As you've probably seen or heard, MEN Magazine named Johnny Castle as their Man of the Year. Those of you who have seen our Jack Manly Men page at JackManly are well aware that Johnny Castle has been one of our faves for awhile. Granted, he's in that "look but don't touch" school of gay-for-pay pornsters and he does have some pretty vocal detractors, but no one can deny his growth in popularity this past year.  As we've often said he's not for everyone and we hope that sometime he does "real" gay porn, but for now we salute you, Johnny Castle--MEN Magazine Man of the Year.

 We also wonder whether People magazine was amused at all by the  MEN Magazine announcement coming on the heels of their own "Sexiest Man Alive" proclamation, Matt Damon. Oh yes and we think this is a good choice too, although we think it should have been made several years ago when he was still single, eligible and a subject of the "gay or straight?" question. Remember when he and Ben Affleck were rumored to be more than just friends and writing partners? And how each of them was supposedly jealous over their girlfriends (or beards)?  Funny, how all it takes is some bad straight publicity (Jennifer Lopez?) or a few box-office stinkers to quell speculation. 
Nonetheless, Matt Damon still earned himself some gay admiration points for a couple roles as Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley and his turn as a Gay Men's Chorus wannabe and rival of Jack on Will and Grace.

 As for JackManly we'll be naming our own choice for Jack Manly Man of 2007, but it's a little premature for us as there are still a good many days left on the calendar. We've narrowed our choices, but we're still open to suggestions so if any of you have someone in mind that would fit the title of Manly Man of the Year, be sure and post your suggestions here or send us an e-mail to : contact@jackmanly.com.  Who knows--you may change our mind or reinforce our decision.

 We should also take this time to mention one of the companies of the year--Titan Media, the parent of TitanMen, Tiitan Fresh, etc. This past year this company has shown it is more than just a producer of gay male erotica. Sure, it's main focus is porn, but Titan hasn't lost sight of the fact that their fame and success carries responsibility and they are trying to make a difference.

  This past week Titan announced it had donated $25K to the Folsom Street Events  and has established the TitanMen/Folsom Fund, which provides grants to gay men's health organizations. On the list of grant recipients this year were centers in San Francisco. Los Angeles, Chicago, Seatlle and Ft Lauderdale. It's not generally known but aside from being an enteraining annual event, the Folsom Street Events organization gave over $350,000 to charity in 2007. 

 That's not all. 

  Titan sent out press releases urging the gay community to support the MIller Brewing Company which had not only sponsored events like Folsom Street Fair, but also refused to pull its support when right-wing organizations put the pressure on sponsors.

 In October Titan was nominated for several DAVID awards, once regarded as the European equivalent of the GayVN  Awards. However, things changed quickly when the awards were handed out, including a Liifetime Achieveent Award for Titan producer, writer & director Bruce Cam. Bruce Cam refused the award because of the proliferation of honors and tacit approval of barebacking films and studios at the show. The controversy at the awards show was fairly complcated, but Titan took a stand thanks to Keith  Webb, acting on behalf of his partner Cam.

 Also in October Titan filed lawsuits against over 20 online video pirates that had been stealing and downloading Titan films. It was part of a much larger picture of studios like Titan trying to crack down on a growing problem in the industry. It's a costly effort on Titan's part but something that the company felt had to be addressed. 

  For these actions alone, we must also salute Titan Media.