Never Forgetting

24 years later and it still doesn't seem possible. We miss you David.

In public and in private, New York marks 9/11 anniversary

Why "never forget" feels so inadequate when thinking about 9/11

Troupe 'Beverly Hills'

Last night Damian and I joined our friend Jim from Los Angeles at a benefit production of "13-Year-Old Michael Ausiello Presents: Beverly Hills," staged at the MCC Theater on West 52nd Street, and my face hasn't hurt from laughing and smiling this much since I saw the similarly campy "Celebrity Autobiography." 

For the uninitiated, Ausiello's show gets celebrities to cold-read actual scripts of a soap opera a very young and very gay Michael wrote in (the closet of) his suburban New Jersey abode during the 1980s heyday of "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest," and the results are as unpredictable as they are hilarious -- the actors are as tickled and surprised as the audience is by what this teen drama queen came up with on the page!

The production (minus a hyphen) has been a huge hit in Westlake -- Michael was so dedicated to his art that he actually wrote 517 episodes, so there are always fresh plots for the twisting -- and it was just a matter of time before it made its way to the New York stage. With the help of the Katie McGrath & J.J. Abrams Family Foundation, Michael et al. were able to get a binder full of boldface names -- including Rachael Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Jim Parsons, Busy Philipps and Michael Urie -- and donate all the proceeds to the city's Ali Forney Center, the largest community center helping LGBTQ homeless youth in the United States.

Like Michael, many a blossoming homosexual had creative outlets as children. (I just saw Rob Madge's "My Son's a Queer [But What Are You Gonna Do?] at the New York City Center; and I myself penned several children's books as a tween queen and staged "Christmas at Harvey's" for a number of years in my family's garage!) So I can only imagine what an absolute thrill it is for Michael to see his childhood vision come to life 40 years later, which sort of feels like a vindication for all of us fey Gen Xers who didn't always know it would get better. xo 

Plenty of photo highlights BELOW. 

Kenneth in the (212) Turns 20

Hard to fathom that when I spontaneously opened up a Blogspot template on Sept. 4, 2005, and wrote a short post late at night after watching Robby Ginepri beat Tommy Haas at the U.S. Open that I would be still be blogging two decades later ... yet here we are! 

Thanks to everyone who has come along for the ride, which certainly has exceeded my wildest expectations. (God knows it's always been for the love of it, with what little advertising revenue some of us once earned long since evaporated thanks to Facebook and Google.)

Along the way my site has allowed me to make numerous new friends -- some famous, some infamous, and some just tremendous -- get invited to countless parties, screenings, movie premieres, book releases, theatrical productions and more; achieve my dream of writing a book of essays after being "discovered" by a noted agent; and best of all even land a husband! 

In an attempt to remember what I looked like at the time, I dug up these these photos from 2005 -- the Hamptons, a Go-Go's concert, Miami. WeHo and Venus diner -- all of which made the blog!

Life has also had its somber moments over the years -- we buried our father; my best friend in town died suddenly months after I started my blog; I got and lost a dream job or two; I've said goodbye to two very special critters (Troy and Larry); and my brother Bill was taken way too soon -- so logging on here each day has been a source of stability when other things have felt out of control. (See also: World, The.)

While I don't have a timeline for how much longer I will digitally be Kenneth in the (212), for now I'll share with you my 10 most popular posts (out of more than 39,000) -- some expected, some not -- as I say cheers to 20 years. I wouldn't have done it without you! xo

Popular Posts

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  NYPD Officer Who Made Headlines for Twerking at Gay Pride Parade Dies of Sept. 11-Related Cancer

  Sad to read about the passing of NYPD Officer Michael Hance, who raised eyebrows and made headlines in 2015 for twerking with a rev...
• 

  Aaron Schock Nudes Have Finally, Um, Leaked

  We knew this day was coming. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Aaron Schock used his power to routinely vote against t...
• 

  Super Bulge

  Is that kryptonite in your pants or are you just happy to see me? I don't know about you, but I never tire of seeing Tom Welling's ...
• 

  Trump to Shut Down White House Office of National AIDS Policy

  Well, that didn't take long. The attack on the LGBT community is already under way.  Towleroad notes that the White House LGBT...
• 

  The Heyday of Chelsea's 8th Avenue

  If "The Death of Chelsea's 8th Avenue" served as a stark reminder of the post-Bloomberg era of New York City, I'm ...
• 

  Str8 Talk Express

  This one sounds like a real "catch": St8 looking for gay roommate - 28 (Midtown East) Straight guy here, 28 professional,...
• 

  Twitter Thinks I'm 'Harassing' Aaron Schock

  Well, this sure is rich. Don't have a lot of time to flesh it out, but a dissertation could be written about how Twitter ha...
• 

  The 50 Hottest NFL Players of All Time

  With Superbowl Sunday upon us, I figured there was no better time to get this cut-throat game going. I'm sure I forgot someone --...
• 

  Eric Decker's Wife Wants You to Know Something

  I swear, I try not to be obsessive . But then my eagle-eyed readers keep digging up stuff and what's a blogger to do? As if Denver ...
• 

  The 100 Hottest Male Tennis Players of the Open Era

  1. Patrick Rafter: Always the most likable and lickable player on the circuit, it only makes me want to be this Aussie...

 

Below: I remember getting my boyfriend at the time to take these NYC-centric "promo" photos to use on Blogads. (Anyone remember those?) Oh, to be 38(!) again ...

Corner of 18th and 8th

Corner of 18th and 7th

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

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.

 

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! 

David Mills's Act Is a 'Riot'

Damian and I met up with our friend Tim on Saturday to catch David Mills perform at Red Eye, a newish bar/performance space on 41st Street, just south of the bustling Hell's Kitchen gayborhood. My friends Tim (another Tim) and Matt had both raved about "Riot Act" -- "stand-up comedy cabaret for the end of times" -- so I made a point of putting David's next date in my calendar and boy am I glad I did. 

As when I recommend movies, books or TV shows, I think it's a(nother) case of "the less you know going into it the better." But suffice to say that if you think you would enjoy hearing from the love child of Sandra Bernhard and Buddy Cole -- with a set that is a nod to Mr. MacFarland's "Just Jack!" -- he's the guy for you; he made me laugh, he made me think and he made me forget this mess we're in, a welcome relief even if it was just for an hour. 

In lieu of an official website, I'd suggest following him on Instagram to keep an eye out for upcoming performances, where you can also get a sample of the dapper humorist. And you can find out even more HERE.

Shoutout to Penny Arcade, who opened the evening with panache. At 75, the downtown denizen sang and joked and told stories about her half-century-plus as a friend-of-a-friend-of-Dorothy, performance artist, cult figure and beyond. And if you don't like what the woman who brought us "Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!" has to say about the state of queer affairs -- she's seen all on offer and she's not impressed at all -- she couldn't care (any) less (than I do). Find her on Facebook HERE and on Patreon HERE.

UPDATE: David Mills is performing at the New York Queer Comedy Festival's Laugh Out on Wednesday, Aug. 13. Info HERE.