Hanging on the Telephone

 

I wasn't showered yet -- hence the cap to hide my Christopher Lloyd bed hair -- but couldn't resist a photo-op in this phone booth I stumbled upon near Lincoln Center! When's the last time you saw one of Superman’s changing rooms?

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Titles for Fritz, Tabilo, Kasatkina and Shnaider on the Saturday before Wimbledon. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Serb and Volley

 

According to people on the scene, Novak Djokovic was in fine form as he defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4 in their exhibition match earlier today: "Every part of his game looked good. He's ready for Wimbledon."

Another person wrote: “Excellent serving by Djokovic, who was super aggressive on court. Movement still cautious, which is understandable.”

While this seems hard to believe, a doctor friend did tell me that not all meniscus tears are the same, so perhaps this won't be the career-ending injury I feared it would be. 

Whatever the case, he's got nothing to prove -- he's certainly not the favorite he usually is -- but it would be nice if he could go out on his own terms. 

I will say this, though: He's got a rather nice draw. Or is it just that nobody's particularly good besides him, Sinner and Alcaraz? 

UPDATE: From the horse's mouth:

Novak: 

I can tell you that I enjoyed myself really much today. I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis.

Interviewer: “Were you pain-free?”

Novak: 

I was pain-free…it was a great test. The test was really successful!

Interviewer: “Why did you want to speed up your return?”  

Novak: 

“It's a good question, my wife asked me too. I'm 37 years old, maybe you want to take less risks and prepare for the Olympic Games. I have the feeling of not missing a Grand Slam as long as I can play, as long as I'm active and at this level. I wouldn't call it a fear of missing out, just an incredible desire to play, to compete. Especially because it's Wimbledon, the tournament that has always been a dream for me. The simple idea of missing Wimbledon was not right, I didn't want to deal with it. I'm going through this knee injury for the first time in my life. I wanted to see how quickly I could recover and be in a position to compete in best of five on grass against the best in the world. I haven't come here to play a few rounds. I want to go for the title. The last three days have made me optimistic that I can really compete at the highest level. Maybe it's not ideal for doctors and specialists, who advise you to rest for 3 or 6 weeks, the longer the better so as not to risk it, but it's an individual thing. It's very subjective. Everyone has a different response to recovery, the rehabilitation, the exercises... I have not had any relapse. My intensity is very high now. The knee is fine, there has been no negative reaction." 

Remains of the Day (06/28)

Pride: Austin Wolf, perhaps the biggest gay star the adult industry has seen since Jeff Stryker, has been arrested on charges of child pornography:

Federal authorities conducted a search back in Wolf's Manhattan apartment back in April, where prosecutors said they found an SD card containing hundreds of videos of child porn. The footage allegedly contained children as young as infants, with one depicting a 10-year-old child bound and raped by a man, prosecutors said.

The Caftan Chronicles: An intimate conversation about (gay) sex and (gay) life after prostate cancer

Holland Cotter: Why can’t New York make a proper monument to gay history?

Salon: "Alarm bells about Obergefell": Sotomayor pens blistering dissent on SCOTUS marriage attack

Saturday 'Stache: Red jockstrap, red socks combo

NYT: Marilyn Monroe’s house is made a Los Angeles landmark in City Council vote

Boy Culture: A review of the half-naked Broadway Bares

Fox 2: "Gay panic" bill heads to Michigan Gov. Whitmer's desk

Seattle Times: The secret behind city's gay bowling leagues? Community and competition

Hoomomacabre: Brian hates that Eric acts like a "major queen"

Village Preservation: My Fisher-Price Village has some wonderful competition!

Variety: "Soul Mate," gay romance between Korean and Japanese men, set at Netflix

NBC News: Kanakuk Kamps sex abuse accuser says camp leadership told him to "back off" when he reported abuse

The Randy Report; Yet another specious 6-3 Supreme Court ruling ... and another and another

Speedo Sunday: He Tarzan, me game

Hot Cat of the Day: This kitty is money in the bank! 

Trailer Trash: Because I can't think of something the world needs more right now than a Faye Dunaway documentary, warts 'n' all! 

Watch: President Biden visits Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center ahead of Pride weekend

RIP: Very sad to read that the great Martin Mull, whom I've loved in countless things since I was a child ("Fernwood 2 Night," "Serial," "Clue," "The Larry Sanders Show," "The Cool Kids" and especially as Leon on "Roseanne") has died at 80. Thanks for all the laughs. xo

Pulp Friction?

I would KILL to know what someone left in this book drop outside an elementary school on the Upper West Side! A dozen saucy guesses BELOW.

On the Rag, Vol. 814

When your DNA is sporty; older queers keep busy in Atlanta; people living with HIV are crucial to clinical trials related to the virus; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.

Remains of the Day (06/26)

The Advocate: Marriage equality became the law of this land nine years ago today ... and much to my surprise, I got married in August 2023!

BBC: Biden, by far the most progressive president this country has ever had -- and therefore the best, period -- pardons veterans convicted under military ban on gay sex

The Randy Report: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to host Pride month reception

Boy Culture: Susan Seidelman talks about her gritty debut film, "Smithereens," at the same theater where it premiered back in 1982

Ass Wednesday: Is this big boy going to lunch or to da club?

DM: Dutch volleyball player who was jailed for raping a 12-year-old Brit qualifies to compete in the Paris Olympics

Washington Blade: Remembering longtime Capital Pride organizer and LGBT advocate Bernie Delia, who recently died at 68

Brian Ferrari: Forrest Thayer frolicking on Fire Island with Paul Cadmus, Jared French and José Martinez (1938)

The Wrap: Bill Maher knows we're sick of his making fun of liberals -- who, frankly, deserve it for championing Hamas(!). But don't think for a second he's gone to the dark side: 

I would never be a Republican for all the reasons I never have been. They’re too religious, they’re fiscal hypocrites who absolutely hate it when American spends money it doesn’t have except when they’re in office and then it’s always completely OK, they’re in denial about racism (which, yes, is still a thing), they think climate change is a hoax and the weather girl’s tits are real and they’re always blaming the underprivileged when they should be blaming the overprivileged.

Fox: Los Angeles drag queen Maebe A. Girl explains why she tore out "homophobic" U-turn signs from town

WaPo: Is an Instagram "like" micro-cheating? Gen Z embraces digital sleuthing.

HuffPost: "Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution" gives LGBT trailblazers a chance to celebrate their legacy

Bloomberg: Supreme Court would allow emergency abortions in Idaho, prematurely posted document suggests

NYT: Biden officials pushed to remove age limits for trans surgery, documents show

Matthew's Island: Do you like your jocks spread?

Hot Cats of the Day: These kitties have claws -- and let's keep it that way!

Dry Needling

How do we become best friends with the creator this?!!

Remains of the Day (06/25)

Stolen Holiday: An ode to Ricardo Meneses

The Daily Beast: My friend Tim Teeman finds out how Cole Escola made "Oh, Mary!" the hottest show on Broadway

CNBC: How the vodka soda became "gay water"

Variety: The end of an era as MTV News website goes dark, archives pulled offline

KIT212: Do you like your gingers large and muscular?

Boy Culture: Sandra Bernhard regrets being "snotty" to Morgan Fairchild on set of "Roseanne"

The Randy Report: Supreme Court will hear challenge to trans healthcare ban

Omar G. Encarnacion: Why gay marriage was a big missed opportunity

The Advocate: This gay couple is encouraging other LGBT people to become foster parents

Out: Colton Underwood opens up about "homoerotic" locker room experiences and his first hookups (before marrying and having a child with the first guy he dated lol)

CBC: John Banks, gay rights pioneer who organized Montreal's first Pride march, has died

Edge: Cranky Sean Penn says he went 15 years miserable on sets after "Milk" and couldn't play a gay role today due to "timid and artless policy toward the human imagination"

The Advocate: Accused neo-Nazi describes killing gay Jewish college student Blaze Bernstein in disturbing testimony

Greg in Hollywood: Andy Cohen celebrates 15th anniversary of “Watch What Happens Live” with host of Bravo celebrities

Aaron Blake: Acceptance for gay marriage has never been higher, but that doesn't mean the GOP isn't moving backward

Hot Cat of the Day: Meet Darth Kittypuss, son of Brewers pitcher Hoby Milner!

Must have! 

If you're in NYC, director Susan Seidelman ("Desperately Seeking Susan," "Sex and the City") will be discussing her new memoir tomorrow at the Metrograph.

15 PHOTOS: Paul Mescal is a "big advocate for men wearing shorter shorts"

Tennis Tuesday: J.J. Wolf

 

When your muse happens to be a slab of beef. More BELOW.

A Perfect 10

 

The poster enthusiasts of "traditional" values don't want to see in every classroom.

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Wimbledon tune-up wins for Paul, Pegula, Sinner and Putintseva. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Hot Child(ren) in the City

Our first day of summer began with a bang -- literally -- when a manhole exploded directly in front of our bedroom window. (Harvey and I were quite shaken!) I spoke to a (hot) fireman outside who assured me that no one had been hurt, although the velocity of it all had caused his and his colleagues' hats to fly off their heads. (Apparently there was another incident on the corner of our block that they were already working on when the explosion happened.) 

My internet immediately went out, so I was forced to go into the office -- something I typically avoid on Fridays. But the fun really started when I got home and the POWER decided to go out too, on this 90-degree dat.

The first couple of hours were bearable as the previously cooled room stayed tolerable. But Damian started to get antsy as the room got progressively warmer and estimated time of recovery got progressively farther. (ETA: 11 p.m.) 

“Manhole Explosions 2” was better than the original 

Our bodega cat was as alarmed as I was!

So to escape the heat -- power outage = no air conditioning -- we did what any sane New Yorkers would do: We fled to the cinema. 

As you've likely gathered I am completely out of touch with pop culture, so had never heard of Yorgos Lanthimos, whose new film, “Kinds of Kindness,” was opening there that night. (Willem Dafoe was on hand and we heard Emma Stone had introduced the previous showing.) But it was the right film at the right time, so we took the plunge.

It's been several hours since it ended and I'm still not sure what I witnessed -- which I can only describe as “Tales From the Darkside” (1983-1988) meets “Wild Things" (1998) on steroids. 

P.S. When we exited the theater I got a text from ConEd saying the power was now on track to be restored at 3 a.m., at which point I popped a Valium from my travel stash and called it a night.

When I awoke the A/C was back on and everything in the refrigerator seemed fine -- the ice cubes had never even melted.

But the explosion must’ve killed our modem, so I spent the first part of my day schlepping over to the Spectrum outlet to get a new one, so all is well on the lower Upper West Side of Manhattan! 

Remains of the Day (06/21)

People: Just watched the Hulu docuseries about the fake kidnapping of Sherri Papini and she's an even bigger crackpot than we already imagined -- her poor family

NYT: Linda Thompson can’t sing her new songs. Her solution? "Proxy Music."

NYP: Basketball player JJ Redick, whom I've been lusting after since his college days, is all grown up

The Economist: Thailand legalizes same-sex marriage

Saturday 'Stache: Why are you looking down there?

NYT: Is Murray Hill’s showbiz dream finally coming true?

GMU: Body image and overall health found important to the sexual health of older gay men, according to new studies

MetroWeekly: June Squibb is a feisty grandmother hunting the scam artists who robbed her in the satisfying caper-comedy "Thelma."

GMA: Gay couple speaks out after filing lawsuit against New York City for IVF benefits

Men's Health: Why coming out was so important for this NFL strength coach

Variety: Donald Sutherland dies at 88 #givemethecamera

Line of Best Fit: Rosanne Cash picked her personal best (without even consulting me!) 

The Randy Report: Namibian court overturns and declares unconstitutional a law criminalizing gay sex between men

PinkNews: A list of every country where it's illegal to be LGBT -- and the Queers for Palestine might want to see what the common denominator is in many of them

Speedo Sunday: Big man vs. tiny red swimsuit

Hot Cat of the Day: Our local bodega cat, Lalo, was very concerned after two heat-related explosions in the neighborhood, one of which sent a manhole cover flying! (Hot fireman tells me no one was hurt.) 

Happy 77th to both Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter!

On the Rag, Vol. 813

 

The babes of Broadway; Joel Kim Booster reviews his body of work; Cyndi Lauper recognized for a lifetime of LGBT advocacy; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.

‘Heart♥throb’: Young Girls Seek Men to Pay Their Bills

Came across this commercial for the late '80s board game "Heart♥throb" on social media the other day and couldn't believe what mercenaries these little bitches are!  (At least gay boys only care about hot bodies.) 

 You almost have to admire Milton Bradley for not sugar-coating the purpose of heterosexual relationships. 

Idle Remorse has a full review of the delightfully shallow scheme, but here are my picks:

I'm thinking I should probably marry Jeff -- he's boyfriend cute and clearly we have a lot in common(!) -- and then just f**k Chip ...

and Randy ...

and Brad and Patrick (and at least make out with Matt)

Fingers crossed that none of my guys are the one who "chews tobacco"(!) -- but I’d definitely like to be gal pals with the boy who "cuts class to watch his stories." (I'm looking at you, Ricky.) 

For an update featuring the Trivago guy and Chris Evans, keep reading BELOW.