Gay Of A Certain Age - Olivia Newton Gone

 Ew, I totally turned those smiles upside down.

You know that saying, "You don't miss your water, 'til the well runs dry"? 

(Maybe that's just a cool song on the MARRIED TO THE MOB soundtrack)

I had an incident... it all starts with, what I thought was, an affinity for the movie XANADU.

A good portion of my closest friends have bonded over multiple viewings of the very flawed, but completely delicious movie.  After a few in-home viewings, we were all excited that Outfest, the yearly LGBTQ film festival, listed XANADU as their sing-a-long feature back in 2002.

As you can see, there was a huge group of us ready to sing-a-long to all of those great songs on the soundtrack! (not many of us were ready to match the very high vocals of Jeff Lynne and most chose to sit those songs out... not me!  My apologies, still to those who sat around me that night).

We were so excited, Muh Dab, Dennis Hensley, had t-shirts made!

We're XanaDUDES!

Five years later, Douglas Carter Beane had the nerve to take this movie and make it a stage show. I'm glad he did, it was very lovingly hilarious and I built a Broadway visit around seeing the show.

I was also excited to git muh picture made with star, Cheyenne Jackson!

(Look, he's TOUCHING me!)

Two years after that, I got to share the joy with my friends as we traveled all the way to Orange County to catch the Tour of XANADU THE MUSICAL!

We were so excited, we took another shot with me as Sonny and Dennis as Kira, 
but I looked cutest in this shot.

I'm sure there were a few more in-home viewings, 

but in 2015, we jumped at the chance to see it again

in the Sunnyside Cemetery, in Long Beach.

I'm not a fan of cemetery viewings, 

because I find them very uncomfortable

and difficult to enjoy;

it was not an issue this time around.

Also, before the screening, 

there was an awesome cover band 

This guy was ready to match Jeff Lynne...

Then, August 8, 2022

Olivia Newton-John died.
I thought, "Awwww, that's sad." and moved on with my day.

It hit Dennis pretty hard.
While I understood his reaction, 

I just didn't feel the same way...
She was a celebrity, among many we lost this year.

On September 9, luckily my Friday off,

I joined Dennis & former DAB, Brett Freedman

for a farewell to Olivia screening of 
XANADU

at the New Beverly Cinema.

It was well attended for a 2 pm screening.

...And, we ran into friends

Tom Ford and

John Cantwell, whom I love love love as

Love Connie.

During the movie,
I was having a lovely time,

feeling a little sad for our loss.

Then, this scene, at the big opening of the club at the end happened.

Suddenly, at the moment caught in this pic,

 I was holding back a torrent of tears!
Just seeing her sing her number with such a joyful ease,

I realized she was gone.
She had always been a delight when I'd seen her perform

on variety shows, talk show guest spots and even crappy movies.

She was such a sweet ball of sunshine

that I hadn't registered had tanned much of my growing up.

I feel like I can remember the very first time

I heard Have You Ever Been Mellow as a mere child...

Of course, I can't actually, 

but I remember that song and how it made me feel,

how it STILL makes me feel. 

Her indelible performance in GREASE

(which I watched on a loop on Showtime and many more times since)

touches me, still.

There was a huge bubble on my heart

 filled with ONJ

that I had no idea was there

and it just burst right in that moment.

(I'm still getting a little misty eyed while writing this)

She was a sneaky one, that Olivia...

So, now I really get Dennis' reaction,

he was just more in tune with his love for her

than I.

Now, I understand that for many,

we not only lost a

greatly talented, sweet and lovely woman,

but also a chunk of what made us who we are;

we feel as if we've lost bit of our childhood,

a sweet & loving bit.

Farewell Olivia,

and if possible from where you are,

Keep me suspended in time with you

Don't let this moment die...

He Don't Even Know - Prideful

 

Hello, Cowboy!

I caught this shot

of this very handsome man

on the Micky's float 

at the 1st ever

WeHo Pride event.

While the parade has taken place in 

West Hollywood for years,

this is the first time it has ever been produced

by the City, itself.

I can't believe these fellas

didn't make it in the 

Gay Pride 2022 photo review!

I just might have to post a part 2,

right?

Drag Season - The Little Black Dress

Drag Season is upon us and what a lovely way to start...

Muh DAB, Dudley celebrated his birthday with his usual themed party.

This year's theme was Little Black Dress.

The guests did not disappoint...

First I present Dudley in his three different dresses that he changed as the night progressed.

Next, I attended in a lovely black sequined number, topped with a butterfly festooned fascinator.

Now, the parade of some sexy, hot, creative fellows who tackled the theme  with aplomb...

 

Muh DAB, Steven Reigns

Muh DAB Dennis Hensley 
sporting AMC Nicole Kidman couture

All in all, it was a delightful evening where

fashion was served

and the LBD 

was filled with delicious & darling men!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUDLEY!!!

The Trials of Man Solo: Broadway Producers Hate Single People!

 

It's no secret that I've been having an affair with Broadway for many years, and we've been getting along famously... Until now.

I have not visited the lovely New York City or Broadway since January 2020 and I can barely stand to be away for so long.  I have missed entire runs of shows...

The way my visits usually go is that I'll see an announcement for a show that really captures my fancy and I build a theater-going weekend around that show.  Because I am not a rich man, I check my usual airlines for the best (cheapest)  flights that will maximize my time there.  Lately, I've taken to catching a red-eye after work on a Wednesday, getting me in early Thursday morning.  Then, I go to my friend's apartment (Again, not rich and avoiding prohibitively high hotel rates) take a good nap and wake up refreshed and ready to catch a Thursday night show, leading into a weekend of 5 shows, until I leave on Sunday night.  

Let's rewind to when I find a show I REALLY wanna see;

Usually, I head directly to Theatremania.com

They offer great discounts for shows that wanna boost audience attendance. In my case it's discounts for brand new shows that are just starting out and can put people in seats and, hopefully, get some good word-of-mouth advertising going.  If the show I want is not there, I use the site to get regularly priced tickets, which are going up and up.  Then, I'll go back and see what other shows I haven't seen (or I really enjoyed enough to see a second time,) are offering discounts and continue building my weekend.  Sometimes, I miss the window for the discount offer and head over to regular price and pay up.  I will say that shows offering discounts will get my attention first, especially if I'm on the fence about wanting to see them.  It usually turns out to be a 50/50 ratio of discount & regularly priced tickets by the time I'm done.  I'm not looking to break the Broadway bank, demanding discounts for ALL the shows I see, but I'll take help where I can get it.

As pandemic regulations started to relax and vaccines & boosters for Covid-19 and Monkey Pox were poked up inside me (Hopefully my Polio Booster still holds), I decided it would be a good time to return!  I was excited by a good number of shows opening this Fall and surprised by a few shows that extended into my visiting dates.  I  excitedly headed over to the discount site and

THEN THIS HAPPENED

All of a sudden most of the discounts were listed as BOGO (Buy One, Get One).

WHAT THE FUCK?

Now, I have to be part of a couple to get a discount ticket to a show??

This is straight on discrimination against single people!

Honestly!  Why am I punished and denied a discount for not having a boyfriend/husband???

FUCK YOU, WHOMEVER DECIDES ON THESE DISCOUNTS FOR THESE SHOWS!!!

(Also, for the record, I have no interest in seeing this MJ show - discount or not.  It was just an example) 

There need to be laws to protect single people from this type of discrimination.
Why does it cost more to be alone?

This goes along with paying more for single occupancy on cruises and trips!

Besides, who else is gonna buy that single seat 1/3 into the row?

I can not type noisily enough to express how offended I am by these assholes.

Also, what if there are 3 people who want to see a show together?

Today, out of 20 discounts offered, 13 are BOGO and I am denied a 50% discount that couples get to enjoy. That's not right and I hope there is a lawyer reading this that will help me with a class action suit populated by all of us who are dying alone and enjoy theater, but don't get to enjoy the discounts offered to couples.

This Is Why I Am Single - The Unflattering Shot To The Heart 2

 

It happens to everyone on social media, every so often, but this one is so egregious, I just had to share...

You might remember that time I posted about my photographer friend, Dusti Cunningham, posting a pic of me from an event where I was squished awkwardly between two people... if not HERE'S a reminder.

After that, I made peace with the fact that I can not control every image of me that appears in social media.  I also made peace with my less than International Male model body and the many angles by which it can appear to be larger or weirder in places than it actually is... 

Even that didn't prepare me for this horror...

Speaking of horror, it all started with me popping over to the Ace Hotel theater to see THEY/THEM

with muh DABs, Dennis Hensley & Glenn Gaylord.  It is a horror movie with a twist, wherein maybe the LGBTQIAs aren't the victims we're used to seeing. (Mini Review: While it didn't break any new ground except for turning the tables, and isn't a bold new take on slasher movies that some hoped it might be, it was an entertaining enough gathering of Dead Meats and kills, much like the many other slasher movies it means to emulate.  It could have been gorier, but I thought is was alright.)

Anyway, it was a the OUTFEST closing night feature and the theater was abuzz with film makers, the movie's cast (including Kevin Bacon) and a bunch of gays. One of the gays there that I know was Greg Hernandez of GREG IN HOLLYWOOD.  We shared our excitement for the movie we were about to see and caught up on recent stuffs and then Greg snapped and posted this pic...

Now, I'm not angry or upset with Greg for posting it... I just thought it was worth mentioning how unflattering it is.  First, there's the harsh shadows and highlights, offering no forgiveness in facial features or body bumps.  Then there's the indeterminant look on my face, like I was puzzled to be happy... The pièce de résistance has to be the "Bun in the Oven" appearance of my tumtums.  I know I have a belly, and sometimes I have the presence of mind to suck it in when there's a camera pointed at me... in this case, I scooted up to the edge of my seat, but turned & slouched a little back to keep from blocking Dennis in the picture and, apparently, carried a child to term.  I look like I'm pregnant, along with the boobies for feeding.   Honestly, I'm not fit, but this is a bit exaggerated because of the weird way I contorted my body for this shot.  I see this and ask myself, how am I ever going to find someone who's attracted to me, if I keep forgetting my America's Next Top Model challenges training??

Was this really my best shot this week?  UGHHH!

Again, I'm looking at this with humor, because if we take this social media stuff too seriously, we could really fuck ourselves up obsessing over every post that includes us, that we can't control.  I try to choose to enjoy the moment and worry about secondary factors, later.  Like 3 hours later, when I see the photo and OOF, it hits me like a punch in the ample gut! ..but in a good way, like in the movie DODGEBALL.  Also, if this pic scares off any potential suitors, then so be it, who needs someone who's gonna obsess over their images AND mine, to boot?  Ain't got time for that nonsense. 

Meanwhile, I posted this pic,

Which Greg might have said he found quite flattering,  You're welcome!!
I hope you get a husband, a rescue pup,  a subscription to Hulu/Disney + and a fancy house on a private beach with great lighting from this picture, GREG!!!!!

(That may sound mean and resentful, but wouldn't it be neato if you actually did?)