why is so much gay shit so gawdawful tacky?

This should be in the Louvre.

I don't what is funnier, the fact the he wants $500 for the steaming pile or the fact that he intended to keep it forever.

I think it's sad.

What, no "Currently Hanging" header??

NSFWEwwww!

OWWW!!! MY EYES!!!

Oh yeah, if I had an extra $500 plus crating and international shipping charges, I'd donate it to the Vatican--where it would doubtless disappear into the apartment of some high apostolic wanker.

Looks like Kurt Warner.

@ 1 - Believe me, straight people have no monopoly on tacky. I've seen gay guys' houses that are decorated like they're in the Court of Louis XIV.

My ex did a watercolor of me in the nude, back when I was a semi-hot thirtysomething, it's much better than this could-have-been-on-black-velvet horror. And, unlike Mr. Jones' physique, I ain't no great shakes.

What's the deal with male homosexuality and sex anyway? Is there evidence the gay brain is wired differently in that area or is just that the typical male sex drive is easier to satisfy when you are gay?

The acne scars that he has now would have always been there, so why are they left out of the paining?

OH RITE,

for the same reason his pecs look like....oh man I can't even think of an analogy that exists in the physical world.

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@11: Whaaaaat?

Also, did Mike Jones ever look like that?

And how unwisely did he spend all his press-whore money that he has to sell his belongings?

buy it Dan, buy it.

In your offices it will be a real addition, as your offices look like shit

for you, bet he will take 400.00

tax deduction as furnishings, tell Keck

the consummate whore

of his services and his goods

11, perhaps this exchange from "The Beard" episode of Seinfeld might help you understand:
------------------------------------------
"Elaine: Well here's the thing. Being a woman, I only really have access to the, uh... equipment, what, thirty, forty-five minutes a week. And that's on a good week. How can I be expected to have the same expertise as people who *own* this equipment, and have access to it twenty-four hours a day, their entire lives.

Jerry: You can't. That's why they lose very few players.

Elaine: Yeah, I guess I never really stood a chance."
------------------------------------------

Also, I feel bad for Mr. Jones. He deserves better, but I also can't see anyone really wanting that painting, or paying $500 for it.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be butt-whores

Hi Mike. Thank you for your efforts to expose the reverend. I'll bet at least half of the people that trash you have hired sex workers at some point.

Every gay boy should have a picture of himself in his 'prime'.
Cause when he hits thirty and is no longer beautiful and buff the 'Lifestyle' is going to throw him in the trash.
And he may want to have something to remind him of the 'good' times.

@ 11 - Very valid questions, Bryan, and ones that many gay guys are afraid to answer, lest they appear like "sex maniacs." They push this sugar-coated idea that we're exactly like straight guys, except that our attractions are directed towards guys instead of women. That's not really true.

Yes, I think gay guys DO think about sex more often than straight guys. There are a couple of things at work here. First, as you suggested, it's easier to find someone to relieve one's sexual tensions with than it is for straight guys, simply because it's two guys instead of a guy and a gal, and guys are generally more receptive to the idea of "just having sex" than women are.

Second, gay people are forced to think about their sexuality more often than straight people. This is because we're in the minority in terms of sexuality; I'll bet black people think about being black more often than white people think about being white, same kind of deal. And thinking about one's sexuality leads very easily into thinking about sex.

There's also some overcompensation at work here, too: many gay men react to societal taboos on homosexuality, and sexuality in general, by swinging wildly in the other direction, and wind up spending all weekend in a bathhouse, something a straight guy (if there were straight bathhouses) probably wouldn't do. Like Mr. Savage says, most straight guys don't get enough sex, and most gay guys get too much. I don't know how you judge "enough" and "too much", but there's a lot of truth in his statement.

All of this stems, I think, from our roots. The dominant culture in America, that is, white "culture," was created by the intensely religious, intensely sex-negative Puritans. It is, as white people, the legacy we're left with, and we deal with it in any number of ways, some of them healthy and some of them not so healthy. I've noticed that Latino culture is very different in this respect. Even though they're intensely Catholic, they have, I think, a much healthier attitude towards sex and their bodies. We, as white people, with our cultural blinders, see this as Latinos being very "sexy," or even "over-sexed."

OK, this is what I'd do if I were that mouse Savoir Faire (who is gay): I'd take down the portrait of Mao Tiananmen Square and put this up instead. Then I'd snap my fingers and go, "Savoir Faire is everywhere!" and run off.

The Stranger frat boy contingent sure can be -phobic and insecure.

I feel sorry for Mike. I think he did the right thing exposing Haggard, and in thanks lost his employment (such as it was) and has been dissed by the gay community, and ignored by the same media that has fawned over Haggard's comeback tour (gag me!).

Still, no matter how sorry I feel for Mike, I wouldn't give him $5 for that ugly ass painting. Eww.

I think I'll get it for my wife.

Did Mel from Flight of the Conchords paint that?

I feel bad for the guy, I really do. But jeezus what kind of ego do you have to have in order to even consider a painting like this of yourself?!

When I was in HS there was a girl who had pictures of herself in a bikini adorning her binder.

Same shit at work - I just thought that post-high school, some of that vanity falls away and you turn into a regular person. Obviously I was wrong.

Y'know what? Ted Haggard would still be head of the National Evangelical Association, busy bashing gays, and the head of a mind-bendingly backward church if it weren't for Mike Jones. Wrong religion, but some of you extremely unkind and nasty-bitch posters ought to be a little more wary of Karma. Geez.

28
The Queer Church is just as hateful, bigoted and narrow minded as any of the other cults it flatters itself to think it is superior to.

Huh? What did I miss? (And Goddammit, who the fuck woke me up?)

@19 - Right on! Furthermore I bet none of the trashers ever lifted a finger to bring up the community than tear down one of its members. Interesting that every attack is a personal nature - none is based on anything objective. Jones did more for glbt rights by outing Haggard than HRC did in any one year!

Sad what has become of Mike Jones. But speaking from someone who was homeless for several months 8 years ago; if you make bad choices you have to correct those choices. No one will honestly give a shit about you. The only person who really cares and has a stake in your survival is the person staring at you in the mirror.

I feel bad for you, Jones. :-(

We're in a bad recession on top of everything, so it might be hard to get a buyer. We know Ted doesn't want anything to do with the painting.

#12 - you've got a point about the exaggerated nature of that painting, but if you remember the details of Haggard case, those might not be acne scars.

part of me does feel bad for the guy, but sex workers have a lot in common with dairy products...they should be taken off the shelf before their expiration date.

so ted was a hypocrite. so are we all in one way or another. though we are not all gay, i doubt we would like our dirty laundry and dirty little secrets outed for the world, no matter who we are or what we do. this guy was providing a service and getting paid. you out him, guess what, you're outed too. now everyone's upset about who is getting attention. what was mike expecting, ticker tape parades and nike endorsements? does no one watch what happens at the end of this stuff? it's always the mistress, prostitute, gay lover, church secretary who ends up worse off than the cheater, john, closeted gay, or preacher. he'll have to do what the others did, find a second act and stop making a public spectacle of yourself. my God. he is not innocent. he's a drug dealing prostitute - but because he is gay and outed a hypocritical minister, he's a heroic whistle blower. GMAFB.

Personally, I think everyone should have good black and white photos of themselves to remind them of "back in the days". Sorry, but the painting's pretty awful. If it was a photo, it'd have a better chance - because while that may be how he idealizes himself, that's not what he looks like. (I should point out that he does look better than that painting.)

He could always be a Sex-Advice Columnist.

Oh, wait...

This is kinda sad. Ted Haggard shouldn't be doing better than Mike Jones...and he shouldn't get more respect either. (Ted does too! He gets called less vicious insults and more people feel sorry for him than Mike! Ewwww.) If I had the money, I'd buy it and send it to Peter La Barbara.

John Water's would buy it.

@40 Haha, actually, I could believe that.

Well it's obvious. Someone should buy it and give it back to him.
Thanks Mike!

#42 - YES!! Brilliant idea! If I could scrape together $200 I would do that. Clearly Jones wants to keep the picture, but he is hurting for money. Consider it a donation to a friend in need.

Overall, tho, longterm it would be nice if someone offers Jones a job. He's obviously very bright and skilled, he didn't have ANY help dealing with the media etc, he was on his own, I guess he learned it as he went along.

Fcuk the naysayers. Mike Jones did a wonderful thing for the gay movement (and the truth).