Pinups magazine (website - articles) is pleased to announce that their latest issue - #13 (cover) is scheduled for an October release. This issue features Chuck and was shot around a cabin near the Catskill mountains and celebrates country living. As well, Pinups will be featured in 21st Century Queer Artists Identify Themselves #2, the latest zine project by Darin Klein & Suzanne Wright, due out in October as well. Pinups will also be exhibiting at this year's NY Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center in November.

Here is the following that I know about an upcoming internet webseries. It's called Bulk and it promises to be "an exciting, raw, sexy dramatic web series exploring the Bear Community in New York City... BULK follows Leo Duran, who after months of avoiding reminders of his ex, has returned to the scene. Can he escape his past and find happiness again?". J. Julian Christopher and D.R. Knott are Executive Producers. Right now they have a Facebook page with what I believe the website is soon to follow (source: The Woofington Post).

This is a reminder that you can still catch the play 'Man Boobs' which is being performed as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, NY. 'Man Boobs' is a play by J. Julian Christopher, directed by Web Begole and features Jeffrey Marx & Robert Valin (of Urban Bear Weekend). 'Man Boobs' is playing until July 24th. "'Man Boobs' tells the story of two men who begin to share a night of passion until issues of obesity and self-esteem overpower their sexual and emotional connection".

Either you love or you don't. Either you hide 'em in shame or you flaunt them shamelessly. I'm talking about Man Boobs. Actually, this is to tell you about the play Man Boobs that is being performed as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival from July 20th thru 24th at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, NY. The play is by J. Julian Christopher, directed by Web Begole and features Jeffrey Marx & Robert Valin (of Urban Bear Weekend).

"'Man Boobs' tells the story of two men who begin to share a night of passion until issues of obesity and self-esteem overpower their sexual and emotional connection". Go here to reserve tickets.

I think I'm going to start following politics a little more closely, because if there are any other cute Bearish guys in suits that look like Thomas Duane (website), then gear me to the polls.

Joking aside, Tom Duane is a voice for same-sex rights in New York, being a State Senate since 1998. He is the first openly-gay and first openly HIV-positive Senate. Some really big boots there to fill.

Recently Duane was in the news (CNN) when a same-sex marriage bill was voted down in New York. From the article, even though they didn't win, they plan on redoubling their efforts.

And lastly, watch Tom Duane in action (YouTube video #1 - video #2). And for all his cuteness, he's a bit of an angry guy. I'm actually a little taken aback with his mannerisms, yet there's something to be said about a big Bearish politician who's believing in his cause.

This is their 4th annual 'Santa Speedo Sprint' (website) and this is our 4th time mentioning this fine event (articles). See grown-ups dressed like Santa and in Speedos run down the streets of Albany, New York on December 12th. It's all for good causes, and you can see a former model for Bear-Pics - James (Gallery) run along with the rest of these 'Speedonian Santanators'.

Just a 'lil while back, we mentioned about issue #10 from Pinups magazine (website - cover - poster #1 - poster #2 - articles - TubeBear). This here is to mention that they will be having a launch party for this issue on September 25th at the new bar called Blackout which is located at 916 Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. The party is free and open to the public, so circle your calendar for this one.

Press Release - "Singer and Songwriters Freddy Freeman (founder of Bearapalooza, Out Musician of the Year nominee) and Kendall (website) (LOGO video artist and 100% Beef model) are hitting the road to promote Freddy's album 'Break the Silence' and Kendall's new CD 'Truth Changes'.

Kendall has put together a mini-musical, short performance piece of the album, and they will be joined by guests in different locations like Marc Peurye, Elijah Black, Jeff Altergott, Steve Reeder, Toshio Mana, Jesse Kerrison and Tommy Johns. Many of the dates are sponsored by local bear clubs. They will be appearing in Albany, NY - Syracuse, NY - Rochester, NY, Chicago, IL - Detroit, MI - Indianapolis, IN - Columbus, OH - and Louisville, KY. Come out and see them in your area! Get dates, times and venue locations on the Bearapalooza site".

The Bears are coming...!

There's a great new event being planned called Urban Bear Weekend which will be happening in New York City from May 7th thru the 10th. They have a ton of fun things planned, and by looking at their schedule, you can see they are going to a bunch of bars, pool parties, BBQs, 'Bears Take Manhattan'... and more. NYC in Spring... it just doesn't get better.

The event is being coordinated by the handsome Robert Valin (website - email). Robert is also the producer of New York Leather Weekend and he also runs a monthly party called Truck Stop which gathers 500+ men. Contact him for more info or if you're interested in sponsoring what is shaping up to be a great Bear event.

A founder of an Islamic TV station located in New York has been accused of beheading his wife, who happens to also be a founder of this TV network. The Bearish man is named Muzzammil Hassan (photo) and the TV network is called 'Bridges TV' which is the very first American Muslim television to be broadcasted in the English language. And just what is the goal of 'Bridges TV'...? From their website they state that it "aims to foster a greater understanding among many cultures and diverse populations". From this CNN article, one of the goals of Hassan was that he hoped his TV station "would balance negative portrayals of Muslims following the attacks of September 11, 2001". Of course, beheading your wife after she had filed for a divorce and she had cited previous incidents of domestic violence (Times Online article).

Lastly, check out this video, an NBC report that was done on 'Bridges TV' when it was first made available back in 2004. Also, watch this recent video just added on CNN.

Pinups (website - articles - profile), a magazine created by Christopher Schulz in New York, has released issue #8, bringing together "Juanjo and Tony in a pictorial inspired by the gladiatorial scene in Ken Russell's 'Women in Love'. Two friends bond through wrestling, conjuring feelings of playfulness, competitiveness, violence and sexuality". Click here to see all the issues and to order your own.

2ndly, there is a launch party celebrating this issue. As well they will be featuring the first ever Pinups video and all 8 issues will be pinned up in poster style. This will be taking place at John & Alessandro's Cruising on Saturday, January 31st, 2009 at Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette Street, NYC. Click here to learn more.

The tightly packed New York muscle Cub Mike Dreyden (blog - MySpace - articles - profile) will be on the cover of Macho Magazine (Jan/Feb issue - cover). This mag is published by European distributor Bruno Gmunder. So pick up a copy and you'll see Mike as centerfold (and you will also see his buddy and future co-star Dominik Rider in this issue). Make sure to check out his blog as he posts a lot of goodness on his pages.

[Members - click here] It had been so long since I had last seen David (galleries - profile) and Eric Z. (galleries - profile) together. It had been almost 2 years. Lots of changes for everyone since then. I had moved out of my house and fell in love with Roger (galleries - profile), Eric had sold his home as well and now lives in a flat in Ottawa. And David is working at a Big 'n Tall in Albany, NY and he's making plans on moving here to Canada, which will go thru soon for him.

So last weekend, Roger 'n I (Bob Forrest - profile) went on over to Ottawa for the day, and altho our visit was short and sweet, we did manage to snap over a hundred photos of this cute couple. You'll also see a few photos of Roger, however Roger took a lot of the shots while I filmed David and Eric.

I am right now working on that video. You'll be seeing a bit of sensuality, a bit of sex, a bit of bondage and a bit of tickling... actually quite a bit of tickling. I will have this clip done in a few days and will post it here in the Video section. Keep an eye out.

The following is from James of the Bear Albany (website - articles - profile) group. James has modeled for me in the past (galleries) and he was also in Dan Hunt's 'Bear Run' movie (website - articles - profile):

From James: "The 'other' fat guy in red. For the 3rd year in a row, I will be donning my Speedo to run down Lark Street in Albany, NY. Running from the police? No, the 3rd annual Santa Speedo Sprint (logo), part of the magic that is Winter WonderLark! Race begins at 2pm, courage begins at 12 noon. It is 800m of bone chilling good times. Once again we race for the Albany Damien Center, a Living Room for people with HIV/AIDS. If you can run, please do, but if you can't, I would love to have you sponsor me. I know it is a very difficult year for a lot of folks but every little bit helps, and remember, someone is always worse off than you. In the last 2 years we have raised $17,000 making fools of ourselves, help us continue our success in both accounts! PayPal the money to this email address. Jim".

A couple of years back, I was doing a lot of running around with Eric (galleries - profile), and whenever his buddy David (galleries - profile) from the States would cross the border, then the 3 of us would get together and take a lot of photos. Those days seem kinda long gone. Since then, I have sold my house and met the Bear of my dreams (that's right... Roger - galleries - profile). As for Eric, he too sold his house, he moved around a bit from place to place until he finally settled into a condo in Ottawa. As for David, he tried to get a Canadian citizenship awhile back and I think it's still in process, but for now he works at a Big & Tall store in Albany, NY.

Anyhow, they sent me some recent photos and I thought I would share them with you - check them out here. They are still a cute couple. As an aside, I do see Eric from time to time altho we haven't worked on anything in awhile. Here's hoping that we'll come up with some new material in the new year.

This is the 3rd year that they've organized a Santa Speedo Sprint (poster) and this is the 3rd time we've mentioned it in the news (articles). This is for a good cause - it will be taking place on Saturday, December 13th in Albany, NY. Some of the guys from Bear Albany club should be there and that's gotta be worth going - just to see a bunch of Bears in their Speedos. So you need a little convincing? Well then check this out (looks a little cold, but hey, they be cute).

A bunch of news from Bear Omnimedia (website), the guys who bring you the new BEAR magazine (website - articles - profile) and ButchBear (website - articles - profile).

To start things off there is a New York BEAR Magazine Release Party (poster) on September 19th at the Eagle NYC. They will also be celebrating the release of several popular classic Bear movies on DVD, such as 'Palm Springs Vacation', 'Leather Bears at Play' and 'Big Bear Trucking Co.'. Jack Radcliffe will make an appearance that evening too. Following that, BEAR mag party will be going on tour (with the continued appearances of Jack Radcliffe) to the following areas: September 20th - a signing at Rainbows and Triangles Bookstore (Albany Bears event); September 21st - Philadelphia Woof event; September 22nd - Woof event in NYC. It's also a model search for the magazine as well. Their promoter, Max Scott, is organizing the event.

And don't miss this: Steven Wolfe (Editor) and Teddy will be on Sirius Satellite Radio on their OutQ program with Larry Flick on September 19th. They will be interviewed on the rebirth of BEAR Magazine and its future.

The guys from Albany, NY - Bear Albany (website - profile - articles) are getting ready for their Big Bear Dance weekend from September 26th thru the 28th. "Bear Albany has an awesome weekend of music, dancing, games and all out partying planned for you! Things kick off with Bear-aoke on Friday night, followed by the 'Bears in the Woods' mini-golf outing, then, it's the 'Big Bear Dance Party' on Saturday night and things wrap up with Bear brunch on Sunday".

We don't post too many leather events here on PlanetBears, however when they contact us, we'll be more than glad to announce them... especially when there is nothing hotter than a cool looking daddy Bear all geared up in leather.

Circle your calendar for the upcoming NYLW - New York Leather Weekend which will be happening during the Columbus Day Weekend (October 10th thru the 12th) at the LGBT Community Center, located in the heart of NYC's historic West Village. This year's theme is 'Return to the Mineshaft' and some of their featured events are; a multimedia retrospective of the infamous bar and era that started it all; a BDSM art retrospective & gallery, the Mr./Ms NYC Leather Contest (winner moves on to IML).

His name is Mike Dreyden (photo) and he's one hot muscle Bear Cub from Brooklyn, New York. Tight 'n hairy in all the right places. Mike has a super fun blog page which he has been updating regularly, and he has a MySpace page as well. He states that his own website will be going live by the holidays so make sure to keep an eye out for that.

He is a dancer, performer, a go-go BearBoy for the band Nekked who perform, and he is also becoming an international porn star with roles in movies like House of Leather (by Bear Omnimedia - cover - articles) and All Out Assault (by Knight Stick Films). I just read on his blog that his reign as King Stink of the pits is coming to an end soon and that he'll be passing his crown to the next winner... that's gotta be something to see... I know a lot of guys really dig pits so try and make it to Uncle Ming's in NYC if you can.