Twists and turns in American Idol 6.

Yesterday was not a good night for the current season of American Idol. How could Stephanie Edwards be the eliminated this early in the competition? And more mind-boggling, how could Chris Richardson be in the bottom two? Not only do these contestants deserve to be in the top ten, they even deserve spots in the final four of the competition.

The present crop of Idol finalists is a bundle of extremes. On one hand you have the extremely talented group of Melinda, Lakisha, Stephanie, Chris R., Jordin, Gina and Blake. On the other you have the unforgivable singing efforts of Phil, Sanjaya, Haley and Chris Sleigh. Brandon Davis, though he wasn't the worst in the batch but was first to be eleminated last week, rather belongs in the second group.

I am baffled how neither Chris Sleigh, Sanjaya nor Phil has been eliminated after two weeks of voting. Is the "vote-for-the-worst" campaign that plagued the show during its fourth season in active mode again? Haley's survival has a pretty basic explanation. At least she made it a point not to be eliminated and brought out her guns in this week's performance night. That was the shortest skirt ever worn on the show in its entire six seasons, I believe. And Haley, your back is also flawless. Maybe next week you should sing.

The continued presence in the show of the trio of Chris Sleigh, Sanjaya and Phil vexes me. While Sanjaya may be able to carry a tune, he was never designed to perform onstage. Whenever he is "performing" on the show, only two words come to mind: "awkward" and "ghastly". But at least he is humble, which could never be said about Sleigh and Phil. These two actually believe that they are great singers. I don't think they ever hear themselves sing. Shouting, Phil, is a mile different from singing. And Sleigh, no you don't personal style. And even if you do it is unpleasant and unmarketable.

I do not like the direction that AI is going this year. Sanjaya, at one point in the competition, was in the top four. This only goes to show that he has a rather strong following among the voters. There will also be a Michael Jackson performance night before the season ends. I am fretting if he should appear in the show and his nose falls of.

I still watch the show because night after night, Melinda, Chris Richardson and Jordin Sparks give the best live singing performance on television today. And the twists that Blake provides to the old songs that he sings is also worth waiting for. I just have to brace myself for a finals night when Melinda has to try to claim the season's title from Sanjaya.

Must Blow 21: T.J. Austin.

He was one of the first guys I featured in this neo-scrapbook with a photo essay. Just last night, I was able to buy a dated Freshmen calendar (for 2004) that featured him on the cover and as Mr. January and the fire in my loins were rekindled and the longing for him once again stirred.

After getting hold of the calendar, which republished photos of T.J. previously featured in Freshmen magazine, I was mesmerized by his smile and how creamy and faultless his skin appeared. I could not take my eyes off him. I couldn’t also control myself. I was effortlessly aroused and have jacked off to his photos twice now (once last night before sleeping and this morning upon waking up).

T.J. Austin is easily a fantasy material for all the guys I had a crush in high school and college. He is the ultimate boy toy and the consummate freshman. He is the jock and the nerd, the tease and the shy guy, or the teacher’s pet and the future poet.

He was featured in a number of magazines in 2003 and 2004 (Freshmen, Playguy, etc.). However, from then on, he has been missing in action. I do not even know if he did any videos. His sudden reappearance in the magazine last night was like an oasis in a desert. And it certainly quenched my thirst.

Center of Controversy.

The yahoo group devoted to the fans of Julian Fantechi is presently stirred in controversy. My inbox is inundated by mails sent out by members of the group expressing their views – mostly supportive—on an issue facing its icon, Julian Fantechi.

It seems that a local gossip newspaper, New York Daily News, published a sensational article examining and questioning the double life of Julian as soft-core porn model and public school teacher. Suddenly --although he has been modeling for quite some time—the shallow newspaper hungry for controversy is making it appear that Julian is unsafe and unfit to be near children. Other media outfits picked up from this article and his pounding on Julian’s door for comment.

Is the concern being raised by the media valid? I highly doubt it. The mere fact that Julian is a porn model does not, per se, make him unsuitable to work around children or the youth. He has not committed any overt act that has proven him to be a threat to the youth. Has he molested anyone? Has he flashed or exposed himself before any of his students? Is he encouraging his students to follow his footsteps? No complainant has ever stepped forward. Those who have stepped forward are people ---feigning concern or righteousness—whose only cause for accusation is their own unfounded apprehension and misinformed dispositions.

Julian is no more a threat to the youth than the sex and violence that his students regularly see in the movies, music videos and television. He is even a far less threat than that member of the United States Congress who preyed on the young pages of his office. If parents and educators are concerned of the repercussions of the choices that Julian has chosen for himself, it is for them to explain to their children and students what is right or wrong. A condemnation of what Julian has done does not address the issue. After all, body modeling is not a crime. It is permissible under the laws of the United States and guaranteed under the freedom of expression and speech.

If the question raised is that Julian sets a bad example, then the other adults in the campus and in the homes where the kids retire at night should set the good example that they think their children should emulate. If they fail to make a good influence –or leave an impression--- on their own impressionable wards, whose fault is it? Julian’s? Duh!

No one person is responsible in shaping how a child or youth would turn out to be. A lot of factors contribute in the character development of a child. He may take his virtue from a hero in bedtime story once read to him when he was a kid and his vice from the father who was never home at night. He may take after the religiosity of his mother or the joyfulness of a sister but retaining the menace of Darth Vader.

Don’t blame it all on Julian. Just because he is beautiful.

To Bi For 10: Marissa Tomei.

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I am rounding up my first set of ten favorite females with one who has been my crush since I was a teenager, Hollywood actress Marissa Tomei.

Marissa Tomei easily appealed to my prurient interests from the very first time I saw her. I do not remeber now if it was in the film My Cousin Vinny or Untamed Heart, or some other movie. Anyway, her eyes and smile just beamed on me on the big screen and my heart and mind were easily enamored. From that very instant, I remember telling myself, wow this is a beautiful woman. And I have been in love with her ever since.

Tomei won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in My Cousin Vinny. And like any other actress who earned such accolade early in her career, it did not help her at all. What happened after was a disaster. She became a victim of one of the most infamous legends in Academy Awards history. It is widely believed that she, in fact did not win the trophy, that the real winner for that year was Vanessa Redgrave, that the faux pas committed by Jack Palance (who was too old and blind to read) was not there and then corrected so as not embarass the Academy and Tomei (who was beaming at the upset). Film offers thinned and Tomei vanished from Hollywood.

Her re-appearance in the quality drama In the Bedroom was, to me, like a sudden encounter with an old girlfriend. It reminded me of the good old times and rekindled a desire for a woman who was absent from my life in a long time but has a distinct place in my heart that is always hers.

Back in Time.

This topic came out of the blue for me, after looking at my collection of picture dowloads. I thought, why don't I make a feature on the guys that made me realize, growing up, that I am not straight? So here are some of them.

Billy Warlock. I remember that the local channel used to run Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch back-to-back on a Friday night. Usually, my siblings were away and it was only me who was left at home. I jacked off a lot on this guy. Either him on Jason Priestley on those Friday nights of long ago.

Casper Van Dien. It was either I was already in early college or still in high school when Van Dien entered the Hollywood scene and was regarded as the next sex symbol of the big screen. The promise was not fulfilled. Still, I have boxfuls of newspaper cut-outs from the PR in Tarzan and Starship Troopers. Nice body.

Serkan Altan. He was one of my early favorite porn model. I was astounded by the huge cock and wide smile that he displayed in Freshmen. I wonder what has become of him.

SpeciMen 06: Alvin Patrimonio, Ralph Fiennes and Antonio Sabato, Jr.

My favorite man of all time, whether local or foreign, real or imagined, famous or ordinary, actor, athlete or whatever is Alvin Patrimonio. He is my ultimate man crush. A crush that I have been harboring since I was nine or ten years old.

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Aside from being a professional basketball player Alvin, capitalizing on his good looks, made a few movies. In one interview given by one of his leading ladies (no, not K), she said that it is easy to fall in love with Alvin. I am one who can fully concur with that.

To begin with, Patrimonio is an achiever in his chosen field. He has won four Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in his professional basketball career and about five or six championship trophies. He not only loves his sport but also his country that he alloted time and talent to suit up with the national team. He is considered one of the true gentlemen of the sport. He is not only adored by his millions of fans, he is also looked up to by fellow players, loved by the media, and highly respected by his team/organization. That is why even when he decided to retire from active play, he was instantly offered the post of team manager. (As team manager, he has aslo stirred his team to one championship.)

Second, Alvin is such a looker. He is so handsome that women are easily attracted to him. The fact that he is not vain, nor considers himself better than the next guy also makes him affable to us men.

Third, despite his achievements and his looks, Alvin is also very virtuous. Even when he has gained all the accolades that the league could give him, Alvin remained a true professional. He was very harworking on the court. The hunger to win never died in him. He likewise remained humble, god-fearing and cordial.

The talent, achievement and gravitas of Ralph Fiennes as an actor is best defined by the litany of movies he has been in. Schindler's List. The Quiz Show. The English Patient. The End of the Affair. The Constant Gardener. Not only are these films instant contemporary classics, Fiennes' performance in all these are considered tour de force in acting.

Fiennes has been nominated in the Oscar. First, as best supporting actor for his role as Nazi officer in Schindler's List. And then as best actor for the intense romantic and literary drama, The English Patient.

He is also one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood and England. Not only can he topbill a romantic drama (as in The End of the Affair, The White Countess and The English Patient) to woe intellectual women, he can also be a leading man in a comedy (as in Maid in Manhattan) to bring in the popcorn-popping crowd. He was exceptionally great as the physically disfigured count in Patient and as the distorted soul in Schindler. The role of a lisping murderer in Red Dragon was a small one but Fiennes made sure to make it memorable. As was his performance as Lord Voldemort in the last few Harry Potter movies.

The third guy in today's installment of SpeciMen is Antonio Sabato, Jr. I slammed him a few blogs back for his mismanagement of what could have been a very promising and fruitful career. I stand by that critique. Still, I cannot help myself. I still love ASJ. He is still the paragon of physical perfection.

Apart from his role in daytime soaps, Melrose Place and a bunch of B-movies, it is undeniable that Antonio Sabato, Jr. will best be remembered as a Calvin Klein underwear model. Though he only picked up from where Marky Mark left off, ASJ's images wearing those tight whites and skimpy boxer briefs made their own marks in the minds of the consuming public. The billboards towered and his smile and physique won over multitudes of men, women and everyone in between. And for that he is now immortalized.

Who is he and what is he doing?

It seems now ---in the advent of instant information in the web, hourly updates in entertainment news programs and the inundation of tabloids and glossy magazines in the market--- celebrities have developed a new phobia. They have a fear of being gone in the public's eye. So celebrities consequently developed a new past time - pimping for the cameras.

Actors, singers and other performers who are in between projects are most guilty of this crime. Remember Matthew McConaughey's shirtless beach shots permeating the media? Paparazzi shots or posed for? Ha ha.

And now who is this guy posing in the balcony in nothing but undies and waiting for the cameras to click? Someone should tell him that David Beckham has already used this modus operandi.

Well, well, it's Ricky Martin.

To Bi For 09: Christina Aguilera.

The battle for the throne of next queen of pop music is over. At least for now. Britney Spears is a wreck and is in rehab. Jessica Simpson is really just a blonde without the voice. All the others, Hillary Duff, etc. are just too wanting to be considered serious contenders. And so for now, the title rests in the one who from the very beginning was known for her voice, talent, and the diva attitude that are requisites of the job. Christina Aguilera.

From the very first note that she sang when she turned professional, Aguilera distinguished herself with her big voice. It was deep, powerful, expressive. It was even so soulful that one wouldn't believe it belonged to a white girl. But for me, what made it more amazing was the fact that Aguilera, a mere teenager, could control and command her voice the way she did. Even at her young age, her vocal discipline placed her in the ranks of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. This assertion is open to argument but it has a grain of truth in it.

There is no question that she has made her mark in the industry, around the world. Genie in a Bottle. Reflection. Beautiful. Ain't No Other Man. We know the songs. And we know who sang them. Though Christina did not reach the height (or hype) of Britney's popularity or Jessica's infamy, she did make a mark. And now she survived them all. Her last two albums (Stripped and Back to Basics), which reflect entirely different sounds of the same artist, show how well she could transform herself --- effectively--- even without changing her hair (or losing them all, as Britney did) or her spouse (or losing Nick, as Jessica did).

Her ascension to the throne of pop queen is natural and pre-ordained. Just as her transformation from teen idol to sexy diva. The spread that appeared in GQ easily attests to that. The sexiness that Christina exudes is natural, not forced. The make-up is minimal because her beauty is already there: raw, potent, ready to be tapped. Heck, I did not even notice before that her breasts are perfectly cupped and her skin flows like milk. Wow. I mean, really wow.