Guy Candy: Aric Wiser

TV snapshots: The Next Food Network Star

The Next Food Network Star (otherwise known as Top-Chef-but-with-a-TV-show-prize) has started and while I'm rooting for the cute gay guy, Paul (middle row), he won't win - he's too similar to the cute gay couple who won Season 1, who also had a party-food theme.

My picks for front-runners at this point: Amy (bottom, left, who's into French food - there's currently no French food show on the Food Network) and JAG (bottom, right, who's about Caribbean and Latino fusion food).

I {heart} SF: View from Twin Peaks 2

The first panoramic photo I posted of the view from Twin Peaks was all sunshine and light. I also really love this gloomy view of an impending storm about to hit San Francisco... :)

Magazine snapshots: 20 Vanity Fair Africa covers

I love the concept of 20 special-edition covers for Vanity Fair July Africa issue! I also thought the chain-of-people idea was really cool, having one celeb featured and then having that same celeb "pass the message" to another on a different cover.

Annie Leibovitz did a great job shooting the covers and getting celebs to participate - Madonna, Brad Pitt, Oprah, George Clooney, Bono, Maya Angelou, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates... the only people I wish she would have left off is George Bush (URGH!) and Condoleeza Rice.

The 20 Vanity Fair July Africa issue covers...

Source: Vanity Fair

Done with grad school! SF, here I come...

I'm done with grad school! Woo-hoo! :)

The last 2 years have flown by and all that left now is to wait for graduation next week. "Wait" might be a bit misleading because it's hardly going to be sitting around, passing time. There's going to be parties, saying goodbye to friends (and Chicago), packing up the apartment... and basically getting ready for life back in San Francisco.

Before I left for grad school, I imagined (almost to the point of determination) moving to New York after school for a few years but after last summer in New York (which was an incredible summer!), I realized that I really missed San Francisco. It's funny how I had to leave home to realize that what I really wanted was what I had all along.

San Francisco, here I come... :)

Cover vs. cover - June

Each month on Snapshots, I'm going to declare the best/hottest cover out of the big 3 US gay magazines: Out, Genre and Instinct (DNA from Australia would win every month by default).

The Instinct cover boy is cute but a little generic-blond for my tastes. Even though I must be one of the 5 gay men who aren't a huge fan of Chad White (am I the only one who thinks his head is shaped kinda weird?), that photo of him astride the horse on the Out cover, I will admit, is really hot.

However, the June cover winner is Genre. The twins are hot and adorable and the one facing the camera reminds me a little of some guy I had a huge crush on a long time ago. :)

Yum: Cupcake crazy

First, there was Magnolia bakery in NY. Now there are bakeries all over the country trying to get in on the craze for gourmet cupcakes (I stood in line for 30 mins at Magnolia last year, so I can believe it).

The New York Times has a feature ("So, Sweetie, I Quit to Bake Cupcakes") on how people are trading in their day jobs to open bakeries specializing in comfort foods, in particular, cupcakes. The trend is especially prevalent in LA: “In a town where people say no to you all the time and you rarely have the simple satisfaction of getting something made, being able to make a sweet simple thing that makes people happy is really compelling.”

Guy Candy: Reynaldo, part 2

This is the RG Vogue cover I mentioned in the post below... :)

Guy Candy: Reynaldo

I did a Reynaldo post back in January (my first post!) but it's now June and time for another, especially with the new photos of him in the June RG Vogue. :)

American Idol - one last look

I couldn't resist one more American Idol season 6 post after I came across these hilarious drawings of the contestants on Pretty on the Outside. I love them, especially the LaKisha one. :)

Snapshots from the files: Morning

Snapshots with the boyfriend - 19 days and counting

19 days before I wrap up grad school for good and head back to San Francisco. The grin on my face is getting bigger and semi-permanent. :)

19 days before I get to see J whenever I want. :)

To say that I can't wait would be the understatement of the year. :)

(I just realized I tacked a smiley on to every sentence above)

The 3 best upcoming-movie posters

Fido is a movie where zombies work amongst us, doing the low-level jobs that humans used to do. The one that Timmy's mom brings home as a servant becomes his friend. It's a comedy.

Joshua is a movie about a disturbed little boy. Just looking at the poster gives me chills.

Another poster for Paris Je T'aime (see earlier post), 18 vignettes about love in Paris. I cannot wait to see this movie.

I {heart} SF: Bay Bridge

It's been a while since I've done a I {heart} SF post, probably because I've been in SF so often recently that I haven't missed it as much. :)

I love the Bay Bridge and I just realized that I took day and night photos at different times in the year before I left. I never put them side by side until now, but I like the juxtaposition of the foggy day and the brilliantly clear night.

Snapshots with the boyfriend

One year ago, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, J, the World's Greatest BF, and I had our first date. We both had dinner plans that we couldn't get out of and so we met for a drink at a super cool hotel bar in the afternoon. Sparks flew right from the moment I set eyes on him and it was one of the best dates I've ever had. There was spine-tingling, grin-like-an-idiot-nonstop chemistry and I knew that this guy had serious bf potential.

Still, as well as a first date goes, being together a year later is way more than you can expect at that point. But here we are, one year later, and the potential I saw (or at least hoped for) has been more than realized. The funny thing was that after that first date, I didn't see J again for the entire summer, since I was living across the country for work. But we kept in touch and the connection we felt only grew stronger until we couldn't ignore it any more. We started dating in the fall, long-distance, and the rest is, well, you know how the saying goes. :)

But I'm running ahead of myself; back to Memorial Day. I recently came across online a photo of the hotel bar where we had the date (below), showing the exact spot where we sat, right by the window. I love that photo - it was at that spot that sparks flew and I first held the hand of the man who would (and will continue to) change my life.

Cool gear: New Aussiebum boardshorts

I love the new boardshorts from Aussiebum, especially the cool graphic black and white ones. They're a little shorter in length, closer fit and they've got a magic feature that makes you look like the guy below when you wear them. I'm totally getting a pair. :)

Guy Candy: Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd (who's on my celeb Guy Candy Hall of Fame) is looking super cute as usual at the LA premiere of Knocked Up. Is there anyone with cuter eyes (other than J, the World's Greatest BF, of course, hehe)? Yum. :)

American Idol - Television Without Pity

My favorite TV website, Television Without Pity, summed up last night's Idol as such (I laughed out loud over this one):

Round Three: "This Is My Now," a song about forgetting the hardships you've not actually undergone in order to revel in your personal Now. Blake's Now seems mainly to consist of bouncing and flailing around, rabidly sincere faces, and neon arrows pointing at his biceps and crotch. It's a passable performance but not the song for him, and he's not confident enough to fool you otherwise. Jordin's Now consists of powering through the song as though it were written for her, then breaking down adorably in the last few seconds like a good little winner always does.

American Idol - finale

***Thurs morning update: As expected, Jordin wins (p/s I'm annoyed at Fox because it ran over and TiVo stopped taping exactly at 10pm - hello, did we need all those useless Golden Idol awards???)

The finale last night was a little anti-climatic (is it just me, or does the Idol finale feel less like a big event than it did during the early seasons, or even compared to the Carrie vs. Bo finale?).

Blake: Blake was right to pick "You Give Love a Bad Name," which was the one time he shone this season. I thought Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" was a weak choice (even Maroon 5 didn't have a huge hit with it). He should have gone for something daring (like, dare I say it, "Eye of the Tiger") or something by the Pet Shop Boys or Depeche Mode (like "Somebody"). The final song "This is My Now" was totally not in his favor - I think the producers could have rearranged his version to suit him more.

Jordin: Is there any doubt that she's going to win this thing? She proved she can do fast/young/edgy with "Fighter" and then brought the chops for "Broken Wing" (although I would have picked "You'll Never Walk Alone" instead). "This is My Now" was totally in her favor - the song allowed her voice to soar. The tearing up at the end (though totally genuine), sealed the win for her.

Prediction: Jordin by a long shot. Please let Melinda sing tonight. :)

Snapshots from the files: Shedd Aquarium ceiling