Man Candy Monday: Chris Pratt

Jurassic World marks yet another massive hit starring Chris Pratt. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy turned Pratt into a star, but Jurassic World  should comment him the title.  Jurassic World raked in a record $511.8 million globally, making it the first to ever break half a billion dollars over its opening weekend. That number comes from $204.6 million domestically, just shy of The Avengers' record $207.4 million weekend haul in 202 (as I was writing this the weekend wasn't over and Jurassic World could have overtaken The Avengers' before the weekend was over). The film earned $307.2 million abroad, just a bit short of the international weekend record held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($314 million). The international figure for Jurassic World includes $100.8 million from China alone.

Everyone seems to love Jurassic Park (I was always a fan of the original), so it's not a huge surprise that Jurassic World did so well, but I tend to think that Chris Pratt and all his sexiness was a major reason for the movie’s success. I didn't get to see it this weekend, but maybe I'll get a chance in the next weeks or so. 

MCM: Scott Eastwood

Well helloooo, Scott Eastwood!

Proving that good genes are in fact man's best friend, Clint Eastwood's gorgeous son channels his famous father's sexy squint in a photo shoot for Town & Country.

The 27-year-old shows off his movie star good looks in the nautical-themed shoot, which has him smoking on a cigar, posing shirtless, wearing summer whites and flaunting his toned legs in navy shorts.

But the hottie's life hasn't always been this glamorous despite his famous last name.  Eastwood told the magazine that he has worked every job imaginable from bartending to working construction.

"People assumed that I would have everything handed to me, but that couldn't be further from the truth," he says. "I was on my own just doing the grind."

But his filmmaker father, who had Scott with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves, helped him find work in Hollywood for roles in Eastwood-directed "Flags of Our Fathers," "Gran Torino" and "Trouble With the Curve."  He can also be seen in the Brad Pitt movie "Fury" and the upcoming movie "The Longest Ride" based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name.

Do you think Scott looks like dad Clint?

MCM: Jonathan Groff

Last weekend, we received a free preview weekend of HBO and Starz.  Usually during the free preview weekends, they never show anything really great, but the second season of the HBO show 'Looking' premiered last Sunday, so I had the good fortune of getting to see a marathon of the first season of 'Looking.'  If you're not familiar with the show, 'Looking' offers up the unfiltered experiences of three close friends living -- and loving -- in modern-day San Francisco. Friendship may bind them, but each is at a markedly different point in his journey: Patrick (Jonathan Groff) is the 29-year-old video game designer getting back into the dating world in the wake of his ex's engagement; aspiring artist Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez), 31, is questioning the idea of monogamy amid a move to domesticate with his boyfriend; and the group's oldest member -- longtime waiter Dom (Murray Bartlett), 39 -- is facing middle age with romantic and professional dreams still unfulfilled.

The trio's stories intertwine and unspool dramatically as they search for happiness and intimacy in an age of unparalleled choices -- and rights -- for gay men. Also important to the ‘Looking' mix is the progressive, unpredictable, sexually open culture of the Bay Area, with real San Francisco locations serving as a backdrop for the group's lives. Rounding out the ‘Looking' world are a bevy of dynamic gay men including Kevin (Russell Tovey), Lynn (Scott Bakula), and Richie (Raul Castillo), as well as a wide-range of supporting characters like Dom's roommate Doris (Lauren Weedman), Agustín's boyfriend Frank (O.T. Fagbenle), and Patrick's co-worker Owen (Andrew Law).

Jonathan Groff who portrays Patrick is so incredibly hot, sexy, and talented. I really love his character, and if it wasn't for Groff, I'm not for sure I'd even really like the show that much.  I did like Murray Bartlett's character Dom, but Frankie J. Alvarez's character Agustín just left me cold.  Overall, I enjoyed the show, and I hope I will get to see the second season.

MCM: Finn Jones

Terence "Finn" Jones (born 24 March 1988) is an English actor, best known for his role as Ser Loras Tyrell, The Knight of Flowers, in the HBO series Game of Thrones.  I spent this last weekend of my vacation watching the third season of Game of Thrones.  I'm quite taken with the blue-eyes and curly blond hair if Loras Tyrell, who even his grandmother describes as a "sword swallower."  His scenes with other men are always very nice, but sadly there aren't enough of them.

Though his role in Game of Thrones depicts him as homosexual, he is reportedly straight. In real life, Finn is a gay rights advocate. He appeared in the cover of Gay Times’ magazine, shirtless with only a speedo and a winter coat. He gave an interview in the magazine related to gay issues. Playing a homosexual role, he is happy that gay characters are being portrayed. He has got strong reaction of the people from gay community that they are happy with Game of Thrones.

Ser Loras Tyrell is a recurring character in the first, second, third,fourth, and fifth seasons. He is played by guest star Finn Jones and debuts in "The Wolf and the Lion." Ser Loras Tyrell, the heir to Highgarden, is a popular tourney knight and ranks as one of the most skilled knights in Westeros. He was the lover of Renly Baratheon and supported his claim to the Iron Throne as commander of his Kingsguard. 

Why I Love Men

I love men. It’s a simple thought, really. And as an average looking, thirty something year old teacher with a few extra pounds, a little less hair, and more and more gray hair all the time who is well equipped with a sweet disposition and a fabulous brain, I can somehow manage to keep certain relationships with men intact.

I think about the men I’ve slept with, the men I want to sleep with, and those I simply admire and adore in a platonic context.  So many of those men have a certain effect on me.  When I see them, hear them, smell them, or just get a text from them, my heart can skip a beat and a smile comes across my face.  It's a weakness that I have for men who are nice to me.

I love the easy going conversation I can have with them.  Often it doesn't matter what the subject is, but that the conversation flows from one topic to the next, until you have no idea how you got on the subject you're on an hour or so later.  Those conversations can be so amazing and create an energy within me that's overwhelming but calming at the same time.

I love women as well, but not in a hetero-male perspective. I admire their soft curves, physique, and snarky comebacks. I understand the poems written about them and the paintings that burst with gratitude for their existence.  Women are necessary, obviously we wouldn't be here without them, and while they might cause me to smile, they never cause my heart to skip a beat.  Women also can't hold you and comfort you and make you feel safe the same way a man can.

But I love men. I love their arms, their eyes, and their jawlines.  I love the hardness of a man (yes, that kind of hardness too), but mostly the hardness of their bodies.  The strength that it conveys. 

I love when you get that unexpected glimpse of skin as they raise their hands, bend over, or simply when they move a certain way. I love the way a pair of Wrangler jeans hugs a man's behind perfectly, or they way he looks when he walks in a pair of boots.  I love how a nice pair of slacks perfectly hangs over his butt or gently caresses the bulge up front.

I love their calloused hands, broad shoulders, and how innocent and vulnerable they look while they’re sprawled against the sheets.  I love to hear them breath as they sleep and the warmth of their body next to mine.  I love the feel of their skin when it's soft and relaxed which is a perfect contrast to their rough hands.

I love their scruff and how they feel against my neck. Sharp needles that soften; rough textures my skin eventually loosens up to.  I love they way his lips feel against mine, the velvety texture of his tongue, the kisses and sucking on my body.  I love the roughness of a man when he is so turned on he can't keep his hands off of me, and I love the tenderness when we simply lay in each other's arms.

I love seeing them cum. Explicit, but it’s true. Heavy breathing, chest rising, and their shaking thighs. Bright eyes and a wet kiss; it’s like watching a beautiful death, la petite mort as the French say.  It's a beautiful moment, that's made even better if you get to have his hot spent load spray across your body.  I love how just before he has an orgasm his manhood engorges and expands, begins to spasm, and his balls are drawn up.  It's a moment of magic that I think only another man can fully appreciate.

They are gross and intoxicating, beautiful and cautious. Just when I think I have them figured out, something changes. A different ending and a perfect lie. He comes back knocking on your door and asks for another kiss. He calls you back. He does not. He can love you enough to hold you from behind and rest his chin on your shoulder.  One day he's there and the next he's gone.  Maybe he comes back, maybe he doesn't.  Something has changed and unless it's worth working for and keeping, then the moment is over.  I keep hoping that I will find the one man for whom the moment is never over.

He will be he one that I never tire of hearing my name on his lips.

This is an adaptation of a Thought Catalog post called "Why I Love Men" by June Tegon.  However, I adapted it to suit me personally using some of his writing but adding my own as well.

MCM: Zac Efron

Last night, I watched 17 Again, a cute little movie with Zac Efron in it.  It's worth watching.  And while Zac may have some substance abuse problems, and I hope he's getting the treatment he needs, I still think Zac is one of the top ten hottest men in Hollywood, and gets better looking every year.

I knew immediately it was a hoax when I read that James Franco was the first to officially congratulate his brother Dave and hunky heartthrob Zac Efron on their newly-public relationship, posting a screenshot of an article confirming the new Hollywood power couple on Instagram.

“Effron [sic] and My brother, dating!!!!!!”, he writes. “Congrats, boys! I’m so happy for you!!!”

The news of Efron’s brand new relationship with his Neighbors costar comes less than a month after reports linked him to openly bisexual actress Michelle Rodriguez. It is also, unfortunately, totally fake.

But wouldn't they make a beautiful couple.  And Dave does seem to have his eye on "Lil Zac."

The Beginning of Summer

Being a teacher (and living in Alabama), summer starts for me before the actual date of June 21.  In fact, summer will begin for me this Friday.  We have exams this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with a teacher workday on Thursday.  Then I will be out of school for the summer.  I will have more time to explore a budding relationship more and see how well it progresses, which I am very excited about.  This summer holds so much promise, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Next Monday, I will be leaving on a cruise for five days with my mother.  I am very excited.  Going with my mother was not my ideal vacation, but she had planned to take one with her sister, but this is the sister who died the day I was scheduled to leave on my cruise back in January.  My sister is pregnant and wasn't able to go (she's due to have my nephew in July), and Daddy said that he would never go on another cruise.  So Mama and I are taking this cruise together.  I think it will be a nice way to start my summer.  

After that, I'm not so sure what I will be doing all summer, but I'm looking forward to it.

Piano Man

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Country Boys

There is just something about the rough and rugged country boy.  Someone who's worked hard and is dirty and sweaty with the musculature only hard manual labor can provide and the gym can't.  These men are the men of fantasies and can make a man like me weak in the knees.  Some might be classified as a cowboy, others as a farmer, and some might even be called a good ol' boy or redneck, but those are loaded terms.

The term redneck has expanded in meaning beyond the poor Southerner to refer to "a bigoted and conventional person, a loutish ultra-conservative." It is often used to attack white Southern conservative. And while as a general rule this may be true, I've known many a Southern man who had a rough and rugged exterior, but a heart of gold.  Not all of them are quite so conservative either.  As the world changes, so do the rednecks.  The younger generation is more accepting of gays men and especially gay women (not for the lesbian fantasy but because they are often very hard workers and can out man a lot of men).  Religion sometimes gets in the way of this progress, but I think we will see that change as well.  Religion used to be one of the factors behind racism, but that is disappearing as well, and is in fact, almost non existent.  I think the same will happen with homophobia.

The term redneck and good ol' boy is also used broadly to degrade working class and rural whites that are perceived by urban progressives to be insufficiently liberal.  Living in a rural area myself, I can attest to some of the small changes.  It's slow progress, but the South has always been slow with progress.  Even the Progressive Movement in America itself came to the South twenty to thirty years after the rest of the country.  And though they are still catching up, they will.  Progress comes slow, but I have the hope and faith that it will continue to come to the South.

At the same time, some white Southerners have reclaimed these words, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier.  If you come to the South from a more liberal area, you won't see it.  You have to see the more subtle changes, but it will happen, if you get to know the people and don't judge them.  If you want to see the real change, look at the profiles on Manhunt, Grindr, or any other gay hook-up site in the South and you will see more of redneck gay culture than you'd expect.  These gay men are men you'd never suspect to be gay, but they love the country life.  They love their rural surroundings, and they love a sexy man in a pair of Wrangler jeans.

Don't dismiss the South or other rural areas. They will come around.  It may just take a while.  Those sweaty, dirty, calloused handed, country boys are the stuff of legend.  Save a horse, ride a cowboy.