Book Preview: Michael Stokes "Always Loyal"

Publishing house Bruno Gmünder has teamed up with wonderful photographer Michael Stokes once again for the jaw dropping, incredibly moving new book Always Loyal. Inspired by a chapter in his 2014 book, Bare Strength, which featured wounded amputee Marines, Always Loyal is an entire photographic volume dedicated to U.S. Gulf War veterans showcasing the beautiful side of wounded soldiers, whose injuries and/or lost limbs are detailed in intimate, exclusive photographs. The goal of fitness photographer Stokes, who was inspired by a shoot with veteran and amputee Alex Minsky, was to put a different spin on how wounded veterans were depicted. The result of the book is pure art.

Raised in Berkeley, California, Michael Stokes is now a Los Angeles-based photographer. He graduated first in his class and Phi Beta Kappa with a Fine Art degree through the film department at California State University, Long Beach. Before changing his career path to filmmaking, he was a photography major, learning pre-digital photographic techniques and using darkrooms and silver gelatin film. In film school, he wrote and directed a short film, Alien, that screened in film festivals around the world.

Michael’s first coffee table book, Masculinity (2012), was a glamour-styled, photographic male figure study book that is currently out of print. In the same style as his first, his second book, Bare Strength (2014), is already in its third printing and is available on Amazon. It features a chapter on wounded veterans of war, specifically amputees. From the sales of this book, he has donated $10,000 to the Semper Fi Fund, a charity that benefits veterans of war and their families. Also in 2014, Michael collaborated with the publisher Taschen to produce My Buddy, supplying the publisher with his collection of vintage photos of nude WWII soldiers.

Michael’s photos of wounded veterans have been shared around the world and have been featured on television: Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Tonight Show,The View, and The Talk. They have been featured in several major newspapers and online periodicals around the world, including: The Independent UK, The Mirror UK, TheDrudge Report, The Huffington Post, The Huffington Post (French Edition), Cosmopolitan, People magazine, BuzzFeed, and Vanity Fair Italy, just to mention a few.

Visit Michael Stokes at his Website or Facebook. Preorder a copy of Always Loyal from publisher Bruno Gmünder or from Amazon!

Making Monsters: The Adorable Creations of Saszka Kanavalau

With Halloween right around the corner, we thought it would be fun to feature some monster based art for the next couple of weeks. So, to kick it off, here's the latest monster creations from Polish artist/animator Saszka Kanavalau.

These adorable illustrations are just the latest in a long line of cute and cuddly terrors. Don't believe me? See for yourself! Check out Saszka's recent and exceptionally wonderful art exhibit titled The Monsters!

Oh, and if you have Instagram, you should probably start following Saszka!  You won't regret it.

 

Exclusive Podcast: Treklenburg Episode #87

Michael Earle and Molly Jay hilariously talk all things Star Trek.
In this episode, Mike and Molly take another crack at whittling down IO9's Top 100 Episode list! Then in depth discussion on episodes: TNG "Lonely Among Us" DS9 "Qless" and VOY "Eye of the Needle."

Original broadcasts of Treklenburg are Monday nights at 8pm EST on www.pmcradio.org.



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Monday Morning Dance Party: Paul Lekakis "Boom Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)"

Today we take a flash back to the 80s with smoking hot Paul Lekakis and his dance hit Boom Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)!" If you are a horror fan, you might also have seen Paul in the gay horror film Hellbent! Anyway, enjoy!

The Poké Life: 1996 - Artist Matt Rockefeller Challenges You To Find All 95 Pokemon

Matt Rockefeller is a freelance illustrator and visual development artist who received his BFA in illustration with a concentration in animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Born in Tucson, Arizona, he escaped the heat by delving into the worlds of comics, animation, and video games, and has found them a source of inspiration in his art. He specializes in creating images that communicate ideas, and he strives to be a storyteller in all aspects of his work.

The Poké Life is a zine about the year Pokémon took the world by storm - 1996. The zine was created as part of a 2014 art show at Light Grey Art Lab called Stacks, featuring 60+ artists creating zines based on one important topic from one specific year.

Rockefeller explains:

The games captured the imaginations of thousands, transforming their environments into Pokémon playgrounds. Each spread depicts a part of the world in which even the people and objects appear to take on the likeness of these adorable, addictive creatures. 95 are hidden within the pages, challenge yourself to find 'em all!

You really need to see Matt Rockefeller's other amazing artwork. Check out his Website, Blog, Behance, Twitter, and buy something from his store!

And, click on any of the images below to blow them up to help find the hidden Pokémon!

Enter To Win A Special Limited Edition Copy of Encyclopedia Madonnica 20

The Gaily Grind and Adammaleblog.com have teamed up to give one lucky winner a free copy of Matthew Rettenmund's 20th Anniversary update of Encyclopedia Madonnica! This wonderful book is the special collectors limited edition run of only 500 copies. This is number 199/500 and comes with a certificate of authenticity. If you love Madonna, this full color, lavishly illustrated 597 page book is a must have. This special edition has exclusive content not available to the version you can buy on Amazon!

Contest entries are open until October 23rd. Winner will be selected randomly from all the entries we receive. Winner will be notified via email.

 ** Please note, we will not use your email and personal addresses for anything other than purposes of this contest. You will not be put on any mailing lists.**

In 1995, Matthew Rettenmund's Encyclopedia Madonnica made its debut thanks to publishing house St. Martin’s Press. For those unaware, Encyclopedia Madonnica is a humorous, irreverently reverent, exhaustive, unofficial A-to-Z on the life and career of Madonna. Well, up until that point in time. Twenty years has passed, so Matthew Rettenmund has decided to update the book to include the happenings, both good and bad, of the last two decades.

Matthew was the founder of Popstar! Magazine back in 1998 and was Editor in Chief of the publication until 2012. Popstar! was the very first teen entertainment title to be published in full color on glossy paper. It is credited as being the blueprint for the teen celebrity magazine market as we currently know it. All the other magazines started imitating Popstar's look and feel. And as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Matthew was the first to cover future teen idols Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, the Jonas Brothers and more.

But, we are just getting started. Rettenmund is also an acclaimed novelist and pop-culture historian. His books include the novel Blind Items: A (Love) Story (1998) and pop-culture non-fiction books Totally Awesome '80s (1996) and Hilary Duff: All Access (2005). And let's not forget the hilarious, politically incorrect spoof Queer Baby Names: A Completely Irreverent Guide to Naming Your Lesbian/Gay Tot, which he co-wrote with Jaye Zimet.

Be sure to visit Matthew's incredible BoyCulture Blog! Follow him on Twitter, too! Aslo, visit The Gaily Grind every day! It's awesome. And...don't forget to ENTER TO WIN!

Exclusive Podcast: Treklenburg Episode #86

Michael Earle and Molly Jay hilariously talk all things Star Trek.
In this episode, Mike and Molly revisit TOS episode "Spock's Brain." Then they set their sights on TNG "Where No One Has Gone Before," DS9 "Captive Pursuit," and Voyager "The Cloud."

Original broadcasts of Treklenburg are Monday nights at 8pm EST on www.pmcradio.org.



How to Subscribe!
iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trekl…ings/id797015608
RSS Feed: www.podcastrevolution.com/viewpodcast.php?pid=3578

Horror Pinups by Karl Von Frankenstein

Only an evil genius like London based artist Karl Von Frankenstein could bring you oil paintings of sexy horror movie icons as sexy pinups. Oil paintings! If you have ever tried oil painting, you know how freakin' difficult this is. So, we are really kind of blown away...not to mention our very confused boners.

If you like what you see, why not buy yourself a print! You can get everything from a canvas replica to a greeting card with your choice of Jason, Michael, or Freddy! Also, be sure to check out Karl Von Frankenstein's Facebook page! His horror icon mug shots are pretty great, too! And please, please, please, let's all encourage Karl to make more!

Monday Morning Dance Party: Kaskade and Galantis "Mercy"

Kaskade's new album Automatic teams him up with some of the greatest talent in dance music, entirely too many to list! But, you can see the full list here. For now, check out the awesome collaboration with Galantis on the track "Mercy."

Speak Up Loud: Social Experiment Video Shows Touching Reactions to Homophobia

Spanish based Federación Estatal LGTB just released an exceptionally touching social experiment video in which a young gay American couple, who speak no Spanish, are trying to find help translating directions to a hostel. Seems simple enough. But, the hostel director has added on a personal note on the directions that stops everyone reading it in their tracks.

This is part of their larger #ConLaVozBienAlta campaign (or in English #SpeakUpLoud). The video ends explaining that 38% of Spain's LGBT community has felt discriminated against or victimized for being who they are, but only 10% have reported it to authorities. They are encouraging people, gay and straight, to speak out against discrimination and report all such cases so they never happen again.

Watch the video.  See if you can stop from tearing up a little. We couldn't. For more information, visit their Website, Twitter, and Facebook.