Monday, March 31, 2014

Spire Spirit


It would take an inanimate object to still pretend like it still has faith in the Mets.

Jonathan Groff Covers Attitude


Jonathan Groff's nipples play peekaboo on U.K's Attitude. Am thrilled the adorable American's "Looking" is getting a second season. Perhaps HBO learned something after all from the premature withdrawal of "The Comeback."

Signed, Sealed, Delivered


Stopped by Three Lives & Co. in the West Village this weekend and signed a new stack of my book -- Malcolm Gladwell was there! -- which they say is selling well. If you're looking for a copy and want to support a great book store, I highly recommend it. For hours and directions, click HERE.

For those in Lower Manhattan, you can also find it at the Bureau of General Studies - Queer Division.

77 Candles


I feell in love with Warren Beatty when I was 11 years old and went to see "Heaven Can Wait" at the Abbey Cinema at Oakland Mall near my childhood home in Madison Heights, Michigan. That I fell for him when he was 40 tells you everything you need to know about my "type" -- but I've since looked in the rearview mirror a bit and realized he was certainly one of the prettiest men alive in his youth. To mark Shirley's little brother's 77 birthday yesterday, Greg in Hollywood relives it all HERE.


#CancelStupidity



I've always said "All in the Family" could have never aired today and now people are complaining about Stephen Colbert's genius take on racism? Americans really are getting dumber with each passing year.

Gay Fiction: From Top to Bottom


Matthew Rettenmund lovingly laments the death of the "gay book," then compiles a must-read collection of the first and last sentences of as many gay novels as he could readily lay his hands on.


I'm sticking with the books' proper first and last sentences, so am leaving out things like dates and places (“New York, 1983") in the case of books that begin or end with letters, and I'm also ignoring the “hmmm”-inspiring epigraphs that so often appear at the beginning of a novel. These are not meant to be my choices for "the best gay books." But most of my favorite gay novels are included and you will undoubtedly have read and loved many of them. Actually...how many have you read?
Very few, actually -- I love nonfiction!

Enjoy HERE.

Thief of Hearts


If Laura can marry her rapist, then I'm a-OK with this!

Simon & Simon


THIS is tonight. It sounds pretty incredible, although I am not going. (Rub it in my face if you do.)

Monday Ad Watch


My friend Mark Allen:
This ad really has a retro-80's GQ magazine look. It looks like the kind of thing I used to stare at while laying on my teenage bedroom floor, rubbing myself with Drakkar Noir tear-out scent strip samples.

Back in Business




  The tennis world righted itself this weekend when Novak Djokovic exercised dominance over Rafael Nadal again, beating the Spaniard in straight sets for his fourth Miami title. Still, it was hard not to look at Nole and wonder if that was a ball in his pocket of if this NAKED SELFIE was the real deal. It wouldn't be the first time the Serb was accusing of packing heat.

Funny Lady


Michael and I had a hoot seeing Elayne Boosler Saturday at Stage 72 / The Triad on the Upper West Side. It was billed as a "rare New York City performance" -- even though she lives around the corner on West 73rd Street -- and her schedule seems to confirm she performs mostly around the country these days. This show was a benefit for her nonprofit organization, Tails of Joy, and that animal rights is now her No. 1 passion was evident. Great to see Joy Behar and Danny Aiello in the audience, and even greater to get to say hi to Elayne after the show, where she graciously posed for photos and signed ticket stubs while hawking merch to benefit her cause. She'll do an encore performance Friday, April 18. Tickets avilable HERE.


Song of the Day: 'Fly' by Sugar Ray


Now that I know that he would eventually be a pussy about his body and small penis, and essentially morph into Carrot Top's little brother, I'm pretty much over Mark McGrath. But I think we all have to admit we had a thing for Mr. Sugar Ray back in his "Fly" days -- and the song was pretty infectious, too!

'Anita' Tissue


  Had a busy weekend of events, but am so glad we managed to squeeze in "Anita," Freida Lee Mock's superb documentary about Anita Hill and the fallout of her Senate testimony during Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court confirmation process. As I prayed it would, the film included the voicemail message from Thomas' delusional wife, Ginni, in which she asks Hill to consider apologizing to her hubby for what Hill did to him. ("We really just want to know why you did what you did.") This would turn out to be the film's only moment of comic relief. But I thought it was fitting that it opened with that plea for redress , because I couldn't help but think that a 20-plus-years-after-the-fact apology is indeed owed to someone here -- namely Hill herself, from everyone on the Senate Judiciary Committee who put her on trial when all she was doing was truthfully answering questions -- under oath, mind you. 

As you may recall, Joe Biden is simply infuriating in his role as Judas, who didn't even have the balls to allow Thomas' other accusers to testify. Although I was outraged back in 1991, I found myself becoming extremely emotional throughout much of this film when I looked back at how young and vulnerable Hill was then, watching her elderly parents and siblings come to her side on Capitol Hill. (Hill is the youngest of 13 kids.) You will be deeply moved by what Hill has to say about her mother. Hill remains confident that we have come a long way since 1991, but I remain skeptical, with what is going on in the armed forces and the rash of teenage sexual attacks where the girls continue to be the ones who are blamed weighing heavily on my mind. (Social media has revealed the dark side of this ongoing societal problem.) "Anita" isn't something that demands to be seen on the big screen. But it's something you do not want to miss.

Tags to Riches


A fire sale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Read HERE.

Morning Wood


Page 1 Consider (03/31)



Oh, Josh: Someone's ego is getting the better of him.






Same-sex MARRIEDS?



Sunday, March 30, 2014

Seven Stories for Every Sin


Get Brian Centrone's "Erotica" HERE.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Saturday Ad Watch


  I think my edit is way more persuasive than the original.


Bright Lights, Big City


The New York Post reports that the city's towers are in an LED arms race to be the brightest spot in skyline. Read HERE.

On the Rag, Vol. 296

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay mags:


Grab: I haven't had a Chicago rag on here since Boi vanished in2011, but this grabbed my attention, with its '90s gay porn logo and style! (Despite the spelling, Jessie Montgomer is a male porn performer.) Click HERE.


Next: Love that Boy George is having a bit of a resurgence, even if he seems to have blocked me on Twitter for no reason! Read HERE.


Get Out! Magazine: Dimitri Minucci is a force to be reckoned with / Read HERE.


Metro Weekly (DC): Keegan Theatre lets the sunshine in with a rousing, energized revival of the provocative 1968 musical / Read HERE.


Echo (Phoenix): The Pride Preview is up now! Read HERE.


Lavender (Minneapolis): The Spring Wedding Issue is HERE.

Of Interest


Belinda Carlisle is a babe either way, but this retouching might be a bit much.

 
     I'm not quite ready to call it separated at birth, but it's a lot closer than I ever dreamed Olivia Newton-John would be to Joan Rivers.

Friday, March 28, 2014

C**k Shot Scandal for Novak Djokovic?


Where's a Serbian(?) translator when you need one? Some magazine seems to be implicating Novak Djokovic in a c*ck shot selfie SKANDAL!

Gaycation (All He Ever Wanted)


This Biloxi newsman sounds smart. Seen HERE.

Sunset People


You only have to seethis old photo of the Go-Go's partying with John Belushi to know these were not the "girls next door." 

Kathy Valentine recalls: 
My second gig with The Go-Go's, Dec.1980! John became a great pal after this night, good times, late night jams at Guitar Center on Sunset, stealing beer from 7-11!

Three-Point Routine


 I wonder if Hannah Horvath wrote the copy for this GQ grooming-products advertorial, which manages to even make "abortion contract" hoops star J.J. Redick look squeaky clean.

'I Am Divine' Gets Gussied Up


"I Am Divine: The True Story of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World" -- Jeffrey Schwartz's love letter to best drag queen ever -- will debut digitally April 1st and on DVD April 8th. The release will feature bonus materials including commentary and more than 30 minutes of deleted scenes. Order yours HERE.


The Emperor's New Cockring


I saw and then forgot to write about James Franco's "Interior. Leather Bar.," which probably tells you all you need to know about it. When pressed by the film's (confused) leading actor -- pal Val Lauren -- Franco admits he's not entirely sure what the point of the project is, but adds that he thinks it's messed up that he's a little uneasy about seeing two men have sex -- "because society brainwashed me with nothing but images of straight people having sex" -- so perhaps this is righting the wrong. It won't -- it's so pornographic lite that no one but gay men will ever see it -- but that's not to say Franco's heart isn't in the right place. It's just a shame no one seems to be willing to tell Franco when to pick and choose his moments. He's like the gay-friendly boy who cried wolf, and one of these days he's gonna do something really worthwhile related to LGBT issues and it will probably be greeted with a thank-you and a yawn.

Song of the Day: 'Rules & Regulations' by Cyndi Lauper


I thought we'd dug up everything there was to be had when my friend Greg and I produced a two-disc collection of Cyndi Lauper b-sides and rarities (below) back in 2004, but now comes the release of "Rules and Regulations," a rather delightful rehearsal demo from the "She's So Unusual" era. To mark the 30th anniversary of Lauper's classic solo debut, it will receive its own two-disc treatment, out on April 1 and featuring demos, rehearsals, B-sides, live tracks, and remixes, including "Rules & Regulations," which you can learn more about HERE.




UPDATE: Nice piece "by" Cyn in today's Wall Street Journal HERE.