Milestones: 8 Million Views and One Man's Collection

Zach Augustine

I am amazed my blog Male Models Vintage Beefcake has surpassed eight million views.

In January, 2009, I started it to share my collection of vintage beefcake photographs with like-minded enthusiasts.

3,742 blog posts later, I'm delighted by the letters and emails of appreciation from new and old fans, by the numerous collections and books generously shared with me, and by the personal stories related to me by men who clandestinely collected physique photographs and magazines in the 1950's and '60's, when possessing images of nude men was not only illegal in the United States, but would almost certainly guarantee a gay man losing his job and his social standing in his community and church.

In this post on my blog Male Models Vintage Beefcake, you can read about my work on the book, One Man's Collection, with Zach Augustine to tell the story of an unknown man, whose hidden collection of superb vintage beefcake photographs was very nearly sent to a landfill after his death.

Handling, organizing and scanning the images of One Man's Collection has been one of my chief pleasures resulting from Male Models Vintage Beefcake. I've not seen anywhere else many of these photographs.

Zach has been the collection's careful custodian for more than twenty years. I know the book's design could not be in more capable hands than his, as we ready our book for publication.

The World Premiere of HBO's LOOKING at the Castro Theatre

The world premiere of HBO's new series, Looking, took place January 14, 2014 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California.

The gay dramedy is set in The City, where it was also filmed. Creator/Co-Executive Producer Michael Lannan says Looking is about "looking for authentic ways of being in the world." The show centers around three gay friends: Paddy (Jonathan Groff), a twenty-something video-game programmer looking for sex and/or love; Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez), an artist moving to Oakland to live with his boyfriend; and Dom (Murray Bartlett), a long-time waiter approaching forty and deflated the first time his sexual charms fail him.

Raúl Castillo, O.T. Fagbenle, Murray Bartlett,
Frankie J. Alvarez & Jonathan Groff

Before the screening, the cast posed on the red carpet for photographs. On the far left are Raúl Castillo, who plays Richie, the object of Paddy's affections and fumblings; and O.T. Fagbenle, who plays Frank, the boyfriend with whom Agustín cohabitates.







My pal Zach Augustine, a fashion executive at Coach, made sure my time on the red carpet was one of those few times I left at home my favorite hoodie and tee shirt.

Jonathan Groff taking selfies

I took this photograph of Jonathan Groff taking selfies in the row behind where my partner Phil and I sat.

Q & A with the creator & cast

The world premiere showcased the first two half-hour episodes of Looking's eight-part, first season.

I was delighted Director/Co-Executive Producer Andrew Haigh captured the look and tempo of three friends living today in San Francisco so very unlike New York or Los Angeles, where too many film and television productions seem to shoot stories supposedly taking place here.

Jonathan Groff meets my partner Phil

I love all kinds of gay characters - from fabulous Stanford Blatch in Sex and The City to bewitching Jonathon in Were the World Mine - but as a gay man living in San Francisco, I especially enjoy the authenticity of Lannan's characters struggling here to define themselves as friends, lovers and individuals.

When Dom tells a co-worker he dislikes arrogant techies today as much as he did in 1999, I flashed back to my life then. It was a fantastic, rarely dull and sometimes grim era for me and my friends. I regret there's no gay-themed film or television series set then in San Francisco to remind me of that time.

Jonathan Groff and me.
Photo by Steven Underhill

After my partner and I left the Looking after party, we crossed Castro Street and I looked back at the Castro Theatre. The red carpet was put away. Its marque was updated with the next night's entertainment. And I was already feeling sentimental about that first hour spent with Paddy, Augustín and Dom.

I wanted to know what happened next to them in San Francisco.

Looking premieres January 19, 2014 on HBO.

VERONICA MARS Movie Poster

Here's the official Veronica Mars movie poster, which I hear is already on its way to me as one of my perks for donating to the film's Kickstarter campaign.

Veronica Mars hits theaters two months from today on March 14, 2014.

LOOKING on HBO

As a gay man living in San Francisco, I've been interested in HBO's upcoming show, Looking - about gay men living in The City - ever since Dennis Bell at the Bob Mizer Foundation told me the production team had contacted him to obtain the rights to use Mizer's photographs in the television series.

Today I was invited to the show's premiere at the Castro Theatre on January 14, 2014. The cast, producers and writers will be attending.

I'll definitely be there. (Click here to jump to that post on the blog about the premiere.)





Creator/Co-Executive Producer Michael Lannan says Looking is about "looking for authentic ways of being in the world."

VERONICA MARS Theatrical Trailer 2014

Here's the first Veronica Mars theatrical trailer.




The film hits theaters March 14, 2014 - one year and one day after its game-changing Kickstarter campaign launched.