Separated at Birth?

Talan Torriero of "Laguna Beach" and tennis player Robby Ginepri.

googlea0b3b55f1f6f11f3.html

My Friend Flickr

As if I needed another excuse to spend hours on end in front of the computer, this weekend I (finally) caught the Flickr bug (my brother warned me it was inevitable given what a picture freak I am). Right now my personal Web site and my blog link to my soon-to-be-defunct Coppermine galleries, but the user-friendly inteface plus the ability to share with people around the world have quickly made me a Flickr convert.

I've already posted nearly 2,000 photos. Feel free to check some out by CLICKING HERE (like these photos taken back in 1991, below) and let me know what you think.

Family pictures or promotional stills from a short-lived sitcom on ABC? I'll never tell ...

Morning Wood: Josh Hopkins

I first developed a crush on Josh Hopkins when he played Amanda "Jack" Peet's news anchor love interest (Matt Prophet) on the greatest show of all time, "Jack and Jill," a few years ago (remember Alisa?) . He's since appeared in the film "The Perfect Storm" and is currently on the Rebecca Romin-Stamos show "Pepper Dennis Can't Lose," playing what appears to be the exact same news anchor character all over again. These pictures don't really capture his sex appeal, but trust me, he's one handsome man.

Page 1 Consider (07/31)

Gentlemen, Start Your Epithets: In an effort to bring more diversity to the sport, the bigs shots behind the scenes at NASCAR are setting their sights on an up and coming 16-year-old black race car drive named Marcus Davis. Sounds like they're off to a great start: "Initially when Marc came in, there was the name calling, there was the 'n' word, there was all kinds of nonsporting things," the boy's father, Harry Davis, said. "But true NASCAR fans like winners. That baggage went away when Marc moved to the front." Mel Gibson would have been proud. (NYT)

That's Ms. Sugar Tits to you: By now you must have heard about Mel Gibson's arrest for driving under the influence -- and the ensuing anti-Semitic tirade. For those who were away at the beach, here are some of the disgusting details: the arresting officer, Deputy James Mee, apparently audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother fucker. I'm going to fuck you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me." The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "Fucking Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?" The deputy became alarmed as Gibson's tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?" Gibson's dad, who has gone on the record denouncing "the existence of the Holocaust," must be so proud. (TMZ)

Kenny Free: While everyone is taking a minute to wish MTV a happy 25th birthday, I'd like to thank them for giving my favorite animated show of all time, the brilliant "Beavis and Butt-head." (AP)

Massachusetts Is for (Gay) Lovers: With Washington state ruling against gay marriage too, Newsweek takes an in-depth look at what's next -- for both sides of the issue. (Newsweek)

Mother of the Year: Lindsay "Gone Bananas" Lohan's mom thinks the studio executive who ripped her daughter a new one in a well-publicized letter was "out of line." Gee, having your mom bitch out your employer for you -- that doesn't sound like the behavior of a spoiled brat. (AP)

Golden Couple: Has there ever been a cuter couple than "Laguna Beach" alum Kristin Cavallari and Brody Jenner, gold medalist Bruce's son? (TMZ)

Eye on the Ball: German tennis hunk Tommy Haas won the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russia's Dmitry Tursunov on Sunday -- and never looked hotter in doing so. (GettyImages)

Gay Sex in the '70s: Cum Again?

(Billy Crudup)

(Colin Farrell)

(Jake Gyllenhaal)

(Josh Brolin, left, and Jake Plummer)

( Tim Daly)

Unless you're Tom Selleck or Sam Elliott, mustaches that don't come with beards or goatees tend to be pretty silly on most average guys.

So why am I suddenly finding it so hot when people who don't usually have a 'stache grow one (even when it's meant to be silly)? This 1970s pornstache revival is really starting to get the better of me. Might Hollywood be casting the sequel to last year's "Gay Sex in the '70s"?

I Get Weak

6-1, 195-pound Leighton is a fitness model over at StrengthNet.com.

Sunday Worship: Robby Ginepri

 One more time ... this time watch my boy strip down to a towel in the sauna. Why isn't he ever at New York Sports Club?

Something's Gotta Give

Did you see this letter over on TheSmokingGun.com? It seems the studio heads aren't buying Lindsay Lohan's "heat exhaustion" story either. Marilyn Monroe -- who had actual talent -- was 36 when she got canned from "Something's Gotta Give." Lohan turned 20 earlier this month.

Sporting Wood: Robby Ginepri

Just because I post action photos of tennis hottie Robby Ginepri every other day doesn't mean I can't make him today's Sporting Wood, especially when I get sexy photos like these sent to me from a sweet reader who calls herself Boca Babe. Woof!

Previously:

DVR-riffic: No Strings

Madison Ave. Beefcake

Big Guns Down Under

One Day at a Time

I Love Pretending

Last night's Pretenders show at Roseland Ballroom was a sobering reminder of the difference between Chrissie Hynde and today's generation of music stars: Chrissie is the real thing. Most artists would cringe if they could hear what Chrissie sounds like with nothing but a guitar, bass and drums backing her up. No recorded backing tracks; no microphone voice tricks; no backup singers. She just sings and it's like a Wall of Sound symphony happens right there before you.

They opened with the playful "Message of Love" and never looked back. Because they're promoting a retrospective box set, called "Pirate Radio," there weren't a lot unfamiliar songs to slow things down. The band was tight (Adam Seymour and Martin Chambers were there, but it looks like Chrissie has lost yet another bassist, although Andy Hobson's replacement was a cute youngster, pictured above, who looked in awe to be playing with the Great Pretender herself) and sounded album perfect. It was a little odd that they chose to play very heavily from "Pretenders II" ("Birds of Paradise," "Day After Day," "The Adulteress," "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and their worst song, "Jealous Dogs"), yet missed the album's other big hit "Talk of the Town." "Time the Avenger" and "Cuban Slide" were pleasant surprises, and while they skipped "Brass in Pocket" I was willing to overlook it for a chilling version of "Private Life," plus "Mystery Achievement" and "Precious" (the crowd went wild!).

"Back on the Chain Gang" and "Don't Get Me Wrong" made the crowd smile and "My City Was Gone" made for a sweet encore.

The tour T-shirt lists the city where the tour is stopping and it looks like the band is slated to make another stop in NYC in the near future. You don't want to miss it. As Chrissie laments in the song "Popstar": "They don't make 'em like they used to." Indeed.

Steffi and Andre: 40-Love

Married tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf sure look fit as they each approach 40 years old. I guess having two small kids keeps 'em young.

Andre & Steffi vs. Aging: 36 & 37 - Love (via X17)

Being the President: What a Drag!

I logged on to Google News and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why President Bush was sitting with Dame Edna. Oops.

Chrissie Hynde: The Last of the Independents

Well it's been 22 years in the making: I last saw Chrissie Hynde and her Pretenders in 1984 at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. She was on the triumphant "Learning to Crawl" tour, having just mourned the loss of two bandmates (James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, whom she had recently fired). "Back on the Chain Gang" had become their biggest hit ever, and Middle of the Road" was rising fast on the charts. On it, she sang about the realities of growing middle-aged(!):

"Don't harass me kid,
Can't you tell I'm going home, I'm tired as hell,
I'm not the cat I used to be,
I've got a kid, I'm 33, baby."

Having recruited Robbie McIntosh and Malcolm Foster to fill in the gaps, it sure seemed like Chrissie had a real band that would flourish. It wasn't meant to be. The years since have been a revolving door of collaborators and some occasionally uneven material, yet Chrissie has always remained one of my all-time favorite rocker chicks. (I mean really, how can you not love a woman who is just as skanky today as she was 30 years ago?)

So we're off to see the Pretenders -- who incidentally have remained the same lineup since 1994 quasi-comeback "Last of the Independents" -- tonight at Roseland. If Chrissie was "middle-aged" at 33, I can only imagine how she sees herself at going-on-55. Can't wait to find out. Full review tomorrow!

Morning Wood: Dean Cain

Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh are both very hot -- but for my money, there's no sexier Superman than Dean Cain.

Page 1 Consider (07/27)

Battle of the Bellies: Fernando Gonzalez, of Chile, defeated Marat Safin, of Russia, in the Pretty Boy Second Round Challenge in Los Angeles. (Reuters)

Idea Theft: Who knew that Greg Kinnear invented "America's Funniest Home Videos"?! (NYT)

Prince: The Artist Formerly Known as Married. (Irish Examiner)

Drama Queen: How does Generation Y refer to starvation? "Overheated." (Reuters)

Astor's Place: The socialite Brooke Astor is supposedly living like a normal person -- call social services! (NYDN)

Reality Check: I don't buy that there's much reality in shows like "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach," but star Lauren "LC" Conrad and her producer, Adam DiVello, beg to differ: "Everything they are going through is real. She's really moved up here, she's really moved into that apartment, and Heidi is her best friend, and Audrina lives in the building, and Whitney is her fellow intern," says DiVello, when asked if there is any point where reality ends and scripting takes over. "We film with them for extremely long periods of time, so we do capture everything as it happens, but we have to mold that into a story, of course." Does LC check out what people are saying about her online? "I used to .... but they are really brutal. So, no. They don't have too much nice to say ... but it's like anything else, people love you or they hate you." (AP)

Miss You Blind

Back in 1998 the four original members of Culture Club had a wonderful reunion album and tour (I saw them at Radio City and it's a night I'll never forget). It was a modest success that healed a lot of wounds from their tumultuous '80s breakup, then the guys again went their separate ways. Jump ahead to 2006 and the '80s nostalgia craze is at an all-time high: so what are two of the band's members trying to do? They've decided to cash in once more -- only this time they don't even have Boy George onboard. These fake reunions are sad enough when a band loses its singer to death and hires a new vocalist (INXS, Queen), but shenanigans like this are just plain pathetic (ditto for the "new" Cars). Like there aren't enough actual '80s band reunions going on?

Culture Club remainders Mikey Craig (bass) and Jon Moss (drums/anal sex) -- claiming to be the "original members" even though guitarist Roy Hay is conspicuously not involved -- ran an ad looking for a new vocalist recently that read: "The original members of Culture Club are searching for a unique star vocalist with a brilliant voice, boy or girl, to take part in a 2007 World Tour and TV series. NOT, repeat NOT a karaoke Boy George 'lookalike' but a charismatic and unique performer in his or her own right with something truly fresh, contemporary and original to offer." Who did they come up with? Sam (below, left). I think it's pretty safe to say they had no qualms about a karaoke Marilyn "lookalike" ...

(Evening Standard)

New Coach

By the looks of things I'd guess that Steffi Graf was Andy Roddick's new coach, not Jimmy Connors.

'Love Somebody Like You'

 

 This "Brokeback Mountain" montage gives me goose bumps. Stripped of the societal constraints, hurt wives and self-doubt, it's Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger) doing something so very natural -- falling in love.

Of Course It's Not the Cute One ...

Don't be confused by the photo: No, Ellen Degeneres isn't coming out again. It's former O Town Nsync singer Lance Bass -- you know, one of Kathy Griffin's minor gays who is dating a gay reality TV personality named Reichen. How this non-story made the cover of any magazine is beyond me, but Lance better reveal that he used to jerk off with Justin Timberlake back in the Mickey Mouse Club or I'm gonna be really pissed. (People)

Who's That Guy?

(click to enlarge)

On Sunday I posted about a Candis Cayne performance near the West Side Highway that I heard about. My pal and fellow blogger Lavi wrote me to say he had been at it, and he promised to post some pictures from the event. I just checked back on his site and not only did I find some fun pictures of Candis, I also found a picture of her with the person who had originally told me about her street show -- none other than my Michael -- looking ever so skeptical walking in the background! (Oh, Michael.) See more photos over here.

Morning Wood: Paul Ramirez

Sexy 6-foot-4 Denver man Paul Ramirez is the breakout star of "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency" airing on Oxygen this summer, having been cast in two of the agency's biggest gigs -- 2(x)ist underwear and 1-800-DENTIST.

While Paul's sculpted body and dazzling smile certainly get him noticed wherever he auditions, it's his sweet demeanor that really wins 'em over.