On the Rag, Vol. 894

 

This week's rag 'n' mag roundup features Cole Doman, Jared Reinfeldt, Robin de Jesus, Destin Conrad, Chris Appleton and more HERE.

Remains of the Day (02/04)

 

People: Kudos(?) to the magazine's true crime division for showcasing one of the most shocking -- and disgusting -- cases I've ever seen on television 

Gr8er Days: A look back at "One of the Boys," the short-lived sitcom where old-school Hollywood met a lineup of future stars, including birthday boy Nathan Lane

The Sun: Grindr to make major change to athletes’ profiles at Winter Olympics to enhance safety

Washington Blade: U.S. appeals court backs Maryland school district’s right to require teachers to use students’ preferred pronouns

Wrestle Wednesday: "Could you at least buy me a drink first?" 

KIT212: Sen. Josh Hawley and his pecs press Netflix chief on LGBTQ content

Fandom Wire: Bad Bunny on kissing his male co-star, LGBTQ allyship: “I may not be gay, but I care”

Out: 11 sizzling hot pics of gay Olympian Guillaume Cizeron

PinkNews: Police told to reinvestigate British man’s death after suspected Grindr blackmail

Instinct: Study suggests gay people live slightly shorter, but why? 

Variety: Pedro Pascal rescues Todd Haynes’s explicit gay noir, joining Danny Ramirez after the film was scrapped when Joaquin Phoenix dropped out

CNN: Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post conducts widespread layoffs, gutting a third of its staff

GCN: Our beloved Erik Bottcher wins special election to fill Brad Hoylman-Sigal’s state Senate seat

Attitude: Luke Evans and partner Fran Tomas open up about having children in first joint interview

USA Today: "SNL" taps Connor Storrie of "Heated Rivalry" as next host ... I wonder if he can top the monologue he posted as an adorably swishy young boy HERE.

Hot Cats of the Day: Who wants to break?

Uh-oh-oh: Was watching MTV Classic the other day and it got me thinking: If we're going to judge everything old by today's standards, has David Bowie -- who fought to have black artists played on the flagship music channel back in the day -- been posthumously canceled for the "China Girl" video yet?

Tennis Tuesday: Luciano Darderi

 

More of the Italian-Argentine player whose heavy forehand and movie-star looks make him as easy on the eyes as he is tough to play BELOW

Remains of the Day (02/02)

"Crack that whip!"

Out: Remembering Catherine O'Hara's five most iconic roles, which is to say nothing of her Brooke Shields impersonation! 

The Caftan Chronicles: Tim Murphy's not-so-great chat with LGBTQ rights legend Rep. Barney Frank 

Attitude: Oscar Wilde’s only grandson, Merlin Holland, reflects on his family's legacy in his new book, “After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal”

Socialite Life: Male Model Monday with Gioele Borghello, Gabriel Riccieri, Tom Walker and more 

Die Alone With Me: Remembering Dan McLaughlin and the joy that changed how an enemy-turned-friend loves, judges and shows up

Salt Lake Tribune: As Utah looks to cut schools budget, one lawmaker chides an arts group for LGBTQ advocacy

The Advocate: This transgender Space Force veteran’s service didn’t end when the U.S. military pushed her out

Stolen Holiday: From a childhood shock at Lyric Opera to lifelong devotion -- the voice of Ljuba Welitsch stopped everything cold and ruined every other "Salome" forever

40 Candles: Who's going to see "Pretty in Pink" -- and Andrew McCarthy's wig -- for Valentine's Day?

PinkNews: A Filipino man accused of killing multiple LGBTQ people has been found dead while in custody

Washington Blade: Unconventional homes are gaining popularity, with an HGTV show shining a spotlight on alternatives to cookie-cutter living

GCN: LGBTQ leaders, candidates join Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC’s 40th anniversary party

Hot Cat of the Day: "Where we goin'?"

He Outed Elvis: Remembering the fearless gay gadfly and James Dean fan from Michigan who became the pre-Perez Hilton gossip king of Hollywood in the '70s

Weekend Tennis Roundup

First-time Australian Open titles for Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

 

Reading Is Fun(damental)

 

So my reading kick continues -- you'd be surprised how many books you can tackle when you stop watching five hours of "Dateline NBC," "48 Hours," "Snapped" et al. a day week.

Recently I polished off Truman Capote's "Answered Prayers," which I'd actually purchased at that darling bookstore in the Marais when I was in Paris months before 9/11. Turns out I was wise to not bother all these years -- it’s a long-winded and tedious mess, and the graphic gay material sounds as embarrassing today as I'm sure it did when it was first published. 

To wash the taste out of my mouth, I finally read "Breakfast at Tiffany's," which I knew was very different from the film -- an all-time favorite -- and enjoyed finding out how. (Now that's good writing.) Damian and I are keeping our Valentine's Day classic movie tradition alive, going to see Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly on the 14th at the Metrograph. 

I also devoured my friend Ellen Jovin's "Rebel With a Clause," which it turns out is largely a print version of the hilarious documentary I've seen a couple times, only with additional local color. I informed her that I especially liked the discussion of the use of possessive pronouns before a gerund, which besides tennis is probably the thing that bonds Damian and me the most. 

And then I read a friend's memoir that he is trying to shop around. Whether anybody who is not famous can sell one of these in a post-"Housewives" era is anyone's guess. But he's about a decade older than I am, which is enough for him to have experienced some things that need to be documented as part of the LGBTQ canon, so I hope it finds an audience. 

Since I still seem to be in the zone, I'm now about to attempt to knock off a couple books from friends that I'm embarrassed to say I never got around to reading -- Jeff Copeland's "I Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn" and Tim Anderson's "Tune In Tokyo" (his "Sweet Tooth" is a fave!) -- plus one that was a gift (Betty Hutton's "Backstage, You Can Have").

But right now I'm knee-deep in "Cybil Disobedience," which I ordered just after we finished watching Ms. Shepherd's titular CBS sitcom and heard that she'd trashed all her co-stars in it -- she does!!!

Let me know what you're reading in the comments.