Tennis Tuesday

 

This somehow manages to get even racier BELOW.

Remains of the Day (05/18)

NYT: Following the surprise success of “Heated Rivalry,” “Off Campus” is bringing even more hockey, more sex and a fresh crop of TV boyfriends to the ice 

Instinct: Russell Tovey to play the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen in new film short

Queerty: Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill are more than friends in homoerotic action flick but you’d never know it from the promo

SCMP: Hong Kong's LGBTQ carnival axed for second year in a row after failing to secure venue, licenses

Quartz: iHeartMedia and P&G launch Elton John Impact Awards podcast 

Mug Shot Monday: Some girls have all the luck

POZ: As ICE raids intensify and LGBTQ people living with HIV are once again turned into political scapegoats, gay survival increasingly depends on telling our own stories before someone else rewrites them for us

RFI: Botswana eases anti-LGBTQ laws as repression grows elsewhere in Africa

The Advocate: Meet the Gardening Gays, a couple planting the seeds of LGBTQ acceptance

Stolen Holiday: Before Hollywood figured out what to do with a muscular leading man, Nat Pendleton -- Olympic wrestler, Columbia grad and improbably sexy lug -- spent the 1930s playing lovable dopes, gangsters and musclebound oafs while quietly smuggling real charm and vulnerability onto the screen

The Caftan Chronicles: Before OnlyFans stars were a dime a dozen, Matthew Rush was Falcon Studios' hulking golden boy -- and this look back revisits the rise, excess and enduring mystique of one of gay porn’s defining 2000s stars

NYP: Holy headlines, Batman! Then I guess all 8.3 billion of us “narrowly escaped” that ill-fated Maldives scuba outing

MetroWeekly: Marcel Walz's “Brute 1976” mixes grindhouse gore, leather-bar energy and a knowing wink into one very bloody throwback

NBC News: Lucky Californians have been spared from Kars4Kids

Out: Benson Boone flexes his rock-hard abs in shirtless new selfie

Hot Cat of the Day: Harvey's cousin Patches is now the king of his domain 

RIP: Brenda Reid, the velvet-voiced lead singer of the Exciters and the woman behind the immortal “Tell Him,” has died at 80 -- taking with her one of the great unsung voices of the girl-group era

Ann Robinson of "The War of the Worlds" dead at 96

Mark Furhman, piece of ass witness in the O.J. Simpson trial, dies of throat cancer at 74

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Jannik Sinner and Elina Svitolina took home the pies in Rome. Full report plus my painful separation from Quentin Halys and all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Literary Therapy

 

I had planned to write that I finally "got my life back" yesterday after finishing both Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections," which I'd started in 2003(!), and Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter," which I'd started while babysitting in eighth grade(!!), but then I immediately resumed another title I have struggled with forever -- Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" (purchased at a bookstore in the Marais in 2001) -- only now that I'm back in the reading groove, I'm whizzing right through it, "life" intact. (Wow, it's good!) 

To back up a little: I had restarted and then abandoned "The Corrections" again last month, telling myself that reading is supposed to be fun, so why force myself if I wasn't feeling it? But then my obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in -- do I really want to leave unfinished something I'd started? can I really buy new books when my shelves are littered with ones I haven't read? -- and discovering that my brother Bill had urged me to read it ages ago and that Meryl Streep had recently signed on to play Enid in a Netflix adaptation sealed the deal to forge ahead. 

In the end, Franzen's writing is not for everyone. But the chaotic family dynamic was definitely something I'm comfortable with, so I have no regrets.

In addition, I completed Damian Barr's "Maggie & Me," which I'd bought in 2014 around the time my memoir came out but struggled with because it's written in working-class Scottish English -- when I say they have a different word for everything, I mean they have a different word for everything -- so it made it hard to get into when you were constantly confused. 

A decade wiser, I muddled through and when I finished last week, I immediately tagged the author on social media saying I wanted to give him a hug. (If you've read it, you'll know why.) 

My Damian saw this and got sentimental, asking if I remembered what he'd said to me right after reading "Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?" early in our relationship. 

Off the top of my head, I did not, so he reminded me: "I said I wanted to give you a hug." 💓

My hubby explained that he was so moved by how vulnerable I had made myself and my gay inner child, which is exactly how I felt about Mr. Barr. (I'm sorry, but younger people will never understand what it was like to grow up thinking you were the only person in the world who felt this way -- something many of us didn't even have a word for -- and that everyone you loved would disown you if they knew -- only to discover there actually were other people like you, and they were dying because of it.)

On a similar but more uproarious note: I couldn't get enough of the audiobook of Jeff Hiller's "Actress of a Certain Age.” He too grew up gay at a difficult time in a difficult place (Texas). And while it would be a great read no matter how you slice it, hearing his delivery took it to the next level!

Soon to come: The new Olivia Newton-John biography, Barry Walters's "Mighty Real" and a colleague reminded me that I still need to check out Mackenzie Phillips's "High on Arrival," although the list goes on and on ...

Tell me what you're reading in the comments. xo

Remains of the Day (05/15)

PBS: Congrats to my college friend John Reburn -- onetime model and Hollywood "It" boy -- whose short film about his printmaking business in Roanoke just got nominated for two Emmys! Watch HERE.

Out: Charles Barkley on Jason Collins's death: "We live in a homophobic society"

The Advocate: For 34 years, Broadway Bares has fought AIDS -- one striptease at a time

Instinct: Will Pride flags be banned from the World Cup?

Saturday 'Stache: I wonder what his hourly rate is

ICYMI: Ilya Rozanov puts the "spread" in magazine spread

MetroWeekly: “The Boys” goes out in a spray of blood, bile and brutal satire as the hit Prime Video series reaches its gleefully unhinged end

PinkNews: Sexy Reform U.K. councilor quits as porn persona uncovered: "I’ve not broken the law"

NYT: Why so many men are obsessed with testosterone 

Greg in Hollywood: Jonathan Bailey gets pumped

THR: Claudine Longet, French singer-actress who got away with killing lover/skier Spider Sabich because she didn't "intend to spend Christmas without him," is dead at 84

The Randy Report: Seattle is emerging as a refuge for LGBTQ people fleeing increasingly hostile conservative states.

Attitude: Britney Spears’s ex-husband Sam Asghari strips down for PrEP campaign

Gayety: Netflix rolled out plenty of LGBTQ content at its 2026 upfronts

Speedo Sunday: I see red

Hot Cat of the Day: Guarding the butter cookies (a toll fee may apply)

Music to My Ears: Congrats to Rosanne Cash ("The Wheel"), the Go-Go's ("Beauty and the Beat"), Gladys Knight and the Pips ("Midnight Train to Georgia") and every other artist whose work was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for 2026!

Tragedy at the Regal Beagle

Damian and I went to see Verdi’s "La Traviata" at the Metropolitan Opera last night, a vibrant Michael Mayer production featuring soaring arias and spectacular sets. Ermonela Jaho was sublime as Violetta Valery, with Kang Wang holding his own as Alfredo.

I believe this was our seventh opera -- all at the famed opera house -- yet it was only during the intermission that we concluded that most plots are essentially an episode of "Three's Company," so the important thing is to just ignore the story "logic" and let the spectacle of the sets and costumes and the sound of the music and voices wash over you ... and then we nearly drowned! 

 

"Bit" player with plenty of bits 

Afterward we walked down to The Flame on 58th Street. While this may seem like a mundane detail, it’s noteworthy because it’s one of the few 24-hour eateries left in New York, a city that decided after the pandemic that not only does it sleep, it goes to bed ridiculously early -- both diners right near our apartment now close at 9 p.m.(!). 

On the Rag, Vol. 907

 

This week's rag 'n' mag roundup features Carlos Alcaraz, Colman Domingo, Marco Calvani, Olivia Newton-John, "Ilya Rozanov," Andy Warhol, Charles Melton and more BELOW.

Remains of the Day (05/13)

Stolen Holiday: From nude-swimming scandal to Wi-Fi pioneer, Hedy Lamarr’s life was somehow even wilder than Hollywood mythology -- and far sadder too

The Caftan Chronicles: A gay Bronx teen sneaks into 12 West at 16 and lives long enough to watch disco’s euphoric freedom curdle into the devastation of AIDS in this haunting oral history of vanished New York

Attitude: Prime Minister Donald Tusk apologizes to LGBTQ people as Poland moves to recognize same-sex marriage

Wrestle Wednesday: "Heated Rivalry" on a wrestling mat? 

NYT: Heartbroken to hear that Jason Collins -- who broke barriers as the first openly gay man in one of the four major U.S. team sports -- has died after a battle with brain cancer at just 47. What a sweet man he was. xo

Out: LGBTQ community mourns Jason Collins, "giant" of the movement

AFP: EU won’t ban LGBTQ "conversion therapy" but will push states to act

Instinct: Finally, you can hold hands on safari without a police escort 

The Small Bow: Having recently read her 2004 memoir, I didn't think I could be more horrified about Tatum O'Neal's life. Her son Kevin Patrick McEnroe's Mother's Day post proved how sadly wrong I was.

Reuters: Can a single infusion of immune cells suppress HIV for years?

GCN: LGBTQ authors and bookworms converge at 14th annual New York Rainbow Book Fair

Gr8er Days: Rex Reed, ultimate bitch critic, dies at 87

Hot Cat of the Day: The doctor will see you meow

Colt Classic: Richard Bernstein -- aka Colt star Mickey Squires -- joins Matthew Rettenmund for the first full-length episode of his “Boy Culture" podcast, available on YouTube and Spotify.

Tennis Tuesday Six-Pack

 

Six men who clearly warrant individual posts of their own BELOW.

Remains of the Day (05/11)

Out: Matt Bomer reveals his favorite "Fellow Travelers" sex scene with Jonathan Bailey

Attitude: Ian McKellen says "Star Wars" icon told him to avoid LGBTQ politics

Brian Ferrari: Before Liza, Madonna or Alicia Keys, there was lesbian cabaret icon Madame Spivy, whose 1939 ode to New York celebrated gin, nightlife, carbon monoxide and the joys of city living

Mashable: GLAAD's annual report found a social media landscape "rife" with anti-LGBTQ hate

Socialite Life: Male Model Monday featuring Gabriel Robles, Valentin Humbroich, Wyatt Engeman and more

Out: Munich's first gay mayor goes viral for kissing his fiancé to celebrate election

GCN: Ali Forney Center’s spring gala raises more than $3 million for at-risk and homeless LGBTQ youth

Instinct: OnlyFans creator Adam Adonis has one bit of advice for newbies 

Greg in Hollywood: Remembering the late -- and very sexy -- gay baseball player Billy Bean on what would have been his 62nd birthday

Washington Blade: Hungary officially turns the page on Viktor Orbán’s anti-gay era as new Prime Minister Péter Magyar takes office promising democratic reforms, warmer EU ties and a less hostile future for LGBTQ Hungarians

Deadline: Where do I contribute my life savings to ensure this film where Debbie Harry plays Pamela Anderson's mother gets made?

People: A debut novelist reveals how writing about a messy gay love triangle led to deeper lessons about chosen family, friendship breakups and finding community in New York

HuffPost: Sally Field says son jokes that "Steel Magnolias" made him gay

Queerty: Rami Malek heads to Cannes with Ira Sachs’s “The Man I Love,” a dreamy, sexually charged AIDS-era NYC romance that somehow also features musical numbers

Rolling Stone: Music journalist Barry Walters dives into the Village People’s messy, enduring gay legacy in a new book exploring the defining LGBTQ songs and artists of the 20th century

Hot Cat of the Day: My heart runneth over when I came across this photo of my first boyfriend and our little Lou 

Reading Rainbow: 15 must-read LGBTQ books to kick off your summer stack

Lost Boys: Peter Hujar and Paul Thek’s decades-long artistic and romantic entanglement gets a haunting second life in a new exhibition pairing the downtown legends’ work, letters and shared obsessions

Hidden Haring: Keith Haring’s deeply personal side comes into focus in a new NYC exhibition featuring rarely seen works, painted furniture and even a crib created for his best friend’s family

Weekend Tennis Roundup

 The men and women are battling it out in Rome, with plenty to feast your eyes on BELOW.

Purr Chance Encounter?

Damian and I are on the train en route to Vermont to visit my niece (Ally) and hoping to run into this noted alum!

UPDATE:

We had a wonderful time in the Green Mountain State, where we went to help my niece move out of her dorm.

We stayed right near her campus in a funky Airbnb ...

which was a converted Texaco station, as you can see.

Across the street is the town of Castleton’s famed Birdseye diner, which we ate up!

On Night 1 we joined my sister and my brother-in-law for a great dinner at the nearby Lake Bomoseen Lodge, where we also got to hang out with one of Ally's cool suitemates. 

On Sunday we helped pack things up ... and then while Ally and her friend celebrated the end of the year, the grownups spent the day in Woodstock, the quintessential Vermont town replete with charming shops, farm-to-table cafes, several covered bridges and a famous gorge.

While we never crossed paths with Max the Cat -- I even emailed him, to no avail -- I give the state and family time five stars! xo

Maxed out

In Maxier times