Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Vax Appeal


The CDC reiterated its May guideliens that fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear face masks despite the spread of the Delta variant. Read: Get vaccinated!

Tweet Nothings

Judd Legum: A lot of misinformation is floating around about the nature of the PA Supreme Court's decision on Cosby. So I want to clarify a few issues. Let's talk about EXACTLY WHY the court decided it had to invalidate Cosby's trial. And why their rationale is very weak. Read HERE.

We arrived in the Valley from Detroit the following spring and it was still the talk of the town 

Yikes 

You bury the family members you've got, not the ones you wanted 

“What do you gain by attempting to silence us? What do you gain by instilling ignorance and hate in your children who aren’t like us? What harm comes from allowing us to be who we are?” Gavin Grimm writes 

Wrestle Wednesday

 

Not all wrestling is done in the ring, as evidenced BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Whatta Man' by En Vogue (Featuring Salt-N-Peppa)


When my child-of-the-'90s hubby decided to get us tickets for En Vogue's Pride Sunday show, I figured I would have fun enjoying their couple hits while having even more fun seeing my guy in his element. (He is to female R&B of the decade as I am to '80s new wave chicks.) So you can imagine my surprise when I realized I basically knew every single song -- my not knowing they'd had a whopping 11 Top 40 hits during their brief reign on the Billboard Hot 100. While I went in remembering "Free Your Mind" and "Hold On," the entire house was standing for so much more, including but not limited to "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)," "Giving Him Something He Can Feel," "Don't Let Go (Love)" and this No. 3 smash, which apparently was a reworking of a Linda Lindell single that peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1968, called "What a Man."


For those curious, En Vogue these days is a trio consisting of founding members Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron plus Rhona Bennett, who has toured with the band on and off since 2003, depending on whether co-founder Dawn Robinson is in the mood. Maxine Jones, the fourth original member, apparently teamed up with Robinson years ago to perform (along with Shaunté Usual) as Heirs to the Throne and then later Jones attempted to perform under the name En Vogue to the Max. Although Ellis and Herron unsuccessfully attempted to sue to stop her, it doesn't sound like she got very far as I'm not sure the market warranted two versions of a group that hasn't had a hit single since 1997.

Page 1 Roundup (06/30)
















The New York Times:  Should I sleep or work out?









Hot Cat of the Day: Vote for Pedro ... seriously!

Morning Wood

 

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Tweet Nothings

A classic. 

RIP, Alan Quartermain. My condolences to Monica. 

Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino each slipped and were forced to retire after suffering injuries at Wimbledon today. 

Sometimes it's better not to know! 

Your free smile of the day 

🤣🤣🤣 


Hard to pick just one ...

Tennis Tuesday

 

Check out some equally titillating lower-body action BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Freedom Power!' by Lorde and George Michael


When Jake Fogelnest said he had a message for Lorde from Andrew Ridgeley, he asked that his followers please not shoot the messenger: ⁣  
“If Lorde and that geek with the glasses want to lift from the 1984 version of ‘Freedom’ I will knock their damn teeth in. I don’t give a damn, I’m Andrew Ridgeley and I enjoy PHYSICAL VIOLENCE. It’s actually kind of sexual for me.”⁣
After spending a few hours minutes trying to figure out what the hell any of this meant -- Lorde is a singer and her new album's producer, Jack Antonoff, is a glasses-wearing geek -- I dug up this video mashing her new single with the Wham! classic and had to ask myself: Is Jake Fogelnest’s sense of humor even more twisted than I was aware of, or was being in a group with this kind of toxic masculinity part of the reason why George Michael was such a self-loathing mess? (OK, it’s gotta be the former, right?!)



Page 1 Roundup (06/29)

























Hot Cat of the Day: Now here's a way to make summer school palatable! 

Morning Wood

 

Back when I occasionally sprang for porn it was usually to get to Paul Wagner's scenes on Men at Play. Now the dreamy blond is looking to restart his "adult" career via OnlyFans. More BELOW.

Monday, June 28, 2021

Weekend Tennis Roundup


Big wins for Medvedev, de Minaur, Kerber and Ostapenko(!). But with Wimbledon under way today, all I can think is that the problem with tennis right now is that there is only one plausible winner on the men's side, whereas anyone could win it on the women's. Can there be no middle ground?! See my full report BELOW.


J.J. Wolf and Diego Schwartzman put on a show

Manspread Monday

 

Two more thick jocks BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Pink Cadillac' by Natalie Cole

 

This one came on MTV Classic the other day and it led me to either learn -- or perhaps remember:

1. The song was written by Bruce Springsteen and his best-known version was recorded during "Born in the U.S.A." sessions but was left off the album. Instead, it was used as the b-side for "Dancing in the Dark." (The song received moderate airplay on album-oriented rock radio and appeared on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for 14 weeks, peaking at No. 27.) The song was also a prominent concert number during Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." tour.

2. Bette Midler had recorded the original gender flip cover in 1983, but The Boss refused to let her release it because he felt it wasn't a "girl's song." According to the Midler biography "Still Divine" by Mark Bego, Midler was severely disappointed by Springsteen's veto, which forced her to record a new track ("Beast of Burden") for "No Frills" at considerable expense. Midler's August 1984 video release "Art or Bust" video -- comprising footage from the two "De Tour" concerts at the University of Minnesota -- included "Pink Cadillac" as the opening number.

3. At some point Bruce decided to let the song be covered, and according to Cole, "word got back" to her that he "thought it was very cool that a woman could [sing "Pink Cadillac"] and it would come out so great." Cole's version drove to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.

Page 1 Roundup (06/28)

 



















Hot Cat of the Day: "You want me to get in what?????"

Morning Wood

 

Happy Pride!


En Vogue live at the Paramount Hotel followed by drinks at Flaming Saddles with my No. 1: Pride doesn’t get much better than this! Hope yours was equally fun. 🌈

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Sunday Funnies


"Now get out there and dance like everyone is looking at their phones."

Speedo Sunday


And who wants to go for a ride, BELOW?

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Saturday 'Stache

 

The mustache goes nicely with the furry chest BELOW.

Friday, June 25, 2021

Get the Balance Right

 

Amen. There's got to be middle ground between under- and overthinking everything, but it sure doesn't seem to be where anyone wants to exist.

On the Rag, Vol. 664

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




















Song of the Day: 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' by Crosby, Stills & Nash


Was telling a musician friend about the Judy Collins concert I attended earlier in the week and how her stories were as good as the songs. In turn, he told me the one about her "hot and heavy romance" with Stephen Stills. 

"When he played her 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' for the first time she said, 'Oh, Stephen, it’s such a beautiful song -- but it's not winning me back."  (Ouch.) 

In 2017 she elaborated: "I’ve always understood that people have to write about their lives. Most of all, I felt the song was flattering and heartbreaking -- for both of us. Neither one of us walked away from that relationship relieved. We were feeling like, 'Whoa, what happened?'”

Serious question: If being able to come up with something this genius isn't grounds for taking someone back, what is?!!!


In her defense, she had fallen in love with Stacy Keach, her co-star in the New York Shakespeare Festival musical production of "Peer Gynt."


Question: Did Graham Nash ever write any memorable songs about Joni Mitchell? Her "Blue" album is said to be largely about their breakup and her falling in love with James Taylor.

Page 1 Roundup (06/25)

 
























Hot Cat of the Day: The real reason I could never leave New York.