Well, it’s 2009. You’re going to lose weight, get organized, stop smoking, eat right, get a promotion, get a boyfriend, be a better girlfriend, and possibly save the world. Okay, so I have a significant other, don’t smoke, and I hope I’m a decent girlfriend. I usually make it about 3 weeks with the New Year’s resolutions, but keep making them every year nonetheless. I have a new planner, got the Wii Fit out of the closet, and have a pile of new recipes to try.

Which resolutions have a chance of sticking? Probably none of mine, if we’re all honest. That said, there are resolutions that work. Do you need to spend more time with friends and family? This one sticks, for many people. If you’ve resolved to learn something new, and take active steps to get started, you might manage to keep this one as well. Taking steps now, while you’re enthused and energetic about your resolutions can help you to keep them. Schedule regular time with friends today and enroll in that class or order the book.

Consider enlisting a friend or significant other for support. You may simply need someone to help keep you on track or you may want to find a friend with a similar resolution for the New Year. Getting to the gym is more likely if you have someone to go with you and eating right is easier if you’re all having salad. If you’ve committed to improving at work, make an appointment to talk to your boss and ask for a review or ask a coworker for their honest assessment. Consider hiring a personal trainer, nutritionist or organizer if you think it would help you. For some of us, putting our money where our resolutions are can make all the difference.

My partner didn’t make any resolutions. There was a speech about constant self improvement, not just at New Year’s. I don’t know that I believe this. New to do lists have appeared on my refrigerator and entries in that long ignored blog. I am glad not to be the only one hoping for a bit of self improvement in our house this year.

I’ve ticked things off my to do list, including writing this today. I’ve made a healthy dinner and called my mother. I’m off to try to figure out how to use that Wii Fit I’ve had for six months and then I think I’ll go reward myself with a brownie. I meant to bake more this year, after all…

Just think the Nation itself will have one great New Year’s Resolution accomplished bringing in a New President and hopefully seeing a brighter economy and more peace in the world.

Each school year brings some of the most interesting news when it comes to college fraternities and high school sports hazings.  Last month, several high school football players were accused of sodomizing six younger teammates with a broomstick (size queens) during training camp.  What brings on this sort of thing in testosterone driven sports and initiations in frat houses?

‘Hazings’ are also known as ‘initiations’ – things that one group of people will do to another person in order for that person to be allowed to join a group, gang or even a Fraternity. The word derives from a 17th century Scottish word meaning to frighten, scold or beat cattle while driving them, and from the French Haser, to tease or insult.

No surprises then that Hazings have received some bad press as many initiation ceremonies go further than just simple teasing, and include harassment, humiliation and even physical abuse. You may have seen movies such as The Skulls (2000) which took entry into a college fraternity as its theme – the guys there started out with fun and adventurous rituals to perform, such as stealing the weathervane from a tower. But these soon started to turn nasty and dangerous, both physically and emotionally, for the characters. And that’s the warning.

Hazing has been a popular activity in school and sports institutions for many years, especially among the male of our species. I can remember innocent things which we now call hazing; having to carry someone’s bags, or being dared to do something only slightly mischievous like make a face at a teacher behind his back. Now though these things are becoming increasingly more brutal and institutions and individuals are finding themselves in court over what they have allowed to happen. Here is an example from nola.com, dated May 2008: “Five members of a Tulane University fraternity were arrested Tuesday and five others are being sought on felony battery charges in an alleged hazing incident in which two pledges received second- and third-degree burns from boiling water and crab-boil being poured on their bodies.”

But not all hazings involve such extreme measures and there can be a lot of pleasure to be gained from viewing home videos (on the Tube sites for example) and realty movies on some adult sites – particularly as hazing is fast becoming a fetish genre in the adult industry.

Here’s an example: I searched out collegehazing.com a site dedicated to the practice of sexual humiliation among new guys at college. Images here ranged from guys who were simply ‘mooning’ (showing off their asses) to being bound and stripped. Having to flash one’s dick to the general public is a fairly common and innocuous activity, but licking someone’s ass in order to be accepted in to a football team may leave a nasty taste in the mouth, particularly if you’re a straight guy. Many of these initiations happen during parties, or certainly when there is alcohol around and it is not uncommon to see guys who are unconscious through too much drink being stripped, and even masturbated, while the others look on and the cameras click away.

So is it always a homoerotic pastime I ask myself? Is there always a sexual side to hazing? No, not always but it does seem that even the straightest of football players will stand by and watch as another guy gets naked. It may build team spirit and help the guys to bond but how far will they go to be in a team? Cyd Zeigler Jr., on outsports.com points out: Many of the acts that younger players are submitted to are also homoerotic or homosexual. Licking each other’s bodies, simulating sex acts, forced sodomy with various objects – these acts work on two levels. First, they reinforce the notion that same-sex affection is weaker; the subjected men are rarely “hazed” with forced affection from someone of the opposite sex. Second, they serve to satisfy the latent homosexuality of many of the players involved.

So hazing, in these all male situations, is about domination, both of the body and the mind. It can be seen on various levels: fun, when innocuous; sexual, when nudity, simulated and even actual sex is involved; and powerful as, at the end of the day, the group, the herd, tribe, sports team or gang is the thing that holds the power to accept or reject the person fighting for the right to join them. The trouble is, in the wrong hands or when out of control it can simply go too far.

This is it for me, folks. Thank you for making the last two years amazing ones, and please don’t be strangers!

http://www.mariaangeline.com/contact

I miss you all already.

I’m scheduled to host the International Carnival of Pozitivities, a blog carnival for people living with HIV/AIDS, on May 10th. Is anyone out there interested in taking my place?

I posted about Lambda Legal’s “Life Without Fair Courts” illustration contest here. Entries are due on March 15, 2007. Find out more about the contest by clicking on Lambda Legal’s ad in our sidebar.

See ya on Monday!

It’s been a wonderful two years around here. This blog’s most recent accomplishment, becoming a 2007 Bloggies finalist, was a completely unexpected and amazing surprise. I’ve also been able watch traffic triple since December 06:

2/12/07 - 2/18/07: 14,326 visitors, 7,504 unique visitors, 96,845 page views

01/07: 41,120 visits, 19,990 unique visitors, 379,817 page views

10/06 - 12/06: 52,585 visitors, 21,867 unique visitors, 182,985 page views

2006 (all): 203,875 visits, 80,912 unique visitors, 609,963 page views

06/05 - 12/05: 57,731 visitors, 17,172 unique visitors, 162,402 page views

I’ve had a great run with this site, but it’s time for me to give all my time and energy to other projects.

My last post here will be in the near future, possibly as soon as the first week of March. I will be starting conversations with potential buyers immediately.

The ideal purchaser of this site is someone with existing advertising contacts and/or agency connections for ad placement. At the present rate of growth, this site will be averaging 500,000 page views monthly by March; this sale is a perfect opportunity for someone to establish or extend a personal brand without having to start from scratch. This site’s domain name has been renewed through 2008. All software, script customization, images, posts, comments and site registrations are negotiable.

Interested parties should contact me here with any questions. I will respond to all inquiries within 48 hours.

If you have a blog, please link to this post to help spread the word that this site is for sale. The more people who know, the more attractive of a sale offer is possible. As my last post here draws closer, I’ll have more information for you on what’s next for DailyDoseofQueer.com.

Do you have a site for sale? Please also contact us and maybe we can combine the offers.

Queercents has announced the launch of its weekly series titled Money Mondays. The series will offer tips and hints beneficial to surviving tax season.

You can read the first two installments of Money Mondays here and here.

Queercents is the host blog of the current edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. Don’t forget: submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions, which will be hosted at Viviane’s Sex Carnival on March 10th, are due before 12:01AM on March 2nd.

NEW! Make sure you read through our new gay money section. 

Thanks for nominating Daily Dose of Queer for the 2006 Koufax Best Single Issue Blog Award, Winter!

In pictures.

Nichelle, a Cupcakes Take the Cake blogger, posted about these Red Betty Boop Adidas at her personal blog.

Best Lesbian-ish Day Ever covered Michelle Rodriguez’s Fashion Week accessory: a court-ordered ankle bracelet she has worn since being convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii last year.

Via FabSugar, the Betsey Johnson Avril beaded peep toe pumps.

Over at BetseyJohnson.com, I found the Betsey Johnson Merri Shoes.

Luxist featured Roberto Cavalli’s Laser Cut Metallic Clutch as a Handbag of the Day.

Miss Malaprop wrote about eco-friendly bags here. She links to ENVIROSAX, where this bag from their Retro collection is a favorite of mine.

Arvind Devalia suggests starting off 2007 by sending some of your old shoes to show heaven.

Andrea Dickson at Wise Bread gives an example of how to personalize a handbag.

This woman is doing it. And many of the people who commented on this post have lived on less.

When you’re struggling it often feels like you’re alone in your money problems. While it’s depressing to hear the news, it’s also nice to know there are many other people living in way less than desirable situations.

Thank you for the link, Jen!