The 'Tao' of Stud
by Stan "The Man" Manly

“To study the Way is to study the self.
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.
To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barriers between one’s self and others.
Then there is no trace of enlightenment, though enlightenment itself continues into one’s daily life endlessly.”
- Dogen

...Welcome to this, the inaugural issue of Modern Stud Magazine. I am the editor, Stan Manly (yes, that is actually my name). I am sure you are wondering what this magazine is about, and more importantly if its worth spending the next few moments of your life finding out? I am going to try and quickly sum up the goal of what we’re trying to do here so you can make the all to important decision to continue reading or get back to all that free porn you were downloading (after all, is that not the real purpose of the internet?).

Let me first tell you what this magazine is not:
1. It is not a ‘how to’ manual for picking up chicks!
2. It is not a resource for sports, beer, and all things ‘pooty tang!’
3. It is not a social or political commentary on the state of the world and the people in it.
4. It is not ‘all about the brown!’
5. It is not a direct online link into the depths of the female psyche!
6. It is not a male power trip!
7. It is not the answer to all the questions in the universe!

What this magazine is:
1. It is open to interpretation.
2. It is a resource for anyone seeking to become a better human being.
3. It is our voice, our vision and our dogma.
4. It is our attempt to give something back to everyone who has inspired, helped, pushed, and supported us throughout our lives.
5. It is a documentary of our lives, our loves, our triumphs, our losses, and our lessons.

...If you read that, and you’re still here... I invite you to join us on this adventure. Life is a journey, and like you, I am merely a soul traveling along one of its paths, one step at a time, one foot before the other.

...Modern Stud Magazine was actually inspired by an obscure poster myself and some of the other contributors here had come across many, many years ago. After extensive, tiring, and often times grueling research, we discovered that one of the men responsible for this original image was none other than Matt Groening (that’s right, Matt ‘Simpsons’ Groening). In 96’ we envisioned creating a magazine to actually accompany this poster, and created the first (albeit immature) attempt to bring this project to life. For the handful of brave souls out there that actually still possess a copy of this poorly written and weakly illustrated compilation of juvenile antics and idiotic ramblings, I truly apologize (what were we thinking?). But that is behind us now, and we cannot change the past. We can only learn and apply what we’ve learned to our lives today.

...I should most like to start anew, with a brief examination, if you will, of the title of said magazine. More specifically, the two words that make up our title. Modern and Stud. A quick glance at the dictionary reveals this:

MODERN \mod-ern\ adj.
1 : involving recent techniques, methods, or ideas : UP-TO-DATE
2 a : a person of modern times or views
2 b : an adherent of modernism

STUD \stud\ n.
1 : a male animal kept for breeding
2 : a young man : GUY; especially : one who is virile and promiscuous

...With that in mind, allow me to indulge you with my definition of a Modern Stud. A true Modern Stud is one who rises above the drooling, couch ridden, beer swigging, remote control jockeys that unfortunately make up the bulk of this 'brotherhood of man.' A Modern Stud is on a quest for enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding. This is a path not to be taken lightly, for in the pursuit of these, one must be willing to sacrifice much. And unlike the dictionary definition of ‘stud’, a Modern Stud is not in constant pursuit of ‘tang.’ Rather he seeks meaningful relationships with the Y chromosome deficient. He is truthful, responsible, reliable, hard-working, decent, and genuine. And he does this not for glory, not for riches, and not for the lure of a little backseat lovin’, but rather because he knows this is the path. This is the Way. And to stray from this path would be to go against his nature.

...We welcome you to this world... our world. If you think you have what it takes, and want to ‘Join Our Ranks’ you will notice the button up on the left side that will take you to an online test... to prove your worthiness, not just to us, but to yourself.

...Should you have questions, need advice, seek inspiration, or if you are just looking for some good, old fashioned Jedi wisdom, you can send us email, and have it answered in the ‘Male Box.’

...If you are just interested in the 'Articles' (uh huh... I’ve heard that one before!), you will find various essays, commentaries, and manifesto’s located under ‘Articles.’

...‘Downloads’ will take you to a menagerie of files, from desktop wallpapers, to flash animations.

...The ‘Lexicon’ is an online glossary of terms commonly used by us, as well as phrases and quotes that you should familiarize yourself with.

...The ‘Online Comic’ - The Adventures of a Modern Stud, follows various misadventures and the wacky hi jinx that befall our hapless heroes, who also happen to be some of the contributors to the mag.

...Dive into the ‘Reviews’, if you want to know what we thought of movies, music, comics, the service at the local pub... I believe one of the motto’s there is ‘Watching crappy movies, so you don’t have to!’ Now that sounds like a public service to me!

...If you are curious about the blokes that put this thing together, ‘Contributors’ will give you a little insight into the crew behind this.

...And lastly, if you just can’t live without Modern Stud paraphernalia, our ‘Online Store’ has a plethora of goods to satiate your ‘inner consumer!’

...Thanks for hanging in there, I think your going to like it here,
...-Stan “The Man” Manly

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