The Hanukkah Hotness, Night 1: Anton Yelchin

Happy first night of Hanukkah! Let's get directly to our first Hanukkah Hottie of 2013: Anton Yelchin.

public domain image

How do I love Anton Yelchin, an American actor of Russian-Jewish descent? Let me count the ways:

1. He's Charlie Bartlett in Charlie Bartlett, an underrated gem of a film. As a bonus, it has two other beautiful Jews: Robert Downey Jr. and Kat Dennings. (More on Kat Dennings to come.)



2. He's Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation. (See post from earlier today.) It's the one with Christian Bale - not Jewish, as one might guess from his Christian name, but still hot - so double nom.



3. Fright Night. With Colin Farrell as a sexy-ass (but evil) vampire. Double nom again.



By the way, this movie has two pretty cool songs on its soundtrack:

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People

"99 Problems" by Hugo

4. Star Trek. I'm not the big Trekkie of the house - that would be Tit Elingtin. My favorite Trek franchise is actually Voyager, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the latest reboot of the films. It's full of man candy: melted-chocolate-eyed Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Karl Urban (love me some Eomer), nerd king Simon Pegg, John Cho's fine ass...but Pavel Andreievich Chekov steals every scene he's in with that accent and Yelchin's curly-headed adorableness.



Yelchin's actually 24 now, but he still looks 18.





This is my favorite one of him. It's a scientific fact that men are hotter when they have books in their hands.



It's a good thing we're The People of the Book. Middle Eastern cultures are some of the oldest literate societies in the world (along with China). The Jewish culture's lengthy history with books totally explains James Franco - but more on that later.

Happy Hanukkah!

https://amzn.to/43Wpbru - this is an affiliate link

I'm 35, and so are these 10 hotties born in 1977

Happy birthday to me! My birthday gift to you, loyal readers, is a gallery of hotness inspired by the year of my birth, 1977.

I am completely, blatantly ripping this post off from Alexandra O'Hurley and her blog Oh Alex, except Alex was born in a different year. Thanks, Alex, for the inspiration. Everybody should buy your books on Amazon or from their favorite retailer.

Fabulous Peeps Born in 1977:

10. John Mayer

Oh yeah, that body is a wonderland. He barely makes the list at #10 because he's still in the doghouse over his derogatory comments about women of color in a Playboy interview. He's one of those bros you shouldn't think is hot, but maybe you do.

9. Predrag "Peja" Stojaković

That Yugoslavia! Thing strikes again; I like big Serbian dudes and I cannot lie. Plus, you've gotta love Peja because of his deep commitment to children's charities, following the example of his mentor Vlade Divac.

Now that he's retired from the NBA, I believe he should be put out to stud; Peja makes beautiful babies.

8. Michael Fassbender

I first noticed him in Inglorious Basterds, and along with Eli Roth he inspired me to write Brad Pitt Is Not the Hottest Guy in Quentin Tarantino's Latest. The Internet nominates him to play the role of Christian Grey in 50 Shades of Grey.

A good Fassbender gallery comes from The Daily Hotness. A good Fassbender tweet is:

Saw pic labelled "Fassbender fenching." Got all excited to see him performing some filthy new sex act, before realising they meant fencing.
— Charlotte Stein (@Charlotte_Stein) April 24, 2012

7. Chris "Ludacris" Bridges

Ludacris is another guy that when you're a feminist woman, you're not supposed to like him - but damn, this guy can lay down some irresistible beats. I especially enjoy his collaborations with Missy Elliot on "Gossip Folks" and "One Minute Man."

I love him in Crash - not the David Cronenberg film of the J.G. Ballard novel, but the other movie titled Crash. He was also a guest on The Simpsons, on which he created the greatest anti-tooth decay film ever. Dirty dirty mouth, y'all!

Luda even has his own brand of cognac - how cool is that?

Also, bisexual girls like Ludacris 'cause at first we thought he was saying, "Bi chick bad, bi chick hood/Bi chick do stuff that your chick wish she could."



6. Maggie Gyllenhaal

Yeah, yeah, I know I already sung the praises of the female Gyllenhaal sib as part of The Hanukkah Hotness, but can you ever really get enough Maggie G? Maggie and lil bro Jake rank very high on the list of Things Bisexual People Like.

Here, she's modeling for AgentProvocateur.

5. Kal Penn

New Jersey-born Kalpen Suresh Modi serves his country as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He's smart and sexy - that's hot. The politician and sometimes academic lecturer on Asian-American studies also goes by the stage name Kal Penn, under which he is best known as Kumar Patel of the film duo Harold & Kumar.

4. Shakira

Hips don't lie.

3. Zachary Quinto

Having had a crush on Syler on Heroes (when he wasn't cutting heads off), I based Zachary in "Innocent" on him. If I would have known he was gay, I would have made it a m/m story. Feel free to send me links to your Syler/Peter Petrelli slash.

No, really. Send them to me.

2. Orlando Bloom

Legolas. Need I say more?

1. Jonathan Rhys Meyers

He's not the guy who made out with Christian Bale in Velvet Goldmine, but who cares? He was in VELVET GOLDMINE.

A good JRM gallery is at MamaKitty Reviews.

Addendum: My Historical Hebrew Crush

At the risk of seeming a little boy-crazy this week, I can't seem to get 5 Jewish Dudes I'd Most Like to See Lewd out of my head. It feels like it won't rest in peace until I add at least one more guy - my historical Jew crush, George Gershwin, originally Jacob Gershovitz.

Some years ago, when my Catholic grade school sold off some of its withdrawn titles, my mom rescued a little volume called The Jews in America by Frances Butwin. It was published in 1969, and it's a nice book, totally pro-Jew. It says this about the prettier of the Gershwin brothers, my future baby daddy as soon as time travel is perfected:

"George Gershwin (1898-1937) first played Rhapsody in Blue with Paul Whiteman's orchestra in 1924 - the same year that Lady Be Good! opened on Broadway. His use of jazz rhythms marked a turning point in American music. Most of Gershwin's lyrics were written by his brother Ira."

He's a tragic figure, having written great and beautiful music before dying from a brain tumor at age 38. In college when I took a music course (about the same time Jake Dylan was giving me Sixth Avenue heartache), I did a little independent study by reading some huge biography of Gershwin. I discovered he was...kinky. Alas, I can't remember all the delicious details, but I do recall reports of brothels and voyeurism.

Perhaps this historical detail will surface in the as-yet-untitled movie Steven Spielberg is making about this curious George. A girl can hope. The hottie set to play the composer is
Zachary Quinto, who is Irish and...Italian. Eh, he's Mediterranean. Close enough.

Now listen to Rhapsody in Blue and tell me if this jazz masterpiece doesn't make you a little wet.

Romantic Heroes and the Hotties Who Inspired Them

Today I'm sorta co-blogging with Hunk du Jour, a yummy gay men's photo blog (rated PG; plenty of shirtlessness, no nudity). I provide the romantic/erotic stories, and the HdJ links provide the photos!

Mutari, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Story: "Experimental." Experimental Subject #73, with his Welsh accent and toffee-colored hair, is blinding Tori with science.
The Hottie: Christian Bale

The Story: "Invisible Touch." Invisible man Jason sneaks into the apartment of his super-powered nemesis Fate, only to find himself unexpectedly attracted to her.
The Hottie: Milo Ventimiglia

The Story: "The Hope." At his niece's bat mitzvah, Mark fell hopelessly for the new temple cantor, Ilan. On their first official date, Mark is just hopeless.
The Hottie Who Inspired Ilan: Adam Levine

The Story: "Innocent." In an alternate world where arranged marriages are the norm, college soccer star Zachary meets his bride-to-be, Analiese, for the first time. She's not as innocent as she seems.
The Hottie: Zachary Quinto

The Story: "Homecoming." Patrice is married to Evan. They've agreed she's allowed to have one affair (Evan already had his). Patrice chooses Evan's army vet brother Marcus.
The Hottie: Keanu Reeves

The Story: "Redneck Woman." Stuck in Atlanta on a rainy night, Yankee Vanessa picks up Agatha and her husband Preston.
The Hottie: Adrian Pasdar (and his super-cute wife, Natalie Maines!)

Yes, I was a big Heroes fan. Why do you ask?

Author's Note: Sadly, Hunk du Jour is defunct and links have been removed.