For a long time I've felt that in terms of gay rights, our job is pretty much done in the big cities. The next challenge is to take it to the smaller towns in the US and overseas. That's where activists really need to change some hearts and minds.

From what I've heard, Mexico City is now the largest Gay Pride in the world. I saw some pictures, and it could very well be Miami or New York City. The floats are elaborate, the costumes are interchangeable, and the men are hot. Surprisingly, a lot of the banner and signs are in English, including the float labeled "Bear Pride". Is there is no Spanish translation?

I also read about India's first Gay Pride. Now that's an achievement that needs our support.

But closer to home, my friend Wenda Watch has taken what she learned in LA and San Francisco to help shake up Santa Fe, New Mexico. The video above is Wenda lip syncing to one of her signature Dolly Parton numbers at Santa Fe Pride. Wenda wrote, "On Saturday I was in the Pride Parade and my float won first place. (I was Wenda the Good Witch! Did the whole Wizard of Oz theme--pics are attached) then went on to host the first show Santa Fe has had at Pride on the Plaza (that was more than just DJ's or an occasional performer) and it was met with a HUGE success. I made the cover of the Sunday paper the next morning." (And they spelled her name right!)

Now that gay acceptance is beginning to creep into mainstream neighborhoods, there are more and more openly gay people moving back to the suburbs and small towns. If you can't handle big city congestion, high rents, and competition, a mellower environment might be an option. And small towns could certainly use more ambitious, experienced, gay go-getters. Think big fish in a small pond.

Go Wenda!

Yes, it's hard to drag myself out of bed on Sunday morning for Pride after partying all night at Pink Saturday. But, as a professional partier, I've learned how to pace myself long ago. It still amazes me that we can continue to produce these gigantic events every year, and still have as much fun as the first time.

Photographically, I think I really surpassed myself with quality of photos. Now that I have a faster new computer, I was able to spend more time doing color correction, but for the most part, I didn't even have to touch them. After many years of practice shooting street fairs, I have a sharper eye and faster reflexes to catch shots before they get away.

Enjoy these sample photos from San Francisco Gay Pride 2008, and if you have a membership to the Lavender Lounge VIP Room, you can see the entire set of 350 photos PLUS my photo galleries from the last five years of Pride and Pink Saturday.

The night before Pride in San Francisco is unofficially called Pink Saturday. It is a block part put on by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. with proceeds going to local charities.

It's "unofficially" named Pink Saturday because the City will not allow us to advertise the event. They were hoping to keep it quiet to keep out the riff raff, but Pink Saturday in some form or other has occurred for at least 20 years, so the word has spread by now.

It was a really difficult year to put on this event. The City is broke and is trying to raise money where ever it can, so every year they keep increasing the fees. This year it cost us $42,000 to produce this event - even with all volunteer labor!

The police were impressed that with a record crowd of 150,000 people there was nothing more serious than a few skinned knees and the usual drunk-and-disorderlies. I was glad to see so many YOUNG queers in attendance. It makes me feel good that we provided a safe place for the suburban queer kids to hang out and celebrate the night before Pride.

I have 275 beautiful pictures of Pink Saturday 2008 in the VIP Room under Paparazzi Pics. Join now!

Gay Pride Fever is in full swing here in San Francisco!

Yes, I do have a sick sense of humor, but for most younger GLBTQI-FTM-MTF-PNP-STD-LSMFT queers out there celebrating this weekend, come Monday, their most vivid memories of Gay Pride San Francisco 2008 will be, "Man, was I fucked up!"

That picture is probably the WORST choice to represent my photos, but trust me, I seek out photos of the hottest guys on Earth, many of them shirtless and some even naked at these streetfairs that make San Francisco so famous. It's worth joining the website to see them!

For those of you who are in other cities where Pride falls on a different day, take this opportunity to look at pictures of how we spend Pride weekend in San Francisco.

For VIP Members of Lavender Lounge, I re-arranged the galleries in the Paparazzi Pics section to put all my pictures of Pride from the last five years all at the top. Gay Pride and Pink Saturday photos from 2003 to 2007 are right there for you to view in a slideshow.

By sometime Monday afternoon, VIP Members of Lavender Lounge will also be able to see my brand new photos from San Francisco Gay Pride 2008 and Pink Saturday. Join Now to avoid the rush!

Diamond Dick and Loco Rios make up the sexy duo this week. Diamond Dick is back in Sunny South Florida getting a refresher on the sun, the beaches and of course the hot women after spending the last 2 years in the Midwest. Diamond’s into exotic girls with dark features and Miami has a bevy of them to choose from. He’s been with a few girls, and even messed around with a few guys, since he was last here. So it seems his sexual horizons were broadened after his last visit where he got to dabble on the dark side with Sexy Tin Man. Diamond is an ass man and loves to lick it and fuck it most; but will—get this—let a girl return the favor. MmmKay. Now there’s a str8 guy that’s open to possibilities. On the subject of asses and those that love them we get Loco Rios. Loco is a sexy 19 yr old Cubanito who can’t get enough ass! Cuban women have the kind of curvaceous trunks that legends spawn from; so it only makes sense that Cuban men, among others, can’t help but fall under their spell. Loco loves it doggie and isn’t into tits. “As long as their pretty and have a big ass I don’t care really” Talk about Equal Opportunity! —that’s a beautiful thing. He lost his cherry at 15 and admits that most people would never know that he’s a total freak in bed. One of the wildest things he’s done was fuck on cam. It was hot to watch afterwards. We decided to help him out and have him on cam again only this time without his girl. Loco was more than happy to oblige.

First Logan fucks hairy boy favorite Jake Deckard's throat with his huge tattooed piece. Jake is quite a cocksucker and takes the intense throat fuck with rapture. As they move into a solid round of 69 dick sucking, Logan's amazing body of art is shown fully. Jake then moves onto fucking his pretty ass. For those of you who think real sexual passion between men is missing in porn, you shouldn't miss this. Especially when these two flip, and Logan drives his cock into Jake's hairy muscle mounds.

This week, we brought back one of Circle Jerk Boys favorites, Stefano. Twenty-one year old Stefano was born in Palermo, Sicily; then raised in England; moved to Spain then Italy; and now calls the states home. Since we saw Stefano last, he’s been a bad boy. Recently he was invited to a party at the Versace mansion and he ended up getting wasted and landed in a couple gang bangs that broke out late in the night once everyone got sauced. Stefano, with the killer smile and that twinkle in his eye, had models all over him. Stefano is a horny boy and likes to jerk off once or twice a day on those rare occasions when he can’t get laid. Mmhmmm. Today, we paired him up with another favorite, Tony Michaels. Georgia born and a Miami raised Cubanito, Tony is 22 and is still keeping it single so he can be free to mingle. He has been featured on our site; as well as our brother site, ExtraBigDicks. His sweet face and amazing ass keeps us wanting more. These two hot blooded Latinos will make quite a combination. Lucky for Tony, Stefano brought his infamous Italian salami for Tony’s insatiable bottom. This is gonna be good! Bon Appetit, Monsieur Michaels.

Stefano starts off watching porn as Tony showers. He undresses watching porn as Tony dries off and finds him rubbing his cock through his jeans. Tony wastes no time and immediately leans over Stefano, rubbing his growing boner. He moves in front of Stefano, who by now is undoing his pants to give Tony full access. Tony goes down and swallows every inch of Stefano’s growing meat. Stefano’s eyes close as he enjoys the attention expert cock-sucker Tony is giving him. They move the fun over to the couch, where Stefano lays back and lets Tony work his cock as he continues to explore, licking him all over. Stefano then stands up to feed Tony more of his now engorged cock. His pubes are shaved and his nuts are smooth. Tony slurps on his meat as Stefano slowly fucks his face. Stefano is a sensuously hairless landscape, and his smooth body just screams, “Lick me!”. Stefano sits back in a chair as Tony gets on his knees and continues servicing his cock. Tony looks up at Stefano as he slowly laps at his leaking knob. Talk about Dedication…DAMN!

Tony can’t take much more and needs to feel it inside him as he turns around and slowly lowers himself onto Stefanos rock hard cock. Stefano grabs Tony’s waist as he guides him up and down while Tony leans forward and rides his cock like a champ. His deliciously smooth ass is on display as Stefano’s cock is burying itself in and out. Tony lies on his side, and Stefano continues fucking his meaty ass. Tony’s face says it all as he gets that cock pounded into him. Next, they flip over into a missionary position, as Tony’s legs spread wide to accommodate Stefano’s throbbing cock. Stefano’s bubble butt looks hot as he thrusts in and out of Tony’s hole. Stefano pins Tony’s thighs down as he begins pile driving his Italian cock harder and faster. He’s moaning and his breathing is getting heavier, and you know he won’t be able to last much longer. Tony begins to jack off faster, sensing the coming climax. Tony pulls out as they both bust their loads all over Tony’s navel. What a mess—Clean up on Aisle 6!

I just got a set of photos from the guys at the Fratpad, that defy description. The photo set is labeled "WTF", as in "What The Fuck?" and the promotional material even comes right out and says, "It's a collection of pics from the Fratpad party games from the recent 2nd anniversary party. Please don't ask what's going on in these pics. We're not entirely sure how to explain. Best to go check out Fratpad yourself and watch the whole show in the archives."

So if you pay a bunch of gorgeous straight guys to live together in a house on a tropical island and ask them to do "things" with each other in order to get gay men to pay to watch their antics on webcam, what could possibly happen? They don't want to actually touch each other in a gay way, so they devise stunts like this to tease the fags out of their dough.

This photo set contains shots of the boys writing on each other with magic marker, putting pink balloons on their cocks, squirting each other with paint, and doing push ups. Typical frat boys hijinx, except they're naked!

I put a sample gallery of photos in the Lavender Lounge VIP Room for members to look at, but if you want to see the whole gallery, join Fratpad and find out what's really going on!

FRAT MEN: SAMPLES IN VIP ROOM - FRAT PAD - FRATMEN.TV ]]> http://www.lavenderlounge.com/blog/2008/06/jackass_style_straight_guys_hi.html http://www.lavenderlounge.com/blog/2008/06/jackass_style_straight_guys_hi.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:58:42 -0800 I just received a shitload of super duper gay porn photos from PerfectGuyz.com. They've been around for a few years now, and they have been slowly but surely building up an impressive collection of photo sets and video galleries of some beautiful, beautiful men. The guys (or guyzzzzz) are so beautiful, in fact, some may even say they are .... wait for it... perfect.

That for instance, this lovely specimen named Colt. I've seen pictures of him before at PerfectGuyz.com, but never with that scruffy little beard and delicate tuft of chest hair. Yum, what a man!

Name: Colt
Age: 27
Zodiac: Capricorn
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Height: 5' 7”
Weight: 140lb
Waist: 29"
Chest: 38"
Shoe Size: 10
Cock: 9" cut
Physique: Ripped

Biography:

There is something that is quintessential and timeless about leather. The feel and smell of worn leather is a titillating, sensual experience. PerfectGuyz Colt is ever so the ideal guy for such attire. When he adorned the leather vest and wrist band he transformed into the perfect leather-clad stud. Indeed, the black leather vest aptly displayed his hard pecs and ripped abs. Finishing the look, Colt insisted on wearing a stainless steel cock ring around the base of his huge cock behind his completely smooth balls. The cock ring was highly exhilarating – keep his cock hard and
bulging beneath his fitted jeans. PerfectGuyz Colt continues to fine-tune his body. His biceps are intensely powerful; his abs and legs are shredded and completely balance his body. Once aspect of Colt we particularly like is his amazing eyes. They’re dark, deep and limitless. One gaze from this timeless sexy stud will cause you to stop and freeze in your tracks. PerfectGuyz Colt was the founding member and inspiration behind the famed GUYZer group – an exclusive horde of PerfectGuyz men who have graced us with the most voluminous CUM SHOTS EVER SEEN. Colt once again reassured us of his talents as he sprays LOAD after LOAD of HOT CUM in the grand finale of his fifth performance on PerfectGuyz Colt is utterly remarkable! Enjoy Colt in this special encore PerfectGuyz presentation.

As I have told you before, most of the boys posing for PerfectGuys.com are straight, or straight-ish, so I created some sample galleries in the VIP Section of Lavender Lounge (under Straight Guys). Between from now until next February, members of the Lavender Lounge VIP Room will get to sample some of the men from Perfect Guyz right here. But that's just to wet your appetite to click through and join PerfectGuyz.com, where you will see it all!

Every Friday from now until well into the next Presidency (I can finally say that!) a new sample gallery of Straight Guys will debut in the VIP Room, with samples from PerfectGuyz.com, Randy Blue, Straight Guys 4 Gay Eyes, and JakeCruise.com - and you can sample them all if you are a member of Lavender Lounge!

PERFECT GUYZ: SAMPLE VIP GALLERY - PERFECT GUYZ WEBSITE ]]> http://www.lavenderlounge.com/blog/2008/06/perfect_guyz_colt_in_leather.html http://www.lavenderlounge.com/blog/2008/06/perfect_guyz_colt_in_leather.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:55:45 -0800

The clip above is from an upcoming gay indie movie called "Watch Out" coming in Spring 2009. The star is Matt Riddlehoover, and just like everyone, I got sucked in because the guy is soooo cute. It looks really funny, and I included some pictures of Riddlehoover for you to drool over.

Here is a quote from Matt Riddlehoover about the movie:

"Watch Out" is based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Suglia and was adapted and directed by Steve Balderson, who I think was perfect for the material. He did Firecracker a few years back with Karen Black and Mike Patton, which was such a visually rich film. I think it’s an eye like his that really makes a movie like this work. The story centers around my character, Jonathan Barrows, who, to the outside eye, is a complete narcissist. He’s convinced that he’s the smartest, sexiest, greatest person that’s ever walked the planet. However, we find him applying for a position at a community college in a small town in Michigan. So, apparently the world he’s living in is completely unaware of his supreme greatness. Unless of course we count the desk clerks, bar flies and punk rockers he meets along the way that are intensely attracted to him. But it makes no difference, because Jonathan Barrows is only attracted to himself. He falls in love with himself, literally. Seriously! He totes around a blow-up doll that resembles him for Christ’s sake; so it’s extremely hard for him to resist several glances when passing a mirror.

Is there much nudity in the film?
Matt: A lot of nudity ☺.

Sean Everett is a horny handyman who's come to the home of Damian Rios to lay some pipe and get some good use out of his jackhammer.

South of Market institution, the Hole Hole In The Wall Saloon, has been battling for years to get permits needed to move the bar to its new location down the street. Last night, June 20 (Summer Solstice), was their first day open at 1369 Folsom Street.

They sent out an email in the morning that they were hoping to open by noon - or by Happy Hour at 4 - or maybe later - or....

At 6:30 I decided to check it out, but the guys were still up on ladders and hanging pictures! People were already coming in and out after also having received the same email. I shot this little video then ran home and posted it to Lavender Lounge Video Blog. I wanted to document what it looked like for that ONE moment when it was clean!

We went back after dinner, and wouldn't you know, it was the hottest day of the year, and we decided to hang out at place with no ventilation!

It's about the same size as the old bar, maybe 5 feet wider. They moved most of the old posters from the old bar and installed a new wire mesh 3 headed dragon on the ceiling. It's still the same vibe and the same sketchy characters. (There's a smoking hot new bartender there that is worth a visit to oogle, too!)

I ran into my old roomate, Terry, who reminded me that on that day fifteen years ago, our other roommate Steve Kasper died. I don't think the old Hole In The Wall had opened yet in 1993, but it would have been Steve's favorite place. He was totally an old hippy biker, the exact fetish presented at the Hole. Steve's naked picture graced the wall at the old bar, but somehow didn't survive the move as of yet.

The bar only has a temporary liquor license due to complaints from some old lady around the corner that objects to any new bar or gay business. If I find out who she is, there's going to be trouble.

Michael Lucas

H.G. Wells said in 1906, "I found myself agape, admiring a skyscraper - the prow of the Flatiron Building, to be particular, ploughing up through the traffic of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the late afternoon light."

The building is really cool, but it's not the only one! There are about 20 of these historic triangle shaped buildings in existence, and I know of three right here in San Francisco!

What puzzles me, though is, I skimmed through the movie, and fortunately for most viewers - the movie is ALL SEX. There is no reference to buildings whatsoever. But like I said, most viewers will be pleased that it's all sex - fucking, sucking, rimming, and watersports. Yada yada yada. I wanted more, but I'm not the consumer. Michael knows what his customers want, AND he knows that reviewers like me get sucked into an interesting "angle" to movies. I took the bait, got him some press for his movie, and I did have some fun trying to make this movie sound more interesting.

My favorite models: Anthony Marks (he used to be my favorite bartender at Cafe Flore) and Zack Randall. Zack is the one with creamy white skin, dark hair and geeky glasses in the opening montage. You gotta love the geeks that are hiding a smoking little body underneath!

The press release made it sound like "Flatiron Fuckers" is a gay porn version of "The Fountainhead", but there's no dialogue and not even a shot of the famous building. Perhaps it was shot IN an apartment there, but you never even see the damn building!

I love the style of flatiron buildings, so for what it's worth, I did some research.

The Flatiron Building in San Francisco (below left), at the intersection of Market and Sutter Streets, was designed by Havens and Toepke and built in 1913.

Flatiron buildings are among the earliest skyscrapers erected in North American cities such as New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Chattanooga, Fort Worth, Atlanta, Toronto and Vancouver. Their triangular shape was determined by real estate parcels created by diagonal streets, such as Broadway in Manhattan and Market in San Francisco, slicing through an urban grid. They were named for their resemblance to clothes irons of the period.

The most famous flatiron building is the Fuller Building, generally regarded as New York City's first skyscraper. It was designed by Daniel H. Burnham, built in 1902, famously photographed by Edward Steichen, and perhaps responsible for the Jazz Age terms 23 skidoo and scram.

The Sentinel Building (below right), one of San Francisco's few "flatiron" buildings, is at the foot of North Beach. A regal green sliver of a building, the Sentinel has housed many a notorious personage and larger-than-life myths in its nine stories. After its construction in the 1930s, political boss Abe Ruef worked from its top floor before being sent to San Quentin prison for graft; locals swear that the downstairs restaurant/speakeasy Caesar's Grill (shut down for violating certain Prohibition regulations) created the salad of the same name. Today, Francis Ford Coppola houses his production studio, American Zoetrope, in the building. Coppola, a famous epicure and owner of a Napa winery, also owns the downstairs cafe. To get the best view of this San Francisco landmark, look down Columbus Ave from North Beach, preferably from an outdoor cafe while sipping an espresso.

"Flatiron Fuckers" stars Claudio Martin, Jason Crew, Anthony Marks, Brant Moore, Zack Randall, Angel Skye, Brad Star, and Michael Lucas.

Raging Stallion's "Home Bodies" just arrived in the mail with Damien Crosse on the cover. OMFG, he looks better than ever! I have always been a fan of Damien Crosse, and he is a joy every time I meet him. I heard he's single now, too! (There's no hope for me, but you boys out there at least have a chance...)

The theme of "Home Bodies" is Why bother getting gussied up to go out looking for sex? You're gonna come home alone and jerk off anyway, why not just put in this movie and pretend you're there in the middle of these hairy muscle studs! Rather than have some anonymous trick steal your wallet and give you crabs, have fun with Roman Ragazzi, Marcos David, Nick Marino (Mr. IML), Scott Tanner, Trey Casteel, Tristan Phoenix, and Victor Steele.

I added a little sample gallery of photos from "Home Bodies" in the VIP Room of Lavender Lounge (members only!), but to buy the whole movie for your own, ahem, pleasure, visit Raging Stallion.

"Afterparty" is the new vehicle for Falcon exclusive Erik Rhodes. Those of us who keep up on the industry see the irony in choosing Erik Rhodes for this movie. The troubled star have been very open about his bouts of depression and man troubles. As guest host on Derek and Romaine, he's given lots of detail about his excessive partying, mostly to cover up his internal pain. His blog gets very intimate, and I can read between the lines enough to see that the young man knows what he needs to do to get his life on track. It's taken him a lot of effort to dump a toxic boyfriend that keeps coming back. He's openly stated he hates porn, so I predict any day now he will announce something along the lines of '... fuck it, I'm not doing porn anymore... ', blah, blah, blah, followed by a triumphant comeback a year later.

Notice the irony in the promotional material for "Afterparty":

Erik Rhodes is one happy man and passing the Bar gives him reason enough to party hearty. He summons his friends to help him celebrate and they pull out all the stops to make sure the fuckfest is one he’ll never forget.

**NOTE** Exclusively Available For Members To View Now On FalconXXX Now.