I’m in the sky where I oughta be at, I’ve been watching you
Rocket ship takin’ off in that, now I’m onto you
Mouth closed, I don’t want your opinion, who you talkin’ to?
Stand out, no, I don’t wanna blend in, why you want me to?

For our final summer recap entry, the soundtrack falls fittingly to Madonna, who informed the entire season with her magnificent ‘Madame X’ opus, and this lovingly sets the stage for her new tour and a fall full of giddy excitement. I am ready to put the garden, and the season of summer, to slumber. We’ll do it again next year. Until then, one last glimpse at all the summer that this September could contain…

I’ve been disrobing on this site since 2003, and it finally got a little tiresome for me. But after much clamoring by all of two or three people, I took the Speedo off for one more cheeky peek. (And made it interesting for myself by including quotes from a favorite read.)

Maluma and Ricky Martin made some beautiful music together.

Morning visitors sometimes come in threes and depart before things get stormy. 

When the category is Tom Daley, things get skimpy and steamy.

Ghosts left on the street in objects left behind. 

Try some! Eat one! This is the controversial hot dog with peanut butter, bacon, scallions and cheese combo. 

They say be all I can be
And all I want is peace, peace, peace, peace, peace, peace
See the world, haven’t seen it all
I wanna see it, see it, see it, see it, see its dreams

Sweet baby Jesus, I’ve wasted a dozen years on FaceBook… and counting.

The magnificent moodiness of Madonna’s ‘Music’ album from 2000, a very good year.

Hunks and studs and GIFs, oh my!

The new pope, as portrayed by Jude Law bulging out of his Speedo.

Now that summer is winding down, perhaps you need something to bookmark to remind you of all the love and beauty in the world. For when the days get colder…

My Dad’s 89th birthday.

Beautiful storm.

The happy euphoria that the Beekman Boys spread around the world, realized in a soapy shower moment. 

End of summer reflections featuring shades of male nudity.

I can’t react how you thought I’d react, I would never for you
Front line, I won’t stand in the back, ’cause you want me to
Mouth closed, I don’t want your opinion, who you talkin’ to?
Stand out, no, I don’t wanna blend in, why you want me to?

“No, I wasn’t lost. It was a different feeling… a mix of lucidity and craziness, but I wasn’t lost.” ~ Madonna

And now, the arrival of fall has been set, its tapestry of autumnal hues has been woven – all that’s left to do is greet it with a warm embrace. We will see each other through the wilderness. 

Closing out the summer heat (and a season of male dancers) were various Hunks of the Day, including Roberto Bolle, Mark Cirillo, Max Parker, Ryan Russell, Daniel Franzese, James Heatly, Theo James, Alec Smith, Curtis Stone, Jay Ryan, Brooks Koepka, and Kamil Nicalek.

Come alive, come alive
Come alive, come alive
Dream’s real, it’s alive

Come alive, come on
Come alive, come alive
Come alive, come alive…

“New York is strange in the summer. Life goes on as usual but it’s not, it’s like everyone is just pretending, as if everyone has been cast as the star in a movie about their life, so they’re one step removed from it. And then in September it all gets normal again.” ~ Peter Cameron

{See also Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.}

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” – Sylvia Plath

ONCE UPON A TIME
ONCE WHEN YOU WERE MINE
I REMEMBER SKIES
REFLECTED IN YOUR EYES
I WONDER WHERE YOU ARE
I WONDER IF YOU THINK ABOUT ME
ONCE UPON A TIME
IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS…

Ahh, August…

Final full month of summer…

Renaissance of sun… but briefly.

Water and light and re-birth…

And in my case, first birth.

Or 44th in this particular year. Here we go…

Guy candy: Tom Daley and Niles Wilson pose for a hunky twofer.

This is only a Dad bod if you’re Nick Jonas. 

Taylor Swift swung back into our good graces.

Cristiano Ronaldo in his underwear.

Summer has its own moral dilemmas. (I did not do well with this particular test…)

Chris Evans presents America’s Ass.

Star of the summer garden: the voluptuous fig!

After the Sun healing by the Beekman Boys.

ONCE THE WORLD WAS NEW
OUR BODIES FELT THE MORNING DEW
THAT GREETS THE BRAND NEW DAY
WE COULDN’T TEAR OURSELVES AWAY
I WONDER IF YOU CARE
I WONDER IF YOU STILL REMEMBER
ONCE UPON A TIME
IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS

When the sky switches…

Summer Sunday cocktail fueled by Campari.

This summer visit by dear friends I’ve had for over three decades was a seasonal highlight. 

The summer of the Mac-Haydn Theater continued with their impressive production of ‘Ragtime’ – and we wined and dined in grand fashion to make a night of it. 

A summer lobster roll, Albany-style.

A pocket of paradise by the pool – a perfect place in which to read.

A Madonna birthday celebrated in link-filled fashion. 

Batuka!

Once upon a promise – posted.

Simon says sexy.

Such a little vase, such a little fern.

Betty Buckley is the best.

AND WHEN THE MUSIC PLAYS
AND WHEN THE WORDS ARE TOUCHED WITH SORROW
WHEN THE MUSIC PLAYS
I HEAR THE SOUND I HAD TO FOLLOW
ONCE UPON A TIME…

Clouds not in my coffee.

Lavender dreams.

A bulging hunkfest: #bulge #hunks #gratuitousnudity #malenudity #nakedmales.

For my birthday, a new kind of birthday suit.

And my old-fashioned birthday suit. #kissmyass

Sound the trumpets of angels.

A love letter to Betty Buckley, because she was so amazing in ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and whatever she decides to do.

When flowers race to beat the brisk fall.

Maybe I’m just a grumpy old man. [Shrugs.]

What the fig? A happy ending!

My work anniversary – and a hint of something to come.

We spent my birthday in Boston this year – a low-key weekend, but a very happy one. It started on this glorious note and ended on this one. Another trip around the sun began…

The lazy hazy Hunks of August included Daniel Matsunaga, Lionel Messi, BJ Gruber, John Lloyd Young, Joshua Benoit, Tyler Cameron, Jericho Rosales, Preston Brock, Tom Hetherington, Erwan Heussaff, Danny Walters, William McLarnon, Rome Flynn, Craig Ramsay, Giovanni Bonamy, George Hill, Jay Ellis, Jax Taylor, Travis Wall, Blake McGrath, Chuando Tan, Richard Fleeshman, 

ONCE BENEATH THE STARS
THE UNIVERSE WAS OURS
LOVE WAS ALL WE KNEW
AND ALL I KNEW WAS YOU
I WONDER IF YOU KNOW
I WONDER IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT
ONCE UPON A TIME
IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS

“Every year, the bright Scandinavian summer nights fade without anyone’s noticing. One evening in August you have an errand outdoors, and all of a sudden it’s pitch-black. It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive.” ~ Tove Jansson

{See also Part One and Part Two.}

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer – one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going – one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.” ~ L.M. Montgomery

Though it happened in June, the story of this summer’s return to Connecticut takes place on the blog in July, with this post, and this post. 

Some shirtless July gentlemen.

A new set of visitors descended upon Braddock Park, with this turkey family in Boston.

P-town memories of Delta Dawn. 

A summer song by the Spice Girls. They always gave us Too Much. 

Rub-down. (Or, Beat the Meat.)

Mommie Dearest indeed. Who knew she would go this far?

The glory of my naked ass on Instagram. (Follow my butt.)

Mesh shorts leave little to the imagination. The law of Murphy.

The man sandwich: Jake Gyllenhaal & Tom Holland.

From the time of Pretty Woman: a summer song fit for a king.

A quiet project.

Once upon a f@cking tease.

A summer read.

The new project: ‘Once Upon A Watercolor.’

Once upon an interview.

Twice upon an interview.

Not everyone is learning from the past. Madonna has always been about the Future.

Summer scandal! The day Pier 1 Imports refused to sell me a pillow.

Our 19th anniversary.

This cup runneth over.

The floral lull.

Stretching like Roger.

Another summer song, this one by Sia.

Summer hunk collection.

The robe of falling flowers.

A bit of Balenciaga.

Rude neighbors are the worst.

Summer mornings.

Keeping things hot on the Hunk front were these gents of July: Tom Holland, Paulo Avelino, Jake Owen, Dominic Thiem, Lil Nas X, Joe Wicks, Theo Ford, Kim David Smith, Dyllon Burnside, Zanjoe Acuesta Marudo, Charlie Taylor, Jacob Elordi, Rylan Clark-Neal, Daniele Sibilli, Jack Derges, Rafael Losso, Matt Baumgartner, Juan Pablo di Pace, Ryan Bingham, and Nick Hounslow.

{See also Part One.}

Summer is not so much a set frame of time as it is a mood and a mode of existence.

If we can keep that in mind, if we can keep that in heart, then this summer need not end.

That said, this is technically the last weekend of Summer Proper, and so we begin our look back at the summer that was 2019. For the purposes of these posts, summer will constitute everything from early June through today, because there are some late spring days that are just too good not to reference and remember. It was a good summer, for the most part, and that can’t always be said. For this first entry in our adventures, a pair of songs in which Swae Lee plays the common denominator to set the musical scene: ‘Sunflower’ and ‘Crave’ – both of which evoke the occasionally-ambivalent mood of the beautiful lazy season.

Oh gorgeous June, with all your peonies and roses and perfumed blossoms, in so many ways you are the best bit of summer: the very beginning. All hope and promise and an entire season laid out beautifully before us. This one began in glorious form with a couple of trips to Boston, starting with this sunny jaunt with Kira. Resplendent in that yellow dress, she and I tore up the town and started the season off on a bright note. 

Next up was one of my favorite traditions: the BroSox Adventures with Skip. We set it off in fine fashion, changing things up a bit for a more casual and economical trip through Boston, and added a banner trip to the long winding path of our friendship.

Family fun with the Ilagans. 

Double the trouble. 

June is all about roses and connections. And a weekend visit that reminded us of the origins of love. 

Sowing the seeds of Madonna…

…because June was all about Madame X. 

Madonna was back.

A beach full of Hunks. 

Sit down for a summer song. 

A Father’s Day post. 

Who is the star of your show?

The Mac-Haydn Theater provided a musical refuge for the hotter days and nights to come, with performances of ‘Curtains’ and ‘Sunset Boulevard‘ to whet the appetite for a full season. 

A Flower Party.

Super hunks.

A classic: doggy-style.

Before the parade goes by.

Another Madame X masterpiece.

Another summer song.

And another.

Andy and I made a summer trip to Boston to see the touring production of ‘Miss Saigon’ and we had a perfect summer evening. 

Notable Hunks of June, when the blush was still on the roses, included Anthony Festa, Mike Kimani, Leo Holden, Eric Dane, Tegan Zayne, Tony Dokoupil, Aaron Libby, Nick Dompierre, Alan Bersten and Jay Harrington.

The last weekly recap of the summer (not to worry, an extra-linky four-part summer recap will finish off the season in proper form come next weekend) this one gets kicked off by a fine group of finely shirtless male celebrities.

From there it gets even hotter with this post of Jude Law bulging out of his Speedo and walking in slow-motion to give a glimpse of everything. 

We need beauty, we need art!

We celebrated Dad’s 89th birthday.

Summer rains can be beautiful. 

Social media ennui. 

Bucolic euphoria by the Beekman Boys.

Oven lovin’.

The debate of a divided nation.

Reflections of my bare ass.

Making plans, Doogie-style.

Hunks of the Day include Alec Smith, Curtis Stone, Jay Ryan, and Brooks Koepka.