Saturday, March 29, 2008

Follow the bear[d]

According to The Times the beard is back - no kidding.

No longer is the beard verboten, an object of feminine disgust, masculine ridicule and universal suspicion.

How did its remarkable social rehabilitation occur? It is a conundrum so perplexing that tackling it demands you have a beard of your own, for contemplative stroking.

"I think they’re popular because they are a counter-strike against that whole metrosexual feminisation of guys." Russell Manley, East London hairdresser.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

John Arne Riise

I'm not normally that impressed with the visual charms of footballers - generally being more taken with that whole 'rugby build' thing and the fact that rugby players are broadly speaking a more handsome lot.

However, whenever I see Liverpool, who for some reason I vaguely support in so far as I support anybody, I am always drawn to red-haired teddy-bear faced Norwegian striker John Arne Riise.

Not classically handsome by any stretch - picture a hot ewok if you can - but he is definitely sexy.


He seems to like celebrating with his top off - must be a Scandinavian thing...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

David Archuleta - The Long and Winding Road

One can't help feeling that American Idol contestant David Archuleta might be a lot more interesting in about five years time - he will have come out [maybe], he'll have a couple of tattoos and edgier hair, he'll be making great pop music with whoever is the equivalent of Timbaland in five years time - but for now, he remains a frighteningly young-looking 17 year old with an amazing voice, and his interpretataion of The Beatles' The Long and Winding Road was the perfect Idol marriage of pop standard and impressive vocal performance.



The boy can certainly sing, he already appears to be building a fanbase but is there a career there? Who can say - American Idol has picked as many duds as it has stars. And as Jennifer Hudson and Chris Daughtry showed, sometimes the chaff is actually the wheat.

My other favourite is David Cook, with his Eddie Vedder-ish rock star vocals and dreadful premature balding combed forward hairdo - but he can sing.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Henry Cavill returns in The Tudors

A second season of The Tudors will soon be upon us - starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers again as Henry VIII - but naturally we are more interested in the return of the splendid Henry Cavill as the sexed-up Charles Brandon. Naturally, new promotional shots are appearing - and very nice they are too.



Friday, March 14, 2008

Danny Cipriani

It has been reported in The Daily Mail - the moral guardian of our fine nation - that new England rugby hero Danny Cipriani was one of a series of teenage wannabe models who stripped off to strut their stuff on the British version of hit MTV television show My Super Sweet 16.

'But despite revealing an enviable set of pectoral muscles, and a perfectly decent broad chest, the 20-year-old was told his services were not required.'



Cipriani is to make his full England debut, in place of off-form Jonny Wilkinson, against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Michael C. Hall

Who didn't love Michael C. Hall as David Fisher in HBO classic Six Feet Under?

But whilst we may have loved - even sometimes identified with - the closeted, sometimes self-hating, sometimes courageous, often uptight funeral director with a sleazy streak, he wasn't often sexy.

But Michael C. Hall is making up for that in his new role as the title character of Showtime's Dexter. This could be a worry as he plays Dexter Morgan, a Miami police forensics expert who moonlights as a vigilante serial killer. The show is different, stylish, disturbing. Still sexy though.




Although straight, Hall has impeccable gay credientials. In 1999 he was cast as Emcee in Sam Mendes' Broadway revival of Cabaret. When Mendes directed American Beauty, scripted by Alan Ball, he suggested Hall for the David Fisher role.

Tom Brady

As all Europeans know the United States has a number of weird sports that they consider international but which are little known outside the US - a prime example being American Football. This is a shame as there are many very hot American sportsmen who are generally unknown outside the US [except in gay circles because a hot man is a hot man regardless what odd sport he plays and the Internet is international, right]

A prime example is Tom Brady.

Tom Brady is a very successful [and handsome] American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League.

He also does odds and ends of modelling [much more interesting]. Brady is currently being tipped as a potential Calvin Klein underwear model, although this is equally being denied.



The bad news is that he has a child from a previous relationship and is currently dating Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen [yawn].

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Joe Oppedisano's Dangerous Boys

Photographer Joe Oppedisano has given gay-uberblog Towleroad an exclusive sneak peek at a series of images entitled 'Dangerous Boys' he shot for the upcoming Black Party issue of New York's Next magazine, which comes out at the end of this week. The annual Black Party happens this year on March 29 - in New York.

If you like burly men, tattoos, leather... have a look

Black Party slideshow

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Priape

Priape is Canada's largest gay retail chain. The company also operates Priape Wear, which is designing and selling t-shirts, swimwear, jeans, accessories and also the Priape Body line for sexy underwear for men, and is increasingly becoming available in Europe.

One of the best sellers at Prowler - for entirely understandable reasons - is the Priape Football Jock.

Hardwearing and well made, they offer unrivalled support to the necessary bits. They're made to an extremely hi-spec, and are extremely comfortable too. They hug and grip you in all the right places. As opposed to the standard jocks from Priape these football jocks come with a laceable front for you (or someone else) to undo! Available in black or white.

Sexy!

Priape also do these cool and sexy combat shorts [feeble excuse for another shot of sexy bear model]

Friday, March 07, 2008

Eric Dane goes snorkelling...

... and everyone wants to dive in


Grey's Anatomy star Eric Dane was showing off his own splendid anatomy in Florida this week, where he is making a film with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston - Marley & Me.



JustJared.com

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Shameless - Aaron McCusker

Channel 4 comedy-drama Shameless is perhaps not the best advert for my beloved city of Manchester but Shameless is one the best shows on TV with consistently strong storylines, great comedy and powerful drama, and some of the finest acting talent around from a great ensemble cast.

Add in lashings of swearing, violence, gay characters and a some thick slices of male nudity and you have essential viewing that may terrify Daily Mail readers but is the best of modern British television.

And the fittest lad in it by far is puppy-eyed young Northern Irish actor Aaron McCusker, who plays reformed bad boy and pub landlord Jamie Maguire - although you'd be more likely to get a go with his closeted gay brother Mickey, brilliantly played by the lovely Ciaran Griffiths [pictured bottom].




NB: Watch the show - he is way cuter than in any of these pics

Shia LaBeouf

I couldn't honestly claim to be a big fan of young Californian actor Shia LaBeouf - in fact I think I've only seen him in Transformers and not really noticed him as the annoying kid in I, Robot - but the word is that he will be a major star by the end of 2008.

He is already attracting gossip column inches and will next be seen in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (catchy name) and upcoming political thriller Eagle Eye.

He will be reprising his role as Sam Witwicky (catchy name) in 2009-due Transformers 2 (catchy name), which is in pre-production.

Anyway, I think this is an extraordinary photograph of him...

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Welcome to Royworld

Another new band shamelessly plundering the music of the 80s are London four-piece Royworld, whose influences include Bowie, Kate Bush, Roxy Music, Sparks, Thomas Dolby, Talk Talk and Buggles.

Much like The Feeling, Royworld manage to sound fresh because the music that influences them has been disregarded and almost unheard for twenty years, sounding new to the younger generation and striking happy familiar chords for those of who grew up musically in that much-maligned - though often dreadful - musical decade. Their music, for those very same reasons, is unashamedly part of the resurgence of pop, now becoming free from the generic mass-produced boy- and girlband pop of the 90s.

They follow up their debut single, Elasticity, with the release their of their new single Man In The Machine this week. An album, also entitled Man In The Machine, is released in June.

And their lead singer is cubbish - well, until he shaves that beard off.



Royworld MySpace
Royworld - Official Website includes free download of Elasticity