Greetings and welcome to another edition of Avatar of the Week. This time out we look at three AfterElton.com members with the “sh” sound in their names. Okay, I admit – as a unifying theme it’s pretty lame. I just happen to love all three of these avatars, think they deserve recognition, and it was the only thing they happened to have in common. So sue me. Better yet, sh-ue me.

First up is Animalchef who seems to be impersonating either Richard Nixon on an acid trip or a chia pet. Or possibly both, Animalchef (aka Mike) is a 19-year-old art student who hopes to minor in advertising “though no promises though.” Mike’s apparent commitment phobia extends to his correspondence:

If you message me, don't take offense if I don't respond to you. I don't usually like e-mailing to my friends.

You can send Animalchef a message (and, alas, probably not hear back) via his myspace page.

Second up is Shannon Yarbrough. I understand Shannon is only recently trying out a goatee. Looks good! Shannon is a published author and his second novel, Stealing Wishes, is due out this month. In fact, if you own one of those Kindle thingys you can download it now from Amazon!

Stealing Wishes is “the story of a gay obsessive compulsive coffee barista looking for love”, which sounds like a pretty good premise to me. You can find out more about Shannon and his book at shannonyarbrough.com.

Our winner this week is Sorcha. I’m hoping it’s pronounced Sorsha, else my lame unifying theme this week is totally out the window. Sorcha hails from the Ireland. (My brother just recently moved to County Carlow in Ireland – which I understand is not a long way to Tipperary). I’m not sure how close Sorcha is to Tipperary, but she has an absolutely stellar animated avatar pic and comes across as really cool in her bio:

3rd year art student. Lesbian. Pretty weird but in a good way. Love movies, illustration and art, 60's pop, hard rock, true crime, reading, nature and going for long walks to think. Fascinated by our gay and lesbian culture and very proud to be one of the family. I am a relaxed and easygoing soul :-)

So congrats to runners up Animal Chef & Shannon Yarbrough. And a special tip o’ the shamrock to this week’s winner: Sorcha.

Welcome to Avatar of the Week: The Fraulein Collection. Forbidden Love has me jonesing for all things German, so I thought I'd sift through the avatar lists and find some interesting female members from the Deutschland. Here's who I came up with...

First up is Lily of the Valley. Her "chicken wanted" avatar pic caught my eye, and even though she doesn't give much away in her profile, I read through her recent comments and appreciated her encyclopedic knowledge of both the Russell T. Davies and Joss Whedon omniverses.

I also noticed we both like Russel Tovey. As she put it, "I have a thing for flappy ears."

Second up is Fleur-de-Lys, a 21-year-old bisexual, German Torchwood fan. I wish I knew a bit more about her because I love her avatar pic: The rakish cap, cravat, and three piece suit tell you this is one fraulein who means business – sorta like the Cate Blanchett character in the new Indiana Jones movie. But the way Fleur peeks out from behind the fall of her flowing locks adds an air mystery. Is she pretty? Is she plain? It’s Annie Hall meets “Thing” from the Addams Family.

This week's winner: francesca. Her avatar pic is of Michael Weatherly from NCIS. I'm guessing she must be a fan, but me I've never gotten that show's popularity. I mean a Navy crime procedural? What's next, Coast Guard Forensics? But Francie takes the prize for her incredibly charming bio:

"Brought up by a father who borrowed my mascara in front of my friends, dated construction workers and taught me the wise words that "Being bi can never be wrong and is crisis-proof". My mum is the token straight person in her circle of friends... Naturally, I became a fag hag and my brother homophobic."

So congrats to runners up Lily of the Valley & Fleur-de-Lys, and a special "heil fraulein" to francesca and her entire eclectic family.

This installment of Avatar of the Week is a round up of cartoon hero avatars.

First up is AsA3DollarBill, who is (as you might have guessed by the moniker) a gay person. Beyond that, 3Dollars's details are sketchy. All we get from his/her profile is that he/she lives somewhere in the U.S. and will be celebrating a thirtieth birthday this year. From the avatar pic itself we can also reasonably deduce 3Dollar has a thing for power women. (I believe this is Wonder Woman, but the red pant suit is throwing me off a bit. Can anyone positively identify?)

One last thing we know about 3Dollar - he/she has an eagle eye for continuity errors and recently called me out for misidentifying one in my most recent Brothers & Sisters recap.

Second up is tsalagiguy, a 28 year old teacher and activist who says he's "happily in love with my boyfriend of a little over a year.”

His profile lists his favorite TV character as “Bree’s kid on Desperate Housewives.” I think he’s talking about Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), who I like as well but hate that lately he’s stuck sweeping floors at the Scavo pizza parlor. But I digress.

Back to tsaligiguy – love the avatar pic, though if I had to guess I’d say he and his boyfriend are into some serious nipple play.

This week’s winner is sosuperduper, a.k.a. Brian Anderson, who lives in San Francisco “with his sexy boy toy of 6 years." He gets the nod this week because not only does he have a cartoon superhero avatar – but he drew it himself! Brian has recently published an independent comic called So Super Duper:

"So Super Duper is a cute tale about an everyman superhero named Psyche, who isn't quite as super as his powerful teammates. He slowly learns that his lack of super abilities isn't the only thing that makes him different, as everyone (but himself), knows that he is totally gay!"

You can check out a preview of Brian’s work at www.sosuperduper.com

That's it for this week. Congrats to runners up AsA3DollarBill & tsalagiguy, and a special tip of the hat to winner sosuperduper!

This week we thought we’d try something new for Avatar of the Week and pull together members by geography. First up, the great city of Vancouver, British Columbia. How did we assemble a list of Vancouver AfterElton.com members you ask? Simple, we just found one member who listed Vancouver as their city, and then we clicked on the hypertext city link in that profile. (If you’re curious what other AfterElton.com members might be living in your town, click on the city link in your profile to generate a list.)

Before we get started with the avatars, a few fast facts about the great city of Vancouver…

• It’s on the west coast of Canada, just north of the border and right above Seattle, Washington.
• It boasts the largest gay population in Western Canada.
• The centerpiece of the city’s annual Gay Pride Week is the Vancouver Pride Parade. Last year’s event drew over 150,000 spectators. This year’s parade is scheduled for August 5^th.
• Vancouver has become a popular destination for U.S. gay couples looking to tie the knot. Since 2003, British Columbia has issued marriage licenses to even non-resident couples.

Okay, enough about the city itself. Now here are some AfterElton.com members who call Vancouver home:

First up is Don R. who has a cool convertible and a fluffy dog. He’s also…

"Single with a 14 yr old son. I like all the usual stuff, music, movies, tv, cooking, shopping, decorating, and I collect Coca-Cola memorabilia. I love my Smart Car!"

Second up is Keith, who has a Xanadu-inspired avatar pic. Love the headband, and if Olivia Newton-John had alopecia, why, they could be twins!

Keith co-hosts a very entertaining weekly entertainment video blog, which can be found here. On this week's episode he and partner Stuart discuss the mechanics that must have been involved in producing Marilyn Monroe's 1950's sex tape. They also reveal Oprah's plot to take over the world. Good stuff!

This week’s winner is Perry Thaler, who takes the prize for his Torchwood-fan avatar that recalls one of Ianto’s best snippy comments from this season.

Perry is 21 and he also gets points for describing his profession as “Time-Waster/Money-Loser, ie. Chemistry Student.”

So congrats to runner up canooks, Don R. and Keith. And a special tip of the maple leaf ey, to this week’s winner – Perry Thaler.

This week three avatars stood out for me because their profiles went beyond the mere “favorite book and movie” lists and actually provide a full-fledge biography that gives you a real sense of who these AfterElton.com members are. And who they are is pretty damned interesting. I’m calling it Avatar of the Week: My Life is an Open Book edition. I wish all our members were as forthcoming — this new “set profile to private” feature absolutely sucks, if you ask me. It sort of defeats the purpose of an online community if you know absolutely nothing about the other people in that community. Thankfully, AfterElton.com still has members like the three spotlighted below.

First up is Jamers. Here’s how he describes himself:

"Well, I'm a nice guy, who is kind of, laid back. I can be really serious, and down to earth at times, but when im with my friends I’m just me. Im an avid tennis player. without tennis, I don’t know what I would do. My dream was to go pro but we all know that will never happen. I am a gamer, I love video games. My favorite kind of movies are horror, and comedy. now T.V. is a whole different story... Sci fi is my all time fav. my favorite show is Battlestar Galactica. followed by SG1, SGA, Torchwood, Ghost Hunters, Eureka, Doctor Who, Dead Like Me, Painkiller Jane, and all that jazz. I also like to watch WWE, NHL, and Tennis. I am a total 80's junkie. All of my favorite songs and stuff is from that period of time. I love meeting new people, and welcome each day with open arms."

Second up is Peter Jacobs:

"My name is Peter and I'm a 23 year old senior at Clemson University in South Carolina. While I may be located in the south currently, I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. After playing collegiate tennis at the U. of Minnesota freshman year, I transferred to Clemson to escape what I found to be a suffocating environment in the midwest (although I love Chicago with every fiber of my being). I'm like any other college student who enjoys staying active with a seemingly endless list of hobbies. I'm a Communications Studies major with a minor in Business Administration emphasizing Advertising/PR. I've acted and modeled since an early age and currently compete on Clemson's Forensics (public speaking/debate) Team. My interests include: traveling, cooking/fine dining, shopping, fashion, and the theatre/arts. Extroverted in nature, I love meeting new people and feel comfortable in any situation. We can all use quality people in our lives, and with that, love conversation, friendships, dating, and relationships."

I wish I’d had as strong a sense of self at 23 as Peter clearly has. His parents raised him up right. Sounds like Peter and Jamers are both avid tennis players. They should get together and hit a few balls.

This week’s winner is Terence Steiner who can claim both Jesse James and Edward II as direct ancestors. We both seem to have an interest in geneology. Me, I can trace my ancestors back to the first trailer park in North America. But I digress.

Terence lives in San Francisco and works at a college as the assistant director of development. But far more interesting are his hobbies:

"I'm a filmmaker, writer, and photographer whose creative goals get too sidetracked by a day job. To console my howling soul I compulsively collect movie and theatre posters, and go to the gym 4x a week. Last year I perfected pie crust and this year I'm working on making the perfect cake. I also have an unhealthy fascination with the paranormal and would like to start a ghost hunting team. Contact me if you are interested."

"Currently I'm working on the screenplay for the most artistically successful and top grossing movie of all time, and preparing to shoot a short experimental film entitled Grotesque: The Musical Romancing the Grotesque.”

Okay, I don’t know about you but I so want to be on Terence’s ghost hunting team. I’m serious. Terence please drop me a line. Except for maybe the gym 4x a week thing we have tons in common.

Well, that’s it for this week. Congrats to runners up Jamers and Peter Jacobs, and a special tip of the ectoplasm to ghost-hunter Terence Steiner.

This week it's all about the pretty pictures as we select three avatars mostly on the basis of their artistic merit. Call it Avatar of the Week: The Artsy Fartsy Edition.

First up is BibiMuschel for her post-modern still life. Now I know what you’re saying: Is it art or merely a bad case of cropping? Whatever the case, I found her avatar strangely thought provoking. It had me wondering what was going on with the rest of that apple, and what was casting the ominous shadow in the right hand corner.

Second up is queertheorist who is a 20 year old student living in Turkey. I just love this image (painting?) of a woman crying ribbon candy and everlasting gobstoppers. At least that’s my interpretation. (I have a bit of a sweet tooth.)

Anyway, I’m curious if this is an original image or whether queertheorist borrowed it from somewhere else? If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

This week’s winner is Junior, who is a 38-year-old landscape designer living in Atlanta. I liked his avatar mostly because it reminded me of that iconic image of Che Guevara. Power to the People!

Junior is of Irish & Italian descent and lists as one of his favorite movie characters, “Harvey Weinstein in Torch Song Trilogy.” One often forgets that before founding Miramax Pictures with brother Bob, Harvey was treading the boards in gay Broadway plays. (Just kidding, Junior. We know who you meant and totally agree. In fact, you can check out our recent interview with him here.)

So congrats to runners up BibiMuschel & queertheorist, and a special tip of the artist’s palette to this week’s winner: Junior!

This week it's a roundup of member profiles featuring great grins. Call it Avatar of the Week: The All Smiles Edition.

First up is James who describes himself as a Chicago bear boy. And I don't think he's talking about the football team, either.

I like James' smirk, which makes it seem as if it might be open season on bear boys in Chicago these days. Grr!

Next up we have groovyad, and his groovy avatar looks as if it was inspired by Shoolhouse Rock!

This 22 year old lives in a small town in southern England. He has a degree in film studies and writes his own scripts, "mainly focusing on gay relationships and lives." Groovy, we love your smile and judging by your pic, you really are as you describe: "A bubbly person with a great sense of humour and caring personality."

And this week's winner is animalchef. Because he looks so happy in his avatar pic that it makes you want to smile yourself. We also loved how he chose to identify his ethnic heritage: "I am the definition of a twinkie," says animalchef.

He is an art & design student as well as a lifeguard, and he hails from Toronto.

A bit more from his bio:

"I usually go on this site so I can check out the latest articles. If you message me, don't take offense if i don't respond to you. I don't usually like e-mailing to my friends."

So congrats to James & groovyad and a special tip of the hat to this week's winner: the infrequent e-mailer, animalchef.

Welcome to Avatar of the Week: The Men of Mystery Edition. Andby “mystery” I mean three members who’s profiles raise far more questions than they answer. These guys are enigmas — questions wrapped up in riddles — and frankly,it only makes us want to know more about them.

First up is Quinn. Hailing from Seattle, Washington, this 36 year old has a rockin' profile pic and describes himself as a "former 80's Punk guy with tatts, and piercings mellowedout to end up as designer/stylist in the Pacific Northwest."

For some reason this description and avatar pic has me imagining Billy Idol retired from rock and now working at a Regis hair salon.

Curious, I checked out Quinn on MySpace. His pics and journal there make clear this guy, whatever his current profession, remains a proud, pagan goth rocker.

"Mellowed out?" I think not.

Next up is Art. Here's his profile bio:

"Born and raised in Illinois, I go to school in Michigan. I assure you, I'm much more fun in person than I am describing myself on the internet. I love sports; especially the Chicago White Sox (obviously, given my user name) and the Toronto Blue Jays."

Okay, so here's the mystery with this member: He claims his love of the Chicago White Sox is obvious from his user name - but his user name is "Art"? Okay, I'm really confused.

Art further baffles me when asked to desrcribe his favorite TV character:

"I suppose early Will from Will and Grace, before he became a sissy."

Huh? Wasn't Will always a bit of a sissy? (Not that there's anything wrong with that of course.)

Moving on to this week's winner, say hello to Dalodnod, who sounds like a race of alien villains from Doctor Who (and his avatar pic even backs that up).

Here's his bio:

"Currently in state of reinvention in Las Vegas. My partner is a dreamy hunk of butter with Buddha joy. I’m a classically trained Pianist and former artists ‘model’ – spent the last 2 years graduating Magna Cum Laude in medical field and have recently decided to STOP chasing money and follow my bliss (music)…because I have my partner and seem to have reclaimed my soul (intact, along with a blue suitcase) life seems swell and pretty groovy."

This profile contains all sorts of curiousities: "former artist's model"? — very interesting, Also, what's in that blue suitcase of his, I wonder? And as for Dalodnod's partner being a "dreamy hunk of butter with Buddha joy?" All I can say is, better keep him out of the hot Nevada desert sun.

So congrats to runners up Quinn & Art. And a special tip of the hat to Dalodnod for providing such a headscratchingly interesting avatar and profile.

Greetings everyone. This time around it’s Avatar of the Week: “The Old Farts and Buffy Fans” Edition.

First up we have TonyG. He a 40-ish gay married Bostonian of Italian descent. He works for a disability-related nonprofit. Tony is an avid Buffy fan. Willow and Tara are particular favorites of his. No word on whether he’s an old fart too. Probably not since, he’s “been with my man since 1986,” and happily married types are often annoyingly upbeat.

Next up we have Mike, who, like me, really is an old fart — at least he describes himself as such in his bio. This crusty curmudgeon doesn’t give a lot away in his profile, but his recent curmudgeonly comment makes it clear he’s no fan of Will & Grace.

No word on what he thinks of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This week’s winner? Cinematt01 Like Mike, he’s a Vampire Slayer enthusiast. God, throw a nickel on this site and you’ll hit a Buffy fan. (Myself included). What really caught my eye in Cinematt’s profile however was his listing as one of his favorite books Screening Party by Dennis Hensley. This book is one of my favorites as well. I’m always thrilled to find others who share my appreciation for it — which is rare considering it is out of print, and darn few people have read it. You can still pick up a used copy on Amazon, and I highly recommend it.

Congrats to runners up TonyG & Mike, and a special tip of the hat to this week's winner: Cinematt01

Were going to the dogs here on Avatar of the Week. This time around we thought we’d throw you animal lovers a bone and look at member pics that feature canines.

First up is Reine, who is a 21-year-old college student attending Michigan State. He studies Economics and German, and in his spare time he fences (stolen jewelry maybe?), and also does karate, yoga, and dance/winterguard.

Me, I didn’t know exactly what winterguard was, which gives you an idea of how rarely I frequent collegiate sporting events. I’m told it’s part of a college marching band that performs in the winter at indoor sporting events. Winterguard members toss and spin stuff (like batons).

Reine conludes his bio by stating: “I have a puggle and a boyfriend. :) “

Very cute, but here’s hoping the creature in the avatar is the puggle and not the boyfriend.

Second up is Dane Hill who is 35 and will be celebrating a birthday on March 23rd. Happy birthday! Dane lists his profession as “secret” but the dude lives in Studio City, CA so I’m thinking it's something to do with television. You can find out more about Dane from his myspace page.

Over on myspace Dane shares some interesting personal information. My favorite bit being his thoughts on first waking up: "I gotta pee...bad."

This week's winner is Mr. Happy Java Man. From Happy Java’s curious (er, bi-curious) bio:

“It all began on a rather cold day in January. A not so small boy came into the world at 2:48 am....Ok yeah that's a little boring. I'm an overly tall 23 year old who currently lives in Alberta Canada. I have officially labeled myself a gay bisexual. It sounds a little weird but in the end I find myself still attracted to women but I'm attracted to men a lot more."

I loved Happy Java's avatar of a Shar Pei getting the spa treatment. That's one pampered pooch.

So congrats to runners up Reine & Dane Hill. And a special tip of the flea collar to this week's winner: Mr. Happy Java Man!