The following is from the Bearracuda's (website - articles - profile) newsletter: "In a couple of weeks, an ambitious group of Bears called Team Be-cause (Bears with a Cause), along with 2,000+ riders, will be cycling from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of AIDS/LifeCycle 8. It's a 562 mile bike ride to help raise critical funds for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Team Be-cause needs your help! Each rider is required to raise at least $3,000 in order to participate in the ride. After months and months of rigorous training, please don't let these Bears be denied! Please go to the Team Be-cause website and donate today".

The following is from Bearracuda (website - articles - profile): "For the first time ever, we're having dueling parties tonight, Saturday, March 21st! While the guys in San Francisco are shaking their furry asses, there will be a few hundred guys doing the same thing in Seattle. In San Francisco ~ resident DJ Pete 'Jester' Savas is flying in from Salt Lake City to spin for our guys all night! At the moment, Pete is in the top 5 of the Gay Days Orlando Contest. Vote and give positive feedback for Pete here to better his chances of winning. The lucky DJ who wins will spin their very own Gay Days 2009 pool party in June. In Seattle: Even through the snow, the last Bearracuda Seattle was a huge hit!  This Saturday, we're expecting 'no' snow and an even better crowd. DJ Boyshapedbox and Fifty Pound Note are flying up from San Francisco to spin for the Northwest crowd".

 On Saturday, January 31st, Bearracuda (website - articles - profile) are having their very first UnderBear party.

From Bearracuda: "This is also the long awaited return of our beloved friend, DJ Sam Storicks, to Bearracuda's decks.  Along with Boyshapedbox, they'll be tearing up the dance floor in their undies. IBR Weekend is a mere 2 weeks away and we have a triple threat of parties for your pleasure. Check out the details here. Bearracuda is located inside Deco at 510 Larkin @ Turk in San Francisco. Free Massages upstairs; smoking on the patio; Hot and Cold snacks in the pool room".

I can't seem to get enough of Eric Nielson's work (website - blog - Flickr - articles). I keep mentioning him here in the news. I guess I'm becoming a fan or something. Eric is now beginning to make regular trips to Bearracuda San Francisco party which takes place every 1st and 3rd of the month at Deco. If you get a chance, swing by his photo booth which is located upstairs and have your photo taken. And check his latest photo set entitled Dirty Santa (password bearracuda).

Let us embark into the wonderful world of Eric Nielson's photography. Please seat yourself very comfortably, take in a long and meaningful deep breath... hold it for a second, and then release... repeat... breathe in... breathe out...

Ok, first let's head on over to Eric's official website. Here you will find some of his finest photos he's taken (all conveniently shown thru a slideshow), his contact info (he's in sunny San Francisco), and you'll also find a link to his blog Observd with the byline 'Life in the Castro thru the Lens of TroublePup' (that being his nickname). And finally you'll see a link entitled Bearracuda. Now Bearracuda is a party that takes place in San Francisco the 1st and 3rd Saturday every month at Deco, and Eric is their designated photographer (Bearracuda's website - articles - profile).

Eric is creative with his camera, he's innovating, and his photos are filled with life proving that you can have a blast with photography. Not only that, a lot of the guys he photographs are these incredibly handsome Bearish men smiling genuine smiles. His stuff is erotic, sexy and fun, all at the same time.

Ok... ok... some more of Eric's fine work. Head on over to his Flickr page and you'll discover even more of his excellent shtuff... he truly knows how to frame a guy. So I will leave you with that, and a few words that Eric wrote of himself from his profile on Flickr. He states that he's "just your average pagan, liberal, socialist, queer photographer living in San Francisco documenting everything that the Republicans are scared to death about".

... Wh...what...? You need even more of Eric Nielson's sthuff...? Fine. Check out this link to his page on SmugMug. Now some of the galleries are password protected so that might mean you'll have to email Eric and say something really nice for you to see his naughtier side.

News from Bearracuda: "Thanks to all that came out for the last Bearracuda - it set an all time record for the busiest November night at Deco. Our photographer, Eric Nielson, posted photos from the last party here (password: bearracuda). These shots were a parody of our Nov. 15th 'splash' flyer. Eric will be back upstairs this Saturday, taking more pics (but not as messy this time). Expect another busy night (except maybe not as sweltering!) this Saturday as we bring you our final UnderBear party of '08. Bearracuda is located inside Deco at 510 Larkin @ Turk in San Francisco. Free Massages by Paul McGregory upstairs. Every 1st & 3rd & 5th Saturday of the month. Visuals by III".

It's wild to think of it but another year is about to wrap up very soon. '09 is upon us... this is the 1st New Year party mentioned so far on PlanetBears. If you have an event and run a bar or are part of a Bear group, send in your news and we'll be glad to post it.

From the Bearracuda hunks: "After 2 years of sold out New Year's parties, we are so happy to 'again' give our guys the best bang for their Bear buck this NYE. For the past two years we've brought you great DJ's who have made their mark on the Bay Area. This year we bring you an amazing talent that has never played here. Making his San Francisco debut, we present: DJ Francisco Guerra (check out his podcasts)". This event will be taking place on Wednesday, December 31st at Turk in San Francisco and it is sponsored by Big Muscle Bears & 100% BEEF Mag.

Some upcoming news from Bearracuda (articles). Firstly, this is a party that takes place in San Francisco which takes place the 1st and 3rd Saturday every month at Deco. There's free massages, good tunes and a lot of very good looking men. However on December 13th, they will also be in Seattle (following Bear Crawl which will be taking place on December 12th). Also make sure to check out their New Year's Eve bash, sponsored by Big Muscle Bears and Beef Mag.

It's hard to believe but IBR is under 4 months away ~ the event which is hosted by the Bears of San Francisco from February 14th thru the 18th.

The following is from BOSF: "IBR is pulling all the stops to make this a year to remember ! We have a full entertainment line-up that we hope you'll like a lot: The Bearitones, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mark Alan Smith and our weekend Emcee will be the Bear extraordinaire, Dominick Zurlo. Our Mr. International Bear contest will be wowed by members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.

Remember that all IBR packages include unlimited draft beer in our hospitality suite/bar (suspended during cocktail hours and nightly show hours), two Vendor Maul daily beer samples, our IBR shuttle buses to get you safely from door to door to our official events, and much more! That alone is worth your registration, but we're adding on more partner events like 'B'Eros', the extremely popular and spectacular IBR dance-partner events including Sweat, Play, Bearracuda and Kandy 3: Kavity.

Please sign up ASAP while all registration packages and optional events are still available, including our new Napa Valley Wine Experience and Golden Gate Experience.  You will be able to easily edit your registration to add the Castro Theatre event after your register, and we will have separate tickets available just for IBR attendees so that the public doesn't buy them all! Because there is a limited capacity for this event, we recommend advanced registration. Click on the link to register online".

Ah San Fran, a land of so many good looking and open Bearish men. If you need something to do tonight ~ April 7th ~ then head on over to Deco for Bearracuda. From their site: "Bearracuda is a party for Bears, Cubs and other wildlife! The 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. Resident DJ Underdog". Check out their site for more info and they also have a MySpace page and some pics with FlickR.