Saturday, February 28, 2015

Friday, February 27, 2015

Cat Man Doable

I see hunky Spanish DNA cover model Leo Rice and I have at least one thing in common! Buy the current issue HERE.

Follow him HERE.

Die Alone With Him

My friend Danny Casillas -- known to some KIT212 readers as the hilarious Frieda Laye from "Chico's Angels" -- is daring to do what few would today: He's started a blog:

I haven't given up on love. I think I've just given up thinking it's going to happen magically at some special time. I think as I get older, I get more comfortable with myself and more accustomed to that comfort. This makes it difficult to compromise and deal with another's faults and special behaviors that might have made them seem adorable to me when I was younger. Now, I find that being alone for the rest of my life is s distinct possibility. I am a single gay man, with no partner and no children. I don't even have a dog. I'm not sad. Occasionally I'm lonely, but I enjoy my own company. I got the idea for Die Alone With Me, when I considered my other friends, who are my age, single and gay, with no children and dating. Maybe when we're in our 80's we'll be roommates, like the Golden Girls, single and dying alone together. This is not a place of loneliness, but a place for finding people like you, or people you love, who are alone and can find the humor in it. Seriously, you gotta laugh, otherwise you'll scare people off and you'll end you dying alone alone! So, if you're aging, getting more finicky, gay or straight, looking for a chuckle or an accidental insight, pop on over and DIE ALONE WITH ME.

Join Danny HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Valerie' Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse

Probably not a big shocker that Amy Winehouse wasn't on my radar much back in her heyday, but I've sure come to appreciate her since -- especially this one.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Aaron Schock Can't 'Shake Off' Incriminating Instagrams

Jon Stewart had a field day with the pretty-boy congressman, who may not be gay, but is knee-deep in mud.

Thorn in the Brit Awards' Side

Madonna told a Bedtime Story back in '95

The Brits are so polite these days. One reason? There’s no bands left.

"It used to feel like a school canteen full of rival gangs - now it's a civilised dining room."

My (Everything But the) Girl Tracey Thorn attended the Brit Awards for the first time in decades and wrote a fun essay about them. Back in 1995, she got invited to Madonna's private party at Brown’s in Soho. Both Tracey and Madonna had recently recorded with Massive Attack -- who were up for best album -- and it was the first time Tracey had heard anyone refer to her as “Madge.” (I assumed that Nellee and 3D and Mushroom and Daddy G, no slouches when it came to nicknames, had invented it themselves.)

And then there was this year:

There’s less camaraderie, and less rivalry, and the absence of both is what dulls the air. Band camaraderie is infectious, and enlivens an audience – you want to be part of that gang, whether it’s the Rolling Stones or the Spice Girls, the Libertines or One Direction – and bitchy rivalry is entertaining. Blur vs Oasis was silly but funny. Now, admiration and respect are the order of the day. Sam loves James, Ed loves Sam, and everybody is Taylor’s best friend.

Thorn's first-person account of Madonna's plunge is the real gem, though. Read HERE.

In Focus: Chris Salvatore

More HERE.

The Daily Grindr

Sounds magical. Send yours HERE.

The Ick Factor

Follow me HERE.

Move Over, Cat Ladies

There are cat men too -- and some of them are hot! Click HERE.

Big City, Small Living

How One New Yorker Lives Comfortably in 90 Square Feet

Suburbanites are always taken aback by how small my (one-bedroom) apartment is -- but I know I'm living the (comparative) good life! Read HERE.

Nailed It

From HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Head Over Heels' by ABBA

Before the Go-Go's and Tears for Fears, the Swedish superstars were "Head Over Heels" ... and then they broke up.

Morning Wood

Page 1 Consider (02/26)

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Cost of Praying Away the Gay

Boy Culture has part 1 of Vice's look at ex-gay conversion therapy HERE, a practice he notes "luckily seems to be on its way out" ...

but as MSNBC's recent "48 Hours" episode "Fall From Grace" shows, hating who you are still continues to have serious -- and sometimes deadly -- consequences.

Madonna Falls Down Flight of Stairs [Insert Broken Hip Joke HERE]

Fitting fumble on the day Madonna's comments about ageism came out in Rolling Stone.

"It's still the one area where you can totally discriminate against somebody and talk shit. Because of their age. Only females, though. Not males. So in that respect we still live in a very sexist society. 'No one would dare to say a degrading remark about being black or dare to say a degrading remark on Instagram about someone being gay, my age – anybody and everybody would say something degrading to me. And I always think to myself, ''why is that accepted?''

Her (overall) point is well-taken, although I do think what she said is a bit out of touch, a bit hypocritical and greatly in need of context. For starters, age is not the one area where you can "totally discriminate" against somebody. There are laws on the books against it, just as there are for racial discrimination. However in many places, discriminating against someone for being LGBT is still completely legal. If she meant in the broader sense of social media, fine. But it does seem a bit tone deaf coming from a gay icon -- like somehow someone's livelihood is on par with her having her feelings hurt in an Instagram comment. Next, her words would have far more weight if she would use promotional photos of herself that aren't Photoshopped to make her look 26 instead of 56. There's no shame in exercising and having work done to look younger as you age. But to aggressively manipulate images to the point of erasing any sign of age only fuels the idea that there's something inherently wrong with getting older. That's not helping here.

More importantly, though, young people have been distancing themselves from aging since the beginning of time, and Madonna's no exception. Go back and watch old clips and you will find her rolling her eyes at the suggestion that she would still be "parading around" in sexy outfits when she's "Mick Jagger's age" -- Mick Jagger, who is 15 years her senior and is A MALE! -- or listen to her say that you should "just shoot" her if she continues to sing "Like a Virgin" or "Material Girl" when she's 50. (I believe she's done both.) When she was younger, she viewed getting older the same way people criticizing her now did. Even she didn't seem to think she'd be showing her ass off at 56 -- she told Rupert Everett that she would be "making movies" at this stage in her life. Things don't always turn out the way you think they will in your head, and that's OK. But as she has demonstrated, it's perfectly normal for young people to think this way. Now that she's on the other end of things, I also think it's perfectly reasonable for her to evolve and realize she was wrong now that she's older -- and to share her thoughts on the topic. But I find it disreputable when she and her most-myopic followers act like she's the only person who's ever been a victim of it -- and waste their time trying to demonize people for acting just like she once did. She's a (healthy) billionaire who doesn't need her fans to defend her every move -- she'll be just fine. Why not save the effort for someone who really needs it?

Unintentionally Fabulous

Noticed by a Photoshop-equipped friend on Facebook: Madonna and I do both love New York. (My rave-ish review of "Rebel Heart" TK.)

EXCLUSIVE: Hugh Jackman has 'a thing' for swingers clubs, Anna Nicole Smith had vomit breath and Michael J. Fox's dirty word discovery: Confessions of the drug and sex crazed 'interviewer to the stars'

--Kevin Sessums was one of a few celebrity interviewers who was treated like an insider by stars
--He lost both parents by age nine and was abused by a minister in rural Mississippi at 13
He's interviewed everyone from Courtney Love to Diane Sawyer to Jared Leto
--Alan Cumming revealed he was bisexual and married to Grant Shaffer
--Actor Tony Curtis said Sessums resembled his crush Yul Brynner. 'I haven't slept with a man in decades, but the night is young,' Curtis told him

Read HERE.

The Fresh Prince of Belgrade

For a No. 1-ranked athlete and new father, Novak Djokovic sure looks fresh-faced in his WSJ magazine cover spread. Read HERE.

Yeah, That's Dispirit

At Spirit Airlines, Airfares Come With Asterisks

Fees—and complaints—pile up fast, but budget-conscious passengers keep coming

Michigan friends: I will be in Detroit this weekend -- if I live through this! Get a load of this analogy:

"No one goes to Chick-fil-A and complains they can’t get a burger. And people shouldn’t come to Spirit if they want lots of legroom,” Spirit Chief Executive Ben Baldanza says. “Judge us for who we are.”

Read HERE.

Pay the Gay Away

The embattled congressman has reportedly lawyered up, refusing to answer questions about a luxury trip to London in 2011. Read HERE.

Noise for News

Please Stop Making That Noise

Another New York Times piece on misophonia, the sound disorder I chronicle my battle with in my memoir, "Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?"

Dr. Barron Lenrner, a fellow sufferer, writes:

For me, one of the most frustrating aspects of misophonia is what I call the “incredulity factor.” For years, I could not believe that my friends and relatives were not getting as upset at what I considered rude behaviors. They were getting frustrated with me for focusing on sounds they did not really hear.

One of the advantages of defining misophonia is that it reminds those with the condition that only a small percentage of the population — no one knows the exact number — is affected. As one commentator wrote online, “I had to learn this is MY problem, not the problem of other people.”

As nice as it is to not feel so alone, truth be told there would be no need to call it anything if some people weren't so incredibly rude.

Oh, Cheri

Cheri Oteri can do no wrong in my book. Nadeen, Collette Reardon and the Spartans' own Arianna were classic SNL characters. But when she went on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" last week to explain why she wasn't more involved in the "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary special, I'm hearing she wasn't being entirely truthful in saying it was merely a "scheduling conflict." While her tenuous relationship with her old show has been rumored for years -- word was she was excluded from the SNL "Women of Comedy" special a couple of years ago because Lorne Michaels hates her -- a well-placed source confirms that she was initially not invited to the 40-year festivities. At the 11th hour -- after she started to freak out and make noise and call people -- she finally reached out to fellow cheerleader Will Ferrell pleading with him to please "DO SOMETHING." Apparently that didn't even work, but then Tina Fey -- who apparently isn't a fan of Oteri's either -- finally spoke up to the powers that be and said, "I mean c'mon, guys -- you're not even going to INVITE her?" In the end, Oteri was allowed to attend but was not asked to perform or even appear. Obviously I've never had the (dis?)pleasure to work with Oteri, so I haven't a clue if her difficult reputation is deserved or not. But given how integral she was to the show's success during her tenure, I definitely agree with Fey that she deserved to at least be included.