In honor of the big bear event we are at this weekend—Bear Crossing: Lost Bearadise—I decided to make the bearded me all bears this time! Bears are a different kind of man but there is more of us to love. What do you think?
Love and Bear Kisses,
BG “Ben” Thomas
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Make sure vote for your favorite bear(s)!
I was quite happy that this Furry Friday comes to you because of a request! So I couldn’t refuse. Didn’t want to refuse! So here we go! Bearded men with a touch…or more than a touch…of gray in their beards…and other places as well! And please, don’t forget to vote. It helps me decide on future men for your visual perusal!
And keep those requests coming!
Namasté
BG “Ben” Thomas
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Hey! I’m re-blogging” a couple of articles I thought might interest you. I’ll start bad and end with the good, because that is the way I like it. As ugly as the first article is, someone (a very wonderful someone) rises up and shows that there is love in this world to counter the hate. Love to you from me too!
Namaste,
BG “Ben” Thomas
Both of these were originally published at LGBTQ Nation…
By Bil Browning · Thursday, August 2, 2018
A gay couple from upstate New York were denied a marriage license by the county clerk and now even the Governor is getting involved.
Thomas Hurd and Dylan Toften from Root, New York, went to the local county courthouse expecting to walk away with a marriage license. County clerk Laurel Eriksen, however, turned them away.
Toften posted on Facebook that Eriksen told them to make an appointment with a different clerk. Town Attorney Robert Subik originally claimed the lack of an appointment was part of the problem.
Eriksen “didn’t process the two men’s marriage license application because they failed to make an appointment with her, as everyone is required by her office to do,” Subik told the Daily Gazette. Still, he admitted that her religious beliefs also played a major role in her refusal.
“She has a religious objection and has referred the matter to her deputy clerk, who has no such objection and will issue the license when they make an appointment,” Subik said. “The clerks are both part-time and don’t man the office Monday through Friday. Of course, the two men are free to go to another jurisdiction to obtain their license.”
Toften and Hurd got a license in a different county, but Toften says they won’t stop until they get justice.
“She took an oath to hold New Yorks laws. She can be let go for this at the state level and I plan on pursuing it to that.”
After being alerted that the clerk had refused the couple a license, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the state Division of Human Rights to launch a investigation.
“Personally I cannot believe that this could happen anywhere in this country, let alone in the state of New York,” he said in a statement. “Marriage equality is the law of the land, and it has been in New York since we were the first big state to pass marriage equality in 2011.”
To read the original article then CLICK RIGHT HERE.
And now for something completely different….
By Bil Browning · Monday, July 9, 2018
Former Democratic president Jimmy Carter is proving again why he’s considered America’s gentle moral authority by speaking out again in favor of same-sex marriage rights.
As far back as 2014, Carter was speaking up for human rights. Speaking to a packed house at Grand Rapids Community College, Carter responded to a question about LGBT rights, and had this response: “I never knew of any word or action of Jesus Christ that discriminated against anyone.”
While he said in 2012, ““I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies,” and shortly after, Carter took it a step further.
“In all of [Jesus’] teachings about multiple things -– he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies,” Carter told the Huffington Post, in an interview.
Now, Carter is adding a layer of religious blessing to his support. Instead of saying Jesus wouldn’t be against same-sex marriage, now he’s positing that Jesus would support it.
“I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else,” Carter, a born-again Christian, told HuffPost Live.
To read the original article then CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Just watched a Netflix film called Extinction and was…interesting. Starring Michael Peña (the hilarious guy from the Ant-Man movies), Lizzy Caplan (the fangbanger girlfriend of Jason in True Blood) as his wife, Mike Colter (Luke Cage from Marvel’s Luke Cage) and Israel Broussard as…well that would be giving away the plot twist. At first I thought that “Extinction” was merely another alien invasion story like Skyline or Battleship or Battle Los Angeles—which is okay. But it was sort of…well…done. There was nothing new except the fact that the main character Peter (played by Peña) starts having visions that said invasion is going to happen and no one believes him. It’s causing all kinds of problems with he and his wife and family. Even his boss is insisting that he see a therapist to deal with the problem. But despite some really decent acting by the cast…it wasn’t enough to keep my focus. I was busy doing other things, even when the invasion happened. I’d seen it all before. Ships soaring around the city, killing everyone, looking in windows, people running for survival and trying to fight back.
But then comes the plot twist about two-thirds through the film. The only thing that I felt really saved the movie.
Except that I personally found that plot twist just a little too big for me to swallow, to willing suspend my disbelief.
SPOILER ALERT! Continue reading
So I have just returned from a wonderful vacation at a Faerie event out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. It was utterly amazing because, 1 – nature, 2 – men, 3 – gay men, 4 – middle of nowhere, 4 – beautiful bearded men, 5 – the two loves of my life – bearded!
So I thought I would pay homage, tribute, and love to that vacation by sharing pictures of bearded men in the outdoors, campers, hikers, and Radical Faeries. There are quite a few this time. Let me know what you think. And Vote on your favorites!
Namasté,
BG “Ben” Thomas
PS: I had pretty much decided to stop doing Furry Friday. It takes a long time and there were few comments and fewer votes. Then to my surprise, while on vacation, at least a dozen men told me they missed it! So people are looking and so I will try to bring the tradition back!
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My daughter has arrived to house sit and so—at last—we are heading off to Midwest Men’s Festival. For those who regularly read my Facebook or blog you know that each year I head to this event and that my whole life circles around this ten days. It even inspired one of my favorite of my own novels, “Summer Lover.”
But this year it will be different for several reasons.
Usually my hubby and I go out and set up camp a few days before Festival starts and then he leaves me there and arrives a few days into Festival and leaves again a few days before it ends. But this year—and I am thrilled beyond words—he is not only attending the entire festival, but staying the extra days as well! And with his recent hospital stay an such, it will be very good for him! For both of us.
But of course, another reason it is going to be so great is that Noah will be with us!
I have wanted Noah to have the opportunities to go to this even for three years or so. It is a very spiritual and powerful queer event. Something that I knew would expand him in more ways that can be counted. Men cannot go to MMF without being changed, transformed. As long as they are open to it of course. It can be scary.
Ever heard of Harry Hay? Wikipedia states, “Hay has been described as ‘the Founder of the Modern Gay Movement’ and ‘the father of gay liberation.’” He was a very important gay activist and changed the world for the better for GLBT lives. However, he came to dislike how deeply gay culture was vanishing as we became accepted. He decided to take a stand against the assimilationism advocated by the majority of gay rights campaigners. He didn’t like that so much of our culture was vanishing. So, he co-created the Radical Faerie movement. Groups of men who gathered at events to claim proudly that culture and not be ashamed of it and fight being absorbed by a heteronormative lifestyle. That it fun to camp it up and paint our fingernails and wear a skirt and prance in the sun and wear fairy wings and swim naked with our brothers. Many Faeries practice an “Earth-based” religion but all faiths are welcome. It teaches a spirituality rather than doctrine and rules.
And Midwest Men’s Festival was founded as a gathering of men working on building community and alternative ways to be men, and arose out of the feminist men’s movement of the late ’70s & ’80s and has been happening every summer since 1982.
This is something Noah has needed to go to for a long time but his partner’s birthday fell at the same time. But now that he and that partner are no longer together, Noah can at last go!
And I couldn’t be happier!
So the van and car are packed to the ceiling, because of course gay men never travel light—especially at something like this. We decorate out campsites and cabins with lights and banners and silk and carpets and more. We take delight and creating temporary art and rejoicing in who we are. And it will be wonderful. We hit the road within the hour!
I will have very little access to the electronic or the Internet, so it will be a good two weeks before you really hear from me but I will try and say hello!
Until then, peace and love,
Blessed Be!
BG “Ben” Thomas
In lieu of what is happening in my life, you may now know what inspired last week’s Furry Friday. And I thought since today is the beginning of a new life for me—the day where two men (me and my husband) officially become three (me, my husband, and our third)—I would present Part Two of “If One Beard is Hawt, Three Are Even Better.” I hope you enjoy…and that you agree. Let me know. And don’t forget to vote. Oh! And for those of you who don’t realize it, you can for more than one!
(this post is dedicated to Noah Willoughby)
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Real triad, Mark Aldridge, Kai Stenstrum and Greogry Rayo
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Three sexy bears from Bear Pride XXL London
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Real triad, Jeff Leavell, his husband Alex de la Cruz and their boyfriend Jon Nelson.
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Sitges Bears Week events take place in May and September attracting more than 5000 bears and admirers to the village in Spain.
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Manuel Bermúdez, Alejandro Rodríguez and Víctor Hugo Prada: Colombia has become the first country to legally recognize the union of three gay men!
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Real triad: David, boyfriend Sam, and husband Louis.
