FYI ...

Continue to use DavidDust.Blogspot.com until we can work out some issues.

Big Changes Ahead!

There will be some changes here at DavidDust in the coming days/weeks ... and I'm so excited! I am working with a very talented web designer on a brand new site! Actually, THEY are doing all the work - all I do is send them "GREAT JOB!" emails every once in a while.

Stay tuned for more information - in the meantime, posting may be a little lighter than usual while this old dog tries to learn some new tricks.

Over One Million Page Loads!!

Holy cow!! I just happened to check the StatCounter at the bottom of my blog page, and it recently rolled over the ONE MILLION mark!! I installed StatCounter at the end of April - so in about 6 months DavidDust has had over one million page loads. That is simply mind-boggling.

I feel a little like Dr. Evil ... "One MEEEEEEELION!"...


All I can say is - Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

"A blog May Have At Most 2000 Labels"

Has anyone else who uses Blogger received the following error message when trying to do a new post?...

A blog may have at most 2000 labels

I know Wonder Man has BLOGGED about it - but has anyone else had this problem? Apparently Blogger decided last week to enforce a 2000 Label limit - and I guess I am over the limit. This sucks, because the labels (the "tags" you see at the bottom of each post) we use help search engines know what our blog posts are about. If posts are not labeled, it is harder for search engines to find appropriate posts - which results in less traffic to your blog.

So, for now, I can only use labels that I have previously used. But, for instance, if I do a "Hunk of the Day" post tomorrow and the guy's name is "Carlos Caliente", I can't label my post "Carlos Caliente" - because it's a new label. I can, however, label the post "Hunk of the Day" - a less-specific label I've already used.

Wonder Man posted a LINK to a Blogger Forum where this situation was discussed.

You know, I REALLY need to get www.DavidDust.com up and running. I already own the domain, but unfortunately I am CLUELESS when it comes to HTML and everything else. If there is anyone out there who wants to help me modernize, redesign and improve DavidDust, I can't offer any money - but I could publicize the HELL out of your work. After all, DavidDust averages about 5,000 page-views per DAY - so a "button" ad on my sidebar would be seen by literally thousands of people each week. Feel free to send me an email with your ideas: daviddust@gmail.com

Over 200 Followers!

This past week DavidDust reached a major milestone - surpassing 200 Followers. I really appreciate all of you for visiting, and I thank you all for your comments, emails, and friendship. Dust Bunnies are the best!

Here is something we discovered during Drunken Dust Bunny Weekend: all the Bloggers knew EXACTLY how many followers we had on our blogs. Think about it for a second - if you are a Blogger and are reading this, I would bet you also know exactly how many followers YOU have. Don't front, bitches - you KNOW you pay attention!!!

So even though some of us may try to act like our Follower count isn't that big of a deal, it IS a big deal. At least it is to me. And I appreciate each and every one of you.

If you aren't following DavidDust yet, what are you waiting for? Come join our happy family of Dust Bunnies! Just look for the "Followers" section at the top of the right side-bar.

Someone Is Trying To SAVE You Heathens

I found out over the weekend that if you accidentally type in the URL: www.daviddust.blogpsot.com (reversing the "s" and the "p"), you get re-directed to a "religious" site. For our purposes, let's call the site FakeChristianAssMunchers.Com - because I don't want to give them any more publicity than I have to. FYI: you have officially arrived as a Gay Blogger if right-wing Asshats are trying to "save" your readers.

In addition to not naming their site here, I'm also not going to link to it. Especially since the people at FakeChristianAssMunchers.Com think I should DIE for being gay:

"God clearly and unmistakably shows in Romans that those who practice homosexuality and lesbianism are worthy of death. They shall surely perish unless they repent."

Isn't that FUN?!? Do these fuckwads really think that a Dust Bunny looking for hot pics of Papiflesh is going to renounce his sexuality after making a FUCKING TYPO?!? Lame ... pretty lame.

But above all, I am truly honored they think my blog is important enought to take the time to do this. Thank you, FakeChristianButtMunchers.Com ... thank you.

If they only knew how VERY RARELY I have the opportunity to "practice" homosexuality these days...


Thanks to the "accute dyslexia" of Dust Bunny Micah for bringing this to my attention.

2500 Posts!

This is DavidDust post number 2500 ... thanks for joining me on this ride. Any suggestions for the NEXT 2500 posts??

My 2000th Post!!

I cannot believe that this is Post #2000. It seems like only yesterday that I started DavidDust right before my 40th birthday. I am now 41, and have hit the "Publish Post" button 2000 times to share "hotties, recaps, and gay stuff" with all of you.

Thanks to all of my Dust Bunnies - old and new - for making this blogging thing fun every single day. In 1 1/2 years, I somehow have 100 Followers, visitors from around the globe, and have made a bunch of new friends. I've even had the pleasure of meeting some of you in person. That reminds me, come back tomorrow for an account of another Dust Bunny drinking session - this time with Dust Bunny Marker from Chicago!

And, after jumping into blogging on a whim, I am now ranked about 85,000 in popularity among over 15 million active blogs - according to Technorati. I know 85,000 doesn't sound that impressive - but I'm proud of it, so let me bask in the glory a little bit.

As always, keep commenting, keep emailing me - and KEEP IN TOUCH. The best part of this whole thing is getting feedback from all of you.

OK, time to start on my NEXT 2000 posts...

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

85+ Followers!

I am so flattered that more than 80 people have chosen to "follow" my blog. If you have not become a follower yet - please click on FOLLOW THIS BLOG, directly under the DavidDust header and join the BunnyNation.

To those of you who have been Dust Bunnies forever as well as you newbies out there - thanks for stopping by. Please let me know if there is anything you particularly love, or anything that you hate here on the blog. And remember, I LOOOOVE comments!!

Thanks again to all of you.

XOXOXOXOXO

David

There's An 82% Chance That I'm A Chick

Go to GenderAnalyzer (click HERE) and enter any blog/website domain name. It will analyze it and tell you whether or not the blog/website is written by a man or woman.

I entered DavidDust, and this is what it told me:

"We think http://www.daviddust.blogspot.com is written by a woman (82%)."

Gotta run - I'm going to get a bikini wax...

Follow Me...

I added a Follow Me gadget (I try to copy everything our darling Grand Duchess does) to the blog. I'm not quite sure what the Hell it does - but "follow me" anyway! Look for the "Followers" heading on the right side of the screen (underneath my enchanting picture and profile) and click on the "Follow This Blog" link.

Special thanks to Vera, Amber, Justin, and Kayce for doing this before I even asked. You all get a Dust Bunny gold star today!

Happy Blogiversary To Me!!!

Today marks my one year blogiversary! On August 22nd, 2007, I began this journey with the following post:

Is this thing on?

This is my first post. I hope this shit works.

Posted by David Dust at 5:23 PM


Pure poetry, yes? I know… and it’s been downhill ever since…

I started DavidDust exactly 4 days prior to my 40th birthday. I had been reading political blogs since before the mid-term elections of 2006. I had also stumbled across blogs with pictures of hot men like MostProper and Hoodsworld. But then I discovered Joe.My.God – a blog written by a gay New Yorker about New York and gay issues. He seemed to be having a good time with his blog, and his readers were (and are) extremely loyal – some commenting on almost every post. Joe.My.God made me want to start my own blog. So I did.

First of all, I needed a name. I wasn’t feeling very creative, so I happened upon a Band Name Maker. Yes, this is what you would use if you and a couple of buddies started a rock band in your basement. I typed in the word “David” – and out came a list of potential Band Names. One of them was “David Dust”. It sounded like “Fairy Dust” to me, so that’s the name I chose. Although I kind of like some of the other choices:

Fried David
Godless David
Nose of the David Nurse, or
David Queer – but I’d been called that enough in Middle School.

So “DavidDust” it was. At first I had no idea what I wanted to blog about. In fact, I thought I would simply write about my experiences turning 40 years old. I know: BORING! So I decided to post a couple of pictures of a hot Papi I saw on MostProper – and I called him the Daddy of the Day. To this day, HotDeiselLat is still one of my favorites.

Almost immediately I figured out that I would post pictures and stories about things I found interesting. I decided to create the perfect blog – for ME, and no one else. If other people liked it, that simply meant they shared my incredibly good taste. So that’s what I did, posted pictures of hot (usually Latin) guys, and other tidbits.

That was until November 15, 2007 – the day after Project Runway Season 4 premiered.

I had watched Project Runway the night before, and was immediate struck by how much Christian Siriano reminded me of “Mango” – the SNL character played by Chris Kattan. I did a blog search of other bloggers who had written about PR, and commented on their blogs about my “find”. My Mango post got some comments, and some recognition from other bloggers. Well, if you give me some attention, FORGET ABOUT IT, I’m going to keep doing whatever it was you gave me attention for. Positive reinforcement works that way, you know.

So the following week, while at my Dad’s house for Thanksgiving, I watched Project Runway and took some notes – and the following day I posted my “thoughts” on DavidDust. By week 3, I was doing full recaps. And people were starting to read them and make comments! I was in heaven.

I have to say, I completely fell into this recap thing by accident. I had studied journalism in college (although my degree ended up being in the generic “General Arts & Sciences”), and I considered myself a decent writer – but I never wrote anything. I never really wanted to write anything. I never even THOUGHT about writing anything.

Well, Project Runway recaps led to Top Chef (Moana Lisa!), Step It Up and Dance (Sexy Papi Michael Silas!), and Design Star (Mikey V!) recaps. I have been able to improve my writing and entertain myself and others. And some of you came on board as a result of one show or another and never left.

Therefore, the focus of my blog can be summed up into my simple tag line: “Hotties, Recaps, and Gay Stuff”. Simple as that.

My Dust Bunnies are too numerous to mention individually – I would be afraid I’d leave somebody out. You know who you are – if you’ve made a comment, sent me an email, talked to me on the phone, or met me in person – you are a Dust Bunny and therefore a friend. I wake up every day looking forward to hearing from you.

But there are two people I must single out for special recognition. DavidDust is what it is today because of these two wonderful individuals – Beth and Joy.

TrannyBeth and I bonded over Project Runway. We soon became “best girlfriends”, and I could always count on her to comment on my posts. For those non-bloggers out there, you won’t understand this – but comments are pure gold. It is instant gratification. Comments are an acknowledgement of good (or bad) work. I can always count on Beth to make comments and make me smile. I always say: Beth made blogging FUN for me. That is why she is the “Empress of the Dust Bunnies”.

The other person I’d like to recognize is my Darling Joy (AKA “Auntie Flame”). As a semi-retired teacher, she always complimented and encouraged my writing – before I even realized I WAS writing. Joy is also quick with a cute comment – but her encouragement of my writing made me want to write more. Because of this, I would like bestow upon Joy her own title: “Grand Duchess of the Dust Bunnies”. Wear your crown in good health, my darling.

So, thank you to EVERYONE for giving me a great Year One. Now let’s start Year Two…

I love you guys.


XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The Great Blogger Lockout Crisis of 2008 Ends

Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh - I'M BACK!! I have access again to DavidDust - and this is where I'll be doing my blogging for the foreseeable future.

First of all, I am kind of glad this happened, because it made me realize that although the content on DavidDust is mine, it's kind of like having your stuff in a rented apartment - if the landlord locks you out, you can't your neat stuff. This was definitely a wake-up call.

I am also glad I figured out how to "backup" to WordPress. In the future if this ever happens, I can move directly over there and not miss a beat. Albeit without my fancy Statue of Liberty header, but at least I have a plan.

Thirdly, even though I really couldn't afford the $90 I spent to buy http://www.daviddust.com/, it is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. If I want to continue growing my blog into the international powerhouse of Papis and Recaps that I hope for, then chaining myself to Blogspot will only hold me back. So I'm glad this drama forced me to do this.

Lastly, this crisis really made me see how important my blog is, and how important all of YOU are to me. The first thing I panicked about was not being able to connect with you - and that upset me. So don't ever leave me, darling Dust Bunnies, or I'll go crazy!!

We now resume our regular scheduled programming here at DavidDust ...

XOXO

I LOVE Heavy Traffic!!

On Sunday I added a Feedjit live traffic feed box to my blog – which shows where DavidDust readers are coming from and going to. If people find the blog as a result of a Google search, Feedjit will tell me what they were searching for. It also tells me where my readers are physically located. I have been fascinated by it.

You can click on the “real-time” option, and watch the Dust Bunnies coming and going as it happens. I have found out some interesting things:

Today, between 11:00 am and 11:30 am, I had visitors from Sweden, Cyprus, Venezuela, Italy, Canada, Great Britain, Finland, Puerto Rico, Luxembourg, and the U.S. That was just in 30 minutes! Who are all you people? Talk to me!!

It is also interesting to see what Google/Google Image searches will get you to DavidDust. Some of the more popular: “Carlos Leon”, “Beach Hotties”, “Matt Locke gay”, “Cristiano Ronaldo”, “Nick Markakis”, “Zeb Atlas”, and any combination of “Mikey V”, “Gay Porn” and “Rope Rituals”. Also, I found out if you Google “Grab and Growl”; this post is the top result.

And there is someone in Russia who’s a BIG fan of DavidDust favorite Franky G. :)

I really didn’t realize this site got so much traffic. If you get a chance sometime, click on the “real time” option on the Feedjit box and watch the coming and goings. It’s almost like people-watching – without the people.

Design Star - BREAKING NEWS!

They are talking shit about me on the message boards at HGTV.com!!!! Apparently, a fan of my recaps posted a link to my latest Design Star writeup. And then the shit hit the fan - people started calling me mean, racist, HOMOPHOBIC (happy Gay Pride, you stank bitches!), and WORST OF ALL - UNFUNNY!!! Hey, I can handle homophobic and mean - but UNFUNNY?!? How dare you!!! I put a good 20 minutes into that last recap. It was practically a masterpiece!

Check out the message boards here. You have to be registered to comment - and apparently if you use certain tagged words, your comment must be approved by a moderator. When I commented, I got tagged and have yet to be approved.

UPDATE: The comment police over at HGTV have taken down the entire thread. What a bunch of uptight bitches!

But, Darling Dust Bunnies, I have EVEN BIGGER NEWS. Yes my dears, it's a Gay Pride Miracle! As a result of my notoriety on the message boards, someone sent me some pretty good inside information....

Sexy Daddy MIKEY V. IS GAY!!!!!!

Now I don't know if the person who sent me this information was trying to smear Mikey's name, but they should know that around here, being gay is GOOD THING. This, my friend, is most welcome news indeed.

Check out this article about some trouble that Mikey V. got into. My tipster also said Mikey and his man are registered as domestic partners in Broward County, Florida. I couldn't dig up any kind of confirmation of this, however.

So to Mikey V. I say - HAPPY GAY PRIDE, DADDY. And have I got a "project" for you...

Look for my Design Star mini-recap tomorrow afternoon.

A Word About Comments...

First of all I LOVE COMMENTS. All Bloggers do - it's validation that we've done something that others like (or hate). And I seem to be needier than most when it comes to wanting comments...

Over the last couple of weeks, I have heard grumblings (here and elsewhere) about comments not posting. So here is some information regarding commenting on DavidDust:

I "moderate" my comments mostly to keep homophobic assholes, porn spammers, and lunatics at bay. I don't do it to "censor" my Dust Bunnies, but on a few rare occasions I HAVE declined a comment because it was just a little TOO much. Again, this is an extremely rare phenomenon. So PLEASE don't be shy - I don't bite (unless you want me to).

I check my blog MULTIPLE times during the day, so if you do not see your comment after a few hours, it might not have gotten to me. PLEASE, if you have the time, send it to me again. The only time that it may take a few hours or more would be at night or on a weekend where I don't have computer access. Plus, if you check back - you may find that I have written a GEM of a reply - maybe something extremely witty or wise. Or not.

Lastly, did I mention that I LOVE comments? I did?!? Ok.

XOXOXO

DD

Holy Crap - 1000 Posts!!!

I just noticed that the last post I did was my 1000th! That is amazing. But it makes me wonder how in the HELL I could have possibly thought of 1000 things to post about since August? Oh that's right, most of the posts are just pictures of hunky Papis!

Thanks to my Dust Bunnies for keeping me motivated. Now let's get to 2000 posts!

XOXOXOXO

David

Regarding Step It Up and Dance, and Blogging...

I wanted to let you all know that I will no longer be recapping Step It Up and Dance. Let me explain why:

My “real” job is suffering due to my constant blogging. I have not been spending as much time as I should on my day job – let alone my part-time night job. I have been doing sloppy and half-assed work lately, and putting my jobs aside to blog. My day job has to be my number one priority – without it I am screwed. One of the ways I can shave off some blogging time is by eliminating SIUaD recapping.

My “personal life” (such as it is) is suffering. I am at my heaviest weight EVER – and I haven’t been to the gym in months. It is not healthy for me to be 40 years old and “morbidly obese” – and it’s definitely NOT cute. In addition, my 15-year-old cat is sick (she was rushed to the vet last night) and needs my attention.

Lastly, the time it takes for me to do a proper recap just isn’t justified on this show. My Top Chef recaps take me anywhere from 5-8 hours total – that’s viewing, note-taking, and writing. Let’s face it, Step It Up and Dance is a HORRIBLE show – and isn’t worth 8 hours of my time. Furthermore, recapping Top Chef is still fun and entertaining for me – SIUaD has become a burden. I’m not going to force myself to do something I don’t want to do – blogging is supposed to be fun for me. And the SIUaD recaps have become NOT fun.

What I COULD do is put up a Step It Up and Dance discussion post on Friday mornings, and let YOU discuss the show in the comments. I LOVE it when you all talk to each other - and I always beam with pride that my Dust Bunnies are so smart and funny. I'll give it a shot on Friday and see what happens.

I guess I just have to improve my time management skills. I LOVE blogging, I LOVE my blog, and I REALLY LOVE my Dust Bunnies – that’s not going to change. What may change is having fewer daily posts, and possibly not answering every single comment and email I receive. But I promise to continue putting out an entertaining blog – and doing what I can to improve David Dust without screwing up the rest of my life.

Thanks for listening...

XOXOXO

David

Don't FUCK With Me Fellas!

This ain't my first time at the Rodeo!

You are NOT going to believe this! I emailed Time-Warner's President and CEO (Howard Szarfarc), and I "blind CC'd" the COO, Senior V.P. and General Manager for New York and New Jersey, Senior V.P and General Manager for Customer Service, and the Senior V.P. and General Manager of High Speed Online. See the email below, which went out at a few minutes after 6:00 pm:

To: Howard Szarfarc, President
Time Warner Cable, New York City

Dear Mr. Szarfarc -

I am troubled to have to write this letter to you directly, but it seems that your “customer service” representatives are either unable, or unwilling to help me.

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, my Roadrunner connection went out, and I made a service appointment for the following Tuesday (April 1st) evening. That Saturday (March 29th), I noticed Time Warner Technicians in my building fixing one of my neighbor's connections. In doing so, they knocked out my cable television. So I was left with NO cable TV, and NO internet connection.

That evening, Saturday, March 29th, I called your customer service department to report the outage, and to see if I could get an earlier appointment, since it was obviously Time Warner’s fault that my cable TV was now out. The first representative hung up on me, the second kept me on hold for 40 minutes before disconnecting me, and the third promised a callback that never came. NO ONE would allow me to speak to a Supervisor. I finally gave up, and decided to wait for my already-scheduled Tuesday (April 1st) appointment. The confirmation number I was given for Tuesday’s appointment was XXXXXX.

On Tuesday, April 1st, I made sure I was home at 6:00 pm to wait for the Technician. At around 8:00 pm he showed up, and after 45 seconds, stated “I can’t help you - you need a daytime appointment”. He called his dispatcher, who said there were no appointments available until Saturday, April 8th. I protested, and he angrily said “Do you want it, or not?!”. I took the appointment, but immediately called customer service AGAIN to BEG for an earlier appointment.

“Chanel” at your Support Center was able to get be an appointment for the following day (today, April 2nd) between the hours of 10am and 2pm. I called my boss at home to make arrangements to come to work late the following day, after my Time Warner appointment. I even called customer service this morning to confirm my appointment (and I was assured by your representative that they were coming). I stayed in my apartment, next to my phone waiting for my buzzer to ring. By 2:00 pm, no one had shown. I called customer service AGAIN. After ANOTHER 45 minute phone call, I was told that someone would be here by 6:00 pm, and was given a confirmation number of XXXXXX.

It is now 6:00 pm, and no one has come by, or called. I have missed an entire day of work, without so much as a telephone call from Time Warner Cable explaining the TWO missed appointments today.

Previously, I had considered adding Time Warner telephone, and DVR to my service package - but NO MORE! It is obvious that your company does not appreciate or even respect me or my time, so I am no longer interested in expanding my relationship with your company. [This was bullshit that I added to show how this could affect their profits...but again, it's total BULL]

I need someone to call me on my cell phone IMMEDIATELY. My number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. I am tired of being frustrated and angry at Time Warner Cable, and I simply want my TV and Internet working again! If this continues, I will be forced to find another provider who is able to give me these services, and who WANTS my business!

Sincerely,

JOAN FUCKING CRAWFORD!!!

Within 5 minutes, my cell phone rang. It was some exec. saying that the CEO's office just called with instructions to take care of me. She assured me that someone would be here in 15-20 minutes. Five minutes later, ANOTHER exec. called me - offering to follow-up in an hour.

Twenty minutes later, a FINE Papi (goodness, they even got THAT part right) rang my bell, along with his SUPERVISOR. Twenty minutes later, I had cable and high-speed internet. And five minutes after that, I got a follow-up call.

I recommend this technique anytime you have a problem with a large corporation. Get some names and email addresses of the top brass...because shit ALWAYS rolls downhill...

And remember: don't ever, EVER mess with this bitch!

Thanks Everyone

I just want to thank everybody for sending me emails, pictures, etc. KEEP THEM COMING! If there is some hottie I need to know about, then send me his picture! If YOU are some hottie I need to know about, then send me YOUR picture!! Also jokes, funny pictures, or just a shout-out - all is welcome. And if you're Franky G, please let me know the place, date, and time of our wedding.

As always, you can reach me at daviddust@gmail.com

I'm working hard to keep this blog cute - help me out!