Pay Attention To The Hands

In a video on YouTube titled "can you pay attention to my hands mister", a young man uses American Sign Language to tell his absent boyfriend how he feels about him, and in what ways he would like to express it in person (which includes having a particular sex act in a car.) Of course, watching ASL being used can often be a beautiful thing, but never more so when the person doing it is a beautiful shirtless hunk like the guy in this video. Hair, body, smile, eyes, personality, charm, and a little goofiness. What more can anyone ask for? Let's get in that car.



Checking the internet for any public information related to this, one can find that the guy in the video is Jacob Dowker and the boyfriend to whom he is signing is Anthony Potter. They are both from upstate New York, in the Watertown area, but they now live (presumably together) north of Buffalo. Anthony's YouTube profile states he is 22 years old, while Jacob is a freshman in college.

The video supposedly was made by Jacob as a personal message of affection for Anthony, but with it being posted on YouTube, it caught a some people's attention. It's known that it was publicized by a Brazilian website and then subsequently by Perez Hilton and Towleroad. With those mentions, the video got over a half million views.

Neither Anthony or Jacob is deaf. Anthony has an interest in languages, including ASL. When they first met, Anthony showed Jacob a little of how to sign. Concerning the signing in the video, Anthony explained that Jacob learned most of the signs he wanted to use from a book, over a week's time. Comments from viewers who know ASL have remarked that some of the signs are wrong, and actually end up saying something quite different from what was intended. Anthony's view is that people should keep in mind that it is the thought that counts, not the perfection of the execution.

In an article about the video in TÊTU, a French publication, Jacob said that some of their friends and relatives were not completely enthusiastic about it. However, the majority of them were proud to be associated with him, seeing how successful the clip had become. Anthony's take on the video is that it provides opportunities for many people to see what "gay love" really means. Also, "On est tous les deux très contents d'avoir donné aux gens une raison de sourire." [We are both very happy to have given people a reason to smile.]

Normally I hate all couples out of pure, unadulterated jealousy, but seeing photos of these two together, I make an exception with Anthony and Jacob. Très mignon.

The song playing in the video is "Computer Sex" by Aaron & The Gays, which is available for download/purchase from Amazon.

German National Team Has Gay Players?

Supposedly, German soccer player Michael Ballack's agent, Michael Becker, told a reporter from Der Spiegel that the German National Team that played in the 2010 World Cup is a "bunch of gays". He also told the reporter, Aleksander Osang, that Germany's new, flamboyant style was related to their overall homosexuality, and that being gay made them too delicate to beat Spain in the semifinal.

Nevertheless, the Germans' style in South Africa was greatly appreciated by both fans and experts. They were praised for the flair and energy that they brought to the field and their third place finish was higher than many people thought the young German soccer team would achieve.

Strangely, Osang wrote that other journalists who heard Becker's accusations weren't fazed by them, as they seemed to already believe that these stories were true about coach Joachim Loew's team.

However, Osang noted that from what he could tell, homosexuality was "a synonym for anything that Becker did not understand." Also, Becker had allegedly told him which of the players in the team were gay, but indicated that one of them was only "half gay."So, it may be that Becker is just spouting off about things he doesn't understand and that there is no truth to any of this.

It would be nice if it were true. There already was a lot of fantasizing about the lithe bodies of the German team, and now rumors of der man love in die Mannschaft make the images even hotter. Becker said a former national player was preparing to name names, but we will have to wait to see if this is true.

The German Football Federation refused to comment about the story, while manager Joachim Loew said he "would not stoop so low" as to react.

This story comes after another Gay related story about the Bundesliga. In March. former football manager Rudi Assauer, who puts the ass in Assauer, said there was 'no place' for gay players in soccer. He said: "Perhaps they are OK in other sports but not in football. If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: 'You have shown courage.' But then I would tell him to find something else to do. That's because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch-hunts." In that case the German FA (DFB) said his comments were reprehensible.

Ryan Conklin Is 2009 Sexiest Man Alive

At the beginning of 2009, Ryan Conklin first came to the public's attention, as a cast member on MTV's The Real World Brooklyn. On the show, he became known for his fun loving personality, his creative talents, and his dedication to duty when he was recalled back to active duty to serve with the Army in Iraq. For me, my interest in him from the beginning has largely been connected to the many intriguing aspects of his multi-faceted personality and of his various interests. However, I'm not unaware or immune to the fact that the sight of him makes people short of breath, weak in the knees and somewhat light-headed, due his overpowering allure. For that physical effect on people, I must declare Ryan to be my 2009 Sexiest Man Alive.

Ryan has some classic attributes that contribute to his sexiness. He has a cute face, big biceps, slim build, and a sweet but self-confident manner. In casual civilian clothes, he wears his cap at a jaunty angle and sports boy-next-door attire and a winning smile. In his Army uniform, he's G.I. Ryan come to life, and not the little 3 3/4" version, but rather the proud 8" size that you can barely get your hand around.

Girls are crazy for him, but his attractiveness extends across all demographics. Here are some examples of the hotness that stimulates both his male and females fans.

Shirtless Ryan Conklin exposing himself to nature.

Classic good-looking American boy-next-door.

Ryan makes use of his boyish charm.

Ryan uses his hand to get intimate with a "friend".

Ryan as the perfect snuggle bunny in bed.

Ryan throws his meaty legs in the air.

Ryan spreads his legs and shows the big gun.

Ryan provocatively wets his skin for the camera.

It's nice that Ryan doesn't act like he even realizes how sexy he is. In a video from Iraq, he nonchalantly showed some of his physical prowess. Grasping what he could handle, Ryan beat off just the head of what he euphemistically called "the hammer of f***ing Conklin." Hot.

Rocking The District 2009

For a change of pace, I went up to Carmel to go to the "Rock the District" outdoor music event. It's held each summer in Carmel, the wealthy city directly north of Indianapolis where the well-to-do people in central Indiana live. The "District" is the so-called "Arts & Design District" in Old Town Carmel, where sadly there is very little art and only pathetically bad design. Except for events like this one and the few restaurants that are there, there is very little reason to go there.

When I got there, none of the bands were playing at the moment so I traipsed down the main thoroughfare perusing what the various food vendors under their awnings had to offer. Most of it was ridiculously overpriced considering it was just carnival-like food, but the prices were probably set with consideration of the moneyed interests that live in the area and who could afford to pay up. I tried to be mindful of the good eating habits preached by Scott Herman, the fitness trainer/model from The Real World Brooklyn, who's every word I follow on Twitter. For that reason, I selected a grilled chicken sandwich. It was particularly tasty. On the other hand, I also got a tray of sweet potato fries to go with it, which were also quite yummy (but I'm confident not on Scott's prescribed diet).

Since I'm a-telling on myself, I'll mention that the first thing I bought was actually a grotesquely huge bag of kettle corn. It's something to get at fairs, like elephant ears, but it's hard to say if it is as bad for you. It's popcorn that has a light coating of both sugar and salt. It just looks kind of funny for one person to carry around a duffel bag size quantity of snack food.

The attendance this year was less than last year, because frankly the music headliner wasn't as big as the one the last two years. In 2007 & 2008, there was Indiana's own Jon McLaughlin, who really got people's attention in 2008 when he performed the nominated Disney song "So Close" at the Academy Awards. (BTW, I highly recommend his music).

Eventually someone started playing music on the main stage. It might have been Dave Barnes, the headliner. I don't know. It was strictly straight people's music. I listened for about five minutes then left.

As I left the area, I could see walking down the street, facing towards me, a solitary figure moving in a hurry. Picture an Olympic race walker, with arms pumping and hips swaying. Of course, for someone in the know, it was clear I was seeing the other gay person who decided to attend the event. As he got closer, I could see he was wearing a horribly outdated v-neck shirt, which unfortunately is a fashion cry for help that too many gay men cannot seem to release from their clutches. It was tired when Dustin Erikstrup constantly wore v-neck t-shirts two years ago on Big Brother 8. Now I see Derek Chavez on The Real World Cancun extolling the virtues of the "style" to Bronne Bruzgo. Is it possible that the trend has only recently made it across the desert to Phoenix?

So anyway, the guy walking towards me eventually passes by, and interestingly he actually looked a lot like Derek. Unfortunately, he absolutely reeked of some old style cologne. He must have had it sprayed, splashed, and otherwise hosed on him. After he walked by I waved my hands in front of me in a vain attempt to clear the stench that his trail had left for to walk through.

Now I am home. I have to work on moving all of my xtra pages to a real web host. I had been using an anomaly of Google's page creator to host them with Google for free. Now their page creator platform is being closed in favor of their site creator, and the anomaly has been removed. So far, it's not been too bad getting set up although as an indirect consequence, TvTrick.com was vanishing and reappearing for a horrible period of time today. I hope TrickWire.com doesn't have the same problem.

Boudia, Finchum Both Want To Be The Top

U.S. Olympic divers David Boudia and Thomas Finchum are partners in synchronized 10m platform, but in the individual 10m, they strive to beat each other and everyone else to win the gold. However, as good friends who both live and train in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, they each make it clear that if one doesn't win they hope the other one does. They are very supportive of one another and have only good things to say. You can tell it's all genuine because they are just so sweet and wholesome like all Hoosiers are.

David Boudia and Thomas Finchum have gotten a lot of attention during the 2008 Beijing games. Early on they only finished fifth in the synchronized event, but their time on air has made a lot of people take notice of the Olympian's talent and boyish good looks. Many favorable comments have been made on the internet by their new admirers. NBC appears to be aware of the interest in them as it frequently shows the pair in the stands watching their fellow divers in the other diving competitions.

A sizable amount of the attention on the net has been to label one or both of them as gay, gay, gay, but unless someone is looking for a wet boyfriend, it's not clear why that seems to be important to some people in this case. After all, Australian 10m diver Matthew Mitcham has already publicly stated his gayness, so if anyone is looking for a gay diver to support, they could go with the official entry. On the other hand, I can understand patriotic Americans wanting to see their own gay in a tuck position.

David Boudia started out at age 5 as a gymnast. He did that for five years but then turned to diving. It was during his gymnastics phase that he first thought about being an Olympian. His earliest memory from watching the Olympics was when he saw the U.S. girls of "The Magnificent Seven" winning the team gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Boudia remembers feeling the excitement with them and knowing that's what he wanted to do also.

While in high school, David Boudia left his public school to be be home schooled. Boudia said, "I definitely think since I've left Noblesville [High School], it's been harder to have a social life, but I am able to have one after practice because when my friends are at school, I'm training. When I'm done with training, I'm able to go and have a good time. It's definitely good to have a social life, and after the Olympics, I'll have even a bigger one when I go to Purdue." Boudia is very excited about being a Boilermaker after Beijing. "Really, right when I get off the plane, I'll be packing up and going to school at Purdue," Boudia said.

When David Boudia prepares himself at Beijing for diving off of the platform, he'll likely find a secluded spot and watch the movie Miracle about the U.S. Olympic hockey team winning a gold medal at 1980 winter games. It's been an essential part of his ritual since 2007. Another thing he does is listen to "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC before his first dive and then listen to more upbeat music to keep his energy up as the competition progresses.

Thomas Finchum got his start in diving when his grandmother noticed him jumping off houseboats on family trips and gave him some pointers and encouraged the family to sign him up for formal diving lessons. The rest is history as Thomas Finchum has become one of the best divers in the world. He trains six hours a day, six days a week, but does find time to enjoy other interests like music, computers and movies.

One of the interesting things about Thomas Finchum is the growth spurt he experienced. At the 2004 U.S. Olympic he was a skinny little kid, 5'3" and 92 pounds. Four years later he had grown to be 6'1" and 150 pounds, enduring aches to his back, wrist and knees along the way. David Boudia is a muscular 5'9" and his size, strength and quickness allow him to do a more difficult dives than the taller Finchum. Thomas Finchum is now long and lean and he can't twist and flip as easily as Boudia. Instead, Finchum adds polish and artistry to his dives.

What I will miss about David Boudia and Thomas Finchum after the Olympics.

David Boudia video

David Boudia Video

Video of David Boudia preparing to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games: