I Spy At TBRU……

I was not able to make TBRU this year, but had mixed reviews from my friends that did go. One very close-yet-cynical friend here in Houston said "it’s not all that, especially for what you pay". He added that he did, though, have a good time.  (subliminal translation: he and his partner got laid.) Another friend from Mexico promised – and delivered – an account of his time there. Overall, he and his friends from Mexico and Texas enjoyed themselves – without getting lucky.  For those of you who were there, my friend was the one who bid on President Larry’s underwear – and won…..

There seems to be an unspoken competition between TBRU and BearWatch – whose is better; who’s offers more; who’s is a better value. I think I can say in all honesty, despite my being a committee chair for BearWatch, that the two entities cannot be judged by the same criteria. BearWatch is, and always will be, a small, intimate event. Many improvements and upgrades have been made over the past few years (can anyone say BYE BYE, SANDPIPER!), and from what i’ve heard and read, the Dallas Bears followed BearWatch’s lead by distributing a feedback survey after last year’s event asking for opinions, suggestions, and rankings on certain events and issues. A truly responsible person will answer such a survey responsibly – clueless idiots will continue to complete the survey as, well, a clueless idiot.

Bottom line is this…..you can’t please everyone, and I am happy that the Dallas Bears pulled off yet another successful TBRU. I think I’ll try to make next year’s……

Gay Rag In Town Features TBRU – or Does It?

While on the subject of TBRU, I recently picked up a new gay rag in Houston called Gab; similar in style to Red and TWIT – glossy, with a cute twink cover model, and pics from different bars across Texas. Their feature for this past issue was The Faces of TBRU – the ones who make TBRU happen.  The ‘faces’ they featured were not those of the Dallas Bears – but rather the owners of the Eagle. I kept flipping through the pages, ignoring the shiny pics of drag queens, drunk queens, and  cute boys in Speedos thrusting their engorged manhood at me, desperately trying to find more copy about the ‘real’ faces of TBRU – but there was none to be found. I was truly irritated at this gross oversight by the staff of this new mag in town, and quite honestly, hope that someone from the Dallas Bears organization informs them of their complete misrepresentation of those who really do make TBRU happen, and not just the bleached-tooth smiles of some bar owners who, in fact, had comparatively little to do with the planning and implementation of TBRU.