Awesome news, SG buddies! After a super long time of not shooting anything, I have a new set up in member review. Check it out, tell me what you think, leave some love, etc. I hope you like it. I am pretty pleased with how it came out myself, and I know Brooklyn is too. She and I share a love of natural lighting and relatively unadorned models, as you can see.











A few notes on this photoset:

You look great! Have you gained weight?

You may or may not have noticed that I've gained a bit of weight in the past year or so. However, I'm feeling pretty sexy these days, even more so than when I was thinner. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I'm in a good relationship with someone who makes me feel beautiful. (Plus I'm getting poked on the regs, which always helps.) I'd also like to think I've simply gotten a better attitude as I've grown older. As you probably know, attititude is a large portion of most things, sexiness included. I'm not even afraid to let my extra bits of flesh show anymore, because that is what I really look like(!) It's taken me a long time to come this far mentally, and of course I have a ways left to go, but I think body acceptance can be radical and subversive (not to mention good for your mental health), hence it's an important goal of mine. I hope to infect as many other people with this goal as possible.

Ironically, people have been telling me I look good and asking if I've lost weight as of late. Maybe I hide it really well, but I dunno. I think they are really trying to tell me I look sexy, but they don't have any other socially appropriate vocabulary with which to say it, so they say "thin" even though that isn't what they mean. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate well-intentioned compliments (accurate or not), but non-skinny people can be sexy too! (NOTE TO MY FELLOW LADIES: You are rad! Learn to take compliments better.)

On the location

We shot the set in my living room, which is huge and cool-looking. It's funny, 'cause I've lived in this place for almost four years and had never shot a set here before, even though we have great light and occasionally lend the place out for photoshoots. I guess part of it is that I have five roommates and that could be awkward (everyone cleared out for this shoot). I'm actually starting to look for a new apartment now (can't handle another summer with no AC), so this set could be seen as a nice goodbye to my place. A naked swan song, as it were.

On the title

I made a long Sonic Youth playlist to listen to while we shot and it didn't occur to me until later that Daydream Nation would make a good set title. I wish I'd thought of it before, as I would've incorporated a candle or some other SY imagery to make it a bit more "themed." (My brain wasn't working very well that morning as I'd been out until 6am the night before.) I think some of the album's spirit comes through, though, as our loft has hosted a lot of squalid, broke, bohemian decadence similar to that described on the album. It's also one of my favorite records of all time, and never fails to get me in some kind of sexy badass attitudinal mood, which is helpful when you're hung over and trying to look sexy. Who's cooler than Kim Gordon? Fucking nobody. I try not to think about the fact that I was first introduced to their music by an ex boyfriend who was ultimately pretty bad for me...my love of SY has certainly outlasted my love for him.

Work stuff

I'm currently between steady gigs but have nonetheless been writing a lot lately. I'm always hesitant to link my stuff on here because of the safety issues that come with naked ladies telling people their real names, but I've done it before and I haven't been murdered yet. Here are some recent pieces:

Ponytail frontperson Willy Siegel on gender, sexuality, indie rock, and what was in h/er pants at Siren Fest

Sasha Grey on autotune, her band aTelecine, and her favorite sexytime music

Yeah, I asked Sasha Grey what her favorite music for "sexytimes" is. I'm mature like that.

The Top Ten Injuries and Casualties of SXSW 2011 Shit got real.

And I've been doing some stuff here and there for Jezebel...this one is about sex club reviews on Yelp, and this is about a smug article on 'how parenting lost its cool.' Hooray for work.

Wow, I've written two updates in two months. Not too shabby. Expect the next one sometime around the 4th of July.

Cheers!

Hunter