Contact Us In this issue…

President Pride March 2010 Page 2

Rick Cooper Prez Sez Page 3
m. 0438 355 887 Prez Sez (cont) Page 4
president@vicbears.org.au Upcoming Events Page 4
Den Nights Page 4
Vice President
Luke Mitchell
VicBears Give Back… Page 5
m. 0413 614 412 New Website Page 5
vice-pres@vicbears.org.au Member of the Month Page 5
Bearaoke II Page 6
Treasurer Bearaoke II Pictures Page 7
Will Knight Thanks You’s Page 7
treasurer@vicbears.org.au Contribute to Vicbears Ink Page 7
Men on Men Art Competition Page 8
Secretary Vice Presidents Report Page 9
Peter Undy Mannhaus Page 10
m. 0409 360 031 Bear Clubs Page 11
secretary@vicbears.org.au
Album, Song and Game Reviews Page 11
Committee Movie and Game Reviews Page 12
Jack Chapman
m. 0413 718 979
jack@vicbears.org.au

Committee
Jason Buttigieg
m. 0400 321 312
jason@vicbears.org.au

Committee
Peter Burgess
m. 0434 544 136
pete@vicbears.org.au

Committee
Joe Davis-Westland
m. 0408 347 778
joe@vicbears.org.au
______________
Website
webmaster@vicbears.org.au
Pride March 2010: We want you there!
Feedback Pride March is on again, now in its 15th year. Vicbears will once again
feedback@vicbears.org.au be marching as part of Pride March, and we want you there!

VicBears Ink Newsletter Sunday, February 7th.

editor@vicbears.org.au
______________ Vicbears will be meeting at 1:00pm at the assembly point, on the corner
of Lakeside Dve and Fitzroy St, St Kilda.
Vicbears Inc.
P.O. Box 1408 The march commences at 2:00pm and proceeds down Fitzroy St to
Collingwood VIC 3066 Catani Gardens.
www.vicbears.org.au This is great exposure for both Vicbears, and the GLBTI community as a
whole. It would be great to see as many of our members as possible
p. 0409 360 031
f. 03 9314 0659
attend to show your support.
______________ Hope to see you there!
Visit us also on Facebook.
Prez Sez
Hi Guys,
Well here we are, the first
newsletter for 2010. I hope you
all had a fantastic festive season
and new year. Once again you
will see a fantastic new format of
the newsletter, as Joe Davis-
Westland has done a fantastic job
to create something that is fresh
and exciting. I hope you all enjoy
it.
Firstly a quick mention of
committee movements. Our
secretary, Mike Jenkins and
ordinary committee member Alf
Mena have decided to move on
from the committee. I would like to
wish them both well.
We have appointed a new
secretary to the committee, Peter
Undy. Peter has had extensive
experience in committees across
Melbourne over the years and I
welcome his wealth of knowledge
and experience to Vicbears.
Peter has been slaving away to
clear up the backlog of
memberships and renewals that
have built up and you should all
have your cards etc by now. If
not please drop an email to
secretary@vicbears.org.au.
We have also appointed Joe
Davis-Westland as a committee
member. Joe has also volunteered
to take on the role as the editor of
VicBears Ink. Joe has had a lot of
experience with other committees
and also has web skills etc that
will help VicBears move forward
with our electronic media.
Please welcome Peter and Joe
when you see them at our next
Den night.
The December Den night on
Boxing Day saw VicBears and the
Laird take on a new challenge. As
you may know we had a clothing
and food drive for All So
Fabulous and PLC. The night
(fillerword)
turned out to be a raging success
with the boys from All So Fabulous
overwhelmed with the response
from our members and guests on
the night. They had so much
donated they were simply blown
away, having to fill up two cars.
We also managed to receive a
ton of food for the PLC food
bank. Thanks to every one of you
that contributed, it was heart
warming to know that our
community continues to support our
own. VicBears and the Laird Hotel
were so impressed with the
response that we have decided to
hold this event on an annual basis,
so save your surplus preloved
clothing now for next December.
January has been a very busy
month as usual. With Midsumma
we try to get out there and fly the
flag for VicBears. This year we
had a very successful day at
Carnival with so many bears
coming up to greet us. We also
served as a shelter for the
drenched bears at every shower
that fell during the day. It was fun
being caught in the middle of all
that fur. Bearaoke 2 came along
on Den night this month and once
again has proven to be a fantastic
event that makes a change to our
normal den nights. It is truly
amazing the talent that exists
amongst the bear community.
Thanks to Shane, Charles and
Scott for hosting the night. We
will look forward to their return
for Bearaoke 3 in April, more
details later. We also had Down
UnderBear on Australia Day with
over 200 members and guests
attending. The night turned out to
once again be a fantastic success.
Feedback has only been positive
so we look forward to our next
one during SH10. We also hit the
pool at Wet on Wellington for the
return of Bearsoup with a BBQ
lunch and a chat by the pool. A
great time was had by all, in
(fillerword)
many ways!
February will be a quiet one for
the team with Den night on the
27th, so come along for a fun
social night. The BBQ will be
running from around 7.30 so get
there early have a feed and
enjoy the night.
March sees VicBears heading up
to Daylesford for Chillout.
VicBears will be at Carnival for
the day. We have a good
selection of old VicBears t-shirts
that we would like to clear out as
well as our VicBears club t-shirts
and hats for sale. If you don’t
have a club t-shirt or hat, come up
and see Jason, Jack or myself on
the day. I am certain we have
catered for all shapes and sizes.
Planning is at full steam for
Southern HiBearnation 2010. Our
Logo for this year has been
finalised and we will be launching
SH10 at our next den night, so
come along and see what we
have in store for you in June. So
put these dates in your diary 13 –
20 June. Yes this year we are a
week early and will be starting
the week on Sunday 13 June at
the Laird.
Continues on page 4.
Prez Sez (cont.)
From page 3.
This will be the Sunday of Queens
birthday so come along for a
fantastic start to what will be a
fantastic week of events including
the Australian Premier of a movie
that has a similar feel to Sex and
the City but with a beary twist.
VicBears has selected our charity
for SH10. Way Out provides
support for same sex attracted
youth in country Victoria. You will
see more details from Way Out
during the build up to SH10.
Anyhow I think that is enough from
me for this month. Thanks once
again to all our members for your
generous donations on Boxing
Day. Thanks for your support
over Midsumma and looking
forward to seeing more of you at
den nights.
Don’t forget that we will be
launching SH10 at our February
den night so come along and see
what is on offer.
Cheers,
Rick C.
Den Nights
VicBears members get together at The
Laird Hotel for their monthly Den Nights
as well as monthly social nights. At Den
Nights there are cheap drinks, raffle
prizes and always plenty of new bears
to meet and greet. During the summer
months there is also a BBQ so you can
have a good feed. Den nights are held
on the fourth Saturday of every month. Our next Den Nights are:
Entry is free, but we ask for gold coin • February 27th
donation at our BBQs to help raise • March 27th
funds for charity. • April 24th
Remember to bring along your • May 22nd
membership card! VicBears Members
get 15% off all drinks on Den Nights!
There is also a Member prize draw
every month for a gift voucher from our
friends at Mannhaus & spot prizes.
SH10: Dates Upcoming Events
The dates for SH10 have been Schedule these upcoming
announced. Lock these dates into dates into your calendars now!
that calendar now!
June 13 – 20, 2010 February
7th Pride March
A fantastic week of events, make Come along and march
sure you book your annual leave for pride with
now! Vicbears.
27th Den Night
February’s Den Night
sees the launch of
SH10.
March
7th Chillout Festival,
Daylesford
Head west for the long
weekend and see what
Daylesford has to
offer.
27th Den Night
Come on down to the
Laird for a BBQ, beer
and a good night.
Vicbears Give Back…
Den Nights have always been
about catching up with your bear
mates for some drinks and having
a good time, so it was awesome
to see everyone open up their
hearts and donate to the ALL SO
Fabulous Shop and Positive Living
Centre on Boxing Day.

In a time of year that is all about

giving, VicBears wanted to give
back, and we're happy the
community managed to donate a
whole heap of clothing and
several boxes of food to these
charities. Member of the Month
All the money raised from our Name:
raffle tickets and gold coin BBQ Rob Camm
went to the charities as well, which
is fantastic! Nick/Online Nick:
Aussieass
We of course couldn't have done it without the support of the Laird Occupation:
Hotel, and we're happy to tell you all that it was such a success that Learning Strategist
we'll be doing it all again during our December Den Night this year as
Identify As:
well.
Aging Cub
Thanks again to everybody who donated! Beard, Goatee or Mo?
Beard
Vicbears Member:
For 9 years now…
Favourite Holiday Destination:
Palm Springs, CA.
Favourite Vicbears Event:
Southern HiBearnation
Boxers, Briefs or Commando?
Jockstrap
Wii, Xbox or Playstation?
Xbox
Cats or Dogs?
Dogs
Mild or Chilli?
Chilli
Summer or Winter?
Summer
Introvert or Extrovert?
New Website Launched! Out there!
A Mans most attractive quality?
Stay informed. Visit the all new Vicbears website, and access news, Their heart.
upcoming events, pictures and more…
Final Comments:
It’s great to be back!
www.vicbears.org.au
Bearaoke II
Ok, so after the first Bearaoke
was pleasantly surprising as a hit,
we simply had to do it again; and
this time it was even bigger!!

It's amazing to see some of the

talented singers in this community,
and wonderful to see some new
faces there on the night who were
willing to get on stage and give it
a go.

Shanobear, Charles and Scott

were great as usual hosting the
evening, and everybody had such
a good time that we're going to
do it all over again in April for
Bearaoke 3! Yikes!!

So get your songs ready for April - big thankyou to the boys at
Mannhaus for supporting us with prizes and of course the Laird for
letting us turn the place into a crazy karaoke bar for the evening!

Woof!!

Shanobear and his crew will return to Melbourne for Bearaoke 3,

booked in at the Laird Hotel for April 24th.

Best performer prizes and raffles on the night. Look forward to seeing
you!

Not sure what to sing? Online song lists at:

http://karaoke.shanobear.com

Follow us on Facebook.

Join the Vicbears Facebook Group

and receive instant notification of
updated events, and correspond
with other members.
Vicbears would once again like to
express our gratitude for the
support of the Laird Hotel and
Mannhaus, whose contribution to
Vicbears allows us to continue to
run events and activities for our
members.

Thank you so much!

Also, a big thank you to David

Cooke aka. Cookie, for
contributing the photos featured
throughout Vicbears Ink.

Contribute
We are always looking for
people to contribute articles,
photos, and information on
upcoming events, both locally and
interstate; movie reviews and
more….

Please, if you would like to

contribute to the Vicbears Ink
Newsletter, let us know by
emailing:

editor@vicbears.org.au

Festival City Bears invites you to
the inaugural Teddy Bears Go
Exploring, a leisurely drive
through the Adelaide Hills,
gathering treasure as you go,
culminating with a Sausage Sizzle
and The Best Loved Teddy
competition on Sunday 28th
February.
For further details, visit:
www.festivalcitybears.org
Vice Presidents Report
Howdy fellas!
Well, here we are in 2010
already... and I personally have no
idea where the time has gone! I'm
still in recovery from Southern
HiBearnation last year, and now
we're less than 5 months away from
the biggest bear week of the south
happening all over again! We're
very excited this year, adding and
changing some events to give the
community more fun things to do as
a whole, so keep an eye out in the
near future when passes for the
week go on sale; I know you're
gonna love it!! I was pleasantly surprised again
by all the singing talent in the
Den Nights are always a fun night community, and the guts of
to be a part of, but Boxing Day people to get up onto stage and
2009 made for a very special Den sing their arses off!
Night as we banded together to
donate as much as possible in the DownUnderBear soon followed
way of clothes and food to the ALL on the Monday, with Bear Soup
on the Tuesday, and both events
SO Fabulous Shop and the Positive
Living Centre. We had the boys were great successes; it was
from each charity on hand to see great seeing you all strip down
two days in a row just to have a
how big our bear hearts were as a
community, and with what would good time, so thanks for coming
have been at least 20 massive bags along.
full of clothing along with several
Last but not least, we have
boxes of food (not to mention all the
PRIDE MARCH coming up - it's on
money we raised from the BBQ and
raffle tickets!), we were able to the 7th of February (that's THIS
SUNDAY, people!). We have a
make a very generous donation on
behalf of everybody in the VicBears lot of bears in Melbourne and a
community. I've said it before, but I'll whole lot of pride, so let's show
say it again - thank-you to 'em this year that we are a
everybody who donated and was large and important part of the
there supporting the event on the gay community by marching -
night. contact us for details, or check
out the event on Facebook to
The madness of Midsumma meant find out where to be in St. Kilda
that we had one of our biggest on Sunday.
bear weekends ever, kicking off
with Bearaoke 2 on Saturday night That's it from me; looking
the 23rd; Shanobear and his crew forward to seeing you all soon!!
came down from Sydney again to
host the event, and it was even
bigger than our first Bearaoke last Big woofs and bear hugs!
year!
Luke M.
So big in fact that we're doing it all
over again in April; so for those that
had a fun night singing alone and
for those who somehow missed out,
it'll be back before ya know it!
Bear Clubs
Bear Men of Adelaide Darwin Bears Club Harbour City Bears BrisBears
w. bmofa.org.au e. info@darwinpride.com w. hcbears.com w. brisbears.org.au
e. secretary@bmofa.org.au a. P.O. Box 2826 Darwin e. hcbinfo@hcbears.com e. brisbears@gmail.com
a. P.O. Box 2258 Kent Town NT 0800 a. P O Box 1532 Darlinghurst a. P.O. Box 6, Nundah
SA 5071 ph. Sparkie 0408 301 805 NSW 1300 QLD 4012
ph. 0404 413 260 ph. 02 8572 9913 ph. Info Line: 0424 699 259

Bears Canberra Bears Perth Inc. Novabears Auckland Bears

w. bearscanberra.com/
e. secretary@bearscanberra.com
a. G.P.O. Box 1694 Canberra
City ACT 2601
ph. Don 0412 085 455
w. bearsperth.org (Newcastle and Hunter region) a. 15 McIlroy Avenue Hillsborough
e. info@bearsperth.org w. groups.msn.com/Novabears Auckland NZ 1005
a. P.O. Box 885 Mt Lawley
WA, 6929
ph. Paul/Michael 08 9271 1685

Album Review Game Review

New “Super Mario Bros.”

While some might argue that

Ke$ha
"Animal"
Bursting onto the music scene last
year with her infectious single "TiK
ToK", many were uncertain that
the catchy tune would set her up
for any serious future within the
industry.
Luckily for her, "Animal" brings
with it more of the same addictive
and catchy pop beats such as new
single "Blah Blah Blah" and other
dancy numbers like "Party at a
Rich Dude's House".
Nintendo have run out of ideas
with their most popular franchise
(Look! Now Mario is doing the
same thing, but BIGGER!), it's
difficult to argue the appeal of
playing the old Mario Bros. that
we know and love, but with shiny
new graphics, new enemies, new
levels, new powers and on top of
it all... play it with three of your
closest friends at the same time.
“… it's difficult to
argue the appeal of The charm of Mario is certainly not
playing the old Mario lost here; enemies will take a
Bros. that we know moment to stop and bop to the
and love…” beat of the soundtrack, and
playing with the Wii controller just
works, even though some of the
waggle feels a little bit forced at
times.
The game is best played with mates though, as much fun can be head
jumping on each other's heads to launch to higher ground, throwing each
other at enemies as weapons and racing to the flag at the end and
seeing who can jump the highest.

Songs such as "Hungover" and Teamwork is one thing, but competing

"Blind" offer a more serious side
to show that she's not all about the
partying, and her lyrics which
often sound like a drunken slur
effectively come across as never
being overdone or cliché, and
prove that she may just be here
for the long haul.
- BoradorCub
against each other can be just as much
of a laugh. It may not re-invent the
wheel, but it reinvigorates a classic
into something exciting for this
generation, which is worthy of some
gratitude.
- Luke M.
Movie Review
“Nine”
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Fergie
Tasty ingredients don’t always make a good pizza…
I can never understand how an awesome
director, acclaimed screenwriter(s) and an
amazing cast of actors still lead to a
fucking boring movie. Think Batman and
Robin, Night at the Museum and some
would say Oceans Eleven.
Well somehow Rob Marshall (Oscar
nominated for Chicago), Michael Tolkin
(Oscar nominated for The Player), the late
Anthony Minghella (multiple Oscar noms
as well as winning one for making sand
look pretty in The English Patient) and a
cast of beautiful and award winning
women (including Sophia Loren, Nicole
Kidman, Dame Judi Dench) somehow
“… I found myself turned the musical Nine into a yawn fest.
counting down how
many women were Basically dual Oscar winner Daniel Day-
left to sing so I Lewis plays an Italian director Guido
knew the movie whose earlier work was apparently
was coming to an awesome but has found his last couple of
end…” films turn into major flops. His next film
Italia is set to begin shooting shortly but
he does not have a script. So the film
explores his relationship with 7 women
who have influenced his life as he comes
to grips with his lack of self-confidence.
The basic structure of the film sees Guido either reflecting about a time
in his life or an encounter with one of the women and then there’s a
song. This just sees each sequence head further and further down Banal
Ave.
I found myself counting down how many women were left to sing so I
knew the movie was coming to an end. And then Marion Cotillard throws
my math by singing twice!
There is no doubt this is a beautiful movie to watch. The set pieces are
outstanding and the costumes worn by these amazing actresses should
see it garnering an Oscar nod for that however it was just boring.
I couldn’t’ve cared less whether Guido came up with a script, in fact I
really hoped he wouldn’t and he would find himself lumming it on the
streets.
For me the highlight was Fergie’s number. Not only for the song, Be
Italian, but the costumes and choreography were exceptional.
Because of this song and the costumes I’m gonna give this movie two
stars.
- Mike H.
Game Review
“Bayonetta”
What's more interesting than an
ancient witch whose entire outfit
comprises of her own luscious hair
wrapped tightly around her body
along with her ability to shoot
guns with her ankles, legs spread
wide of course, while doing a
handstand?
There's not much more interesting
than that, but apart from sounding
incredibly gimmicky and over-the-
top (which... it is), Bayonetta also
provides one of the most fun and
successful action titles in recent
memory.
The combat system is smooth
flowing and exciting, the storyline
is just crazy enough that it works
and the entire thing feels like a
well-polished Devil May Cry...
with sex appeal.
Bayonetta herself is a geeks
fantasy; slender with long dark
hair and a pair of spectacles that
make her look like the insanely hot
librarian of death, and visually it's
a delight to play through.
It might not be for everybody, but
Bayonetta without a doubt is one
of the best action games I've
played in a long time.
- Luke M.