Is Tybee Island gay? That is the wrong question. Tybee Island might be the perfect example of the post-post-Stonewall well-integrated gay/straight community in which LGBT visibility, and a sense of fellowship overriding the bigotry of which southern states are usually suspected, and a commonly held economic purpose--welcoming visitors both gay and straight--meant a Pride event that everyone shared and enjoyed. The weather provided a perfect example of how a community can demonstrate that its LGBT welcome mat is real.

Unless the new Pope Francis does some serious backpedaling from his anti-gay words and record in Buenos Aires, the "Extra Omnes" [Everybody out!] that is intoned when the doors to the conclave are locked will never be an exhortation to gay Catholics to feel free to come out of their closets and to share love openly.

(Tony Adams carries a silver tray of hats helping Pope Paul VI create cardinals at the 1976 Vatican consistory.)

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who has named himself Pope Francis is reputed to be a simple man who cooks for himself, takes the bus (which in Buenos Aires is a scary choice) and eschews the trappings of prestige, including the bishop's palace. Those are admirable qualities, as was his Holy Thursday choice to wash the feet of AIDS victims, but before we get teary-eyed over what may seem like an antidote to his gilded predecessor, we ought to consider the fact that Pope Francis went beyond the call of duty in opposing gay marriage and gay adoption in Argentina.

He tells me to "read the childrens' book The Phantom Tollbooth, in which the kid, Milo, has to rescue two princesses named Rhyme and Reason; only after he succeeds does he learn that the quest was impossible. That's my secret."

Brosius just smiles benevolently when I describe favorite smells that I wish could be bottled.

Easton Mountain is a community, retreat center and sanctuary created by gay men mostly for gay men (with some programs for women). It is a lush 175 rolling acre wooded and rustic campus located near Albany, NY, founded and run by men who bring extensive professional experience as counselors, healers, teachers, writers, artists, musicians and creative spiritual thinkers of all varieties.
In workshops, programs, and events, they provide opportunities to celebrate, heal, transform, and integrate body, mind and spirit.

Established twelve years ago, Easton has built a worldwide fellowship of people enriched by their experience here. There is the sense that men make regular pilgrimages to Easton to recapture their balance and their vision of healthy gay life and spirituality or to acquire new tools and insights to become excellent gay men.

I will confess to arriving with some fears that the week would be too New Agey for me and that the participants might be too quirky/wacky.

In his new memoir, Father Lynch recounts his extraordinary life, unique ministry, trials and loves, particularly for Billy. He says, "This is a book about love, sexuality, death and God...but most of all it is my story. I hasten to add that in no way is this a holy book. The words erection and Resurrection appear with equal authenticity, pain and celebration. It is no book for the pious or those seeking a quick fix."

While both of us are out and married priests, Father Lynch has been repeatedly and unjustly persecuted by the Roman Catholic hierarchy while I have been resoundingly ignored. Go figure. Reading his memoir gave me part of the answer and hearing him describe with honesty and simplicity his convictions about his priesthood filled in the rest.

I've interviewed skinny Simon often enough to get his dry humor without offense, but Moylan (slim, if his Facebook photo is to be believed) is sure to upset many with his cutting remarks about bears, the motivations of thin gay men and the rules of attraction for gay men.

Consider the ouch factor in this: "Yes, the 'bear' movement, spearheaded by gay men who are hairier and chubbier than average, is forever gaining steam. Mostly it's because these guys gave up on the regular competition and decided to host a competition of their own."

What gay journalist among us, wishing to be allowed to eat lunch in any gayborhood in the country would make an assertion like that! Never mind the fact that what he says is largely true, there are few realities requiring a gentler tread than the accumulation of gay male body fat. A lean gay writer on that subject will be suspected of arrogance and a fat gay writer will be suspected of sour carbs.

Moylan also stumbles when he describes the motivation of gay men who cultivate muscle: "There is only one thing that keeps gay men in shape: fear... gay men are afraid that they will be alone for the rest of their lives...That is why gay men don't get fat, because if they don't have pecs, guns, and glutes, they're going home alone." I get that Moylan is aiming for glib over thoughtful, but there is too much at stake to let his idea go unchecked.

A Letter From The Bishop is a play about the friendship shared by three gay priests and how they react to their homophobic bishop's demand that all his priests read a letter ordering Catholics to vote against same-sex marriage. One of the priests objects to the bishop's demand. This alters his friendship with the other two and leads to a confrontation with the bishop. The answer to the question "Will he or won't he read the anti-gay letter?" is revealed in the final scene. For more info about the play: click here for more information.

When Andy Kuncl tells you how this all came to pass, you begin to doubt his age--a mere 36. No slouch, he is also not hyper. He has a calming personality and a serenity of heart. All his energy gets fed into his art rather than the talking about his art. He is lanky, pale and with a strokably bushy red beard and merriment in his eyes. He is the kind of man that boyfriends might describe as sweet, low-maintenance and easy-going. (The Bushwick boyfriend of five years was not asked to verify this guess.)

A tour of the bare facts of his life seems colorized even in outline form.

Dear FT,

I belong to a very conservative church and am trying to weigh the options of either remaining single forever or finding a guy to spend my life with. 28 years is impressive, good for you. Since I hope that I can one day be in a stable relationship, I was hoping that you would be able to disprove the notion that gay couples are incapable of fidelity and that the only ones who stick together have found a way to work an open relationship. My guess is that if there is any truth to the statistics, that it is because same sex marriage was not yet legal at the time of the study. That, in my opinion, makes a big difference. So how have you managed to resist the urges (if there even are any) to not remain true to each other, or how have you made it work despite that?
Thanks,

XXX

I assumed that physical attraction was like those fuel barrels that boost a rocket through the heat of the atmosphere and then are detached and are cast off to orbit the earth. Like debris. Like memories.

Why didn't anyone tell me 28 years ago, that when the man I mustered the courage to approach and talk to at that dismal bar in that wretched little city would turn 50, I would see only the man I first saw on the night we met.

That is what no one tells you. Your lover doesn't age in your eyes! When I look at him on this, his 50th, I see exactly the same face I saw then. Why didn't anyone tell me this amazing truth? My guess is that this truth is economically inconvenient. If we assume that the passage of time will render us as undesirable as an old dishtowel, we will lay out cash to fight the imagined enemy. We will be anxious about the future of our faces.

I always knew they say that love is blind, but I thought they meant to youthful details. I didn't think I'd be blinded by the sight of my beautiful husband forever, but I am. That's what they don't tell you.

Most of you are familiar with the energetic homophobia of the Roman Catholic bishops of America, but obscure is the soul of the gay priest who must follow that agenda. Or not.

Although the characters are entirely fictional, the business of the play is being repeated in cities across the country. The readers are Ken Averett, Philip Brisbois, Tim Rogers and Chad Thilborger. (That cast includes an Episcopalian priest, an ex-Jesuit and two professional actors. You'll be hard pressed to assign the labels correctly!) The reading is hosted by Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida tonight at 7pm. You may also choose to watch it here.

Such was their first response to the suggestion that White's having suffered a stroke may have upset their seventeen year partnership, enduring companionship, and deep affection for each other - a mutual devotion that rings clearly between the lines of their description of the medical emergency and its aftermath.

White and Carroll, in Key West for their annual January visit, had just returned from nearby men's resort Island House where they engaged the popular poolside services of the guesthouse masseur. Relaxed, they described White's stroke and its alteration of their daily routine. (White did become excited when he later spoke about the immediate success of his newly published Jack Holmes and His Friend, which ushered in a lively discussion about extraordinary penises, glory holes and categories of sexual fantasy. Read on.)

His cabaret-style performance that night was a delightful surprise that unleashed the talent and charming personality of a man known to many of us only by the sweat of his brow in the course of his successful two-year gay porn career. Next morning, at poolside breakfast, I had a chance to get acquainted with Judson who, at a boyish 51 years of age, is attractive, happy, energetic and enjoying a "fourth act" that is really a return to his prepornular musical career. (There was also a stint as a house renovator/flipper.)

When I asked him to describe "The Tom Judson Show" in terms of his experience and collaborative decisions about what elements of his past to include or emphasize, he said, "It feels like I've done just about everything in showbiz that one can do. I've sung and danced on Broadway, acted in straight plays, written music for film and television, served as musical director/arranger for other performers. You name it. But one genre that had somehow escaped me was 'cabaret artiste,' so I thought the time was ripe."

Andy Towle got the ball rolling on Towleroad when, on December 27th, he simply highlighted the fact that a reader was upset to find the calendar for sale on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

On December 30th, The Pink News, "Europe's Largest Gay News Service", notes that the calendar remains available on Amazon-UK, and reports, "One of King's cartoons depicts Paul Revere riding on horseback and shouting "The sodomites are coming! The sodomites are coming!". [The calendar] is dedicated to the memory of the US revolutionary hero and to gay rights opponent Anita Bryant."

Event chair Cordey Lash, said, "GLAAD South Florida is here to stay. Creating fair, safe and inclusive messaging in south Florida is the only way to go. Thank you GLAAD!"