Why I Became A Vegetarian

I've been asked this question quite frequently lately and there are a few reasons for me becoming a vegetarian. Today marks 1 month of vegetarianism for me and this ranks as one of the top five best choices I've made in my life.

For 17 years I never ate red meat or fish. I didn't eat red meat because I simply never liked the taste and part of me always felt bad about the slaughter of cows.  I stopped eating fish because of two incidents that caused me to become violently ill when I was younger from the consumption of fish.

This year I made the decision to become fully vegetarian and now vegan. Aside from the obvious health reasons for becoming a vegetarian, I will not support farming corporations that accept the unethical treatment of farm animals who's quality of life is absolutely disgusting. CFE's (Common Farming Exemptions) basically state that if I have a cow as a pet I can't do any harm to it, but if I intend to sell the cow for food I can torture it as much as I want. This is the sick practice that is happening in America every day and our government allows it. We are allowing farmers to get away with these types of practice that only look to harm animals, slaughter them and then sell it to us for food. On top of that, often times the meat is very unclean and handled poorly. Chicken's beaks are seared off while they are still alive most of the time, animals are castrated without the use of an anesthetic, pigs are beaten, cows are tortured and all of this is allowed to happen because of CFE's.

I watched a food documentaries and read a lot of material regarding this matter.  Food Inc. was a documentary that really struck me. I highly suggest you watch it to find out where the food you consume every day comes from. The full documentary can be found here: Food Inc.


In becoming a vegetarian I had to re-think my entire diet and start buying products that would allow for me to get all the vitamins and minerals I needed. I also had to consider where I was getting my protein from. There are several alternative sources for protein as you'll see here: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/tp/protein.htm

Being a vegetarian has been very easy for me. I do not miss meat at all and never ever plan to go back to eating meat or anything else that comes from an animal. I'm not trying to push this on others but I do suggest you at least take a look at the information that's out there. The information changed my mind, maybe it will yours.

-Chris Ryan

10 Myths About Promoters

10 Myths About Promoters

10. Promoters have an unlimited amount of drink tickets and can give you a drink when you ask for it.

9. Promoters can get everyone in for free.

8. Promoters just drink and party all the time.

7. Promoters are the sole party responsible for the entire party.

6. Promoters all secretly hate each other (actually many of us are friends & even party together).

5. Promoters enjoy littering your inbox with tons of emails (they make us do it).

4. Promoters enjoy banning you from a club (no, you do that yourself).

3. Promoters do not sleep (okay sometimes that's true).

2. Promoters are fake to everyone (our job is to be nice, not fake).

1. Promoters cannot be monogamous and therefore they have no souls (we actually are judged by others for not being faithful).

And while some of these myths hold unfortunately true for some, they do not hold true as a stereotype for all.  I'm a PhD student, another promoter friend of mine is a college professor, another is a counselor, another is a lawyer and another is a father of three beautiful children with a wonderful wife. It's not our lives; it's a job and an extension of our lives. And even if it was our lives, it doesn't mean these myths hold true at all. So before you judge us, why don't you get to know us first.

-Chris Ryan

Why Do So Many Men Put Sex Before A Relationship?

Why is it that so many gay men put such a strong emphasis on sex before really getting to know a person?

While it's flattering to have a man have such strong physical desires to be with you in an intimate manner, I'm not sure it's good to put such an emphasis on sex before really getting to know a person. Intimacy is something that takes time to develop, yet we rush ourselves into this stage by trying to bypass other necessary steps like the building of interdependence between each other, the development of trust, the goal of full disclosure, etc. There's no rule book which states that you must NOT have sex before entering into a relationship but is it really the best idea to do something that some of us might value a bit more than others? 

Sex is a primal human desire but if you really feel that you care to get to know someone better you should probably be a bit more conscious of your primal desire and put it to the wayside until you feel they are ready for that type of intimacy within the relationship. Some of us desire a sort of intellectual intercourse rather than a physical one. Sex is great and it's important in a relationship but becoming closer with a potential suitor is more important to me personally.  

Remember that sex is everywhere. You can get it at almost any time of any day. You can devalue it all you want or you can let it devalue you. You can have sex prior to a relationship and probably still have a relationship depending on the synchronicity between the parties involved. You can have sex at any age. You can make the decision to be promiscuous or keep sex more sacred. 

You can't meet an amazing person any day. You can't build trust with a person instantly. You won't go up to a stranger and give them full disclosure. You won't meet a potential lover every day. You won't get to always share those amazing moments with someone you really care about. You won't always get that person that really wants to know who you are inside and out. 

When you do meet that person that wants to ask you questions, learn about you, smile at you, be patient with you, compliment you, give you full disclosure, tell you their secrets but not take your clothes off right away....be happy about it. That's a very rare diamond in the rough. 

-Chris Ryan

Gay Myth Debunked: The Majority Of Gays Are Not...

...Clean :(

When I was growing up I always thought gay people were really clean, neat and organized people. My parents and Will ( from Will And Grace) informed me of this myth at an early age. When I myself discovered I was gay at the tender age of 16 I was extremely happy to know that I would be headed into a social world full of only clean/neat people. I quickly learned though that all my premonitions of gay people were wrong; WHAT!? To my shock and absolute astonishment I've found that the majority of gays are not clean at all, in fact many are outright filthy! Having been in the houses of many gay men (because I'm a building inspector of course) I have seen the horror with my own eyes.

The absolute worst case of uncleanliness

How About We Just Forget Marriage

***Disclaimer: I am not against marriage (& yes this blog will be a bit more serious)***

I refer you to this article written by a psychotherapist before continuing to read: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intelligent-lust/201201/the-case-against-marriage

Okay so divorce rates for first marriages are at a steady 50%, 60% and higher for second marriages and even worse stats for 3rd marriages and beyond. These are currently the statistics for heterosexual marriages. If we factor in homosexual marriages in a few years I'm sure the rates will go even higher. Is this an unfounded statement? Slightly, yes. Do we stop fighting for marriage equality? Not at all, but we just don't focus as much attention on it.  Marriage has profound psychological effects on a person that have been founded with empirical research dating back to the 1950's.  Many of those effects have actually been damaging to the relationship. The idea & concept of a nuclear family is no longer what it was. Over 40% of children are now born outside of marriage.  What are we doing wrong here?