photo shoot by Christo

Travis and Przemek are The Canadians in my life. In every conversation with Sean at least twice he refers to them as The Canadians he’s been hanging out with or who he’s made a cookies with etc. So I decided to meet those token personas, hang out with them study them and give you a report on what I’ve learned about their habitat. The photo shoot accompanying my report is my Christmas gift for you. Enjoy it and have an amazing holiday season!

Travis (25) is born in Gimli (Home of the Gods, Manitoba in Canada. He studied Fine Arts (BA) at the University of Manitoba where he met Przemek (25) – a student originally from Biyalistok, Poland studying Environmental Design (BA) at the same university. Both use “multi-media” as medium of choice (“although the term is dated, but people are using it again”)

How long are you together and how did you meet?

We have been together for over a year and a half. We met two years ago at an opening for the artist Adrian Williams. We like to talk about it in the style of a New York Times wedding announcement.

Did you start doing art right away after you met?

Przemek: Yeah. We consider that first time we fornicated in a washroom to be art.

Travis: Right away when I met Przemek, he let me take naked pictures of him.

Which power couple is a source of inspiration for you?

Oprah and Gayle. Although if we have to pick from the list, we love Jenny Shimizu, and we’d completely be doing coke with her if this was the 90s. But we’re big fans of a most of the people on your power couples list.

Przemek, when were you in Poland for the last time? Tell me a funny experience you had there. Is it more liberal now after the Europride?

Coincidentally, Travis and I were in Poland for Europride. I was surprised by the massive the turn out (especially in the intense summer heat) and I thought the anti-gay presence would be bigger.

Travis, are you a nerd or are you simply wearing those glasses because they’re in?

I have astigmatism and if I don’t wear them, everyone is fuckable.

What is your day job?

Artists

What did your parents want you to become?

Przemek: Anything that I wanted to be.

Travis: Anything but a doctor or hockey player.

Why did you come to Berlin – what were you looking for? And are you planning to stay here longer?

We don’t even know if that’s necessary to answer. Isn’t it obvious? Does Madonna have to explain why she moved to New York? Listen, we came to Berlin with $60 in our pockets and a dream! (laughs)

How do you come up with the ideas for your projects – what is the creative process?

Everything we come up with happens day to day. Whatever we’re interested in, we explore.

You dress up pretty often as female models or as bitchy girls – have you ever thought about gender change?

No. We like our uncut dicks.

Your ultimate female icon?

Leader

On twitter, facebook and in real life – you always go together. Do you do threesomes or you hook up separately in bed?

Just listen to Britney’s “3″.

What role plays are you in?

Every role.

Fetishes?

You know, the usual: blood, vomit, shit…

Tell me about a sexual fantasy you still haven’t fulfilled and whom you want to fulfill it with?

Not to “other” anybody, but a Turkish orgy? If anyone knows anything, please hook us up.

What are you doing for the holidays – tree, celebration?

Well, we’ve just put the finishing touches on our holiday e-card: A Special Day Has Come (You might have to download Hotspot Shield to watch this in Europe) and we’re about to decorate our tiny Christmas tree. We’re having 8 people over for Christmas Eve dinner. We’ve been cooking for days!

What will the menu be?

Mushroom soup, cabbage and mushroom/potato, cheese and bacon pierogies, cabbage rolls, a TBD bird, salad, “Monkey Brains”, cookies, and alcohol.

Your Christmas and 2011 wish for the readers of Grateful Grapefruit?

We want to wish everyone a wonderful, fun, sexy and safe holiday season. Hope your 2011 is full of maximum glamour!

This is The Grateful Grapefruit Interviews. Inspiring people and ideas worth more than a couple of lines. Intimate and in full length. You can find them on the right under FEATURES. Thank you for reading and your feedback.

[...]

Is this what you think of the gay scene — people who are not quite alive and who constantly pretend they are something else?

LA Zombie is not so much a commentary on the gay scene as it is a commentary on L.A. and the social situation in the city. When I arrived in L.A. for the shooting of LA Zombie in August 2009, I was shocked to see how many homeless people there were – I had a feeling the number had tripled or quadrupled since the last time I was in town. In the original script François’ character was not a homeless bum, but when I saw what was happening in L.A., I just couldn’t turn my back on this social crisis – I wanted to document it. LA Zombie is also a commentary on the gay porn industry. In the last scene the zombie is looking through a small window at an orgy with some gay porn stars. At some point their dealer comes and murders them all. This scene is the culmination of all the violence and wild primitive sex in the film…

Read the interview in full length here.

We are your new Headmasters and we are here to teach you a lesson. Lots of lessons, actually: social studies lessons, language arts lessons, phys ed lessons, science lessons and art lessons. If you’re lucky there may even be spelling and handwriting lessons. And we are not afraid to assign homework.

Sounds kinky doesn’t it? The headmasters will be a mind-blowing combination of science projects, studies, smart and sexy men (you can get that?!) who will demonstrate their witty writing skills and their nifty art projects. Quasi a print version of GRATEFUL GRAPEFRUIT. But bossier.

You wanna get educated too, don’t you bitch? Well then go and back Headmaster’s cause on kickstart.com and get the first issue. But that’s not all you get as their sponsor. Here are the different stages of matriculation:

EARLY DECISION ($20): This is sort of like pre-ordering a copy of Headmaster. But before it’s actually made, because that’s how much of a trendsetter you are. We will also send you a #2 pencil and a homework assignment. This will be more fun for you.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ($40): This is sort of like pre-ordering a copy of the magazine, with the added advantage of a T-shirt made just for you (well, you and all the other people who contribute at least $40.) We will also send you a box of colored pencils and a homework assignment. This will be a whole lot of fun for you.

HONOR ROLL: For $75 you get the T-shirt, plus a copy of Headmaster, only this time your name will be included in the magazine in the vicinity of some glowing words of thanks and praise. We will also send you some additional reading materials and a homework assignment. This will be so much fun you can’t even imagine.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH: For $125 you get everything mentioned above, plus a limited-edition print of one of the photos in the magazine. Your homework assignment will be fun and fancy.

MAGNA CUM LAUDE: For $250, you’ll get everything mentioned above, plus the chance to advertise in the magazine. We’ll design an ad for you, and you can promote anything you want (your business, your website, your search for companionship, or your own general awesomeness. It’s up to you.) But wait, there’s more! As a graduation gift, we’ll also send you a disposable instant camera which we, your Headmasters, will have already filled up with fabulous photos.

Imagery: headmaster

Links: headmaster, headmaster mag on kickstart

Do you trust bearded men? And I mean not only the random guys you meet in bars and clubs. Do you trust more the beardy consultant in a shop or the other one who has a mustache?

According to Matt McInerney (pixelspread) and his “Trustworthiness of beards” info-graph trust is all about facial hair. Although I didn’t need a graph to know that a guy with a pencil thin chin strap or a pencil thin mustache (aka The John Waters or The Joe Jackson) is as trustworthy as a mafia mob. So how trustworthy are you according to that graph?

full-size info-graph: here

Links:

pixelspread

Imagery: pixeldspread, kiske

The exbeariment Josh Rotter conducted in the emblematic San Francisco scene changed his perception for men, masculinity and fetishes. With a starting point like that it’s pretty easy: “Truthfully, I’ve never even kissed a beard. Preferring a neat workspace, I find excessive body hair too unwieldy.” The author dives in the vibrant bear scene in Castro and lets himself go the hairy way.

On his journey to beardom Roth experiences get very intensive – he needs just a couple of nights to study the bear nature, to find the perfect key to a bear’s heart or at least hairy chest (honey). Then Josh gets his beary climax when he realizes:

“I was squeezing my way out [of the bar] past the throngs of Bears, Cubs and Otters at the now packed club, he said “hi,” rubbed up against my hairy cheek with his and kissed my face. Going into insta-shock, I felt a static electricity run from his face to mine with the bit of friction. As my fingers caressed his furry upper chest through his V-neck shirt, I suddenly understood what everyone was talking about. I discovered the joy of Bear.”

Read more about his experiences and the outcome of this journey in the wilderness here. In the meantime also take a look at those stunning scientific bear guides which will help you plan your hunt better:

If you’re visiting San Fran soon, you will definitely need this piece of info:

Want to bear it up for the weekend? Let your tufts flow and dress to impress—a hair shirt for starters—and head out to The Lone Star Saloon or The Eagle Tavern on Sundays for bear bust. If you want to dance with somebody, then head to Bearracuda @ Deco Lounge on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month or to hear Honey Soundsystem @ Paradise Lounge on Sundays. With sloths of bears in town for International Bear Rendezvous Weekend 2010 (Feb. 12-14) don’t miss your chance at finding your bear-y Valentine at one of three special dance parties including: Magnum @ DNA Lounge (Feb. 12), Bearracuda (Feb. 13) and the notorious IBR Underbear Party (Feb. 14) @ Deco Lounge, headlined by DJ Rotten Robbie. Get your tickets before they sell out. You better hairy!

imagery and more info: thebolditalic, harryhorror

The winter is over. Bears are awake. I officially announce the beginning of the hunting season. More:

imagery: harryhorror, menwithoutclothes, szakall, loveofhair, haikalnoyes, beardslover, carrottop

“Pride is dead” is the only English we find on the website of The Beef. The zine that balances erotics, art, design and HQ text content explains its mission as follows:

“Pride is Dead is born of contradictions, from the dissidence of the cliché perception of gay pride, and how it has been deformed into a mainstream, corporate-based shadow of what it originally was . It’s an anti-activism, but the prefix “anti” referrs to the anti-hero in contemporary fiction: to accomplish the same goals in a unorthodox way. We want no parades. We want no flags. We refuse to be labeled. We don’t want to be in the media to mislead others to follow the corporate side of homosexuality, and assume that’s the only truth.

We don’t want to convince anyone, or to radically change people’s views on the matter. We want them to participate, to get involved. We are not politicians. If our activities generate a debate, good for the people who opened their minds to a different view on things. We’re looking to share our ideas, to give space to those looking for it and those who want more, through exhibitions, conferences, publications, concerts, parties and any kind of activity that Pride is Dead supports or generates.”

It kind of sounds basically like my mission with GRATEFUL GRAPEFRUIT. So maybe at the end of the day, pride is not so dead after all.

Click here to download all 3 issues of The Beef.

imagery: thebeef

John Webster is an OCAD graduate who can’t stop creating art with that “a bit too much” factor. Kellogg’s, Sony, EMI and Mirvish Productions are among the variety of clients he has illustrated for. Despite all the corporate majors he can keep his integrity and still play with gender issues, hair and bold sarcasm. Pretty amazing, huh?

John has a quirky eye that mixed with his penchant for pop culture and his years of painting and design give his collages a unique painterly feel. They evoke poignant and alternately fun imagery that have an instant hypnotic effect on the viewer. It’s best not to be working heavy machinery while looking at Mr. Webster’s work! Well I doubt my readers have ever touched heavy machinery anyway.

John caught my eye with his latest “famousness” series of illustrations including Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Take a look atthem and some other provocative pieces John has done over the years.

imagery/more info: The John Webster Book

… were traveling last 2 weeks. Yes, that’s why.

… we need new glasses.

… we levitate occasionally.

… we have a green thumb.

… we know it doesn’t take just a pair of glasses to be a nerd.

… we just got that vacant look on our face.

imagery: frackwiththegods, adullbrilliance, elifkarakoc, dashbeard, chazecito, avantbear, dicksdicksandmoredicks

As if it hasn’t been hot enough in the heart of Berlin, here come a couple of furry guys to make you company through the rest of the Friday. Chillax, it’s spring!

Image courtesy: loveofhair, harryhorror, olafb, fuckyeahmalepits, carrot-top