New York Groove: Knicks Win First NBA championship in 53 Years

The Knicks win it all for the first time since my buddy Walt “Clyde” Frazier brought it home in 1973 (and 1970)! I have never watched a basketball game in my entire life, but I couldn’t be happier for my beloved NYC!🗽🎉❤️ 

Remains of the Day (06/12)

DNA: Jack Innanen campaigned hard for “Heated Rivalry” role on season 2, then turned it down due to scheduling conflicts

SCMP: 5 Mpox cases linked to Hong Kong "premier" gay sauna, contact tracing under way

RIP: Pioneering gay artist David Hockney dies at 88 ... and Gene Shalit, longtime 'Today' show movie critic, dies at 100

Instinct: Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher marries longtime love Étienne Bousquet-Cassagne

Speedo Sunday: But does the 'stache match the swimsuit?

The Randy Report: Has anyone heard of much less watched "Finding Fire Island," which apparently has a new season coming? 

PinkNews: 10 years after the Pulse nightclub shooting, survivors say their recovery may never truly be over 

MetroWeekly: A New York jury convicted Dmitriy Popov of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the killing of dancer O'Shae Sibley, while acquitting him of second-degree murder

Greg in Hollywood: Glenn Close is finally getting an Oscar

Pride: The hunks of "Off Campus" compare their spicy sex scenes to "Heated Rivalry"

Instinct: Paul Anthony Kelly is entering "The Housemaid" universe

Out: Everything gay soccer fans should know about the World Cup

Them: Administration confirms it’s restoring LGBTQ youth crisis line it eliminated last year

Advocate: Trans troops ask judge to protect everyone targeted by U.S. military ban

Your Ex: "Boots" star Max Parker posts sexy viral shirtless selfie at WeHo Pride

Hot Cat of the Day: Good morning, Harvey! (Do some people actually wake up without a wild animal draped across their bodies?)

Song of the Day: Carly Simon announces first album of original songs in 18 years -- and the lead single called "Howl" is quite good! 

Fatal Falls: Caught a screening of "Niagara" (1953) over at the Film Forum's festival to mark the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe. It was one of her rare films I had never seen -- it's really good! -- and what a surprise to learn that the hunk she's scheming with, played by Richard Allan, turned out to be gay in real life! 

Dial "M" for manhole

"Bang My Box": A review of the new Robin Byrd documentary, coming soon to HBO Max

Young Man in Bar #3: John Starr recalls when he was (briefly) in Arthur Hiller's "Making Love" (!982), widely considered the first mainstream Hollywood studio feature to (sort of) depict a gay romance in a sympathetic, positive light.

On the Rag, Vol. 911

 

This week's rag 'n' mag roundup features Filipe Renan, Nicholas Galitzine, Dermot O’Leary, Louis Tomlinson, the founders of a lifestyle brand inspired by '80s erotica and more BELOW.

Discovering Puccini's ‘Turandot’

Should mention that we caught Puccini's "Turandot" at the Metropolitan Opera last week and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. 

Although I'm not confident enough in my knowledge to say it is now my favorite opera to date, it definitely felt different from any other work I've seen -- and had me wondering why. 

What I came up with is that "Turandot" feels less like a traditional opera and more like an epic fairy tale -- larger in scale, more stylized in its characters, more spectacular in its staging and more modern in its music than the operas I've seen. ("Macbeth," "Carmen," "La Traviata," "The Barber of Seville," "The Marriage of Figaro," "La Boheme," "Aida" and "Tristan und Isolde.")

I was especially drawn to Liu -- rather than the titular diva -- who struck me as the drama's true emotional center, bringing a humanity that the larger-than-life title character lacks. (Maybe not the highest bar given that, as the New York Times notes, Turandot and her suitor remain largely unfazed by the death and dismemberment they instigate -- standing atop a figurative pile of corpses when they finally share true love’s kiss. But at least Turandot had incredible headdresses!) 

The production ended on June 7 -- sorry for my tardiness -- but the qualities that made it stand out aren't unique to this staging, so keep an eye out for future productions if a different kind of opera sounds appealing to you.

 

Remains of the Day (06/09)

Seeing Double: Twin 1 or 2?

West Side Rag: Wimbledon to install a temporary grass tennis court on Wollman Rink in Central Park

Boystack: New York’s legendary Mineshaft gets a fresh look in a review of the acclaimed documentary chronicling its rise, influence and enduring mystique

Greg in Hollywood: Steve Kmetko interviews “Adam 12” star Kent McCord, one of the hottest men to ever star on TV 

The Caftan Chronicles: 10 years after the Pulse massacre inspired the creation of Gays Against Guns, co-founders Kevin Hertzog and John Grauwiler reflect on grief, activism and the long fight against gun violence

Page Six: "Saved by the Bell" alum Mark-Paul Gosselaar, 52, titillates fans in crop top and booty shorts 

Washington Blade: Nancy Pelosi reflects on four decades of LGBTQ advocacy

ACLU: How current efforts targeting LGBTQ Americans echo tactics used during the Cold War-era Lavender Scare, when thousands were pushed out of government service

PinkNews: Rugby star Kane Williams comes out as gay: "I’ve been fighting a war within"

NYP: Son of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon admits to choking woman during sex as part of no-jail deal

People: Patrick Wilson says he turned down "fake" prop weights for viral workout scene in "Cape Fear"

Erasing 76 Crimes: A new survey suggests Ghanaians are far from united behind a proposed anti-LGBTQ bill, challenging claims that the legislation reflects overwhelming public support

Truthout: As anti-LGBTQ censorship expands, these cities have cancelled Pride this year

Instinct: Justin Trudeau's 18-year-old son is also a hot piece of ass

Attitude: Steven Spielberg names “Philadelphia” his favorite LGBTQ-themed film, calling the groundbreaking Tom Hanks drama a “breakthrough” and a watershed moment in Hollywood

Hot Cat of the Day: Pudding is a real Daddy's girl 

Tennis Tuesday: Blake Dawson

Quench your thirst with three more pics BELOW.