I can’t explain myself, but I never watched Gregg Araki’s acclaimed 2004 film Mysterious Skin until now that it’s being re-released 20+ years later in a long-awaited 4K upgrade.

How could I have avoided a film based on Scott Heim’s 1995 novel, which was published at the same time my own first novel, Boy Culture? Scott and I were in touch at the time, and have been since. It just makes no sense. I must have been super busy with my teen magazine and then convinced myself I had seen it, since I for sure read Scott’s mesmerizing, original novel more than once.

Via the new print, I was able to finally take in this boldly envisioned, super disturbing example of guerrilla filmmaking — one that was made for peanuts in less than two weeks, yet that retains its gut-punch quality all these years later, after so many other daring films have been made.

Even today, with so, so much focus on child sexual abuse — thanks, Epstein Files — Mysterious Skin tackles the issue fearlessly.

The story follows two boys as they grow into young men. As 8-year-olds in the early ‘80s, they played on the same Little League team coached by a spookily attentive drifter (Bill Sage), and they clearly shared something darker.

What they do not share is the same perspective on the summer that changed everything.

Precocious Neil (Chase Ellison/Joseph Gordon-Levitt) remembers all too clearly being groomed and relentlessly molested by Coach. Its effect on him was confusing but sexualizing — he eventually spends his teen years as a James Dean-style teen hustler in their small hometown of Hutchinson, Kansas, even as AIDS rages on. Any anger he feels toward Coach is overwhelmed by his fetishizing of what it felt like to be — this is how it seemed to the latch-key kid at the time — so valued, so loved. He even has mementos from his abuse, and uses the memory of it to get off.

Painfully introverted Brian (George Webster/Brady Corbet) remembers almost nothing at all, just two black-out experiences he comes to build in his mind into possible alien-abduction episodes. Hidden, or attempting to hide, behind gigantic Coke-bottle glasses, he turns to lurid TV shows and the local library to try to jog his memory, striking up a mixed-signals friendship with Avalyn (Mary Lynn Rajskub), a fellow alien abductee. All his hard work on himself is leading him back to Neil, even as Neil runs as far as he can from their hometown, rooming with his childhood friend Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg) in NYC.

The scenes in New York are brutal, including an emotionally draining encounter between Neil and a john covered in KS lesions and a brutal rape that looks distressingly real.

Mysterious Skin fearlessly explores aspects of child sexual abuse — often rather graphically — that are uncomfortable to contemplate, and I’m not sure another film before or since has been brave enough to depict the subject visually, albeit in carefully constructed and edited scenes to protect the young actors.

The result is a transformational take on the subject.

Though there are signs of its budgetary and scheduling concerns (Brian’s mom feels like she’s in a John Waters movie, yet Neil’s mom is an earthy, incandescently burned-out Elisabeth Shue), Mysterious Skin’s episodic structure is highly effective. The shoestring vibe plus Araki’s eye make it at once artful and vérité.

If the film is searing, it is due to the parallel performances of Gordon-Levitt, whose character’s inner life throbs from every frame he’s in, and Corbet, who exudes aching vulnerability.

In some ways, Neil and Brian are like the negative and positive of a single image. They are twins, but instead of DNA, they share trauma; and neither has a clue how to handle it.

Nor do we, really, as an audience; there are no pat answers offered.

All we can do is absorb the slowly unfurling nightmare and hope that when the film comes to an end, the characters we have come to empathize with and even love may be on the verge of finding the closure they need and deserve.

But don’t bet on it.⚡️

Mysterious Skin opens at IFC Center August 14, at Alamo DTLA & Laemmle NoHo 7 August 21, and Landmark Nuart Theatre August 28.

VALLOTS: The first of three queer auctions I’m highlighting in a single post is the one by Vallots. Ch-check it out.

CNN: Karoline Leavitt is OUTTA HERE!

JUST JARED: Benson Boone stripped to the waist before jumping into the audience at his last concert.

ROB SHUTER: As I have been saying, Perez Hilton’s insane religious conversion was giving “ex-gay” — and just like Milo Yiannopoulos, he reportedly was telling friends exactly that before he self-harmed.

HUFFINGTON POST: I only ever heard that Francesca Hong was going to coast through the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin, and yet she suddenly lost to establishment Dem David Crowley … who at one point had dropped out. Hard to figure how the polling could have been so off, but on the other hand, she seemed to be deeply ungifted politically.

POLITICO: Mike Lindell — the epically idiotic MyPillow buffoon — also lost in Minnesota.

NEW YORK TIMES: Another big progressive win arrived via Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota.

YOUTUBE: It’s like 30 minutes of nostalgia soufflé!

SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES: Swann’s annual LGBTQ+ auction is here, is queer and we are, by now, used to it.

KENNETH IN THE (212): Tennis hotness.

POTTER & POTTER: What in the HELL were these dudes into?!

FACEBOOK: Porn star Dallas Steele was in Provincetown to, in part, help launch a Seaplane (his employer) clothing brand when he decided he hated the place. He name-checked his employer in a long, (to me) whiny piece slamming P-Town in favor of Palm Springs. Now, he has lost his job.

Fair or too far?

GAYCITIES: Liam Campbell shoots “beautiful, ordinary gay guys” in Chicago.

NEWS12: A patient at a Chester, New York, physical therapy office recorded staff and a patient laughing it up over anti-gay slurs.

INSTAGRAM: Termites make things big.

EW.COM: Michael Fishman from Roseanne is speaking out about how people really haven’t learned the proper lesson from his old boss’s cancellation.

NBC NEWS: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) is a public-sex perv, is the ex-wife of a flasher perv and is the mom of a perv, too — her son has been charged with child sexual exploitation.

LGBTQ NATION: San Francisco gay bars will end the use of facial scans.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Mubi is sharing the first images from Andrew Haigh’s A Long Winter, starring Fred Hechinger, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Caitríona Balfe, Kit Connor and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai hits theaters later this year.

THE COLORADO SUN: A review of How Queer Bookshops Changed the World.

STRAND: Barbara Forever by Brydie O’Connor is opening in NYC on September 4, L.A. on September 11 and San Francisco & Chicago on September 18. The pitch:

“Barbara Forever is an expansive, immersive exploration of the life, work, and ongoing cultural impact of filmmaker Barbara Hammer — a pioneering artist who lived boldly, created urgently, and transformed cinema through her singular vision. Her films were an extension of herself: sensual, experimental, and unapologetically lesbian, rooted in a profound desire for connection and an insistence on telling her own story. Driven by her canon of over eighty films, a vast collection of unreleased archival materials, and extensive audio interviews, Brydie O’Connor’s portrait allows for Hammer’s voice and images to shine through, becoming both a tribute and an extension of her legacy.”

THE ART HOUSE: Seth Sikes is coming to P-Town with his Me and My Gals show.

GLAAD: GLAAD and W.K. Kellogg Foundation hosted Reel Change: Black Film, Culture and the Stories That Shape Us during the Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival. Laverne Cox, ViiV Healthcare Head of Enterprise Communications Bithiah Lafontant, podcast host Ryan Mitchell and filmmaker Nneka Onuorah were among those on hand. As GLAAD points out in a recent report, it wasn’t a banner year (in 2025) for queer Black characters — they were represented 36% less than the year before.

LITTLE WHITE LIES: Marina Ashioti revisits the singular sensation Pink Narcissus, a film by the late James Bidgood that represents queer cinematic imagination, whimsy, rebellion and innovation at his finest. Though the film is technically turning 55, it took many years for him to complete it, meaning most of it was created in the ‘60s, and then creative control was wrenched from him and it was re-edited and dumped as a work attributed to “Anonymous.” It wasn’t until 1998 that he was publicly credited — and he still died broke 25 years later.

You can check out more of Bidgood’s work here.

MUCKRAKERS: Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colorado) 21-year-old son Tyler Boebert was charged with child sexual exploitation.

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GR8ERDAYS: RIP Tedde Moore, 79. She was Ralphie’s teacher Miss Shields in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story.

LGBTQ NATION: A man who savagely beat a 12-year-old boy for singing in an NYC park — calling him a faggot during the attack — is facing felony hate crime charges.

NEW YORK TIMES: RIP Maura L. Gillison, 61. She was the scientist credited with connecting HPV to most head-and-neck cancers, including tongue cancer. She died of a rare cancer of the intestine.

TWITTER: Elton John played Madonna’s “Danceteria” on his radio show, offering rare praise for his former nemesis.

OUTSPORTS: Artistic swimmer Milan Violon is France’s first male athlete in a major artistic swimming competition who is heading for the Olympics. In a new interview, he says he’ll use the gay slurs he regularly hears to fuel him.

THE CONTENDING: A new cut of Gypsy 83 from director Todd Stephens restores his original vision for the film, about a gay Goth and his friends heading to a Night of 1,000 Stevies event. One thing that did not change — Stevie Nicks still would not allow the use of her music, even though the new owner of her catalogue and her music publisher were on board.

I have not seen the new cut, so will reserve judgment until I have.

DNA: The new issue of DNA is a scorcher.

ATTITUDE: TikTok blames the fact that Perez Hilton’s self-harm episode was broadcast live for so long on a glitch.

PEOPLE: Ex-Miss North Carolina speaks out after her dethroning over racist, homophobic and transphobic posts. She’s a Christian woe-man after all.

LGBTQ NATION: “I Grew Up Gay, Pre-Stonewall. Things Have Changed So Much.”

PIX11: Two men were beaten and called slurs in a fresh NYC anti-gay attack.

HUFFINGTON POST: Work on Trump’s dream ballroom has been HALTED.

SPACE DAILY: Because Thailand Was Never Colonized, It Never Had the Anti-Gay Laws Britain Imposed on Its Neighbors.”

SPECTRUM: Ronald Lawson, a gay scholar of Adventism and urban conflicts, died August 3 at 86.

GAY CITY NEWS: Ann Northrop is leaving Gay USA after 30 years.

EXTRATV: Two of the stars of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series — Frankie A. Rodriguez and Joe Serafini — are getting married.

VARIETY: In the ain’t-broke-won’t-fix-it department, Heated Rivalry’s powers that be are bringing in two more hot pieces — Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie — for Season 2.

You may recall Gillespie auditioned for the part via last year’s Splitsville, in which he showed off a Connor Storrie-level set of glutes.

Smith was in the acclaimed drama I Saw the TV Glow (2024).

INSTINCT: Christian Hogue, the model people have said is Pedro Pascal’s boyfriend or boy toy is denying all:

“I am not gay nor am I for hire. I have been welcomed to this boat as a friend for many years. So it’s a damn shame to see how quickly everyone jumps to this conclusion. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

OUTSPORTS: In other denials, gay champ diver Matteo Santoro is not dating his diving partner Stefano Belotti.

BBC: Out of nowhere, Trump-backed homophobic racist Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) lost his primary.

PEOPLE: Angelina Jolie’s brother, James Haven — you recall, the one she used to kiss on the lips? — was apparently married to a woman in 2024, but was also apparently gay all this time.

JOE.MY.GOD.: Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is a monster, but the only reason the GOP is finally saying this out loud is he’s losing.

HUFFINGTON POST: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who gave us RFK Jr., is the one who’s giving us Todd Blanche. Such a wimp. (P.S. This is why Sens. Collins & Murkowski felt free to reject Blanche — they found out he was assured confirmation.)

OUT.COM: Meet Justin Hinsley, who is out and proud on The Challenge. (Which is on Season 42. WTF?)

DALLAS EXPRESS: A Fort Worth school district is “investigating” after parents noticed a girls’ soccer coach and English teacher, Chip Haro, was revealed to have written a Y.A novel called Life Lessons from Teenage Gay Icon about a teen drag queen.

INSTAGRAM: Best version of this meme I’ve seen:

CBC: Belated RIP to Michael Hendricks, Canadian queer-rights activist.

INSTAGRAM: How CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” ad-lib was born:

INSTAGRAM: William Orbit, a pioneer of electronic music who famously co-produced Ray of Light with Madonna — and took home Grammys with her — died July 23 at his home in the U.K. His death was not confirmed until a well-meaning collaborator eulogized him, causing many across the Internet to speculate as to whether it might be a hoax.

KENNETH IN THE (212): This week’s round-up of LGBTQ+ and -adjacent mags includes the above cover story on how NYC may be warming to the idea of bathhouses again.

EXTRATV: Gus Kenworthy is engaged!

THE ADAM SANK SHOW: At midnight, you can tune in to The Adam Sank Show, on which I was asked to talk about Madonna’s Confessions II album. I’m sure the rest of the show is great, too — Adam is top-notch. If you’re on an iPhone, you’ll probably listen here, and if you have an Android, probably here.

BOY CULTURE: Don’t miss my take on the 1990 neo-noir thriller After Dark, My Sweet.

PEOPLE: Miss North Carolina USA was dethroned by Miss USA after what they called a pattern of racism, homophobia and transphobia. Brittany Boltinhouse is the young woman of 23 who lost her title, and the org urges people not to pile on because she’s still a human being.

PINK NEWS: Róisín Murphy continues to be a right-wing douchebag on trans issues, summoning the temerity to attack Madonna for being a trans ally. Murphy, like many of her ilk, uses the disingenuous argument that every time a person IDs as trans, it’s anti-gay, because if they simply denied being trans … they’d have to be gay. Dumb as a box of rocks.

EW.COM: Try to suppress your tears, but Perez Hilton’s podcast is on hiatus.

AXIOS: James Talarico is leading in a new poll in Texas in his battle against corrupt Ken Paxton, but it’s Texas and Paxton has an (R) by his name so the numbers are ridiculously close. Today, Talarico’s campaign recirculated Paxton’s mugshot, writing:

“He was indicted on 3 felony counts for securities investment fraud.

“He was reported to the FBI by his own staff for bribery.

“He was impeached by his own party for corruption.”

Will that be enough? Come on, Texas.

Interestingly, after a heated primary in which Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Black voters appear poised to back him fully. And Paxton is underperforming Trump with Independents by 40%. (If we can believe polls. They were way off in Michigan, but Michigan is acknowledged as a tough state to poll, for whatever reason.)

POLITICO: A Dem is proposing new taxes on data centers.

August 6, 2026

Last night, I caught a screening of the 1990 noir film After Dark, My Sweet, directed by the late James Foley. [SPOILERS AHEAD] Held at the Roxy Cinema, it was presented by its star, Jason Patric, still foxy as ever at 60 and happily sharing with us his personal 35mm print.

I ran into Jason outside and he told me emphatically, “You will love it,” while graciously posing for a selfie. I did, actually. It’s a bewitching film. I kept thinking how interesting it is that Foley directed a modern version of a screwball ‘30s comedy in Who’s That Girl (1987) and then directed a modern version of a noir ‘50s film right after. I think he was more successful with this one, buoyed by Patric’s mesmerizing performance and a relentlessly exhausted-by-life tone that rang so true to the characters.

In the film, a beaten-down boxer, Kid Collins (Patric), stumbles into a kidnap plot, lured by a shady lady (Rachel Ward at her hottest) and her transparently self-motivated older cohort (Bruce Dern at his sleaziest). Set up to kidnap a little boy who is the heir to a family fortune, Collins, in spite of reading as having a screw loose, manages to stay a step ahead of his scheming partners — right to the tragic end.

There is a deliciously feral gay doctor in the film who longs to keep Collins as his houseboy, a set-up Collins realizes is not … a good fit. But the doc (George Dickerson) is portrayed as nakedly in love with his boxer boy in a way that is mirrored by a more chaste kind of love for Collins expressed by the little boy (James Cotton), who obviously has no affection at home. In this way, Collins — who has carnality and a violent streak — is portrayed as almost pure, magnetic, and certain to die young, stay pretty.

It is a fantastic and beautifully shot film, but the experience was marred (or perhaps even enhanced?) by a loopy woman who talked throughout (NEVER have I heard so many patrons scream, “Fuck you! Stop talking! You suck!” to a gabber) and then rushed to the front row to interrupt the Q&A. She was finally escorted out, but did so only after guilting Jason into signing her book. He handled it extremely well, with dry humor and restraint.

He answered my question about the creepy doctor delicately, too; it was clear he didn’t want to dunk on the doc for being gay and horny, and as he talked about him, I realized how the doctor’s manner of death (his radio obituary goes out of its way to call him a 50-year-old bachelor) was a metaphor for the star-crossed feelings in his … heart.

At any rate, it’s a film you should catch if you haven’t. As Jason told IndieWire:

“Look at your favorite actors, whoever they are. I don’t care if they had 40-year careers, there are only six movies you really talk about. And you know when one of those is coming along.”

Along with seeing a pristine print, I’m geeked I got to meet Jason, the star of The Lost Boys, which is on my list of “Films I Have Seen at Least 20 Times.” He is Hexum-level beautiful, and I think After Dark, My Sweet has to be his most complex and absorbing role and performance. And he was only 23!

Tonight’s screening at the Roxy — with Neil LaBute moderating — is sold out.

INSTINCT: Asshole of the year Drake Von has been arrested … again.

NEW YORK TIMES: Leftist candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won the Michigan Democratic primary for the Senate by less than 1%. That means all the polls were off by 10% … sometimes more. Since he performed poorly with Black voters, is the takeaway that pollsters are even less in touch with Black communities than he is? I’m glad he won.

Rep. Haley Stevens called early Wednesday to concede, which is a positive development.) It is my belief that the blue wave is not going to leave him behind, even if it’s anything but easy for him:

Rep. Stevens offered this gracious and immediate endorsement:

“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election … We need to win this Senate seat, because Elissa Slotkin deserves a partner like Abdul in the U.S. Senate.”

Moderate Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin immediately congratulated El-Sayed, saying:

“It’s been a long primary, but now it’s time to gear up to beat Mike Rogers (again) and win up and down the ticket. There is nothing more important than the mission of the next 90 days: uniting, keeping this seat blue, flipping the House and Senate, and providing a real check on President Trump.”

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Democratic primary a month ago and still pulled 4%, also endorsed Dr. El-Sayed:

“I’m proud to give Abdul my full endorsement and support as we head to November together as a unified party.”

TMZ: Perez Hilton, who lost his damn mind and endorsed Jesus Christ and Spencer Pratt a while ago, got naked and cut himself up on TikTok Live Tuesday. The footage is gory and unhinged. He was taken to a hospital. I don’t wish him death, but it’s hard to feel bad for someone who has rooted for the worst when it came to Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, even Michael Jackson (he guffawed when Jackson was dying, claiming it was fake).

NEW YORK TIMES: Arizona’s Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) is picking an anti-Trump moderate Republican as her running mate in an effort to stay in power.

TV INSIDER: Youngest Duck Dynasty-ite — whose name is Rowdy Robertson — alleges he was sent to a Christian camp when he came out as gay.

JOE.MY.GOD.: Paramount-Warner Bros. merger hearing set for … March 2027. Bad news for the corporate overlords pushing it.

BOOK OF LOVE MUSIC: There’s a 40th-anniversary Book of Love tour coming. Scream.

KENNETH IN THE (212): How does he find the time to read all this?!

FACEBOOK: This is a compelling video if you’re into linguistics.

CINEMABLEND: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Gay Jokes Caught Me Off Guard. Why I Love That They Were Included.”

YOUTUBE: This is a very slutty post today, but regardless, I think the highlight is this video — it’s a tribute to the late Todd Jennings by his pal Alan Light. Todd died in 2004, but is memorialized as an amazingly connected and yet sweet man who was a raconteur:

HUFFINGTON POST: One problem with surrounding yourself with incompetent blind loyalists is the incompetent part. Gotta love seeing Trump turn on Jeanine Pirro, that turd.

OFFICIAL SITE: Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott, tells the story of queer stage-and-screen star Ian Charleson of Chariots of Fire fame. Watch for it November 20.

PEOPLE: Scott Pelley and Sharyn Alfonsi, canned by Bari Weiss at the new, bad CBS, have new roles as visiting journalists.

KENNETH IN THE (212): An incredible tennis wrap-up.

POLITICO: Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-North Carolina) may get censured for sexually harassing two staffers.

MADONNA.COM: Madonna wasn’t just performing with Kylie Minogue for kicks at WorldPride — she’s put her on her song “Love Sensation” and it’s being released Friday to streaming along with being offered as a CD single or three.

AMAZON: Coming in November is a memoir by Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s fame.

BAY AREA REPORTER: The San Francisco Police Department is taking on a 16-year-old case of a gay man who was murdered. Philip DiMartino, 36, was stabbed 48 times in the back in his apartment on August 2, 2010.

CULTURE SAUCE: A new off-Broadway play shows that even a gay jock can be a toxic male.

DNA: Out actor Michael Johnston is in talks to appear in the fourth Mummy movie.

HUFFINGTON POST: Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) is finally denouncing Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), his former son-in-law, who stands accused of egregious domestic abuse against Moreno’s daughter. P.S. Moreno has himself survived a gay-sex scandal.

POLITICO: Anger over data centers is helping to unite Democrats.

THE RANDY REPORT: HHS Secretary Kennedy sounds absolutely insane in a new CNN interview.

EW.COM: Rosie O’Donnell will return — as a guest — for The View’s landmark Season 30.

SOCIALITE LIFE: Did Dylan Sprouse know something was up with Jared Leto from way back?

YOUTUBE: Don’t miss my fun chat with Jason Caceres:

METRO WEEKLY: Former PepsiCo employee sues over anti-gay harassment.

BAY AREA REPORTER: New novel from Douglas Stuart, John of John, is only the second piece of gay fiction selected by Oprah’s Book Club.

GAY CITY NEWS: A proposed pink-triangle curb around the Stonewall National Monument would be in honor of Marsha P. Johnson.

THE IRISH TIMES: David Sedaris recalls trying to get through school in the closet.

GAY TIMES MAGAZINE: “If You Are Gay, You Are Queer — and Yes, It Matters.”

BAY AREA REPORTER: Jay Quint’s Village Dreams memoir is about historic gay villas in WeHo, San Francisco and Montreal.

ADVOCATE: “The People Who Called AIDS God’s Punishment for Gays Are Helping Measles Make a Comeback.”

AP NEWS (BUT THERE’S AN UPDATE): Pete Hegseth has backed down in the fight waged by James Dale over a decidedly right-ward turn by Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts). Via a press release:

“James Dale, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, has obtained a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Defense and Scouting America. The Department handed it over just three weeks after Dale sued for it — without a fight, briefing, or argument.”

CBC: In Canada, gay and bisexual men can now donate sperm without restriction.

NEW YORK TIMES: Legendary gay dancer Paul Sanasardo has died at 97. Above, a lecture he gave at age 90.

EXTRATV: RIP Big Pussy. Actor Vincent Pastore is the latest veteran of The Sopranos to die.

MADONNA.UNDERGROUND: Madonna brought Kylie Minogue out for a fabulous new duet version of “Love Sensation” at WorldPride, and she stayed for the first performance of “Sorry” in 18 years. Madonna’s looking great, and they were thrilled to be performing together on what was essentially a glam track date:

MR. MAN: Via Mr. Man:

“Netflix’s Ransom Canyon has never been shy about turning ranch work into eye candy, but Season 2, Episode 7 takes the show’s cowboy fantasy to new heights. Gay heights. During a slow-motion montage straight out of a gay porno, a small army of sweaty, shirtless men unloads trucks and swings hammers - not to mention the drilling and pounding — to raise a wooden structure while the womenfolk enjoy the view. While the series’ second season suffered a drop in viewership over season one, this scene became a viral hit online, for obvious reasons. Let’s get into it, shall we?

“So what are they actually building? The men are constructing a stage and preparing the Double K Ranch to host a music festival after 2,000 more guests bought tickets than the original venue in town could legally accommodate. A mixup that calls for zero shirts!

“Series creator April Blair promised Netflix Tudum that Season 2 would feature “even more shirtless men.” Mission accomplished. What she didn’t say is that it would be a few grunts away from gay porn.

“For those who are just tuning in for the armpits and have no idea what’s going on, Ransom Canyon is a modern Western about rival ranchers in a small Texas town. Its central on-again, off-again romance pairs widowed rancher Staten, played by Josh Duhamel, with pianist and bar owner Quinn, played by Minka Kelly. This is essentially Netflix’s answer to Yellowstone, and while it hasn’t broken into the zeitgeist as much as Yellowstone, it’s certainly making the right moves in Season 2.

“Garrett Wareing works overtime as the show’s resident young buck, Lucas Russell. His nudity in a skinny dipping scene in season one is truly jaw-dropping, with Garrett revealing his bulge in white underwear before the ass comes out. Lucas lives in a trailer park with his troubled older brother, Kit, after their father abandons them. Although Kit is technically responsible for Lucas, the dynamic frequently works in reverse, with Lucas attempting to keep his older brother out of trouble while working to support them both.

“Wareing knows what people want, and in addition to participating in the Season 2 construction scene, he shows his ass while hosing himself down during the opening credits of episode seven. Save a horse, ride this cowboy!”

PEOPLE: Holy shit, Rosie O’Donnell is seriously considering to daytime TV! Per People:

I’m not sure she’s right about celebrity culture — even if she’s right that it isn’t just about getting a star anymore.

HUFFINGTON POST: The Trump Administration’s ridiculous decision to charge ex-Olympian David Hearn for allegedly tampering with the damned Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has flopped, leaving Jeanine Pirro with (more) egg on her face.

NEW YORK TIMES: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) vows to “never” switch parties. Hmm.

JOE.MY.GOD.: Disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos has settled an insider-trading case — he’ll pay $35,000. He bet on Kalshi that he wouldn’t be at the State of the Union address, knowing he wouldn’t be. He only got caught because Kalshi turned him in.

OUT.COM: I must be old, because reading about RU5H, a new “sex-progressive” gay cruise, all I feel is exhausted:

“RU5H is a sex-progressive experience built around choice, consent, and personal exploration. Guests will find a variety of experiences designed for different comfort levels and interests. Throughout the ship, RU5H Experience Zones offer opportunities for connection, curiosity, and exploration. These include spaces inspired by fantasy, role-play, creator culture, and after-hours social experiences. There will also be clothing-optional upper decks while at sea, creating a space where guests can relax and express themselves comfortably. One important thing to emphasize is that RU5H is not about pressure. It is about freedom. Every guest chooses how they want to participate, and respect, communication, and consent are at the center of the experience.”

INSTAGRAM: Brenda Dickson, the loopy actress (“Well, hello!”) who is using all the filters up so we have none left for ourselves, wants fans to know she was not officially arrested, the cops all know and love her and … well, all right!

LGBTQ NATION: RIP to Benjamin Sáenz, who has died at 71. His gay Y.A. novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe was considered a seminal work in the genre.

OUT.COM: “I miss gay people.”

WOWT: After years of attempting to modernize and diversity, Scouting America (aka the Boy Scouts) has abruptly canceled spaces for gay kids, women and people of color at its National Jamboree. We have Pete Hegseth to thanks. Him and the spineless folks at Scouting America.

GAY CITY NEWS: NYC Black Pride returns August 19-23.

BOY CULTURE: Don’t miss my fun interview with my sexy, hard-working friend Jason Caceres.

KENNETH IN THE (212): Queer and queer-adjacent mags of the moment.

HUFFINGTON POST: Elon Musk will flush $100M down the toilet trying to chase GOP voters in the build-up to November, when a blue wave is going to cleanse the American political palate.

INSTAGRAM: Amid controversy over his new pro-Israel, war-and-genocide-are-same-same song, Boy George is bowing out of a run in Jesus Christ Superstar.

I met Jason Caceres when he auditioned for the part of snarky sex worker Chayce in the series Boy Culture: Generation X, the sequel to the film based on my novel.

Since then (we shot it in 2018), you’ve probably gotten to know him, too, as the star of everything from the current series Laid Bare, Tim O’Leary’s murder mystery set in a clothing-optional resort; and Open to It, a polyamorous sitcom; to 100+ so-called verticals, quick-hit slices of entertainment that have exploded in popularity recently.

I’m about to post a long celebration of the 20th anniversary of the original Boy Culture film. Until then, I knew you’d enjoy hearing from the boy who’s helping to shape gay culture with his witty, barely clothed performances.

One big break and he’ll transition from gay-famous to the mainstream kind.

Listen to our entire chat on Spotify or here:

Or keep reading for a heavily illustrated, lightly edited version …

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OUTSPORTS: Anthony Bowens, out gay wrestler plays hardball.

DAYLIGHT SAN DIEGO: Why, yes, the cowboy hats ARE pink at a gay rodeo.

EW.COM: “Most male actors dream of playing Hamlet at some point in their career. I never did,” Alexander Skarsgård says. “My dream was always to have nipples made out of wicker. Thanks to our wonderful directors, Eleanor and Alex, and the brilliant artists at Wētā in New Zealand, my dream has finally come true.” The film Wicker promises to be prickly fun.

THE PAIN AND THE POWER: Coming soon, The Pain and the Power about Portland’s pop girlie Logan Lynn. Along with the doc is a full original motion picture soundtrack, which drops September 4.

YAHOO! LIFE: Gay sheep saved from slaughter.

LGBTQ NATION: James Dale on his fight against Pete Hegseth.

HUFFINGTON POST: Katie Miller, fascist Stephen Miller’s fascist wife, was palsy-walsy with Dr. Fauci — before wanting him imprisoned.

NEW YORK TIMES: Republican Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is facing allegations he battered his wife and 2-year-old.

INSTAGRAM: Jonathan Taylor Thomas is looking good in a (rare) new snap.

GAY CODE: Dating-app hijinks via Gay Code:

LAMBDA LEGAL: Lambda Legal in the Pines — the longest-running LGBTQ+ fundraiser in the history of the Fire Island Pines — raised over half a million bucks Saturday. Held in the home of David Lam and James Dale (a structure seen in Ryan Murphy’s The Normal Heart), the fundraiser broke a record for the org.

“The targets may have changed, but the urgency remains.” So said Dale, who you’ll recall as the plaintiff in the famous case against Boy Scouts of America aka Scouting America. said host and Lambda Legal board member James Dale, who was represented by Lambda Legal in his landmark U.S. Supreme Court case against the Boy Scouts of America, now Scouting America, back in 2000.

INSTAGRAM: The caked-up mystery man from The Odyssey has been revealed as this guy.

HUFFINGTON POST: Trump’s jokes about a third term are no laughing matter.

QUEER ARTS FEATURED: Jenni Olson and Leo Vargha are presenting the exhibition Rebels, Criminals, Pioneers: Masc Heroes of the QPA Queer Photo Archive (1906-1976) from August 7-September 27 at 575 Castro Street in S.F. I would love to see it! Jenni spoke to me about these images in my very first podcast:

THE RANDY REPORT: Kim Davis is being sued for allegedly moving money around to avoid paying the gay men she illegally refused to marry.

EFF: Turns out gay bars, a dwindling commodity, are in the business of compiling databases of their patrons — many of whom, presumably, assume they are patronizing them privately.

KMBC: “Bad day” or “redneck bully”? A Kansas man running for judge used an anti-gay slur — posting it publicly, in fact.

ATTITUDE: Madonna has something up her sleeve for WorldPride — but reports of a “performance” may have been premature.

MEXICO NEWS DAILY: Is Mexico safe for LGBTQ+ people?

HUFFINGTON POST: Dr. Fauci, 85, is being raked over the coals by right-wing douchebags in Congress. Cheat sheet: An immensely talented and dedicated man, he has done more for his country and the world that all of them put together. This obscene hearing is an attempt to make up lies about him to distract from Trump’s chimpanzee-level failure of a presidency.

A statement from Dr. Fauci’s lawyer:

“Throughout his 54-year tenure at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci established a lengthy record of cooperation with Congressional oversight and inquiries, including frequent testimony in both the Senate and the House during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. But the circumstances surrounding Dr. Fauci’s appearance today before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, pursuant to a subpoena issued by Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY), regrettably made his continued cooperation impossible. For that reason, on the advice of his legal counsel, Dr. Fauci asserted his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to decline to answer questions.

“Through near daily media posts and appearances over the past several years, Chairman Paul has made clear that his objective in summoning Dr. Fauci is, in his own words, ‘about getting Fauci behind bars.’ Chairman Paul’s public crusade against Dr. Fauci began more than five years ago, when, at a Senate HELP Committee hearing on July 20, 2021, Senator Paul asserted that Dr. Fauci was likely responsible for the death of millions of people, that Dr. Fauci did not accept responsibility, and that Dr. Fauci covered it up and was lying. In response to that egregious accusation, Dr. Fauci stated that Senator Paul had no idea what he was talking about, and if anyone was lying it was him.

“It appears that Dr. Fauci’s response triggered in Senator Paul an intense and seemingly pathological course of retribution, revenge, and obsession with Dr. Fauci. Just this week, Senator Paul publicly released Dr. Fauci’s unredacted personal diary that discusses many issues completely unrelated to the matters at hand for the purpose of distorting Dr. Fauci’s words and trying to embarrass or intimidate him. Over the past 5 years, Senator Paul’s obsession has been manifested in an enormous number of false accusations and outrageous statements about Dr. Fauci. These have appeared on numerous social media platforms, in podcasts, in an accusatory book he published with Dr. Fauci’s image on the cover, and in many television and public appearances. In addition, Senator Paul has posted over 600 tweets about Dr. Fauci on his X accounts since the pandemic began, slandering him repeatedly. These posts have escalated dramatically in the past six months: over 300 tweets so far in 2026; over 70 in the month of June; and at least 150 so far in July. Some representative tweets include: December 23, 2024 — ‘The power of some of us must be used for good — like putting Fauci in jail’;

“December 23, 2025 — ‘I want to give him a subpoena and a jail cell’; and May 7, 2026 — ‘The American People want Fauci behind bars.’ As a foreseeable result of these outlandish statements, Dr. Fauci and his family have been constantly harassed and have received repeated threats of violence and death.

“Chairman Paul’s groundless but incessant calls for Dr. Fauci’s prosecution also have included repeated challenges to the validity of the pardon issued by President Joseph Biden in January 2025 to protect Dr. Fauci against the very kind of unjustified and politicized prosecutions that Chairman Paul is calling for. Chairman Paul’s public crusade against Dr. Fauci can only be described as an obsessive vendetta. It triggers what the Supreme Court has called a ‘basic function’ of the Fifth Amendment — ‘to protect innocent men … ‘who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.’

“Dr. Fauci served for 38 years as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and advised Presidents of both parties in seven different administrations. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from a Republican President for his work as one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Dr. Fauci devoted his lengthy career to saving millions of lives globally through scientific discovery and sound public health policy. The accusations that Chairman Paul continues to propagate are false and disgraceful, and we will examine all options to hold him accountable.”

OUT.COM: Meet the models who will decorate the first novels from FalconINK.

VARIETY: Falcon — yes, that one — is jumping quickly into the erotic-publishing game via FalconINK. New books are coming to capitalize on the Heated Rivalry craze. They told Marc Malkin they’ll have THREE imprints: Falcon Books, NakedSword Books and Raging Stallion Books.

POLITICO: IMHO, handsome, POTUS-esque Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has failed the vibe test by waiting until now to meekly ask ailing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to either show more proof he is capable of serving or resign. Too little, too late.

LGBTQ NATION: Another tiresome, finger-wagging essay about how we shouldn’t mock Lindsey Graham for being gayyyy, but for being evilll. I hate these think pieces. They overlook the obvious — the gay jokes are feeding off the tension between who we know he really was and who he presented himself to be. It’s a mockery of hypocrisy. Fuck that dead fag.

TWITTER: Trump delights in recalling how much Lindsey Graham loved … war.

THE GUARDIAN: Boy George is now cool with war, apparently. In a sudden shift, the singer of “war, war is stupid” is supporting Israel with a bonkers song whose lyrics include “you say genocide / I say war.” How … charming.

I mean, I —unlike some — don’t think Israel should disappear, etc., but it’s odd that we’re being asked not to criticize the actions of Israel’s government even as harshly as we criticize our own Trump-government’s actions. In a related development, I’m seeing a lot of gay people using the Berlin terrorist attack as an excuse to lay it all on garden-variety Islam. We never have these conversations about Christianity after all these mass shootings. It’s like we’re right back to 9/11 Islamophobic hysteria again.

Anyway, Boy George wading in feels deeply fake. He likes Jewish people — good! — but just said of Israel THIS YEAR:

“I’m not necessarily connected to Israel. I don’t really have an opinion on that. But the mission of music is to unite people.”

JOE.MY.GOD.: As evil as Trump and Graham are/were, gay-ass Scott Bessent is right in there with him. Here, he claims we won’t need to save any money for retirement because AI is going to create so many wonderful things for the world. Huh?! Living in a pink Barbie house for years addled this queen’s brain.

NEW YORK TIMES: Booker Prize nominees are announced, including The Disappearers by Marlon James:

“In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. The men are strangers to one another and each has a different reason for being involved. But they all share one inescapable truth: All of them are gay―a ‘battyman’ in Jamaican argot―and all of them must contend with the dangers that such a truth lays bare.

“One night a mob savagely attacks them, killing one of the men. For the survivors, their recovery is as much emotional as it is physical. As their bodies heal, each man grapples with the violence, the hatred, and the rage that the attack made plain. Some try to ignore what the attack has unearthed, while others double down on retribution.

“In The Disappearers, Marlon James has written a riveting and deeply human story of men forced to make compromises to survive what the society they live in demands. It is both a dramatic page-turner and an unflinching exploration of queer life in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s.”

I spent Monday night at the IFC sharing air with Jane Fonda! The actress-activist icon was on hand to quiz author Rashad Robinson on the first stop of his book tour for From Presence to Power: How to Take on the Fights That Matter — and Win (One World, July 28), a handy guide to being politically effective.

His talk was inspiring, and had Fonda giddy.

Fascinating watching her in action as she careens toward 90. She’s mentally astute, was hanging on his every word and got a big laugh when she noted she’s against the Paramount merger in part because she slept with Ted Turner for 10 years so is damned if she’ll let Bari Weiss control it.

Mr. Robinson is very impressive. The head of Color of Change, he does not hesitate to tackle tough topics — race, the schism between LGB and T and more, and seems very eager to never hide from setbacks and defeats, but to learn from them.

Check out his book here.

VARIETY: Fantasia Festival has unleashed Kaspar Kalle’s Faroe Islands-set supernatural gay lust story No Rest for the Wicked. Variety digs in.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Never even heard of Into the Grey, a film co-starring (checks notes) Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal?! This caper thriller by Guy Ritchie barely came out in May and is now available on demand. Did it get this type of rush-release because of its queer angle?

NEW YORK TIMES: I’m late on this and there is no queer element, but Is God Is on Amazon is absolutely amazing — it’s a bonkers revenge drama that I thoroughly enjoyed.

HUFFINGTON POST: Officially 100 days until the midterms. The votes are considered cooked — and so are the Republicans. (Even if it appears that voters are mostly voting against them rather than falling in love with Democrats.)

JOE.MY.GOD.: Trump, continuing to rally Dems, trashes Kaitan Collins by comparing her to Dylan Mulvaney. Because with the GOP, every insult is either “pedo” or “trans.” Or both.

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY: “Gay Men and Self-Worth: Beyond Visibility and Pride.”

LGBTQ NATION: Remembering San Francisco’s Lavender Panthers.

KENNETH IN THE (212): Tennis hotties of the week.