Shiver My Timbers!

Last night at the Evening with OTH, there was talk about Austin not being handsome enough for the network, but handsome enough to make Joe Davola go gay for him. Of course in the season 9 highlights they show that handsome mug getting the beat down.

Later they asked what would you be if you weren't an actor. Austin's answer?
A pirate.

And on this day of make believe and hijinks you have to wonder what kind of pirate would he be?

Maybe he's talking the Hollywood pretty pirate?
Hey his long wig and Jake's hair accessories from PoP he's half way there.Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

Or it could be The 1979 Pittsburgh PiratesWe are Family!

Maybe he's a little nostalgic with childhood memories of the Princess Bride's Dread Pirate Roberts. Now who could his real life Buttercup be?

Or the Spongebob's Painty the Priate impressions that Jake does got to him. (Halloween M&M's to M&M)

Or the buck he keeps talking about being is a Buccaneer?Maybe he just loves the clothesWell blow me down.

Or like Black Bart the jewels and jewelry.
Or maybe he wants to be a literary pirate and little Treasure Island"They don’t call me Long John because my head is so big."

You know it's all about the Pirate booty and when you got it you got it.
This oneor this one?
And for a guy with a bourbon for a name, and a vodka for a "nic name" you have go for the trifecta of alcohol personae..... Captain Morgan.Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

But just could be that he loves
Jake and the Pirates

Here's to lots of sweets and not too many screams.
And if they ask, tell 'em Frank sent you.

photo credit: OTH-twitpic

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is someone who has not been out for a long time, in fact they just came out this past week. A pro athlete and captain of his team, he made the courageous step at the age of justtwenty-two and early in his sports career. Today's Out Spotlight is Welsh rugby player Jed Hopper.

The 22-year-old back row rugby forward for Old Redcliffians Rugby club came out to family and friends earlier this year but hadn't come out publicly until last week.

Hooper played his first game for his hometown Bristol, England club at the age of six on a youth team, before he went on to Gloucester Academy. As young man he went on to play rugby for Hartpury, Cinderford and Newbury, returning to his hometown team two seasons ago.

He said he first became aware that he might be gay when he was 14. "Even then I had a bit of a hard man image because of my rugby, and that made me think 'no I'm not gay', but at the age of 15, in my heart of hearts, I was sure. At school, I didn't want to be with a girl and I couldn't be with a boy."

He, like many others have, grappled with his true identity. No one would ever know what the rough and tough rugby playing teen was going through, the anxiety from working through his sexuality identity and the turmoil of a leading a double life led him to drink into a stupor at different points over past 7 years. Hooper also admitted there short period when he cut himself, "because I thought I might be able to cut this out of me."

Known to speak as directly off the pitch as he does in his pre-match talks with his teammates, he had never spoken openly about his sexuality. Just a handful of people who knew after he told them at the beginning of 2011.

After meeting a guy who told him that he could not be with someone who was still in the closet he was spurred to come out.

"I met someone earlier this year who said he could not be with someone who was in the closet. That, basically, was the catalyst that I needed."

"Before that, I think I had already told about ten friends and their reaction was very positive so that gave me an inkling of what might happen. And I also thought if the crap really hits the fan then at least there are ten people on my side!"

Despite his decision to come out , it wasn't that easy to carry out. Even with the support of those who already knew he still agonized over it.

"I was never going to do it bit by bit, that would have been too drawn out, so I decided to text everyone and also put it on Facebook.

"I was horribly nervous. I wrote and rewrote the text four or five times, and I had my finger on the 'send' button for ages before I finally pushed it.

"The text basically said something along the lines that 'I've been hiding it and fighting it for too long, and I can't hide any more. If you can accept me this way then great ... and if you can't then I don't need you and you can get lost!'

"I then cried my eyes out as I was thinking to myself 'what have you done?, but very quickly I must have had 40 replies and all of them were positive."

He said as soon as he made the announcement it he felt relief. "A massive weight came off my shoulders. If I couldn't accept myself the way I am, how could I expect my friends to?"

A team captain, who knows the honor and importance of the position, the Old Red's chairman as one of the first people he went to talk to after his announcement.

"I said that if the club doesn't want a gay man as its figurehead I would understand and step down. But he was brilliant and said 'you're our captain and this doesn't change anything'. That support was massive to me."

The club included their captain's announcement on their website. And it wasn't just the front office who was supportive but his teammates as well on and off the pitch.

In the clubhouse the traditional locker room dissin' and talk didn't stop it just took a bit of turn.

"No punches were pulled with questions from the rugby lads, that's for sure. I can't repeat some of the things I was asked, but I've always been someone who has been at the centre of any banter flying around, and the only thing that's changed is the type of banter."

Reaction to his news has been overwhelmingly positive among the community, the fans, and other players. Hooper said there has been only one comment said on the pitch, that he had to step in and stopping his teammates "from kicking things off" to defend him.

But don't look for him to change on the field, saying he might be a little less aggressive now that his anxiety of being in the closet is gone, but he's still the rough tough aggressive competitor he's always been. He's just a much nicer guy in the bar after the match.

His hope is that his story will help other young rugby players and others come to terms with their sexuality."If anyone is reading this and they're in the same situation as me, all I want to say is don't bottle things up because, trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The world's not against you. If my story can help one person then this has been worth it."

...Farm living is the life for me....

Jake was wheeling and dealing last Wednesday, and it wasn't Soul Cycle, but food and that for Jake it is where his soul is-food, along with friends, and family and.... farming

Jake dusted off the fanciest duds he has for his East Coast adventure and did his best Rumplejakeskin for an evening event to raise money for the Edible Schoolyard program in NYC.

The host was fashion designer Lela Rose and her husband Brandon Jones who opened their TriBeCa loft to chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant (a Jake fav) and guests who each contributed a $1000 to the schoolyard program.

Jake's childhood friend designer Sophie Buhai was there as well.With a table that wowed the crowd, it almost compete with the food for the main attraction.

Starting off with radishes dipped in butter, the dinner moved on to Spanish mackerel poached in kalamata olive oil and braised duck legs with lentils, black chickpeas and chanterelles.

Jake took a few minutes to speak to the gathering that raised $120,000 and spoke to a couple of columnist inthe fashion world. What about? Food, family, friends and farming.

He spoke about how family dinners around the table were especially important to him, how they grew food in their garden and shopped at the Farmers Market.

"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden."

And while it was a little upscale in menu selections Jake brought back down to earth with talks about pizza.
"I love going to these schools and making kale pizza with the kids."

Jake talked about how important home gardens and farmers market played in his life and how he was a part of the slow food movement growing up without even knowing it.

"I didn't realize that I grew up in the slow food movement. I see children who didn't know any of these things—that they can grow their own food and learn about vegetables when they are at a primary level. It was everything to me, so I wanted to be involved. Since knowing about this organization, I've done everything I can."Talking more about ESY, he said:

“To me, this is a fiercely political topic, even though it seems like an easy one to actually put into practice. Even though an event like tonight’s might seem elitist, it is about incorporating one of the least expensive things you can do. It just takes time, attention and love, which oddly is an incredibly difficult thing for people to do in this world.”

A fashion reporter got a little one on one time with Jake and got a few more insights of the "the sexiest farmer alive". (Like maybe why he makes kale pizza with kids)

"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden. One of my best friends is a farmer. It's been a primary focus of my life. "

And the kale?

Asked what his favorite veggie is, he picks an Italian kale that some may know as black leaf kale.

"I'd say right now, after an extensive search over the years and living the wonderful life that I've had so far, and after tasting many, many vegetables...cavolo nero. It's like a really soft kale. You can eat it any form: cooked, raw..."

And going Green Acres from there it's about farming and one of his best buds Chris.
"I was raised in Los Angeles, but I spent my summers, since I was born, in Martha's Vineyard. My best friend, since we were little kids, lives there, and he's a farmer. His whole family farms. I know it might seem odd, but it's what I love more than anything. Being in gardens have been some of the most wonderful times of my life. Washing lettuce and watching things grow...you feel connected to the world. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything that connects you to the universe in the same way that planting a seed does."

And their follow up for the friend of farmers:

That's so sweet! And now you've got a beard like a real farmer.

Seeds of growth!

A programming note:
See Jake go au natural in a whole different way tonight at 8pm EDT when Love and Other Drugs premieres on HBO.

Tricked out of Treats

Get the coffeeGet something healthy for breakfast.It has pandas on it... it has to be healthy.

Yesss.. you went shopping....ohhh yeah ...Halloween candy here I come.........wait a minute!?!?!?
Ohh come on... I got you coffee and ate the panda cereal, why can't I have a Snickers? Kale is not a snack.

Happy Austin Friday

Back to the House

When Destiny pointed out how she had completely forgotten about House of Usher, it sounds like it's time to go home again.

Back in the Spring of 2005, Austin came east to Massachusetts to shoot House of Usher.

It's the retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher.
Austin played Roderick "Rick" Usher contacts his former lover Jill Masters (Izabella Miko) after three years, when her best friend, Madeline "Maddy" Usher, and Rick's twin sister suddenly passes away. Maddy's last wish was for Jill to attend the funeral. Conflicted, Jill returns to the Usher family home to fulfill Maddy's wish and during her stay rekindles her affair with Rick.She learns Rick suffers from the same disease that robbed his twin sister, of her sharp mind and ultimately her life.

The illness is a rare nerve condition, which makes Rick hypersensitive. He is under the very careful watchful and controlling eye of the caretaker, Nurse Thatcher (Beth Grant). Staying on at the Usher's, Jill seems to be haunted by the ghost of her best friend and finds out that she is pregnancy with Rick's child.She also discovers the Usher family secret....On a limited budget it allowed for just 16 days of shoot and an unusual location stood in for the Usher home. It was the Sea View nursing home in Rowley, MA that served as the house and the cast and crew work in unused areas of the building, and on off hours when the residents were sleeping.
They also got the opportunity to shoot a more few scenes in the coast town of Newburyport as in Danvers, MA.

The Sea View was perfect for a horror movie because of its age, size, and grounds and the owner of the nursing home agreed to donate the location for the film. He welcomed the activity that the film brought to his residents.The nursing home's basement and attic were used. Storage spaces were turned into the bedrooms with peeling paint and aging wallpaper. The greenhouse, and secret passage discovered in the house nursing home was incorporated into the story.

Twisted and dark, it's Austin like you haven't seen before.

One more thing: Austin talked about the People's Choice Awards. You think he voted for someone else when he was writing in his name in the TV category?