The Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, will open to the public for the first time this spring. Johnson left the house to the National Trust with an $8 million endowment. You’ll finally be able to have dinner there—for fifty thousand dollars. Or a reception on the grounds for twenty-five thousand. See also Art: Remembering Warhol With Coins And Soup Cans.

Gameboy/Gamegirl – Fruit Salad (Healthy Boys Delight)

Fruit Salad is a song sung by The Wiggles which is sadly too easy to make fun of considering that Fruit Salad is slang for a homosexual orgy; and you thought the Teletubbies were gay? I can’t say for sure if Gameboy/Gamegirl are tipping their beenies to The Wiggles but they sure seem to splice and dice the juicy double entendre. Big Stereo nailed it when they said Gameboy/Gamegirl sound like Gravy Train doing JJ Fad, or perhaps that should be amended to the Wee Papa Girl Rappers pulling a Wiggles. Either way, a nice bite size chunk of electro fun. Check out Gameboy/Gamegirl from Melbourne, pick up their muzak, esp. their Sweaty Dirty Damp record.

The Chicago firm of Young & Rubicam with HSI director Max Vitali have filmed three new commercials void of stereotypes for EqualMarriage.org, a group that lobbies for support of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples. The message: Gay couples are just like straight couples or vise versa, with the tagline “Gay marriage is just like yours. Only gayer.” Funny, sweet and on target.

Open Wide! McDonald’s clearly means business with this advertisement.

Gengoroh Tagame’s first solo exhibition in France will be held at the Art Men Paris Gallery (@ 64 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth 75003 Paris) March 2 – April 30. 2007, opening party March 2. Gengoroh Tagame is a Japanese mangaka¹ who specializes in gay BDSM erotic manga, many of which depicts tough guys, military, beefcake pin-ups, fetish, bondage/sm characterizations and graphic violence.

The artist began his career as a mangaka in 1982, while he was studying graphic design at Tama Art University, and is best known for his work in G-Men, the monthly Japanese magazine for gay men which features 300-500 pages of erotic photographs and drawings of hairy, sometimes bearded, muscular men in their 20s and 30s.

March 4. 2007 an autograph session with Gengorah Tagame will take place at Blue Book Paris to coincide with the release of his full-color art book The Art of Gengoroh Tagame. Blue Book Paris hosted the COLT MEN Europe Tour in 2005.

¹Manga-ka is the Japanese word for a comic artist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and manga-ka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese. The -ka suffix implies some degree of expertise and a traditional kind of authorship. For example, this term would not apply to a writer creating a story which is then handed over to a manga artist for drawing.

Art Men Paris : du 2 mars au 30 avril
Vernissage le 2 mars, de 18h à 23h
64 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth 75003 Paris. Tél. : 06 68 20 19 69.

Blue Book Paris : signature le dimanche 4 mars, à partir de 17h30.
61 rue Quincampoix, 75004 Paris. Tél. : 01 48 87 03 04.

Thanks to Kaptain Bear for the information and invite.

Scheduled to come to movie theatres in March 2007, 300: March to Glory retells the story of King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) and his 300 Spartans’ last stand against Xerxes (played by Rodrigo Santoro) and the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. The movie is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) and is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. Towleroad has an interesting write up about Scottish actor Gerard Butler putting himself through a brutal work-out regimen for his role as King Leonidas. Check out the Official 300 Film Site For Wallpapers, Trailers and Buddy Icons.

Don’t miss the making of the film section/video blogs. Trainer Mark Twight takes the warriors through a brutal three part workout that stresses gymnastics, metabolic, lifting and throwing. Damn it looks tough.

Bring on the muscled up Spartans in video game format. PSP has secured the exclusive rights to the game although I suspect that after a time it will get a wider release for other systems. Find out wha this tactical beat-em-up has to offer with its unique phalanx command, film-inspired music, and beautiful visuals at Game Trailers. Experience the ultimate rush of battle on the PSP as waves upon waves of hot enemies on a roid rage rush to strike you down. The body parts and blades go flying as the Spartan makes his way through a multitude of soldiers and arrows. Official 300 Video Game Site.

Justin Timberlake Vs. Riton : Dexy Brokeback
Bootleg remixes of Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” are a dime a dozen, but Riton does one of the best yet, this crunchy 4/4 mix manages to use Timbaland’s noises, quite a bit of JT’s vocal, added squelchy Azzido Da Bass-style bass and a hulking crispy techno riddim beefed up for maximal dancefloor potential.

Last year the 39 strong All Blacks squad gathered for the making of the annual commemorative poster. Usually 45,000 are gifted to fans, this year it was a bit different.

They would take the blood of every player and use it to create a unique 8,000 limited edition print containing the actual DNA of the squad. Each poster comes with a numbered certificate of authentication for fans. Check out the YouTube video of the All Blacks Squad giving blood and ramping up for the photo shoot which depicts the players performing a Haka in the Fiordland National Park a stunning piece of remote wilderness and heart of Te Waipounamu. See the official Adidas site or Download a copy of the Adidas Blood Brothers poster as a computer screen/wallpaper and show your support for the world’s greatest Rugby team.

When is a gym not a gym, answer when you’re barred from grunting while throwing up some iron. If you work out at nationwide chain Planet Fitness grunting, groaning, straining of any sort will trigger an ear-rattling siren and flashing lights. The “lunk alarm” hangs on the wall over the free weights area with text that defines a lunk or lunk activity as someone who grunts, drops weights, or is judgmental of other exercisers.

I thought this was a joke, it’s no joke, the sign hangs ominously over the free weight area as a warning to all who may enter and grunt or groan. Apparently getting all primal with the free weights will get you booted from the gym as it did a New Jersey prison guard last November. I’m all for respect, proper gym etiquette, and what not, but this is a little ridiculous. Up next, Planet Fitness bars sweating.

Brit Art superstar Damien Hirst opens his first big exhibition Thursday February 22nd, from 6-8 pm at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills for his new show Superstition which runs until April 6, 2007. Hirst is showing 28 massive butterfly mandala paintings in the 8,000 sq ft, Richard Meier-designed modernist gallery. Why is the Damien Hirst show is rolling into Tinseltown just in time for the Oscars? Christopher Goodwin of the Times Online speculates on Hirst making the jump to film:

Making movies may be the only mountain left to climb for the 41-year-old artist. If he does start using celluloid as an artistic medium, he will be taking his cue from previous generations — artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray — but also from his most obvious precursor, Andy Warhol, who used movie-making to delineate his collisions between art and celebrity.

Traditionally Butterflies represent beauty, temptation, homosexuality, flight, change, resurrection and the soul of man. Frame them in the form of a Mandala a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern which represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective and it certainly looks as if Hirst will make the leap into some sort of film making or at the very least a new direction.

The California show is certainly less controversial than the work he is set to show in a working Anglican church. Exploring the tensions between religion and science, New Religion features graphic photographs inspired by the wounds of Christ, a crucifix encrusted with pills and a silver heart impaled with needles and razor blades. Many of the show’s works appear to pit the spiritual against the pharmaceutical: one sculpture entitled The Eucharist takes the form of an outsized marble Paracetamol tablet. “New Religion” will go on display next month at the All Hallows on the Wall Gallery in the City of London. It includes three large new paintings inspired by the church building.

Danny Boy & The Serious Party Gods – Castro Boy
Notoriously hard to find infectious pseudo-disco dance track from 1983 on Panama Records. Fast paced overly caffeinated take on Frank Zappa’s “Valley Girl”, except it takes a stab at ultra-flamboyant early 80′s homosexuals instead. Hard edged italo-disco with some turbo charged lyrics that might be deemed offensive. I ask you, when does a camp tune that is meant to operate as parody cross the line?

I prefer a harder edge to dudes but looks like 20 Yr. Old Guy Robinson of Cape London Model Management is rocking the cold hard cash with his new D&G Ad Campaign. Guy has just been booked to shoot the new Dolce & Gabbana campaign with Mario Testino in Paris. He has also been photographed recently by Bruce Weber for Ralph Lauren’s Spring 07 Denim campaign and Abercrombie & Fitch’s Winter campaign. He’s already worked Milan Men’s Fashion Week for top designers including Versace, Valentino, Emporio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. In addition to an editorial for L’Uomo Vogue, the February edition of Upstreet Magazine carries a 20-page editorial featuring Guy.

An Army of 1 in 10 reports that an anonymous blogger known only as “Anonymous Soldier” today launched a new website, Serving in Unsilence. Serving in Unsilence is a free service aimed at the LGBT Service Member community in an effort to raise awareness of the many thousands of sexual minority Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines serving honorably and in silence in defense of their country. The feature utilizes the power and extensibility offered by WordPress to provide a powerful and modern platform for its members to express their views and experiences. Serving in UnSilence is the internet’s only blog host focused solely on the needs of the LGBT Service Member, they strive to provide the best services and privacy protection for the American military’s silent minority. I’m sure this will be a welcome addition to the gay blogging community.

Army of 1 in 10 is a Soldier in the US Army, stationed somewhere in Europe. He’s in his early 30s, and has served honorably and with distinction for seven years while holding two MOSes. Oh yes, and he also happens to be gay, so therefore he must serve in unsilence until the injustice of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and he is legally able to serve without fear of losing his job. Find out more.

I’m not a gay-mer but I still love reading all the fine articles over at GayGamer, the site for boys who like boys who like joysticks. The site is so good, in fact if I had more time I would actually consider getting in on some of the action. Author Tiny Dancer has quite a brilliant write up about the coincidental overlap of traditionally straight-male-targeted characters with a gay gamer’s desires. The author examines his search for a truly respectful inclusive gay video game and questions if he is overlooking some smaller, incremental subtle changes in atttude that color the games he’s been playing.

Perhaps there is something behind all the hue and cry over the sex appeal of current game characters – the kind of giddy sexiness that GayGamer routinely discuss on their site? Something more than just the everyday reality of gay men finding handsome male characters attractive, that is – a fundamental inclusion of our aesthetic into the flair of Dante’s red coat or the feral hotness of Marcus Fenix’s surly glare? He’s right one man’s idol is another man’s eye candy and hell if the $10 billion gaming industry can begin to surreptitiously carve off portions from the juicy tenderloin that is the $690 billion gay market…well, that certainly does smell like profit. I ask, isn’t this something that the WWE has already figured out? Perhaps when it’s so super super gay so uber masculine it dives under the wire?

Gay TV is spreading in Canada. Canada’s first two gay specialty channels, OUTtv and the newly re-branded and soon to be interactive HARDtv, are expanding their reach into Quebec’s digital TV markets. The channels will become part of the Quebecor-owned Videotron’s Illico Digital TV (as part of two packages that allow viewers to choose 30 channels for $30) or lets you create an ala carte package for viewing. OUTtv, a gay lifestyle and general interest channel, which owns and operates the adults-only gay channel HARDtv, currently has over 300,000 subscribers across Canada. Videotron’s Illico Digital TV has almost 600,000 subscribers.

HARDtv, a commercial-free adult hardcore erotica channel, re-branded and re-launched this month. The channel is also launching an interactive show it claims will be the first of its kind that allows viewers to interact with the live TV show via the Internet. Boyscondo TV Live, an adult male voyeur show, launches March 1 and will air Thursdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays at 9pm EST/PST. James Shavick purchased OUTtv back in July for his Shavick Group which has a controlling interest with 52% of the company shares. Toronto-based Pink Triangle Press – which publishes gay and lesbian newspapers in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa owns 38% from 21%. The remaining 10% is owned by John Levy, the channel’s founder. Those of you in Canada know Shavick as the producer screen-writer husband to prominent British Columbian politician Joy MacPhail.

Today February 14 is the traditional day on which lovers express their love or lust for each other by sending special Valentine cards, flowers, candy or other gift items. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of paper valentines. Some believe that Valentine’s Day cards were invented by an out-of-work newspaper obituary writer who hung out at the back exit of a brothel with a camera. Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Could it be that the symbol of the heart for Valentine’s Day and love came from an old Visigoth ritual of eating the hearts of one’s enemies to gain virility. No worries if this whole Valentine’s deal stresses you out and you think it’s a happy yet totally unimaginative consumerist-oriented and entirely arbitrary, manipulative and shallow interpretation of romance. Articulated in the correct tone and cadence, “Be my Valentine” played backwards sounds exactly like “Butt-love is in.” Here are some links and other items to help you through the day…

Wikipedia Valentines Day
Nail this one early, and how the hell did we ever survive without Wikipedia?

Instigator Magazine’s I’m a Dirty Boy Issue
This one’s only for the dirty dawgs. Instigator is described as the magazine by Alpha Males for Alpha Males, okay let’s cut to the chase, it’s a smutty magazine chock full of wicked deviant and nasty stuff for edge-playing homo males, with greased guns and perverted minds. That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s artistic, literary, political and scientific merit, it does, it’s crammed in there between all the dirty pics.

Martha Stewart Works Her Valentine’s Day Magic
Cards, gifts cooking and other items from the queen of d.i.y.

How To Love Like a Genius
Mental Floss Magazine has been on a mission to help it’s readers live like geniuses. So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, they put together a little worksheet to help you LOVE like a genius. The worksheet includes strategies employed by smarties like Einstein and Dorothy Parker. Your mission is to match each genius to the romantic strategy he/she perfected a bit like match the egghead to the romantic strategy for success.

The Ultimate Anti-Valentine – Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio
Painted in 1598-1599. It is housed in the gallery of Palazzo Barberini, in Rome.

History books tell us that in Rome around the time of Tiberius, children were taught archery from a young age, and for sport, some would sneak naked into bath houses and shoot people with their toy arrows. This was the origin of “Cupid” — Latin for “accursed child.”

Donate A Life
If you haven’t considered becoming an organ donor, perhaps now would be a good time to think it over. Organ and tissue transplants offer patients a new chance at healthy, productive, normal lives and return them to their families, friends and communities. You have the power to change someone’s world by being a donor. It’s about living. It’s about Life.

Verner Panton Heart-Shaped Cone Chair
“Most people spend their lives living in dreary, beige conformity, mortally afraid of using colors. The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination and make their surroundings more exciting.”….Verner Panton

Fool-Proof Chocolate Soufflé
If you can boil water you can…or maybe not. Actually this is a pretty fool proof recipe.

Nothing Says Love Like a Talking Urinal Cake

Smack Him Ex-boyfriend Punching Bag For Boys or Girls
Perhaps it’s been a rough year, inflatable ex-boyfriend punching bag is guaranteed to make you feel better. Insert the relevant photo into the pocket of his face and kick, slap and whack away. Lesbians, queens and trannies be careful, use of nails and/or high heels may result in a puncture.

Penn and Teller’s Bleeding Heart Gelatin Dessert and YouTube Video

How to Make Bacon Soap
What guy doesn’t love to hear, Honey I made you some bacon…soap? Makezine gives you the low down on Bacon Soap. “Soap can be made from just about any kind of fat. Even though fat from bacon, called lard, isn’t the finest of fats to use for making soap, it somehow seemed to be the most exciting. Why? Because bacon is amazing. It has an almost mystical power to it and is a food that can be craved to almost no end. the author figured what better way use the extra grease he had from cooking bacon then to turn it into soap.

Simpsons” creator Matt Groening got his start drawing loveable animals on children’s valentine cards.

Kapitza Heart Font
This Valentine font contains 70 heart illustrations and repeat patterns, use individual characters as illustrations or in a grouping to form patterns and borders, I’m sure your grandma the scrapbook queen is just splitting her pants right now.

1:00 PM EST: Official tour dates for the Police Tour can be found here, more dates are to be added. Tickets for the North American leg of The Police tour will be scaled at $225.00, $90.00 and $50.00 in most markets (plus applicable service fees) and will go on sale beginning this Saturday, February 17th in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Tickets in Boston and New York City will go on sale Tuesday, February 20th. Additional on sale dates to be announced. There will be a 4 ticket limit per person for all arena shows and a 6 ticket limit per person for the stadium events.

No California dates have been announced yet, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Edmonton, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Tampa, San Francisco’s Bay Area, Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Washington/Baltimore area will be announced in the next few weeks. See The Police Tour

Fantastic Plastic Machine remixes the dreamy Annie Lennox/Eurythmics pop standard “There Must Be An Angel (Playin’ With My Heart)” into a glorious sugar filled rush of downtempo tropical goodness.