Tennis Tuesday: Juan Curiel

 

... And he plays tennis! See BELOW.

Notes From My Nightstand

Since I've heard from a bunch of you about my renewed reading "habit," I thought I would give you a quick update. 

Finished "Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn" and "Backstage, You Can Have" and was struck by the number of similarities between two very different people: One, an Andy Warhol cult figure (Holly Woodlawn), and the other, once the No. 1 actress at the box office (Betty Hutton). The common thread, of course, is fame. And it seems that no matter how small or big one's fame is, many people are left ill-prepared for when it fades.

"Cybill Disobedience" was everything I expected it to be and more. In addition to all of the catty gossip and Hollywood dish -- I had no idea that Bruce Willis arrived at his "Moonlighting" audition having just narrowly lost the role of Des in "Desperately Seeking Susan" to Aidan Quinn (thank god!) and that the network wanted Robert Hays ("Angie" and "Airport") to play David Addison, but Shepherd followed her chemistry gut. (She had final say, somehow.) 

Although I'm unduly inclined to side with the L'Oréal blonde given my odd affection for her -- and you have to think her version of events is bound to present her in the same light that Vaseline-smeared lens did back in the 1980s -- I really was taken aback at how demonized she seemed to be on both shows, particularly "Cybill," which had started out so wonderfully as a collaboration with Chuck "French Kissin' in the USA" Lorre before he completely turned on her for reasons she claims she can only begin to speculate about. (Maybe I need to find if he has a memoir.) It's also unclear why Christine Baranski wanted absolutely nothing to do with her co-star, and seemed to encourage others including Alicia Witt to behave the same way. (Kudos to Zoe, though, for f**king Season 2 addition Peter Krause!) Shocking to think that Cybill thought Paula Poundstone would be right as Maryann -- talk about trying to Vivian Vance the role! -- or that the network considered Sally Kellerman. 

I then polished off Sloane Crossley's acclaimed 2008 debut, "I Was Told There'd Be Cake," which I have been meaning to read since I first saw the title. She's hilarious -- her parents' abnormal concern about fire definitely struck a chord, and so much more.

Then the other night I was missing my brother Bill's voice, so I plowed through "Lapsing Into a Comma," which made me feel like he was reading to me. 

I’m about halfway through "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness," a book I now realize I’d started -- and abandoned -- once before. It’s not that Susannah Cahalan isn’t a decent writer, or that her story isn’t worth telling. It’s that the medical mystery at the heart of the story is so relentlessly frustrating that it can annoying to read. (It turns our narrator into an angry and paranoid lunatic who is hard to care about.) Watching doctors repeatedly dismiss her symptoms and label her a closeted alcoholic -- when she’s actually suffering from a potentially fatal disease -- is exhausting.

I gave up the “if I start a book, I must finish it” rule years ago, but I’m sticking with this one for now, hoping that once doctors figure out what's wrong, there will be a satisfying payoff to justify the aggravation. 

Next up in my psychological que: "Tune In Tokyo," my pal Tim Anderson's debut about his time teaching English in Japan, which left Damian in stitches when he read it right before our Asian adventure in 2024. 

Previously: "Rebel With a Clause," "Answered Prayers," "On the Road" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

"Eternal Flame," "Appropos of Nothing," "Girls Like Us," "Pleasure and Pain" and "Gay Bar: Why We Went Out" 

 

 P.S. Ended up watching the Betty Hutton film “The Perils of Pauline" (1947) yesterday and was surprised to hear this ditty! Wonder if Brian Elliot, who later penned the Madonna hit "Papa Don't Preach," had ever heard of it or if it's just a small coincidence. If any of my readers in Palm Springs know Carlo Bruno, who helped care for Hutton in her golden years, please tell him we're headed his way next month for Indian Wells! 

Remains of the Day (02/09)

EW: Why Alexander Skarsgaard's (prosthetic) penis close-up got trimmed down in "Pillion"

PinkNews: "Team LGBTQ" has already won two gold medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Boystack: Filmmaker and archivist Jenni Olson's "575 Castro St." -- which pairs indelible imagery with Harvey Milk’s voice -- heads to the 2026 Berlinale

MetroWeekly: 9 Atlantis gay cruise passengers arrested on drug charges

Attitude: German referee Pascal Kaiser attacked at home after proposing to boyfriend at soccer match

The Advocate: Six black activists who changed the HIV/AIDS response in America

Instinct: Matt Bomer’s legendary tiny yellow shorts return

News6: Disney World's Gay Days "paused" this year as sponsors bailed amid anti-LGBTQ backlash, group says

NRP: U.S. skater Conor McDermott-Mostowy joins record number of out LGBTQ Winter Olympians

GLAAD: LGBTQ media org responds to ally Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance featuring out artists and game-day representation

Out: "Penisgate" heats up as Olympians allegedly inject their bulges to win gold

People: James Taylor shares opinion on the Top 5 songs from his own discography

Hot Cats of the Day: Say hello to Atticus and Lucifer, who moved from Central Park West to New Jersey with their sweet gay dads on "House Hunters."

 Only one came out to say hi on the other side of the Hudson! 

RIP: Fred Smith, who left Blondie for the band Television, dies at 77

The Rev. Dorothy A. Austin, pioneering LGBTQ minister at Harvard, dies at 82

Catherine O’Hara was being treated for rectal cancer when she died of a pulmonary embolism, death certificate says

Weekend Tennis Roundup

 

Titles for Auger-Aliassime, Cîrstea, Boulter and Bejlek; 14 nations advanced in Davis Cup action; Marcos knows you're looking; Serena's coming back; Marton's got a boner; plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Remains of the Day (02/06)

DNA: Australian LGBTQ sports legends to discuss raising the rainbow flag at sports talk event

SCMP: Story of China woman and wolf son gains renewed fame, gets 2.8 billion views online

Boystack: A review of "Pillion," in which Alexander Skarsgaard delivers a commanding turn as a gay dom  

Washington Blade: LGBTQ Venezuelans in Colombia uncertain about homeland’s future

Saturday 'Stache: I'm guessing this one gets sexually harassed ... A LOT

Parade: New all-female supergroup Psycher unites members of the Go-Go’s, Belly, the Fall and Zuzu's Petals

Attitude: Jake Eldridge says "Heated Rivalry" might have helped him come out in American football

ICYMI: For what remains of New York’s media elite, a new clubhouse opens

Out: Everyone knows straight actors can play gay roles ... as long as they're hot(!)

Instinct: Have you seen the deleted scene of Brandon Sklenar in tight boxers?

Greg in Hollywood: British wheelchair tennis star Greg Slade on coming out publicly: “I’m proud of who I am today”

Variety: Charles C. Stevenson Jr., who played Smitty the bartender on "Will and Grace," dies at 95 -- and somewhere Karen's doubled over with LAUGHTER

GLAAD: The Olympics are a call for connection, culture and visibility

PinkNews: The devastation of losing a gay twin: "It felt like my soul being ripped out of me"

Speedo Sunday: Oh, Francesco!

Hot Cat of the Day: "Done!" 

Diagnosis: Impingement Syndrome

A little over two years into giving up my Covid-induced sedentary lifestyle, my right shoulder finally gave up the ghost, with my orthopedist officially diagnosing me with impingement syndrome -- the same thing I had on my left side back in the late ’90s. She gave me a cortisone shot -- which I welcomed until I read this -- and prescribed physical therapy, just as they did in 1999. But last time still ended in my having (very successful) surgery, so while I’m happy to have an action plan, I may be the only person who’d rather just go under the knife and move on with my life instead of dragging things out.

Thoughts and suggestions welcomed!