kenneth in the (212)

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Saturday 'Stache

Not the first 'Stache/Speedo COMBO, and hopefully not the last!

Friday, August 23, 2019

Remains of the Day (08/23)

Discogs: Top 100 most expensive CDs sold via the famed crowdsourced database (this Madonna CD-R went for $1,301!)

Instagram: File under: "Giving the people what they want"

The Film Experience: Yes-no-maybe-so: The Roger Ailes/Gretchen Carlson/Megyn Kelly film is here

ABC News: Man charged in death of Detroit girl attacked by 3 dogs

Men's Health: 40 famous people you forgot ran for office (or plan to in the future)

Back2Stonewall: Remembering the infamous Crisco Disco

NYT Magazine: While some are asking if Venus Williams ever got her due, I've recently shifted from thinking she's been tarnishing her legacy by still playing to realizing that her career lasting over 20 years -- at any level -- is another major feather in her cap

ATP: Federer, Djokovic in top half of U.S. Open draw

USA Today: You mean a medical doctor didn't actual write a letter saying Trump was in "very, very, very, very good health"?

Matthew Ball: Streaming video will soon look like the bad old days

WSJ: New York City has been releasing burial records of fetal remains --and names of women linked to them

L'Officiel Hommes Polska: A mustachioed, Speedo-clad Walter Savage

Reuters: Sixteen years after U.S. Open glory, Roddick searches for American successor

Dlisted: Just because you're gay -- and a person of color -- doesn't mean you can't be a moron

Baseline: Felix Auger-Aliassime lands in Top 20 ... and Vogue

BosGuy: You know you're excited it's Furry Friday

Washington Post: Were Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor the proto-Kardashians?

The New York Times: The story about a diver who found the GoPro camera of another young man who had drowned and then returned it to his parents will really get you

David Koch, billionaire who fueled right-wing movement, dies at 79

Hot Cat of the Day: A little footnote to the drowned diver story. The guy who found the camera has an adventure cat named Yogi Bear, whom you'll meet in this video!

Newly Uncovered Photos of 1957 Gay Wedding Spark Investigation

A story on the BBC's website about an roll of photos depicting the wedding between two young men has become my latest obsession. Based on what we know, the ceremony took place in 1957 in the Philadelphia area and for whatever reason, the developed images never made their back way into the owner's hands.

The BBC writes:

Now, a trio of gay producers and writers are trying to identify the grooms to learn their story and to find out whether a pharmacy employee balked at providing the snaps because they objected to their subject. The writers are documenting their efforts in a reality show "The Mystery of the 1957 Gay Wedding Photos."

The program, which doesn't yet have a platform to call home, is being produced in conjunction with Endemol Shine Group, whose shows include "Big Brother," "The Biggest Loser" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

"It's a passion project for us," says Michael J. Wolfe, a Los Angeles-based writer. "We are turning over every stone, interviewing dozens of people in the Philadelphia area and beyond, and consulting with investigators, historians, and experts across many different fields."

The photos were acquired by a collector a few years ago who had bought them at an online auction. He realized their significance and donated them to ONE Archives at the USC Libraries in Los Angeles and at the Wilcox Archives in Philadelphia.

The couple in the pictures appear to be in their 20s or 30s, so they would be in their 80s or 90s if they were alive today. The grooms and their guests are dressed up in dark suits with flowers in their lapels.

What's so remarkable about these images is how unremarkable they are -- they look nearly identical to my parents' 1959 wedding, which also had a modest reception in a family member's home -- other than the fact that it's two men.. I can't help but dwell on how much seeing something like this as a youth would have meant to my development.

Just the other weekend I was marveling that my best friend's niece got married to her girlfriend -- with the entire family proudly looking on -- like it was the most normal thing on earth ... which it is. All I could say to myself is: What a difference a generation makes. These photos, much like Stu Maddux's "Reel in the Closet" documentary about LGBTQ home movies, help mend my heart, knowing that despite the difficulties, queer people did find ways to embrace their love.