Year-End Special : 25 CSB Posts of 2008 Revisted

The year 2008 has been a fantastic one for Crazy Sam's Bloginess. This blog and its readers inspired me to do a lot of crazy stuff. I can't believe how much energy and time I have put in this site. I really must be crazy! A few more days and 2008 will give way to a new year fostering new hopes and new dreams. So I thought I would present to you 25 handpicked posts that appeared here during these past 12 months and may be a little inside scoop of what went behind in the making of some of those posts, some afterthoughts and some epilogues..

Men N' Music

What a powerful combo it is when you mix gorgeous men with euphony. As the enchanting music takes you to another world, we are shown an artistic array of well-built sexy men. Of course the icing on the cake comes when the photographer himself leaves a comment on the post. Thank you Pat Lee!
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Gaydar For Sale Anyone?

Yeah if there is one, I am willing to buy that. I need a strong powerful one, which can catch even the faintest Q-rays from all those hot looking trendy guys. I think God was in such a hurry to push me down to the earth that he forgot to fit me with one. Phoebe has got a better gaydar (even though she ain't gay). One time we were lunching and there were these two hot looking guys sitting one table after us. Later she tells me that those guys could be gay. Blimey! I didn't even have the faintest clue! So nowadays, I have put her on a mission - trap good looking gay guys with her charm and summon them to me. And I'm telling you, so far she is not at all doing a good job. I think she is keeping them to herself. Is Phoebe's boyfriend listening?
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Coulda Shoulda Woulda Prada

This post describes about my trip to Goa. Initially I was planning to write on how sexy Goa felt like with all those gorgeous touristy guys cruising the state. Of course the bride's brother still makes my heart skip a beat. He is such a handsome man, too bad he is straight.. and married! But nothing could be more flattering when two handsome fellas started checking me out during my journey towards home.
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The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life Of Crazy Sam

If you think that you have come across a similar phrase before, you are right. You might have heard of a movie, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life Of Ethan Green. This title is so apt for me. Most readers and visitors think that my social life could be such a breeze. News flash! - It's not.
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That Guy!

This one is my lame attempt in writing fiction. I seldom dare to write fictions because they demand lots of imagination. The plot for this story popped in my head when I was watching a Hindi movie called Gangster. There is a scene where Emraan Hashmi sings looking at Kangana Ranaut in a pub, which led me into thinking - wouldn't it be nice if a guy did that to me? Then I thought, "Yeah right! He might be actually singing looking at his girlfriend who is behind me." Then it snapped! This idea could really work for a story. Although I changed the situations for the embarrassment, the essence of the plot remained the same - the protagonist being mislead to develop false hopes, in the end leading to a heartbreak. I also injected into the storyline, my fear of rejection when I finally come out to parents. You might also feel that I was describing that gorgeous hunk with Nick Beyler in mind. Anyways, I hope I can give a second part for this one.
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Gays And Mothers

I don't know whether my mother can sense that I'm gay, but its a popular opinion (or a myth?) that a mother can know if her son or daughter is gay. In this article, I highlight about how a friend's mother saved him from his ex-boyfriend's threats, Whippy's very first coming out experience to his mother, how I was giving mixed signals to my mother even though they were unintentional, a heartening letter I got as a result of a discussion happened in a gay forum, and Nishit Sharan's documentary in which he filmed his coming out to his mother.
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Because I Love You

How would you feel if the dream you had just waken up from still lived on you for another few more moments? And how special that dream could be if it seemed like it was trying to show a possible romance in your future? I used to feel all exclusive thinking that I was the only one to have this kinda dream. But then thanks to that first comment, which put all those special feelings to rest!
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How To Turn-On Sam : Nine Sure Shot Ways!

The idea of CSB cover specials was born with this entry. This was also an experimental post where I tried to imitate the writing style of fashion magazines. Finding pics that could justify each point was a challenging task. But I missed one crucial turn-on factor which one reader later pointed out - hands, strong hands armed with triceps.
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Why Indian Brides Are In Trouble

It's sad to see a large number of married men looking out to quench their libido, which don't seem to get satisfied with what they do with women. But I'm sure Davis won't be resorting to that. I heard that at the bachelorette party on the night before the wedding, there was this guy who was awesomely good looking and he was so into Davis. But our Davis didn't fall for his charms. He had determined not to take that road again. Anyways, I wish him all the best.
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The Crazy Sam Musical

This could be the most challenging post that I have done. Whippy tagged me to come up with songs that should describe 22 situations of life. Now as if finding apt songs wasn't arduous enough, I chose to put the rationale behind each of those 22 songs. Then I felt, people should not be just reading my song selections, they should hear it! And so started the tedious affair of choosing fastest file-hosters to stream songs, finding light-weight and aesthetic audio players, updating my music blog (which was closed down later when CSB Random Video became functional) to link video files from here and placing the whole stuff without appearing as total chaos. The entire process was painfully strenuous and taking a hell lot of time that I even thought of dropping the idea. But when the post finally got published, the comments it received made me realize it was well worth the effort.
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Curing Homophobia

Yes I believe homophobia is a disease which spreads like a plague. These people need cure, otherwise more homophobic bullying, bashing and killing could happen. Every year homophobiaday.org conducts worldwide campaigns against homophobia which culminates on May 17th. In 2008, their message was simple and straightforward - "Homosexuality is not a sickness!" Now in 2009, they wish to spread the truth, "Homosexuality knows no borders."
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Have You Got What It Takes?

This post expands on my earlier rant, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life Of Crazy Sam. Actually this was written out of disappointment when a guy canceled our meet at last minute. I wanted to make my mind busy with something. What came out was this. Yes, finally I met that guy after a week, but he didn't impress me.
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Crazy Sam : Up-Close & Personal!

Pepe tagged me to write ten things about myself and he expected "neatness" and "creativity", which put me in quite a pickle. I don't get in a creative mood just like that and also I wanted to make this tag too look special just like the previous one. Then one evening while I was returning home from work, a thought pricked me, "Why not make this look like an interview that we see in Reader's Digest?" And BAM! The tag found its way to completion. This was my second CSB cover special.
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The Gay Parade And The Media

India had its first major gay parades at Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore on June 29th and how did the reporter from Associated Press start his sentence? "Men wore sparkling saris.." Another fine example for how homosexuality is often taken synonymous for transsexualism.
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But I Used To Be That Innocent..

When you were child, what did your parents say when you asked them how babies were born? I was totally grossed out with my mother's reply. This post became all the more interesting when bloggers and readers shared their experiences.
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The Cock-Out Attitude

I guess anyone would think twice before opening this post with a title like that. As I explained in the comment section, the cock-out attitude is really about the posture, the way one sits, walks or talks as if he is not afraid of his crotch being kicked (or grabbed) because he knows no one would dare to mess with that area (and that shows confidence). Apparently, some Italians found this article to be gross and some of them thought I was insane to imagine Adrian Armas as my trainer. This article also had the "honour" to get plagiarized.
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Bloggy Award Reviews Crazy Sam's Bloginess!

It was a dream come true when Bloggy Award finally reviewed this blog. I had been learning a lot from the suggestions they give out to blogs, in fact I was learning from the mistakes that other bloggers made. So when I submitted my blog and got perfect 10 in every criteria, I was on cloud nine.
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1 Year Of... Bloginess

This post marked the one year anniversary of Crazy Sam's Bloginess. I wanted to present something special, not just a post announcing the occasion. I thought why not make my music blog merge with this one and add a feature that can show random videos on each page load. The idea seemed fantastic, but how do I implement this feature? I announced my requirement at the Dynamic Drive forums. I soon got response from Raymond Angana that he has coded a similar widget and with slight modification to the code I would be able to get what I wanted. I checked his code, made the necessary alterations and voila! The CSB Random Video was ready. But the blog template CSB had that time wasn't suited for this. Therefore that required a long exhaustive search for blogger templates. Finally the one coded by Amanda Fazani seemed good. I began to tweak it according to my needs mainly concentrating on styling, colour scheme, CSB banner and ads, fonts and columns. With the help of BLiZZaRD, I then successfully installed the CSB Random Video. In the meantime I contacted the flash expert, Brian Wiltshire to code me a countdown widget which he readily agreed. I was also able to come up with a fabulous CSB cover featuring none other than Nick Beyler to glorify the occasion. Thus with the help of these great techies, CSB saw it's one year anniversary post on September 12th.
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Let's Talk About Porn!

It is an established fact that I absolutely love porn. Whenever someone talks about porn, it often gets dirty. So this post was my attempt to show that one can talk about porn without sounding sleazy. You can read about how I started watching porn and my admiration for certain male porn stars and gay pornographic studios. This article became the runner-up in the Most Courageous Post category of Avant Garde Bloggies Awards, thanks to all who voted.
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A Rendezvous That Offered A Mix Of Everything

Blind dates are most likely to be subjected to lot of awkwardness which is why many people don't prefer them. Though this cannot be exactly put as a blind date, it had loads of awkward moments. This post was actually reproduced from a chat conversation I had with a friend that night after the meet.
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John Miller's Good Looking Rascal

While flipping through the magazines, I always find myself staring at the John Miller guy. He is handsome and looks so mallu. One of the readers left a comment that he happens to be a VJ on Channel [V], VJ Neil. It's sad that I don't get Channel [V], but I bet he will be one good entertainer.
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The Right To Do "I Do"

Even though Proposition 8 was passed, America has hope. 47.8 percent supported gay marriage. Majority of the supporters of Prop 8 come from the older generation while the younger generation overwhelmingly voted against it. Since there is no force on earth that can stand against a generational shift, it is just a matter of few years when the voice of this young generation becomes a decisive factor in defeating Prop 8. But with Pope Benedict's latest statements such as the existence of gay people is as great a threat to humanity as the destruction of the rain forest [link], the fight for equality seems to be a long tiring battle.
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Why Cosmopolitan Is For The Fun Fearless Gay Male

I was dying to pen something like this from the time I was introduced to Cosmopolitan way back in Jan. I actually wanted to give a Cosmo-feel to it and that time I wasn't quite satisfied with what I wrote [link]. But this time, it was just perfect. And as per all your recommendation, I checked out Men's Health. I actually liked it and MH will be replacing my current health magazine. Even then, nothing comes closer to Cosmopolitan and it is still the best.
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Dostana

This is not a review about Dostana, rather it questions the marketing tactics of Karan Johar. Many desi-gays seem to consider Karan as some sort of messiah of the Indian gay community for what he has done with his latest production. So, this is my shot to squeeze some sense into them on how they are missing the bigger picture. As Simon, a friend at Facebook puts it, "Maybe the film does something for the sane people but I don't think it does anything for the 'Phobes'."
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The Safe First Step I Took To Come Out To My Mother

I guess the title of this one is somewhat misleading to make people think that I actually came out to my mother. But I haven't, yet. Some readers expressed their difference of opinion regarding the issue of coming out to co-workers. As I said, the end decision is left to your discretion. I still think coming out to co-workers is a pretty bad move. But then again, that is just me and I have some serious trust issues.
Click here to read the post.

Cover Details
Model: Anton Anipov
Photographer: Peter D Brown
Original Image Copyrighted To: DMK Designs
CSB Mock-up Magazine Cover Done By: Crazy Sam

Other Articles Shown On The Cover:
The Right To Do "I Do"
Let's Talk About Porn!
John Miller's Good Looking Rascal
Why Cosmopolitan Is For The Fun Fearless Gay Male

Before wrapping up this post, I want to specially thank few guys for bestowing me with some cool awards this year.

Unsung was generous enough to present me the Brilliante Weblog Award and the Honest Blogger Award. Pepe too showed his love with another Brilliante Weblog Award. And last but not least, Oxy honoured me with the Proximidade Award.

I know I'm supposed to pass on these awards. Oh well..

Check out these related posts too!
1 Year Of... Bloginess
Crazy Sam : Up-Close & Personal!
How To Turn-On Sam : Nine Sure Shot Ways!