Thursday, January 31, 2019

Remains of the Day (01/31)


6sqft: This couple has made 220 square feet work for 24 years in a Chelsea Hotel SRO 

HuffPost: Mitch McConnell thinks Democrats are trying to steal elections by allowing people to vote

Vanity Fair: There's yet another Trump-Putin meeting we didn't know about

Philadelphia Magazine: Forget Pizza Rat -- Philly's Pretzel Rat is the next rodent celebrity

Instagram: CNN's Natalie Allen has a hot son


Gr8er Days: 30 classic documentaries that were snubbed by Oscar

Boy Culture: Out candidate Pete Buttigieg on whether American is ready for a gay president

The Fix: The next generation of voters is more liberal, more inclusive and believes in government

Baseline: Rafael Nadal finally popped the question

The Washington Post: Senate backs McConnell’s rebuke of Trump’s military drawdown plans in Syria, Afghanistan


Towleroad: Locker Room 101 -- Soap dropping for dummies

The Randy Report: First an armed lunatic at Comet Ping Pong and now this bullshit?

Greg in Hollywood: Start doing your tongue exercises, guys: Showtime is reviving "The L Word"

OMG Blog: Michael Angels and Keith Roenke are fully naked in "D'Agostino"

New York Post: Woman arrested for masturbating in public picked up where she left off in back of police car


Hot Cat of the Day: These Milos Raonic and Larry lookalikes need to take this show on the road!

Did Jussie Smollett Fabricate His Hate-Fueled Attack?


Yikes. Racists have been doubting "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's reported attack since the get-go, because that's what they do. But just as the rest of us -- some of whom had reasonable questions about the allegations -- thought the case seemed to be moving toward a potential arrest comes word that both Smollett and his manager are refusing to let cops have their phones to verify details of their account. (The manager now says he was on the phone with Smollett and heard parts of the attack, including the "This is MAGA country" declaration.) 


The timeline of the surveillance video isn’t adding up, either. My position is to always err on the side of believing people who say they are victims but then examine each case on its own merits. And from my 30 years of obsessive real-crime reading and TV watching, suddenly not cooperating usually means one thing ...


Truth be told I can't decide which would be worse at this point -- that people are capable of doing something so disgusting or that someone would make it up for attention? (Some are suggesting he might have staged the attack to cover for a hookup gone wrong, but the rope detail doesn't jibe for me.) Whatever the case may be, elements of this story didn't add up from the beginning, starting with one police source denying the MAGA element ever happened only for us to later be told that it did. From what I'm reading it sounds like Smollett added that detail during his second interview, which could explain the discrepancy. (I'm also hearing Smollett didn't suffer a broken rib as originally reported. And that he kept the rope/noose around his neck until the arrival of the cops, who were not called for 40 minutes after the alleged attack.) One thing is for sure: The second people overreacted and doubled down about the Covington students non-event, I feared the "boy who cried wolf" would come back to haunt us. And if this turns out to be a hoax it will only deepen my fears.


For people who ask what motive someone would have for making something like this up, there are a lot of them. Usually they think they're doing good by shining a light on something that is in fact going on, even if it's not true in their case. Or it's merely attention seeking, as was the case with this McCain-supporting genius, who carved a "B" on her face but did it backward because she was looking in the mirror!


And then there was this YouTuber who insists to this day he was the victim of a hate crime even though police are certain he made the whole thing up. He was even charged with vandalism as part of the hoax.


And THIS ONE

Hoaxes don't happen often -- hate crimes are definitely on the rise during this current political environment -- but they do happen.


If I'm wrong I will be the first to admit it. All I know is that I screamed out in a crowded newsroom in 1994 during this press conference that Susan Smith murdered her own children and people were disgusted with me ...

UPDATE: 


Above all, I'm glad he says he's OK

Song of the Day: 'Lookin' for Love' by Johnny Lee


Westville, my go-to neighborhood restaurant, had a mix of country-crossover hits from yesteryear on the other day and it reminded me how much I liked this classic from "Urban Cowboy." Had no idea the song had been kicked around and demoed by 20 artists who "hated" it, only to be included on the film soundtrack because John Travolta was a fan. They also played Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and Lynn Anderson's "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden," two of my other favorites from back in the day! 


Page 1 Roundup (01/31)








The Wall Street Journal: Very Old McDonald won't quit the farm

Morning Wood


Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Remains of the Day (01/30)


CBC: How the rom-com charms of "Trick" gave big gay hope to a small town boy

Daily Mail: An insurance agent tapped to become a regent at the University of Alaska has not quite apologized for her disgusting social media posts, including one that implied Michelle Obama is a man and another featuring a meme of the late Johnnie Cochran in support of Brett Kavanaugh

Instagram: What did you think of the X-ray of tennis player Andy Murray's c**k?

Back2Stonewall: Massachusetts man kills boyfriend to hide gay relationship

The Randy Report: Feast your eyes on "police officer" Nyle DiMarco's beefy legs



The Daily News: Opera star David Daniels and husband arrested on sexual assault charges after singer claimed they drugged and raped him in 2010

The Center: Time has come. Get your tickets to this year’s MASQ -- a sexy night of decadence and delight under the chandeliers of the Williamsburg Hotel ballroom. This year’s theme: ROCOCO.

Gr8er Days: Barbra Streisand responds to Oscar nominee's fan letter 47 years later

Instagram: Jan-Michael Gambill and his boyfriend are open enough to post sexy photos together in a hot tub, yet we still haven't heard the former Top 20 player discuss life on the tour as a gay player?

The New York Times: Remember how Gov. Scott Walker was going to give a company $4 billion (with a "b")  in tax credits to fulfill Trump's promise of "bringing manufacturing jobs" back to the U.S.A.?

New York Post: How swiping right led to a 159,000-text stalker nightmare


BBC: The tiny library bringing books to remote villages

Dlisted: Netflix had to tell messes to stop lusting after a serial killer

Washington Post/ABC News Poll: 56% of registered voters say they will "definitely" not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election, but who they will vote for remains up in the air

Towleroad: Jury told 18-year-old murdered 53-year-old man during rough role-play "game"

Lexington Herald-Leader: Kim Davis must pay the $225,000 in legal fees for the gay couples who sued her, say governor’s lawyers

Instagram: You don't have to be Catholic to observe Ass Wednesday


Hot Cat of the Day: "Time Passages" meets the "Year of the Cat" ...

Wrestle Wednesday




Borna's New Love


I've always found it promising that the only female Borna Coric ever posts about is his (adorable) sister. But now we have to deal with THIS BITCH


Song of the Day: 'This Will Be Our Year' by the Zombies



If Mrs. Maisel's stand-up had been half as good as the show's soundtrack, it would be an instant classic. (But alas it's enjoyable enough.) Did you know the Zombies covered Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down" on their 1990-1991 reunion album? (I didn't!) 

Page 1 Roundup (01/30)









Morning Wood


Lucky for this one I'm too lazy to stalk him -- he's A BARTENDER around the corner from my apartment!

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Chicago Police Spokesperson Disputes 'MAGA' Angle of Jussie Smollett Attack -- UPDATE 2

UPDATE 2: OK, now I'm hearing the reason for the discrepancy is that Smollett added that detail during his second interview with police. And now questions about the truthfulness of the whole story HAVE BEEN RAISEDTruth be told I can't decide which would be worst at this point -- that people are capable of doing something so disgusting or that someone would make it up for attention? Either way, it's a very sad story.

UPDATE 1: OK, now we can go nuts ...

Via WSJ: A police department spokesman said Mr. Smollett later told detectives that the attackers said, “This is MAGA country,” an apparent reference to the slogan popular with supporters of Donald Trump, Make America Great Again, the spokesman said.


It seems whatever happened to "Empire" star Jussie Smollett was undoubtedly barbaric and horrific. And that there was a homophobic and racial element also seems beyond likely. But again, please allow members of the media to do their jobs before running with every horrific detail that has been floated. Tim Teeman is a respected journalist and friend of mine, and he just posted this on Twitter.

We still do not know what Jussie says happened, and we do not know what he told police happened. So far we only know what TMZ and That Grape Juice have HEARD from someone close to him, allegedly ... and now a police source is contradicting it.

Also, using words like "alleged" and "apparent" before the term "hate crime" isn't calling into question whether or not what is alleged to have happened was in fact a hate crime. The "hate crime" moniker is a legal distinction that prosecutors make, not reporters and editors, who mustn't try and convict people in the press.

TMZ is a Trump supporter. Do we know they didn't add that detail to the story to make liberals look silly when it "suddenly" turns out not to be true?


And here we go -- an actual response to the tweet from Tim. When did we get to be so stupid?

Remains of the Day (01/29)



Towleroad: Sex bomb Nyle DiMarco stars in ASL remake of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings"

The Randy Report: "Empire" star Jussie Smollett viciously attacked in apparent racist, anti-gay attack

Baseline: Taylor Fritz, when babies have babies

Boy Culture: Gay serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to 8 counts of first-degree murder

Dlisted: Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and more may have to testify at Fyre Festival trial


KIT212: Friday's Morning Wood is not only hot, he's got manners: He wrote to thank me for posting him on my site!

NewNowNext: Could openly gay and HIV+ City Council Speaker Corey Johsnon be the next mayor  of NYC?

The Daily News: Child Victims Act finally passes as four lawmakers recount their own experiences with abuse, and Dems control both chambers

E! Online: Jenny Slate -- aka Chris Evans's ex -- has a type

The Washington Post: I would feel a lot better about the effort to overthrow Venezuela's leader if the U.S. and Brazil didn't support it

Gr8er Days: Every gay man of a certain age grew up adoring Ann Jillian


Gothamist: Happy Valentine's Day -- Sweethearts are dead

Gay Star News: Michael Caine reflects on his gay roles: "Kiss with Christopher Reeve was a disaster"

HuffPost: Kamala Harris backs Medicare for all -- and she isn't messing around

Washington Blade: White House mum on Trump's meeting with conspiracy-theory-loving nut job Ginni Thomas -- aka Mrs. Clarence -- who is still waiting for her apology from Anita Hill

People: John Travolta will no longer be endorsing the Eva Gabor wig collection

OMG Blog: Andrea Casiraghi bares his royal scepter and crown jewels



Tennis Tuesday


Nice tat. I wonder if Molly would notice if he "was hanging out"? (I wrote about her pointing it out to me when I wore those shorts in the 1980s in my memoir.)

Song of the Day: 'Zebra Club' by the Bongos


I've become such a retroactive Bongos fan thanks to Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs's cover of "Bulrushes." 

Page 1 Roundup (01/29)


















Morning Wood


This one couldn't wait for SPEEDO SUNDAY.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Gay Trainer Landen Jones Killed in Freak Accident


Some horrific news about Landen Jones, an instructor at Mark Fisher Fitness and a beloved member of the LGBTQ community:
The Associated Press reports that police are investigating after two men tending to a disabled vehicle were killed after falling from the Parkway East onto 2nd Avenue, where they were struck by a passing vehicle.

The men have been identified as 39-year-old Landen Manning Jones and 34-year-old Jason Hubert Jackson. The incident happened shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday. Police say Jackson's vehicle (a white Acura MDX SUV) was disabled in the right lane of the parkway near the Oakland exit when Jones pulled up to assist Jackson. State police said Jones took Jackson to get gas, but the vehicle still would not start.

The two men were out of their cars when the driver of a third vehicle (a silver Vokswagen Passat) hit the rear of Jones's car (a Honda Civic).

"They were going to call AAA, and then that's when the third car hit," Trooper Bondarenka said. She said it was unclear whether the men were struck by the third vehicle or jumped to get out of its path.

The driver of the third vehicle has been identified as 38-year-old Joaquin Smalley.

The two men fell 30-35 feet onto 2nd Avenue and were run over by a passing vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

A woman and child were inside Jackson's vehicle. They were not injured.

State police said Smalley was taken to the hospital. A driver along 2nd Avenue was also taken to the hospital after hitting the two victims. That driver has not been identified.

The accident remains under investigation.

The Parkway East and 2nd Avenue were closed for several hours after the incident.
I'm not sure I've ever heard of something more harrowing.


A mutual friend shared this sweet message, above, about Landen. 

And a friend of mine who attended Mark Fisher Fitness told me this: 
Devastating news! Of course he was trying to help someone. He was such a sweet guy. The MFF community is shook.




RIP.