Category Archives: General

In the middle of the day, a flower says more than I could ever say.

The first day of summer has at long last arrived, and though that means the days are only going to get shorter from here on out, we’ve got a full-run of the blissful season ahead of us. I’m going to do my best to enjoy the moment and live each day like I envisioned during the long cold stretch of winter. The Delusional Grandeur Tour has several upcoming stops to see us through the hopefully-sunny days, including my very first trip to Rehoboth Beach. Until then, a look back at the summer days that have come and gone.

Last summer… and again…

A semi-secret summer escape.

Nearer the end…

Even if I prefer the height of the highs…

Summer sunflowers.

Summer drama.

Summer hotness.

Summer sun.

Summer scent.

Summer booty.

Summer past… and further past.

It was a week of sadness and sorrow, hatred and anger, and I’m not sure why this recent tragedy is hitting and me in a different, more profound way than others of its kind. As is my wont to do in such situations, when I don’t know how to deal with the funk that has settled over me and the world, I turn to the simple things that ease the burdens. Family, friends, beauty and calm – and this week was the result of that.

Luckily, I had Ogunquit to look back on, its whimsies and enchantments intact.

There was also the weekend of Pride before it went dark, and this fun outfit. (With matching shoes.)

Suzie always cheers me up, and this post was proof of that.

The sweet perfume of the mockorange lent its own balm to the week.

My husband and the mustang.

My Dad on his day.

My friend Skip is another cheering influence, as was the recap of this year’s Boston Red Sox game. (Be sure to read Part 2 too.)

As always, there were Hunks: Dalton Jackson, Seth Sikes, Josh Sabarra, Colin Cunliffe, & Josh Zegarra.

Monday mornings are usually the time for a recap and look back at the week that came before, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do right now. In the face of the worst shooting in American history, I am going to celebrate the same things I’ve always loved ~ family and friends, love and beauty.

Let’s start with a few flowers, at a time of the year when all they want to do is bloom.

Then there is my family – the people who usually make me feel safe and loved no matter what. My Mom joined me for a Broadway trip to New York, and I finally got around to recapping it.

Sometimes the snow comes down in June.

Portals & perspective.

Some friends are even closer than family, especially when you’ve known them from birth.

A President, a Queen, and going over the Borderline.

(And proof that I don’t love absolutely everything that Madonna does.)

Tea time.

A GLSEN Gala, in the name of Pride, and a bright promise and challenge for the future.

Finally, there is beauty in the male form, and a celebration of our sexuality, in all the Hunks of the Day we’ve featured here. That continues with Aydian Dowling,  Chris Spearman, Ross Worswick, Zachary Gordin, & Richard Hadfield.

Time and space.

Scale and justice.

Pathways and turns.

Corridors and close-calls.

Stories and memories.

Rumors and recollections.

A series of hallways, all leading to—

The month of June has traditionally been about the roses, and while we don’t grow very many (circulation, poor soil, and humid summers make for difficult rose-growing conditions) we certainly appreciate a few bouquets of them now and again. They provide the seasonally-appropriate backdrop for this quick early June recap – the best time of year to remember.

Up and down and all around.

A coral-hued peony is a thing of beauty.

An anniversary in Boston…

And a Red Sox game to come.

The Glamour!!!

The Panache!!

The Purple!

The Delusional Grandeur Tour rounded its final, albeit long, turn with the ‘Samsara Healing Water’ section, Part One and Part Two.

Shaking the seed.

My mother’s dress, reborn.

You are invited to a Wonderland Gala this Friday, June 10 – and I’ll be there with more than bells on.

Nick Bateman and his nude butt.

The parade of Hunks included Vinny Vega, Vinny Castillo, Enrico Omri Ravenna, & the Mertailor, Eric Ducharme.

You don’t always have a choice on where or how you create beauty, but even the smallest and most dismal of spaces can be made into something more. This was the small scene in the new below-ground location of the SoWa Market, a sorry shift from its formerly-expansive space in a neighboring building. There’s something sad about this in every way, and yet there’s something comforting about it too.

Maybe it’s the light.

This is always a bittersweet day – more sweet than bitter – but there’s always a sadness in leaving Ogunquit – even if it means the summer season has just begun. Most of the time, it’s the most beautiful day of the weekend, which makes leaving doubly difficult. I’ll do a quick chronicle of this year’s trip in a it – for now, the usual Monday morning recap.

A very hot start to the week, as Gus Kenworthy showed off his naked ass at noon.

Two-time Hunk of the Day Daniel Rodrigues looked in a mirror, with good reason.

A beautiful Boston afternoon. And again. Beauty in a building.

Here’s a hyphenate you don’t hear very often: real estate agent-male model Donnell Blaylock Jr.

Sweet plum blossoms.

One of the younger Hunks of the Day: David Henrie.

Diana Vreeland knows vivacious and bold.

The kind of snow you can’t blow.

The bulge and the butt of Marshall Arkley.

Nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart.

A Hunk of the Day whose name says it all: Rocco Hard.

Putting my butt where my mouth is. A preamble for this naked male celebrity post.

Jake Shears, shorn again for his second Hunk of the Day post.

The exquisite Sakura Cocktail, or as close as I could get.

Light them up.

When hunks go glam: Danny Glam.

Though the days are getting to be their longest, night still comes to New England. This is no land of the midnight sun, and dusk never goes beyond 9 PM.

Go to bed, daisy head.

Whether I’m lucky enough to be lounging in the bedroom as the sun goes down, or caught in the wave of commuters rushing home, late afternoon in Boston is one of my favorite times of the day. I’m not sure why – early mornings carry their quiet charm, and midnight walks hold their own enchantment, but something about the pause in the day, the light of the almost-golden hour, and the illuminated buildings make it one of the more magical moments in a twenty-four hour trajectory.

Here, Trinity Church is lit up in all its amber-glowing splendor, backed by the building formerly known as the John Hancock Tower. (It’s called 200 Clarendon, now, I believe – which is neither better nor worse.) The juxtaposition of old and new is a telling mirror of Boston itself, and one of the reasons I love the city so much is this thrilling mash-up found around every corner.

If you examine the top left of the photos, you’ll also see the moon and an airplane cutting through the sky – another incongruous pairing, this time of timeless nature and modern-day technology, spinning around one another in dizzying contrast. That’s not just Boston – that’s the world. And that may be more food for thought than anyone can chew on an early morning like this.

The staggered posting format of this blog means that a proper recap of this recent weekend in New York will have to wait, as will other things. For now, a look back at what went on website-wise, not in real life. I prefer the latter to the former, so do the math as to my satisfaction level as I hurriedly write this.

A hot ginger led the Hunk of the Day charge. This is Steven Di Costa in his fiery debut.

Followed hot-on-his-heels by a midnight charged post of Sergey Lazarev.

Are you hungry? Try this uni and lobster in Cambridge.

In search of more heat? Here’s Eyal Berkover.

My favorite part of a party. Well, almost.

Rays of white.

How to smell like a daisy.

Daisy party garb.

A daisy birthday.

A somewhat-semi-annual Broadway excursion in effect again.

My sheer brief underwear.

A blood-sucking Hunk of the Day: Alexander Skarsgård.

The glamour! The fashion! The cologne!

And again!

The rarity of a two-time Hunk of the Day.

A beautiful bouquet is worth more than the sum of its parts.

One of my favorite Hunks of the Day in recent memory: Jacob Tomsky.

A most-fitting, and surprisingly-touching tribute from a Queen to a Prince.

When I was in grade school, our general music classes took place in the basement/bomb shelter of the building. As a kid, its mustiness and fluorescent interior did not bother me in the least, nor did its painted cinder-block walls and dank corners. If anything, it was an escape, not solely for the topic at hand, but for the excursion into the recesses of a building we mostly knew from above.

Our music teacher, a blonde woman whose hair changed styles from year to year (there was an especially-iffy perm circa 1986 that I remember to this day) was a piano-playing soprano who endeared herself to me with her annual presentation of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ – still a remarkable introduction for kids to the world of classical music. She doted on me in return – my boyhood voice was pretty soprano as well. I sat in the front row with a few girl friends and she would sometimes use us as an example of how to sing something in tune or in rhythm. (Yeah, I was that kid – and loved it.)

Somewhere during our seven years together at McNulty school, she started to receive bouquets of roses – once every week or so. She’d place them on the corner of her desk, and on those days her step had a brighter bounce to it, her countenance a cheerier aspect. Even her sometimes-questionable hair looked better when that bouquet stood at happy sentinel by her side. When she sang on those days, her voice soared, as if trying to match the heights of beauty that those flowers exemplified. As much as I was struck by their beauty, I was equally enthralled with the effect they had.

A bouquet of flowers changes the atmosphere.

It shifts the balance of a room.

In the case of a dark, fetid basement, it brought in an airiness that was just as good as opening a window.

In the case of a party, it is the mark of a friend.

Always, it is a work of art.

A bouquet of flowers can be as simple or as elaborate as one wishes, limited only by the imagination of the arranger. In the stunning case presented here, a rich landscape of flowers and foliage results in a fresh and vibrant pocket of paradise, a portable glimpse into a miniature world of beauty.

Comprised of a magnificent array of orchids and exquisitely-ruffled tulips that could pass as fancy roses, it is backed by feathery greens, and thrillingly accented by a pair of poppy seed pods that lend it an exotic and other-worldly splendor.

Our friend Courtney made this extraordinary bouquet, as a gracious gift of thanks for hosting JoAnn’s birthday party. I have to confess, I’ve secretly been longing for a Courtney bouquet since I sat at a table that held one of her creations a few years ago. It had sprays of mimosa in it and entranced me with its perfume and delicately designed beauty. When I saw this one, it felt like a dream come true.