On the Rag, Vol. 891

 

This week's rag 'n' mag roundup features the Boxers Super Bowl party; Colton Underwood; Paul Mescal; Douglas Sills; and more BELOW.

'Gay Bar': You Never Forget Your First

 

OK, my reading resurgence continues, and now I’m finally deep into Jeremy Atherton Lin’s "Gay Bar: Why We Went Out." I was a little lukewarm at first, thinking he was a twink writing about dancing to Nicki Minaj in the 2010s (yawn).

Then I got to the second chapter and realized he’s also Gen X, and that we overlapped in Los Angeles -- which means he does indeed write about places I once frequented ... and boy, is it fun!

It got me thinking about my relationship with bent watering holes, and also made me realize that I have not one but three “first” gay bars, which I explain HERE.

Senior year: With my friend Greg in my off-campus bedroom in Phoenix pre-gaming before going to Preston's back in 1989.

Remains of the Day (01/14)

Attitude: "Vanderpump Rules" gay fan fave Shayne Davis to join OnlyFans after "50 Shades of Grey"-style film

GCN: CVS now covering long-acting injectable PrEP

TM: Turkey’s state broadcaster slammed over documentary targeting LGBTQ people

Wrestle Wednesday: Welcome to the Adjustment Bureau

Die Alone With Me: Ex-a-sketch?

NYP: Skeleton washed ashore on Washington beach identified as former Oregon mayor who disappeared 20 years ago

Out: Breaking down the season 3 "Euphoria" trailer's chaos and questions

Gr8er Days: Wouldn't it you know it that Charles Nelson Reilly and Rip Taylor were born on the same day?!

NYT: Joel Kim Booster weds partner John Michael Sudsina after four years together 

IPR: Iowa's law restricting school library books and LGBTQ topics returns to federal court

Instinct: "Heartstopper" cutie Joe Locke joins forces with Andrew Scott in gay history biopic

RIP: Chicago activist and "powerhouse for the LGBTQ community" Rick Garcia dies at 69

Hot Quack of the Day: No good duck goes unpunished 

Ice Breaker: Jesse Kortuem, a real-life hockey player who walked away from the sport out of fear that he couldn't reconcile his athletic career and sexuality, has now shared a post coming out as gay -- and credited "Heated Rivalry" for inspiring him 

Tennis Tuesday

 

Owen's looking for a partner. 

More HERE.

Remains of the Day (01/12)

SCMP: Malaysian LGBTQ glamping event faces conservative backlash: "We are not criminals"

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to $2.46 billion Boy Scouts sex abuse settlement; congrats to all who sued.

The Randy Report: MacKenzie Scott donates $45 million to the Trevor Project amid a rising mental health crisis for LGBTQ youth in the U.S.

Erasing 76 Crimes: Spotlight on Libya, where the LGBTQ community hides in the shadows  

New Ways Ministry: Biography examines life of an unsung hero of the Catholic LGBTQ movement

EW: Can we please STOP with purity tests and absolutism -- and the corresponding vilification -- and accept that sometimes decent people may have opinions that other decent people don't agree with? It's a HUGE turnoff to centrist voters, but apparently losing all three branches of government has taught us nothing.

NBC4: Residents at D.C. housing created for LGBTQ seniors describe harassment, police calls

The Advocate: U.S. Supreme Court to hear major cases on trans women in sports on Tuesday

Wichita Eagle: LGBTQ advocate wins Kansas House seat

Socialite Life: Male Model Monday featuring Moritz Hau, Carlos Dan, Miquel Llaudet and more

Attitude: Josh Cavallo alleges Adelaide United exit was driven by homophobia within the club

Bucks County Beacon: Judge rebukes conservative law firm for error-filled brief in case seeking to roll back LGBTQ protections in Pennsylvania public schools

Out: "Heated Rivalry" character Ilya Rozanov is now a gay icon in Russia, where homosexuality "propaganda" is against law; the next chapter in the saga comes out in print this fall

Queerty: Miguel Ángel Silvestre bulges out of leather hot shorts in new photos

Gr8er Days: Bob Weir, legendary founding member of the Grateful Dead, dead at 78

Hot Cat of the Day: Another day of cuddles

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Medvedev, Bublik, Sabalenka and Svitolina won titles; Poland captured the United Cup; Milos Ranoic announced his retirement and Flavio and Carlos heat things up Down Under. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Remains of the Day (01/09)

Attitude: "9-1-1" fans react to bisexual hookup scenes as Oliver Stark reveals why they were "awkward" to film

Dallas Voice: A transgender couple left Dallas and found safety along the Canadian border

Boystack: In "My Neighbor Adolf," the recently deceased Udo Kier was still up for causing a führer

JTA: Trans screenwriter Our Lady J condemns anti-Zionism in LGBTQ spaces: "Zionism is not a dirty word"

Saturday 'Stache: Tom Blyth 10 times

85 Candles: Here's wishing Joan Baez a very happy birthday! I finally caught the "I Am a Noise" documentary about the legendary folk singer/civil rights activist and I must say I almost wish I hadn't. While I enjoyed hearing about her early career, learning that she and her sister had fallen prey to the "repressed memory therapy" fad of the late '80s and '90s really broke my heart.

Us Weekly: Another boldface suicide, this time James Ransone of "The Wire" and "It: Chapter Two"

Gr8er Days: Erica Gavin hits MoMA for a "Vixen!" Q&A

Queerty: Jonathan Bennett bangs hubby Jaymes Vaughan’s cakes like bongo drums

The Randy Report: None of THIS would be happening if even just the people who know better would vote blue every year in every election instead of suppressing turnout by bitching and both-sidesing about Democrats, which can be done AFTER they're in power

Book Riot: The most anticipated LGBTQ books of 2026

The PinkNews: Journeyman João Lucas Reis da Silva set to become the first openly gay man to play Aussie Open quallies 

DWT: Romeo Voice singer Debora Iyall remembers rock journalist and activist Howie Klein

Instinct: The only way this grandfather/son romance could be more perfect is if the former gets brutally murdered by the latter!

Speedo Sunday: Orange or blue?

Hot Cat of the Day: Ken Burns announces new 10-part "Mr. Biscuits" documentary after adopting cat

Page Six: Fans of LA billboard queen Angelyne blast Marc Jacobs

RIP: Roger Ewing, who played dreamy blond Thad Greenwood on "Gunsmoke," has died at 83

This Reader's Digiest

I so unexpectedly enjoyed Jennifer Otter Bickerdike's "Eternal Flame" that it relit my reading light, and I've since finished Chrissy Amphlett's "Pleasure and Pain" (only for hardcore fans), Woody Allen's "Apropos of Nothing" (thoroughly enjoyable and pulls no punches about Mia Farrow and the false allegations), and Sheila Weller's "Girls Like Us," which I had bought for the flight to Argentina in 2019 but never finished. If you're a Carole-Joni-Carly queen, you'll enjoy it. Like the Bangles biography, I didn't think there was anything more I could learn about Jesse's girl, but boy was I wrong! 

What are you reading? 

UPDATE: My literary agent friend told me he's been enjoying audiobooks of late -- and I'm wondering if anyone else has feelings about them, too. In addition to my post-Covid attention-span problem with reading, I've noticed that even with my up-to-date glasses, I find it hard to see sometimes, especially in bed. (Those clip-on lights are dreadfully cumbersome.) I'm thinking about giving my old high-school pal Sal Paradise a try! 

Our Tree Means Business

 

I don’t think either of us expected to see our Christmas tree again when we took it out to the sidewalk on Three Kings’ Day. So perhaps it’s not completely surprising -- if still a little cute -- that Damian and I individually snapped photos and sent them to each other when we spotted it on our block today!

On the Rag, Vol. 890

 

This week's rag 'n' mag features Alejo Ospina, Gustavo Naspolini, Wellington Lopes, Zohran Mamdani and more BELOW. 

Remains of the Day (01/07)

The Hat: The show must go on ... at 5. Or 7. Or midnight

The Randy Report: 37th GLAAD Media Award nominees announced, with "Heated Rivalry," "I Love LA" and "Stranger Things" leading the pack

SCMP: Who is Eric McCormack's musical son, Finnigan Holden McCormack? ICYMI

Attitude: Madonna releases "Rebel Heart" and "MDNA"-era outtakes on streaming

Wrestle Wednesday: Logan Drake was born to wear a singlet

Interview: Lewis Pullman is stepping out of his hot father’s shadow 

People: The high-profile criminal defense lawyer representing Nick Reiner -- accused of killing his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner -- abruptly removed himself from the case

West Side Rag: Amy Schumer and I are now neighbors! 

GCN: Gus van Sant makes respectable return in 1970s hostage thriller "Dead Man’s Wire"

Them: One week into 2026 and professional soccer has already seen two lesbian weddings

KIT212: Ex-NFL pro Matt Kalil sues former wife for saying his penis size ended their marriage. (And I thought he got her to say that in the settlement!)

Us Weekly: My friend who created "So Help Me Todd" helped write the love triangle between Abigail Spencer, Josh Charles and Josh Segarra on the new show "Best Medicine"

Queerty: Who else remembers when “Superman” kissed Michael Caine and lost their movie 10 million bucks?

Instinct: Matt Rogers’s mustache and abs will have you hot in "Palm Royale"

MetroWeekly: Out athletes head to the Olympics

Hot Cat of the Day: Hank was shocked by the male nudity in episode 8 of "All's Fair."

RIP: Marcia Rodd, the Tony nominee who was Maude's original daughter on "All in the Family" and made an impression on 'M*A*S*H' -- is dead at 85

Post apocalyptic: Where's the death of print media when you need it?

Tennis Tuesday

The Italian United Cup squad made quite a splash upon arrival Down Under. See for yourself BELOW.

Apple of His Eye?

 

Baby, she was born that way ...

Remains of the Day (01/05)

KIT212: Kit Connor and Joseph Quinn rock tight shorts in new vacation pic

Ellen Jovin: Reading makes your grammar grow

Out: "Heated Rivalry" star Hudson Williams to make late night TV debut on "Tonight Show"

DM: Caroline Kennedy cradles granddaughter at her daughter Tatiana Schlossberg's funeral, as doctor widower holds onto their son

The Caftan Chronicles: Ben Grossberg in his moving novel about normcore smalltown older gay men looking for intimacy

Stolen Holiday: Growing up, growing older and falling forever for Miss Piggy

Attitude: Ten convicted over transphobic cyber harassment of Brigitte Macron

Forensic Files: He made sure he was the last husband

Die Alone With Me: Winning isn’t forever -- a best in drag epiphany at "The Little Pageant That Could"

NYT: Lia Smith was a senior at Middlebury College, a transgender woman and, for a time, an athlete on the school’s diving team. But she struggled to feel accepted, and in October, she took her own life.

Broadway World: Theater alum and gay-dad vlogger Bret Hanna-Shuford dies at 46

Washington Blade: LGBTQ groups to join Virginia Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger’s inaugural parade

Us Weekly: Diane Keaton’s daughter speaks out on her mother's 80th birthday nearly three months after actress's death

People: Unlike Carly Simon, Ellen DeGeneres was tired of not being blond 

Page Six: Another "Finding Prince Charming" alum offs himself

Hot Cat of the Day: One life down, eight to go

Last star standing: A comprehensive list of the world's greatest living celebrities 80 and older

Dead reckoning: A postmortem on which years have been the worst for celebrity deaths

RIP: Sidney Kibrick, last of the featured "Our Gang" players, dies at 97

Seems like old times: Derek and Romaine are back with a brand new season of the show! Tune in and get ready for an exciting new year of fun and adventure HERE!

Weekend Tennis Roundup

 

Although tennis is back in full swing with both United Cup and Brisbane, I'm mostly interested in what's going on with Carlos Alcaraz and Arthur Fils. Full report BELOW.

Auld Lang Syne

 

Happy New Year!