Just Cant Get Enough Of Andre

The photos in todays post were chosen by Andre as his present to you for pride! He hopes you enjoy them!









Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

More From The Laurentian Room Cabaret!

My first visit to the LR... a small swank establishment in Cabbage Town... and last night the LR was on fire! There was a cabaret put on in conjunction with the beginning of Pride in Toronto and it featured vignettes from their Tiger Lily Erotic Cabaret as well as several men from EBONYD.com Here are a few more shots from the show! Enjoy!










Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Martini & Muscle...Great Way To Kick Off Pride 2007

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Nice Things Do Come In Big Packages!

One of the first persons I met when I moved to Toronto almost 10 years ago was a cat from Greneda named Kellon. When you first meet him you can be taken back by his size... he's a big dude! But once you do met him you soon find out what I did... He's a softy with a heart twice as big as most people I know. One of the things I like most about him is his unabashed sense of self... He has the ability to laugh at him self and he truly seems to enjoys life to the fullest.




Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Happy Juneteenth!

Last week Massachusetts became the 24th state to make Juneteenth (June 19th) a state holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the final state, Texas's adoption of Lincoln's emancipation proclamation 0f 1863.

It got me to think of my family history as my family originates from Massachusetts. I am fortunate to have a detailed family tree which extensively goes back to 1557. My family, (specifically) Francis Cooke came to the new world in 1620 on the Mayflower. Through marriage with the Nash family I also know Jacob Nash who was a Minute Man. He answered the Lexington Alarm of Paul Revere on April 19, 1775 and fought in the American Revolution.

But its the story of Daniel Lorenzo Nash, born in 1843 which brings me back to the achievement now celebrated as Juneteenth. Daniel Nash who joined the Union Army in 1861 has written extensively about his life. As I reviewed some of those writings I came across his recounting at the age of seven of the moment he realized that his fathers hotel in Troy Ohio was a stop on the underground railroad. Here is the original document:

For my family and myself, it is history come alive and made personal. Daniel Nash was later as an adult injured soon after joining the army, he later rejoined in 1864 and was there until the conclusion of the war. 970,000 lives were lost during the civil war but June 19th 1865 the last of 3.5 million slaves became freemen.

JUNETEENTH. On June 19 ("Juneteenth"), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, thus belatedly bringing about the freeing of the last remaining 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war. Particular celebrations of Juneteenth have had unique beginnings or aspects. In the state capital Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau and became part of the calendar of public events by 1872. There are now 24 states that celebrate this as a state holiday.
Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman.

Mom's Birthday

Todays Mom's birthday, she would have been 67 this year... I find myself in yet another emotional moment reminding me just how much I miss her! Its going to be a hard day... This photo was taken in Barr Harbor Maine, 1976
Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman.

Fathers Day

Fathers day takes on a different dimension this year. With Mom gone Dad is all we have left and over the past couple of years I have begun to assess my relationship with him. Growing up my father was self employed in Detroit and I found myself working for him at a very early age. Working for your father comes with the double edge sword of having to work harder than the others so it didn't look like you were just there based on your relationship to the boss. He had very high expectations and the type of work my father did, landscaping/tree removal was very physical work. I was more interested then in reading books in the comfort of my room, building models and just being an over sensitive nerdy kid. Needless to say during that time of my life I did not have a very good relationship with my father. His expectations often followed with the extra curricular stuff to, things like little league, hunting and fishing...
I just wasn't into those kinds of things.

Its not like he didn't make efforts to do some of the things I liked, We joined the Detroit Astronomical Society built a telescope together... oddly enough I liked motorcycles and we did that as well. While these were all kewl things it was my brother Peter who seemed to hit it off with dad and we soon worked our way out of each others life. When I graduated from College he told me after the graduation that he was proud of me. It was the first time I had ever heard him say that and even though I had completed school on time after breaking my leg in 10 places,I was still pretty much floored to hear those words. By the time I finished school my relationship with my both parents was one that was strained and looking back it was my sense of not meeting their/his expectations that had me move as far from home as I could. I needed to prove myself to myself if that makes sense. I tried never to ask for help and when I did I still failed with that. my priorities were not the best.

Looking back on the experience I can see where I was my own worst enemy in life and I can now see that my parents were both very patient with my short comings. and now that i am older I am finally understanding who I am, what drives me and to my surprise I see my father when I look in the mirror.

My father taught me to value work and to respect authority. He taught me that there can be no good from an ill gotten gain, and that drinking in anything but moderation is generally the dumbest thing you can do. He taught me to do my best not to lie (something I am not good at anyways). "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you read" was one of his favorite sayings.... and while I think he's one of the smartest guys I know he would also tell me that he has learned that "everyday he wakes up a little dumber" meaning there is so much to learn in this world and the more you try to learn the more you realize there is to learn. My father taught me to value everyone based on their character and not based on the color of their skin. How to respect the world and to never liter....

I am just now beginning to understand and appreciate the natural world he tried to expose me to when I was a kid. Growing up I was exposed to the music of Peter, Paul and Mary and the folk music of the 60's and to this day I know all of their music word for word and often find myself singing to myself the lyrics of "This Train" when I am on the subway going to work or the words to "Autumn to May" when I felt melancholy.

The past few years I have come to gain a greater respect for this man, when Mother went into the hospital last year in March he was there fulfilling his obligation to her as she fought through and finally succumbed to her illness. He showed me that not only did he deeply love my mother but he loved us... me too. I have had more face time with in this past year than in the 20 years before. I asked him one night if he thought he did a good job raising the family? His response to me was surprising to me but it illustrates him perfectly. He said he didn't think he did a very good job because he wasn't there for us growing up in the way he now understands we needed him. He seemed surprised by how individual we all were and how he wished he could have been better in addressing those needs. Still learning - thats my dad. I told him from my perspective he did a pretty good job and that we all learned how to be self sustaining. There is more to life than just that he replied...
I thought about it, apparently I'm still learning too.
Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman.

Planet Earth

I am really starting to like film more and more lately and want to create a documentary one day. I recently watched the new mini series from the BBC called Planet Earth. At first I was prepared for the typical nature film/documentary experience, but what I saw was something so compelling I literally sat through all five discs over the next two days! The experience was so visually moving that I was reminded of a moment in the 1973 film Soylent Green staring Charlton Heston and the final film of Edward G. Robinson. The film depicts the year 2022 the world of 16 billion is in the midst of a Malthusian catastrophe because humanity has failed to pursue sustainable development and has not halted population growth. Hestons character Thorne is a police detective in New York City who's own population is now 40,000,000. The world is in total failure mode and global warming now in its final moments. There is a moment in the film where Edward G. Robinsons charecter Sol Roth has opted to end his life be cause he has discovered a secret that he can not live with. As part of the ceremony he is allowed his last moments in solitude, watching a presentation of classical music and images of Earth the way it was before the disaster.
The much younger Detective Thorne who has never seen the Earth as it used to be breakes into Sols ceremony. He is caught in a moment of awe.

Sol: Can you see it!
Thorne: Yes
Sol: Isn't it beautiful?
Thorne: Oh Yes
Sol: I told you!
Thorne: I know.... (his emotions overcome him)... How could I have ever imagined.....

I was having the very same experience watching Planet Earth, I was seeing things that I have never seen before or if I have I had never seen them in this way! I can underscore the experience. I was taking in the HDTV experience in its fullest. As I grow older I am constantly trying to take in things that even in my life time have become less available. My recent trip to San Francisco and the red wood forest...The high light of my trip it was awe inspiring and just something thats becoming harder and harder to see. I'm not sure we will caught up in a disaster in the year 2022 but I am not willing to wait. The world is full of beauty and I want to see more of it. You can go to this link Planet Earth and click on the clip from this film the first few minutes say it all! I just had to pass this on to as many people I can ....Enjoy!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Andre Gives Good Face!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Hot Toronto Night!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.