Handily providing me with another opportunity to post a photo of British rugby hunk Ben Cohen, the Village Voice publishes a study of "straight bears":

These men—like their gay counterparts—are the antithesis of the metrosexual stag hags, those heavily primped, buff straight guys who count gays among their most trusted wingmen. Straight bears are less concerned with designer labels and limiting their carbs than with comfy clothes and beer. And they love to hang with their gay-bear brothers.

The piece has some problems, including but not limited to describing Ben Cohen as "portly," identifying Bob Mould as just "a DJ," and neglecting to mention LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, the celebubear whose suited-and-barefoot This Is Happening cover pic could hardly be dreamier.

But then there's this amazing chunk:

Earlier this year, the blogosphere was riffing on an incident in which Southwest Airlines bumped portly writer-director-actor Kevin Smith off a plane for taking up too much seat space. But lost in the brouhaha was the occasion that had brought Smith to San Francisco in the first place: He was attending the 16th annual International Bear Rendezvous. That’s right: The biggest annual bear gathering in the nation featured Smith as a headliner. “He had his moment in the sun at IBR, standing in front of a room of men who want to fuck him,” recounts Malcolm Ingram, a close friend of Smith’s who accompanied him to the bear-in. “Then, two hours later, he’s being kicked off a plane.”

Life is weird.