Friday, August 22, 2008

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