Remains of the Day (10/15)

NYT Magazine: How queer people brought some actual reality to dating-reality TV

The New Yorker: Gingers gather upstate to celebrate the mysterious genetics behind their Day-Glo follicles, curse childhood bullies, and debunk the rumor that they’re going extinct

Instagram: This Speedo can't wait till Sunday

Daily Kos: Facebook exec who won't stop Trump ads that smear Biden worked for RNC, NRSC, and Giuliani campaign

New York Post: Not even breast milk is safe from this counter-intuitive nonsense

YouTube: Sexiest car detailer ever?

NYT Co.: Guess who's hooking up with the Gray Lady?

Shadows & Light: You say that Instagram is like looking at other people's old slides like it's a bad thing!

NBC12: "Becoming Rachel": A Phoenix woman's emotional transformation (ICYMI)

KIT212: See 6-6, 255-pound Jets tight end Ryan Griffin score

Greg in Hollywood: Kickstarter campaign for “Still Working 9 to 5″ – doc explores what hasn’t changed for women in workplace in past 40 years

Dlisted: September's hot slut of the month is ...

The Atlantic: The tech industry is producing a rising din. Our bodies can’t adapt.

Michael Musto: What's your "favorite" type of Facebook poster?

Variety: Zoe Kravitz has been cast as Catwoman in the next "Batman"

"The View": Is Ronan Farrow transitioning?

The Daily Mail: Some people in the U.K. were not fans of the recent Debbie Harry book Q&A

Towleroad: Gay social media star in Saudi Arabia may go to prison for photo wearing short shorts

Hot Cat of the Day: Whether you like 'em furry or smooth, there's something for everyone in this 2020 Aussie Firefighters Calendar!

Remains of the Day (07/31)

Dlisted: Sad to read Alan Alda has Parkinson's disease (how I loved "The Four Seasons" as a child!)

NBC News: Longtime gay-rights opponent Tony Perkins named to so-called U.S. religious freedom panel

Instagram: Debbie Harry looked like a top-of-the-line can of VO5 at the 30th anniversary of "Hairspray" in Hollywood, alongside the cast and director John Waters

The Daily News: Now we're supposed to feel sorry for the cop who wrongly attacked and arrested James Blake?

AmericaBlog: Would America vote for a socialist?

Baseline: Three storylines to follow for the WTA summer swing

Towleroad: Matt Baume goes back in TV time to re-view a groundbreaking "Mary Tyler Moore" episode

Daily Intel: Everything you need to know about the Paul Manafort trial

Brooklyn Vegan: MoviePass raises prices and limits access to new films after service outages

Think Progress: In ruling against Planet Fitness, Michigan court concludes trans women aren’t women

Queerty: Grindr wants users to stop being so racist and start being "kindr" -- but is that even possible?

The Washington Post: Facebook uncovers disinformation operation ahead of midterm elections

Beantown Cuban: Johnny Diaz on the kindness of strangers

The Randy Report: Alaska Airlines responds to "seat-gate"

Capturing Rainbows: Mark Okun remembers his first trip to Fire Island back in 1980

HuffPost: The secret history of gay Hollywood finally gets its movie

Washington Blade: Harris, Carper introduce bill to include LGBT question on U.S. census

OMG Blog: 2018's best nude scenes so far

From @matt_amiri: “He only loves me for my beard.” #catsofinstagram

A post shared by Cats of Instagram (@cats_of_instagram) on Jul 31, 2018 at 7:33am PDT

Hot Cat of the Day: Cats aren't for everyone, just smart people.

Page 1 Roundup (05/20)

The Daily News: Britain does a royal wedding

... while the U.S. mourns the victims of yet another school shooting

This alleged violence is criminal and completely unacceptable. But out of curiosity, could anyone explain to me why a married deaf (not blind) couple with two children (and one on the way) *needs* a GREAT DANE as a "service animal"? Just reeks of bullshit

The running list of typos from Trump’s White House 

New York Post: Meghan Markle is the first American to marry into the British royal family in 81 years

Mom shares daughter’s harrowing experience during school shooting

Beantown Cuban: My friend Johnny Diaz shares his frightening battle with bladder cancer

The New York Times: The last days of Time Inc.: An oral history of how the pre-eminent media organization of the 20th century ended up on the scrap heap

The Washington Post: It looks like the left needs to declare it wants to abolish the Second Amendment entirely so that 'meeting in the middle' with gun nuts might actually result in some kind of reasonable change

Daily Intel: What you need to know about the FBI’s Trump campaign informant

ICYMI: Relive the best moments from those ABC Afterschool Specials

Yahoo Music: The Go-Go's, 40 years later: 'We did something cool,' but 'sexism is still alive and well'

The Film Experience: The hunks were out at the Cannes Film Festival

Remains of the Day (12/07)

Outsports: LGBTQ athletes came out and succeeded in 2017

Towleroad: Will sex bomb Calvin Harris honor his Australian gay marriage promise from 2012?

The Hollywood Reporter: "Dick Van Dyke" star Rose Marie on what happened when she publicly shamed her harasser

Greg in Hollywood: A curious Will surprises a shirtless Paul in his hotel room on "Days of Our Lives"

Gay Star News: Same-sex marriage is official now in Australia, but that couple who vowed to divorce if it became legal is now backing out on their promise

ACLU: What is net neutrality?

The New York Times: Unlike the blue-collar workers he hires, Trump wouldn't dare stiff Sheldon Adelson

The WoW Report: Did Donald Trump's dentures just fall out?

OMG Blog: At least on A-list actress in Hollywood had no idea Harvey Weinstein was a rapist

Hunk du Jour: Oh, boy -- those briefs don't stand a chance

Gr8er Days: Ultimate fan recollection of "The Poseidon Adventure"

The Film Experience: A first trailer for Andrew ("Weekend," "Looking") Haigh's "Lean on Pete"

DListed: Jeffrey Tambor hasn't quit "Transparent" just yet

The Gay Almanc: Is being gay in your DNA? Science seeks an answer

Boy Culture: Madonna gets down with Anderson Cooper and Kelly (Lee) Ripa

Edge Media: Gay Argentina rugby player left with fractured eye in brutal beating

The Randy Report: Judge denies request to move trial of Pulse nightclub shooter's wife

HuffPost Queer Voices: State rep Brian Simms says Pennsylvania's anti-legislator who had a hissy fit must step now

The Associated Press: Another day, another school shooting

Deep Dish: Since when does Santa have a six-pack?

Top 5: 23 animal photos that will convince you to adopt one

Made in Brazil: You know what happens when white fabric gets wet

The Village Voice: The lawsuit that could just maybe(!) derail Trump

Tennis Life: WTA Tour announces 2017 awards

JoeMyGod: FBI director defends agency from Trump's accusation that their reputation is "in tatters"

Hot Cat of the Day: That's what I call a Johnny cat!

Killer Looks

I haven't seen my pal (and journalist) Johnny Diaz (above, right) in a Speedo. But the time he was mistaken for spree killer Andrew Cunanan back when he was a cub reporter for The Miami Herald is almost as exciting! Read HERE.

Johnny Diaz and Martin Duberman Have Your Summer Reads

Boston Spirit magazine digs Johnny Diaz's "Six Neckties," about a gay who is always a groomsman but never a groom. (Congrats, my friend!)

Order HERE.

Order HERE.

And for those looking for something heavier, Martin Duberman ("Stonewall") has penned a "breathtaking historical novel that recreates the intimate milieu around Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm from 1907 through the 1930s, a period of great human suffering and destruction and also of enormous freedom and creativity":

Set in a time when many men in the upper classes in Europe were gay, but could not be so publicly, Jews Queers Germans revolves around three men: Prince Philipp von Eulenburg, Kaiser Wilhelm II's closest friend, who becomes the subject of a notorious 1907 trial for homosexuality; Magnus Hirschfeld, a famed, Jewish sexologist who gives testimony at the trial; and Count Harry Kessler, a leading proponent of modernism, and the keeper of a famous set of diaries which lay out in intimate detail the major social, artistic and political events of the day and allude as well to his own homosexuality. The central theme here is the gay life of a very upper crust intellectual milieu that had a real impact on the major political upheavals that would shape the modern world forever after. 

Welcome to the Cholesterol Hall of Fame

These were our "good" glasses growing up!

Not sure if it was because money was tight, my stepfather was cheap or my mom didn't think eating a lot of fast-food was good for us, but for me as a child, going to a place like McDonald's was a real special occasion. I loved everything about it -- and even got the Playskool version so my Fisher-Price family could enjoy a Big Mac and fries once in a while. With this in mind, a trip to the Burger Beast Museum in Miami -- which commemorates the Home of the Golden Arches as well as Burger King, Wendy's, Big Boy, Burger Chef and even Red Barn -- sounds like an afternoon well-spent! Read HERE.

Fun Couple: Johnny Diaz and Christopher Knight

'Love Boat' reunion: Cast, guest stars christen new ship in Fort Lauderdale    

Leave it to my Cuban pal to get to the hottest Brady there ever was -- at a "Love Boat" reunion, no less! Read HERE -- and get ready to DIE over the photo slideshow featuring Loni Anderson, Joyce DeWitt, Jamie Farr, Tracy Nelson, Lorenzo Lamas, Adrian Zmed, Mackenzie Phillips, Donny Most, Marion Ross, Florence Henderson, Charo and more!

I'd Like to Put the Meat in This Cuban Sandwich

A shot of Gio Benitez and my friend Johnny Diaz at the National Hispanic Journalists Association conference in San Antonio -- hubba-hubba! Read all about Johnny's Texas adventures HERE.

And you can order Johnny's new book, "Looking for Providence," HERE!

Johnny Diaz Is Also 'Looking'

Read a preview of the "Boston Boys Club" author and Sun-Sentinel reporter's new book, "Looking for Providence,' HERE.

Watch Johnny Diaz 'Take the Lead'

In this clip, my pal and fellow journalist Johnny Diaz reads from his latest novel, "Take the Lead," as part of a monthly Boston writers' series called "Writing on the Dot." Order your copy of the book HERE. 

 

Buenos Diaz: A Conversation With Beantown Cuban Johnny Diaz

Am excited to report that my friend and fellow gay journalist/blogger Johnny Diaz has a new book out called "Take the Lead" -- congrats, Johnny! -- so in the interest of objectivity, I decided to assign my intrepid guest reviewer, Christopher, to get to the bottom of it all. This is what he has to say:

Usually when I'm given an opportunity to "review" a book for Kenneth on this blog, it's full of venom, sarcasm, profanity, obscenity, and other aspects of my daily life. This time is different and I must admit to being nervous without having my wall of impropriety surrounding me. But alas, I shall carry on.

"Take The Lead" is the fourth novel written by Cuban-American cutie Johnny Diaz. You may remember Johnny from his days appearing on "The Real World: Miami." Today, Johnny lives in Boston where he writes about local TV news, radio, print, and advertising for The Boston Globe. His previous three novels "Boston Boys Club," "Miami Manhunt," and "Beantown Cubans" have been described by the author as a "Same Sex in the City" with characters appearing in all three books. "Take The Lead" is a departure with a newly created character and a unique story line.

In “Take the Lead” we are introduced to Gabriel Galan, a 35-year-old Cuban-American gay college professor. Gabriel is afraid of getting older as a gay man in a culture where beauty and looks seem to be paramount to anything else. As a result, he is very lonely and obsessed with preserving his looks and youth through using gobs of Rogaine on his head, taking anti-baldness pills, using make-up to cover fine lines, dancing in clubs with 20-somethings and dating a 22-year-old student where he teaches. Even with the hot boyfriend, Gabriel feels empty. Frankly, I don’t understand why Gabriel is so unhappy. If I had a 22-year-old stud to pump, I’d be just fine. Also, just do what I do and join hair club for men for Christ’s sake! Lace front is fab!

All of these superficial issues are put to the test when Gabriel’s father, Guillermo, becomes increasingly ill with Parkinson’s disease. Gabriel is forced to deal with his father’s chronic illness and find a way to help him even though they live far apart. Through this struggle, Gabriel finds a program in his town of Boston where therapeutic dance is used to help Parkinson’s patients deal with symptoms, and feel like they are part of a community. It doesn’t hurt that the dance instructor, Adam, is smoking hot with a HUGE penis! Chronic illness is so much easier to deal with if a big cock is involved!!

All crass and silly jokes aside, “Take the Lead” is an excellent read (that rhymes!). The characters are extremely relatable and it’s refreshing to see gay fiction focus on a relationship between a father and his gay son. Johnny does a fantastic job illustrating the difficulties of living with a chronic illness while keeping a sense of humor. His writing is robust, senhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsitive, sexy, smart and fun. You won’t want to put it down.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to ask Johnny Diaz a few questions for this post. To read my interview with Senor Diaz, click HERE.

(You can purchase a copy of Johnny’s new book HERE or the eBook HERE.)

Visit Johnny's blog HERE.

'Take the Lead' by Johnny Diaz to Be Released in June

Click HERE to read all about my pal Johnny Diaz's upcoming new novel, "Take the Lead" -- and go HERE to order your copy now. Congrats, Johnny!

Confessions of a Beantown Cuban

 

 Johnny Diaz, a Boston Globe reporter and a friend of mine, explains what inspired him to also become a novelist.

Forewords and Afterwords

This post has been a long time in the making. I haven't mentioned three books I've read recently, and no sooner did I get my reading list down a bit there are a bunch of new titles I've itching to dig into.

Read and recommend:

"Mississippi Sissy": Kevin Sessums' beautifully written memoir about growing gay up in Jackson, Miss., in the '60s and early '70s has an perverse psychosexual mystery running through it that had me gasping for air with each turn of the page. (Anyone else feel it? Surely it was intentional.) Kevin recognized me in Starbucks the other day and said hi and I couldn't have been more tickled. I've seen him every day since -- we're now "office mates" as he puts it. Look forward to the sequel. His life has only gotten more exciting in the ensuing years. Learn more here.

"Boston Boys Club": My pal Johnny Diaz's debut novel examines the lives and loves of three good gay guys in Boston whose lives intertwine at the local watering hole. It's a fun and quick "beach read" style book, although I have to say it was especially fun for me because I'd spent four days up close and personal with Mr. Diaz at a conference last year and I could see bits and pieces of his personality (and obsessive-compulsive tendencies!) in each of the characters.

"Look Me in the Eye" by John Elder Robison. An interesting memoir from the older brother of "Running With Scissors" author Augusten Burroughs, Robison grew up with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome and didn't know why he was so "different" until middle age. His years on the road with the rock band KISS are particularly fun. Learn more on Robison's blog here.

Next up:

"The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy" by Robert Leleux. If you crossed Augusten Burroughs' mom without the crazy with Kevin Sessums' life minus the tragedy, you'd have Leleux, or so the delightful review in today's Times has me thinking: "My mother is my movie star and my football hero, and nothing feels impossible when she charges forth, mink coat abristle." By the time his mom seeks a cure for her baldness "caused by years spent wearing showstopping wigs" I knew this book was for me. Learn more here.

"The Sixth Form" by Tom Dolby. A look inside New England preps schools from the author of "The Trouble Boy." Learn more here.

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. A Christmas gift from a friend who says this is the best nonfiction book he's read in ages.

Coming this summer:

"Band Fags" by Frank Anthony Polito (out May 27). Perhaps the most anticipated book of my lifetime because the synopsis -- well, minus the instruments -- reads like my childhood in Madison Heights, Mich. The author and I became friends when he came across my blog and noticed striking similarities between our stories. Best friends growing up in suburban Detroit are both gay but can't come to terms with it in the same fashion or at the same time. Learn more at bandfags.com.

"Miami Manhunt"by Johnny Diaz (out June 24). My pal's followup to "Boston Boys Club": One star. That's what Miami News resident movie critic Ray Martinez would give the local dating scene. He wants to meet a guy to take home to his Cuban mami and papi -- but can real romance live up to his Hollywood fantasies? Learn more here.