Saturday, August 31, 2019
Friday, August 30, 2019
Remains of the Day (08/30)
The New York Times: Many genes influence same-sex sexuality, not a single "gay gene"
Instagram: His condom size? Extra large
The WoW Report: Alex Trebek has completed his chemo and is back to work on the new season of “Jeopardy”
Towleroad: Sexual abuse against gay and bi men brings unique stigma and harm
Back2Stonewall: The Equality Act introduced to Congress and 45 years later we are still waiting #BellaAbzug
Baseline: Kim Clijsters inducted into U.S. Open Court of Champions
Dlisted: Gabrielle Carteris was reelected as president of SAG-AFTRA
TV Line: Could sex bomb Chris Meloni return "Law and Order: SUV"?
Washington Post: As vaping-related lung illnesses spike, investigators eye contaminants
NewNowNext: Lambda Legal’s employee union finally secures a contract
Metrosource: What will happen in the return of “Downton Abbey”?
BosGuy: For fans of furry men only
Boy Culture: Troye Sivan pissed that a gay mag asked: TOP OR BOTTOM?
The Randy Report: Just when you thought Trump had sunk as low as he could
Greg in Hollywood: NFL player Ryan Russell comes out as bisexual
USA Today: RenΓ©e Zellweger lived with Judy Garland in her head for two years. Why it made her cry
Gay City News: Bed-Stuy man indicted in anti-LGBTQ stabbing
OMG Blog: Ballet dancer Roberto Bolle naked, in a lot of memorable poses
On the Rag, Vol. 569
A weekly look at what's making news in the gay magazines:
HotSpots (South Florida): JOR designer Javier Ortega talks new swimwear collection
Get Out!: Tina Burner's still here, damnit
Metro Weekly (D.C.): The Kennedy Center will soon raise the curtain on the first-ever expansion in its 47-year history
Lavender (Minnesota): The divine and fabulous
DNA (Australia): Can't get enough of Alessandro Cavagnola
Q Salt Lake: "I am the only out LGBTQ athlete at BYU" -- Emma Gee
Dallas Voice: HRC’s new president brings his years of experience in the fight for civil rights to the LGBT rights organization
Song of the Day: 'Cruel to Be Kind' by Letters to Cleo
Fun gender-flip cover of the classic Nick Lowe single. And all this time I thought they only had one song! Apparently they also covered Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" on the "10 Things I Hate About You" soundtrack. (Who knew?)
Page 1 Roundup (08/30)
The Daily News: Lead paint risk found in more than 1,800 NYC classrooms
Instagram: It's not gonna lick itself
New York Post: Simone Biles’s brother charged in Cleveland triple homicide
The Washington Post: The scene during Pet Expo Thailand 2019
The New York Times: How a ring of women allegedly recruited girls for Jeffrey Epstein
Geeta Anand: How not to grow old in America
The Wall Street Journal: Popeyes launches chicken sandwich arms race: ‘JFK called for a man on the moon’
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Remains of the Day (08/30)
New York Post: Found out my friend Joe is running a bar out of his garage!
Instinct: Debra Messing just added flames to her alleged feud with Megan Mullally
Back2Stonewall: The CDC formally recognizes AIDS as an “epidemic” in 1981
Baseline: Things get weird at Flushing Meadows
Instagram: Current DNA cover man Alessandro Cavagnola also bulges in red on social media
Towleroad: Joel Schumacher says he’s had sex with 10,000 or 20,000 men (how precise)
Donald McCarthy: The unexpected hobby that helped me face my body dysmorphia
Matthew's Island: Models wearing blue underwear
CBC: Man angry his photo was used to prove all hipsters look alike -- then learns it wasn't him (ICYMI)
Metrosource: This is what gay life looked like in WW II. Can you add to the story?
Dlisted: A woman broke into a Botox clinic with a power saw
Gr8er Days: See what "Roxanne" stud Rick Rossovich looks like at 62
Vulture: Woody Allen’s Italian distributor pities American audiences
Washington Blade: LGBT forum for 2020 hopefuls gets boost from GLAAD, Cory Booker(!)
Greg in Hollywood: Now that's what I call a body
The Randy Report: Trump tells supporters "Fox News isn't working for us anymore"(!)
Opinion: A goal for Democrats: Make the White House boring again
OMG Blog: Skeet Ulrich wants you to know he's still got it
Hot Cat of the Day: The tail never clocks out ...
Unfavorable Business Climate
Trump administration to roll back Obama-era limits on methane, a major cause of climate change. Read HERE.
Thursday Ad Watch
Thank god "truth in advertising" laws aren't strictly enforced.
So help me -- if Chris Mazdzer even thinks of shaving his chest ...
Song of the Day: '17 Again' by Eurythmics
Had a long talk with my sister yesterday, something we don't do nearly as often in the digital age. My nephew, AJ, who just turned 17 and is starting his senior year of high school, was a major topic of conversation. I've long been urging him to go away to college, having felt like I missed out on a big life experience by living at home for most of my higher education. (Don't think it's a coincidence that I still have friends from every era of my life dating back to age 11 but don't really have a "college group.")
When I was a college sophomore, this was my pinned Tweet
It's a weird feeling when your biggest regret in life is also likely the reason you're still alive. If you'll recall, Rock Hudson had just announced he had AIDS in July 1985, during the summer before I started college. And the year before one of the cooks at a restaurant called the Salad Bar where I briefly worked during my junior year of high school tried to get me to go to Hotbods, which I later learned was Phoenix’s answer to Studio 54.
I was terrified (OK, mortified) that he even asked -- what was it about this bleach-blond Howard Jones wannabe in suede boots from Judy’s and Bananarama badges that made him think I would even consider going to a gay club, even on a lark?! -- and politely declined. Although there's no way of knowing for certain, it seems highly likely I would have been exploring my sexuality if not sooner -- I was 20 when I finally got down to business -- than with more abandon if I’d gone away to school. (You can only go so wild when you're expected home in your childhood bedroom each night.) As a small consolation, my semester internship away on Capitol Hill gave me a taste of dorm life ... 30 years later and I'm still waiting for David Vilter to pay me the $300 he owes me for the phone bill!
When I took little AJ to the Coffee Plantation, one of my old college haunts
My sister, her husband and AJ's grandparents are all concerned he's too "immature" to go away to college. (You have to wonder what they’d be thinking if he didn’t have a university AND a major in mind!) In fairness, he did just get his driver's license and the second day he drove to school he hit a parked car in the lot! The owner of the injured vehicle became hysterical, but not because she was harmed in any way. Turns out her previous car had recently been totaled. But when everything calmed down AJ paid $800 to have her car fixed without involving the insurance agencies, per the girl’s mother’s wishes. (That must have been the poor kid’s entire earnings from his summer job as a lifeguard, which his parents think made it a “valuable lesson.")
Still, I'm happy my sister is taking a “wait and see" approach about college -- she agrees it's just not the same if you're a commuter student -- encouraging her firstborn to apply to his dream school as well as local colleges. (AJ doesn’t know it, but I’ve already been in touch with an adviser where he wants to go.) Depending on what kind of financial aid/scholarships he qualifies for -- his late Uncle Bill left him some money, too -- and the fact that people can mature a lot in one year's time, my nephew may avoid my fate. I wouldn't want to be 17 again. But it feels nice to help someone who is.
Page 1 Roundup (08/29)
The Daily New: Retired NYPD lieutenant charged with stealing nearly $140K in Social Security benefits intended for his kids
Instagram: Would you get a load of Thomas's meat
Associated Press: Himbo Lawrence O'Donnell sort of retracts story about Trump loans, which means if it does turn out to be true everyone will just remember this rushed take
USA Today: Ex-Patriots lineman Ryan O'Callaghan, who came out as gay, recalls Robert Kraft's support
The Detroit News: Former President Barack Obama's younger daughter, Sasha, is poised to begin her college career at the University of Michigan next week
The New Yorker: Elizabeth Warren's crowds are only getting bigger
New York Post: Ilhan Omar denies bombshell affair claims
The Independent: Attorney who 'refuses to prosecute' domestic violence cases between same-sex partners faces suspension
The Washington Post: Democrats alarmed by Trump’s promise of pardons to build border wall -- but there's nothing that can be done
Now both of Georgia's Senate seats are up for grabs, but Stacey Abrams still isn't interested. (Guess she's waiting for the "third.")
The Independent: Attorney who 'refuses to prosecute' domestic violence cases between same-sex partners faces suspension
The Washington Post: Democrats alarmed by Trump’s promise of pardons to build border wall -- but there's nothing that can be done
Now both of Georgia's Senate seats are up for grabs, but Stacey Abrams still isn't interested. (Guess she's waiting for the "third.")
The New York Times: I feel so bad for the people in the U.K. who didn't bring this on themselves
Christopher Clarey: It's time to suspend Nick Kyrgios again. Tennis needs him but not like this
The Wall Street Journal: The missing piece of Amazon’s New York debacle: It kept a burn book
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
New Life on Chelsea's Beleaguered 8th Avenue
When Bareburger closed at 18th and 8th, I assumed it was because of slow business. (The location at 14th and 6th also closed). But what do you know, it's just relocating to where Chuck and Blade was between 19th and 20th. The space is kind of cursed -- it's been nearly a dozen things since I've lived in the neighborhood -- but perhaps I'll give it a second chance now that it has a bigger dining room.
And just next door in the former home of Rocking Horse Cafe there's a Hummus Kitchen moving in. It appears to be a local chain of sorts -- the menu looks promising.
Got a tip? Write to me HERE.
Remains of the Day (08/28)
Sun-Sentinel: "Bachelorette" couple from Miami marry in Mexico
NY1: One hair stylist's mission make sure the stars of the U.S. Open look their best
Slate: Trump and the New York Times have something in common
NPR: College Board drops plans for SAT student adversity scores
Instagram: Jockstraps are for jump pages
Newsweek: A Yelp reviewer didn't want to hear about slavery on her plantation tour -- this historical interpreter has a lot to say about that
WSJ: How did I not *write* this headline?
NewNowNext: Lambda Legal calls for disbarment of Tennessee DA who refuses to recognize “homosexual marriage”
GQ: The best black jeans to wear right now
Washington Blade: Executive director of Log Cabin Republicans resigns after the group's executive board endorsed Trump
Boy Culture: More wrestling hotness
The WoW Report: I thought Leslie Jones had left "SNL" for the movies years ago
The New York Times: Orlando Suero, photographer of notables, including the Kennedys, dies at 94
HuffPost: 10 books about love and life for LGBTQ teens
Washington Post: A black TV host’s co-anchor compared him to a gorilla. He responded with compassion.
The Randy Report: Trump's approval ratings in battleground states have plunged, but is he plummeting too soon?
Socialite Life: Hunky rugby players hit the runway for Jockey underwear New Zealand fashion show
Metrosource: This is how Popeyes beat Chick-Fil-A at its signature sandwich
Hot Cat of the Day: “Obese? I prefer the term ‘excessively fluffy’” ...