much time to read for pleasure. I do plenty of reading, but it’s usually school related reading. So when I have a break from school, I usually have a long list of books to read, which I love to do.

Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer
We’ve been good, but we can’t last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast
Want a plane that loops the loop
Me, I want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don’t be late.