Jasper Keen: From the High Desert to the Big Island to a BFA, with some gay and guy-hugging roles and a hot buddy

   

Link to the n*de dudes

I was watching the first episode of Duster on MAX (I guess back to HBO now), a sort of homage to 1970s blacksploitation movies, with Josh Holloway of Lost bicker-flirting with the Get Christie Love-type Nina (who is not credited in the cast list).  While the Crime Boss is congratulating his staff on their latest caper, the long-haired, limp-wristed, femme-ringed Sean criticizes his coworker: "You're telling me you've never had fondue?  That sh*t is clutch!"

An obviously gay guy employed by a crime family in the 1970s?   He only appears in that one scene in an episode cluttered with Duster grinning as he is drooled over by endless scantily-clad women, all of whom have either had the most incredible experience of their life with him or are looking forward to one tonight, if he can squeeze them into his schedule. 

But one scene is enough.  I had to research the actor, to see if he is gay in real life.

His name is Jasper Keen.  He's not much to look at - those long, gaunt "rodent boy" faces are a major turn-off -- but check out those biceps and washboard abs.  

Jasper spent his early childhood Cuyamungua, New Mexico, about 15 miles north of Santa Fe,  helping his parents "fix up properties in the high desert."

In fourth grade he moved with his parents to the Big Island of Hawaii, to live off the grid on a coffee farm, "working the fully off-grid eleven acres of jungle."  (he was home schooled).

He returned for high school enrolled at the  New Mexico School of the Arts.  Before graduating, he was in about 20 plays, from Into the Woods to Little Shop of Horrors.  He received the National Young Arts Award for theater in 2015.

Next Jasper enrolled at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he appeared in the gay-themed Spring Awakening and Cascarones.  He graduated with a BFA in Acting in 2020. 

He also took an Introduction to Shakespeare class in the Orkney Islands, which resulted in roles of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Iago in Othello.

His on-screen acting begins in North Carolina, with the shorts Child's Play, Loser, Interstate 80, and Running, which has a gay theme: a man (Jim Boemio) goes for a run and ruminates on lost relationships, including one with Jasper.

Guest spots on tv followed, including episodes of Walker (2021) and Big Sky (2022).

A minor role in How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022): Some environmental activists, including Lukas Gage, Marcus Scribner, and gay actor Forrest Goodluck, plan to harm a pipeline. 

More after the break

Dane's Polar Plunge: a 365 day Lake Tahoe Challenge, with Scott Gaffney, Danish d*cks, and the n*de dudes of Notre Dame

  

Link to the n*ude dudes

I don't usually do profiles of non-actors, but this is amazing.  His name is Dane, he's a student at North Tahoe High School, and he's jumping into Lake Tahoe every day for a year.   Even on Day 190: Water temperature 39.3, air temperature 32.  That's Fahrenheit. 

 

Day 173: Gray, cloudy. Water temperature 37.3, air 33.0.  Dane walked through the snow-- barefoot! -- toward his icy plunge.

On Day 184, he brought his Dad, professional skiier Scott Gaffney Water temperature 48.5, air 55.

On Day 120, he brought the North Tahoe High School Varsity Basketball Team -- at least the ones brave enough to try. Water temperature 39 degrees, air with wind chill 19.  

The Wildflour Baking Company in Tahoe donated some donuts.  How about space heaters?

I can't imagine being interested in the aesthetics of the p*enis after all that icy plunging, but there are some guys running n*aked through the snow on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

Plus n*de Danish dudes in the snow outside an ice cream stand. 

An ice cream stand?

More after the break.  Caution: Icy.

Overcompensating: Gay college student wants hetero stuff to prove his worth. With no plot twists but a lot of cute guys

 

Link to the n*de dudes

Ready for another eight-episode autobiographical comedy about the young adult years of a queer comedian?  Ok, let's look at Overcompensating (2025), on Amazon Prime. Episode 1, "Lucky"

Prelude: The preteen Benny pauses and gawks at Brendan Fraser's underwear scene in George of the Jungle (1997, but he's watching a DVD later).  His sleepover friends don't like it, so he pretends that he doesn't either, and switches to Britney Spears singing "Lucky."  A hot lady!  They're all thrilled!

Scene 1: The college freshman Benny, who looks way too old for 18, awakens to athletic trophies and his Mom calling him "My perfect boy."  She means heterosexual, har har.    He climbs out of bed (nice beefcake), announces "I'm Benny, and I love p*ssy," does push-ups.  Benito Skinner was born in 1993, so this must be around 2011.  

Flashback: football game, prom king, and kissing his boyfriend (Lukas Gage, left who played gay guys in Companion, Dead Boy Detectives, Love Victor, Euphoria, and...well, everything)

Dad (Kyle McLachlan, who played a gay guy in Girls) bursts in wanting to toss a football around. 

Scene 2: Establishing shot of Yates College, no doubt a combination of Yale and Bates, but actually filmed at the University of Toronto.  The show is actually inspired by Benito's years at Georgetown University.  

Mom and Dad drop Benny off at the same moment that Carmen's parents drop her off. (Carmen is played by queer comedian, Wally Baram).  Her boyfriend  texts: "Sorry about last night. Fell asleep."  She meets giggly, vivacious blond Roommate, who enlists a random hot dad to help them carry their new vanity up to their room. Flirting with men to get what you want?  Carmen is shocked!

Scene 3: Still saying goodbye.  Benny's sister Grace appears with her boyfriend Peter (Adam DiMarco), who does that annoying faux-punch greeting and brags about his summer internship at Hawksworth Financial.  Big deal, I was an intern at Concordia Publishing House.  Grace is upset that Benny will be at the same college, and majoring in business!  He has absolutely no interest in business (secret: no one does.  You major in it to make money).

"Dad forced me!"

"Only because you never make a choice of your own."

Cut to Mom in Bennny's dorm room, complaining that she didn't meet his roommate. "He rows crew, so he has crazy hours."  Um...the semester hasn't started yet.  

Hug, hug, whimper, out.  My parents just dropped me off on the curb and said "Bye! See you at Thanksgiving! Or maybe Christmas.  Or...well, we'll call you."

The moment she leaves, Benny grabs his backpack and hustles out of there!  

He passes the table for the LGBT student organization, and stares longingly at the swishy leader (Owen Thiele), but is drawn away by the football of the jock Gabe (Corteon Moore, left, Ellis on From). 

Gabe and his buds note that they are on the football team, and therefore excused from attending all classes permanently.

A girl asks him to take a photo, and the guys howl and congratulate him.  "A hot chick has agreed to have s*x with you!"  Dude, why are you still closeted?  You're at an Ivy League college in 2011!  They have a gay group!  When I was in college, you would be expelled if they found out you were gay. 

He continues to stare longingly at the gay group.  The guys smile and wave, and offer him a free condom. The jocks say that it's ok to take a condom from the gays, since he'll need it for s*x with the hot chick tonight.

Head Gay Owen gives him directions to Freshman Orientation.  Darn, I thought he bolted out for some interesting reason, like that wasn't really his dorm room.  He didn't get the housing deposit in on time, so he'll have to sleep in the library...nope, he was just late.

Scene 4: Benny arrives at Freshman Orientation, ten people cross-legged on the ground, and sits next to Carmen from Scene 2.  Others include Chris (Elias Azimi) and Dean (Charlie Henry Larsen), with the goofy Kevin (Tommy Do) as moderator, almog with the bubbly Courtney and the dour Michelle. 

Whoa, here comes the Boy of His Dreams, walking in slow motion across the quad.  Dream Boy Miles is played by Rish Shah, top photo and right, who played a gay guy in "Torch Song Trilogy" but a straight guy in "Ms. Marvel"

"In college you can be whoever you want to be, so everybody tell the person next to you who you want to be."

Instead, Benny and Carmen give their back stories.  "I'm from Idaho."

"Idaho?  Does anyone actually live in Idaho?"  Bigot.  "Do they have, like, movie theaters? How many of your cousins have you hooked up with?"  That's Kentucky.

But she invites him to a pregame in her dorm room: "A night we won't remember with friends we won't forgive."

More after the break

Blake Bashoff: "Bushwacked," "Big Bully," and a goat ranch with his husband

 

14-year old Blake Bashoff became a gay kid favorite for Bushwacked (1995):  Max (Daniel Stern),  hapless delivery guy who gets mixed up with organized crime and must go undercover as a scout leader, buddy-bonds with Gordy (Blake), and saves him from a literal cliff-hanger.

Blake continued the gay-subtext roles in Big Bully (1996), playing the bully who harasses and then makes up with Cody McMains.

In  The New Swiss Family Robinson (1999), he displays no heterosexual interest, instead lettin ghis brother Shane (John Asher) romance the desert-island girl.  That is not his d*ck

He began playing gay characters in 2001, with Eric Brown, an abused gay teen taken in by the genial judge and her family on Judging Amy (2001-2003).

Blake's jumpy nervousness and wounded expression got him cast as some murderers or arsonists, usually gay-vague, but then he jumped back into gay characters with Duncan, the only gay student at a magic academy on a 2004 episode of the paranormal Charmed.

More after the break

Chris Demetral: If you think the 1990s teen idol is gay, "Dream On"

Star Trek fans will recognize Chris Demetral from his role as Commander Riker's 14-year old son, Jean-Luc.  He appeared in a 1990 episode of The Next Generation,  a hologram simulation created by aliens to fool Riker into revealing sensitive information.

But come on, Riker's kid?  Trekkies were overwhelmed with glee, and started fan-fictioning Jean-Luc into real life adventures.

The 14-year old Michigan native had only been in Hollywood for two years, but he had already landed guest spots on several high-profile tv series, including Mr. Belvedere, The Wonder Years, and The New Lassie, and he would go on to guest on several more.

He was most famous for playing Jeremy Tupper, son of book editor Martin Tupper (Brian Benben) on the early HBO series Dream On (1990-96). Advertised as an "adult sitcom," it mostly featured Martin pursuing women and showing his backside).   Jeremy has his share of dates and romances, and even has teenage nookie during the December 18, 1993 episode.

But the heterosexist part didn't prohibit buddy-bonding elsewhere. In the spring of 1993, Chris became a series regular on Lois and Clark, playing a homeless teenager named Jack, whom Clark/Superman (Dean Cain) takes in.  Designed as a replacement for Jimmy Olsen, with some buddy-bonding and nick of time rescues, Jack didn't click with Superman purists, and he was written out.

In Blank Check (1994), Chris plays Damian, the brother of the 12-year old  (Brian Bonsall of Family Ties) who cashes a check for $1,000,000.  Damian's relationship with his brother Ralph (Michael Faustino, younger brother of David Faustino) is called into question when a computer repeats "Ralph and Damian sleep butt to face."

More after the break

My Boyfriend's Secret Bookshelf and What It Means to be Different

 

When I first met Fred the Ministerial Student during my sophomore year at Augustana College, I tried to determine if he was gay by examining his bookcases for books by gay authors -- I only knew about Tennessee Williams, Oscar Wilde, and Shakespeare.  I didn't find anything.

In the open, anyway.

One day a few months  after we began dating, Fred asked me to get something from his bedroom closet, and I found a secret bookshelf, facing away from view, so even if the door was ajar, you wouldn't know what was there.

Curious, I pulled a book out.  Familiar Faces: Hidden Lives: The Story of Homosexual Men in America Today, by Howard Brown.

I had never seen a nonfiction book about gay people.

"There are a few others," Fred told me.  "I have almost all of the nonfiction, I think.  Of course, it has to be hidden."

"I've never seen a gay book in a bookstore."

"Not likely.  They wouldn't stock any -- it's illegal to put them out on the shelves -- and besides, who would walk up to the counter and try to buy one?"   "It's all by mail.  You don't have to give them your name, just a money order and post office box."

With Fred's permission, I spent the afternoon going through the seven gay books in existence.
1. Familiar Faces, Hidden Lives.
2. Greek Homosexuality
3. The Homosexual Matrix
4. Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?: Another Christian View
5. Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times
6. Iolaus, An Anthology of Friendship, by early gay activist Edward Carpenter
7. A slim hardback, On Being Different: What it Means to be a Homosexual, by Merle Miller.

(Fred was actually mistaken; there were about 30 nonfiction books about gay people in print in the U.S. in 1980.)

The only author I recognized was Merle Miller.  My English and journalism teachers were always praising him:

Born right next door to Rock Island, in Marshalltown, Iowa,  a graduate of the University of Iowa, and now look at him!  A famous journalist, novelist, and historian, biographer of presidents!

Read his books for a model of good writing.

Novels like The Winter, Island 49, and The Sure Thing.

His book on the television industry, Only You, Dick Darling (1964).

And especially Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman (1973).

They didn't mention, or they didn't know, that in in January 1971, Merle Miller came out in an article in The New York Times  Magazine: "What It Means to Be a Homosexual."  

It was a response to Jacob Epstein, who wrote in the September 1970 issue of Harper's that "If I had the power to do so, I would wish homosexuality off the face of the Earth. I  would do so because I think it brings infinitely more pain than pleasure to those who are forced to live with it..and because, wholly selfishly, I find myself completely incapable of coming to terms with it."  

Merle Miller responded, “I am sick and tired of reading and hearing such goddamn demeaning, degrading bullshit about me and my friends."  Being homosexual" caused pain only because of bigots like Epstein.

His rebuttal received 2000 responses (back when you had to write physical letters), many positive, and was reprinted, with an afterward, in On Being Different,  the slim hardbound volume that I found on Fred's hidden bookshelf. It was republished again in 2012, with a foreward by conservative gay columnist Dan Savage.

More after the break

Jackson Kelly: A killer doll, a killer pumpkin, a paranormal trap, shirtless Hicks, and a year of d*cks

Link to the d*cks

I was interested in profiling Jackson Kelly, who played one of the dying Civil War soldiers in Righteous Gemstones Season 4.  He was somewhat difficult to research, since there are a lot of Jackson Kellys out there, including a female adult video actor, but I finally I found some newspaper articles and podcasts from our Jackson's home town. 

Jackson Kelly grew up in Waco, Texas, the heart of the homophobic Bible Belt, and had trouble pursuing his dream: the nearest acting class was two hours away, and for auditions, his parents had to drive him six hours to Austin.  There are three theaters in Waco.

In April 2020, COVID hit, and the Vanguard College Preparatory School went online. They have a Latin Club, but no GSA, and no mention of LGBT non-discrimination.    So he packed his stuff and moved to L.A., with the full support of his parents.  If I liked to wear evening gowns, I'd be getting the heck out of Waco regardless. 

Jackson's first industry job was a production assistant for a company making commercials -- a lot of manual labor, moving stuff from here to there.  Then he began appearing in commercials and "zero-budget" independent films:

My Year of D*cks, 2022: he has one that the girl tries to get.

Splinters, 2022: after the death of his father....f*k the Sadness

Witch Mountain, 2022: Two teens, male and female, develop psychic powers.  You see where this is heading.

Portrait of a Young Man, 2022: Jackson, the Young Man, is struggling with "his identity."  Sounds like a coming out story, but in the trailer he kisses a girl.

Hard Miles, 2023: Matthew Modine plays a social worker who organizes a 1,000 mile bicycle trip to the Grand Canyon for a group of teen convicts, including Smink, played by Jackson.

Left: Matthew Modine jumps rope in Vision Quest.

The Western The Warrant: Breaker's Law, 2023, with Dermot Mulroney as the villain. Jackson plays someone named Brig Farkus.  At least he has some interesting character names.

Five episodes of Lucky Hank, 2023, a quickly-cancelled series about college English/creative writing professor Bob Odenkirk having a midlife crisis/meltdown. 

Jackson plays an aspiring novelist named Barstow Williams-Stevens. In the trailer, he throws shade at the prof during class: "You haven't said anything for an hour and a half. Would you please say something?  Your only novel isn't even available in your own campus bookstore."  The prof responds in kind, and gets in big trouble.

More after the break

"Chelsea Detectives," Episode 1.3: Who murdered Mrs. Romano? The hot chef, the hot delivery guy, her surly son, or her wife?

 

The Chelsea Detectives (2022-25), on Amazon Prime, is a series of movies featuring murders in the posh Chelsea neighborhood of London, investigated by "will they or won't they" inspectors Max and Layla (Adrian Scarborough, Vanessa Emme).

Adrian (bum on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) is quite different from the usual American "will they or won't they" leading man: Pierce Brosnan in Remington Steele, Tony Danza in Who's the Boss, Ted Danson in Cheers, or Bruce Willis in Moonlightning (famous accidental d*ck shot on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).

 But if the painter is being accurate, he's got a bigger d*ck than any of them.

 I looked through all of the episodes to find one that didn't involve a husband with a dead wife or a "devoted family man," and came up with Episode 2, Mrs. Romono.  It may even have a lesbian couple.

Intro: Establishing shots of the Thames, then Max rides his bike through Chelsea, past Cadogan Hall and Sloane Square, but not Harrod's.  

He calls for Astrid, who is getting ready to go out, but all he needs is the name of her friend who deals with rare books.  He's got some first editions from Dad's shop that the dealer might like. 

Uh-oh, here comes Astrid's date, played by Michael D. Xavier.  Having been defeated by a guy with a bigger d*ck, Max retreats.  I thought they were siblings?  She must be an ex-girlfriend.

Rare books are not mentioned again in the episode, darn it.

Scene 2: Robyn Romano, influencer, author of a bestselling cookbook, and owner of the famous La Famiglia Restaurant,  has a lot of problems that could result in murder:

1. The Delivery Guy wanted to stay to the end of the month, but she wants him out now  

2. She goes to the kitchen and kisses the other Mrs. Romano a dozen times, while the chef growls (must be homophobic).  

3. The Other Mrs. Romano wants to make a big announcement, but it's too soon.  They argue.

4. She argues with the Other Mrs. Romano's son, Luca (Cayvan Coates):  "You agreed not to upset your Mum.  I'm helping you."

"Growl, growl."

In What it Means, a two-person play about Merle Miller, whose essay "What it Means to Be a Homosexual" became one of the early texts in the Gay Liberation Movement, Cayvan Coates plays the Boy from Pittsburgh.  He also stars in Alfie's Island, a short about two former boyfriends (Cayvan, Liv Ello) hoping to reconnect, and kissing a lot.  

Definitely gay in real life; presumably his character is gay, too.

Scene 3: Time for the murder.  Late at night, Robyn goes home -- to her house right on the Thames -- hears a noise, notices that the glass door to the patio is broken, and goes outside to investigate.  Dumb! A scream!  A neighbor calls the politce.

More after the break

Gemstones Season 4 Finale: Saying goodbye. With eight gay/bi characters and countless d*cks

  

Link to the n*de dudes

In March 2023, my partner and I subscribed to the streaming service HBO/MAX to watch science fiction programs like The Last of Us and Doctor Who.  He  also wanted to watch The Righteous Gemstones, a comedy/drama about "a famous and dysfunctional family of televangelists," but "No, thanks." After a childhood of preachers screaming "God hates you!" every Wednesday night and twice on Sunday, I thought that even a critique of evangelical homophobia would be too traumatic.

Then one day I was walking through the living room on the way to a snack, and I saw the Gemstones walking in slow motion toward Jason's Steakhouse: A nuclear family husband, wife, and kids; another male-female couple and their pregnant daughter; and, taking up the rear, a gay couple!  They were holding hands!  They joined the others at the dinner table with no recriminations, no stupid questions about "which of you is the man?", no yelling about the Book of Leviticus.  I was astonished.

Watching from the beginning, I found a show that was crass, vulgar, and often grotesque, with annoying plot holes and a complete disregard for internal consistency.  Plus it took forever for the showrunners to admit that Kelvin and Keefe were canon, resulting in endless annoying "they're really straight buddies" arguments. But once they were acknowledged, Season 4 became a masterpiece of gay inclusion, with their wedding the pivotal moment of the entire series.  

A gay wedding was the pivotal moment in a series about Evangelicals!

Plus:

 A more obvious romance between Gideon and Scotty.

Both Eli and Baby Billy have gay relationships in their past.

Queer coded characters everywhere.  Just when you think there couldn't be any more, they start dropping hints about Pontius. 

Two gay bands of brothers taken directly from Tom of Finland prints.

A near total absence of heterosexual activity, and almost no lady parts.

Nonstop beefcake.

P* enises in nearly every episode.  

 A friggin' glory hole!

Gay men were not only welcome at the table, the table was designed for them. In the midst of some profound theological insights into faith and forgiveness.  There has never been anything on tv like it.

Two years have passed, with two conference presentations, a scholarly book, two blogs with over 500 posts, over 20 fan stories, and endless fan discussions. And now it's time to say goodbye.  

Fortunately, the Series Finale features a special goodbye message for those viewers who found the show, and the characters, especially meaningful:

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy: During the Kelvin-Keefe wedding reception, while Eli watches everyone dancing, we hear the letter that Aimee-Leigh wrote to Lori years ago:

Saying goodbye is never easy -- it's not something I've ever been good at.  Sometimes it's easier to never say goodbye and just leave things where they lay.  Don't wrap it up all nice and neat.  

Hear that, fans?  We're not going to tie up every loose end.

The Grave:  Eli hugging Lori as she cries at Corey's grave.  

Takeaways: 

1. Corey was born in 1976, so he's six years older than Jesse, making it unusual for them to be friends.  Imagine a 10 year old and a 16 year old hanging out.

2. Season 4 begins in September 2024.  Corey dies in July 2025.  The wedding takes place several months later, I estimate in October.

Don't look for closure in a goodbye.  We rarely get the closure we want. Most times we don't even get the closure we need.  Sometimes things happen and the life we knew is taken from us, just like that. It can happen fast.

I'll need a minute.

Hugging: Back at the reception. Eli grins at the people dancing and hugging.  Jesse and Amber hug.  Kelvin dances with Tiffany and Judy. Keefe hugs Baby Billy.  

Cut to Baby Billy, Tiffany, and the Nanny having a picnic. 

It's in those times you realize how precious friends are, family.  

The Gold Bible: The Siblings install the Gold Bible on a pedestal at the Salvation Center, in front of a video presentation about Aimee-Leigh and Eli's ministry.

How important it is to let Jesus' love find you through them so we can lift each other up. 

Gideon Finds His Place: Performing at the opening of the new Gemstone Christian Skatepark, Gideon is able to combine his interest in stuntwork and the ministry. Banners say: Christian Skate Summit.

A shot of Jesse talking to Vance was cut. Apparently they're on friendly terms.

Pontius and Abraham, with Ash on one side and Edge on the other, gawk at the stunts.  Now there are girl skaters; previously Pontius' group has been entirely male.  I'm calling it: he's bi. 

And Abraham's pink shirt? Plus check out his room: Pictures of Holly Hobbie dolls and a ballerina nightlight.  He's gay.  Prove me wrong. 

Aimee-Leigh continues: So we can fly even higher. 

Shot of Gideon flying high.

More after the break

The Four Seasons: Elite New Yorkers discuss True Love, with a gay couple, a lumberjack, Vivaldi, and a n*de Len Cariou

 

Link to the n*de New Yorkers

I lived in New York for four years while studying for my Ph.D.  One thing that bothered me was the parochialism, like that New Yorker cover come to life ("View of the World from 9th Avenue," by Saul Steinberg).  Literally everywhere else in the world was a cultural wasteland.

 Everyone always asked "Where are you from?", assuming that the answer would be "Scarsdale" or "Astoria."  I said Illinois:  "Oh, Chicago!  Now that's a second rate city!  Did you eat hot dogs at (snicker, snicker).baseball games?"

"No, my town was on the other side of the state, on the Iowa border."

"Iowa!  Ma and Pa Kettle chawing tobaccy!  How old were you (snicker, snicker) when you first saw one of those newfangled auto-mobiles?"

So I started saying "Los Angeles":   "How dreadfully superficial!  All about mindless movies and puerile television!  Do you watch (snicker, snicker) the A Team?"  

The Four Seasons, on Netflix, gave me a similar vibe: parochial, elitist, condescending, so I never made it through an episode.  But from what I can gather, it features three couples who leave the City (there's only one city) for a weekend getaway Upstate (there's only one state) four times a year.  There they talk in Woody Allen witicisms and discuss romantic love.

The main question is stated in the first episode:  Does each of us get a soulmate, someone chosen by the Universe to make our lives infinitely happy forever, or do we fall in love based on physical attraction and social compatibility, and then work to maintain the relationship?   Each couple will face a crisis that illustrates some aspect of the question.  

As the clickbait links say, the answer will surprise you.  Or not.  It's the theme of every romantic movie ever made.

You may also be surprised to find that one of the couples is gay.

Couple #1, Nick and Anne (Steve Carrell of The Office, left, Kerri Kenney):  What if you no longer love your soulmate?

Nick shocks everyone when he announces that he no longer loves his wife.  "Impossible!  You're soulmates!  You're destined to be together!"

When he dumps her anyway and starts dating the much younger Ginny ("The p* enis wants what the p* enis wants), his friends are all devastated.  If a married couple can break up, how does anything have meaning?

 His daughter, who attends an Ivy League College Upstate, maybe Vassar, writes a play in which her callous, unfeeling monster of a father announces: "I hate my daughter so much.  What could I do to cause her the most pain?  I know -- I'll leave my wife, thus destroying the family and making my daughter's life meaningless forever!"

The universe also disapproves of leaving your soulmate, and retaliates by killing Nick.  This leads to the discomfort of having the ex-wife and the horrible trollope he destroyed her life for showing up at the funeral.  Such a negative attitude toward divorce seems extremely retro.   

Couple #2, Danny and Claude (Colman Domingo from Fear the Walking Dead,  famous playwright Marco Calvani, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends): What if your soulmate dies?

When Danny is diagnosed with heart disease, he leaves Claude to spare him the agony of seeing his decline and death, but Claude insists on getting back together: they're soulmates, in sickness and health. Someday one of them will die and leave the other alone, but the bereaved spouse will still find infinite happiness in the memory of their time together.

By the way, they have an open relationship, and have their "I'm leaving you so you won't feel pain" argument in the midst of a threesome with the Lumberjack (Jacob Buckenmyer).

Jacob Buckenmyer, seen here in Chippendales, is straight in real life.

More after the break.

Gavin's hunky dad, brothers, and cousins show their stuff

    

Link to the n*de photos

Gavin Munn (Jonathan on Raising Dion and Abraham on The Righteous Gemstones) is lucky to have two supportive parents, willing to drive him as far as Atlanta, six hours away, for auditions and scenes. 

1. Dad Johnny is the president of Coastal Built Construction an aviator, an avid fisherman and motorcyclist, and an actor.  His screen credits include two locally-produced Pirate Kids movies, an episode of Good Behavior,  Domestic Disturbance with John Travolta.

Did I mention that he's also a mega-hunk?

2. Here he is starting to do a backflip into a very rocky pool.

3. Fishing.  You can see the family resemblance: Gavin is a freshwater fishing champ.

4. A few years ago. 

5. Gavin's brother-in-law.

6. Not sure

More after the break

The Bugaloos: A male ladybug with biceps starts a rock band. With Gavin Lewis and Glenn Scarpelli's neighbor

17 episodes of The Bugaloos aired during the 1970-71 season, and were rerun in 1971-72.  That's a little short, even for a Sid and Marty Krofft live action-animatronic series: Sigmund and the Sea Monsters had 29, and Land of the Lost had 43.

But millions of 1960s kids fondly recall the 17 episodes, and the infinite array of tie-in merchandise: a record album, a lunchbox, a board game, a 4-issue comic book series, costumes for Halloween, 3 novels.

The Bugaloos were a hippie family/rock band composed of  British insect people, all named after virtues.

1. I.Q. (John McIndoe), a gangly blond grasshopper

2. Harmony (Wayne Laryea) a black bumblebee

3. Joy (Caroline Ellis) a female butterfly

4. Courage (John Philpott, left) a muscular male ladybug.

Very muscular.  Always wearing a tight red shirt that highlighted his pecs and lay bare his arms and shoulders.

And exceptionally tight pants.

Unlike most Krofft shows, they were not trapped far from home: they lived in a hippie commune, the Tranquility Forest, singing, dancing, flying, and displaying no heterosexual interest

But their Eden was threatened by Benita Bizarre (Martha Raye), who hated their youth, their beauty, their freedom, their talent, and. . .well, their tranquility.  She stole Joy's voice and IQ's wings; she kidnapped and branwashed Courage; she tried to drive them out of their forest.

Establishment fear of the youth counterculture,but from the counterculture's point of view.  Clash of innocence and experience, age and. . um, obviously a metaphor for. . .um. . .

Who could think about anything but the male ladybug, with his sleeveless shirt and obvious bulge?

More after the break