Chris Capone has been working real hard on his new blog site entitled ChrisCapone.com. It is the 'great gangster's blog' all the while being 'gangster fabulous'. You see, Chris Capone is the grandson of the notorious gangster Al Capone.

Chris discovered his legacy at the age of 13 and he put it all down in his book 'Son of Scarface' (website - article with more photos of Chris). And what's really interesting for us is that Chris is a really super cute looking Bear.

I asked Chris what his blog was about and he responded that it's a little of everything and anything. His topics range from the current political debate to talking about what's going on in the entertainment world, all the while interjecting his own opinions and insights. The site is updated all the time so it's definitely something you need to check out, sometimes even twice a day.

Also, I know that Chris is working on something TV related although the cat is not completely out of the bag yet. It's either a reality-like show involving Chris or it might have something to do with Chris being the head of a mob group. Once I know more, I'll pass the news on.

The fall issue of BearParty Mag (website - articles - profile) by the makers of CyberBears is now available and should be hitting your local Bear Bar. There are 25,000 copies printed so surely you can find a copy of one somewhere (cover).

From BearParty: "With the strange weather we've been having lately, there's no way to know what kind of fall we should expect. 2008 has been one of those years full of wild contrasts, from celebrations of gay marriage in California to financial and political turmoil all around the globe. Global warming is changing the face of our planet, and divided economic, political, and religious interests are battling. Somehow, as resources get tighter, the interests of disenfranchised gay people always seem to end up out in the cold. But as we struggle to see light at the end of the tunnel, let's focus on the things we can all be grateful for, such as this community of Bears and Bear-lovers we're all a part of, wherever we may be.

Whether you're on your own right now, or sharing the company of friends and lovers, our convenient Bear community event guide has listings for places to gather and beat the cold all around the world. And if you can't get away, we've also put together a warm and sunny gallery featuring a hot, furry daddy Bear named Dave. Just the sort of guy you would want to curl up with on a cold night, and maybe share a Black Russian, like the one we have featured in our Open Bar section. Then you could pop in that Elijah Black CD, kick back, and maybe check out the hot artwork by Bear artist Danyol on the wall. And hey, if the evening goes well, you might want to get some inspiration from a video or two directed by our featured backroom interviewee, Chris Roma from HotOlderMale ".

Richard Cooey is not too fat to be executed. Awhile back (article), PlanetBears mentioned that death row inmate Richard Cooey was making a plea that he was too fat to be executed for a double murder he committed over 22 years ago. At 5'7 and 267 pounds, he was worried that they will not be able to execute him properly due to bad veins from his obesity. His plea, however, was not accepted and Cooey was executed as scheduled, so says this CNN story.

Greg (profile) of Woobie Bear Music is asking everyone to send in their pics for their new Photo Blog section. From Greg: "I am asking you to send us your low resolution pictures that you may find interesting; pictures of yourself, a vacation, or something funny or naughty (but not  too naughty). We want to post them on the Photo blog and make them available for all to see. Email your pictures to me - Greg Hudson".

Just a reminder - if you have any news or updates to share about your Bear website, then make sure to send it in to PlanetBears - just use the contact form and if it's Bear worthy, we'll post it... and trust me, you'll get traffic directed your way, free of charge.

Put on your spurs and grab your lasso then get ready for the upcoming Bear Pride Cologne (website - articles) and this year's motif is 'Country Bears'. The event takes place in Cologne, Germany (Bear Capital) from November 18th thru the 23rd. This is a full week of Bear goodness.

"This year's International German Bear Pride Cologne offers all that a Bear world could ask for: fabulous parties, great dinners, interesting trips, cozy coffee parties, hot Bear saunas and a fantastic Bear show at the Bear Night with the Mr. Bear Germany contest. Each day of the week there will be a Bear sauna and Bear party. This year's theme 'Country Bears' will be presented by our incomparable Show-master Bernd von Fehrn".

Christophe Jannin's (profile) work has been getting more and more intricate with time and his drawings more detailed and rich with life and colour, all the while holding true to his Bearish roots.

His latest project is quite angelic, literally. Chris has been drawing an Archangel triptych with Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, and the 1st one for us to see is that of Michael (view here). On it reads "Parcere subjectis et debellare superbos" which means "Spare the weak, crush the powerful", a direct reference to what St. Michael's nature signifies.

We will post the other 2 from this set very soon, however make sure to visit his site and read his blog (in French) which goes into much more detail about these wonderful vivid drawings of his. And if you're French is a bit rusty, then join his mailing list and he'll send you these new drawings to you in your email and in English as well. Also take a look at past articles written of him. Chris is seriously one of the cutest artists alive, yes?

Elijah Black is one hot Bearish musician who has been real busy of late making some great stuff. Now you might remember seeing Elijah as he was part of the Bear-quintet that made up Bears on the Run... or you might have seen him playing a gig at Bearapalooza. Well lately Elijah has been working with his band and the results are quite phenomenal.

He has recently completed a new video from his April '08 CD 'Better Man' and its from his song 'Smile for Me'. You can see the video here on YouTube (here's Elijah's YouTube page) and from someone who listens to music all day long (that be me), when I heard this song the very thing I did was turn it up. This is just brilliant, and he's got such a voice, such talent. You need to check it out.

Also, there's some voting going on at Logo Online - you get to vote for your favourite video, and yup, Elijah's video is there for you guys to vote for. Check out the other videos if you like (there's a lot of them) but you will have to admit that Mr. Black has a voice that can soothe any hardened heart. He has definitely put a smile on my face.

Also, visit his MySpace page as well as his official (louder than life) site ~ ElijahBlack.com. You can pick up his albums from there and see a bunch more pics and learn a lot more about him.

As we catch up in Bear With Me world  ~ one on end, Andy has cut all ties with his mother and has pulled out his stocks from the business which looks like it just might ruin the rich Constance. He has done this because he found out that it was his mother that ran his boyfriend Paul out of town. So now Andy has to go off and find Paul and win his heart back. Meanwhile, Paul has decided that he no longer can deal with his crazy family and prepares to set off on his own.

The story continues to intrigue and this cartoon is one of the very sites I check out every Monday, a toon done by Bruin (articles - profile).

It's episode #3 in 'Britain's Next Bear Model'. This great show is headed by Jonathan Robinson (articles - profile) who has made a ton of Bearish videos in the past few years which you can check out from his YouTube page as well as his site FunFur.tv. In conjunction is EuroWoof and the Manchester Bears ManBears who have also been contributing to this fun show.

Right now we're still getting to know the 8 contestants as they all bunk up in a flat together. There's little romances forming here and there, all the while we're hearing touches of gossip. Remember - these men are there to win and to be the very first Bear Model.

How this works is that you watch the shows and you vote for your favourite contestant. In a few weeks, 3 will be chosen to move on to the finals. It's great fun as these cute Bearish men rival, and some of these guys are superbly cute. Stay tuned (and if you haven't been following, here's an article about episode #1 and an article on episode #2).

"Once upon a time a Bear wanted a special t-shirt... and Fat 'n Furry was born. This site was designed with Beary blokes in mind..." and so begins the Beary Fairy tale of this new site which designs t-shirts for Bearish men. Right now, the shop isn't open up quite yet. They are working on making sure everything is in order. However if you want to know when the site is open for business, email them and they'll let you know.

Make sure to check out Britain's Next Bear Model episode #3 and you'll see a 'Fat 'n Furry' photo shoot with the 8 contestants. On their main page you'll see the shots taken from that shoot. I'm hoping they will post more pics of those cute UK models and in a bit more higher resolution.