Acting Out: No Anachronisms, Please!

If you've ever wondered what it was like to attend an ACT UP meeting during the height of the AIDS epidemic, then David Wise's "Fight Back" is the immersive outing for you. 

There are no actors and no script. Instead, each attendee is assigned a real-life persona ahead of time, whose level of participation you work out with David in the days leading up to the event.

From the second you arrive at the New York LGBT Community Center in the West Village, everyone is asked to live and breathe in character as if it's March 13, 1989 -- and we're all getting together to organize the next big protest of Mayor Ed Koch's impotent policies outside City Hall. 

Even your small talk has to be time-specific (suggested topics): 

"Did you hear that Robert Mapplethorpe died this week?" 

"Do you think Pepsi will pull Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' commercial because conservative groups are calling it blasphemous?" 

"Are you going to go see Jerome Robbins' Broadway?"

Though I chose not to speak, I felt fortunate that I was assigned to "embody" Andy Velez, who happened to have been close to an actual pal of mine. With the information I gleaned, I felt like I was paying homage to Andy as I participated in the night's proceedings, wearing two strings of his signature beads. (Typically you would just read up on them or watch videos if they're available online.) 

The meeting, for better or worse, is much like any gathering of eclectic people; some are great -- one man moved me to tears announcing the news that a fellow ACT UP member had succumbed to AIDS since the last meeting -- while others drive you nuts by repeatedly asking irrelevant questions or being so pedantic you want to punch them. So while it would be impossible to recreate the sense of urgency and despair that was happening at the time -- thank you, modern medicine -- one thing's for sure: the exercise will give you a fresh perspective on a dark time in gay history. A big thank-you to David for inviting us. Learn more about "Fight Back" HERE. 

P.S. Damian and I attended with our friend Tim Teeman, whose writeup you can read HERE.

(Photos by Hong-An Tran)

Wanted, Indeed

 

6-2, 195 with black hair? I'm assuming it was grand larceny of the heart.

Remains of the Day (08/28)

Attitude: Mitch Brown is the first AFL player to come out publicly as bisexual

Washington Blade: Doctor who led mpox response resigns from CDC, slams administration

NBC News: While straight men face educational crisis, gay men excel academically, study finds

Interview: Novak Djokovic is back for another U.S. Open, but don't call it a farewell tour

Vogue: Brian Vahaly is (still) leading the conversation around gay representation in pro tennis

Saturday 'Stache: It sure is thick

Outtake: My pal Jeff Copeland discusses his new book, "Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn"

Dallas Voice: Minneapolis school shooter identified as a trans woman, 23-year-old Robin Westman

PinkNews: Official first look at Charlie Hunnam as serial killer Ed Gein in "Monsters" season three

Page Six: Austin Butler's grueling workout routine that took his body to "the next level"

NYP: Photographer who walked on court at match point during Medvedev-Bonzi math breaks silence 

Speedo Sunday: Cruz Beckham's packing heat

SCMP: How a daily drinker’s health scare saw him lose weight, get fit and transform his body

WBUR: B-52s legend Kate Pierson finds a new groove on the Cape

CNN: Cracker Barrel and the gays, again

Out: Former Disney Channel star Franek Skywalker teases the sexy content on his OnlyFans

US Weekly: Venus Williams's hunky Italian fiance, Andrea Preti, spotted at U.S. Open

The Advocate: Ex-cop pleads not guilty to killing gay TV host and boyfriend

Hot Cat of the Day: Met this little cutie while walking around the Upper West Side!

Boy Culture: My pal Matt Rettenmund is ending his blog -- which started at the same time as mine in 2005 -- after learning his host is closing up shop. (What an incredible run!) Not to worry, though: He will continue posting on social media and on his juicy Substack, which you can find below: 

Boystack: The naked truth about vintage physique imagery (NSFW)

Joyeux Anniversaire

 

Damian and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary last night at Cafe Boulud, Chef Daniel Boulud's famed restaurant on the Upper East Side. The food and the setting were spectacular -- the lighting didn't allow for the best photos but trust me when I say it was magnifique -- but the best part was the company, who I'm so glad showed me that I am indeed the marrying kind. xo

Appetizer: Salad Nicoise

Main: Steak au poivre with polenta

Dessert: Cherries jubilee 

 Maison Barnes bar

ICYMI:  Tweet Cute: A Blogger and a Reader Follow Each Other to the Altar

On the Rag, Vol. 872

"Boots" star Miles Heizer; DNA's hottest men in 2025; Nyle DiMarco; calendars for 2026; the late Frank Maya; Victoria Falls; Holger Rune; a Jason Priestley flashback; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.

Courting Greatness

Realized on Sunday that it was my 28th year in a row attending the U.S. Open, something that would have seemed beyond my wildest imagination when I first watched it in my living room at Willow Hill in Madison Heights, Mich., as a 10-year-old back in 1977. This year's event is the first to start on the weekend -- with first-round matches spread over three days instead of two -- and boy did we clean up in the Hunk Department. But in addition to seeing many of my favorite players in action, I also had the long-overdue thrill of meeting up with my friend and fellow blogger Greg Hernandez, whom I hadn't seen in over a decade! (That's Greg and his friend Hope with Damian and me by Court 10.) See all the boys I got BELOW.

 

Remains of the Day (08/26)

Out: Crumbl Cookies founder Sawyer Hemsley comes out as gay, which is still difficult even in 2025 when you're raised to hate yourself

MetroWeekly: Third Way urges Democrats to drop terms like "cisgender," "allyship" and "LGBTQIA+" to win over swing voters

Leaked: Feast your eyes on Chris Evans in a jockstrap 

Washington Blade: Hong Kong government faces deadline to recognize same-sex couples

Wrestle Wednesday: Naughty boys need to be pinned, too

The Guardian: Adorable writeup about the song "Young at Heart," written by Siobhan Fahey and Robert Hodges and recorded by their bands at the time, Bananarama and the Bluebells, for albums that each made my list of all-time favorite new wave releases! 

MSN: Trans "Real Housewives" star Lauren Foster praises Bravo for "embracing" LGBTQ community

SCMP: Two men publicly caned for gay sex in Indonesia under Islamic law sparks outcry

Queerty: Jonathan Bailey goes shirtless for a good cause 

Dateline: QUEENS: When Greg in Hollywood met up with Kenneth in the (212) in the (718)!

GCN: Less than half of LGBTQ Americans are religious, Pew finds

People: Lil Nas X pleads not guilty to 4 felony charges as rapper’s bail set at $75,000

PinkNews: Father accused of killing 18-year-old daughter and wrapping her body in a Pride flag

News & Observer: A North Carolina man accused of assaulting two trans women has been arrested

Instinct: The man who went from pastor to porn star

Hot Cat of the Day: Harvey's shy cousin Leo is moving!

Tennis Tuesday: Jake Eldridge

Watch Jake Eldridge -- a self-proclaimed "golden retriever with a loverboy heart" -- make his monthly appearance to the tennis court BELOW.

Remains of the Day (08/25)

Instinct: Meet British actor Kieron Moore, star of the upcoming gay military show "Boots"

Washington Blade: William Shatner’s message for LGBTQ fans: "Keep on queerin’"

EW: Keanu Reeves thanked Jonathan Groff for straddling him at the Tonys

The Caftan Chronicles: New play brings to life Frank Maya, one of the first openly gay comics, who died of AIDS in 1995

Us Weekly: "Dawson’s Creek" cast reunites for one-night-only live reading -- to support James Van Der Beek and F Cancer; event poster (above) created by none other than blogger-cum-artist Andy Towle!

Variety: Snoop Dogg criticizes LGBTQ representation in children's films; says he's "afraid" to take his kids to the movies

Queerty: This clip of Fran Lebowitz talking about how the AIDS crisis destroyed American culture is going viral

Emma Cieslik: Pulse Memorial crosswalk will continue to be colorful

PinkNews: Although he lost in the first round of U.S. Open qualies, João Lucas Reis da Silva deserves credit for becoming the first out gay man to compete at a Grand Slam event

Harvard Crimson: Harvard College removes first-generation, LGBTQ support titles for proctors and tutors

Out: Colton Underwood wants to be on "Dancing With the Stars" -- with a same-sex partner

MetroWeekly: Justine Lindsay, NFL’s first trans cheerleader, leaves panthers

Hot Cat of the Day: Meet Bowser, who outlived the councilman who tried to get him evicted from the local library back in 2016

Weekend Tennis Roundup

 

Tune-up titles for Fucsovics, Shnaider and Cristea; Sharapova and the Bryan Brothers get inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Open Season

 

Well, the final major of the year begins a day early this time around -- and on Sunday Damian and I are heading out to Flushing Meadows for an all-day lineup of matchups that promises to be, if nothing else, erotic. (See below!)

Lehecka vs. Coric

Mensik vs. Jarry

Navone vs. Giron and Carballes Baena vs. Rinderknech

Ugo Carabelli vs. Etcheverry

Two Lucas for the Price of 1: Darderi vs. Hijikata and Nardi vs. Machac

Earlier this week Damian ran into dreamy British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith on the street ... and there was a U.S. Open party at my office ...

And then last night, we had tickets for an in-store appearance at Vuori on Fifth Avenue with new brand ambassador Jack Draper. 

MAGA pinup/presenter Ryan Harrison handled the Q&A

Sadly, the photos of us below are as close as we got to the bodacious Brit, but suffice to say that tennis is in the air and we are ready for it!