Fall Bounty: More Hot Chris Fawcett

See more--or buy the clothes off his supple bottom--at Undergear.

Gorgeous Christopher Fawcett For The Holidays

Sometimes publicists and model managers ask me to post pictures promoting photographers, models, products. A note to all: Use Christopher Fawcett, and you won't even have to ask.

In the past, I have obsessed over Ian Somerhalder and Ryan Philippe. Here is my new obsession.

Model Christopher Fawcett is just...he's just stunningly beautiful. There's no other way to put it.

Thanks to Undergear for bringing us some beauty and joy this holiday season. Behold Mr. Fawcett in all his glory. (Well, not *all* his glory, but pretty close in some of these pictures!)

A Comment On The Recent Wave Of Gay Teen Suicides

This morning, I read about yet another gay teen who had killed himself this week because of having been emotionally tortured due to his sexuality. This isn't easy to write because it's honest, but I have very mixed feelings about the tragedy of these events. In many ways, I think these young men are better off. Many of my "friends" (via Facebook and Twitter, that is--not friends in real life) have encouraged me to post a video to The Trevor Project explaining how "it gets better." Well...in some ways it does, and in some ways it doesn't. Here's the story of my gay life, abbreviated.

I was a happy kid, and I got along with just about everybody in elementary school. When I was in fifth grade, some kid moved to my neighborhood from California and started calling me "faggot." By the next year, my best friend of five years was calling me a fag and he and a little pack of new friends were literally running me down on their bikes at the bus stop when I got home from school--they were still in elementary school; I was in my first year of middle school. From that year on, I was pinched and hit in the locker room, my ears were flicked in the classroom, and I was called every variation of "faggot" in math class, English class, business class, without a protective word from any teacher, ever. My own sister refused to sit next to me on the school bus, literally pushing me off her seat and into the aisle, where I squatted and was yelled at by the bus driver. My defense was to miss as much school as possible--40 to 44 days a year on average--and to convince people that I was dangerously insane. Every morning I woke up, my first conscious thought was, "oh, no, not again. Not another day." I read "The Final Exit" and even began to amass pills that had various effects on the nervous and respiratory systems, thinking that maybe the right combination would help me end the pain without rendering me a vegetable. I did not have a single friend again until college.

I flourished in college; it was the only happy period of my adult life. I had tried to join George Mason University's gay pride group, but the attempt was unsuccessful, as I don't have the social skills to meet new people, and none of the gay guys in the group had any interest in talking to me. I was befriended by a very gay guy in my French class who asked me to tutor him. He was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic with no driver's license, and I became his driver for a while. He took me to a group therapy of sorts led by a man named Ric Chollar, who was tremendously important to my later survival and helped me to deal with longstanding self-hatred. Through this group, I ended up involved with the gay pride group, and friends with the new boyfriend of the guy from my French class and a lot of lesbians. (None of the guys ever spoke to me.) Nevertheless, I was happier than I had been since childhood, and I excelled in my film and media studies--with a concentration in cultural constructions of sexuality and gender issues. I graduated among the top five in my class with honors and high distinction from the university. I thought I could do anything.

The next year, I was looking at grad schools, feeling on top of the world, when my sister told me that the kid from my childhood--the one from California who I had always regarded as the catalyst for my downward spiral--had partnered with Nelly and another bully from my high school to launch Vokal and Apple Bottoms clothing lines. He was a millionaire. I was...what? Working a job I hated, in debt, and I had never had a relationship. It is humiliating to admit, but learning the news of this person's success changed the whole psychological trajectory of my life. To me, it was as if I had been a Jewish escapee of a concentration camp and had just discovered that Hitler had also escaped and become emperor of his own small country. It all started again.

Ten years later, I am living in the heart of Washington, D.C.'s gay neighborhood. I have lived in my small studio apartment for almost a year now, and I don't have a single gay friend in real life. Over the years, I've tried many things to distract myself and make my world better. I went back to school and got an MFA in creative writing. I've tried writing fiction to turn my discontent into "art." I've painted for the same purpose--because color and the right composition can temporarily elevate life into something worth living. But I haven't had much success with either, and so I feel like a hopeless failure in those regards. I wrote for a little while for Advocate.com, contributing Q&As with entertainers, but eventually the company stopped paying me and then stopped responding to me. The reason I wrote for them was because I had this idea that, if I could get recognizable, high-profile people to speak out in support of gay rights, then maybe it would open the minds of their fans and make the world a little easier for LGBT people. But the company stopped paying me eventually after publishing many of my articles, and then the editor stopped writing to me altogether. Ultimately, that relationship did more harm to my self-worth than helped it. And that's the moral of this story: gay people are going to keep hating ourselves and killing ourselves as long as gay people continue to spread hate among one another.

Just minutes ago--the reason I am writing this--somebody on an online gay dating site wrote to me, unprompted, "YOU can email me when you get a better body. And face." That's the general response I've gotten from just about every gay man I have tried to befriend in my life. I've been called ugly, average, and told that if I work harder at improving myself, I might be worth knowing. "You can write to me once you gain some more muscle," one guy wrote, not long ago.

I am 32 years old now, and I still wake up thinking, "Oh, no, not again. Not another day," every day. Every single day. I spend my time alone in bed or with my family, who try hard to cheer me up. My sister wants me to stop feeling sorry for myself. My mother keeps telling me that someone is out there for me, somewhere, someday. My father always asks what he can do for me; he treats me like an absolute invalid. In other words, he pities me. There is no romantic involvement in my life, nothing sensual, no human connection, and I don't have anyone of my own kind on my side. I feel as alone as those kids did. I may represent their futures, if they had had them. I am not trying to say that they didn't deserve a chance, but if I am being completely honest--and I am right here, right now--then I have to say that I feel pretty sure their lives may be better over than as living hells.

I have tried therapy, and I've tried everything I can think of to make the world better, but the bottom line is that any person's experience in life is largely determined by the way that person is treated by others. I get mail from the Human Rights Campaign and other similar causes close to weekly asking for contributions, but I am a gay man who, despite great efforts to become involved in the so-called gay community, has been met only with rejection after rejection after rejection. I think about suicide during all of my waking moments. I go for walks during my lunch break and look down over bridges and think, "is today the day? Is this even high enough?"

My grandmother's life was ruined because her first husband revealed himself to be a gay man in denial. He died slowly from alcoholism, and she married my grandfather, a tortured and abusive alcoholic, and she hated all men--but especially gay men--for the rest of her life.

I don't believe that misery and self-hatred is the nature of gay men; I think it comes from knowing that, out in the rest of the world, we're not equals. But in my experience, gay men strive for perfection in everything, including other gay men, because we're always trying to prove ourselves worthy. Eventually, hopefully, this will change. But I still look down from every bridge I walk over, and I still spend time at home looking up lethal combinations of pharmaceuticals online, and I still take long baths and think about slicing open my veins. Because it just hurts to be here.

I wish I could say that "it gets better." The bullying itself? Yes, that gets better when high school is over. But the general misery? I don't know. Maybe for some. Not for this one. Not yet.

Gaga Tells The Senate

Love her, hate her, can't bear one more moment of her, whatever. You've got to give it to Lady Gaga, our modern-day hippie.

Like civil rights activists of yore--and, really, no one since--Gaga has taken LGBT civil liberties to heart and has become a true outspoken activist. She has protested in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and yesterday, she released this video on behalf of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.



Even if you don't like the woman's style or publicity antics, you've got to give it to her: She's consistent with her message and she's a more articulate and empassioned spokesperson that most. Imagine any other 25 year-old pop star (Britney? Ke$ha??) relaying such an elegant plea. You can't, can you? That's because there's only one Gaga.

Fantasy Photoshoot

We're suckers for anything with homoerotic visual references to Jesus Christ, Ancient Greek deities, U.S. military circa WWII, and rodeos--but only if they're all combined!

Fortunately, photographer Gabriel Wickbold delivered with this "Fantasy" photoshoot.

Ricky Martin Gets Inked

In case you missed it, Ricky Martin recently tweeted this picture of himself getting a tattoo on his shoulder/chest...looks like it hurts! We wonder what it'll be??

John Travolta Crashes Airplane Through Wall

Oprah's Audience Freaks Out Again
Uploaded by TheDlisted. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

To commemorate Oprah's 25th anniversary, she and John Travolta thought it would be fun to fly an airplane through the wall of her set...two days after September 11!

Classsssssssssssssssssssssy.

But she is taking her whole audience to the land of Olivia Newton-John, Ryan Kwanten, Paradise Beach, and adorable koalas!!

Tastes Like Fall Cocktail Recipe

For the first time since April, the temperature has dropped below 85 degrees.

In the face of global warming, we're officially declaring it sweater weather!

We wanted a taste for something crispy and autumnal, and we found a delicious-sounding "pumpkin divine cocktail" recipe. And then we discovered that we couldn't find Grey Goose poive and pumpkin butter on short notice, so we improvised--and for once, my improvisation turned out to be a good thing!

Without further ado, the Tastes Like Fall cocktail:

• 1 part SKYY ginger vodka
• 1 part pear butter
• 1/2 part simple syrup
• 1/2 part Triple Sec
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground clove
• 1/2 pinch grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

Shake till your arm hurts.

Strain.

Garnish with apple slice.
Drink.

Chill out.

Even The Vatican Knows Better Than To Fuck With Robyn

Even the French know better than to fuck with Robyn.

Part two of Robyn's 'Body Talk' sonic triptych reveals the genius behind the body of work's three-part structure. Part 1, released earlier this year, showcased Robyn's diverse talents, but felt incongruous and stunted by its short conclusion. The album gave us the straightforward dance-pop track "Dancing On My Own," aggressive electro-hip-hop "None of Dem," and two acoustic tracks, one a traditional Swedish ballad, and the other, "Hang with Me," quiet standouts from the rest. The first album didn't have a weak song, but taken together, it felt like a bit of a mishmash. But the second mini-album brings it all together; "Hang with Me," for example, gets a spectacular dance-pop treatment. Without the time and space that separates 'Body Talk Pt. 1's' acoustic version from this one, either might seem like a weaker version; but given the distance the staggered release gives us, each version can be appreciated on its own merits. And to Robyn's credit, both versions are great successes, taken on their own or together.

Part two also gives us a bit more of the Robyn that impressed us with her recent self-titled release, with the bitingly hilarious "Criminal Intent" and the self-aggrandizing "U Should Know Better," a duet with Snoop Dogg. In turns, Robyn informs us on "U Should Know Better" that everyone, including the French, the Russians, the FBI, the CIA, and (most bravely?) the Vatican "should know better than to fuck with me." Robyn's strengths are her delivery--such hip-hop bravado from a blonde Scandinavian pop tart never ceases to surprise--and her writing. She disguises unexpected moments of hard-hitting emotion with a unique wit, achieving something more than run-of-the-mill entertainment value. The final track on 'Body Talk Pt. 2,' "Indestructible," is a fragile and heartfelt piece, but the (Acoustic Version) tag keeps us looking forward to part three. We expect a stomping dancefloor-friendly version to follow, but with Robyn, it's hard to predict. Which is exactly how she keeps us wanting more.

Check out "Hang With me" and "Criminal Intent":

Gorgeous Model Christopher Fawcett Surfaces At Undergear

Christopher Fawcett (aka--to us, anyway--Chris Flawless), the male model who has officially supplanted Ian Somerhalder and Ryan Phillippe as prettiest man alive, has shown up recently in a Nordstrom campaign...but we're much more interested in his current appearance at Undergear.

As evidence of Chris's Flawlessness, we encourage you to zoom in on the photos and check out every detail...mmm...

Ronnie Kroell's Naked Playgirl Pics Are Out

Remember Ronnie from Bravo's "Make Me a Supermodel"?

Or maybe you forgot him but suddenly remembered after all the hype about his decision to pose for Playgirl...

...well, we don't have the naked photos here, but if you click the picture above, you might be in for a "big" surprise.

Consider it an early Father's Day present.

Brilliant Betty White Made the Best of SNL

Betty White is infallible. Case closed.

Her appearance on Saturday Night Live last night was truly revelatory--of better and worse. Let's start with the better.

That, of course, is Betty! The 88-and-a-half year-old--as she was scripted to announce a few too many times last night--is a marvel. Despite the return of many of SNL's best comic actresses (Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, and Maya Rudolph), Betty outshone everyone in the cast...and it's clear the other actors weren't just letting the feeble old lady win. They were trying.

But to no avail. Betty White kicked (!), rattled off obscenities, and poked fun at her age tirelessly...until it became tired. But that's not her fault.

Here we come to the "worse" part: SNL itself. Everyone knows that the writers work at a break-neck pace, and this show must have been even more difficult than usual, given that the production was working with a much older star who probably has some reduced stamina (although it was not evident last night--let's hope Betty wasn't shot up with amphetamines or anything for the sake of the show!) and the necessity of bringing back the favorite creations of the great SNL ladies above--such as Shannon and Gasteyer's NPR ladies (Betty's dusty old muffin stole it!).

But even with those constraints, why did the show have to be so one-note? Betty White isn't just older, she's pretty damn old at 88. OK, we get it. Ha-ha. Let's move on. Although Betty was creepy-funny in those God-awful MacGruber episodes (Does ANYBODY really like that dreck? Every time one of those things come on, I usually change the channel.), that time could have been used for something better. Even the skits that weren't really about her old age--like the funny-at-first "lesbian" one below--really were about her old age, the real joke being, ha-ha, the old lady is the only one willing to say 'lesbian'!

Like what?

How about a Golden Girls revival? Imagine an even older, vulgar, cynical Rose. Or imagine Betty White as Blanche, who she originally tried to be cast as? And imagine the rest of the cast: Rachel Dratch as Sophia! Ana Gasteyer as Dorothy! Tina Fey as Rose! (The least unlikely, but that could make it the most interesting.)

Or what about a parody of The View? I can't imagine anything in this life that would be better than watching Betty White do a merciless portrayal of Barbara Walters. Her age would be an implicit joke, suggesting a much older Barbara Walters, but the skit wouldn't be dependent on that. And you know Betty would have done it.

The one thing the show did reveal--which we probably suspected already, given the world's love for the actress--is that Betty White will do just about anything for a laugh. So why no PETA skit for the notorious animal lover? Why not something, anything but another old lady joke?

The videos below reveal that Betty White is her very own self-made phenomenon. She's one of the rare living legends who lives up to the legend. It's just such a shame that this once-in-a-lifetime SNL hosting gig had to be all about her age rather than her brilliance as a comic actress. Betty is better than last night's show. But, really, wasn't that inevitable?









You knew Betty White is funny. But did you know she could sing?



Long live Betty White. May she forever be better than her material.

My New Sarah McLachlan Interview!

I've been really under the weather for a couple of months, so I've hardly written anything here. I just don't have the energy. But with my medical mysteries still unresolved, maybe this is a good time to start looking at my bucket list.

Everyone's talking about their bucket lists these days, so here's one more check mark on mine! I have interviewed a few of my favorites--Tori Amos, Jewel, even Kathy Griffin--but a few have remained unreachable thus far...Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, and Gaga to name a few. But wait! One of those is coming off the list!

I just interviewed Sarah McLachlan, one of my very favorite musicians! She was exactly as expected--gracious, forthright, and smart. We discussed her upcoming album, The Laws of Illusion (that's the beautiful cover artwork above), her new single, "Loving You is Easy" (video below), and Lilith Fair.

I also had the opportunity to talk with one of Sarah's three Lilith Fair partners, Terry McBride, who is a major force in the music industry, as president of Nettwerk Music Group. He revealed exciting--and very ambitious--plans for Lilith Fair, including the establishment of a new charity program called i4c.

The interview is up at Advocate.com. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Sarah Palin To Launch Her Own TV Network

Yes, it's true! Watch the announcement below.



OK, it's not true. But it's funny.

Oh, for the record, the brilliant Photoshop work featured above is not my doing. It's from a blog called "The Sarah Palin Information Network." Turns out Palin's fans are just as good with the new-fangled computer technology as they are with, uh, not getting pregnant.

Oprah Really Loves Gaga!

Shocker!

We know Oprah had Lady Gaga on her show, and most of what Oprah features on her show is what Oprah loves.

(Oprah loves Oprah! We know it; we love it. Most of the time.)

But Oprah makes a huge revelation in the 10th anniversary issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. In it, Oprah is interviewed by a handful of women fans, plus GAAAAAAYYYYYYLE KIIIIIIIIIIING! [Gayle is so important, she must be introduced in Oprah Voice.] Here's a bit of the interview:

Gayle: Who's your favorite musician on your iPod right now?

Oprah: Gaga.

Fan: If you could sing any karaoke song, would it be Lady Gaga?

Oprah: It would definitely be a Tina Turner song. Because if I can see myself as anybody, I can't be Gaga but I can be Tina.

First of all, with all due respect to The Mighty Oprah, it's impressive that someone of her age (56) can stomach the image of Lady Gaga, much less actually like her music, which--let's face it--even if you're older and appreciate Gaga's creative styling, her kind of electropop is unlikely to appeal to people of a certain age.

Big points to Oprah!

The Day The Lights Went Out In Georgia

I am aware that to most people, the idea of a sitcom character serving as a mentor and a beacon of hope is a pretty ridiculous thought.

But then came Julia Sugarbaker.

"Designing Women" aired from 1986 through 1993--in my life, that took me from elementary school through high school. (I graduated in 1996.) Who cares? Probably no one.

But as a gay adolescent, the sensibility of this show resonated with me: Delta Burke's Suzanne Sugarbaker was ridiculous and endearing, Jean Smart's Charlene was the South's answer to Rose Nylund from "Golden Girls," and Annie Pott's Mary Jo was...well, she was kinda boring, actually.

And then there was Julia. This is one of the most strongly written characters in the history of television, but regardless, most of the credit for Julia Sugarbaker should go to Dixie Carter. She regularly turned monologues that, if we saw them written on the page, would be ridiculously superficial, into pillars of strength in their own right. And despite her usually heroic rhetoric within the simple little show plots, Julia Sugarbaker was the one character who was so real that she transcended mere entertainment. My mother, for example, could not stand to watch her; she thought Julia Sugarbaker (and, therefore, Dixie Carter) was a holier-than-thou wealthy Southern heiress--and my mother and I used to argue regularly about Julia's relative good-vs-superficial nature. Those arguments at the time were a way in which I communicated to my mother--my closest ally in life--how important it was becoming to me to see people stand up for who they are, even when others simply cannot relate. And I always knew that my interest in "Designing Women," my love of Suzanne Sugarbaker's antics with her pet pig Noel, and my respect for the way Julia battled with Suzanne but also served as her guardian, spoke volumes to my family about my own developing nature as a gay man.

It may seem overblown, but it's true. And the show "Designing Women" would have been nothing without its anchor, Julia, in whose domain almost every episode took place. And who can imagine anyone but Dixie Carter in the role of Julia Sugarbaker?

Dixie Carter died yesterday. Take a look at some of her scenes and pay special attention to how important her performance of the funny, but straightforward, words was to the creation and development of Julia Sugarbaker. She added a huge helping of aggression and a healthy dash of comic insanity, and in the proecess made Julia a very real person.

Tori Amos & Cyndi Lauper Duet: No Joke!

It's called "Why Don't You Love Me?"

What do you think??

As one would expect from these two geniuses, there's a lot more to the song than meets the ears. It is, er, an imagined duet between Estrella and Imelda Marcos. Uh huh. That's what it is.

For the full story, go to Undented.

Gay Music Video Hits #1 On MTV!!!

Uh-mazing.

I just cannot believe how much the world has changed since I graduated from high school in 1996. I lived in fear every day back then, trying to avoid going to school (which I successfully did 35-45 days a year) for fear or being beaten or shamed to death because of my sexuality. Now, we have shows like "Glee" and (the nearly departed) "Ugly Betty," which include openly gay young characters.

But nothing is as reflective of a cultural landscape as popular music and--in particular--music videos.

So it is astounding that a gay-themed music video by a Guyanese-born, Trinidad-raised (i.e., black) artist just hit number one on the MTV music video charts.

Behold, the appropriately titled video, "Love," by Nhojj.



Read more about why this is important at Billboard.com.

And read more about Nhojj on his Web site.

It's Buh-Nanas: Uh-Mazing Rachel Zoe Project Outtakes

These videos are, like, literally? The. Most. Uh-mazing.

I died. Shut up.

You. Will. Die.

Real Moments with Rachel Zoe Episode 2 - watch more funny videos

SEASON FINALE SPOILER of the Rachel Zoe Project! - watch more funny videos

The Rachel Zoe Project--"Recession Fashion Tips" - watch more funny videos

Brittany Murphy: In Memoriam

Today's news about Brittany Murphy hit hard.

Tabloid gossips like the vicious Perez Hilton (who has already begun attacking Murphy's memory) have been quite cruel to the young woman over recent years, due to purported drug abuse, eating disorders and other problems.

Now she is gone.

Brittany Murphy was a talented young actress. I remember the single-season sitcom "The Torkelsons" and its spin-off "Almost Home" only because of Murphy, and I instantly recognized her from the show when I saw her in her most memorable role in Clueless years later.

Although Angelina Jolie got all the credit for the so-so movie Girl, Interrupted, Brittany Murphy gave the film all of its emotional resonance. It's tragic that Murphy never found a solid place as the scene-stealing character actress of her time, but of course that tragedy does not compare with that of her death.

I don't know anything about her personal problems, but I hope that people will let her memory rest and leave her family alone.

In her memory:

Almost Home, 1993


Clueless, 1996


Girl, Interrupted, 1999