Hi Guys!
I am still in California - no blackouts/power failures for me here - and I thought some sunkissed blonde guys would be appropriate today!!
ENJOY!!!
"The Camera"
09 September 2011
08 September 2011
RICK WELTS: COMING OUT BROUGHT JOB OFFERS!
Speaking before the United States Tennis Association Icon Awards, where he was honored Tuesday, Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts said one of the more surprising results of his coming out was an increase in job offers from people impressed by his revelation.
Welts spoke with The Advocate at the U.S. Open in New York City prior to the ceremony for the awards, which recognize contributions to diversity and inclusion. The basketball team president and CEO was honored for his leadership as exemplified in the willingness to be open about his sexual orientation, as he became the first senior executive of a men’s professional sports team to acknowledge that he is gay, in a front-page interview with The New York Times in May.
“I probably have had more job offers in the last five months than I ever have in my life from the most unexpected places, people who actually found me a more interesting candidate because of what I had chosen to do,” said the NBA executive, who joined the Suns in 2002. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive from my team, our players, our ownership, our employees.”
Welts said he has responded to “literally thousands of emails and hundreds of letters” from old colleagues, concerned parents, and children seeking interaction since his groundbreaking announcement. Calling his new platform a “huge sense of responsibility,” he said he was interested in working to better conditions for youth, perhaps with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which has an inclusive sports project and will honor him in Los Angeles next month.
“It’s been humbling, it’s been a little bit overwhelming, but in a very good way,” he said. “I think for me the challenge is kind of where from here, what do I do with this. I can’t tell you I have the answer to that.”
Asked about the year in professional sports so far, Welts said 2011 would be remembered as a watershed period for the advancement of LGBT causes. High-profile developments included a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation public service announcement from the Los Angeles Lakers after shooting guard Kobe Bryant used an antigay slur, and the backlash against a hockey agent who criticized New York Rangers forward Sean Avery for his advocacy of marriage equality. Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash also participated in the same initiative, from the Human Rights Campaign.
“We have, especially in men’s team sports, great difficulty even having the discussion,” said Welts. “All these events that have transpired, good or bad, I think have heightened both the volume and the level of discussion to a place it’s never really been before, and I think inevitably that’s going, as we look back, to be viewed as a really important time.”
One breakthrough yet to occur is the emergence of an openly gay player in the major men’s professional team sports, something Welts said he was confident would happen, although he was reluctant to propose a time line.
“It will be incredibly courageous when it does happen, because it’s different from me,” he said. “It’s very different. We will.”
Welts spoke with The Advocate at the U.S. Open in New York City prior to the ceremony for the awards, which recognize contributions to diversity and inclusion. The basketball team president and CEO was honored for his leadership as exemplified in the willingness to be open about his sexual orientation, as he became the first senior executive of a men’s professional sports team to acknowledge that he is gay, in a front-page interview with The New York Times in May.
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| Tennis legend Billie Jean King, former NY Mayor David Dinkins and Rick Welts |
“I probably have had more job offers in the last five months than I ever have in my life from the most unexpected places, people who actually found me a more interesting candidate because of what I had chosen to do,” said the NBA executive, who joined the Suns in 2002. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive from my team, our players, our ownership, our employees.”
Welts said he has responded to “literally thousands of emails and hundreds of letters” from old colleagues, concerned parents, and children seeking interaction since his groundbreaking announcement. Calling his new platform a “huge sense of responsibility,” he said he was interested in working to better conditions for youth, perhaps with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which has an inclusive sports project and will honor him in Los Angeles next month.
“It’s been humbling, it’s been a little bit overwhelming, but in a very good way,” he said. “I think for me the challenge is kind of where from here, what do I do with this. I can’t tell you I have the answer to that.”
Asked about the year in professional sports so far, Welts said 2011 would be remembered as a watershed period for the advancement of LGBT causes. High-profile developments included a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation public service announcement from the Los Angeles Lakers after shooting guard Kobe Bryant used an antigay slur, and the backlash against a hockey agent who criticized New York Rangers forward Sean Avery for his advocacy of marriage equality. Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash also participated in the same initiative, from the Human Rights Campaign.
“We have, especially in men’s team sports, great difficulty even having the discussion,” said Welts. “All these events that have transpired, good or bad, I think have heightened both the volume and the level of discussion to a place it’s never really been before, and I think inevitably that’s going, as we look back, to be viewed as a really important time.”
One breakthrough yet to occur is the emergence of an openly gay player in the major men’s professional team sports, something Welts said he was confident would happen, although he was reluctant to propose a time line.
“It will be incredibly courageous when it does happen, because it’s different from me,” he said. “It’s very different. We will.”
MORE HOT GUYS AND ACTION FROM FRATERNITY X!!!!
These hot guys from FRATERNITY X are at it again!!
After taking some verbal abuse from the boys (and a bit of drinking!), Jake is forced onto his knees. With a cock in each hole this dick hungry slut is tag teamed by Angelo and Anthony. This is pretty much the norm in the frat house.
They smoke a bowl, talk some shit and then some frathouse bitch ends up getting plowed in both holes. There is no bigger frat bitch than Jake. Even though he won't admit it, he definitely loves making these vids.
And I can see why!!
Check out this hot bit of action HERE !!!
You'll be glad you did!
CHEERS!!
"The Camera"
After taking some verbal abuse from the boys (and a bit of drinking!), Jake is forced onto his knees. With a cock in each hole this dick hungry slut is tag teamed by Angelo and Anthony. This is pretty much the norm in the frat house.
They smoke a bowl, talk some shit and then some frathouse bitch ends up getting plowed in both holes. There is no bigger frat bitch than Jake. Even though he won't admit it, he definitely loves making these vids.
And I can see why!!
Check out this hot bit of action HERE !!!
You'll be glad you did!
CHEERS!!
"The Camera"
HOT BLOKES ON THE BEACHES!!!
Since Im in LA right now, working on a shoot, I figured some hot snaps of the beach would be more than appropriate!
Im loving it out here...but boy, I sure do miss being up North!
So, in honour of the West Coast, California and the end of summer....enjoy these hot, hard and naked blokes!!!
CHEERS!!
"The Camera"
Im loving it out here...but boy, I sure do miss being up North!
So, in honour of the West Coast, California and the end of summer....enjoy these hot, hard and naked blokes!!!
"The Camera"
04 September 2011
JOHN BARROWMAN SPEAKS ABOUT TORCHWOOD, MARRIAGE AND HIS LIFE! (PART TWO)
So getting back to the show: This is your fourth go-round, and every time you got bumped up the BBC chain [the first series aired on BBC Three, the second on BBC Two, the third on BBC One], and now you’re a US-UK co-production. Did you have any idea that it would be this kind of ride when you started?
JB: No, I had no idea. I wanted it to be this kind of ride when we started, and my wish came true. We started off on the smallest digital channel from the BBC, we got the biggest ratings on that and moved to BBC Two, we had stellar ratings on that. Moved to BBC One, stellar ratings also. I knew they were working to push this further, but wasn’t allowed to talk about it, so when I was saying publicly my opinion that I wished there were more episodes than five, that it would be silly if we didn’t do it again, that was John Barrowman speaking, because I love Captain Jack, I love the show, I know how much the show is loved.
So I got in a little bit of shtick from people saying I was too outspoken and speaking out against the BBC – I wasn’t. I was actually just saying what my opinion was: If you have a good job, you want more of it. And fortunately, Russell and Julie, who runs the BBC, and Starz were all banding together to make it happen, and they have. So I did get my wish! I got more episodes, I got more Torchwood, I got more Captain Jack.
Work on world peace next time.
JB: [laughs] Stick me in a room with all these leaders, I tell ya – I’ll show them a thing or two. That’s what I always think they should do: Strip ’em all down and sit ’em in a room naked, see what happens. I wouldn’t want to be there, I wouldn’t want to be watching that, but it might calm things down a little.
Is the show divorced from Doctor Who now?
JB: No, we mention the Doctor in this series. Because we’re part of that world, we came from that world. You can’t deny your history. But we are a stand-alone show now. What I always say is that we separated from the mothership, but we still make references and hopefully, one day, Jack will go back to Who. That’s my opinion, not anybody else’s, but I would love to cross over with the new Doctor and just see what would happen with him and Jack.
I would have loved to have done that with [Elisabeth] Sladen – Lis always wanted to work more with me – but unfortunately that won’t happen now. Our matriarch is gone. [Sladen, beloved Doctor Who co-star and the star of the Davies-scripted Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, died April 19 after battling cancer. Barrowman and Sladen appeared together briefly during the 2008 Doctor Who series finale.]
For U.S. television, Captain Jack is something of an anomaly – we have a handful of queer characters, but not many action heroes. Does he stand out less among the characters on UK TV?
JB: It’s just part of the landscape, I think. We don’t really make an issue out of it. I’m not the first person on American television who’s a bisexual character, but there are a lot of characters represented. I’m quoting what Russell has said, I’m sure there’s others out there, but it’s the first time that a bisexual hero has been played by an openly gay man. There’s no heroes out there where the men [who play them] are openly gay. And that’s just what it is, really, but it’s not an issue in the UK, even when it started.
I remember the episode of Doctor Who where I kiss the Doctor, it just kind of came and went, and no one made an issue out of it. No one said anything; the newspapers actually kind of missed it, and we didn’t make it a big sensational thing out of it. I don’t think it will be an issue over here, and if it is – well, excuse me, but change the fucking channel. [laughs] Do you know what I mean?
It’s just that queer characters are all over the American TV landscape, but they tend to be lawyers, or they’re in comedies. We don’t get a lot of derring-do.
JB: No, you don’t, but it’s time we do. What people have to remember is that I’m a gay man at home and in the outside world, and at work I’m a hero. I don’t bring my personal life into the – well, actually, this sounds stupid, but I have sex with men, Captain Jack has sex with men, so maybe I do bring my personal life into it. [laughs] But I’ve played heterosexual characters, I’ve played ingénues, I’ve played the lead characters in most of the shows I’ve been in, and most of them have been straight. So this is actually something different for me, in a way. Listen, it will be interesting to see how it takes, and I’m sure I’ll get some kind of … people will always complain about something.
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| Gareth (Ianto) and John at a Comic Con where they are always asked to kiss!!! |
And actually, if anyone has sailed these waters in American TV, it’s Starz with Spartacus.
JB: Correct, and thank god for Starz. We’re so glad to be with such a good network, because they’re the ones who break the boundaries a little bit more than the others. A lot of people were worried that we were going to be watered-down when we went to American, but we’re actually not – we’re even edgier than before. There’s some really great sex scenes with Jack and some men, and it’s really portrayed truthfully and honestly, it’s fantastic. People who complain, generally, are the people who don’t even watch the damn show.
And I’ve had first-hand experience with that in the UK, where they’ve complained about something I’ve done, and you go and read what they said, and you know they’ve not read the article, they didn’t listen to the radio show, and they’ve not seen the TV show. They don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
That’s the nature of the internet commenter. It’s great that Russell has maintained so much control over the show, because Showtime recently aired Episodes over here. I don’t know if you saw it, but it’s about two creators of a British hit show having everything changed in the U.S. version. And that’s happened to a lot of UK talent when their shows have crossed the pond.
JB: Well one thing you have to remember is that we’re a collaboration between the BBC Worldwide, and also BBC One with Starz. We still have the heart and essence of what’s made Torchwood so special, and we still have that. And we have everything that’s even edgier on top of that. So the soul of the show has not changed. I can guarantee to the audience who’s going to watch it because they’re staunch fans, they’re gonna know what they’re looking at.
Had you been much of a sci-fi fan before this gig?
JB: Oh god, yeah! I grew up on Star Wars, I still have all my Star Wars toys – actually, I gave them to my nephew Turner, he looks after them now. The original Battlestar Galactica, Space: 1999, Star Trek, um, Thunderbirds, even coming up into the new era of V, I remember the original miniseries. And Doctor Who! I was a Doctor Who baby; I grew up watching Sarah Jane as one of the assistants, Tom Baker, John Pertwee, all the Doctors of that time. I used to stay up and watch PBS, because that’s where you got Doctor Who. I’m a fan-geek, and I’m proud, and I love it. To this day, I still download shows I can’t watch when they’re airing. I still have Battlestar Galactica to get through, the new series. But it’s great, one of the directors from that, we’ve worked with her here.
Do you see an end to Torchwood?
JB: Well obviously, there will be an end to it at some point, but you know, I’m not ready for it to end. Touch wood, what I’d love to have happen is we do four or five more series, keep going strong, and then finish, and then maybe a year after, do a movie. I don’t know what I’ll look like, you know…
Playing an immortal can be a drag.
JB: Exactly! I am gonna get older, so we have to figure something out. But I would be happy – although I do other entertainment stuff, I do other TV shows, I do books with my sister for young teenagers, I’ve got my music – if someone were to say to me, you’re only going to play Captain Jack for the rest of your career, I would be completely content. I love him, I love the show, I love what we stand for, I love what he stands for, and I love coming to work every day. It’s a thrill.
Will you ever do a musical episode?
JB: I’d love to. I don’t know if Russell’s game for it, but I’d love to do one. We’d have to be on a planet where music controls everything, or is the only mode of communication. I would have no problem. But I think we’d have to dub Eve [Myles’] voice, she’s not a singer. [laughs]
She could always talk her way through like Rex Harrison.
JB: Kai [Owen] would be great. Alexa [Havins]? Not so sure. Mekhi [Phifer]? He’s a great rapper. So we’ve got every demographic covered.
Any final thoughts?
JB: Thank you to everyone for all the support you’ve given me over the years, and to all the people who hit the website and put me in the top five every year in the best gay men out there poll, I really appreciate it and I’m proud to represent the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender community, and I will always do that, no matter what. Anyone who doesn’t have a voice will always have a voice through me.
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