Daddyhunt, which boasts around 4 million members, is using its platform and social media channels to focus on suicide awareness and prevention and domestic violence.
Since the creation of the Daddyhunt website over 15 years ago, “Daddyhunt has focused on educating its members about sexual health issues as well as creating a stigma-free environment for those living with HIV/AIDS. While connecting people is a vital part of our mission, we also want to use our platform to educate our members and fans about important issues affecting the gay community”, says Casey Crawford, Daddyhunt’s General Manager.
Through stories and posts on Instagram and Facebook as well as its weekly newsletter to 4+ million global members, Daddyhunt now shares national suicide awareness and domestic violence abuse hotlines for the US and other countries as well as articles related to how to assist friends or family who are dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts.
The app’s social media manager Nebojsa Cirok told THEGAYUK, “Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and the increase in suicide rates within the LGBTQ+ community and increases in domestic violence, it is important for us to focus on the issue even more and to educate as many people as we can reach about awareness and prevention programs and hotlines,”
“While we recognize that a lot of people view and follow our social media to see Daddies, we felt that it was incredibly important to highlight these issues. The feedback that we have received from our members and followers has been positive”
TGUK have reviewed Audi’s smallest offerings with its City Carver and Sportback and both cars we liked. But this little upmarket Inglostadt offering doesn’t really bring anything new to the small car market. There was a time when Audi decided to reinvent the car.
This was a time when the city car was given a big shakeup by the Germans with Mercedes and its A class that would fall over like a drunken sailor and Audi with its A2 made from the metal stuff that is more commonly used to make Coke cans. Both cars taking Avant-Garde styling to a new maximum.
Originally presented in 1997 and launched in 1999, the A2 was so far out there that you could be mistaken for driving a concept car from the design studio. For a small car, the aluminium shell was unheard in a market of cheap city cars where the Audi would do its battle. Along with the reinvention of the car, Audi had also tried to reinvent the small car price tag with it.
The shape was somewhat unusual too, being tall and slim with an unusual roofline. This was more than wacky flicks or a slip of the designer’s pen because the whole shape gave a CD figure of up to 0.29. Exceptionally low which the driving position wasn’t. The A2 was a talking point in the wine bars along with the bonnet that didn’t open.
There wasn’t really a bonnet to open you see. Instead, you had a service hatch in the grill where you could top up the screen wash and engine oil. So when the car overheated you were left wondering how because it’s air-cooled right? Wrong.
To get to the engine that you weren’t supposed to unless you were an Audi dealer, was to release some clips and remove the bonnet panel away from the car, leave it on the floor where you’d eventually trip over it. A novel idea if somewhat of a ballache. I still don’t quite understand what was wrong with a normal bonnet?
This was all new and revolutionary. The ’90s were a time to be alive for car design. Along with Audi and Mercedes, a few others had a go at reinventing the wheels and some outside Germany achieved the impossible. But Audi went for the small cars. They needed something to break to mould in a market dominated by the humdrum of Fiesta’s and Corsa’s that were so commonplace. To do this Audi did what they did best. They made it really expensive. So expensive that you could almost buy 2 new base Rover 100’s for the price of 1 Audi.
Audi, however, didn’t care. This was a car designed for a new era in city motoring. They gave us a boxy car with round corners that gave it exceptional aerodynamics clothed in an all aluminium frame so it weighed absolutely nothing and wouldn’t rust. Not that Audi was known for making rot boxes but aluminium used to construct a car was seen as an unseen luxury that you got on the Audi A8 super barge or the Jaguar saloons now found languishing with fridge freezers on the drives of shady houses.
On paper alone, it looked great. A totally new concept of construction and luxury with refinement only being there when parked on the driveway. For some reason, Audi had managed to make the A04 platform ride quite terribly. Germanic spring rates that would work well on an Audi A4 Quattro with all the prowess of a monster car did little to help the A2. The A2 did not need such ride attributes and yet it was fitted with them. The motoring press said it was a hoot to drive and it was but…
Not such a problem if going fast was your favourite past time but it wasn’t. You couldn’t nip down the shops at 70mph. Instead, you kept it slow and to the legal limits and were rewarded for your pain by great fuel economy of over 100mpg in the A2 TDI.
The Audi A2. The car that failed to reinvented the city car because it was too far ahead of its time. And that’s why it’s in the good section of The Gay UK’s GBU. Audi used its 4 rings of confidence to shake things us and make things different.
Just don’t mention the amount of cash Audi lost on each A2 sold!
I’ve always used full-face helmets, and always sports bike/race style lids. Open face helmets have never really appealed and I wouldn’t consider not wearing one, no matter where I was.
When AGV offered to let me try their SportModular flip front lid I was a bit sceptical, but I’m always open to new ideas, so thought I’d give it a go.
There’s a lot going on with the AGV SportModular so let’s start with a bit of a run down about the helmet and its features.
This is a 100% full carbon fibre shell, even the flip part of the helmet is full carbon, unlike many other flip front helmets. This is no easy task, it’s a very complex shape and tolerances need to be tight. The end result is a very strong and light helmet. It has the same impact resistance as a race helmet such as AGVs own Pista GP R (Rossi’s helmet) but with the practicality of a flip-up helmet. Another benefit of the full carbon fibre shell is that it looks stunning. Another benefit of carbon fibre construction is the weight or lack of it. AGV has created a flip front helmet with outstanding impact resistance and lightweight, just 1295kg (for the smallest size. The bigger sizes will weigh more).
To open the front, there is a simple forward hinging latch under the centre of the chin. This has been designed to prevent accidental openings and is simple to use, even with winter gloves and incredibly strong.
Ventilation is effective and simple too.
You have a centre chin vent which works by sliding up to close or down to open, nice and easy, even in winter gloves. You have a centrally positioned vent on the top which again slides back to open and forward to close, nice and easy, and there is an exhaust combined with a kind of flip-up spoiler which is supposed to reduce turbulence too. With the vents open, you are rewarded with a pleasant and noticeable little breeze through the helmet.
The visor has AGVs patented multistep visor lock mechanism and patented extra quick release system. This means it locks in the closed position and is opened with a button at the bottom edge of the visor in the centre. You lock the visor fully closed, or in a slightly open position which means as the speed increases, it won’t snap shut on you. It’s also an optic class 1 visor, so the best visual quality there is, and its scratch proof.
You will also benefit from the pinlock 120 which is included with the SportModular, and my helmet was delivered with a tinted visor which is an option. Both are excellent additions. The tinted visor is great for the recent fantastic weather, but as the sun turned to rain, it wasn’t too dark. Changing the visor is simple with AGVs patented multistep visor lock mechanism. It’s simplicity itself to use and very secure. It also has an incredible 190-degree field of vision.
Pinlock is actually a new experience for me but was a bit of a revelation. It’s really easy to fit and is very effective. If you haven’t used it, it’s like fitting double glazing to your visor. There are pins at the edges of the visor and a kind of secondary visor fits on the inside on your main visor, with a small silicon edge to make a seal. The end result is a visor that almost never mists up. It’s a simple but very effective system.
Finally for the visors, in addition to all of this stuff, there is an internal, flip-down sun visor. You flip it down by using a simple slider on the left-hand side of the helmet, on the bottom edge at the side. You push the little slider back and the anti-scratch sun visor drops down. Slide it forward and the visor flips back up. I’ve got a big nose and wear glasses and it was fine. It almost touched my nose, but not quite.
AGV have fitted the SportModular with a fully-removable lining as you would expect. There is a removable skull cap that can be removed, reversed and replaced, and has a warmer and a cooler side. To keep your head safe in the event of an off, there is a five-part EPS (expanded polystyrene) insert that provides differing densities at the top, front, rear and sides.
SportModular comes with two chin skirts, so you can create a tighter seal, or remove it altogether. The lining allows for glasses wearers to use the helmet comfortably and there are removable pads by your ears to allow the fitment of an intercom or communication device.
AGVs SportModular is available in eight sizes from XXS – XXXL and in a range of colours and finishes. Mine is the Ray Carbon/White/Yellow Fluo.
What’s it actually like to live with? Well, I’ve used it for a while now in all kinds of weather and on various bikes. I’ve probably covered a couple of thousand miles in everything from heavy rain to glorious sunshine.
Several observations spring to mind. One of them is the weight. Despite the integral sun visor and flip front, it’s a light helmet. Saying that I add weight unfortunately but sticking an action camera to it, and also a Cardo PackTalk Bold communication system. Despite this, it’s still a very comfortable helmet and can easily be worn for hours at a time.
As a newbie to flip-up lids, it took a moment to get used to it. I’ve always thought they looked a little odd, but actually they are a great idea.
I was worried I might look a little odd until I pulled up at some lights and a custom Harley pulled up next to me, low, fat back tyre, loud and the dude riding it was pretty damn cool. As I looked over to give him a sheepish nod, I saw he had a flip front helmet, flipped up.
Generally, I keep it closed, but when it’s really warm and at low speed, in traffic, I flip it up and it’s great. Also, when I stop or at petrol stations, I flip it up and can talk without shouting to be heard.
I found the flip front easy to open and close, but the visor is a little fiddly with winter gloves on.
Talking of noise, it’s a bit noisy. Not bad but certainly not whisper quiet. You should wear earplugs at speed although I have fitted the Cardo so can’t. I’ll do a separate review of the Cardo shortly for you all.
When all is said and done, It’s a really nice helmet, well made and with some great features. In my experience, it was comfortable and practical and I really like it.
Big Brother‘s Aaron Frew has unveiled quite a shocking new hair colour.
Normally when celebs reveal a new, daring hair colour it might be a silver or a true platinum blonde (ala Adam Lambert), but Big Brother star Aaron has gone for a Bart Simpson YELLOW – and we’re actually really kinda digging it.
The star uploaded a picture of his new look to his Instagram profile, saying, “it’s yellow season bitches”.
Celebrity hairstylist Carl Bembridge remarked that the shocking colour was definitely a winner for the model saying, “This looks sick”.
The look certainly has gone down well with the reality star, turned model’s fan base as it amassed over 2000 likes.
The Great British Sewing Bee presenter Joe Lycett has taken to social media to shine a spotlight on some of his favourite eateries, in an effort to get Britain eating out again.
Of course, you may have heard of the Government’s scheme to help the ailing hospitality industry called, Eat Out To Help Out which encourages the UK’s citizens to don its collective mask and go and eat out, (but stay home unless absolutely necessary) at restaurants, pub and cafes around the UK, which have signed up to its Eat Out scheme. The scheme offers would-be punters a whopping 50 per cent off their food bills (maximum £10 per person).
You can follow the online discourse by clicking on #EatOutToHelpOut.
Support local
Doing his part, Joe has highlighted some of his favourite eateries around the Birmingham area saying that Nandos “don’t need you right now”.
However, it seems he has an issue with the campaign’s primary hashtag which is #EatOutToHelpOut calling it “discriminatory”. Instead, the comedian offered a number of other campaign slogans which may or may not whet your appetite, including
Eat Out Or Wank Off A Lad For Dinner, or Handjob And A Curry and our personal favourite Spaff And A Snack.
We’re not entirely sure restaurateurs are going to be 100 on board with this… but you never know.
Hang out in the area and see who’s about. If someone catches your eye, give a little cough to let him know you’re interested. Be wary of non-cruisers and dog walkers.
[adinserter block=”13″]
Are you planning to be here later? Have you been here before? Let other guys know by using the comments below.
Hang out in the area and see who’s about. If someone catches your eye, give a little cough to let him know you’re interested. Be wary of non-cruisers and dog walkers.
[adinserter block=”13″]
Are you planning to be here later? Have you been here before? Let other guys know by using the comments below.
A Sunbeam Rapier popped up on Twitter recently and it got me thinking about automotive exotica.
Today, exotica is an over used word and set for the expensive machines from Ferrari, Lamborghini and the like. Cars that the everyday man, woman, beast, boy or girl can only dream about or buy on a PCP deal.
In the early 1980s, there was a 70’s blue Sunbeam Rapier fastback parked down the road from the family home. Long, flowing and sleek with pillar-less doors and glass that vanished into the body, cut at the back with a thick black pillar and finished with a fixed window. Long because, at the time and still unusual today, it was built on the 98” estate chassis of the Hillman Hunter. It had 4 lights on the front and shiny wheel embellishers. That was always guaranteed to give the image of sporty styling.
Parked alongside our 1979 Datsun Sunny saloon, it looked so exotic. Like a million dollars of exotica with a hint of American muscle thrown into the mix. By the time I started to notice the Rapiers, they were obsolete from the car showrooms. The Sunbeam brand having been renamed Chrysler in 76 and the whole company becoming part of Peugeot in 1979.
That didn’t matter though because what we had here to a 5-year-old was eye candy. And a wanton lust for this sex machine even though I didn’t know what any of those words meant back then. I was desperate for my father to buy the family something exciting. In 1982, he bought a Nissan Sunny 1.3 DX. Nissan sold a coupe version of the Sunny. He could have bought that. I was devastated. The car in the showroom was the 1.5 GL model. It had door bins in the door handles. I had plans for what to put in mine. The DX didn’t have them! I lived a poor life as a child.
And so the posters on my bedroom wall changed with each passing fancy. Sadly there were no Sunbeam Rapier posters available so I had to make do with a Ferrari Testarossa and then the Coca-Cola Beetle. Affordable exotica was being overtaken with 80’s excesses and greed. Soon, boys up and down the country were actually wanting cars that actually went fast as well as looking fast.
It seemed Ford’s Capri was struggling at this time too. Its sleek practical 3 door shape being outsold by just about every hatchback with a spoiler on the back. Exotic lines, once the darling of the man who looked set to go places fast, no longer cut it with the affordable price tag in 1986. Affordable exotica appeared to be old fashioned. A bit naff and hairy chested. Suddenly exotica HAD to be expensive and HAD to be fast.
And there is nothing wrong with that as such. It’s just that with these changes of desire, there also comes an ability to be able to handle them. Something, many it would seem are so desperately lacking. You can’t open social media these days without someone filming a jerk in a hyper car having lost control 300 yards up the street. You never got that with the driver of a Sunbeam Rapier Fastback back in the day. It would have taken them 12.8 seconds to get to 60 and the top speed was only 103mph anyway.
To me, it’s always about style and never about going fast. In today’s clogged up roads, there are very few times in the daylight hours that you will actually find what was once termed “the open road” and be able to exercise your chosen 4 wheeled steed. Arriving is always favourable anyway so getting to your destination is a bonus.
And through the years, these affordable cars with exotic looks have slowly vanished from our daily grind on the rush hour commute. Take a look around you and the car in front will be an SUV. In front of that another SUV sub compact lifted car and in front of that another one.
What has happened is there are no affordable poster cars for today’s youth to dream about. There is nothing really exciting this side of a big BMW price tag. And even they are now making SUV’s with a misjudged use of the word ‘Coupe’ in them. It would seem sleek isn’t sexy anymore.
Today, we live out our fantasies on Twitter, Instagram and snap-chat. Some as influencers in vehicles that clearly are not their own while bragging about what coat they wore while a few have actually invested in them. And then there is that investment. Pictures flooding social media, garages packed with expensive cars. Cars that do very little except gather dust.
It is all getting a bit samey these days. And here we go back to my original question. Despite being told that the young aren’t really into cars anymore, are there any affordable exotic cars that the young dream of owning? What are they actually going to be able to aspire too? At £271,146, a Lamborghini Aventador isn’t going to be achievable for many and I’m quite sure it isn’t going to be a Sports Utility Vehicle they want either.
Look at it another way, a modest 2 bedroom house where I live is valued at £350,000 and it doesn’t even come with a garage. You’ll not want to park your car with a similar price tag on the street now, will you?
Many thanks to Andy from Twitter @addict_car for the Sumbeam Rapier pictures
The words cock and sucker are bandied about a lot. It’s one of the phrases that almost gets a pass, and then you really hear it and you think, “hang on a minute” that person is being called a slur, based on the assumption that sucking cock is a bad thing and when it’s directed at another man, it’s deemed even more of a diss.
Now, to be honest, I’m not sure we hear it a lot here in the UK, but I have heard it a lot on TV shows, particularly US shows and Hollywood films – who have thunk it, Hollywood being accused of homophobia!
Anyway, someone recently asked on the AskGayMen subreddit whether “cocksucker” was a homophobic insult and it opened up a good discussion on the use of the word.
To start off, as one user pointed out, it’s not just an insult to gay men, but to women and bi men as well, while another wrote, that calling someone a CS was both “homophobic and misogynistic”.
Another added, that if it was intended as an insult then it was homophobic, which was echoed by another use with: “It’s said as an insult, and clearly targets homosexual men.
“It implies that being a gay man is wrong”
“Demeaning”
This person added, “Yes, it is a homophobic insult. Calling someone a cocksucker (always towards another guy) is meant to wound them because to a straight guy, nothing is more demeaning than to be compared to a gay man. Cock sucker, fudge packer, all insults revolving around sexual acts. All pathetic attempts to show off how manly they are”.
Submission as a bad thing
So when did submission become something to be ridiculed and why is it?
One person gave context to the insult explaining, “Yes it’s technically an insult. Because it’s intended that sucking cock is generally viewed as being submissive and it’s usually something women do, implying that being a woman or submissive is a bad thing.
“But when in a sexual context, many people love being called a cocksucker, both men and women, because they feel more slutty, and being slutty is generally seen as taboo or something you shouldn’t be, because of cultural and religious reasons, and sexual freedom is seen as the enemy of the society.”
So, when it’s said to you to make you seem submissive, it’s bad, but when it’s said to you, in the moment of actually cocksucking and dirty talk is your thing then it’s good. Got it.
So basically, yeah. It’s homophobic, let’s stop using it unless of course, you are actually a cocksucker and you like being called one.
