A few months back, John David (photo) took the title of International Mr. Bear at IBR hosted by the Bears of San Francisco. This seriously handsome hunk sent in a few words of what he's been up to and what's up and coming for him. From John:

"Hey guys, just a note from the International Mr. Bear front. I have been very busy with several fund raising events in several different states. I have been working closely with the Imperial Court of Kentucky raising money for local charities and was named Leather Daddy of the Year by the court a few weeks ago. With the help of my Bear brothers we have built from the ground up 3 new Bear events one of which will be the first Mr. Virginia Bear/Cub contest in Virginia Beach at The In-Between on July 10th & 11th, and I am in the early stages of planning an appearance at Bear Pride, Cologne, Germany in November. With all of this the focus has to be raising awareness and funds for our charities. In a small city like Lexington, Kentucky that can be a challenge, however, all of the events I have gone to so far have displayed a great willingness to reach out to their communities and do their part and no effort can be too small, every little bit helps".

Pinups (website - articles - profile), the magazine that "exists in book form but can be taken apart and then tiled together to reveal a life-size image", is releasing their latest issue #9 (cover - and wow is their cover model uber duber cute) and are planning a launch on June 20th at the Silverman Gallery in San Francisco, CA, followed by a party at The Cinch.

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".

CyberBears has come out with a new DVD entitled 'Steamy Encounters' which is available at W69F. Here's the description from their site:

"Driving over to the East Bay from San Francisco? Be sure to visit the local Steamworks bath house for some steamy man-on-man action. Tattooed muscle daddy Til Wegman picks up T.P. Deaux in the locker room, and the two of them go at it in the hot water spa, and then in a shadowy labyrinth of glory holes. After recovering from that, T.P. checks out the gym, where he joins six more muscular, horny guys sucking, rimming, and fucking together like dogs in heat. Count the cum shots, as studs Conner Habib, J.J. Macarthur, Manuel, Max Power, Mike Nash, and Ryan Ryder cap off their work out with some good old fashioned manplay. If there's a combination of mouths, asses, and dicks not explored in this orgy, you'll be hard-pressed to find it!".

"Come rafting with 100 Bears on the American River! Step out of your normal routine and go on a rafting adventure for two days and 21 miles down the American River just a few hours outside of San Francisco! Enjoy the sun and watch your friends scream like a girl on the Class III rapids. And FYI, these are not intimidating rapids. They are a fun time without being too dangerous. There will be Friday and Saturday night camping at our own private 40-acre campsite with hot showers, flushing toilets, horseshoes, volleyball and more! You can show up Friday night or early Saturday morning. 2 breakfasts (Saturday & Sunday), 2 lunches and Saturday night steak and chicken BBQ, fresh desserts, wine and beer! Sign up soon. This trip will fill up fast! Tents are not included in this trip. The campsite does have tent rental, though. We can set this up for you, just let us know when you sign up. See you on the river!".

Press Release: "The GayVN Awards were held very recently at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, CA and ButchBear won the 'Best Bear Site' award. Other nominees were BearFilms and CyberBears. Never wavering from its original concept of showcasing iconic Bear men, ButchBear has evolved into one of the most recognized Bear sites, expanding into video and print media such as calendars, greeting cards and a coffee table photo book 'Muscle + Fur'...".

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".

The following is from CyberBears about their Bear Party Productions: "Come on out on March 29th to join Bear Party Productions and the San Francisco Bear community at The Stud in San Francisco, at a dance to benefit the BadBoys Softball Team. It's been a few months since our last Bear Party here in San Francisco. But everyone had such a great time at the last one, we wanted to make sure we kept the party going for the local Bears and their friends. This time, we'll be enjoying dance beats supplied by DJ Byron. We'll have a nice supply of snacks and treats to munch on while taking a break from shaking your booty on the dance floor - just as the folks who were at our last Bear Party! There will also be go-go Bears to entertain you, and representative hotties from the Badboys Softball Team on hand".

I just received my copy of the latest BearParty Magazine website - cover - articles - profile), created by CyberBears. A great digest you can almost fit in your back pocket (almost, but not quite). It's filled with articles and photos and there are also listings of upcoming Bearish events. You can pick up your copy at your local Bear bar, and if they don't have a copy there you can make request for them to send it to their bar. You can also subscribe via their site.

Altho this is unrelated to BearParty Magazine, CyberBears sent me a few photos of one of their latest cute models - Marcangelo. Take a look: photo #1 - photo #2 - photo #3 - photo #4.

The nominees are up for the GayVN awards which will be taking place from March 26th thru the 28th at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco, CA. Someone described GAYVN as the Oscars for the porn industry, and from their they mention that they are "the most respected and recognized awards in gay adult entertainment history". You can purchase your tickets from their site.

 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".

The latest issue for BearParty (website - articles - profile) is available, created by CyberBears. From Mike: "It's hard to believe that we're already starting our third year together! How long is that in gay years? This issue we're trying something new. You've told us how much you appreciate the drink recipes in the Open Bar section. So we found Chef Dale Duprat, who's an active member of the Bear community, to bring us a food column. We'll also be covering Bear artist Jerry Frost's colorful abstract paintings, which caught our eye at a gallery showing in San Francisco, and Sean M. Johnson's hairy events made our art columnist Cubby Hudson stand up and take notice. Don't miss our woofy cover model Gabriel's photo spread, or the latest in our comic series by Mark Wulfgar, and the rest of the features you've come to expect from BearParty Magazine".

Open 'er up and take a look under the hood... whaddya find...? That IBR is just around the corner. International Bear Rendezvous is hosted by the Bears of San Francisco and it's all happening from February 12th thru the 16th. This year's theme is 'Mechanics - Bears under the Hood'.

From their site: "The event fosters a sense of community among participants while at the same time raising money for agencies serving the gay and HIV communities at the local, state, and national level. Fundraising is accomplished primarily through raffles, auctions, and direct donations from participants and the community. Since the first Rendezvous in 1995, the net proceeds have resulted in donations totaling over $435,000 to many non-profit organizations".

it's time to get your fur on as Prideworks presents Polar Bear Weekend (schedule - PDF), a fun and fund-raising 4 day event which will be taking place at the Russian River town of Guerneville, California from January 15th thru the 19th. "It is organized by PrideWorks (website), a non-profit corporation based in San Francisco that also organizes the Hairrison Street Fair (website) and Team Bear (website - articles) for the AIDS LifeCycle". For more info, contact them via email.

it's time to get your fur on as Prideworks presents Polar Bear Weekend, a fun and fund-raising 4 day event which will be taking place at the Russian River town of Guerneville, California from January 15th thru the 19th. "It is organized by PrideWorks (website), a non-profit corporation based in San Francisco that also organizes the Hairrison Street Fair (website) and Team Bear (website - articles) for the AIDS LifeCycle". For more info, contact them via email.

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.

Tonight is Bear Party night. Bear Party features some of today's best DJs, Big and Burly Go-Go dancers, Drink Specials, Raffles, Door Prizes and great food. It's $5 at the door and a portion of the profit from the dance benefits will go to selected local not-for-profit groups such as Magnet San Francisco and Stop AIDS Project. The party will begin at 6PM on tonight ~ Sunday, November 30th in San Francisco at The Stud which is located at 399 9th Street at Harrison.

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".

Hot off the press is the latest issue of 100% BEEF Mag (website - articles - profile), and that would issue #39 (cover).

Some really great looking men in this issue, like Clint Taylor who's been in many a Bear movie, a well known Bear model. Then there's the real hot Devlin Michaels.And on the cover: Bill... triple woof. Bill is a 50 year old Daddy from San Fran. Overall, this is a real handsome looking issue. Oh, and from what I read from the editorial, we might be seeing some more leather... very cool. You can find a copy of BEEF Mag probably at your nearest adult store, or the best way is to simply order a subscription from their site.