Bradley Cooper Plays Gay for Pay Again in Leonard Bernstein Movie, The Fearless Straight Bradley Cooper Recalls Gay Sex Scene, Ryan Field Books

 Bradley Cooper Plays Gay For Pay Again in Leonard Bernstein Movie

Why shouldn't straight actor, Bradley Cooper, play gayface again in a film? It's only "acting," so they tell me. 

After all, he's done it before and he didn't think twice about it. He even spoke about how he considers himself "fearless" for doing a gay sex scene. Seriously, fearless. 

Cooper spoke with The Advocate about the scene in 2009. Asked whether he had any reservations about the role, Cooper replied, "Maybe for 10 minutes I thought, Is this the first thing I should do? But I'm pretty fearless. The joy of acting is getting to do outlandish things or putting yourself in unusual situations. 

And it's not as if there are any openly gay older actors who could play the part of Bernstein. In fact, all the openly gay actors in Hollywood have so many excellent job offers they don't know what to choose. 

And of course, they did throw us a bone by letting Matt Bomer play second fiddle. And Matt Bomer is openly gay and I guess he doesn't think there's any cultural appropriation going on here. 

Bradley Cooper is fully transformed in the first look at his Netflix-backed biographical drama “Maestro,” which serves as his directorial follow-up to Oscar winner “A Star Is Born.” 

Here's the rest. Not one mention of the fact that Leonard Bernstein was a gay man married to a woman. But why should they mention something as insignificant as that? 

Maybe the fearless Bradley Cooper can play a famous black person next time. After all, they tell me, "it's only acting."

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"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

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Gay Teacher Forced to Quit After Being Outed and Blackmailed on Facebook, Ryan Field Books

 Gay Teacher Forced to Quit After Being Outed and Blackmailed on Facebook

This is why I have no patience for other marginalized groups that try to tell me how bad they have it. This, right here, is as bad as it gets. When you can't even work in your chosen field anymore because you're gay that is sad. 

With that said, this is about a gay music teacher who worked for a Lutheran school and he was upfront and honest about being gay when they hired him. However, when they hired him they made it clear that he had to remain in the closet. He had to hide the fact that he was gay. Now try to tell me what other marginalized group still has to deal with this kind of thing. 

In January of this year, Gerhold contacted his superiors to report that his phone had been hacked and someone was attempting to blackmail him by threatening to share information about his sexuality with his friends, family and employer.

Here's more. They ultimately forced him to resign and then refused him unemployment. The story gets much more involved, and it's interesting. 

As a side note, this is why I have never been near or involved with any sort of religious group...of any kind. Most are homophobic, and every gay person should check that out before getting involved. Frankly, I wouldn't have taken a job with a homophobic school that forced me to remain in the closet. I don't think I would have done that at any point in my life. I'm not judging the teacher. I feel very sorry for him. I feel very sorry for so many gay men I see who still believe they have to conform to mainstream hetero standards. 

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  Ring My Bells

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The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Don't Be Afraid of Virginia's Woolf




Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story




What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

Amazon

"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Fascinating Plot to "Out" Ronald Reagan, Ryan Field Books

 The Fascinating Plot to "Out" Ronald Reagan 

This excerpt from the book that I posted about previously, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington, by James Kirchick, is surprising given the fact that Ronald Reagan was so notorious for absolutely ignoring the AIDS crisis during his presidency. At the time, people were begging for his help and he went dead silent on AIDS and gay men. And to this day gay men and their allies have never forgiven Reagan for that dead silence. 

And now, after all these years, this is coming out. Apparently, Ronald Reagan was surrounded by gay men in his professional and private circles. According to this link, some even assumed that Reagan was bisexual. 

It was not until a boozy lunch with a man claiming to have been a “long time Reagan associate,” however, that Best found what he believed to be the “smoking gun” proving that Reagan was controlled by homosexuals. “Bill, you don’t understand the problem,” the man told Best. “I once engaged in a homosexual act with Reagan.”

Here's more. I'm not commenting on any of this. I'm just linking. It's a long excerpt that goes into a great deal of detail with regard to closeted gay men in Washington. I think I'm going to buy the book.

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  Ring My Bells

Amazon E-book or Paperback

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Don't Be Afraid of Virginia's Woolf




Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story




What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

Amazon

"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

A 25 Year Old Stopped At a NYC Gay Bar and Was Dead an Hour Later, Monkeypox and Gay Men: You Can't Separate Stigma from Health Advice, Ryan Field Books

 A 25 Year Old Stopped At a NYC Gay Bar and Was Dead an Hour Later

This is an odd story. A 25-year-old social worker, Julio Ramirez, went to a gay bar in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan and everything seemed fine. Surveillance footage shows Ramirez leaving the bar with 3 guys a little after 3 in the morning. This is where it gets weird. 

The four men then entered a nearby taxi, a police source said, but Ramirez was alone in the backseat at 4:10 a.m. when the taxi driver approached a police officer 3 miles away in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood to say his passenger was unresponsive. 

Here's more. I know the cost of a cab ride in NYC and that's an awfully long time to be in a cab, especially at that time of day when traffic is at a minimum. Plus, he didn't have his wallet or phone with him by the time the police got involved. 

Apparently, there was some kind of drug overdose and the family of Ramirez is now asking questions. I hope there's a follow-up to this story. 

Monkeypox and Gay Men: You Can't Separate Stigma from Health Advice

The title of this article at the website to which I'm linking right now suggests that it IS possible to separate stigma from health advice with regard to Monkeypox and gay men. And I worded my title differently because I do NOT think it's possible to do that. 

Most outlets have been very cautious to state that even though they are finding more cases of Monkeypox in gay men, it's something that everyone can get. And that's all true. 

But if they continue to report this the stigma will not go away. Gay men were stigmatized with AIDS and we still haven't been able to get over that yet. 

"It just happens that the infection appears to have been introduced in networks of gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men. And this is where we're seeing most of the cases."

Here's the rest. They still don't have any answers and they claim they are being very cautious about the stigmatization. However, I think that ship has already sailed. I know what everyone is thinking. 

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The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

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What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

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"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Amazon link

  Ring My Bells

Amazon E-book or Paperback

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Don't Be Afraid of Virginia's Woolf




Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story




What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

Amazon

"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Monkeypox and Gay Stigmatization, UCLA Brings Indoor Masking Back Thanks to More COVID, Ryan Field Books

 Monkeypox and Gay Stigmatization 

I've already posted about Monkeypox and gay men a few times. And even though it's been made clear that everyone can get Monkeypox and that it's not a sexually transmitted disease, some are worried that gay men will become stigmatized all over again. 

The singling out has sparked fears that gay and bisexual men, who appear to account for the majority of Europe’s monkeypox cases so far, are once again in danger of being stigmatized as carriers of an exotic and frightening disease, just as they were during the AIDS crisis.

Here's the link. The article goes into a lot more detail, and it mentions that people can even catch Monkeypox through bedding. 

UCLA Brings Indoor Masking Back Thanks to More COVID

This really bothers me. In the past month, I have seen ding dongs out in large gatherings, conventions, and concerts and most are not even bothering with masks. For some of these geniuses, it's as though COVID never existed. And while they are having their fun times, the rest of us are screwed once again. 

“It is important for us to respond to the current trends so that we can reduce the risk of infection without disruption to in-person learning and campus activities, including commencement celebrations,” officials said in a news release. “To stay ahead of the curve, our campus is taking several proactive measures.”

Here's the link.  Just because you want COVID to be over doesn't mean that COVID is over. People, be prudent. 

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The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Don't Be Afraid of Virginia's Woolf




Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story




What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

Amazon

"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Monkeypox Is Spreading with Gay Men Worldwide, South Florida's Concerns About Pride Events and Monkeypox, North Carolina's Don't Say Gay Bill, Ryan Field Books

 Monkeypox Is Spreading with Gay Men Worldwide

Even though it seems as if more gay men are getting Monkeypox, the officials are hard-pressed to also mention that anyone can get monkeypox. It's not just a "gay" disease. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now confirmed nearly 100 cases of monkeypox in over a dozen countries, with the largest number in the UK. While most cases so far are among gay and bisexual men, health officials emphasize that anyone can contract the virus through close personal contact.

Here's more. Let's all be careful out there. We're still not out of COVID yet. I know that many of you think COVID is over, but Misha Collins just tested positive and so did 4 friends of mine. So don't come near me without a mask if you know what's good for you. 

South Florida's Concerns About Pride Events and Monkeypox

For those who don't know, South Florida has a huge gay population, especially Wilton Manors. And no officials seem concerned about the reports coming out all over the world that so many cases of Monkeypox can be traced back to gay men, Pride events, and saunas. But they are keeping an eye on it all. 

Organizers with a South Florida LGBTQ group say they have no plans to cancel an upcoming Pride festival amid suspected links between the current monkeypox outbreak and gay events and saunas, but they are paying close attention to a rise in cases.

Here's the rest. I just hope this doesn't turn into another COVID. 

North Carolina's Don't Say Gay Bill

The only thing I know about North Carolina is that I drove through it very quickly on my way to Florida. There are so many bad things about the south that have been romanticized and sugar-coated over the years that I have no interest in ever going there. 

However, a lot of LGBTQ people do live in North Carolina and I really do feel for them right now. This new don't say gay bill is simply out of spite. 

The bill’s sponsors were quick to tell everyone that their version is not as bad as the Florida bill. But it is almost as bad, and like the Florida law, North Carolina’s version does little else but hurt students.

Here's the rest. They are right about that. These bills don't do a damn thing. 

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  Ring My Bells

Amazon E-book or Paperback

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Don't Be Afraid of Virginia's Woolf




Once Upon a Castle by Ryan Field

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story




What readers are saying about "Uncertainty"

Amazon

"A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he'll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who's husband died last year. I enjoyed this story."



What readers said about "Altered Parts"
"Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina."
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts