Male nudity, gay romance, and queer codes in movies and television, especially "The Righteous Gemstones"
Robert's Hot/Hung Photos, Part 1: Burgers, bondage, butts, an oral lesson, and the love of his life
"The Strongest Man in History": Robert Oberst and his pals recreate Viking challenges. With bonus Danish dick
In The Strongest Man in History, on the History Channel, four contemporary strongmen try to recreate the stunts of legendary strongmen:
I watched the first episode, where Nick takes the guys on a tour of Moorhead, Minnesota, across border from Fargo, North Dakota, the "center of Viking culture in the United States."
Nick is a devotee of all things Viking, even going to Renaissance fairs wearing a horned helmet. His signature stunt is the Viking Press.
They visit the stave church at the Hjelmkomst Center, go ice fishing, and hear about how the days of the week are named after Norse gods. But for some reason they skip the biggest tourist attraction in Moorhead, the Hjelmkomst Viking Ship. It's a replica built by Robert Asp in the 70s that sailed across the ocean to Norway before being housed in the Clay County Cultural CenterMost of the episode is devoted to the guys introducing themselves, explaining what they're going to do, discussing how difficult it will be, and then doing it:
1. Carry a 345-pound boulder. All Viking boys had to carry one to achieve fullsterkur, full strength, and be considered a man. In Iceland, they still use the 409-pound Húsafell Stone as a test of strength.
Left: 18 year old Billy Crawford, the youngest person ever to lift the stone.
2. Thow a 13-pound hammer, with an ice bath penalty for the guy with the shortest distance. Nick loses, at 70 feet.
3. Pull a 12,000 pound Viking ship.
4. Hoist a 1,433 pound mast.
Some of the challenges in other episodes are interesting. In Stoke-on-Trent, Eddie Hall's home town, they named an oat cake, sort of a savory stuffed pancake, after him. It has six sausages and three pounds of cheese. The challenge: whoever finishes first without throwing up wins.In the last scene, the guys gift Nick with an authentic Viking-era axe, leading to a group hug and: "So, we all going to get on the bed and start making out?" They jump on the bed, but we cut before the make-out session.
Beefcake: The guys are fully clothed most of the time.
History: Snippets.
Gay Subtexts: Deliberate. An extraordinary amount of buddy-bonding, with the guys often discussing how attractive they find each other.
Reality TV: The breathless "It's 12,000 pounds!!!!" and the constant repetition become annoying. I might watch this on the treadmill at the gym, but for regular viewing, it's too darn fluffy.
Bonus Danish dick and other Scandinavian guys after the break. Warning: Explicit.
Gemstone Season 3 Memes Part 2: Kelvin dates, Keefe blows, and that's not Jerry O'Connell's cock
This is a series of memes -- jokes -- featuring Kelvin and Keefe of The Righteous Gemstones, and friends, and a few random hunks. Most don't require you to have any background knowledge of the show.
1. Which Gemstone gets him as a birthday present?
Keefe: Daddy Eli is taking me fishing next week.
"Proper Gym Etiquette": Robert Oberst punishes the jerks you see at the gym
The premise: If you see a breach of etiquette, you can call for The Monster (Robert), who grabs, throws, pummels, and yells at the offender. (The examples are all g-rated; I added the nudes, and a few of my own rules).
1. Keep the noise down! Don't you hate those loud grunts?
2. Re-rack your weights! It's really annoying to have to rack somebody else's before you can put yours on.
3. No food in the gym! Who wants to lift while sitting in someone's Dorito crumbs?
Montgomery Brothers Manscaping: "If you've got a dick, we're on it."
Montgomery Brothers Manscaping
For all your manscaping needs
Beards, pits, pecs, pubes
"If you've got a dick, we're on it."
Karl Montgomery is not only an owner, he's a customer.
Gavin's Cute/Cool Photos Part 1: Biking, boating, fishing, turning 15. Plus a random naked guy with no connection to his older brother
This is a collection of cute/cool photos of Gavin Munn, who plays Jonathan on Raising Dion and Abraham on The Righteous Gemstones. He's under 18, so no beefcake or nude photos, but I may have included a few of his family and friends.
Robert's Hot/Hung Photos, Part 2: Beefy boyfriend, helicopter penis, and strongman sex
This is a collection of hot or humorous photos of Robert Oberst, a professional strongman who held the American record for the log press. He starred in two strongman reality programs, and played Cousin Karl in Righteous Gemstones Season 3.
1. "Want to play with my balls?"
2. "So, Eddie, are you big all over?"
Robert Oberst and the World's Strongest Men. Yes, some of them are naked
Robert Oberst, whose motto is "Strong and Pretty," grew up in Aptos, California, graduated from Western Oregon University in 2008 with a degree in history. He moved to San Francisco, and like most history majors, found work as a bouncer in gay bars.
In 2022, after placing in nearly 20 competitions, Robert retired from strength competitions, just in time to break into an acting career. He stars in Season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones as Chuck Montgomery, one of the backwoods cousins of the mega-rich Judy, Jesse, and Kelvin Gemstone.
Bodybuilders are drawn from the elite class, who can afford to spend thousands of dollars on protein supplements and fancy gym equipment. Strongmen are drawn from the working class, so their feats of strength often involve everyday objects: lifting boulders, logs, and tires; pulling or flipping over cars; tossing beer kegs. Here Oleg Novikov, the World's Strongest Man in 2020, lifts a barbell made of tires.
Strength competitions are super-macho, drawing a lot of heterosexual alpha males. Although Robert likes to hint that he is gay, he has never made a public statement. Besides, I think he might have a wife.
Kelvin and Keefe, Matchmakers: A Cousin Karl Story
As Kelvin waited for Percy at one of the little blue tables outside the Lost Dog Cafe, he couldn't help flashing back to the first time they met, when Jesse hired him to design the church's executive board room. Kelvin wasn't out to anyone yet, not even to himself, really, and seeing the flashy, unapologetic, loud-and-proud interior designer was a revelation. Percy became his best friend, and his go-to guy for anything about gay history and culture, from the Stonewall Riots to GLAAD Awards. But today Kelvin had a different kind of request. He wasn't sure that a guy who came out at age ten could understand.
They chatted about ordinary things, rated a few bulges, and then Kelvin got down to business. "Percy, I had an ulterior motive in inviting you to lunch today. Remember my Cousin Karl? You met him at the wedding reception."
"Big guy, black beard, baby face, smile that lights up the whole state? Sure, he's hard to miss."
"He came out to Keefe and I last night."
"Wait -- out as gay? Isn't he over 30?"
"36. But don't look so surprised. I was 34 when I figured it out, remember, and Karl has been even more sheltered than me. He's known for a long time, but he thought it was just him. He didn't know that 'gay' was a thing until he saw Keefe and I kissing one night."
"He's got a lot of catching up to do."
"Karl wants a boyfriend, but he's so soft and sweet, a little kid, really, that we don't trust him on Grindr, or Gay Christian Mingle . And you're like the gay expert of South Carolina. You belong to every club, you know everybody, and so..."
"So you want me to play matchmaker? Sure, glad to do it. Off the top of my head, I can think of four or five candidates. Let's start with Brett. He goes to my gym -- built like a bodybuilder, chest for days! He'll be able to appreciate Karl's muscles."
First Date: The Bodybuilder
Keefe and Kelvin were sitting on the couch in the parlor, kissing, when Percy and Karl’s date knocked on the door. The Bodybuilder shook their hands (Kelvin forgot his name almost immediately), and Percy tried to hug them both while balancing a large white box. "I brought tiramisu for dessert. I hope it fits with the menu. What are we having?"
"We don't know. Cousin Karl is cooking, and he won't let anyone in the kitchen."
"Tiramisu fits with anything, though," Keefe said. "I'll bring it in to him." He took the box from Percy's hands and headed back into the house.
More after the break