Poll Position

Don't forget to take the poll when you visit Zirk's Irks!
There will be a new poll every week, on a variety of topics.
Post a request for poll topics. Let's find out how other people feel about your hot-button issues, especially with an election around the corner!
And since this is Chicagoland, vote early and vote often!

A Trip through the Blogoshpere

As I mentioned earlier, I am new to the world of blogging, so I thought I'd use the "Next Blog" feature on the navigation bar to see what other people are posting, and how they are going about it. I'm always open for new ideas. As I browsed through other blogs available through this provider, I was struck by one common theme: apparently there can never be too many avenues to market Internet porn.

Most of the random links I pulled up were just platforms for Adult Friend Finder with some very attractive women looking for partners in my geographic vicinity. How convenient! I wasn't aware that an amply endowed woman in a thong needed a date in Berkeley! I better contact her before she spends another night unhappy and alone! Thank you Internet!

The posts were just filled with randomly generated gibberish, only slightly less coherent than the gibberish I'm posting here, with banner ads splashed across the top of the page. Just how bad is the dating scene when you have to lower yourself to posting partially naked shots of yourself on-line to secure a date? I'm positive that if I had to resort to something to that effect, it would be pretty counter-productive! When I was single I was counting on a long night of banter, alcohol and sheer luck first to entice someone to even consider a situation where they could eventually see me naked. Here you get the goods up front. What a deal!

I know it is difficult to police the vast wasteland of the Internet, and I am no prude by a long shot, but how much porn does one need access to?

I'm sure as time goes on I'll become jaded as everyone else has, and I'll be posting links to porn sites and male enhancement drugs. Until then, it's going to be a fairly PG outing on my posts. I figure someone has to keep the average down. And if you want something otherwise, let me know. I jotted a few links down, just in case.

Halloween

Halloween is rapidly approaching, and I lament the passing of an honored tradition, where my friend Michelle and her husband Matt would hold an annual Halloween party. Anchored by a raft of veteran revelers, with almost everyone in costume, we would enjoy the night in the Tiki Bar lounge that is their basement. Some of my most inspired costumes have been for their parties, and there was always a sense of having to out-do the previous year's costume as well. My wife never cared for the costume aspect of the party. She was more than content to kibbitz and drink with Michelle and their mutual friends. I always tried to come up with a theme for our costumes. Something that either played up us as a couple, or that we have such a displarity in height, or both. Last year we went as Darth Vader and Yoda. I, a 6'4" Yoda, my wife a petite 5'1" Darth Vader.

I tried in earnest to go as Dr. Evil and Mini Me, but it never happened. There will be more Halloweens in the future, so hope, as they say, springs eternal.

Shameless Plug

I just wanted to add to the buzz in support of my friend, Jennifer Parello, on the publishing of her new book, Dateland! You don't have to have an alternative lifestyle to relate to the pursuit of love and happiness in the world. Don't take my word for it! Click on the link to her book to the right!

Prepare to be Irked

This is my first foray into the brave new world of blogging, so everyone take a deep breath and be a little patient. It'll be a learning experience for all of us.
What compels me to write a blog? It might have something to do with fighting against the urban sprawl of Chicago, with it's soulless strips malls and suburban sense of entitlement. SUVs with soccer Moms behind the wheel....
It may have something to do with the fact that after 40+ years, I may want to get a few things off my chest. Why wait until you are old and grey, waving your fist at the sky and spouting off to strangers on the street? Wave your fist at the internet and yell at strangers in cyberspace instead!
It may also be that given my strange life, strange friends and stranger family that there may just be a story or anecdote to brighten your day or make you laugh.