Friday, January 31, 2025
Working Stiff Exits Comfort Zone
Anyone who knows me, and perhaps even those of you who have read my blog for any length of time, will undoubtedly be amused (shocked?!) to hear that at age 57 I took my very first yoga class today. (When I told Damian he responded: What's the punchline?)
Although I suspected the more spiritual aspect of it wasn't for me -- and to be honest, I almost walked out when the instructor immediately told us to "feel the energy" around us -- I've long been curious about the physical benefits, because even as a youth I could give Celine Dion a run for her money in the flexibility department. Add to that 35 years at a desk job and here I am.
The venue was inviting and right near my apartment. (I have no interest in doing yoga alone/via livestream at home, so this was important.) Although I certainly didn't want to be singled out, I was a bit thrown that the teacher didn't seem to take much interest in the fact that I was literally an absolute beginner -- I went in not even knowing what a downward dog was -- which might have helped her understand why I was looking up (or at my neighbors) quite a bit. Her verbal explanations of how to contort my body weren't enough for me -- who can't even comb his hair in a mirror without getting confused -- to figure it out without seeing them demonstrated, which I couldn't do with my face down or looking in a direction away from people. (Just an observation; I’m sure it gets easier with experience.)
Will I go back? I think so. It was a Level I/Gentle class, so I am curious to see how I feel in the next 48 hours. The session didn't strike me as particularly challenging at the time, which I think is the idea, so if my body is sore this weekend I will know it's the right fit for me -- aka low effort with a payoff.
UPDATE; Saturday morning and I am already feeling it!
Remains of the Day (01/31)
Saturday 'Stache: See this mustachioed man reaction to finding out he was on my site
The Independent: Andrew Swann's relationship with his boyfriend broke down four years ago, still he's determined to have a baby on his own ... and speaking of gay dads, Colton Underwood is enjoying being one
Heavy Consequence: Sending my best to former MTV host Matt Pinfield, 63, who suffered a massive stroke earlier this month
Speedo Sunday: These guys will bring out the animal in you
Hot Cat of the Day: "No guilt. Right in front of me."
Related: Man clocked driving over 130 mph said he wanted to get home to see his cat -- and it wasn't even yours truly!
Welcome to the Dollhouse: It's always bemusing slash sobering to be reminded that even the most marginalized people in the world can be as horrible as the next person. P.S. The woman who came across Karla Sofía Gascón's racist tweets has A LOT to say about the Academy Award nominee HERE.
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Song of the Day: 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' by Marianne Faithfull
It's kind of hard to take credit for "killing" famous people who are elderly. But for what feels like the millionth time, a random celebrity whom I just happened to mention -- in this case Marianne Faithfull, last night at 8:57 p.m., when I came across her cover of a song Damian loves and texted him a screenshot of it playing on my laptop -- is suddenly no longer with us.
See also: When I made Helen Reddy's "Imagination" my song of the day on Sept. 29, 2020, only for her to croak later that day. (When I pull myself together I will try to put together a list, but believe me there are a lot -- such as Katherine Helmond dying the day after we finished watching the entire run of "Soap," Jessica Walter dying after we watched "Play Misty for Me" and Teri Garr popping up on "Dream On" immediately before she died.)
Worth noting that Damian and I have never once mentioned Marianne's name. (Based on the reactions of the younger people in the newsroom today when the news broke, I'm not 100% sure Damian even knows who she is.) But for whatever reason, these worlds collided less than 24 hours ago and now she's gone.
Rest in peace, Marianne. How you lived to be 78 is anyone's guess! xo
RIP: Marianne Faithfull.Here is a reminder that Faithfull once starred in a movie called "Irina Palm" (2007), which is about a 60-year-old widow who needs to make money to fund an operation for her grandson and finds herself becoming a kind of star attraction of a glory hole: "They say I have the best right hand in London!" croaks Faithfull at one point. She eventually decorates her side of the glory hole like an office, with photos, etc.Yes, this movie actually exists. I feel now like I must be making it up, but I did see it, I swear.
This I gotta see!
Kind words from former paramour Mick Jagger.
My friend Taffy isn't kidding. If you haven't heard "Broken English," do yourself a favor and listen to it now. xo
Posted by Kenneth M. Walsh at 4:45 PM 2 comments
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On the Rag, Vol. 844
KJ Apa is all grown up; Johnny Bronco in a banana hammock; meet Hollywood's new "it" boy; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
What’s on Your Speed Dial?
I never noticed this feature on YouTube Music* until today, which is sort of the digital equivalent of when you'd have a stack of recently played records in your room that needed to be refiled. (Yes, I've been on a bit of a Kim Wilde kick in anticipation of her new "Closer" album.)
*Note: I switched from Spotify a few years ago because for the same price, you also get to watch videos (on regular YouTube) with no ads. From there, I was able to upgrade for next to nothing to being able to watch everything on YouTube ad-free, which has pretty much changed my life!
Remains of the Day (01/29)
The Randy Report: Senator Pete Buttigieg?
TMZ: "Smallville" star Tom Welling arrested for driving under the influence. See him in happier times skinny-dipping HERE; young and suited up HERE; and his "super" bulge HERE.
TV Line: How the late Linda Lavin will be written out of the upcoming Hulu comedy "Mid-Century Modern"
Josh Rincon: What does "Myspace Tom" look like today?
Queerty: Jeremy Allen White will go bi-for-pay in new Netflix series from "Call Me by Your Name" author
Hot Cat of the Day: I'm so happy Mr. Satchel's fortunes have changed! xo
New wave legend: Robert X. Planet (of Killer Pussy fame) gets memorialized in his hometown alt weekly
RIP: Robert Cromey, ally priest who performed San Francisco's first same-sex church weddings, dies at 93
Queerties 2025: See the nominees and vote HERE.
Posted by Kenneth M. Walsh at 2:53 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Madi Takes Manhattan
New Yorkers: Be on the lookout for the 2025 Australian Open champion, recently seen in Times Square admiring her Nike billboard! xo
*I learned from her Instagram how she spells her nickname, presumably not Maddie because it's short for Madi-son?
Tennis Tuesday: Karol Drzewiecki
Feast your eyes on 6-foot-3 Karol Drzewiecki, who brings the T and the A. More of the 29-year-old Polish player BELOW.
Monday, January 27, 2025
Kenneth in the (203)
Wanted to say thanks to Dan Woog for recently including my Thanksgiving trip to Westport, Conn., on his popular 06880 blog, named after the city's ZIP Code. Some of the current homeowners weren't as thrilled about it as I was -- oops! -- but we all seemed to get there in the end. Read what he had to say HERE.
Weekend Tennis Roundup
Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys are your 2025 Aussie Open winners. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.
Sunday, January 26, 2025
Sunday Comics
This one’s for my friend Lynn, whose heart is so big she administers chemotherapy on a feral cat (Ralph!) she has long cared for. ❤️
From HERE.
Friday, January 24, 2025
Remains of the Day (01/24)
Saturday 'Stache: Did someone say nip slip?
NYP: Late Pee-wee Herman actor discusses sexuality for first time, painful scandals in final interview
Erik Piepenburg: Where's my gay "Bachelor"? ... Dan Savage has some thoughts about how you would have to set things up to keep the contestants from simply running off with each other HERE.
Speedo Sunday: When birthday boy John Wesley Shipp wore a little striped red number (scroll to tile 5)
Hot Cat of the Day: Larry the Downing Street cat turned 18!
Book review: "The Shots You Take" by Rachel Reid
'Why did he try to kill me?': Joseph Lynskey was waiting for the subway in Manhattan last month when a random act of violence transformed his life
Thursday, January 23, 2025
On the Rag, Vol. 843
Say hello to Nick with muscles; Sarah McBride is ready to fight; Alan Cumming is wielding representation as a weapon; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
AOL (Ex) Buddy List: Lucasteve
I'm not even sure why I'm writing this -- catharsis? closure? selfishness? -- but the other day I mentioned to Damian that not that long ago a guy whom I had briefly dated decades ago popped into my head, so I set out to find him online. That I could only remember his America Online screen name(!) made this more challenging than it might seem. But once I, AIM: @leankennyc, figured it out, I looked at his social-media posts and was happy to see he appeared to be doing well -- then opted not to send him a message, because I realized there really wasn't anything to say.
We had only dated at the most a couple of months, and I wasn't really proud of the way I had handled things. We had some laughs yet I didn't think we were a match, but I didn't know how to be direct about it. This, naturally, made things confusing for him. The relationship culminated in his showing up at my Midtown office one day with a small box of my things that had accumulated at his nearby Hell's Kitchen apartment, and we never spoke again.
Damian told me he got it -- and that he too sleuthed out a former love interest many years ago only to discover the guy he dated had since died. He, of course, was shaken, although he said he recalled that the guy had some health issues at the time of their dalliance, so perhaps it wasn't as shocking as it might have been.
As Damian was fleshing out his story, my Nancy Drew instincts kicked in, so I decided to look for my "ex" again. His name had once again slipped my mind -- his AOL handle was a play on his actual name, which had a way of throwing my memory off -- but then suddenly it came to me ... only this time my search turned up a Legacy.com page: My guy had also since died.
My head started spinning -- I'm still reeling, to be honest -- as I tried to relay to Damian what I had just discovered, almost sheepish that it would sound like I was trying to one-up his surprising story.
As I said, I'm not sure why I'm sharing this. There's no moral to this story -- I don't regret not having sent him a message a few years ago, as I'm not convinced he would have liked to have heard from me. (No one had exactly wronged anyone, it was just one of those things.)
But I guess it's always unsettling -- even as we get older -- to realize how fleeting life truly is. (And also: Am I the only one who constantly experiences these weird coincidences?)*
Steve -- dba AIM: @lucasteve -- was a Broadway singer and actor about four years younger than I am, so would have been just 51 when he died in September 2022.
That his obituary noted that he "went to the Lord" after battling brain cancer (heartbreaking) and that he "sang at First United Methodist Church for several years" in DeLand, Fla., rather than the fact that he studied at the New England Conservatory, lived and worked for years in Manhattan, and had credits in productions of "The Phantom of the Opera" (U.S. and Stuttgart's "Das Phantom der Oper") and "Miss Saigon" (U.K.), hints to me that his family might not have fully embraced his theatrical way of life.
But whatever the case, I will forever remember him as a strapping, talented, 6-3 ginger who was kind and patient with me when I was adjusting to single life in New York City, while still nursing a long-term broken heart I'd brought with me from D.C.
RIP, handsome.
*Speaking of coincidences: While backtracking I came to realize I'd thought of Steve when the impending closing of “Phantom” was announced in September 2022 -- the same month he died.
Maike Switzer with Steve: "Switzer is totally the one going for the kiss and absolutely nothing is going to stop her from getting it; actually, this might apply to several of the German Christines."
From HERE
Kristin Hölck and Steve in "Das Phantom der Oper" in Stuttgart, Germany
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